By Russell Baillie

The organisers of the second annual alternative New Zealand music awards have announced their nominations - with some tongue-in-cheek categories such as most astonishing chart placement and most incomprehensible lyric.

The b.net New Zealand Music Awards - which are run by a network of campus radio stations headed by Auckland's bFM - were launched last year as a left-field answer to the mainstream, music industry-oriented New Zealand Music Awards.

This year's contest has 23 categories in which fans can vote.

Voting forms are available at major record stores and the stations from Monday.

A further 11 awards will be decided by a panel of judges.

Acts which feature heavily this year include Salmonella Dub (five nominations), Che Fu (five), HLAH (five), HDU (eight) Shihad (six), Dimmer (four) and King Kapisi (five).

Tellingly, the feelers, the band which dominated at the official New Zealand Music Awards in March, do not appear in any category.

But parts of the music industry itself are up for recognition in categories such as best independent record label, contribution to New Zealand music by a major label, promoter or promotion of a New Zealand tour, and luckiest manager.

This year's prizegiving is at the Mandalay in Newmarket on August 28.