So, who didn't see this one coming? Sure, sure you could argue that Thom Yorke had an outside chance of walking away with the prize, but in your gut, you had to know how this one was going to play out.
The question that I have to ask is this: "what has anyone gained from this result?" The Mercury Prize is supposed to champion the best in British music, and does anyone really believe that The Arctic Monkeys need championing at this point? Especially at the expense of acts like Hot Chip, or Isobel Campbell?
Sure, you could argue that if the judging panel feels The Arctic Monkeys put out the best British album of the year, then it shouldn't matter whether the band needs the award or not, but does anyone outside of the NME really feel that way? And isn't this kind of transparent bandwagon jumping in poor taste for an award in which "the music on the album is the only thing taken into account"?
Am I that off-base here? Feel free to leave comments below.