When Tom Jones showed up for his Tiny Desk Concert a few months back, Bob Boilen’s shabby workspace quickly cut the legend’s larger-than-life persona down to size. Here was a huge-voiced, lionized pop star and icon, and he seemed exposed and more than a little nervous. (Of course, Jones is also one of popular music’s all-time great pros, so he banged out an unforgettable set like a champ.)

Few paragraphs about Tom Jones transition seamlessly into paragraphs about Great Lake Swimmers singer Tony Dekker, but I was struck by how shy both men seemed when presented with a tiny spotlight and a office full of happy strangers. Showing up alone — no band, no road manager — Dekker was enormously kind, but his timidity was apparent whenever he wasn’t softly singing one of his band’s gorgeous folk-pop songs.

Fortunately, unlike Jones, Dekker plays music that’s ideally suited to a bit of introversion. Throughout a career that spans four albums — in this three-song set, “Everything Is Moving So Fast” and “Pulling on a Line” were both drawn from Great Lake Swimmers’ latest, Lost Channels — Dekker has developed a sterling track record for gentle ruminations on nature, beauty, conflict and the human body.

Nowhere does Dekker’s music hit harder than on my favorite Great Lake Swimmers song, “Various Stages” (from 2005’s Bodies & Minds), which closes this three-song set. Dekker trots out a harmonica for the song, which chronicles a relationship marked by both “various stages of undress” and “various states of madness.” Cutting a complex relationship’s worth of emotions and struggles down to a few minutes, “Various Stages” conveys an intense level of intimacy — appropriate to his surroundings here.

Sourced from NPR Music

Today the short list of the nominees for this year’s Polaris prize were announced. There has been a lot of discussion today surrounding the displeasure of the repeat nominees, and to those I say – can’t we all just get along and celebrate that we have a chance to showcase some FANTASTIC Canadian music!!!!! Get over it there is no shortage of talent on this list. Are they the best of the year? That is a different answer for everybody, but this is the list supported by the votes of a very large number of our Canadian music media.

	Elliott Brood Mountain Meadows Toronto, ON Website | Myspace		Fucked Up The Chemistry of Common Life Toronto, ON Website | Myspace
	Great Lake Swimmers Lost Channels Toronto, ON Website | Myspace		Hey Rosetta! Into Your Lungs St Johns, NL Website | Myspace
	K-NAAN Troubadour Toronto, ON Website | Myspace		Malajube Labyrinthes Montreal, QC Website | Myspace
	Metric Fantasies Toronto, ON Website | Myspace		Joel Plaskett Three Halifax, NS Website | Myspace
	Chad VanGaalen Soft Airplane Calgary, AB Website | Myspace		Patrick Watson Wooden Arms Montreal, QC Website | Myspace