Podcasts about road apples

This week on The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown, jD is joined by superfan Alan from Federal Way, who shares his incredible journey as a Hip fan—from a life-changing moment watching Saturday Night Live to chasing down rare albums and unforgettable live show experiences (including a poker loss that cost him concert tickets—ouch!).Alan's passion for The Hip is undeniable, and his stories remind us why this band means so much to so many. Whether you've been with The Hip since Road Apples or discovered them yesterday, this episode is a deep dive into what makes their music so timeless.

This week on The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown, jD is joined by superfan Alan from Federal Way, who shares his incredible journey as a Hip fan—from a life-changing moment watching Saturday Night Live to chasing down rare albums and unforgettable live show experiences (including a poker loss that cost him concert tickets—ouch!).Alan's passion for The Hip is undeniable, and his stories remind us why this band means so much to so many. Whether you've been with The Hip since Road Apples or discovered them yesterday, this episode is a deep dive into what makes their music so timeless.

TTHTop40 - 608Welcome back! This week on The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown, jD is joined by special guest Greg LeGros, the original host of Fully & Completely, to reveal song #33 in your definitive list of the best TTH songs. (No spoilers here—you've got to listen to find out!)Together, they explore this track's emotional and musical depths, its place in Canadian music history, and why it resonates deeply with superfans. Along the way, Greg shares his Hipstory, reflecting on his love for albums like Road Apples and Day for Night and the band's enduring ability to redefine themselves with each decade.

Another week, another epic bunch of stories! 

Another week, another epic bunch of stories! 

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This week in the pod, the gang is up to their neck in the fantastic effort by Gord and the Sadies. You're gonna want to check this one out!Transcript: Track 1:[0:00] Hey, it's Craig here, and I just wanted to let you know that Christmastime in.Track 1:[0:03] Toronto is coming early this year. Join me and the Discovering Downey crew for the recording of our podcast finale, live at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Long Slice Brewing presents A Celebration of Gord Downey, which will include a special in-person interview with Gord's brother, Patrick Downey. Spend the evening listening to your favorite hip tunes provided by the almost hip and help us raise money for the gourd downy fund for brain cancer research with a silent auction featuring incredible items up for grabs visit discoveringdowny.com for tickets or for more information about the event, let's have a toast for charity wickedness and most importantly hope.Track 2:[1:04] DOS Beauty I name my guitar My Beautiful Behor Everybody's coughing here And music's infiltrating work In the most pleasant way It's a system based on silverware Listening's an extrasensory Perception And talking the only psychic thing and I can dress you in my thoughts until you wear them. I've been taking care of my clothes like they're cattle. Try this shirt. It would look so good on you.Track 1:[1:42] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy. Hey, it's J.D.Track 2:[1:52] Here, and welcome to Discovering Downey, an 11-part project with a focus on the music and poetry of Mr. Gord Downey. The late frontman of the Tragically Hip gave to the world an extensive solo discography on top of the hip's vocal acrobatics that awed us for years. So far, he's released eight records in total, three of them posthumously. Now listen, you might be the biggest fan of The Hip out there, but have you heard these records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week we'll get together and listen to one of Gord's records. We're starting with Coke Machine Glow and working from there in chronological order. We discuss and dissect the album, the production, the lyrics, and we break it down song by song. This week we're going to be talking about Gord's fourth record, and his first and only with the Sadies.Track 3:[2:58] Occurring son kirk from chino how the fuck are things with you buddy jd.Track 6:[3:04] I'm uh i'm back home after a little bit of travel it's been good travel um it's allowed me to really kind of soak this album in so i'm excited talking about it with you boys.Track 3:[3:15] Can you confirm this craig i'm kidding yeah how's it going pretty.Track 4:[3:20] Good yeah also looking forward to talking about this album them and it this one took me a little bit of time to get into but we'll talk about that i have been a little under the weather since the last recording it was about halfway through the last podcast i started feeling something coming on and just won't go away just a cold thankfully but yeah other than that things are well.Track 3:[3:41] Well that's good justin you've been a podcasting machine today are you spent or are you ready to talk shop with me i'm.Track 5:[3:49] Just getting started buddy.Track 3:[3:50] Yeah well let's get into it then and the conquering sun is the album we are discussing this week after three consecutive solo outings with some form of the country of miracles gourd wrote and produced this one with the sadies who had just come from supporting the hip on their world container tour Like so many, this marriage was consummated by the CBC, when the Sadies chose Mr. Downey to collaborate with, as was the program's premise. The Sadies are a Toronto-based and road-tested throughout Canada and beyond, with an original lineup consisting of Travis Goode, Sean Dean, Mike Belotiski, and Dallas Goode, who sadly passed away in 2022. This band, as I mentioned, is road-tested with buckets of swagger and chops for days. But how do you talk about The Conquering Sun? After the loose and improvised feeling of the last three records, this record is tight and economical. With a 30-minute runtime, I had to listen twice to get my walk in.Track 3:[4:55] Of the four records we've listened to so far, this one makes my Olympic podium for rock and roll with a hard-fought bronze medal, which is nothing to shake a stick at unless, of course, you're shaking the stick in a complimentary fashion. