Polaris Music Prize

• Return to the main blog page

Better Know a Jury Member #26: Grant Lawrence September 21 2009

Grant Lawrence (Vancouver)
Host, CBC Radio 3
Jury Member Since: 2006

Please share the Top 5 Canadian records you put on your final ballot.

Hey Rosetta! Into Your Lungs...
Joel Plaskett 3
Chad VanGaalen Soft Airplane
Handsome Furs Face Control
Elliott Brood Mountain Meadows

Tell us about your top ranked choice. Why #1?

I love records that are "growers", like a good book or television series, that gets better and better as you get to know the characters and storylines. That's been exactly the case with this record; the characters are the songs, the story lines are the lyrics, and the melodies bound the whole package together. On this album Tim Baker emerges as an excellent songwriter, surrounded by a fantastic band of Newfoundlanders. They're the best band ever from Newfoundland!

Reaction to the Short List: Your most pleasant surprise? Shocked by any omissions?

Well, I can't really complain with four out of five of my picks on the Shortlist! But of course lists are created so people can complain, so I'll say that I think it's a complete outrage that the Handsome Furs didn't make the cut. Some quacks still insist on marginalizing the HF as a Wolf Parade side project, but they've already equalled WPs output for albums, and Dan Boeckner is Canada's strongest male singer by quite a margin. He and his hot wife deserved a spot.

Describe the state of Canadian music in five words:

Canadian rock's true golden age.

Imagine the tables are turned and you are the nominee: What would you do with the $20,000 prize money?

As much as I would love to buy a brand new welded aluminum boat with a hearty
outboard motor for our cabin in Desolation Sound, and maybe a new septic tank
that doesn't smell knock-over disgusting, I'd probably have to take the
smarter turn and use the $20K to pay down my mortgage! I know... SO boring!
Damn! I just lost what little cred I had left as a rock n roll journalist!

Related Link: CBC Radio 3

RT @teganandsara: Home Recordings the bonus album from our vinyl box set is streaming at http://bit.ly/9mrMUN.
Jul 30 2010, 4:26pm from TweetDeck

@nicooooole in @torontoist on @TheSadies awesome summer .
Jul 30 2010, 4:25pm from TweetDeck

Cool. RT @CiTRradio: CRTC policy decision gives Community Radio Fund of Canada $775,000 in funding to support community and campus stations.
Jul 30 2010, 4:01pm from TweetDeck