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Polaris People August 24: Black Mountain Surface, Sarah Harmer Picnics

Not to play Captain Countdown too much, but we're now officially one month away from the Polaris Gala — and by extension, one month from figuring out who the winner of the 2012 Polaris Music Prize will be.

In the next few weeks business is really going to pick up around here. This week we <a href = 'http://polarismusicprize.ca/article/458/the-rdio-2012-polaris-record-club-is-here/'>kicked off</a> the Polaris Record Club listening sessions sponsored by Rdio, which we'll keep blasting out over the next four weeks, just like little musical Polaris presents.

Also, we've already announced our special <a href = 'http://polarismusicprize.ca/article/453/polaris-music-prize-peep-show-details-announced-proceeds-to-benefit-musicounts/'>Polaris Peep Show</a> party happening at the Drake Hotel, with its magic dangle of a chance to win yourself a trip to the Gala.

If that's not all, next week we're going to unveil a complete list of all the ways you can potentially get yourself into the Polaris Gala on Sept. 24. Think of it as a cheatsheet for getting into one of the most exclusive music parties in the country.

Still, all this stuff is secondary to the reason why we do this whole thing to begin with — the Polaris People.

The Rdio 2012 Polaris Record Club Is Here

TORONTO, August 20, 2012 – Back for its sophomore year, <a href = 'http://www.rdio.com/people/PolarisMusicPrize/'>Rdio</a> and the Polaris Music Prize have announced the return of the Polaris Record Club! Starting August 21 Canadian, UK and German music fans have the chance to enjoy the music of the 2012 Polaris Music Prize Short List free for a day without a Rdio subscription.

Polaris People August 17: Weird YT//ST Stories, New Feist Stuff

Have you heard about our<strong> Polaris Peep Show </strong>yet?

It's not some creepy burlesque night featuring Fucked Up's Damian Abraham and Polaris founder Steve Jordan in an erotic hula hoop contest (though it <em>could</em> be if you're persuasive).

No, it's more like the pre-party, the during-party, and the after-party that will accompany our big Polaris Gala on September 24. And going to this party just might get you <a href = 'http://polarismusicprize.ca/article/453/polaris-music-prize-peep-show-details-announced-proceeds-to-benefit-musicounts/'>upgraded</a> to the actual Gala.

And the Gala? You're going to want to be there, because this year's Short List is, as Lil Mama says, poppin'.

Let's see what the Polaris People were up to this week:

Polaris People August 10: Grimes' Fashion, Handsome Furs Remembered

Everyone we know has Olympic fever right now and for good reason. Did you see the Canadian women soccer team? Man, that was a rollercoaster ride of emotion.

There's another place where the competition is still pure and genuine. Polarisland.

Our people, the Polaris People, are beyond reproach. Mostly because all they do is make perfect records. Here's what some of them were up to this week:

Our people, the Polaris People, are beyond reproach. Mostly because all they do is make perfect records. Here's what some of them were up to this week:

Polaris People August 3: Kathleen Edwards, Grimes, The Dears, Drake And More

Y'know what's awesome? Free records. Especially cool secret limited edition ones like the Scion Surprise 7" series that we just <a href = 'http://polarismusicprize.ca/article/448/scion-split-7-series-is-here/'>announced</a>.

Even better than records, though, are the artists who make them.

Like the Polaris People — y'know, all the folks nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, past and present — who've been hustling and doing interesting things.

We tracked down what a bunch of said Polaris People got up to this week:

Scion Split 7" Series Is Here!

<strong>Get Free Vinyl And A Chance To Go To The Polaris Gala</strong>

The Polaris Music Prize is pleased to announce the return of the surprise split 7†series, sponsored by <a href = 'http://www.scion.ca/scion/en'>Scion</a>. Purchase any one of the ten 2012 Polaris Music Prize Short List artists' albums (cd or vinyl) at any of the participating retailers (listed below) and you will be given a surprise split 7â€. The instantly collectible unmarked limited edition 7†will feature one Short List artist on each side.

Polaris People July 27: Short List Fantasy Drafts, Pallett Comics, Drake News

The Summer Olympics may be about to kick off in London, England, but the real competition is over here in Polarisland.

After all, the Olympics has things like the One Person Dinghy race and we’ve got the potential for a cosmic showdown between <strong>Fucked Up</strong> and <strong>Drake</strong>. So unless there are random shark attacks in the dinghy races, we know which one’s more interesting.

Don’t believe me? How about the Grammys? They <a href = 'http://www.grammy.com/blogs/drake-feist-make-polaris-short-list'>think </a>we’re important. Or the guys that have done, to the best of our knowledge, the first ever Polaris Music Prize<a href = 'http://winniecooper.net/2012/07/the-only-annual-polaris-prize-short-list-fantasy-draft/'> fantasy draft </a>(<strong>Feist</strong> was selected first overall).

And then there are the actual special people, the Polaris People. Let’s see what they were up to this week.

Polaris People July 20: Fucked Up

You've all heard about the <a href = 'http://polarismusicprize.ca/article/435/the-2012-polaris-music-prize-short-list-is-here/'>recently announced</a> 2012 Short List right? OK, good.

This sexy new Short List has made for mighty busy times here in Polaris People Land. So busy, in fact, that we don't even have the time or space to tell you cool stuff like the fact that<strong> Arcade Fire</strong> have a<a href = 'http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/64914'> new album</a> coming, <strong>Dan Mangan</strong> just <a href = 'http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/07/18/dan-mangan-announces-north-american-tour-vancouver-concert-in-november/'>announced</a> a new tour, <strong>Brendan Canning</strong> is <a href = 'http://exclaim.ca/News/broken_social_scenes_brendan_canning_scores_lindsay_lohan_film'>scoring </a>a Lindsay Lohan film, or <strong>Shad</strong> just put out a <a href = 'http://www.aux.tv/2012/07/shad-samples-milli-vanilli-the-breeders-pm-dawn-and-more-on-new-free-ep/'>kickin'</a> retro mixtape.

I seriously wish we could let you know about stuff like that. But no, right now we need to concentrate on 2012 Short List aftermath.

2012 Short List Fast Facts

Much in the same way that we had a bit of fun hunting down some 2012 Polaris Music Prize Long List <a href = 'http://polarismusicprize.ca/article/418/2012-polaris-long-list-fast-facts/'>fast facts</a>, we also decided to do a bit of nerding out about the <a href = 'http://polarismusicprize.ca/article/435/the-2012-polaris-music-prize-short-list-is-here/'>recently-announced</a> Short List.

So we've compiled some fast facts about the Polaris Music Prize 2012 Short List:

The 2012 Short List Is Here

The 2012 Polaris Short List was announced today (July 17) at The Drake Hotel in Toronto, ON.

Polaris Founder and Executive Director Steve Jordan was pretty excited about the List.

"Our jury is showing an ever growing passion and dedication to reviewing, discussing and advocating their selections. This has resulted in a Short List of records that are musically focused, intense and in some cases highly personal. The process of selecting a winner should prove to be an invigorating challenge for our Grand Jury."