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this album. In fact, in my opinion, this record is the closest we get to a sound that is reminiscent of the hip, up and down on this record. The songs are screaming for radio play if only radio had been a factor upon its release in 2014. From the rip of Crater right through Saved, there isn't a missed opportunity on this record. I could go on about how much I like this record, na-na-na-na, blah-blah-blah, etc. You might be curious how I'm literally singing this album's praises, yet I've only ranked it third of four. I promise I'm not damning with faint praise. It's more that I loved the ceiling of the country of miracles, particles and the idea that we don't get a fourth effort from that entity bums me out a little bit so it's hard to go into this one with that ripple of bummed outness influencing me a little more than frankly i'd like but who cares what i think let's check in with the crew craig we'll start with you this week.Track 4:[6:04] Yeah this album like i i mentioned took took a few listens to get into um it's definitely not in you know it's not my favorite of the four we've heard so far but it's really just it's drastically different it just has a different vibe and there are a lot of things I really like about it and I think that my biggest realization is this this is a summer album this is a a nice weather taking a drive in the car putting the windows down this it's that kind of album and for the first couple weeks I didn't have that weather but but just past in the past few days we have and it's just it totally changed my outlook of this this album.Track 3:[6:45] I was on mute. Justin, what are your thoughts overall?Track 5:[6:49] Oh, I needed this one. I needed this album to get my headspace back into this. And I think I'm going to rank this number two so far out of the four. I actually really love this album a lot. And like Craig, it took me a minute to get into it, but something clicked and I have been listening to it at least two or three times a day every day since. And in the car, on my phone, with or without earbuds trying to get the different parts of the sound, and it kicks my ass every time. I really just like this album from start to finish. Every song kind of sounds the same, which makes it sound like one big long song, and I really kind of love that.Track 3:[7:28] Interesting. I can't wait till we break it down. What say you, Kirk from Chino?Track 6:[7:32] Like my brethren here, it took me a while. In fact, it took me a while because it almost felt like a divorce and maybe a bit of an affair Was going on with with our buddy Gord. I was so I.Track 6:[7:48] Immersed into what was happening with the country miracles and like you said in the beginning like the ceiling like i wanted more and i was so ready for more i had the vinyl of this one the last ground bounce i didn't and i listened to it and i knew there was something there but i was angry honestly i was angry because i wanted more as we had mentioned but man did it grow and grow row. I'm not going to rank it right now because every time I rank something, a day or two goes by and something happens. And I realized, oh man, that was, you know, the grand bounce. That was Coke machine glow that, and you know, every album that we've had a chance to listen to has been, I think in every slot, if that makes sense, depending on the time of day or what's going on. And and so again it just brings you back to joy because i didn't dive in when it was happening which of course i'm a little sad about but i'm so excited now that i'm like i'm really loving music discovery again i'm really loving listening to albums i'm really loving i don't care if it's in the car if i'm walking the dog if i'm sitting at work if i'm you know working on something on on the computer and I've got the music going.Track 6:[9:11] Like I have not spent this much time with new music. I say that in quotes because it's obviously not new, but it's new to me, new to us.Track 6:[9:23] And I'm just, I'm loving the ride. That's all I got to say. This one is the last two, I mean, like I'm going to be listening to these forever. And I'm going to try and preach the word and get some people to jump on board because it makes me sad when I look at Spotify or something and I see the honestly and don't jump on me. It's like the limited number of listens to the Gord stuff. I have friends that have put stuff out that have more downloads than that. I'm not saying that in a negative, I'm saying that in a like, that shouldn't be. That shouldn't be, so. Right. My diatribe's over, sorry.Track 3:[10:03] No, no. Well, that's why I was mentioning off the top too too, that it screams for radio play to me. It's very radio-friendly. There's nothing over four minutes. And fucking radio just didn't matter in 2014. So of course we were never going to hear this. Unless we were paying very close attention.Track 6:[10:26] Absolutely.Track 3:[10:27] Clearly we were not.Track 6:[10:28] Absolutely. Radio.Track 5:[10:29] Radio still matters to me. I'm a radio guy. I'm going to tell you that right now. Yeah. Love radio.Track 3:[10:34] Radio doesn't love you back though. That's the problem. Like it's getting stripped down and worn down and these formats, you know, like if you've got a, if you've got a local that you love, then by going to stand with it, right?Track 5:[10:47] Yeah, you're right. We have, we have a, I'm going to sidebar here for just a second. We have a great station here in Southern Vermont, WEQX, which is one of the last great independent alternative rock stations in North America. And they discovered No Rain by Blind Melon. They were the first one to play it. And they just got this great pedigree, and they love to play Gord's solo stuff. From 2020 on, there's been a lot of new Gord solo stuff that's really been great.Track 3:[11:19] Get up. Right.Track 5:[11:20] And it's kind of been hard to not listen ahead during this project. Wow. I don't know if they played any of the stuff from this album, but this would totally fit.Track 4:[11:28] Yeah, we once had a really awesome independent radio station down in Bellingham, Washington, which we could pick up in Vancouver. And they actually, their tagline was something like, we don't play Canadian music because we have to. We play it because it rocks or something along those lines. And they would play The Hip and Rush. and yeah that's the only american station i've heard that that played a ton of the hip and yeah of course about 15 years ago they got whatever bought out by chorus or someone and it's now just yeah yeah your standard rock radio well.Track 3:[12:02] Should we eradicate this problem and educate people on this record go through it track by track are we ready let's.Track 5:[12:10] Go sure yeah.Track 3:[12:12] All right we start with track one side a it's the classic rock tinged crater what did you think of this one mr greg.Track 4:[12:25] My dad uh came to vancouver from new zealand in 1965 to to buy a 65 chevy impala and this song crater is a 1965 chevy impala cruising down the road it's just a great rock and roll track yeah um man that snare drum is yes snare snare yeah it is it is there in the mix yeah definitely i didn't dive into the lyrics at all especially um the songs that were more kind of rocking i i just i was just enjoying them and the only thought i had lyric wise was um almost like an idea of like either you're you're the crater or you're the meter meteor And I was kind of thinking along the lines of there's that not so great Dire Straits song, Heavy Fuel, where he says, you know, sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug. And that was kind of the... What i got out of the lyrics on this song.Track 6:[13:25] I i wonder in the lyrics and maybe you guys did further research that i didn't see like how much of it was gord how much of it was the gents from the sadies because i i knew the name the sadies but i honestly until this i had not really you know dove into some of their music and i think in one of our you know communications justin had mentioned that as well like he's doing a lot of listening to the sadies and and i try i you know my listening at first it's this is it's going to sound weird um i did a lot of listening at first obviously like through spotify or whatever else but it wasn't until youtube and i got to see these guys and they're wearing like their nudie suits is what it looks like you know and i just i just saw a bunch of them they had a big exhibit at the you know country music uh hall of fame and they were We're talking about that LA country and, you know, very much a country tinge, but, you know, they're using