Canada’s prestigious indie music prize awarded; backlash ensues
This Monday the second annual Polaris Music Prize was awarded to Montreal songwriter Patrick Watson and his three-piece backing band for their 2006 release Close to Paradise. Lacking the big-label support of Feist’s Reminder or the sophomore buzz of Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible it wouldn’t be altogether inaccurate to call the Watson album an underdog but to use that term as a pejorative and to accuse the Polaris jury of pinning the blue ribbon on the most obscure nominee is as ignorant as it is rude.
Of course the dark recesses of the information superhighway provide the perfect environment for the percolation of both those qualities which is why it’s no surprise that within hours of the Polaris gala the self-dubbed tastemakers at pitchforkmedia.com posted the particularly asinine headline: “Polaris Prize goes to Arcad— WTF? Patrick Watson?! — We’re as surprised as you are.” Pitchfork writers Amy Phillips and Paul Thompson later mused derisively “Guess Canadians like this guy?”
Well yes Amy and Paul it would appear that Canadians do like this guy. In fact Close to Paradise is an excellent album. Other members of the online indie media have pinched their noses and screamed that it sounds too much like Coldplay but who among us doesn’t secretly wish that band’s output had gotten better instead of worse after Parachutes ? This is an album that evokes memories of the good parts of old Coldplay tunes — don’t deny it there’s that little part of you that’s secretly ashamed (and more than a little happy) every time you hear “Don’t Panic” or “High Speed.”
Of course for a critic to say this album “sounds like Coldplay” is about as intellectually lazy as the Pitchfork staffers’ flippant decision that since they haven’t bothered listening to it it must not be good. In fact Watson’s influences are much more rich and diverse drawing from the entire breadth of the pop music spectrum. Snatches of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon linger where they’re least expected. Vocals that could’ve easily found their way onto M. Ward’s Post War abound. The band even takes a page from the Fiery Furnaces’ Big Book of Effective Use of Backwards Lyrics. Close to Paradise is an exceptional album and extremely deserving of the Polaris Prize.
That said I don’t think the Pitchfork backlash has anything to do with the quality of the winning album. Last year’s Polaris laureate Final Fantasy’s He Poos Clouds was one of that site’s favourites and when it won I’m sure they took it as a tacit acknowledgement of their sprawling influence on the hearts and minds of the “indie” community. What they failed to realize of course was that Final Fantasy would have won the award with or without their endorsement.
In the mind of Pitchfork staffers the possibility that an album they either snubbed or failed to notice might be deserving of such an honour is inconceivable. Their off-the-cuff “WTF” reaction can be likened to that of a spoiled child discovering that contrary to what their parents would have them believe they may not be the centre of the universe.
