The shortlist was released last week and with all the vacation/moving stuff I haven't reflected on such events. I guessed 7 of the 10 correctly, and did not hear the other 3. As stated previously I think this year should mark diversity in genre (so Fucked Up's hardcore and K'Naan's hip-hop have the edge). So some quick thoughts on each:
* Elliott Brood Mountain Meadows Haven't heard
* Fucked Up The Chemistry of Common Life A little too hardcore for my tastes, but still my odds on favorite to win, and maybe get an album of the year Grammy. It is amazingly raw and edgy, plus these guys are in a league of their own in entertainment. They performed on MTV Canada in the men's restroom, and DESTROYED IT!
* Great Lake Swimmers Lost Channels Good, but some of the songs are a little weak, though "Pulling on a Line" is magnificent.
* Hey Rosetta! Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood) A really solid album, but like GLS above, just not strong enough in "artistic merit" the main criteria.
* K'naan Troubadour Maybe the best hip-hop album this decade, even if it is a tad over produced and falls back on some major guest spots.
* Malajube Labyrinthes A solid album, though a bit too in the electronic vein to win, plus I can only stand hearing "Quand tu regardes" so many times. Though its critique of Catholicism in Quebec is an interesting subject for a concept album.
* Metric Fantasies Call this my dark horse. It has been getting lots of good press all of the world, and I gave it a listen again. This one definitely grows on you, and may benefit from the drawn out process. "Help, I'm Alive" "Sick Muse" and "Gold Guns Girls" alone put in it competition (though the rhyme structure of "Stadium Love" overshadows its power). It may be to radio-friendly/mainstream to win however. If "Waves" wasn't a B-side this would easily win.
* Joel Plaskett Three Haven't heard
* Chad VanGaalen Soft Airplane Haven't heard
* Patrick Watson Wooden Arms Good, but not great. Not better than "Close to Paradise" which won him the prize in 2007. He set his own personal bar quite high. Plus I don't think an award in its fourth is ready for a repeat, even if they did just shortlist artists for the second time this year (6 of them too)
In other news, I have been spending a lot of time with the Silence Destroyer, my 6-string devil, I'll post my list of songs I learned. I'll also get around to captioning those 80/35 pics and writing a note about it...probably during airport downtime. And maybe putting some of the 150 videos from other concerts this year on my youtube. I passed 300K views recently!
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