those hollow body guitars. And anyway, so back to lyrics, like what's the balance between Gord and the Sadie's? Did anyone find anything on that?Track 4:[14:30] My understanding is that they, that the Sadie's wrote the songs and Gord wrote the lyrics that, yeah. And it was recorded apparently over a number of years. This wasn't like an album that was done in one session, which I find surprising because like someone said earlier, it's, it sounds just like a, it's a great album. It, it really sounds like it was just tracked in one day or something. It's yeah, there's a.Track 6:[14:53] There's YouTube has a, uh, interview of, I think the Sadie's had just put an album out. It was like 2010 and Gord was with them and they, you know, obviously had some discussions about their, their time together. And in some of the research it talks about, this has definitely been a long-term type of thing. Great song.Track 5:[15:10] Yeah, there was a CBC fuse in 2007 is what put them together. So it took seven years for this album to come out from that first collaboration. Collaboration I really like the sound.Track 6:[15:21] From a musicianship standpoint ethereal is really the kind of the adjective that came to mind on a lot of the the guitar parts that the Sadie's had you know very much a hollow body type guitar going through either a Fender a lot of reverb I really liked that driving sound I really really liked it it was it was pretty prevalent throughout in my opinion anything.Track 3:[15:43] Else on crater i.Track 5:[15:46] Just yeah i mean this is gourd this is like this is a live show on a record um this one song particularly and he is giving it all he has what at the end of the second verse and if we record any of these songs this is the one i'm doing because this is a this is a screamer and it's so much fun to be it you know we don't want to we don't want to do it we want to be it this song is fun to sing, Yeah. So I also, I downloaded an app because I noticed my foot was tapping a lot faster at the end of the song than the beginning. And I, so I, I downloaded an app and it picks up 13 beats per minute from the start to the finish.Track 4:[16:29] Oh yeah. That's something I'm going to be talking about later. Cause I, it was driving me nuts. One of the songs I was trying to actually figure out what was happening mathematically and yeah. Okay. I'm glad I'm not the only one noticed.Track 6:[16:43] I love that. I love the time changes in a variety of different songs. I put them down in a few notes. But the one thing I really want to say before we dive into any more, long live the guitar solo. And there's quite a few guitar solos on this album, specifically Crater. And they're just, they're solos. They're good solos. And on the other albums, we'll call lead lines, but there's not a lot of solos. And I'm digging that, getting that back, because we haven't had that in the first three.Track 5:[17:15] Oh, yes.Track 3:[17:16] Nice. Well, the next one is sort of the titular track, but not quite. The Conquering Sun does what for you, Justin?Track 5:[17:27] When I look out the window and see Audette's Blue Spruce Farm across the street, That's kind of what I think about. I mean, it's getting on time to plant. And here it is as we record this. It's planting season and working the fugitive dust. Nature, please be good to us. You know, we just had this massively wet spring that wiped out a shit ton of the farms around here. That's, you know, before they even got started. For me, that's part of what this song is. There's also the line, she is more than a conqueror. And I wonder if that's a reference to Gord's wife, Laura, with her recent cancer battle. I don't know when this song was recorded in the timeline of all that, like what year this happened. But I interpreted it as possibly something that could be a reference to defeating the cancer. And the other thing that I really, it was a callback to We Are The Same is when Gord's, his vocal run during hearing, ooh, day is your word, night is the glue. He does that exact same thing in The Depression Suite. That very same run, the change, the pitch, the length, I love it.Track 4:[18:41] Yeah, I caught that too. That's great.Track 6:[18:43] Great song. It was one of those. I think I mentioned on the last time we spoke, there was not a definitive MVP for me. This one has fallen in and out of MVP, and it may fall back in at the end of this recording. morning. But that's one of the things that really showed me this was a great album, but specifically this song. I just felt immersed in it. And like I said earlier, Ethereal, again, another great solo, another great, that sound that the Sadies have. They have, these guys, what are they like six, five, six, six, they look like trees and they might be a buck or five soaking wet and the suits are barely hanging on them and he's just playing this you know telecaster like it's a little tiny you know a small ukulele and they just have this they they just have this presence and like i said it really wasn't until i i started seeing them that i i got the sadie's because when i was listening it didn't hit me as much and i was kind of hoping i don't know if i mentioned this earlier because they were on the world container tour and i was wondering if they were the opening band I didn't find anything that showed them specifically, but when I watch the videos, it doesn't bring a memory or recollection that I saw. I think it was Sam Roberts that opened for a lot of the shows that I saw here in California.Track 5:[20:06] I saw Joel Plaskett as the opener on that tour.Track 6:[20:11] Got it. Got it. Yeah. So I was kind of hoping that they were one of the openers. But you know now i'm really excited that you know just in the last couple of days i would say is really when my attention has gone towards them and when you start hearing and seeing how they crafted these songs together and how they worked so well with gourd and his phrasing and and so yeah love this love this yeah.Track 4:[20:38] The the sadies are actually on tour as we record this and i'm hoping to pick to go down to the the vancouver show uh so you might you might want to look at dates they They might be coming down your way.Track 6:[20:48] I hope so.Track 4:[20:48] Yeah, this song, to me, as soon as I heard it, it reminded me of Nico Case. And Nico Case is someone who's worked with the Sadies. And so it is very much that sort of alt-country vibe on this song. And this was probably the song that drew me in right away. Again, like Kirk said, it was in the contention for my MVP track for sure, which, like you, keeps changing. and yeah it's just just a great feel to this song.Track 3:[21:18] Yeah i couldn't agree more i think we're two for two so far on this record and we're gonna find out that let's go pretty even record it's a pretty even fucking record los angeles times has the aforementioned swagger dripping from it, Kirk, did you like this one as much as I did?Track 6:[25:07] I'm going to say yes, absolutely. But it didn't start out that way. This actually was one of my least favorite tunes after the first couple of passes. I just didn't quite get it. It was just kind of like, it was almost too much swagger at first for me. Because remember, I think we're in a divorce right now. I think this is an affair that's going on. So I'm a little adverse to the song and the album and almost everything because I still have his last, you know, that last record that just moved us all. It was still here. So there was this almost a betrayal, swagger, distaste