Listening your way through the entire Polaris Prize long list can be a daunting task. Many people say they are going to do it; few people actually make it through from start to finish.
But now that the juror selected short list of 10 albums was released on Tuesday, you really have no excuse.
Here’s why you should take the time and listen to and fully digest each of these Canadian music gems:
1) You will, without a doubt, find new music that you can’t get enough of.
According to the Polaris Prize mission statement, albums are selected for demonstrating “the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history.” That means that this list is the best of the best in Canandian music right now. These are the musicians who are pushing musical boundaires, raising the bar for what constitues as quality music and have the talent (not necessarily the record sales) to make music their career.
You know, like what short lister Colin Stetson is doing:
2) These 10 albums may help define what “Canadian music” sounds like
There is something inherently disnticnt about Canadian music. But goshdarnit, trying to pinpoint what makes it distinct is similar to trying to nail down a mosquito. However, since the Polaris Prize launched in 2006 the Prize has become a hallmark for defining Canadian sound and the values Canadians place on creating good sounds that directly reflect a diverse culture. For example, Canadian-born South African singer Zaki Ibrahim pulls influences from many cultures and many musical styles.
3) You will win a whole whack of cool points amongst your friends
Well, D’uh.
4) It’s already causing a controversy
Oh la la! Who doesn’t love a little controversy? The same day the short list was revealed, the LA Times’ music blog Pop & Hiss, essentially called the list racist – saying it “put the ‘white’ in Great White North.” But as senior editor for Exclaim, Stephen Carlick, wrote for the National Post, that is bunch of BS.
“Doing so doesn’t just racially pigeonhole the artists; it makes implications that race is somehow intrinsically linked to music taste, and that music can’t, or doesn’t transcend those lines,” Carlick writes in the article.
And Carlick keeps pointing to the three Aboriginal DJs making up A Tribe Called Red who also made the list, ’cause you know, everything they do is not white.
5) You will be able to sound knowledgeable at parties or shows
See point #3.
You have less than 70 days to make it through a little more than 10 hours (I counted) of good Canadian music. That doesn’t sound like such a daunting task, does it? That works out to about a couple of hours every day for one week straight.
So go out to your favourite local record store and purchase each album (support the arts!) and start listening! It’ll do a body (and your ears) good.