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Pitchfork Media announced the shortlist for the new Pantheon Pantheon Music Prize. Apparently, the Shortlist Music Prize, which was bestowed upon Damien Rice and TV on the Radio in recent years, is now defunct. One of hte guys behind that award has initiated this new one -- drama! It sounds identical; a list of big-name entertainers, including Elijah Wood, Shirley Manson, Ben Gibbard, Beck and a couple of actors from the "O.C." (???) are charged with awarding the prize for the best band you won't hear on the radio.

Go to Pitchfork Media for the full list, but here's a peek:
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Björk - Medulla
Brazilian Girls - Brazilian Girls
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
The Decemberists - Picaresque
Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo
Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill
The Faint - Wet From Birth
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
John Vanderslice - Pixel Revolt
Le Tigre - This Island
Maria Taylor - 11:11
Nada Surf - The Weight Is a Gift
Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

The 10 finalists will be announced soon, and the winner will be known on Feb. 6, two days before the Grammys. That's interesting, because if you heard about the nominations today, you know that they suck. Anyone who could think that the Stuck in the Closet songs are even art, much less good, doesn't deserve to be awarding any kind of national recognition.

Here's one of the better categories:
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
Speed Of Sound - Coldplay
Best Of You - Foo Fighters
Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand
All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - U2

Nine inch Nails' "The Hand That Feeds" earned a nomination in the Best Hard Rock Performance category.

Best Rock Song (A Songwriter(s) Award)
Best Of You - Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters)
Beverly Hills - Rivers Cuomo, songwriter (Weezer)
City Of Blinding Lights - U2, songwriters (U2)
Devils & Dust - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
Speed Of Sound - Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)

Best Alternative Music Album
Funeral - The Arcade Fire
Guero - Beck
Plans - Death Cab For Cutie
You Could Have It So Much Better - Franz Ferdinand
Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes

For a full list of nominees, go to grammy.com. While it's loaded with mostly crap, there are some bright spots. Gorillaz were nominated in some high-profile categories, which is pretty cool.