that I had in the beginning. But listening to it, re-listening to it, listening to it in headphones, listening to it on vinyl, listening to it in the car, listening to it in the plane, listening to it in the hotel. The key changes, like we'd mentioned earlier, just another great solo, just great rock. And, hey, I'm an LA guy. So this one definitely turned and has also filtered through multiple times sometimes on the mvp track side so yeah to me it's three for three and i'm just gonna pre-call it for y'all.Track 4:[26:22] Yeah yeah i found this song to be um i was the same way i found the the progression to be a bit generic at first and so i didn't really love it right away but yeah it really grew and i think what makes it work is that this band is just so tight they're so i mean loose but Yeah, the tempo, you know, picks up and, you know, there's the push and push and pull, but they are such a great band that they can pull off anything. Just a simple strumming pattern and make it sound pro. And there's that thing you mentioned off the top, JD, the blah, blah, blah, et cetera, which I was wondering if, I'm sure you guys were thinking the music at work, live, Gord would do the et cetera thing. Did you find anything lyrically, Justin?Track 5:[27:10] Yeah. So there's a dedication at the end of the lyrics for Walter Van Tilburg Clark, who wrote The Oxbow Incident, among many other works. And that became kind of one of the great Western movies of all time. And it's about, the subject is these cowboys thought that one of their buddies got murdered and that somebody stole their cows. And then they found this group of three people that they thought did it and they hanged them. And then they found out that the guy survived and it wasn't them and you know it was just a big mess so it was it was the oxbow incident and uh yeah so it was a complicated story and but this isn't about the story it's about the author there are a lot of references to lines in the book or the movie but it's you know there's a line he was born and raised and moved away and that's about i think walter van tillberg clark who was born in maine but then his parents moved him to nevada and then he moved to in New York and then he went he was kind of all over the place beyond that I don't know it's, There's one thing that is a bit of a departure, I think, on this album is that the lyrics aren't too deep. There's not a lot of mystery in this album with Gord's lyrics. And I was hoping for more of that, but the research was a little easier than I wanted it to be on this.Track 4:[28:26] That was something I noticed too, is like there didn't seem to be as much to dig into.Track 4:[28:31] And once I kind of got past that and just started enjoying it, I really did grow to appreciate the album a lot more. It's funny that you mentioned the Oxbow incident because number one, a couple of weeks ago i was in la and we did did a couple studio tours and this is one of the movies they actually mentioned i forget if it was warner brothers or universal but it was shot at one of those two places in the next song so one good fast job one of my notes here is oxbow incident because of the line it says art shot said wellman to fonda so wellman the director and uh fonda the the star of the show so um nice kind of a neat little tie and i had no idea that the previous song had that reference so i'm glad you caught that this song i really love and this was the one i was um i found really interesting the the progression you've got like almost like a eight bar blues but then they throw in an extra bar so it's like this nine bar which just throws you off off balance a little bit once you once you hear it a few times it makes perfect sense but there's the lyric about drop you know planes dropping paper and dropping scissors and the chimps becoming regular wizards i think it is. And so that made me think of, there's a couple of Simpsons episode that reference like the infinite monkey theorem.Track 4:[29:46] What is it? Infinite monkeys, or give a monkey a typewriter and let it type for infinity. It would create, you know, Shakespeare. And you know, it would just some ridiculous theory that has, you know, been, you know, criticized heavily, but I wonder if there's something to that.Track 6:[30:03] Sorely discredited.Track 4:[30:05] And I really like, there's the line too about something about forget the commas. This is one good fast job. And it almost made me think of this album that they just like banged off this out. Like, let's not, let's just have fun. Let's just write some songs and let's not take ourselves too seriously. So those are my thoughts.Track 5:[30:23] Well, I think there was some controversy over the name of the band. And there are commas in that band name. And I think that they're just saying, you know, screw it. And like, nobody asked for this. We're just doing it. let us enjoy it. I did see a couple of interviews where Gord and members of the band were like, can we not dissect this? This is just rock and roll.Track 4:[30:44] Yeah.Track 6:[30:46] One thing in watching some of those videos that I had mentioned, the last two songs that we discussed that they had played, it was a Greenbelt Harvest Festival thing show that was on. They had almost every song on there and he was playing with the Sadie's and watching the crowd to me was actually quite entertaining because they just sat there and looked in bewilderment right because I don't know they obviously have probably some relationship with with the hip and who knows if they're early hit people or later hit people or die hard all the way but when Gord does the solo stuff and then if they're not familiar with the Sadie's they just sat there and looked like yeah why don't what are we experiencing here what what's what's going on and bewilderment was the note note that i wrote right.Track 3:[31:34] Right i mean this makes no sense to me fuck okay sorry uh continue.Track 6:[31:42] It man one good fast job and almost back to kind of those punk type roots and that driving rocking it it's uh who i jd like this album has everything and, Also, one thing I wanted to mention, I know we're not through it all, but I think they did a great job of tracking. I really felt good about where all the songs were. I needed Crater to get me going, even though I was still mad and angry, like we mentioned, and then Saved at the end that we'll talk about. It just was like, okay, I got a good, nice, warm hug. Thank you. you um which.Track 5:[32:26] You know what's amazing is there were so many reviews about this album that said it was not cohesive and inconsistent and like what the hell are you talking about and.Track 3:[32:36] Uneven and blah blah.Track 4:[32:37] Blah yeah what.Track 3:[32:38] The hell man agree.Track 4:[32:39] Yeah no that's a reviewer who read that it was you know recorded over many years yeah that's ridiculous like maybe if you gave it one or two listens but even then even the first listen i didn't love it but it sounded like an album yeah Yeah. One more thing about this song though, before, before we move on, I love the middle section. There's like a bridge or maybe even call it a chorus. It only goes to it once the, I had to look, I had to go, I had to laugh. And it's really interesting how they go through it once, then there's that extra bar, like they keep doing, and then they change the chord progression and back off a bit. Like if you listen to the way the, you know, they're the same instruments, but they just back off and the feel changes totally. And it's such a great