The shortlist for this year's Polaris Prize was announced at the Drake Hotel this morning. The $20,000 prize, established by Steve Jordan and now in its third year, "annually honours, celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music by recognizing, then marketing the albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history, as judged by a panel of selected critics and experts." Last year, it went......

It's May 24 long weekend, and you know what that means: clash of the mega-parties. On Sunday, the Guvernment complex will be hosting Freedom 08. Two-time DJ Mag anointed No. 1 DJ Paul Van Dyk will be rocking the Koolhaus. Electro lovers should not miss Chicago's Felix da Housecat and local favourite Nasty Nav spinning at The Drink. The Guvernment will feature house icons Bad Boy Bill and Erick Morillo. For people that prefer their......

Photo by Sylvain Dumais from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. Old people, prepare to get pissed off. SoundProof Magazine asked a whole bunch of Toronto bloggers—Torontoist's staff included—and asked them to make a list of their favourite Toronto albums ever. The results are in, and though 158 albums got votes (!!), the list is very recent-album heavy: Broken Social Scene's You Forgot it in People shoves some old dude named Neil Young out of the......

"Just take those old records off the shelf, I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself, today's music ain't got..." Oh. Ahem...sorry, just reliving the old days of Fisher-Price rollerskating around the house to Bob Seger (and Joan Jett, if anyone's counting). Did you know that good ol' Bob is in town this week at the ACC? Did anyone know he was still alive and kicking? There are still tickets available for Tuesday, so......

It's a busy music week, this one. There's everything from samba to classical music, so all of you anti-hipsters should be pleased. Most importantly, Torontoist's 'Back to School' Party is this Thursday, and we better see y'all there -- especially you anonymous commenters. You know who you are. As always, if there's a show happening that we haven't listed, let us know in the comments. Recently Announced Oct. 4 - The Long Winters @......

Tsk, tsk. Late two weeks in a row. Someone needs a good spanking. Next week we'll get our act together and put Torontoist before busy schedules and get this puppy out on time. Pinky swear. As always, let us know in the comments section if you're heading to any good shows that we missed. Particularly for this Thursday...we need some hot action that night. Recently Announced Sept. 11 - M Ward @ Mod Club, $16.50......

It was printed right on the tickets, but I guess the gravity of what “DRS 6” meant didn’t sink in until Saturday’s Wolf Parade concert was underway. Arriving with my friends close to seven, the band Holy Fuck was already into their opening set- which was odd, since Frog Eyes was supposed to be the supporting act. Maybe they had just added more acts to the bill, someone suggested. Of course, the fact that members......

Looking to check out some live music this week? Here's your listing of what's happening around the city between July 31 and August 6. In addition, we are now including recently announced shows, so you have no excuse about missing out on ticket opportunities. If you know of any good shows this week that we missed below, let us know in the comments. Feel free to also let us know about upcoming shows that......

Spin Gallery presents the work of James Meija, Chad VanGaalen and Julie Fader with performances by Julie, Brian Borcherdt and Chad and DJ sets by Off The International Radar and Holy Fuck. It all goes down tonight, starting at 7 pm at 1100 Queen Street West. painting entitled "Balloon Mind State" by James Meija......

Canadian Music Week at Lee’s Palace featured smells of raw sewage and stolen equipment. On two separate nights of CMW, Brian Borcherdt from Holy Fuck and Brian Poirier from the FemBots were shocked to find that their gear had vanished. Perhaps the thieving hoodlum(s) created the sewage disaster as a distraction ploy. Please contact the Brians if you have their items or know where their belongings are located. If your name is Brian, Torontoist would......

Clap Your Hands and Say Beans? Torontoist was at the Holy Fuck CD release party on Friday night, purely because of a rumour that Beans - the Jean-Michel Basquiat of the rap game was going to be in attendance. Openers No Dynamics warmed the crowd by playing on the dance floor rather than the stage. Their set wasn't bad but it sounded like the sound board was on autopilot - the keyboards were WAY......

Is or isn't Beans in Toronto tonight? It hasn't been advertised, but listed. He is confirmed for all Holy Fuck shows, but tonight's CD release is a little unclear. Anyone know for sure?......

Calling Beat, Breaks and Culture the Toronto Electronic Music Festival is a bit of a pickle. Supposing the ‘electronic’ refers to the "computer generated visual performance, film and video" and "live Canadian and international electronic artists," there’s still a real gap between the ‘electronic artist’ tag and the highlights Platinum Pied Pipers. Featuring Detroit’s finest rapper/producer Jay Dee, the PPPipers, along with Jean Grae, graffiti art and the film Freestyle, represent the festival’s strong......