Tanya Tagaq wins Polaris Prize

The gala was a total shit show, I turned it off after about 30 minutes. The performances I watched weren't great and the host was awful.

Here's something nice though - Tanya Tagaq won the prize. Check this out, it's mind blowing.

There is a nice wrap on blogto. Great piece.

2014 Polaris Short List announced

List here.

I see a list like this and I think - how could it be anything but Arcade Fire? Then they go and pick something else entirely. I dunno. It's one of the best records of the past few years. I'll have to listen to the bunch of them again or for the first time and compare, but it's a tall order.

Feist takes Polaris

Expect the unexpected, I guess.

Feist was a good pick. I wonder if the jury will feel the need to go with a less well known act next year on account of picking two huge, internationally known artists in a row?

Baseless Polaris Prize speculation

With the Polaris Prize announcement coming a week from now, I thought I would go for some wild and baseless speculation. I have only heard five of these albums in their entirety, but let's break down this year's list for some likely totally erroneous guesses at who might have a chance to win this year's prize.

The gala will be streamed live on Muchmusic.com on September 24th at 8pm

Here's the nominee shortlist:

• Cadence Weapon – Hope In Dirt City
• Cold Specks – I Predict A Graceful Expulsion
• Drake – Take Care
• Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur
• Feist – Metals
• Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
• Grimes – Visions
• Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital
• Japandroids – Celebration Rock
• YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN – YT//ST

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If I'm on the jury, I would take the following into account:

No hip-hop record has ever won the prize.

No artist has won the prize twice.

No female artist has ever won the prize.

Last year's winner, Arcade Fire, could be considered a pretty big act compared to its fellow nominees. This may cause the jury to favour more 'indie' artists. However, the fact that Arcade Fire won at all was a surprise, in my opinion, considering they had recently won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

The jury is not afraid to go with an unexpected or underdog choice (Karkwa, Final Fantasy).

Past winners have been pretty much split between Toronto (and area) and Montreal (and area).

Adventurous musicality seems to be rewarded.

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Considering all this, here's what I'm thinking. Since I haven't heard all the albums fully, and simply for the purposes of this possibly foolhardy exercise, I will assume that they are at least perceived to have equal artistic merit:

Good bets to win: Cadence Weapon (genre, geography), Cold Specks (relatively unknown artist, female)

Could go either way/I'm not sure: Handsome Furs, Japandroids, Grimes, YT//ST

Unlikely to win: Fucked Up (previous winner), Feist, Drake (pretty big artists), Kathleen Edwards (perhaps not 'cutting-edge' enough)

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Welp, there you go. Totally uneducated, wild guesses.

Thoughts?

Finally got my hands on Galaxie's Tigre et Diesel album

I love this stuff - raging electro power pop. And it's French. I can definitely see why this was nominated for the most recent Polaris Prize... definitely check out this album...

Austra's Feel It Break

The band Austra has been getting a lot of press lately, appearing on a bunch of Canadian 'best of' lists for 2011. They were also nominated for the Polaris Prize earlier this year.

I don't think this band really deserves all this glowing press. They're pretty good, don't get me wrong, but it's not original or fresh enough to warrant the gushing praise for a relatively new band that hasn't found its own distinctive voice quite yet.

I find at this point, they're taking a lot from Ladytron. I will certainly be following this band as they continue to make music, but I can't agree with what appears to be the popular opinion on this group. I'm sorry I missed out on their recent Toronto performance, cause I imagine them as a performance-first type of band.

From their new album, the track "Lose It" also seems to get the most chatter. I prefer "The Beat and the Pulse", as it's the defining track on the album and contains the lyric from which the album gets its title, Feel It Break. It also has a killer build to through the song to the chorus, and the track just sounds amazing.

Decide for yourself:

Also, I can't decide whether this video is unbelievably precious and pretentious, or just low budget:

I'm going to say a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B.

