N.E.R.D. nabbed the second annual Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music for their album In Search Of at a raucous, sold-out concert and awards ceremony at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood last night. They performed a lively, loud set, with guest appearances by Mos Def, Cody Chestnutt and ?uestlove.

Unlike other awards ceremonies, the Shortlist Prize isn't based on popularity; to be nominated, in fact, an album must not yet have reached "gold" level (sales of 500,000 copies). Listmakers present for the ceremony included Mos Def, Iggy Pop, Jill Scott, Spike Jonze, Evelyn McDonnell, Nic Harcourt, Greg Kot, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and P. Frank Williams. (No-shows among the judges included Beck, Alanis Morissette, Lars Ulrich, Baz Luhrmann and Larry Mullen Jr. While all listmakers participated in selecting the ten nominees, only those present at the dinner were allowed to vote for the ultimate winner.)

Kicking off the evening, Shortlist co-founder Tom Sarig said, "It's not about rules, it's not about business, it's about artists recognizing their peers." When the musicians, producers and journalists on the panel ultimately selected N.E.R.D. as the winner, Sarig and co-founder Greg Spotts presented Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo with $3,000 from Tower Records and a $3,000 shopping spree at Guitar Center. "Thank you guys so much, man!" Williams shouted. "This is a dream come true."

Earlier backstage, Williams had voiced enthusiasm for the Shortlist concept. "It's cool," he said. "By cool people, for cool people. It doesn't feel like an awards show. Nobody's caring about boundaries, genres."

The vote, conducted over dinner in a rooftop room at the venerable venue, was close as listmakers had to choose just one winner from the list of ten, which also included Bjork, the Hives, DJ Shadow, Cee-Lo, the Doves, Aphex Twin, the Flaming Lips, the Avalanches and Zero 7.

"No more fistfights," said Dan the Automator, referring to last year's contentious vote, which awarded the inaugural prize to Icelandic band Sigur Ros for their album Agaetis Byrjun. The panelists narrowed the field to just two of the ten albums before finally selecting N.E.R.D. Not every entry was popular with all the judges. "There were some things I didn't gravitate towards," admitted listmaker Jill Scott, naming the Hives. "I like the feeling and the concept," Scott said, "but as a singer, I thought he attacked each song the same way."

Also appearing live before the award was announced were fellow nominees Cee-Lo and DJ Shadow, while the Hives were represented by Pelle Almqvist and Mike Vigilante as part of the band backing Iggy Pop, whose short set included ("I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "No Fun" from the Stooges eponymous 1969 release and Pop's "TV Eye" from a later effort.

Pop's performance was the highlight of the evening, due in part to the stellar backing band: Almqvist and Vigilante on guitars, ex-Minuteman Mike Watt on bass and Pete Yorn on drums. "It was a big boatload of fun," said Almqvist after the set, his fingers bloodied from one too many Townshend-like windmill swipes at his guitar.

Musicians in the audience included Black Thought of the Roots, BT, Raekwon from the Wu Tan Clan, Tre from the Pharcyde, and Peaches. And author and Rolling Stone writer Toure read from his collection of short stories, The Portable Promised Land, with Mos Def adding occasional vocals. This segment kicked off a new facet of the Shortlist, the Shortlist Fiction Project, which will begin next year.

CHRIS RUBIN
(October 30, 2002)