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Paedantic Basterd · 09-08-2011, 12:21 PM

Pedestrian's Polaris Prize Coverage 2011

As a proud Canadian and fan of music, I care about the musical output of my native land. Well, I try to. It's no secret that Canada has a long standing history of producing more complete waste than it does nuggets of gold, but in a way that makes this a much easier task.

The Polaris Prize was established in 2006 as Canada's response to the United Kingdom's Mercury Prize, to acknowledge independent musicians and artistic drive annually. The Polaris Prize has a history of recognizing some of my favourite albums and artists, including Arcade Fire, Owen Pallett, and Caribou, as the best that Canada has to offer.

It's only natural then, that after years of admiring the music and following the Polaris Prize, that I should finally commit myself not only to viewing the ceremony, but to familiarizing myself with the long and shortlist of nominees. Starting with the shortlist (anticipating time constraints as the awards are Sept. 19th) I am going to enjoy and evaluate all that the 2011 Polaris has to offer. Bolded are the selections I've already visited during this personal challenge.

THE SHORTLIST:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Austra - Feel it Break
Destroyer - Kaputt
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges
The Weeknd - House of Balloons
Braids - Native Speaker
Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer
Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
Galaxie - Tigre et Diesel
Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin' on

Native Speaker is a pretty good neo-psychedelia album, but I think Gang Gang Dance has done the same thing better this year. I do love the album artwork though, I'm big on the colour and texture of it. The vocalist reminds me of some sort of Bjork and singer-I-can't-put-my-finger-on lovechild. If anybody figures that out let me know because these things bother me.

The Suburbs was a complete disappointment for me when it first came out, and to be honest I've only heard it the one time (because I have higher musical priorities), but I do expect it to win the Polaris this year. Personally, I found it repetitive and melodically dull, but it's conquered the Grammys and the Junos, so I expect it to take the Polaris as well. If the Polaris had been around in 2004, I think Funeral would have taken it, and Neon Bible just missed to some other album in 2007, so it's probably time Arcade Fire won. I wouldn't be too fussed about that.

Kaputt was a really pleasant surprise this year, because I've hated the rest of Dan Bejar's work and I really didn't think I was going to like this, but I did. I mean, I even thought unfailingly that his trio of New Pornographers songs were the worst three songs on each New Pornos album. I'm always happy to be proved wrong, and I'd like to see him take the prize.

Tigre et Diesel is probably one of the less interesting albums that I've heard on the list yet, and that's not to say that it's bad, just inconsistently good. It's got quite a fuzzy dance style to it, and I appreciate the fact that it's French Canadian. I wish I had better knowledge of francophone music.

New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges is my least favourite album on this list, and I think it may only be there because the jury felt there was too much Pitchfork indie on the list and it needed a bit of avant garde. New History Warfare is pretty much Steve Reich's Different Trains on saxophone, and I don't think it was accomplished as well, though I do admire the live recording/looping techniques used on it.

Feel it Break might actually be my favourite for the prize. It's nothing particularly ground breaking, but it is quite good electropop. Think the Knife without the pitch shifter. I don't see this taking home the prize though, sadly.

09-08-2011, 12:21 PM	#69 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Pedestrian's Polaris Prize Coverage 2011 As a proud Canadian and fan of music, I care about the musical output of my native land. Well, I try to. It's no secret that Canada has a long standing history of producing more complete waste than it does nuggets of gold, but in a way that makes this a much easier task. The Polaris Prize was established in 2006 as Canada's response to the United Kingdom's Mercury Prize, to acknowledge independent musicians and artistic drive annually. The Polaris Prize has a history of recognizing some of my favourite albums and artists, including Arcade Fire, Owen Pallett, and Caribou, as the best that Canada has to offer. It's only natural then, that after years of admiring the music and following the Polaris Prize, that I should finally commit myself not only to viewing the ceremony, but to familiarizing myself with the long and shortlist of nominees. Starting with the shortlist (anticipating time constraints as the awards are Sept. 19th) I am going to enjoy and evaluate all that the 2011 Polaris has to offer. Bolded are the selections I've already visited during this personal challenge. THE SHORTLIST: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Austra - Feel it Break Destroyer - Kaputt Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges The Weeknd - House of Balloons Braids - Native Speaker Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer Hey Rosetta! - Seeds Galaxie - Tigre et Diesel Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin' on Native Speaker is a pretty good neo-psychedelia album, but I think Gang Gang Dance has done the same thing better this year. I do love the album artwork though, I'm big on the colour and texture of it. The vocalist reminds me of some sort of Bjork and singer-I-can't-put-my-finger-on lovechild. If anybody figures that out let me know because these things bother me. The Suburbs was a complete disappointment for me when it first came out, and to be honest I've only heard it the one time (because I have higher musical priorities), but I do expect it to win the Polaris this year. Personally, I found it repetitive and melodically dull, but it's conquered the Grammys and the Junos, so I expect it to take the Polaris as well. If the Polaris had been around in 2004, I think Funeral would have taken it, and Neon Bible just missed to some other album in 2007, so it's probably time Arcade Fire won. I wouldn't be too fussed about that. Kaputt was a really pleasant surprise this year, because I've hated the rest of Dan Bejar's work and I really didn't think I was going to like this, but I did. I mean, I even thought unfailingly that his trio of New Pornographers songs were the worst three songs on each New Pornos album. I'm always happy to be proved wrong, and I'd like to see him take the prize. Tigre et Diesel is probably one of the less interesting albums that I've heard on the list yet, and that's not to say that it's bad, just inconsistently good. It's got quite a fuzzy dance style to it, and I appreciate the fact that it's French Canadian. I wish I had better knowledge of francophone music. New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges is my least favourite album on this list, and I think it may only be there because the jury felt there was too much Pitchfork indie on the list and it needed a bit of avant garde. New History Warfare is pretty much Steve Reich's Different Trains on saxophone, and I don't think it was accomplished as well, though I do admire the live recording/looping techniques used on it. Feel it Break might actually be my favourite for the prize. It's nothing particularly ground breaking, but it is quite good electropop. Think the Knife without the pitch shifter. I don't see this taking home the prize though, sadly.