Post Junos post 2013

I much prefer the Junos to the Grammys, mostly because of the all Canadian focus (I'm a total sucker for Canadian music and culture), plus the Junos tend to be a lot more adventurous than the Grammys.

The major awards were pretty predictable, but they usually are. Carly Rae Jepsen runs away with it for her breakout single, Leonard Cohen tops a ho-hum group of solo artists, Rush takes group of the year. All pretty standard. It's in the less prestigious categories that fun happens.

I was surprised to see The Weeknd take Breakout Artist over Grimes, and even more surprised to see him take R&B album of the year over Shawn Desman and Jully Black. The Weeknd already has a good following in alt-rap circles in the US and his start is definitely rising here in Canada too!

Some interesting picks in the jazz categories too, Joel Miller for contemporary jazz album of the year, and Pugs and Crows for instrumental album. I like Joel Miller's work, tasteful and understated. Pugs and Crows I felt had a weak year with Fantastic Pictures, but the group is wildly talented and has a penchant for experimentation.

Grimes won electronic album of the year over a very strong crowd of nominees, including Crystal Castles, Daphni, Purity Ring and Trust. I loved all five of those albums this year. It speaks to the amazing talent we have in Canada for electronic music.

There are few Canadian musicians more deserving than k.d. lang for the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Her career has been wildly eclectic, from her early years as a oddball country singer, to her modern career as a torchy pop song crooner. Plus, she's an amazing spokesperson for Canada in general. We're lucky to have her representing Canadian music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqaKhKJHQRc

The inevitable post-Juno Awards post

The Junos are a bit more exciting that the Grammys, mostly because it's our own homegrown musicians being celebrated and the pool is a bit smaller, it makes things a bit more unpredictable. It's also fun watching bands like Metric being treated as important.

That being said, this year's Junos were a bit predictable. Of course, Justin Bieber and The Arcade Fire were the big winners. But, just like the Grammys, the real action for me happens in the awards not shown on TV. Give a look at the jazz, blues and roots nominees, you can easily say "Yeah, every one of those albums deserve to win the Juno."

Drake was shut out, which seemed surprising to me. Outside of Bieber, he's the biggest star we have in Canadian music. Shad ended up with the hip-hop album of the year. I'm no expert (or fan) of hip-hop, but perhaps this signals a turning away from celebration ofcommercial hip-hop?