You know that feeling you get when your mind is moving in 40 directions at once and you can’t make heads or tails of what it is you need to do, want to do, or very well should do, so you just end up spinning around in circles waiting for the fuel to run out and collapse like a heap on the ground?  yeah, that’s me in a nutshell today.

I thought once I dispensed with the anticipation of the Polaris Prize Long list announcement I could give the whole thing a bit of a rest, but my head’s been in a bit of a tizzy over this list, and I think before I can get back to some proper blogging, I need to vent my thoughts.  First off, let me say that I think it’s a well-rounded list, genre-wise (Jill Barber and Fucked Up in the same group?  that’s pretty diverse).  Geographically speaking, there’s something to be said with the dominance of Toronto and Montreal, but can you blame us for it?  They’re the two biggest cities–musically speaking–in the flippin’ country, so the balance of albums nominated will undoubtedly come from Ontario and Quebec, but I think this is the first year I can remember where Alberta was so well represented.  Small steps, but steps none the less.   The last thing I want to say is:  Leonard Cohen?  Really?  I think the man is an absolute genius and I love him dearly, but a live album of old songs recorded in England isn’t exactly what I would call a defining artistic moment.  A career-encompassing moment of glory, yes, but I didn’t think that the intent of the Polaris Prize was to hand out lifetime achievement awards.  Debate online has determined that the album qualifies under Polaris rules, and I’m kind of impressed that the judges thought so much of it to get it into the top 40, but in my opinion, that’s as far as it goes.  Yeah everybody knows…

(photo: Myspace)

I’ll have more to say about some of the individual nominees in the next few weeks, especially as I get to know some of the albums that are new to me.  One band that didn’t make the list this year was Rock Plaza Central, whose At The Moment Of Our Most Needing, Or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren’t Alone, was in contention.  I will admit that it wasn’t high on my list of considerations, but I’m giving the record a second chance based on some of the praises I’ve read in their defence.  What I am intrigued by is a little slice of dark sinister 80s hair metal that comes in the way of their cover of Van Halen’s “Panama”.  Band leader Chris Eaton is a very literate man, having two critically acclaimed novels under his belt already on top of the band activity, and their take on his rock anthem takes things right down to a slow, methodical and studied pace; it’s controlled and intense, and scary.  To go along with it is a little taste of the Rock Plaza Central album proper.

MP3: Rock Plaza Central “Panama”
MP3: Rock Plaza Central “(Don’t You Believe the Words of) Handsome Men”
Myspace: Rock Plaza Central