Franz Ferdinand, Streets Win Songwriting Awards

This past Thursday was the 50th annual Ivor Novello Awards ceremony, a more dignified cousin to the Grammy-like BRIT Awards on the whole, the slate of winners exposed a penchant for mope and androgyny, with awards taken home by the likes of Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Duran Duran, and the Cure. And, though the event primarily focuses on UK artists, somehow Britney Spears managed to snag the award for Most Performed Work, an award which, by coincidence, has just been given Pitchfork's prestigious "What the Hell Kind of Category Is That?" Award.

In a refreshing display of Europe's heightened pop-culture sophistication, the Streets took home the Best Song Musically and Lyrically award for "Dry Your Eyes". Presumably the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters were seduced, as we were, by the compact genius of the line "I'm not gonna fuckin' just fuckin' leave it all now". Mike Skinner, take a bow.

The full list of winners:

Most Performed Work: Britney Spears - "Toxic"
Best Contemporary Song: Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
Best Original Film Score: Enduring Love
Best Selling UK single: Band Aid 20 - "Do They Know It's Christmas"
Best Song Musically and Lyrically: The Streets - "Dry Your Eyes"
Best Original Music for Television: Rob Lane for "Blackpool"
International Hit of the Year: U2 - "Vertigo"
International Achievement: Robert Smith, The Cure
Songwriters of the Year: Keane
Album Award: Snow Patrol - Final Straw
PRS Outstanding Contribution to British Music: Duran Duran
Outstanding Song Collection: Queen
Special International Award: Lou Reed
The Ivors' Special Award for Songwriting: Mick Jagger/Keith Richards

* The Ivor Novello Awards:

Posted by Joel Ebner on Thu, Jun 2, 2005 at 12:00am