On Now Magazine's Polaris Whining

Yesterday, Cody posted a link to Now Magazine's rebuke of this year's Polaris Music Prize list.

Yesterday my only comment was "One of the problems with such awards is that there will never be agreement on who should win, or who should be nominated, but I can't think of a better way to do it than having the nation's music critics vote." Which I still stand by. I've also said that one of the problems with any arts awards is that it blurs the line between competitive sports and art, which I also still stand by.

The point I think, if there is one, to something like Polaris is the exposure gained by artists by being nominated. I'm sure the 20k comes in handy but winning doesn't guarantee you much. Yes Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy) has enjoyed increased success for the last year. But how much of that is due to the Polaris prize is debatable.

Anyway, all of this and Now Magazine's bit on it have been running around my brain for about 24 hours now and I think I've finally figured out why. The whole tone of Now's piece is a bit whiny and disingenuous. Tim Perlich who wrote the Now article is on the Polaris jury so writing an article about who should have been on the list sounds an awful lot like whining about why the other jurors didn't agree with your picks. For example, if a Polaris juror were to say "They can start by replacing the current voters with people who listen to more than quirky pop made by middle-class nerds who sing in English and have a national distribution deal." My first guess would be that there are some sour grapes involved. Not to mention the fact that "middle class nerds who sing" or at least speak "in English" are the bread and butter of Now's readership.

Perhaps if he is that bitter about it Perlich himself should step down from the Polaris jury and simply content himself with all the Awards that Now seems to hand out like candy canes at a Christmas parade.