The latest honor for Pittsburgh mashup artist Girl Talk is a place on the Shortlist with the likes of Tom Waits and Cat Power.

Girl Talk's breakout CD, "Night Ripper," is one of 10 finalists for the sixth annual Shortlist Music Prize, awarded to the best record with sales below 500,000 units. Past winners include Sigur Ros, NERD, Damien Rice, TV on the Radio and Sufjan Stevens.

"Night Ripper," a musical collage that samples more than 200 songs, from Elton John to Biggie Smalls, is nominated along with 2006 releases by Band of Horses, Beirut, Bonnie Prince Billy, Cat Power, Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, Regina Spektor, Spank Rock and Waits.

The finalists were selected from the initial Long List of 60 albums by a panel, including Franz Ferdinand, KT Tunstall, Sufjan Stevens and members of the Killers and Flaming Lips. Making the final 10 meant beating out such critical darlings as the Decemberists, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Belle and Sebastian. The winner will be announced in May. For a sampling of the music, go to www.myspace.com/shortlistofmusic

Girl Talk can be found this weekend at the prestigious Coachella Festival in Los Angeles.

Clarkson tour skips city

The Kelly Clarkson "My December" tour would have been a nice fit for the Post-Gazette Pavilion this summer, but there is no Pittsburgh date on the tour schedule.

The original "American Idol" winner begins her run on July 7 with the historic Live Earth Show at Giants Stadium, and then heads west after that.

Dates close to Pittsburgh: Cleveland (Aug. 14), Philadelphia (Aug. 16), Washington, (Aug. 19).

(Scott Mervis)

Musical money men

Paul McCartney is ranked third in an annual list of Britain's richest musical figures, with a fortune estimated at $1.4 billion.

The Sunday Times' annual Rich List said the former Beatle's fortune was down $200 million from last year because of the estimated cost of his upcoming divorce from Heather Mills.

Clive Calder, the former Zomba records label boss whose acts included Britney Spears and 'N Sync, was at the top of the music list, with a fortune estimated at $2.6 billion. Andrew Lloyd Webber was in second place at $1.5 billion.

(Associated Press)