Brits 2010: NME hails the Brits

Tim Chester's reaction to the Brits shortlist for NME.com says more about the NME than the Brits, to be honest:

And judging by the nominations revealed yesterday, they're off to a pretty decent start. They're the most exciting we've seen in years.

For a start, rock and indie get a great showing, which flies against the recent hand-wringing over the future of the genre. Kings Of Leon, Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Biffy Clyro, Gorillaz, The xx, Vampire Weekend and Florence all feature. And yes, Florence does count as rock (or at least in that ongoing debate about the decline of the genre she does). Mumford have three nods, while Arcade Fire bagged two. British Group sees only one pop act (Take That) in a shortlist of NME heavyweights including Biffy Clyro, Gorillaz, Mumford & Sons and The xx. A similar thing occurs in the British Album category. Whether any of these can actually trump the all-conquering manband remains to be seen, but the odds look good.

NME and Brits meet in the middle of the market and both assume they've made it across to some sort of edge.