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Feist, Drake, Patrick Watson, Leonard Cohen, Grimes, Cadence Weapon Highlight 2012 Polaris Music Prize Long List

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The fight to determine the best Canadian album of 2012 based on artistic merit has officially begun.

With most of the Canadian music industry setting their sights on Toronto's NXNE, organizers of the now seventh annual Polaris Music Prize instead announced its 40 Long List nominees today at the Waldorf Hotel in Vancouver, BC. And like most years, the much-scrutinized list contains a few surprises, some bigger names and two previous Polaris Music Prize winners.

The list -- which was broadcast live on CBC Radio 3 -- runs a fairly wide gamut in terms of genres, geography and even age, from Leonard Cohen at a spry 77 with his Old Ideas album in competition with 25-year-old hip-hop heavyweight Drake for Take Care. Past Polaris winners Patrick Watson (2007 champ) and Fucked Up (2009 champ) were nominated for their Adventures in Your Own Backyard and David Comes to Life albums, respectively.

There were plenty of newcomers as well, including buzz acts such as Toronto-cum-London artist Cold Specks for I Predict a Graceful Expulsion, A Tribe Called Red for its self-titled effort, electro artist Grimes for Visions and The Weeknd for Echoes of Silence. The Weeknd previously made 2011's Short List with House of Balloons.

Singer-songwriters are also well-represented with previous Short List nominees Kathleen Edwards, Dan Mangan, Joel Plaskett Emergency and Feist in the running. Two-member rock outfits are repped too with PS I Love You and Japanadroids making the cut for Death Dreams and Celebration Rock, respectively. There's also a defunct band nominated with Handsome Furs announcing in mid-May they were no more after touring behind Sound Kapital.

The Long List nominees -- compiled by a panel of over 200 music journalist, broadcasters and bloggers -- will be whittled down to a 10-nominee Short List, which will be announced on July 17 at Toronto's Drake Hotel. The winner will be named during a Sept. 24 gala which will be broadcast on MuchMusic and CBC Radio 3. The award comes with a $30,000 prize for the album that wins.

Last year's winner was Arcade Fire for The Suburbs, with previous winners also including Final Fantasy for He Poos Clouds in the inaugural year (2006), Caribou for Andorra (2008) and Karkwa for Les Chemins De Verre (2010).

Here are the 2012 Polaris Music Prize "Long List" Nominees:

A Tribe Called Red A Tribe Called Red
Marie-Pierre Arthur Aux alentours
Rich Aucoin We're All Dying to Live
Avec pas d'casque Astronomie
Azari & III Azari & III
Bahamas Barchords
The Barr Brothers The Barr Brothers
Blackie And The Rodeo Kings Kings and Queens
Cadence Weapon Hope in Dirt City
Kathryn Calder Bright and Vivid
Cannon Bros. Firecracker/Cloudglow
Coeur De Pirate Blonde
Leonard Cohen Old Ideas
Cold Specks I Predict a Graceful Expulsion
Rose Cousins We Have Made a Spark
Mark Davis Eliminate the Toxins
Drake Take Care
Kathleen Edwards Voyageur
Feist Metals
Fucked Up David Comes to Life
Great Lake Swimmers New Wild Everywhere
Grimes Visions
Handsome Furs Sound Kapital
Japandroids Celebration Rock
Dan Mangan Oh Fortune
Mares of Thrace The Pilgrimage
Ariane Moffatt MA
Lindi Ortega Little Red Boots
Parlovr Kook Soul
Sandro Perri Impossible Spaces
Joel Plaskett Emergency Scrappy Happiness
PS I Love You Death Dreams
John K. Samson Provincial
Shooting Guns Born To Deal in Magic 1952-1976
The Slakadeliqs The Other Side of Tomorrow
Patrick Watson Adventures in Your Own Backyard
Bry Webb Provider
The Weeknd Echoes of Silence
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan YT//ST
Yukon Blonde Tiger Talk

Watch Feist's "How Come You Never Go There" Video

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