On September 23rd,
the 8th annual Polaris Prize was announced. This year, the
prize went to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a seminal experimental
music band from Montreal, for their album Allelujah! Don't Bend
Ascend. Normally, I'd be celebrating this win, being a landmark
and a validation of experimental music, a style and approach to music
near and dear to my heart. But, my emotions are a bit mixed on this.
Let me explain why.
Part of it is the feel
of hipsterism to this year's pick. GY!BE have been doing their style
of music for more than 15 years, mostly on their own imprint,
Constellation Records. Constellation, due to their association with
Godspeed, has been a remarkable label dedicated to the strange and
artsy end of the musical spectrum. From those meagre beginnings, now
Constellation's releases seem to enjoy popularity with almost every
release put out. And good on them for it. But, where is the love for
this kind of music coming out on other labels, even other Canadian
labels?
Let me give you an
example. One of the big names on Constellation is Colin Stetson, an
avant-garde saxophonist who also dabbles in post punk and electronics
(He was also up for the Polaris Prize this year). His music is dense,
difficult and noisy. Without Constellation behind him, it's doubtful
he would be as big of a name in campus radio as he is now. Nor would
he be embraced by the same crowd that likes Metric, The Shins and
Said the Whale. But, how much of this is on Stetson himself and how
much is it on the label he's on?
Hot labels aren't new
in music. Matador, Sub Pop, Merge, Kill Rock Stars, K, all have
enjoyed a buzz that have helped their bands. Montreal also currently
sports Arbutus Records. Everything they release seems to catch fire,
regardless of quality (though most releases on Arbutus are of a high quality).
Same with Constellation. Regardless of whatever strange thing they
put out, it seems to get picked up by the hipster crowd. The most
recent releases like this have been the aforementioned Colin Stetson,
Jerusalem in My Heart (a bizarre mix of Middle Eastern folk, indy
rock and electronics, with song titles in Arabic text-speak),
Esmerine (a similar mix of world beat and post punk) and Sarah
Neufeld (violinist from Arcade Fire, a drony mix of neo-classical and
orchestral pop). Would these band, standing on their own, garner the
same attention if they weren't on Constellation? Is their popularity
due to their talent, or does it have more to do with who they are
associated with?
On the avant-garde jazz scene in Canada, there are easily a dozen artists I can think of that
deserve just as much attention as Colin Stetson. Jesse Zubot, Jean
Martin, Peggy Lee, Simon Fisk, Gordon Grdina and more are doing
things very similar to what Stetson is doing, but without the backing
of Constellation, the Said the Whale fans of the world ignore them.
And it's not like that Canadian college radio is not getting their
music. Our station has many releases from these artists. But because
the hip label Constellation isn't on the cover, they seem to be
ignored.
Even bands similar to
Godspeed suffer from this. Hamilton's SIANspheric has been doing
droning post punk like Godspeed since before Godspeed existed, but
they seem to be a footnote in Canadian music history, even though
they often do the genre better. Ditto for the even older Nihilist
Spasm Band, which even the most hardcore of experimental music fans
in Canada might be hard-pressed to recall their songs, even though
they continue to record and tour today.
The second aspect that
bugs me about this selection is that it feels like tokenism.
Godspeed's latest album isn't their best, nor is it particularly
interesting. Their best work were their first couple of albums, F#
A# Infinity and Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada. Godspeed
have also been doing the same sound for 15 years, with not much
variation in what they do. There's very little that's groundbreaking
about Allelujah! Don't Bend Ascend. They're pretty much the
same band they were in 1998, with the same expansive, twenty minute
drones that they're known for.
This award feels like
those Grammy award ceremonies where the awards go out to bands as a
concession for their previous works. Remember when Santana took home
all those awards for his album of collaborations with modern pop
stars, that was several dozen steps behind his groundbreaking work in
the 70s? Or Herbie Hancock's award for best album in the 2000s, long after his most
celebrated work in the 70s. Or the awful Ray Charles album that won
after his death? This feels like, “Hey Godspeed! We loved your past
work but we didn't feel like acknowledging it til now. Here, have an
award for this sub-par album that isn't as great as your old work,
but makes us feel better for giving it to you.” Of course, there
was no Polaris Prize back in 1998, but the point remains.
Ideally, this award
should go to someone that was young enough to enjoy the cash reward
and prestige that goes with the award. Godspeed already have a
hipster empire. How about METZ, Purity Ring or Whitehorse, all of
whom put out stellar albums this year. I'm happy for Godspeed's win,
but it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
