This past Monday The Polaris Music Prize was awarded to the Toronto punk rock band Fucked Up.
If you look at the track record of the Polaris, this isn't that surprising as the previous three winners were also considered surprises.
My initial surprise gave way to feelings of pride and anger. I can't really place my feelings of anger. Maybe it was adrenaline? I don't really know. But at the time of those feelings I was realizing that Fucked Up winning the Polaris is perhaps the biggest and certainly a defining moment in the history of Canadian punk rock.
Canada has had a long history of great punk rock bands but for whatever reason the Canadian music industry has pretty much ignored the fact that our country produces world class talent in other genres besides pop and rock. Fucked Ups' victory at the Polaris in my eyes is a validation for all the Canadian punk rock bands that have sacrificed their time to create a trail for the current army of rockers that still ride the wave.
Another great thing about Fucked Ups' victory is what their intentions are for the $20, 000 prize money. They say they plan on using it to create awareness of the massive issue of missing aboriginal women, a cause that I can understand living in a town that straddles a highway known as the Highway of Tears for it's scores of women who have gone missing after hitch hiking on it.
A huge thumbs up for Fucked Up. Congrats!