Better Know a Jury Member #21: Stuart Henderson September 01 2009
Staff Writer , Popmatters
Jury Member Since: 2009
Please share the Top 5 Canadian records you put on your final ballot.
Fucked Up The Chemistry of Common Life
Coeur de pirate Coeur de pirate
Bison BC Quiet Earth
Tim Hecker An Imaginary Country
Japandroids Post-nothing
Tell us about your top ranked choice. Why #1?
I don't really like to listen to someone screaming at me, but there's something about listening to someone screaming at me over some trippy shoegazey rock music that is utterly astonishingly awesomely good. I listened to this thing about 100 times in the first 100 days after I bought it, and I still hear neat little twists in the soundscapes with each new listen. Simply the most innovative, most unique, and most energetic Canadian record last year, and likely to be among the most influential in years to come.
Reaction to the Short List: Your most pleasant surprise? Shocked by any omissions?
The most pleasant surprise for me was that the short list didn't contain any of my picks, save one. Phewf, I can still have something to complain about. (We critics live a sad and solitary life.)
But I do have to say that I am shocked by the ho-hum calibre of some of the stuff on the list. All great artists, to be sure, and all deserving of wide and significant recognition and praise, but in some cases, not this time. More than a few of these records are so-so follow-ups to excellent releases that didn't win in the past. In a year with some really wonderful stuff by up-and-comers across the country -- Coeur de Pirate, Japandroids, Bison BC, Rae Spoon, etc -- I would have liked to have seen some more of that.
Describe the state of Canadian music in five words:
Excellent music hardly anyone hears
Imagine the tables are turned and you are the nominee: What would you do with the $20,000 prize money?
Sounds like 10,000 chances at Lotto 649 to me.
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