effect. Rather than ramping up a bridge, they almost like pull back a bit. And that really was unique. And it only happens once. It feels like a chorus to me, but it's right smack dab in the middle of the song. And I think it's two minutes and like 23 seconds or something. And this is definitely one of my favorites.Track 3:[33:43] Yeah, it's a good one. And the next one is a good one as well. It's got to hold the record for the longest title in Gord's solo oeuvre. Kirk mentioned a moment ago that there's a bit of everything on this record. And to me, the beginning of this song, just the very beginning, is shoegazy.Track 5:[34:00] Yes.Track 3:[34:00] Or it goes into a real punk sort of vibe. And it didn't start to break my heart until this afternoon. Justin, what have you got for us?Track 5:[34:09] So the line, we fought like two Irons, really stuck out to me. and it goes with Kirk. I don't know that this was the middle of a divorce. I think Gord is just polyamorous at this point because this project took seven years and in the middle of it, he released the third album, Grand Bounce. So he is just sleeping around. I love the punk, the hard driving, just we're going to beat the fuck out of this song.Track 4:[34:38] My first real positive experience with this song was driving to my show last weekend and it was like i said a nice day i was driving along and to me like i said it's a real good driving album and i was coming up to this i guess it was a school zone but it was a weekend so there's no school and there was a uh a flashing like speed limit sign it was like a happy face and as i'm driving by it's like it turns to a sad face because i guess i was a little bit above the limit i'm not a huge speeder but i found that kind of quite funny especially after the i just just listen to the line what is it um something about driving fast oh yeah drive drive it like we stole it yeah it's a great great line that's right and then later on there's the dishwasher loaded which i love because i i wish i could say that most of my music listening was in the car but i only have about a five minute commute to work so most of my listening is actually doing the dishes and so this is just a great song when you're doing the dishes and and dishwasher loaded it and it really really kind of got you know i.Track 5:[35:40] Had the same experience man that's.Track 4:[35:41] Found it pretty funny and i actually the first time i noticed that lyric i was actually had just put this open i was closing the door of the dishwasher and so it was just it was just perfect it's so funny yeah.Track 5:[35:51] That's amazing oh.Track 4:[35:53] And great harmonies too on the chorus like love those harmonies yeah.Track 6:[35:57] That's one thing you'll notice too when you watch those or or you see them like the the harmony part especially especially after what we had just experienced for the last three albums, you know, with the female voice going back to a male voice backing. I love that element that it brought to it. And I'm just gonna jump into the next song, Budget Shoes. This is one that I think has probably held the number one spot for me. I would say it's not necessarily still there, but it's been there more often than not. And maybe I'm far off on this, but being the American, one of the two Americans that really likes Canadian culture, it brought me back to Kids in the Hall for some reason. In fact, so much so, if you think of the Kids in the Hall intro, I actually looked it up to go hoping it was the sadies like that really would have made my day if it was the sadies that had done that song that's the intro to kids in the hall.Track 4:[39:34] There is there is a connection there and i hope i'm correct here but i believe i read that the dallas good the the younger brother who you know passed away recently who.Track 3:[39:44] Was the drummer.Track 4:[39:44] He he played so so the good family was a was a country family like they had like a family band and and the older brother travis actually played with his band and Dallas being younger he he went more towards punk and I believe it said that his first or one of his first bands was with one of the members of uh Shadowy Men is that the name of the band that does the theme yeah yeah.Track 3:[40:11] Shadowy Men oh.Track 6:[40:12] Wow nice it definitely was reminiscent of that uh the entire song to me is just brilliant and it it gives you I mean it It really just digs deep inside my soul going back to the ethereal. When Gord hits those moments of the desperation vocal that we heard a lot, not only in recording, but live when he was with the hip, that brought such a comfort to me, right? Knowing where the hip is at, knowing where Gord is at, knowing what's coming. Like this is three years prior to his passing. And just so thankful that we get another version of Gord. And that's really what it was to me is we got, we have the hip and we love that. We have these first three albums, but now we have another one. And it was, Justin, you mentioned it in his lyrics. It's like, I'm not trying to confuse anyone here. I got this great band. They've given me this good music and I'm just gonna give it, I'm gonna give it what's coming to me at the moment. so when he does his and i call it a desperation vocal i know exactly what.Track 5:[41:22] You mean when you say it though.Track 3:[41:26] Yeah.Track 5:[41:26] Yep. Yep. So I'm going to ask the Canadians in the room here about budget shoes because I did some research on this as well. And apparently there's a tradition in Canada that finance ministers buy a new pair of shoes before presenting the budget and they wear them on the floor. Or if they're pissed off about it, they don't.Track 4:[41:48] Oh, wow.Track 5:[41:48] And it's this thing that has happened since the 1860s.Track 3:[41:53] Jesus. Do they go bare feet? I mean, listen, I was a political science major, and I've never heard of it before, but that doesn't really mean anything.Track 6:[42:01] As the other American, I agree with what you say full-heartedly. Love it. Love that connection.Track 3:[42:10] Yeah, I think it's great.Track 5:[42:11] It was strange, but interesting. And I don't know if this song is a commentary on politics and that, or if it just works well with... I mean, this song sounds like, you know, we're sleeping in a tent in a winter storm unexpectedly in the middle of the desert, you know, and I've got nice shoes and you don't, you know, and I'm going to keep my feet and you're going to lose them to frostbite. I don't know.Track 4:[42:37] What I was thinking was I was imagining almost like an old Western movie. It's like sweltering hot in the desert. And yeah, they're camping overnight. Night and you know the most iconic thing you'll see in a western is that you know the shot of the cowboy boots and the pan up and and i'm just picturing this you know guy sleeping in his budget you know there's cheap shoes and that's kind of what i do balances on yeah yeah.Track 6:[43:04] Ouch shots fired they're.Track 5:[43:05] A great company and they.Track 6:[43:06] Make a fine shoe thank you we're not sponsored by any of these particular shoe brands yeah i mean budget shoes you talk about the westerns it's almost like a spaghetti western type feel just in that uh the guitar riff as well so.Track 3:[43:26] Oh, that's cool. I felt that, too. I wouldn't have put that together. All right, let's move on. Demand Destruction. Is it just me, Justin, or does this song feel very much like the Tragically Hip? Am I crazy?Track 5:[43:38] No, I don't think you're