Polaris Music Prize Album Arrives On Tuesday

Arcade Fire don't have a song on the Polaris Music Prize 2007 Nominees compilation that hits stores on Tuesday, but it's not because the folks behind the award didn't want them on it.

There are 10 finalists for the prize and the other nine aside from Arcade Fire have songs included on the Warner album, which led some media outlets to erroneously report that the Montreal group had been snubbed. The band actually have a "no compilation" policy, so they weren't included on the record.

"Arcade Fire has always had a firm policy to not participate in compilation style CDs," said a statement from band manager Jessica Zambri. "They've felt strongly about releasing their own music.

"The Polaris Music Prize asked us if we'd like to contribute a song to their compilation of nominees, and unfortunately our approval came too late to be included before the CD was manufactured."

"In respecting the band's wishes to not be included, we didn't properly inform the public or anticipate the potential for confusion among their fans," says Polaris executive director Steve Jordan. "For that, we apologize. We congratulate the band on their nomination and wish them luck when the winner is announced on September 24th."

More than 170 Canadian music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers were asked to choose their five favourite homegrown albums released between June 1, 2006 and May 31, 2007. Judges were asked to make their selections based solely on artistic merit without regard to genre, sales history or label affiliation. An initial long list was whittled down to 10 based on a points system. The winner will receive $20,000.

Here are the songs on Polaris Music Prize 2007 Nominees:

The Besnard Lakes — "Devastation"
The Dears — "Hate Then Love"
Julie Doiron — "No More"
Feist — "Sealion"
Junior Boys — "In The Morning"
Miracle Fortress — "Have You Seen In Your Dreams"
Joel Plaskett Emergency — "Fashionable People"
Chad VanGaalen — "Sing Me 2 Sleep"
Patrick Watson — "Drifters"