Braids - Lemonade

I recently picked up this album by Braids from the Toronto Library. After a couple listens, I definitely like what I hear.
Take a listen. I'll have an album review of Native Speaker and a couple other Polaris Prize albums soon.

New Weeknd mixtape

Already! The first one, released earlier this year, is easily on my top albums of the year so far. Supposedly there's a third on the way. The Prince comparisons will probably not slow down if he keeps up this pace of output.

Link here

Polaris 2011 Long list announced

2011 Shortlist

Arcade Fire made the best album, but they've already taken home Grammy hardware this year.  My pick would be outstanding debut from The Weeknd.

I've only heard one other album, Austra's Feel It Break, and let me tell you, I am shocked to see it on the short list.  Long list for sure, but seriously?  I've given the album a couple listens and it feels like B+ Ladytron, and possibly the weakest sounding synth I've ever heard open an album.

So there it is, two months to bone up on the other albums.  The Toronto Public Library has 9 of the 10 albums, so go on, help yourself!  Edit: 8 of 10, but you can get The Weeknd for free on their website

Polaris 2011 long list announced!

Check out the list here

I'm pleasantly surprised to see The Weeknd on there.  Arcade Fire is a no-brainer, but after their Grammy win I think perhaps the judges will defer the prize to someone who could use the promo.  The Polaris board likes to pick out of the blue choices.

Less than three weeks til the short list is announced... feels like I just finished my 2010 shortlist collection!

Late Polaris Prize recap

Good on the judges for picking Karkwa for the 2010 prize. My choices would have been Shad, Dan Mangan, or Radio Radio:



These guys blend English, French, and I believe a flavour of Acadian all into one unique hip hop sound... no word to rhyme it in French? Then use the English word! Brilliant. I was blown away when I heard this song, I thought it was fun and fresh. To be fair, I haven't heard the entire album, but could this group be the missing link between Anglo and Franco Canadian pop?

As for the other nominees... Caribou won last year so it wouldn't be fair (and sooo unCanadian) to give it to him this year, whether he deserves it or not... Owen Pallett already won it... Broken Social Scene doesn't need the buzz and would be the band most likely to receive a backlash from a win...

I don't envy the judges in any year, but it would have been tough as hell with a loaded bill of talent. I think the prize is a good idea, and at least it generates some level of conversation about some of the best rock music Canada, and indeed the world, has to offer.

You can find the entire performance on CBC Radio 3.

The Indie Rock Swindle

Article here about the brief history of the Polaris Prize. Only one week away!

via Daily Swarm

Polaris Prize Shortlist

It's that time of year again. Time to debate about a bunch of albums most of us haven't even had the chance to hear. The 2010 Polaris Prize short list is up!

It's a mix of conservative and way-out-there picks, including a couple of previous shortlisters and even winners... plus the most francophone albums I've ever seen on their shortlist, which is awesome.

Maybe the prize people put Caribou on there so they could award themselves... he won it previously and that cash probably helped him record the new one. Kind of like a return on your investment?

If I had my guess, I'd say it'll be Dan Mangan's Vonnegut inspired album... or one of the francophone groups, just to stay edgy. Then again Shad seems like a cool guy. Jeez I don't know. I guess they're all winners in a way *rolls eyes*

Overall, not the greatest year for Polaris, but these artists will hopefully see a sales spike and really that's what it all comes down to, keeping the industry healthy.

Polaris Prize short list!

My friend Adam tipped me off about the 2009 Polaris Prize Short list. Junior Boys, Wolf Parade, and Japandroids have clearly been robbed, while the mediocre Metric gets a nod. I guess corporate sponsors have their way!

My vote from the bunch goes to Joel, by far, so far. Most of the discs are available at the Toronto Public Library, except for Elliot Brood. Blast.

Snaith wins Polaris; Matt's taste > your taste

As predicted/hoped, Caribou wins the 2008 Polaris Prize.

