is gord not a diminutive outside of canada?
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 22 August 2016 18:42 (seven years ago) link
anyway, thoughts on the hip...
i have a lot of musician friends who don't like them. i'm going to guess that in their younger years, the hip left a bad taste in the mouths of one or two of them. these days, these same guys just have no opinions on them. i have no strong opinions on them.
i watched the last three songs of the concert and the discussion that followed (on cbc). the only thing that 'resonated' with me was that their music was playing in the background in some key points in my life. i rarely listened to the radio, except citr (a campus/university radio station), because as someone who participated more in the underground music scene, mainstream radio just didn't do anything for me.
my ex wife actually really liked these guys in the early 90s. she listened to a lot of tracks from up to here. that and a handful of other songs remind me of particular moments and events in my life. some of them are really simple, like walking with her to iga and hearing them being played there, to more joyous or darker events. she also liked the handful of pop rock acts that were usually mentioned in the same breath. when i heard about gord's diagnosis i actually texted her and teared up, i guess because of the memories of our relationship and their music playing in the background.
in my very small circle of musician friends, there was a feeling that the hip's music wasn't as nuanced and it mostly catered to radio listeners and bar-goers. it was a little too 'local-sounding' (almost as bad as the notorious 'vancouver rock' label). in retrospect, i think that's a bit pretentious. but vancouver in the 90s had a totally different feel. at least in my circle, feeling proud of local talent or canadiana made us feel a little too small-townish, which said more about us, but we were interested in the cool, artsy american bands. i guess this is what happens when you really are a small town in the 90s. incidentally, a lot of us loved sloan, specifically twice removed, which had a more artsier image -- a band a few hip fans disliked.
there's no doubt national identity in western canada is quite different than in the rest of canada. we probably have more in common with our fellow cascadians than with calgarians, so this definitely has something to do with it. most of my friends are recent immigrants to canada (first or second generation canadians), so for us, a national identity means something very different than loving hockey and listening to the same popular bands. in fact, i have quite a few friends who hate hockey. but they still have a soft spot for team canada when they win gold in the olypmics. it's a love-hate relationship that's difficult to explain. some friends hate rock, and only listen to rap and grew up talking in american slang. what unites us is probably difficult to articulate, especially in just a few sentences, so i just won't even try. these are obvious subcultures, and it's sometimes not cool to talk about them when a larger cultural force is uniting the country. but you know what, these subcultures feel united as well and have no problems with the larger cultural forces in the country, so it's okay. there's room for everybody.
anyway, canada is a complex and diverse place, each province with its own identity. but that's what makes it a pretty cool place i think. and it's pretty awesome that a band was able to unite so many different types of people from all over the country. the band are breaking up for unfortunate reasons, but their music will always be a part of a specific time in my life that i will always remember as bittersweet, weirdly enough much like the band's 'end'
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 22 August 2016 19:43 (seven years ago) link
Every actual person here is Canadian, including the Milwaukee Brewers guy!: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gord_(given_name)
― Hi! I'm twice-coloured! (Sund4r), Monday, 22 August 2016 20:44 (seven years ago) link
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/tragically-hip-cbc-broadcast-ratings-1.3730276
story says that over 11 million people watched or listened to the broadcast through various media. which would be around a third of the population of the country
― ælərdaɪs (jim in vancouver), Monday, 22 August 2016 20:51 (seven years ago) link
I believe that figure only measures the number of streams online or on TV. So, e.g., a couple of hundred people watching in a bar counts as only 1 stream. I wouldn't be surprised if the actual viewership was closer to half the country.
― dinnerboat, Monday, 22 August 2016 21:02 (seven years ago) link
Aw:
http://globalnews.ca/news/2896740/the-tragically-hip-in-kingston-who-was-the-couple-seen-making-out-during-bobcaygeon/
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 August 2016 22:48 (seven years ago) link
Speaking of said song/town/etc
http://www.macleans.ca/culture/bobcaygeon-belts-out-tragically-hip-moment/
Never met a Gord myself but am sad to hear the guy has a glioblastoma. I had a friend die from that a year ago, it takes no prisoners.
― Deneb on Ice (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 00:10 (seven years ago) link
Me too -- had a friend hang on for about 18 months with it, until earlier this year.
― thrill of transgressin (Eazy), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 00:16 (seven years ago) link
IIRC 18 months is the life expectancy, so "hang on" is the right expression to use. My friend made it three years, which was a miracle.
― Deneb on Ice (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 00:32 (seven years ago) link
At one point I made a little list of various famous people who had it and how long they lasted, it was usually about seven eight nine months.
