The long list of the 2008 Polaris Music Prize has been made public for the first time.

The Polaris jury–made up of 185 music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers across Canada–was asked to list their top five favourite Canadian records released between June 1, 2007 and May 31, 2008. The top 40 artists made the first cut–or the “long list.”

The second round of voting will narrow the 40 artists vying for the $20,000 prize to just 10. That “short list” will be announced on July 7 at the Drake Hotel in Toronto. An 11-member jury will decide the ultimate winner at a Toronto awards ceremony in September.

The annual Polaris Music Prize is given to the Canadian artist who released the best full-length album within the last year. The award is based on artistic merit, not record sales.

The first Polaris Music Prize was given to Final Fantasy for “He Poos Clouds” in 2006. Last year, the award went to Patrick Watson for “Close to Paradise.”

Here are this year’s contenders for the Polaris Music Prize:

* The Acorn — Glory Hope Mountain
* Attack In Black — Marriage
* Black Mountain — In The Future
* Born Ruffians — Red, Yellow & Blue
* Buck 65 — Situation
* Basia Bulat — Oh, My Darling
* Cadence Weapon — Afterparty Babies
* Cancer Bats — Hail Destroyer
* Caribou — Andorra
* City And Colour — Bring Me Your Love
* Constantines — Kensington Heights
* Crystal Castles — Crystal Castles
* Destroyer — Trouble In Dreams
* Fred Eaglesmith — Tinderbox
* Kathleen Edwards — Asking For Flowers
* Christine Fellows — Nevertheless
* Gatineau — Gatineau
* Hayden — In Field & Town
* Veda Hille — This Riot Life
* HILOTRONS — Happymatic
* Holy Fuck — LP
* Islands — Arm’s Way
* Karkwa — Le Volume Du Vent
* Corb Lund — Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!
* The New Pornographers — Challengers
* Pas Chic Chic — Au Contraire
* Sandro Perri — Tiny Mirrors
* Plants And Animals — Parc Avenue
* Ghislain Poirier — No Ground Under
* Protest The Hero — Fortress
* Justin Rutledge — Man Descending
* The Sadies — New Seasons
* Shad — The Old Prince
* Socalled — Ghettoblaster
* Stars — In Our Bedroom After The War
* Tegan And Sara — The Con
* Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra And Tra—La—La Band — 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons
* Two Hours Traffic — Little Jabs
* The Weakerthans — Reunion Tour
* Wintersleep — Welcome To The Night Sky






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