& then there were

Similar to this & this, it was about time Canada created an award for best album based on pure "artistic merit."

This past week, the Polaris Music Prize has announced its short list (10 albums narrowed down from 40). The judging system is pretty hep, involving a 178-person jury of qualified music journalists (none of whom have financial ties to nominated artists) each submitting a top 5 list, which ultimately becomes the short list. During the Polaris Awards gala held late September, a further 11-member Grand Jury tapers this list to one final winner.

A glance at the 40 album long list gives a fairly accurate portrait of an indie music blogger's "Best of 2008" playlist. But then again, I'm not complaining.

The "difficulty" of a vague selection criteria such as musical merit is fairly obvious - I can't begin to confidently predict a winner. I'd like to see Holy Fuck up there, although the ever-nostalgic Stars would come as a personal victory (haters to the left).

The 2008 short list:

Black Mountain – In The Future
Plants And Animals – Parc Avenue
Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling
Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
Caribou – Andorra Shad – The Old Prince
Kathleen Edwards – Asking For Flowers
Two Hours Traffic – Little Jabs
Holy Fuck – LP
The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour

Past winners include Patrick Watson (Close to Paradise) & Final Fantasy (He Poos Clouds).

Lovely Allen - Holy Fuck
Jezebel - Two Hours Traffic
Personal - Stars