Polaris Music Prize Rolls Out 2011 Short List

If you think Braids suck, I shudder to think what you actually like.

Start your shuddering then. I am expressing the view that this buzz band is actually not that good.

I also don't like Destroyer and that dumb soft rock record he put out last year, but hey, that's just me.

Also, Arcard Fire is overblown, pretentious stadium rock for rich people (blasphemy!).

Just because somebody doesn't like Braids, Destroyer, or Arcade Fire doesn't mean they like Nickelback. There's a whole world of better indie music out there, and you don't necessarily need to look outside Canada.

Braids does suck. Public Strain should've won.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs = yawn
Austra - Feel It Break = haven't heard
Braids - Native Speaker = sure, why not
Destroyer - Kaputt = hmmm
Galaxie - Tigre et Diesel = haven't heard
Hey Rosetta! - Seeds = yawn
Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer = haven't heard
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges = not for me
Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin' On = see above
The Weeknd - House of Balloons = yay

Drake and Sarah Harmer probably suffered as a result of coming out way back in June. Christine Fellows and Emm Gryner undoubtedly suffered as a result of the fact that critics don't care about them.

I wish that Kollaps Tradixionales by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra was nominated. It is unique compared to all the short listed bands and very powerful. The suburbs is not a bad album at all and I dont see how their success can be seen as a bad thing (stadium rockers? give me a break).

Although I liked "The Suburbs" more than some people here, I don't think it should win the Polaris. It's a decent enough album, but several albums that were as good or better didn't make the longlist at all, and it's not as though Arcade Fire really need the help anyway.

Rather, out of this list I'm definitely pulling for Timber Timbre. Braids didn't actually make much impression on me one way or the other; I neither hated nor loved it. Colin Stetson, I hated everything except the Laurie Anderson song.

"The Polaris is a joke, anyway. If was really about supporting independent artists and their work, this list would be all bands and artists that have never appeared in any national press. This idea of giving it to 'indie' acts that already have an established presence is a farce."

Well, the thing about that is, the Polaris never claimed to support independent artists. The award simply supports Canadian music. Here's the award's mission statement, as taken from its website:
"A not-for-profit organization that honours, celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music. Polaris recognizes and markets albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history. it is is adjudicated by selected music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers."

Granted, the jury bias tends to lean towards independent music, but there are no requirements to do so. It's actually the opposite. Jury members are supposed to ignore sales figures and label affiliations, and just vote for the best albums of the year. The rest is up to the collective tastes of over 200 music geeks from across Canada.

I'm actually annoyed a few of the albums on the original list got eliminated. All in all, I'm disappointed, with the exception of Ron Sexsmith, Timber Timbre, and the Weeknd, it seems as if the Polaris has gone for the more "mainstream" Canadian indie releases.

The irate negativity geared toward these bands seems to be much more pretentious than the actual bands themselves.

dear everyone who is arguing about who made the shortlist:

at least it's not Justin Bieber, Theory of a Deadman or Nickelback. Go fuck yourselves. Polaris is about SUPPORTING MUSIC. Not making people rich or getting them to argue over some anonymous exclaim comment thread that will make them change their minds.

I'm sure all of the listed bands are great people and deserve to win for their own different reasons.