andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Forming a band in Canada is kind of like raising a barn. You send word to the neighbourhood, calling for all the essential tools, and on production day, whoever wants to lend a hand can get in on the project.

It happened with Broken Social Scene, as Toronto’s indie scene amalgamated into a pre-emptive supergroup of some of the country’s best songwriters. And just when fans began getting comfortable with the lineup, BSS parted ways to take on this century’s music industry from all angles. Emily Haines became Metric, Feist went solo, a large contingent became Stars, and the rest split their separate ways forming Do Make Say Think, Apostle of Hustle, The Weakerthans, Land of Talk and so forth.

Silver Starling made their public debut in 2009, yet another offspring of the ever-expanding aftermath. Founded in Montreal by Marcus Pacquin (who helped in the studios of both Stars and Arcade Fire) and Liam O’Neil (originally of Young Galaxy), Silver Starling was only supposed to be a two-man affair at first. But then Pacquin’s wife, Marika Anthony-Shaw, got in on the deal adding a unique touch of strings (viola, specifically) during breaks from touring with Arcade Fire herself. As the songs began calling for a rhythm section, more musicians were called upon, and soon Gab Lambert (of Marathon) and Peter X (of We are Star 69) gained permanent standing.

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Canadians: Want a quick 20 grand? Make an amazing album.

The Polaris Prize awards $20,000 to the Canadian artist or group that creates the best album of the year, based solely on artistic merit. Sales don’t count, marketing doesn’t count. The ten nominees – Elliot Brood, Fucked Up, Great Lake Swimmers, Hey Rosetta!, K’Naan, Metric, Joel Plaskett, Malajube, Patrick Watson, and Chad Vangaalen – all attended and performed at the Polaris Prize Gala, so I made sure to snag a few interviews before the award was given out.

The winner of the $20,000 prize? Well, check out the video and I’ll tell you.

Aux Music television is making their official television debut on October 1st with the Canadian premiere of Radiohead: From the Basement. The debut will preview what to look forward to in Aux programming: a celebration of domestic and international talent. Aux was launched in November 2008, and is the self-proclaimed, “Face of thriving music culture.” It contains a diverse, progressive selection of musical content. Radiohead: From The Basement focuses on the work of legendary musical act Radiohead as they perform live in the intimate studio basement of music producer and sound engineer, Nigel Godrich. The special performance includes music from the band’s final breakthrough album, In Rainbows, along with several other popular songs.

At 9: 30 p.m. EST, Aux will screen a preview of the new original series, AUX live, which will feature live performances from talented Canadian artists like The Stills and K’naan.
Raja Khanna, Founder & President of AUX, said that viewers tuning into to AUX will get their fix of tested musical acts like Radiohead and Billy Talent, along with new and upcoming artists like Grand Analog, Ohbijou, and Still Life Still. “Our roster of launch weekend programming sets the tone for everything to come,” says Khanna. Aux will also feature the film Dead Man Walking on Saturday, October 3 at 9 p.m. The 1995 cult classic directed by Jim Jarmusch, features Johnny Depp and Iggy Pop in the story summarized in the Aux press release as, “An accountant who embarks on a bloody journey through a twisted version of the American Old West.”

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Move aside indie-rock. This year’s Polaris Music Prize winners are a little different from the average Canadian alternative style. Toronto hardcore band Fucked Up took this year’s $20,000 award for the best Canadian album of the year on Monday, according to The Globe and Mail.

The band’s album, “The Chemistry of Common Life,” beat out nine other finalists including Metric, K’Naan, Joel Plaskett, and Great Lake Swimmers.

The Polaris Prize is an award decided by a jury made up of Canadian journalists, bloggers, broadcasters and programmers. The jury is determined by the Polaris Board of Directors and is made up of 185 members from both the local and national media.

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