Good Day Yellow Birds,

The Polaris Music Prize list of nominees has been rounded down to 10 finalists! I don’t know why I get so excited about this Prize but I really love it. I guess it’s like the Oscars, but for Canadian music. In case you didn’t know, the Polaris Music Prize is awarded annually to the best Canadian album, based purely on artistic merit, and not taking into account album sales or radio play. The winner is awarded 20,000 Canadian dollars. This is the third year of the award. The first one went to Final Fantasy’s He Poos Clouds and last year’s prize went to Patrick Watson’s (or as i call him, P-Wat) Close to Paradise. Two great albums if you ask me. This year, the long list, which contained the likes of Tegan & Sara, Born Ruffians, Islands, the New Pornographers, Hayden and the Acorn, has been rounded down to a list of just 10. There is now only one yellow bird artist remaining in the running!

The nominees for outstanding performance in the land of snow and ice are:

Black Mountain - In The Future (Vancouver, BC)
http://www.myspace.com/blackmountain

Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling (London, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/basiamyspace

Caribou - Andorra (Dundas, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba

Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers (Ottawa, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/kathleenedwards

Holy Fuck - LP (Toronto, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck

Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue (Montreal, QC)
http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals

Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War (Montreal, QC)
http://www.myspace.com/stars

Shad - The Old Prince (London, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/shad

Two Hours Traffic - Little Jabs (Charlottetown, PE)
http://www.myspace.com/twohourstraffic

The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour (Winnipeg, MB)
http://www.myspace.com/theweakerthans

I’m rooting for Basia, Plants & Animals, Caribou or Stars. Who do you think is gonna take it?

On a side note…

Have you seen what Devendra Banhart and Natalie Portman (or as I call them Natavendra) have been up to?

Wild!

Untill next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner