Polaris Picks, or, If I Were More Important...

Not familiar with the Polaris Prize? They're like the Grammy's, except Canadian, and the jury is made up of people who like and care about music, and there's only one category, and the winner gets a cash prize. So, in another far more accurate way, they're the opposite of the Grammy's....

Despite being the editor/owner/president of this here prestigious blog I was not selected to the Polaris Jury. I know, I'm shocked too. But, luckily, you all still get to hear my thoughts on the Polaris process through my contribution to the NxEW "shadow polaris prize", which is an idea so good I wish I had thought of it myself and here...

If I were a juror I'd vote for...
Sunparlour Players - Wave North
Why? Because, despite the fact that this isn't the best album, the SPP are easily the best live act in the GTA and they deserve much more recognition than they get...
[mp3] Sunparlour Players - Battle of '77

Bruce Peninsula - A Mountain is a Mouth
Why? Because they are, for lack of a better description, an absolute force of nature, a serious Polaris contender, and the front-runners for album of the year (on the prestigious BM blog)...
[mp3] Bruce Peninsula - Steamroller

Black Hat Brigade - Fathers
Why? I dunno, because I really like it.... you can hear almost all of it (I think) streaming on their myspace...
[mp3] Black Hat Brigade - Zombie City Shake

Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane
Why? Because I'm a front runner, and this has got to be the odds-on favourite for the big prize. Also, its a tremendous, creepy, and terribly haunting singer-songwriter album, which, if selected, will force CVG to leave his basement and play some songs...
[mp3] Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree

Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love
Why? Because, even though I was determined to not like this album, the love-in that is Outside Love is like a hazy weekend that you can't remember, but you know you had a good time...
[mp3] Pink Mountaintops - Axis Thrones of Love

Excellent Albums that Deserve Recognition
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah Going Steady
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck How to Fall Down in Public
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre Timber Timbre

Albums that I haven't listened to enough, are definitely 'Long-List Worthy' and are definitely going to suffer b/c their release date is too close to the end of the Polaris Period.

Ohbijou - Beacons
Hayden - The Place Where We Lived