The Polaris Music Prize is awarded each year to the best Canadian album, as determined by a select group of music journalists from across the country. This year’s short list features ten albums spanning a wide range of musical styles and geographical locations. The nominees were announced today in Toronto and the winner will be announced on September 26th. Here is this year’s Polaris Prize short list:
Tegan And Sara – Sainthood
Shad – TSOL
The Sadies – Darker Circles
Radio Radio – Belmundo Regal
Owen Pallet – Heartland
Dan Mangan – Nice, Nice, Very Nice
Karkwa – Les Chemins De Verre
Caribou – Swim
Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
Forget Katy Perry or (shudder) Ke$ha or even Drake; The new N.E.R.D single, “Hot-n-Fun” has got our vote for this year’s summer anthem. With a thumping bass line, insanely catchy rap and guest vocals from Nelly Furtado, it all adds up to one unabashedly dance-y, frothy, sizzling summer tune. Check out the brand new video for “Hot-n-Fun” below and follow the progress of N.E.R.D’s upcoming album over on their official website.
It’s been a busy few months for the members of Broken Social Scene. In addition to a great new album (their first in five years) and a new book, the group is part of a new movie that hits theaters this weekend. Directed by Bruce McDonald and featuring Broken Social Scene at their free 2009 concert in Toronto, the film, titled This Movie is Broken, is billed as a “rock show romance.” Rather than going the traditional “rock documentary” route, the band cast a group of unsung actors to tell the story of a young couple rushing to attend the BSS show. With a breezy script — penned by Don McKellar — and propelled by an anthemic soundtrack — comprised of old favorites, and new songs from the “Forgiveness Rock Record” — the film is perfect for the summer, for the nostalgia and for the music fans wanting to see Broken Social Scene’s cherished songs come to life.
The film is out in select cities now. Check out the trailer below:
We make it a point here at Corduroy to not only introduce you to new faces in every issue, but also to re-acquaint you with a couple of old favorites. Check out these photos of singer Joey McIntyre (shot by our creative director Peter Ash Lee at Artistic Cube in New York a few months back) and then tell us whether or not you’re liking this new look for the “New Kid.”
We interviewed McIntyre for our latest issue of Corduroy, as he arrives at an exciting crossroads for both his personal life and career. With a new solo album out (his fourth original studio disc) and an infant son to look after, there’s a lot to look forward to, and a lot of new decisions to be made. Pick up Issue 7 of Corduroyonline or at your local bookstore to read the full story and to see more photos from the shoot.
Canadian MC Shad’s latest album, “TSOL,” was nominated for the prestigious Canadian Polaris Prize this week. His latest single is called “Rose Garden,” and with its clever wordplay and buzzed-about video (which reportedly which pays homage to the Pharcyde video for “Drop”), it’s poised to take Shad beyond the Canadian hip-hop scene and into the mainstream. Check out the video for “Rose Garden” below.
