I love this because it's a genre-buster, a barrier-blaster. Some years ago, ABBA's manager, lyricist and publisher founded the Polar Music Prize, "an international music prize and awarded to individuals, groups or institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music." This year's recipients were Sonny Rollins and Steve Reich, two guys who definitely come from the burning hot core of cool.
Check out these past winners: Sir Paul McCartney, Dizzy Gillespie, Witold Lutoslawski, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Quincy Jones, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Sir Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Pierre Boulez, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Ericson, Ray Charles, Ravi Shankar, Iannis Xenakis, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Isaac Stern, Burt Bacharach, Robert Moog, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sofia Gubaidulina, Miriam Makeba, Keith Jarrett, B.B. King, György Ligeti, Gilberto Gil, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Valery Gergiev, and Led Zeppelin.
Here's the full report, from New Music Box.
Always liked ABBA.
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