Polaris People For The Week Of October 5: Junior Boys' Future, Three Polaris Champs, One Good Cause
We’ve been so focused on our 2012 Short List nominees for so much the last few months that we’ve hardly had any time to check in on the lives of the many, many other charter Polaris People members.
Let’s see what some of them have been up to:
Bad google alert result fodder and 2007 Short Listers Junior Boys recently did an interview with Electronic Beats. The takeway? We may not have an “album” from the band competing for the Polaris any time soon.
Experience 2006 Polaris champion Owen Pallett‘s life as cyber-filtered through Tumblr tags.
Have you ever tried to transcribe 2011 Short Lister Colin Stetson‘s music? You’re not alone. But you’re probably frustrated.
Two-time Polaris person (2011 Short List, 2012 Long List) The Weeknd has just composed a confessional note for his fans. In it he thanks his fans, half explains his new video “Rolling Stone,” and, if you want to take liberties with subtext, pleads that signing to a major label won’t change him.
Two-time Short Lister Chad VanGaalen is working on a full-length animated film feature called Tarboz. The takeaway quote is “It’s kind of like Bob and Doug MacKenzie meets Stanley Kubrick.” Makes total sense.
Arcade Fire, the 2011 Polaris champs, teamed up with Celine Dion recently to do some good to honour Denis Blanchette, a lighting tech who was shot and killed at the Parti Quebecois’ victory party the night of the Quebec provincial elections. They weren’t the only past title-holders involved in the evening, though. 2007 champ Patrick Watson and 2010 champs Karkwa also participated. To read a recap, go HERE.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor have never been nominated for a Polaris, though Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band were Long Listed in 2008, so that’s excuse enough for us to mention their Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! will be coming out on Oct. 16. Polaris 2013 should provide some intrigues if they get nominated.
Katheen Edwards is doing her best to ensure she has the most compelling twitter account amongst the Polaris People. It’s educational: I now know it’s illegal to have sex with a live fish in Minnesota (Note: they didn’t say anything about dead. Loophole!). She also pondered the concept of sage green anal bleaching. Good for her.
Now, if we can go back to the actual Polaris Gala that happened on Sept. 24 for a moment, for reasons unknown Gala co-host Grant Lawrence has tracked down “Gary,” the male pole dancer Grimes featured during her performance and suggested where to follow the flexible acrobat on Twitter. Thanks for the sleuthing, Grant.
Meanwhile, over at Maclean’s, 2012 Grand Jurist Michael Barclay gave us a rare look into the actual decision-making process that goes into picking a Polaris winner. Basically, it involves lots of talking and eating, all done in fancy Masonic throne room-type chairs.