― Deneb on Ice (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 00:34 (seven years ago) link
i feel like they made a LITTLE dent here in the states early on and then they kinda disappeared from view until now. and they do kinda seem like something that could have been more popular in the u.s. but i don't know how extensive their touring was. that's the live or die answer to popularity in the states. rush had to tour relentlessly in the states for years in order for their smash album to be the smash that it was.
reading the early sections of this thread is a little bit alternate universe for me. but obviously there are huge bands all over the world who are huge in their homeland but non-existent elsewhere. we have phish here...
― scott seward, Tuesday, 23 August 2016 03:02 (seven years ago) link
Just speaking for myself, I've always been a bit torn on how to rep for them artistically because it's hard to point to brilliant singles or unassailable albums that will paint a representative picture of "what is good". It's more like a cumulative appreciation that's built up over the years, and much credit to Gord himself, it's his lyrics and delivery, so many super memorable turns of phrase.
― Manitobiloba (Kim), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 17:06 (seven years ago) link
I'm working through their albums, especially the ones I haven't listened to in their entirety before. I really like both Up to Here and Trouble at the Henhouse. I skipped through "Trickle Down" from the former but otherwise it's a p satisfying mix of classic bluesy hard rock and 80s REM. I like the guitar tones and Downie's delivery of the melodies on the latter. Day for Night might actually be my least favourite so far. Too many of the songs don't really stand out or go anywhere for me, although "Nautical Disaster" is one of their best songs imo. I like "Scared" too.
― Hi! I'm twice-coloured! (Sund4r), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 18:08 (seven years ago) link
Unlikely sentence alert, but I'm really thankful now that Nickelback arrived on the Canadian music scene. The subsequent siphoning off of obnoxious fans really did the Hip a huge, long term favour.
― Manitobiloba (Kim), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 18:32 (seven years ago) link
day for night takes a while, even though i guess i was recommending it as an intro upthread lol
gord's lyrics are probably never better than they are on that record, e.g.
interesting and sophisticatedrefusing to be celebratedit's a monumental big screen kissit's so deep it's meaningless
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Tuesday, 23 August 2016 18:36 (seven years ago) link
TPoH's Moe Berg has a nice write-up on his site.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Thursday, 25 August 2016 20:59 (seven years ago) link
so i was a witness to an accident last week, and the guy that got hit got back to me via email to thank me... he's a Gord!
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 1 September 2016 18:01 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuHj20v2oKs
gord's putting out a new double album in october, produced and occasionally co-written by kevin drew, called introduce yerself. if it's anything like secret path it should be lovely and crushing
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 27 September 2017 15:09 (six years ago) link
Gord Downie has passed.
http://www.thehip.com/news/statement/
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 12:57 (six years ago) link
Fuck...
RIP
― Week of Wonders (Ross), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 13:02 (six years ago) link
Damn, RIP.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 13:08 (six years ago) link
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 13:19 (six years ago) link
― jmm, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 13:43 (six years ago) link
I've still never listened to a Tragically Hip album. They were entirely a radio and MuchMusic band for me, which I'm guessing is true for most Canadians. It was only last year when they were getting so much attention that it dawned on me how much they were in the ether.
― jmm, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 13:46 (six years ago) link
Their final concert last year was an extraordinary Canadian moment.
― dinnerboat, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 13:57 (six years ago) link
OTM.
Was just listening to Phantom Power on my last long drive.
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 14:05 (six years ago) link
god i am so crushed
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 14:58 (six years ago) link
Good story on the new album:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/arts/music/gord-downie-tragically-hip-dead-final-album.html
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 15:51 (six years ago) link
It's amazing how much great music this man managed to make, in this last phase of his life. (I particularly like Secret Path)
RIP.
― Ludo, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 17:00 (six years ago) link
Even as someone who felt completely alienated from the event and the Hip phenomenon more broadly, this is pretty clear, though the way Trudeau used Downie as a prop to make it seem like his government was going to take indigenous issues seriously is a bit sickening in retrospect
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 17:06 (six years ago) link
― Scape: Goat-fired like a dog! (Myonga Vön Bontee), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 17:15 (six years ago) link
For me, one of the most mesmerizing things about Gord Downie was the many references -- real or alleged -- in his lyrics. There were times when I liked them more than the music itself, and I would read up on where he might've gotten an idea for some of them. It has made me ponder more about his music and how he approached music-making. His death is such a great loss to the music world. It has also motivated me to listen to his solo work, which I admittedly never listened to much.
I would like to share this web-site that has briefly catalogued some of his lyrics' meaning http://www.hipmuseum.com/directory.html
Rest in peace, Mr. Downie.
― the sound of space, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 17:37 (six years ago) link
Per the description here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Time_Running
The documentary film based around last year's tour will be on Netflix at the end of November (exception being Canada itself, where it will be on Crave TV).
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 20:53 (six years ago) link
oh good i've been wanting to watch that
i love the hip museum website, it has been my favorite thing on the internet for like.... 15 years now? anyway i hope you enjoy his solo work, sound of space; battle of nudes is one of my favorite albums of all time and my favorite thing he ever did and is also home to my favorite guitar tones
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 20:59 (six years ago) link
BradNelson, it's funny you should mention it. I was just telling someone that I am kind of a "tone nerd." I'll make sure to listen to Battle of Nudes tonight. Thank you.
― the sound of space, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 21:02 (six years ago) link
of course! it brings me so much joy to be able to recommend that album to anyone
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 21:15 (six years ago) link
armed with skill and it's FRUSTRATIONand gracetoo
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 21:17 (six years ago) link
erroneous apostrophe ruining previous post sorry
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 21:18 (six years ago) link
So many good lyrics, so many great turns of phrase, man, RIP Gord. :(
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 21:22 (six years ago) link
rest in peace Gord
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 21:50 (six years ago) link
― dinnerboat, Wednesday, October 18, 2017 6:57 AM (nine hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
as an immigrant here it was a very strange and sui generis event of national unity to observe. was out for a walk during the earlier part of the show and could hear it and see it through people's apartment windows and it was on the tv in bars. streets were noticeably quieter. then watching the show, the prime minister was in the crowd, middle-aged hoser men in the crowd were crying their eyes out at the denouement. my next door neighbour, a real normy type from the prairies got home from watching it at the bar after and was shittered listening to the hip for hours into the am.
rip gord.
― -_- (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 23:10 (six years ago) link
gord was my favorite writer; i would not necessarily be a writer at all had i not encountered his lyrics at a v impressionable age (14). i can't believe, after introduce yerself comes out next week, i'm never going to hear another new gord downie lyric. when i think about this i just lose my shit entirely
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 23:15 (six years ago) link
it's been 25 years since i lived in canada; while i was aware of them -- i managed to dub someone's cassettes of the first two albums -- my friends were mostly dead/neil-heads who thought the hip were a little too edgy or something. i didn't realize how pan-canadian they'd become until gord's sickness was announced -- i saw someone today comparing it to the u.s. reaction when springsteen goes, which doesn't quite seem to capture it
rip
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 23:36 (six years ago) link
Yeah--a little bit, but there's a better analogy out there...I don't know: Johnny Cash? Tom Petty? Quintessentially "Canadian" (whatever that means) in the same way they're quintessentially "American" (whatever that means). Springsteen feels like an abstraction to me; Canadians who were really affected by Downie's music seem to feel like they knew him.
Even as someone who loves one-and-one-only song ("Fireworks"), I can see that. That song comes from somewhere I know.
― clemenza, Thursday, 19 October 2017 00:14 (six years ago) link
"phantom power" was an unbelievably meaningful record to anyone who lived through the great 1998 ice storm like me (albeit on the other side of the border), as one of the only real pieces of media that ever directly referenced an event that absolutely devastated a very small part of the us and canada and intensely affected that region long after everyone had more or less forgotten about it.
of course they were a kingston band, so they wouldn't not write about something like that, but it always struck me as a good microcosm of downie's ability to find these little squirreled-away events in canadian history and turn them into great songs. years from now that storm is going to be as distant a memory as all the other obscure historical references in hip songs, and i really hope there's another gord downie someday to keep writing about them.
― the portentous pepper (govern yourself accordingly), Thursday, 19 October 2017 00:31 (six years ago) link
^^^ otm
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 19 October 2017 00:33 (six years ago) link
i don't think there is a good analogy. they're much younger than anyone who could possibly be an american analogue, for one thing. and the fact that they *didn't* move to california, unlike many of their predecessors, is key -- there's no comparable act for any of the 'quintessentially american' candidates
― mookieproof, Thursday, 19 October 2017 00:34 (six years ago) link
fwiw john k samson still lives
― mookieproof, Thursday, 19 October 2017 00:36 (six years ago) link
fair point, and samson is extremely good at it too, but he's never quite caught on with the crucial drunk-leafs-fan demographic
― the portentous pepper (govern yourself accordingly), Thursday, 19 October 2017 00:39 (six years ago) link