When the Arcade Fire picked up the Grammy for album of the year, it was a triumph for the little guy. Finally the mainstream media had made the right choice and picked an album that achieved its success through artistic merit rather than an enormous marketing machine. The Suburbs was the little album that could; the problem is, it could so good it’s not little anymore. So tonight, when it picked up the Polaris Prize—an award given solely for artistic merit and not charts, popularity or sales—many of those same people cried foul.

But I think accusing Polaris of selling out or being disconnected with the underground is misguided. Polaris isn’t the indie awards, and an award mandated that sales, charts and marketing shouldn’t play a role in the decision making process should work both ways. Being able to release an album on Merge records, take it to number one on the Billboard charts, scoop up a Grammy and a Juno and get near unanimous praise from independent and mainstream media the world over is just the kind of thing that should be celebrated with an award for artistic merit–all the success this album has garnered has been on artistic merit, right up to last night.

The award should not discriminate between accessible or seditious music.

The Suburbs is a rare album that speaks to nearly everyone, it’s loose story about the aching apathy that plagues suburban kids is something that the majority of us have grown up with, not to mention that “We Used To Wait” might just be the best song they’ve ever written.

It’s easy to forget all that though because we’ve all heard the damn thing a million times since it was released a little over a year ago. I think that’s one of the issues with this win as well, an award for artistic merit should sound new and exciting and I’ve already gone through my The Suburbs phase–I’ve moved on.

The other issue I think has to do with the prize money. It’s hard to get excited for Arcade Fire winning this award because they really don’t need the $30 000 that comes along with it. For a band like Braids or Hey Rosetta!, that prize money would be huge. Hell, for anyone on that list other than Arcade Fire that money would be huge.

But still, just because they don’t need the award, it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it–they do. I’m not suggesting they solely deserve it, it could have gone to any of those short listed and it would have been ok. Even more than previous years, the list was stacked with deserving, and realistic candidates. But in the end, it had to go to The Suburbs, because no album this year did what it did. Every milestone that Arcade Fire hit along the way was evidence–an argument–in their favour.

But really, I mean whatever, if we’re in a year where people get upset with the Polaris winner because they’ve already got a Grammy, I’m cool with that, be upset, because that’s pretty fucking awesome.

On May 6, Jeff Mangum made an ultra rare appearance at a small club in Greenwich in support of a benefit for New Zealand musician Chris Knox who suffered a series of strokes last year. There was an official no camera policy so these shaky videos are all we have. But still, pretty stunning.

Of the three songs they’ve released off Forgiveness Rock Record so far this is my least favorite, but they kill it here. It’s enough to move it into second place, though I’m not sure anything will dismount this as tops.