I was reminded by the list of nominees for tonight’s Brit Awards which show that I am not quite as up-to-date with the modern music scene as I might have imagined I was. While I am always on the look out (or should it be listen out?) for new music, which is basically any music you’ve never heard before, I am not exactly in the first flush of youth and a significant number of tonight’s nominated songs are probably not aimed at doddery old seniors like me. Yet, allowing for fact that the target audience of the Brits does not include the demographic to which I belong, I am seriously impressed with many of the artists nominated.
A good example is Album of the Year. Imagine me standing there with the golden envelope: “These are the nominations for Album of the Year: Dave for The Boy Who Played the Harp. Lily Allen for West End Girl. Olivia Dean for The Art of Loving. Sam Fender for People Watching. Wolf Alice for The Clearing. And the winner is … opens the envelope …” To my mild surprise, I actually own two of them: the ones by Wolf Alice and Sam Fender which are both fantastic and would grace the top ten albums list for any year. Maybe I am not as distant from modern music, I wondered, until I saw the nominations for International Song of the Year which includes no less than no songs that I know. That doesn’t mean that the songs aren’t any good. It means I’m not quite at the cutting edge of music mostly enjoyed by younger folk.
I am a long time proponent of the view that music today is just as good as it ever was and to my mind the standard of music in this years list is particularly strong. Across the nominations, as well as the aforementioned artists, are the likes of Rosalia, whose album Lux is simply magnificent, Blood Orange whose Essex Honey was my album of 2025, Barry Can’t Swim, Fred Again, Little Simz, HAIM, Turnstile, Tame Impala and many more. It’s a metaphorical kick in the gooleys for the “Music was so much better in the old days” brigade. The only people who say that are people who are stuck in their ways and remain stubbornly in their comfort zones, which includes, I’m afraid, the vast majority of people who listen to commercial radio.
Whether the Brits moving to Manchester from its London-centric safety zone has made a difference, I can’t be sure, but there is more of a frisson of excitement in the air about this year’s show. I never liked the show when it started and have generally not bothered with it since, but I will definitely record tonight’s ceremony and watch it at a later date, or perhaps after Match of the Day. The last Mercury Awards ceremony was in Newcastle and there is no doubt that was anything but a positive move, not least because local lad Sam Fender deservedly won.
I’ve certainly moved from a position of The Brits is a waste of time to The Brits is a vital celebration of all that’s good in music and tonight’s nominations and winners will reflect that. There’s always good music about, there always will be. And from my point of view, I do hope Sam Fender, Wolf Alice, Blood Orange and Rosalia collect gongs. I’ve come to love The Brits. Who’d have thunk it?
