Franz Ferdinand, the Killers, Wilco, Dizzee Rascal, Ghostface Killah, Loretta Lynn, PJ Harvey, TV on the Radio and My Morning Jacket are among the 73 artists nominated to the "Long List" for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize.

The list, which will be whittled down to 10 finalists in late September, was selected by a panel of 20 "Listmakers" that features several prominent recording artists: Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Jack Black, John Mayer, Norah Jones, the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am, System of a Down's Serj Tankian, the Roots' Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, the Cure's Robert Smith and others.

To be eligible for the prize, which has become an honor for outside-the-mainstream artists, albums must have been released between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004 and must not have been certified gold (for sales of more than 500,000 units) at the time of the nomination (see [article id="1489842"]"John Mayer, Chris Carrabba, ?uestlove, Norah Jones Sign On For Shortlist Prize"[/article]).

More than half of the nominees included in this year's Long List are from independent record labels, while 15 nominees hail from the U.K. The list also includes artists from 11 countries, including France (Phoenix, Air), Australia (the Sleepy Jackson), Mexico (Café Tacuba), Japan (Melt Banana) and Ireland (Simple Kid).

As interesting as the list itself are details about which Listmaker nominated which records. Norah Jones nominated albums by Devendra Banhart and Loretta Lynn. John Mayer tapped quirky singer Nellie McKay, while Serj Tankian chose Cape Verdean vocalist Cesaria Evora. Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson went for the innovative rock sounds of Wilco and TV on the Radio.

Also on the list are veterans David Bowie and Neil Young, as well as comparative newcomers Jem, the Fiery Furnaces, the Secret Machines and Iron & Wine. The final solo album from the late Clash singer Joe Strummer is also nominated.

MTV2, the project's television sponsor for the third year, will air a special including concert footage from the awards ceremony, while XM Satellite Radio, this year's radio sponsor, will award the winner with a check for $10,000:.

The winner of the prize -- which went to singer/songwriter Damien Rice for his album O last year, to N.E.R.D. in 2002, and to Sigur Rós in 2001 -- will be announced during a multi-artist concert at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on November 10.

The 2004 "Long List," according to the Shortlist Organization:

• TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes