So the lovely folks at the CBC are having a contest to win 5 sets of the Canadian albums up for the Polaris Music prize. I want to win this puppy so badly. Here’s the entry requirements and my entry. 
Wanna win something good? How about a collection of the ten Canadian albums that are vying for the Polaris Music Prize? We’re giving away five sets of albums to five lucky Signal listeners. You’re probably wondering how youcan be one of those lucky five listeners, right? Glad you asked! Just post a comment on our blog telling us about the things you’ve won in the past. Bowling trophy? Trip for 2 around the world? Participant ribbon? Free can of Spam? Or maybe you’ve never won anything in your life — we don’t care! We just want to hear a story about you and Lady Luck.
The Polaris Prize is being handed out on September 19th and that’s when our contest closes. So hit the comment button, log in and tell us your winning history.
My entry:
I was a music junkie even as a teen and in fact never have been quite lucky. But when I was 15 I used to listen to 640 The Hog (remember that station…ugh?) when I came home from high school to get me jazzed to start my homework. One night they were giving away a Turbo Grafx video game machine (http://www.amazon.com/Turbo-Grafx-16-System-Console-TurboGrafx/dp/B001AAAVPI/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1315358043&sr=1-2) but you could only win it if you had a parent answer some questions about you.
Ok in that moment I thought – hey, I can do this! I can trick out my room with this new system. So I run down the stairs and tell my dad to come on the phone as the dj would have some questions for him if I was successful. As luck would have it…the dj comes on the phone and asks to speak to my very traditional Indian dad. My dad has a thick Indian accent and misunderstood the dj’s questions. Typical. He thought the dj said something different and went on a rant about what a troubled teen I was. Embarrassing as I wasn’t….my dad was just hamming it up for the radio. Great! Backfire! The dj was dying laughing and so were my classmates who just ‘happened’ to be all listening. I paid double the price for this win the following day at school.
Long story short – I won the Turbo Grafx and had to go and pick it up from Q107 with my dad the following week. My dad was such a good sport but man you would have thought we were going to the CBC. He got all dressed up and then there was me in my Catholic high school uniform to pick up a video game machine. I honestly only the used machine once and it ended up with the dust bunnies under my bed in my old bedroom at my parents place. Good times!
I guess it was all about the journey with that win. I remember the story more so than I do the actual prize.
Lastly, may I please win the Polaris Music Prize five set of albums? It would get a good home and also replace the previous story of a win that I can now tell my dad and perhaps enlighten him on my latest prize win 15 years later. I’m sure he’d get a kick out of it that his effort eventually got me what I really wanted in the end.
Fingers crossed and please may I win CBC?,
Mel