crazy about that at all. And this song is, I think, Gord kind of putting out his own views. Again, there's a notation at the bottom. The last one, Budget Shoes, was dedicated to Evan S. Connell, who was the author of the book about Custer where the title of The Grand Bounce came from. So that's a continuation. And then this one is dedicated to Dr. Helen Caldicott, who was an Australian physicist and anti-nuclear war advocate. And it just feels like a protest song to me. I really don't have a lot of notes about it. It's just a nice, fun tune. But there's definitely a message in there. And I think it's Gord speaking about, let's not fuck this up. and maybe some reverence for Dr. Caldecott. It says, I'm not a fan, I just like what you do. I don't know. I don't have a whole lot to unpack on this one.Track 3:[44:30] Right. Well, no, I think you unpacked quite a bit. Craig, what have you got for us?Track 4:[44:36] One thing I'll say about this song is I found maybe the snare was a little too biting for me. I found that if you if you were listening quietly it it just jumped right out of the mix to the point where you almost couldn't hear anything else and when you turned it up it just had just a little a tinge too much oh yeah you guys know who who mixed the album yeah so bob rock and i think he did a great job overall but it definitely you know he's known for those big huge drums and i just would have liked a little more balance i thought the snare was just a little peeking out a little bit too much the rest of the album i think it it works but maybe the song is the poppiest.Track 5:[45:17] I think of the of the songs on the album it's certainly.Track 4:[45:20] Radio friendly fairly typical like blues rock sort of yeah um riff at the start yeah.Track 3:[45:25] That's what reminds me it reminds me of something off of road apples you know oh yeah yeah that era.Track 4:[45:31] Yeah great great harmonies again especially in the chorus all.Track 3:[45:34] Right from there we get a change of pace with mandolin and organ off the top of devil enough. Am I right? Was it mandolin Craig?Track 4:[45:44] Um, yeah, I believe so. I need to go back and listen again. Um, yeah, this is the song I referenced earlier that was driving me nuts. Even today I was sitting there tapping my toes, like trying to figure out the time change. And I actually had this like theory about what they were doing with it, you know, how they're getting from one tempo to the next. And then I just realized after a while it's just feel it's all feel. And I won't even get into it, because there are some weird things that happen. And I think it is what Justin mentioned earlier, I think it's just that flexibility of, of like, you know, they're really pushing the tempo, bringing it back quite frequently. And so.Track 4:[46:25] Yeah, if anyone wants to transcribe this drum part for me and send it to me, I would love to see that because I would love to know mathematically how it works, but I'm pretty sure it is just like a feel thing. This was a song that really stuck out to me. I love that time change. Having said all that, it really, the first few times just really struck me. The guitar playing at the end, the sort of Nashville picking at the end is just amazing. There's a few songs that have those great guitar solos. I think often it's Travis, according to the videos I watched, although I believe Dallas will trade off solo sometimes too. There's the line, Streets Ahead, which of course is a song name from Now For Plan A. And I had just actually recently been watching Community. And I'm not sure if you guys know that reference, but there's a, you know, it's like a catchphrase of Chevy Chase's character. And I actually found a, I wondered if it was related and I found an interview where someone asked Gord that question and he's just like, what? He was so like, no, like what are you talking about? Which of course makes sense. I mean, you don't write books. All these songs you're not a prolific writer like gourd if you're if you're.Track 6:[47:36] Spending countless hours.Track 4:[47:39] Binging you know sitcoms with 120 episodes.Track 5:[47:44] Well and gourd gourd's a dan akroyd guy not a chevy chase guy.Track 6:[47:48] Yeah true hey going back to that the ending part craig yes uh you know they almost have a bluegrass feel in some of these instrumental type solos there's There's rock going on against a different instrumentation, which I absolutely love the devil enough to me almost was reminiscent of like your seventies kind of, you know, Barracuda and like the big songs that would have a slow intro and then rock out or go to another slow, but very seventies rock and kind of anthemic type of we're going to switch keys. We're going to switch tempos i very much got that but again going back to the swagger you feel the swagger in in the presentation of the lyrics at least from my perspective with gourd on this loved it loved it.Track 4:[48:43] Yeah there are some um really great songwriting techniques on this album that you can tell you know the sadies are just a pro band i think is it uh one of the guys from blue rodeo i believe was was quoted in the in the barclay book about saying that you know they're the world's greatest rock band and there's the little things like in this song they use the little bars of two to set up you know those changes and just lots of little things like that like an extra bar here an extra bar there it's just some really great little songwriting tricks what did you think justin i.Track 5:[49:14] Just this song you know growing up we only had like 10 or 12 channels on on tv and one of them was tnn the nashville network and so the grand ole opry was was on all the time, because we didn't have a choice. If it wasn't Hockey Night in Canada, it was TNN. And just this song, that run with the picking is really cool. It brought me back to late 80s, early 90s, just watching the hoedown.Track 4:[49:42] Not a country fan, but when I hear a great guitar player like that, though, like a great Nashville player, it really is great. This whole album isn't the type of music I would typically listen to. And I think that's why I gravitate more towards an indie rock feel, like the Battle of the Nudes. But man, this album is really, really solid.Track 6:[50:06] Yeah, it has a good... I mean, I know you guys say you don't like country, and I say it too. But I bet you you'd be surprised about what you do like that's country-esque. And so for me, when I think of country, I get turned away by some of the modern country. although I'm really digging some Chris Stapleton and some of these other guys I'm really digging. But like when I hear country, I think Kenny Rogers, Merle Haggard, I think Willie Nelson, I think, and I think we really do dig, even going back Hank Williams and even a little further, like when the, as you listen to, I love this that we're talking like, oh, we only had 10 channels and whatever else. And I'm going hockey night in Canada and the nashville network you know and throw in a little emma daughter's jug band christmas and that's my childhood and i'm happy and i love all that so i i i get what you're saying but this i mean the sadie's i think alt country i heard earlier from one of you guys that's very much the feel from devil enough you roll into i'm free disarray me justin you you inspired me because i I have the vinyl here with me. And so I quick looked at the bottom and I'm like, okay, I gotta catch this one cause I've missed all the other references that you mentioned. So you got Virginia