Jay-Z ft Biggie Smalls - "Brooklyn's Finest". Sometimes a right rhyme is like stealing a wallet. Sometimes it's like shooting a target, or lighting a fire, or slamming a dunk. Sometimes it's like parallel-parking a car, or arranging flowers, or beating an egg, stiff peaks. Sometimes it's lots of these things at the same time: like shooting a target, like arranging flowers. It's one of those things that's both bravado and finesse, process and result. Christopher Wallace turns words into brothers, sisters, traveling companions. One of his brilliances was in showing affinities - bringing apples toward oranges, making unlike things friends. Another brilliance was in making rhymes sound so good, these unexpected pivots of vowel & consonant & meaning. I just like hearing him pronounce things, frilling the fs and saying "bracelets" as if he's closing a clasp. [buy]

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I've been selected for the Grand Jury of this year's Polaris Prize - helping honour the best Canadian album released between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013. The ten finalists include some truly great records and some lousy ones. But some of my favourites didn't make it to the finals at all: Leif Vollebekk's North Americana, the Luyas' Animator, Suuns' Images du Futur, Carly Rae Jepsen's Kiss. The winner will be announced in September.