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The prestigious Canadian award, The Polaris Prize, shortlist has been announced. The winner will be announced later in September.

Included in the Canadian bands are:

The Besnard Lakes
Album: The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night

Broken Social Scene
Album: Forgiveness Rock Record

Caribou
Album: Swim

Karkwa
Album: Les Chemins De Verre

Dan Mangan
Album: Nice, Nice, Very Nice

Owen Pallett
Album: Heartland

Radio Radio
Album: Belmundo Regal

The Sadies
Album: Darker Circles

Shad
Album: TSOL

Tegan And Sara
Album: Sainthood

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As as writer, I get requests to listen to music and new bands all the time. As you would probably imagine, it’s a mixed bag: some amazing, most not much. And every once in a great while, I get lucky enough to stumble across a great find. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to claim that I discovered this group. The one thing that I do know: I cannot STOP listening to this record! All the way from Sweeden, a live version of their hit “Animal”, is Miike Snow.

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As many of you probably know, I am a fan of Jose Gonzalez, the amazing singer/songwriter/guitarist. Here is a tidbit of news about a new documentary shot about the man himself.

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Sometimes things get better the longer they last. It may almost be time for kids to head back to school, but that doesn’t mean that summer or vacation is over…yet. Sometimes things also get better right before they end. Which explains why most of us are trying to squeeze every final moment we can out of the sun’s radiant rays while they last. This is exactly the feeling the last week in July when thousands turned out in the Texas heat to party with Sublime with Rome, Matisyahu, and The Dirty Heads.

The behavior of the crowd was typical of what you would expect of any great summer concert: intoxicated, rowdy, lazy, late, rebellious, stoned, and care free. The audience slowly but steadily started showing up as the first act took the stage. From the parking lot to the stage, there was no mistaking it: it was gonna be a West Coast vibe all night.

Filling the opening slot was one of the hottest up and coming bands this year, The Dirty Heads. Imagine if Sublime, The Beastie Boys, Bob Marley, and Shwayze hung out, smoked out, and made some music together. Their songs were laid back and perfect for this time of year. They quickly won everyone over, they are very convincing in their craft. Every worry and problem quickly dissolved and melted away as the reggae and hip hop from the guitars and percussion took over. Just like their record, Any Port in a Storm, the set list was infectious and unrelenting. They blasted through many of their best and most popular songs like “Neighborhood”, “Shine”, “Believe”, and without doubt one of the summer’s hottest hits, “Lay Me Down”. This was the first chance of the night to see Rome. And although no one said it out loud, everyone seemed to have the same thought: why the hell are The Dirty Heads on the stage before Matisyahu?

Speaking of the Jew, he put on as much of a kick ass demonstration as a Hasidic could, or that you could imagine one could. His sounds were mellow and smooth, much like the other performers on the bill. His music and tone shared the same vibes with both other bands. Playing songs from all his albums, his live band sounded good even though they were small. There would probably have been a better flow during the night if he had opened, followed by the Dirty Heads, but the show must go on.

The high energy of the gathering reached nearly epidemic proportions as the time finally arrived for Sublime with Rome to take the stage. It probably goes without saying it, but the overwhelming majority of those attending had never got to see the group’s original lineup. Not even all the weed smoked before this point could prepare to answer the question on every one’s minds as the tension built: how the hell would it be without Bradley? Much to every one’s relief and astonishment, Rome Ramirez is a brilliant and sparkling star that isn’t afraid to shine. Kicking off the night’s much anticipated set list was “Date Rape”, followed right up by “Get Ready”, then of course “Smoke Two Joints”. The dynamic set included so many familiar songs it was like a greatest hits play list: “Wrong Way”, “Santeria”, “Let’s Go Get Stoned”, “Summertime”, “Bad Fish”, “40 Oz. to Freedom”, and without doubt an encore of “What I Got”.

Such a great summer night! If it’s not yet obvious, The Dirty Heads are most def a band to keep your eyes and ears on, this summer and beyond. Matisyahu may be in his prime, and so unique he doesn’t really have any competition. And finally, Sublime with Rome are at a crossroads: will they be able to transition from only playing nostalgic music to creating new music that is as creative and vibrant as their past? Only time will tell, but I will go out on a limb and say the best may be yet to come. I’m betting on them, and I think you should too. Sometimes things get better the longer they last.

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I know Tricky hasn’t really done anything of note lately but I found this track and was instantly blown away. It’s a reworking of a dancehall hit from Echo Minott. Tricky gets Franky Riley (female) to do the vocals. Enjoy!

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Welcome to another edition of Music Emissions’ podcast of the week. This week we will concentrate on lost treasures and guilty pleasures. Rather than admit some of these are my favorites, I think we’ll have some friends and family do that.
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Ok so maybe it’s just me.  I’ve totally found myself digging rock bands from Sweden lately.  It first started with Miike Snow, and now my newest Swedish crush is Dungen.  I will be watching them at a live show and writing a review of their performance next month.  Dungen has a new record about to be released this month.  In the meantime, here’s a video to start your weekend out trippy:

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Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of Music Emissions podcast of the week. This week I ran off some new stuff that has grabbed my attention. Some of these artists are still a bit raw… Progressive Rock and a hint of 60′s Soul exists in almost all of these creatures playing. Some of it has a cheesiness, but all of them have a terrific future in music.

Enjoy…

Civil Twilight – Letters from the Sky
Tame Impala – Half Glass Full of Wine
Musab – Kool Aid (Ghetto Juice)
Bassel – Senseless Dreams
J-Roddy Walston and The Business – Used To Did
Nick Tolford – My Baby
Bright Light Social Hour – Back & Forth (part 2)

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While I haven’t given a great listen to A Place To Bury Strangers sophomore album, Exploding Head, I have heard a few tracks. I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart is one of them and when I saw this video I was reminded how cool the song is. Check it out…