Woolf, who's listed at the bottom of I'm Free Disarray Me. And when you do your research, you think about stream of consciousness.Track 6:[51:31] And that really, I think, kind of sums up your lyrics in this particular song.Track 6:[51:37] Swagger again it's it's it's it's it's the same but it's not i heard us all say that it's the same but it's not i i i loved where it went with this and it's bringing us down now right because we only have one more song we talked about the track listings and the order and now it's given us getting us i think this is kind of setting us up for saved at least me personally uh what you think craig.Track 4:[52:03] This was the first song that actually popped into my head just out of the blue one morning when i woke up because it took quite a long time for that to happen with this album i was still singing grand bounce songs you know every morning waking up and then one day it was that i was like wow okay and and same one thing i want to mention this is kind of, going off of what you're talking about with vinyl i was listening to this you know doing dishes.Track 4:[52:29] With you know on apple and the amount of times in the last few months of doing this you know this show with you guys listening to music and it glitches for just a second when i'm streaming and it just drives me nuts and so just that was one thing that i just had a note note about that that this album needs to be listened to on cd on on on vinyl anyways that was just a little pet peeve of mine and also the the snare again in this song was just a little a little much for me it was it was it was really up front and i i like loud drums typically in a mix but i just I don't know there there was it's almost like with the snare being that loud I'm missing a bit of the kick drum and speaking of which you guys must have noticed that the the bass players you know playing stand-up I had the thought a few times like I wonder and this is not to take away from what he's doing but I just wonder what it would have sounded like if they if they used an electric bass on this album because I found the bass to be not as prominent as on the last three albums you know there it wasn't sticking i don't think that's just part of the style of this band.Track 6:[53:38] Great i have a question though craig in when i look at the watch the videos oh yeah he has an he has an ampeg like he has a bass amp so he's taking a stand-up bass which traditionally you just mic or go straight into the board and he's he's running it through a traditional rock bass you know pickup bass right in through like the standard road hard ampeg so um so it gives it that good gritty sound but i will agree 100 it's not as prominent and i would like it to be a little bit more only just being a musician but it didn't didn't didn't dissuade me from my love for this album yeah.Track 4:[54:21] Not at all and i think it were like sometimes the best bass players are the ones you don't notice like they're just tight to the to the drummer and that's really all that matters but there was really only a couple times on this album where i where i noticed.Track 6:[54:34] Very accurate Accurate statement.Track 5:[54:36] This, I think, is my MVP. As a kid who was raised on prog, you fall into the song and just let it kind of take over. I don't know. I actually found, weirdly, a karaoke version of this on YouTube.Track 3:[54:52] Really?Track 5:[54:53] An instrumental version of this. No way. And I played the piss out of it just today driving. Driving and uh yeah it's it's really odd that this is the one that's an instrumental track for, yeah but just the phrasing of things lyrically and musically like he's it this doesn't sound like any other song that gourd has has put together as far as i'm concerned i.Track 6:[55:17] Love i love that connection with prog rock justin because you've mentioned that multiple times that that's something you love. And when you said it, I had not placed it until you said it. And I agree with you on that's a great, great, great description of it.Track 5:[55:31] There was a lot of references to the Sadie's covering Pink Floyd in live shows. And I'm like, oh, there it is right there. The song is that.Track 6:[55:42] The next one to the next one to could be, you know, Jim Ladd headset session, listening like with Pink Floyd.Track 3:[55:50] Oh, the next one is gorgeous, I think. It's the first slower tempo song that we have on the record called Saved.Track 5:[58:56] Again, I can't believe that the reviews said this album doesn't make sense because about halfway down, the plane starts to land, right? And every song from halfway on is just you're descending and you land perfectly softly unsaved. And this song also sounds a lot like Coke Machine Glow. And it's just really mellow and it's Gord doing his thing. and i i don't know i love it.Track 6:[59:26] Almost every album i feel like has had a an extended version of coke machine glow track to it i i i love that i i hadn't placed it until you just said that because i felt the same way about some of the other the other albums is there that could be on coke machine glow but you're exactly right and then he continues that theme as it goes almost like the uh like his is the poetry book.Track 3:[59:53] Craig is holding up his notes.Track 4:[59:55] Nobody else can see it. I said the exact same thing. Pattern of Ending solo albums and some hip albums with a track with a much different feel is what I had written.Track 5:[1:00:07] Which goes back to Road Apples.Track 4:[1:00:12] I really love the line the music is so loud that it flaps your pant leg. It reminded me a little bit of Yawning or Snarling. Just the line in that.Track 5:[1:00:23] Thank you. I would hold up my notebook if it wasn't typed out. Because that's exactly what I have to.Track 4:[1:00:30] We are, let's see, as of recording this episode, we are, what time is it there? We're about two and a half hours away from the 10 year anniversary of this album. Of the release of this album.Track 3:[1:00:41] Oh, get the fuck out.Track 4:[1:00:42] Yeah. Wow.Track 3:[1:00:44] Oh, wow.Track 4:[1:00:46] I just had to look it up yesterday. I was like, wow, that's pretty cool.Track 5:[1:00:48] Oh, shit.Track 3:[1:00:48] That is cool. Huh. I normally have them all in my calendar, and I don't have that in my calendar. Huh. Good find. Yeah, it's going to be, yeah.Track 6:[1:01:00] Good find, Craig. Great find.Track 5:[1:01:02] J.D., you have about two and a half hours to make a post.Track 3:[1:01:06] Any more unsaved?Track 5:[1:01:09] I don't know. I didn't pick it apart too much. I loved that imagery of the line, Craig, that you just mentioned. The music is so loud, it flaps your pant leg. And there's a really strange, it's almost not, rhythm to the way that he sings it. It would be really hard to transcribe that onto a, onto a sheet of music.Track 4:[1:01:29] I also enjoyed the, um, the, the, the, they finally played a bit without the drums, you know, like this whole album has been very much like a full band. And I mentioned last week, I believe that one of the strengths of, of country of miracles was that they had so many members that they could all just take a break every once in a while. They didn't feel the need to always fill up every space. This band's the opposite because they're, you know, there's just four of them and they, they, you know, they're very much a typical rock band where everyone's playing all the time and so i actually enjoyed that there was a bit of time at the start of the song without drums no no offense