BA Johnston makes Polaris long list

Creemore resident B.A. Johnston’s 2015 album has been long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize.

Johnston’s music is comedy, performance art, poetry and social commentary.

The album cover is an illustration of Johnston in the place of Princess Leia, posed in chains in front of Jabba the Hutt.

The Polaris Music Prize is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to honour, celebrate and reward creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music by recognizing and marketing albums “of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history, as judged by a panel of selected music critics.”

The 40-album long list was announced in Halifax on June 16. The list will be “scrutinized” at panels across Canada, including Toronto on June 19.

Ten albums will be selected as finalists, announced July 16, before the winner is announced at a gala on Sept. 21.

Song titles from the 2015 album  include I Remember Skinny Jeans the Last Time Around, I Don’t Want to Go to the No Frills, Gonna End Up Working in Fort McMurray and Ikea Hotdog. The album also includes two answering machine messages, baby crying and more baby crying – which are straight recordings of a crying baby.

Other song titles include Deep Fryer in My Bedroom, Raised by the Wooden Spoon, Sesame Street Fight, Hobo 4 Life,You Will Miss Me When the Zombies Come, How Many T-Bone Steaks Can I fit in My Pants, Death Rides a Fat Horse, I Almost Stole Your Pants, Luck be a Playstation, I Dream in Poutine, Your Roommate’s a Couchetard and You Had Me at Montreal Steak Spice.

Visit www.bajohnston.ca.