Top 20 battle it out

Maitreya is one of the young contenders for the Silver Scroll. Photo/ Supplied

The Twenty songs up for the country's top songwriting award have been announced and there is a noticeable absence of New Zealand music's old guard on the list.

Dave Dobbyn, who has won the Apra Silver Scroll three times before, is nominated for Howling at the Moon, along with indie stalwart Shayne Carter for Degrees of Existence, off his new album of the same name. But of the senior club, that's about it.

The list is dominated by musicians who made a name for themselves in the 2000s, such as Elemeno P, Sola Rosa, and Minuit, and young up-and-coming bands like local current chart-topping rockers Midnight Youth.

Also among the nominations are previous winners Nesian Mystik, Evermore, and P-Money (who won a scroll in 2004 for his work with Scribe on Not Many) for Everything, along with noisy pop-rock brats the Mint Chicks for I Can't Stop Being Foolish.

The 20 songs for this year's Silver Scrolls, which has been won by some of New Zealand's top artists, including Bic Runga, Don McGlashan and Neil Finn since it started in 1965, were selected by a panel of anonymous judges. Now the members of Apra, made up of more than 7000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, will vote on a shortlist of five.

The final five songs will be announced on August 10, with the awards ceremony to be held at the Christchurch Town Hall on September 17.

On the awards night, each song is performed by a different artist or band who are given free licence to interpret the song however they like.

You can listen to all 20 songs at www.apra.co.nz.

THE TOP 20

APPLE PIE BED - Lawrence Arabia (James Milne and Luke Buda)

CLOSER TO HOME -Autozamm (Oliver Gordon, Nick Major, Michael Carpinter, Stephen Small and Jasper De Roos)

DANCING ON THE MOON -Phil Madsen (written by Phil Madsen)

DEGREES OF EXISTENCE - Dimmer (Shayne Carter)

EVERYTHING - P-Money feat. Vince Harder(Peter Wadams, Sam Hansen, Vince Harder)

HEY BOYS AND GIRLS - Evermore (Dann Hume & Jon Hume)

HOWLING AT THE MOON - Dave Dobbyn (Dave Dobbyn)

I CAN'T STOP BEING FOOLISH -The Mint Chicks (Kody Nielson & Ruban Nielson

ISLAND -Jess Chambers (Jess Chambers)

JANUARY'S WELL - Reb Fountain (Reb Fountain)

LOTALUV - Maitreya (Jamie Greenslade)

LOUDER LOUDER -Elemeno P (Dave Gibson & Justyn Pilbrow)

MR MISTA - Nesian Mystik (David Atai, Te Awanui Reeder, Donald McNulty, Heath Manukau, Junior Rikiau, Feleti Strickson-Pua & Che Ness)

OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK - Motocade (Eden Mulholland)

ON MY MIND - Luger Boa (James Christmas & Barry Palmer)

SILENCES & DISTANCES - Fur Patrol (Julia Deans, Andrew Bain, Simon Braxton)

THE LETTER - Midnight Youth (Jeremy Redmore, Simon Oscroft, Matthew Warman, Aidan Bartlett, Nick Campbell)

TURN AROUND - Sola Rosa (Andrew Spraggon and Iva Lamkum)

VAMPIRES - The Dukes (Matt Barus)

WAYHO - Minuit (Ruth Carr, Paul Dodge, Ryan Beehre)