Photograph by David Waldman
Recently, we at Ca Va Cool turned to our crystal ball to foresee the winner of this year’s Polaris Music Prize. In a choice that can be described as coming out of left field, the 2009 Polaris Music Prize has been awarded to Toronto hardcore group Fucked Up for The Chemistry of Common Life.
When the shortlist was released, our general consensus was that Chad VanGaalen was the clear winner, but the grand jury chose to award the $20,000 (CAD) prize to a group that is completely different from previous winners Final Fantasy, Patrick Watson and Caribou. Perhaps giving the award to a band that has twice trashed MTV Canada’s studio by rocking out way too hard is a sign that the panel is becoming more open to new genres. There were several deserving acts on the shortlist, but it’s difficult to argue with this pick. After all, Joel Plaskett could have won.
6 Comments
Strange occurences indeed.
Seems to me like the jury wasn’t happy at all that everyone made a mockery of their shortlist for only noticing established artists, so they picked the exact opposite of the establishment for their winner. No one likes to lose street cred after all, especially not people who consider themselves music afficionados.
Your comment about Joel Plaskett is more than fair, but had the award existed in his prime he would have been a real contender.
By the way, I think you’re the first person to swear on the site. It’s fun, eh?
Fuck.
— Daniel, September 23, 2009Nevermind, after doing a keyword search it turns out we swear all the time.
— Daniel, September 23, 2009It’s not that Joel Plaskett is bad, but the album’s such a stupid, boring concept. 3 discs of nine songs that basically involve him repeating a phrase several times. Possibly three times. While he was 33. Such a chore to get through.
— Kevin Kania, September 23, 2009I LOOOOOOOOOVE THREE.
I don’t like that Fucked Up won, what do they need 20,000 for? They’re pretty huge…
I’m pretty sure Fucked Up could use the money. As much as Pitchfork makes us think bands are the biggest and best selling thing in the world, they’re really not.
Plaskett’s concept was sort of like that Magnetic Field’s album ‘i’ where every track name started with I. Not really a concept at all, but in that case the songs were good. Three blows. He deserved $20,000 for ‘Down at the Kyber’ and ‘Truthfully Truthfully’.
— Daniel, September 24, 2009I believe Fucked Up is putting the money towards a charity recording against crimes involving native women.
— Kevin Kania, September 24, 2009
