Arcade Fire, Neil Young, the Weeknd Among Polaris Prize Nominees

Arcade Fire, Neil Young, the Weeknd, Colin Stetson, Ron Sexsmith and Black Mountain are among the 40 artists that made the 2011 Polaris Music Prize long list, revealed today (June 16) at a press conference in Toronto hosted by CBC Radio's Grant Lawrence.

The winner will be debated and declared at the Sept. 19 Gala at Toronto's Masonic Temple and will receive $30,000 CAD, up $10,000 thanks to the returning presenting sponsor, Sirius Satellite Radio.

Now in its sixth year, the list is determined by a nationwide jury comprised of 227 members of the Canadian music media, including journalists, bloggers, and broadcasters. All submitted their top 5 albums released from June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011, based solely on artistic merit.

The nominated album does not have to have been for sale, such is the case of two long-listers D-Sisive's "Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye" and the Weeknd's "House of Balloons."

For the first time, each of the short-list artists, to be announced on July 6, will receive $2000 each, courtesy of Slaight Communications. Also, Radio Starmaker Fund will help with the expenses to get each short-list nominee to the Gala.
In past years, almost all the nominees perform, while a small jury debates the merit of each of their records and decides on the winner by night's end.


The 2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List:
 

Arcade Fire - "The Suburbs"
Austra - "Feel It Break"
Black Mountain - "Wilderness Heart"
Braids - "Native Speaker"
Buck 65 - "20 Odd Years"
Louise Burns - "Mellow Drama"
D-Sisive - "Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye"
The Dears - "Degeneration Street"
Destroyer - "Kaputt"
Diamond Rings - "Special Affections"
Dirty Beaches - "Badlands"
Luke Doucet and The White Falcon - "Steel City Trawler"
Eternia & MoSS - "At Last"
Galaxie - "Tigre et Diesel"
Jenn Grant - "Honeymoon Punch"
Tim Hecker - "Ravedeath, 1972"
Hey Rosetta! - "Seeds"
Hooded Fang - "Album"
Imaginary Cities - "Temporary Resident"
Land Of Talk - "Cloak and Cipher"
Little Scream - "The Golden Record"
The Luyas - "Too Beautiful to Work"
Malajube - "La Caverne"
Miracle Fortress - "Was I The Wave?"
One Hundred Dollars - "Songs of Man"
Doug Paisley - "Constant Companion"
PS I Love You - "Meet Me at the Muster Station"
Daniel Romano - "Sleep Beneath the Willow"
The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Departing"
Ron Sexsmith - "Long Player Late Bloomer"
Shotgun Jimmie - "Transistor Sister"
Sloan - "The Double Cross"
Frederick Squire - "March 12"
Stars - "The Five Ghosts"
Colin Stetson - "New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges"
Timber Timbre - "Creep On Creepin' On"
The Weeknd - "House of Balloons"
Women - "Public Strain"
Neil Young - "Le Noise"
Young Galaxy - "Shapeshifting"