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Better Know a Jury Member #20: Jim Di Gioia August 28 2009
Jim Di Gioia (Welland)
Blogger Quick Before It Melts
Jury Member Since: 2009

Please share the Top 5 Canadian records you put on your final ballot.

Rae Spoon Superioryouareinferior
Pink Mountaintops Outside Love
Coeur de Pirate Coeur de Pirate
Handsome Furs Face Control
Japandriods Post-Nothing

Tell us about your top ranked choice. Why #1?

There was never any doubt in my mind that Rae Spoon would be at the top of my ballot. This quiet, unassuming album bleeds heart and soul from start to finish. Spoon is an amazing storyteller, and when you couple that with his artistry and musical awareness, you get a beautiful and moving song like "My Heart is a Piece of Garbage. Fight Seagulls! Fight!" Superioryouareinferior is like that from beginning to end. I think he's an incredible songwriter with a distinctive Canadian voice. What strikes me most about this record is how Spoon totally blurs all kinds of lines: do you call this a folk record, a country record, or what? Is he singing about his own experiences or are the songs an amalgamation of characters and incidents he's met on his journeys? There's an unspoken blurring of gender lines and I think that brings an interesting dimension to the listening experience, too. It's a fascinating album. For my money, there wasn't a more poignant record released in Canada this year than Superioryouareinferior.


Reaction to the Short List: Your most pleasant surprise? Shocked by any omissions?

Where's Rae Spoon?? I thought there was enough support for the album to make it into the top 10, but alas... in my head I imagine that it was a top contender all the way through the balloting process, and it ended up at #11, one vote shy of a tie with the tenth record. As for the actual Short List, I was initially disappointed that none of my five choices made the list, but I've been reviewing each of the 10 albums on Quick Before It Melts this summer, and though I don't agree with all the choices, I can understand why each of these albums made the list. I think it's a representative slice of Canadian music in 2009. I still believe Rae Spoon deserves to be there, though.

Describe the state of Canadian music in five words:

"A Mari usque ad Mare."

(I really feel that in the last two years Canadian music has broken out of its regional shell. I don't know if it's only technology bridging the distance between coasts, or if there's something greater at work here, but I do feel that we're developing a national scene, and I think that's great.)

Imagine the tables are turned and you are the nominee: What would you do with the $20,000 prize money?

I would use the money to support the music scene in the Niagara Region where I live. It's exciting to see the amount of interest bands like Attack In Black and Alexisonfire have generated in the last few years, and there's a lot of great talent here that deserves the chance to have their music heard. Welland is hosting the first annual Bridgestock Music Festival on August 15, so I would use the money to help get the word out about it, but there's also the SCENE Festival in St. Catharines, so there's a lot of potential here. Though both these festivals are catering to a decidedly "heavier" scene than I'm into, it would be fun to inject a little of my "indie sensibility" into the proceedings.

Related Link: Quick Before It Melts

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