Pitchfork

Time is running out if you were planning to use various pseudonyms to stuff the PLUG Awards online ballot boxes with votes for Sally Shapiro as Female Artist of the Year (not that anyone I know would do such a thing). The polls close February 8!

Which means it's high time to get excited about the upcoming PLUG ceremony for the handing out of award-stuffs. As hosts and guest performers are concerned, this year's festivities-- which go down March 6 at Terminal 5 in New York City, as you know-- more or less follow the winning example laid out by last year's festivities.

You have your veteran act and Impact Award recipient: last year it was Stephen Malkmus, this year it's Nick Cave, who'll perform with the Bad Seeds. You have your indie parvenus, here represented by St. Vincent and José González. You have your token hip-hop act: Dizzee Rascal.

And of course you have your funny-guy host, drawn from the upper echelons of indie comedy. In 2007 it was David Cross; for 2008, say hello to (the much funnier, IMO) Patton Oswalt.

Which is all to say this should add up to an excellent cavalcade of indie-sized delights. Will Battles and Of Montreal capitalize on all the nominations? Will Vampire Weekend sweep the whole damn thing on write-in votes? Will there be an upset in the category of Female Artist of the Year involving a certain Swedish disco princess?? Consider our breath bated.

And in the interest of full disclosure, we should remind you that several Pitchfork staffers were involved in the PLUG nomination process.