Akunon

Today I turn 26. I've never been one to make a big deal about my birthday, so I've rarely done anything for them. I never found them overly important. But, this morning as I was eating breakfast it dawned on me how cataclysmic celebrating a birthday is. When you really think about it, a birthday is celebrating your very existence. It's about the people who's lives you have touched and your place in the world. Knowing this, how could your heart not soar every time someone wishes you a happy birthday.

And as it turns out today was also the announcing of the Polaris Prize winner. For those of you who have no clue what it is, the Polaris Prize is a $20, 000 prize for a full-length Canadian album, judged solely on artistic merit, without regard to genre or record sales (as the site says). Last year's winner was the very deserving Patrick Watson, who I love, so I was very interested in this years outcome. There were some big names on the nominee list including Stars, Kathleen Edwards, The Weakerthans, (my hopeful) Plants and Animals, and other deserving artists. This year went to Caribou for their album Andorra. I haven't heard Caribou so I can't make any comment on the outcome. You can be sure that I will be checking it out soon though.

An extra little tidbit about the Polaris Prize site I recommend checking out is the the limited edition poster art created for each album. I've posted my two favorites below.