Amateur video of the proceedings below (even though I just spoiled it for you):





After 2005's The Milk of Human Kindness, it seemed like there was nowhere else to go. How could Dan Snaith pull off another album on such an epic scale? Andorra takes it all to the next level. The sunny 60s pop, the 70s krautrock, and the 80s shoegaze, it all come together in one hell of an album. A great selection this year for the prize.

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Polaris Prize site

Polaris Prize tonight

CBC Arts: Polaris turns spotlight on year's best Canadian pop music albums

"In terms of variety, in terms of genres and styles and intensities, they're 10 very different artistic statements, all very passionate in their own way," prize founder Steve Jordan said.

I surely do not envy the judges, they've got their work cut out for them.

It's really tough to pick from such a diverse group, but my pick would be Caribou's Andorra.

Oh brother

Awesome track from one of this year's Polaris Prize finalists, Shad:

"Brother ft. B & F Kabango"



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Also cool: the very cheeky homage to the Fresh Prince in the video for "The Old Prince Still Lives at Home"

Polaris Short list announced

Sweet article from CBC here.

The Polaris long list had considerably more diversity. If the short list came from the same panel of critics, how did things get so… safe? I can’t fault the Polaris Music Prize for choices made by consensus, but it does make me worry about who makes up that consensus. Maybe it’s time to actively seek out critical minds with more varied tastes.

List of Polaris judges here. Note the wide range of members from major media organizations.

Polaris Long list announced

Is it that time of the year already?

The list of Polaris Prize finalists, Canada's most prestigious indie music award, has been announced. Solid list, but while they're at it, why don't they just nominate the rest of the albums, too?

2008 Polaris Music Prize Long List
(alphabetical)

The Acorn - Glory Hope Mountain
Attack In Black - Marriage
Black Mountain - In The Future
Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow and Blue
Buck 65 - Situation
Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling
Cadence Weapon - Afterparty Babies
Cancer Bats - Hail Destroyer
Caribou - Andorra
City And Colour - Bring Me Your Love
Constantines - Kensington Heights
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams
Fred Eaglesmith - Tinderbox
Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
Christine Fellows - Nevertheless
Gatineau - Gatineau
Hayden - In Field And Town
Veda Hille - This Riot Life
HILOTRONS - Happymatic
Holy Fuck - LP
Islands - Arm's Way
Karkwa - Le volume du vent
Corb Lund - Horse Solider! Horse Soldier!
The New Pornographers - Challengers
Pas Chic Chic - Au Contraire
Sandro Perri - Tiny Mirrors
Plants And Animals - Parc Avenue
Ghislain Poirier - No Ground Under
Protest The Hero - Fortress
Justin Rutledge - Man Descending
Sadies - New Seasons
Shad - The Old Prince
Socalled - Ghetto Blaster
Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
Tegan And Sara - The Con
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band – 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
Two Hours Traffic - Little Jabs
The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
Wintersleep - Welcome To The Night Sky

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Of course, the nominees are all fun and games, but for the third year in a row, Yours Truly has been left off the jury list.

Begin your letter writing campaign here.

Patrick Polaris

Monday night's Polaris party saw Patrick Watson walking away with the big prize of 20 grand and, of course, a boatload of publicity. Good to see the judges picking one of the artists who will receive the greatest benefit from the prize, a tactic which apparently baffled the Pitchfork writers. That news item ultimately serves to prove the whole point of the prize... exporting Canadian artists and giving them wider exposure. Rolling Stone was also surprised, once again proving they just aren't as cutting edge as they once (never?) were.
Let's face it, if Arcade Fire or Feist did win the award, these outlets would be going on and on about the "obvious" choice, and would temper that by mentioning all the hype that these publications themselves had so very little to do with in the first place.

If you haven't done so already, sign up for the CBC Radio 3 podcast. Right away. The current episode is a Polaris Prize gala edition.