The Hives' Veni Vidi Vicious, the Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and N.E.R.D.'s In Search of . . . are among the ten finalists for the second annual Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music, an award given to an album of artistic merit that has sold fewer than 500,000 copies.

A panel of judges that includes Beck, Mos Def, Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, and members of Metallica and the Strokes each selected their five favorite records of the past year that met the sales criteria to create the "Long List," a collection of more than seventy recordings. Each judge then voted for ten albums, and the ten with the most votes became the Shortlist finalists.

Rapper Cee-Lo's Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections was also among the ten finalists. "He's original, artistic, multi-talented and underrated," India.Arie, one of the judges, said. "I believe angels whisper in his ear."

The Doves' The Last Broadcast also made the cut, with Los Angeles' KCRW DJ Nic Harcourt among its supporters, calling it "far and away the best rock record of the year. The album shows a band growing and maturing."

A winner will be announced October 29th at a concert at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles.

Shortlist Prize nominees:

N.E.R.D., In Search of . . .
DJ Shadow, The Private Press
Bjork, Vespertine
The Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
The Hives, Veni Vidi Vicious
Cee-Lo, Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections
The Doves, The Last Broadcast
Zero 7, Simple Things
Aphex Twin, Drukqs
The Avalaches, Since I Left You

KIRK MILLER and ANDREW DANSBY
(September 11, 2002)