Flipping Channels

Originally, I'd planned on posting my thoughts on this year's Polaris Prize Short List. I'm not sure exactly what I was going to say, but the basic gist of it was going to be that the Short List was about as awful as it possibly could have been, with its sole saving grace being that The Stills didn't make it.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that this wasn't really an appropriate response. After all, it's not like I actually hate any of the albums. Apart from Elliott Brood's Mountain Meadows, I can't say I like any of them, but none of the albums are sufficiently awful or rage-inducing that I'm able to work myself into some sort of anti-Polaris lather. I suppose that if I really wanted to get angry, I could think about the fact that a solid collection of singles managed to make the Short List of a prize supposedly designed to celebrate the full-length album as art form, but somehow not even Metric's inclusion seems like it matters enough to get worked up.

And really, that says all you need to know about the Short List. It's safe. It's predictable. It's tasteful. It's comfortable. It has Fucked Up on it, true, but you get the feeling that they largely made it through because Polaris jury members -- or at least the overwhelming majority of the jury that makes a little via old/traditional media -- generally have the mindsets of 12-year-olds, and they get a little thrill every time they get to include the word "Fucked" in their copy (or, better still, show how hip they are by being outraged when their particular media outlet censors it with some variation of "F*cked" or "F'ed" or whatever). Apart from that, every single artist would fit right in on any AAA chart. If you're looking for music that's slightly above-average -- not so much so that it could generate controversy and make you have to think about whether or why you like it, mind you, but just enough that it inspires the general consensus that the album in question is "good", whatever that means -- then this is the Short List for you.

In fact, if you're looking for music that really encapsulates the feel of this year's Short List in all its milquetoast glory, the songs below seem entirely appropriate. They're from Great Lake Swimmers' CBC Radio 3 session in support of the now-nominated Lost Channels, and they're...well, they are what they are, which is to say that it's exactly what you should expect from Great Lake Swimmers by now. It's Tony Dekker singing softly over gentle folk-rock, and sounding pleasantly inoffensive while doing so. It's not going to shock you or make you rethink your perceptions of the band, and like every other album on the Short List, it'll leave you feeling contented in your decision to continue enjoying a band that you've always liked.

1. Palmistry
2. Everything is Moving so Fast
3. Pulling on a Line
4. Song for the Angels
5. New Light
6. The Chorus in the Underground

Enjoy!

(And for the record, I'm almost certain that Chad VanGaalen is going to win for Soft Airplane, and thus keep the Prize safely in the hands of artsy solo white males.)