I’ve been cruising around reading the other blog posts about the Polaris Short List, and there is definitely a common theme when it comes to Metric. While everyone seems to agree that Fantasies is a great album, Metric remain the black sheep of the Short List, regarded overall as too successful to deserve the Prize & associated loot. I don’t disagree with the reasoning, but I have the same feeling about Metric for another bag of reasons.

I’ve worked in the Canadian music industry for about 6 or 7 years – just about the same length of time that Metric has been putting out albums and playing shows. In that time I’ve crossed paths with the band on a few occasions, and each time they have presented themselves as ungrateful and demanding (incidentally, I would say the opposite of the team who work with them). I’m actually a fan of the band’s music – they are tremendously talented musicians who put on a hell of a live show – and if they were different to work with I might be more apt to say so. It’s been my experience that Metric seem to have no problem biting the hand that feeds, and for that reason alone I hope to see the recipient(s) of the prize be one who will truly appreciate and respect the honour that is being bestowed upon them.

mp3: Metric – Help I’m Alive

Three is one of the most ambitious projects I’ve come across in a long time. Even the Beatles weren’t sure that the ‘White Album’ wasn’t too long. In my opinion a great album can never be too long and Three is, indeed, a great album. In 27 songs I never feel like the focus is lost or that quality was compromised in order to achieve the desired concept.

Joel Plaskett is always pigeonholed into an ‘East Coast rock’ bucket, and I think undeservedly so. He brings together folk, country and pop quite beautifully, and with the surge of alt-country/folk rock artists internationally, I’m not quite sure why Joel hasn’t been allowed to “cross over.” I hope this second nomination (first being with the Emergency in 2007 for Ashtray Rock) helps to break him out of the typecast that, perhaps, holds him back from more mainstream success in our fine nation.

C’mon, even Perez equates Mr. Plaskett to The Boss rather than the region he grew up in.

mp3: Joel Plaskett – You Let Me Down