This Monday, September 24, the winner of the second-annual Polaris Prize will be announced at a gala event at the Phoenix. There will be stars, musical performances, free food and drink, and, unfortunately, you are probably not invited. Given to the best Canadian album of the past year, and awarded solely on artistic merit, the $20,000 prize is getting handed to someone (probably Feist) at a media and invite-only event. (Torontoist was graciously invited, but......

Photo of Cadence Weapon by David Topping. Earlier this afternoon in the Drake Sky Yard, the shortlist for this year's Polaris Prize was announced. Established by Steve Jordan last year, the $20,000 prize "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......

"Do you trust your friends? Would you let them redecorate your apartment, or do your homework for you? Would you let them buy your groceries? Would you leave them in charge of your kids? And if you did, what would they change?" So reads the beginning of the liner notes from Do You Trust Your Friends?, the album of remixes and reimaginings of songs from Stars' Set Yourself On Fire, now out on Arts &......

Being in a band isn't all glamour and sexy stage moves. One of the big disadvantages of the musician's life is that people are always stealing your stuff. Sometimes it's a crumb bum nicking a guitar for a quick buck down at the pawnshop. Other times, it's a fan hoping to grab a little piece of the magic. (Guitarist Steve Jones claims to have started the Sex Pistols with instruments plundered from Roxy Music's van—and......

We're a little late with this week's music listing--blame the election! Er, okay, maybe someone just got immersed in learning a bit of Flash and let it slip. It won't happen again. If you're looking for some local flavour, you've got a few really good choices this week, including Melissa McClelland, Ohbijou, Elliott Brood, and the Great Lake Swimmers. All highly recommended, particularly Melissa--her voice is like honey. On the not-so-local side, Axl Rose......

If you're not completely burnt out from Nuit Blanche, there are plenty of quality shows to check out this week, including Joanna Newsom, Massive Attack, and Myspace darling Lily Allen. Alternatively, you Hip fans can skip out on the live music this week and save up your change for all four (yes, FOUR) of the recently announced shows at the Phoenix a few weeks from now. Can Gord Downie and pals really justify the......

This fall is shaping up to be a busy one, as everyone and their dog seems to be touring right now. If you haven't spent all of your OSAP money yet, might want to stash away a few pennies for some concert tix. However, if you've already blown your student loan on cheap beer and (even cheaper) Ikea furniture, take comfort in the fact that you can visit your local public library to catch......

Just about one year after the last major Toronto (areaish) concert, Richard Branson announced that the Toronto Islands will host the Virgin Festival over a weekend in early September. This is the first time the Virgin Festival crosses the pond outside the UK. Note that this is the first time that Centre Island will be closed to the public. Just like Live8, this concert is being put on to raise awareness... for "Make Rogers History."......

No wonder The Dears are so mopey -- they've been touring the world for a solid two and a half years (!!), promoting the same damn album. And still with that CD, No Cities Left, is a brand new (after a few stutters, out today till the 17th) video for "22: The Death of Romance." The vid is animation and concert footage created by fellow Montreal Kinoceros. Also of note, Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde......

Japan will get a dose of Cancontent this weekend, when Broken Social Scene, The Dears, Stars, Death from Above 1979 and Metric drop in on Osaka and Toykyo for a mini-tour called "Canada Wet." Why is the tour called Canada Wet? We cannot tell you. Perhaps Emily Haines plans to throw out a case of bottled water, in keeping with her behaviour at the Mod Club show, when a crowd-pacifying maneuver was required. Wet or......

This past week, The Mountain Goats latest release The Sunset Tree has been running through our heads, both conceptually and sonically. This album, for those who haven't heard or heard about, is from principal songwriter John Darnielle. This is a man who's been recording for over a decade, and has released something like 400 songs to date (Torontoist admittedly has only heard a fraction of these). His modus operandi has been low fidelity, endlessly imaginative......

Quite a kafuffle was made of the "Montreal scene" this past Sunday in the New York Times, so much so that media everywhere are clamoring to keep up with the revelation. But to those in the know, both the Times article and a similar Spin article are somewhat suspect. When Times writer David Carr describes The Dears as goth-pop, fails to identify Nicholas Diamond of the Unicorns or places commas in between the 'yeahs' in......

Craig Coles, Indie Label Owner and Musician
...