Good Day Yellow Birds,

The Polaris Music Prize list of nominees has been rounded down to 10 finalists! I don’t know why I get so excited about this Prize but I really love it. I guess it’s like the Oscars, but for Canadian music. In case you didn’t know, the Polaris Music Prize is awarded annually to the best Canadian album, based purely on artistic merit, and not taking into account album sales or radio play. The winner is awarded 20,000 Canadian dollars. This is the third year of the award. The first one went to Final Fantasy’s He Poos Clouds and last year’s prize went to Patrick Watson’s (or as i call him, P-Wat) Close to Paradise. Two great albums if you ask me. This year, the long list, which contained the likes of Tegan & Sara, Born Ruffians, Islands, the New Pornographers, Hayden and the Acorn, has been rounded down to a list of just 10. There is now only one yellow bird artist remaining in the running!

The nominees for outstanding performance in the land of snow and ice are:

Black Mountain – In The Future (Vancouver, BC)
http://www.myspace.com/blackmountain

Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling (London, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/basiamyspace

Caribou – Andorra (Dundas, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba

Kathleen Edwards – Asking For Flowers (Ottawa, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/kathleenedwards

Holy Fuck – LP (Toronto, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck

Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue (Montreal, QC)
http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals

Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War (Montreal, QC)
http://www.myspace.com/stars

Shad – The Old Prince (London, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/shad

Two Hours Traffic – Little Jabs (Charlottetown, PE)
http://www.myspace.com/twohourstraffic

The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour (Winnipeg, MB)
http://www.myspace.com/theweakerthans

I’m rooting for Basia, Plants & Animals, Caribou or Stars. Who do you think is gonna take it?

On a side note…

Have you seen what Devendra Banhart and Natalie Portman (or as I call them Natavendra) have been up to?

Wild!

Untill next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

5. Middle Distance Runner (no relation) – Shoot The Shit

It just so happens that we go by the same name. We didn’t come out of the same womb or anything. But I have been listening to this bands debut LP, entitled Plane in Flames, a lot lately. This song gets me hyped! These guys are definitely worth checking out. One thing we don’t have in common is musical ability. Although I have dabbled in my Mac Book’s “Garage Band”, none of those files will ever see the light of day. Consider yourself lucky.

4. Abba – “I Have A Dream”

Ok, I’ll admit it. I saw Mamma Mia last night. And yes I am aware that The Dark Night came out last night as well. I willfully saw Mamma Mia, and I am proud to say that I loved it! What are you gonna do about it? huh punk? This is the first song in the movie, sung by the lovely Amanda Seyfried. Who knew she had a voice. And a really nice voice at that. Everyone in the movie sang really well. Pierce was just okay, but everyone else was stellar. Especially Meryl Streep singing “The Winner Takes it All”.

3. Dr. Dog – “The Old Days”

This is my immediate favourite upon first listen of Dr. Dog’s new album Fate. I’m still unsure as to whether I consider myself a Dr. Dog fan or not, but they do make some catchy music. And I’ve always been a sucker for lush vocal harmonies and they can lay down some pretty sweet ones. Just listen to the song “Hang On”. Love it!

2. Crystal Castles – Untrust Us

Just getting into this band. They make some pretty nice electronicky kinda music. And not only that, they are Canadian! This song is the first song off their debut self-titled album. Some nice nintendo sounds, mixed with some random jibberish vocals, makes for a great song.

5. Fleet Foxes – “Mykonos”

I Just saw Fleet Foxes perform live in Montreal on Tuesday at Divan Orange. It was an awesome awesome awesome show! Yes 3 awesomes. It was that good. I’m pretty obsessed with this band’s Sun Giant EP, especially the song “Mykonos”. If you have a chance to see these guys play live, you must do so! Before they become too big.

Ok guys, I gotta get back to the Plains of Abraham…

Until next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

 

At this time last year we released a few limited edition versions of Hayden’s red bear design. Since it was such a big hit with star crossed lovers around the world, we’ve decided to bring it back. What could be a more thoughtful gift then this?

And, if you sign up to receive our newsletters then we will automatically enter you into a competition to win a copy of Hayden’s amazing new CD, In Field & Town.

YBP has collaborated with Kara Zuaro, author of ‘I LIKE FOOD, FOOD TASTES GOOD: In the Kitchen with your Favourite Bands’ to bring you this special promotion. ‘I LIKE FOOD, FOOD TASTES GOOD’ is a brilliant concept; Kara has brought together an all-star team of indie artists, and assembled each their own favourite recipes. Recipes include Death Cab for Cutie’s peanut butter and veggie sausage sandwich, as well as other recipes from the likes of the Decemberists, Belle & Sebastian, Grizzly Bear, Franz Ferdinand, and many many more bands.

This fantastic amalgamation of artists also includes two YBP contributors: Devendra Banhart, and Hayden. Devendra shares his special recipe for Africanas Ricas, while Hayden reveals the secret to his exploding club sandwich. So, for a limited time when you order either a Devendra tee, or a Hayden tee, plus any other tee of your choice, you will receive a FREE copy of Kara’s cookbook.

The best thing about this cookbook is the style in which it’s written. The chapters are divided into food sections, based on courses, and each recipe is accompanied by a brief anecdote about her encounter with the band. Special for YBP, Kara has signed each book individually with a personalized quote.

So now you can listen to your favourite bands, wear their t-shirt, help their favourite charity, and cook their favourite recipes. Bon appetite!

With Valentines Day just around the corner, have you found that special gift for that special someone? Well, now thanks to YBP you can stop looking! We wanted to do something special for lovers around the world, and so just in time for Love Day, we’ve come up with a special limited edition Hayden t-shirt. All tee’s are unisex, and we printed a dozen larges and a dozen smalls. The tee is $30, and it will come eloquently gift wrapped, with a free YBP pin. Hey, why not!

Check the shirt out here!