Y'know, for the past 10 Album of the Weeks on this show, I've gone through an assessment/ranking system of the 2010 Polaris Music Prize nominees. With the money/prestige all ready to be awarded later tonight, I conclude my Polaris lead-up coverage by presenting a top 10 of where I feel each of the nominated albums will end up on the grand jury's final list. And, in true Q & Hopefully A fashion, I'm looking for your questions for each of the nominees tonight.
As I've said every week, I know there's only one Polaris Music Prize winner each year; there are no other categories or silver and bronze medalists. I am not dumb. But it stands to reason that, in making a final call for who's gonna win, I imagine the jury members must go through the final list and eliminate records from their ballot (or at least their hearts and minds), one at a time. So, over the past couple of months, I put myself in the jury's shoes and ranked each nominee based on a system of the album's rightful and likely rank out of 10, and its strengths and weaknesses. For me, this wasn't purely aesthetic; I looked at each record within the context of what Polaris has awarded in the past and, based on my perceptions, what role it seems to wanna play in the Canadian music biz (i.e. supporting a diverse array of artists for works that may not always get the attention they deserve). So here it is (complete with unrevised contradictions): a linked list to each of my blogs about the respective 2010 Polaris nominees.
1. TSOL by Shad (MY PICK TO WIN TONIGHT)
2. Darker Circles by The Sadies
3. Heartland by Owen Pallett
4. Swim by Caribou
5. Forgiveness Rock Record by Broken Social Scene
6. Les Chemins de Verre by Karkwa
7. Nice, Nice, Very Nice by Dan Mangan
8. The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night by The Besnard Lakes
9. Belmundo Regal by Radio Radio
10. Sainthood by Tegan and Sara
What do you make of my top 10 list? How does your top 10 list for this year's Polaris Music Prize compare to mine? Show me!
If you could ask a Polaris nominee one question about their respective album, what would it be? Post it below and then tune in to our live broadcast tonight at 7 PM EST to hear me ask it and hopefully get an answer.