Quick, Before It Melts.

I looked it up, and Polaris is the name given to a fairly bright star located within one degree of the north celestial pole, in the constellation Ursa Minor... it's also called the North Star.

Polaris is a fitting name then for a Canadian music prize in the style of Britain's Mercury Music Prize. It's Canada's "first monetary prize for a full-length album based solely on artistic merit, without regard to genre or record sales," and is being handed out tomorrow, Monday, September 18, 2006. I've declined commenting on the concept of a music prize on here because I think the debate is too long and complicated. I will say this, however: anything that supports Canadian artists in their home country is welcomed in my books. I just hope our support doesn't always come in the form of a contest.

The nominees for the first Polaris Music Prize are:

Broken Social Scene (Broken Social Scene)
Cadence Weapon (Breaking Kayfabe)
The Deadly Snakes (Porcella)
Final Fantasy (He Poos Clouds)
Sarah Harmer (I'm A Mountain)
K'NAAN (The Dusty Foot Philosopher)
Malajube (Trompe L'oeil)
Metric (Live It Out)
The New Pornographers (Twin Cinema)
Wolf Parade (Apologies To The Queen Mary)

All of them are fine examples of Canada's growing musical presence on the world stage, and honourable in their own right. Still, it's going to be a delicate and precedent-setting decision to give out this award, and regardless of what the web site says, there's more to it than just artistic merit. If you'll permit me to air my two-cents:

Broken Social Scene has the buzz, and the critical love behind them, no doubt. I've heard a lot of people say that BSS winning is a sure thing. The problem is that if they do, the rest of Canada will be rankled that yet another award goes to a very Toronto-centric artist, ignoring the rest of the country. The same goes for The Deadly Snakes, who have the double edged-sword of being from Toronto, and also of having broken up earlier this summer going against them. Would they actually give this prize out to a band that no longer exists?

[MP3] The Deadly Snakes "By Morning It's Gone"

Final Fantasy, love Owen Pallett as much as I do, isn't going to win it, either. If the award had been given out a few years earlier, it would be his for the taking for his debut, Has A Good Home. As it stands, the excellent follow-up, He Poos Clouds, doesn't have the commercial appeal to drive record sales up and generate more interest in the Prize (which, lest we forget, is really what this is all about when it comes down to it).

Malajube have the clout of being in the minority here: they're the only French-singing artists on the list. What better way to introduce a new music prize than by giving it to artists who sing is Canada's other official language? What better way to alienate over 90% of the country's population? Giving the award to Malajube is a very political move, and will stir up more debate and discussion than I think the judges want... or maybe they do. This one's 50/50.

[MP3] Malajube "Montreal -40c"

K'NAAN and Cadence Weapon represent Canada's urban music scene, and, in the case of Cadence Weapon, have the benefit of representing the Edmonton urban music scene (Far from the influence of Toronto). The recent success of k-os and bands like Swollen Members show that Canada's coming into its own as a multi-genre musical commodity. Again, being in the minority gives both these artists the upper hand.

[MP3] Cadence Weapon "Black Hand"

Which brings us to Metric/Wolf Parade/New Pornographers--the alternative pop/rock wing of this year's nominees. With no Arcade Fire to steal the show this year, any of the three have a chance. Their Achilles’ heel? Metric’s album isn't as good as the other two; Wolf Parade's sound and appeal seems limited to a very small population, and most of them are American; The New Pornographers have that provocative band name, and Neko Case, god bless her throat, is actually a Yankee.

That leaves us with Sarah Harmer, good old, safe girl, Sarah Harmer. Her praises are being sung on both sides of the Atlantic, and north and south of the US/Canada border. She has indie cred (as a member of defunct Weeping Tile); she's a woman, but she's not Shania Twain or Celine Dion; she's independent, and a visionary; and a damn fine songwriter; she's all the good things that Canada stands for. Did I mention she was safe?

Who would win if I chose the award? My top three would be New Pornographers, Final Fantasy, and Malajube. My prediction? Sarah Harmer by a nose, edging out Malajube and Cadence Weapon, who will get the consolation prizes (if there is such a thing).

[The Polaris Music Prize official site here]
[Find more mp3s at the Hype Machine!]