to the drummer um but sometimes you just need a break this.Track 6:[1:02:07] Song to me was the you know that that cup of coffee after dessert or you know the cigarette after sex it was that finisher it was uh it was that we're all in good, good, good company. I love the connection back with Coke Machine Glow. I love the connection back with that changing that ending song. But to me, it was, all right, more so than the others. It was like, okay, here's your big warm hug before whatever comes up next.Track 3:[1:02:39] Oh, I like it. It does feel like a warm hug. It's a very comforting song for me. I don't know why, but it chills me right out. It's a great cigarette after sex. Kirk, I love that. It's really tremendous.Track 5:[1:02:55] It sucks that this album was only a half hour long.Track 3:[1:02:58] I know. It's so strange after The Grand Bounce, which was nearly an hour. But again, these guys are just so efficient and economical.Track 5:[1:03:10] It's one good fast job, baby.Track 3:[1:03:12] That's right.Track 6:[1:03:14] So does- Hey, did you know that that is his second highest played single, or at least versus Spotify when I last checked? Does that not totally blow you away? Like at least if you just look in his Spotify category, I believe it's number two behind like the Chancellor, I think is probably the most sense. But now i'm now i'm gonna look sorry i'm gonna i'm gonna see if i can back my own research.Track 5:[1:03:43] So interestingly i i don't have hard copies of any of these albums so i'm i'm strictly listening on streaming i use the youtube music app i don't really care for the interface on spotify and there is zero existence of this album in that in that space so i had to download band camp and buy the album that way which i was happy to do yeah i love band camp but yeah i had to uh that's the only way I could find this lyrics.Track 6:[1:04:07] All right, gents. I did the research. I was incorrect by two. It's Chancellor, the East wind. Oh, I am lost.Track 4:[1:04:15] That's then one good. Mind blowing.Track 5:[1:04:17] No shit.Track 6:[1:04:18] Number four.Track 4:[1:04:19] Yeah.Track 6:[1:04:20] Like that. It's even in the top five to me over like.Track 4:[1:04:23] You know, it's a great song. These songs that I thought were more well-known. Wow.Track 6:[1:04:29] Thank you.Track 4:[1:04:29] Yeah.Track 6:[1:04:30] It's surprising to me that.Track 3:[1:04:32] Yeah.Track 5:[1:04:33] Well, even, Even the opener on this one, Crater, I mean, it has a great video too.Track 6:[1:04:39] Oh, that's right. That's right. It is a really cool video.Track 4:[1:04:43] So the album art's interesting too. Did you catch that there's the different members of the band on the album? There's probably about these portraits of like, I don't know, 50 people. And if you look carefully, you can find all of the members of the band. I did.Track 6:[1:05:01] I did, absolutely. It's, yeah, on the album.Track 5:[1:05:04] And the artwork and the sound and all that, it kind of reminded me of the Beatles. I don't know why. But there was something about it that was familiar.Track 3:[1:05:16] Beatles-esque.Track 5:[1:05:17] Yeah. Yeah.Track 6:[1:05:20] I could see that. I mean, especially from an artistic standpoint. Yeah. Very much can see that.Track 3:[1:05:26] Yeah.Track 5:[1:05:27] Overall, I was super happy that this was the next thing. And I wish that there had been another one to follow it.Track 3:[1:05:33] So does it stay in your rotation then, Justin?Track 5:[1:05:36] Mm-hmm.Track 3:[1:05:37] Yeah, it does. Craig, how about you?Track 4:[1:05:40] A couple of days ago, I probably would have said maybe not. It's an album I'll definitely pull out here and there. But no, I do think I really am enjoying it lately. And like I said, the turn of the weather really helped. This is, to me, a summer album, not a, I think, come winter, I'll put it away again.Track 5:[1:05:59] End but the i'm sorry but i got it before i forget it right we just had the eclipse as we're recording this and i was stuck in traffic it's a 17 minute commute to get home and it took me 90 minutes so i listened to this album three times on the ride home and it's a great even if you're stopped it's a great album to be in the car.Track 6:[1:06:20] It's going to hit the turntable for me on a fairly regular basis for a while. Like I said, Grand Bounce, I couldn't get it out of my head. And finally, it might even have been an I'm Free Disarray Me, just that very methodical line that came through that turned it for me. Me but i love i i love it absolutely love it in fact i'm i'm probably more excited about digging deeper into the sadies once this whole project is done the sadies and several other canadian bands that i'm not as familiar with that you guys have introduced me to and i'm very thankful for but uh yeah this this one's staying in the rotation if you've got any.Track 3:[1:07:02] Bands that are gore adjacent or canadian indie adjacent uh send them our way discovering downy at gmail.com And we'll be sure to read that email on the air.Track 5:[1:07:18] I will say that as much as I've enjoyed this album, I've also really enjoyed the songs that are not on the album that Gordon and Sadie have played together. The cover of Search and Destroy. Holy shit.Track 3:[1:07:32] Right, you sent that to us a few days ago.Track 5:[1:07:35] That song melted my goddamn face off. It was so good. So good. And it was like 7, 12 in the morning or something. I was like, all right, I'm out of bed now. This is awesome.Track 4:[1:07:45] One of the shows I found online was here in Vancouver at the media club. And I actually remember hearing about it. And I'm just kicking myself that I didn't get to that show. This is like a tiny, tiny, like this is where my original band a number of years ago did our CD release party. And yeah, there's maybe room for 80 to 100 people in there. would have been amazing.Track 3:[1:08:10] Oh damn that.Track 6:[1:08:14] Is definitely i don't have a lot of regrets gentlemen but not seeing any iteration of gourd solo is very much i'm glad video was around because but i would have really really really enjoyed.Track 3:[1:08:28] Seeing that feeling thousand percent live yeah.Track 5:[1:08:32] I go back to that sweaty basement uh in me in massachusetts and like dude i went to those shows all the time and I wasn't there.Track 3:[1:08:39] That's crazy so Justin you've already sort of given this away even though we we you know we tease it throughout the show and typically give it away at the end but we'll start with you and your MVP track.Track 5:[1:08:56] Yeah, it's totally I'm free, disarray me, which took me by surprise, but then it didn't totally. You know, after the way that by, you know, the music that my parents played when I was a kid, this song is just cosmic cowboy, trippy shit.Track 3:[1:09:14] Kirk, how about you?Track 6:[1:09:15] All right. Los Angeles Times.Track 3:[1:09:21] Excellent. I love that pick. I liked your pick too, Justin.Track 5:[1:09:25] That's the hometown.Track 6:[1:09:26] Oh, yeah.Track 5:[1:09:27] That's okay.Track 6:[1:09:28] And it definitely is not one that I would have really settled in on had it not been for our discussion today, honestly. Because almost every song on the album has really fallen into near the top. You know, Conquering Sun, Budget Shoes, I would say, of everything, those definitely hit that number one spot for me multiple times. But Los Angeles Times is the one that just kept coming back, and I just kept feeling, and I kept growing further, enamored with on all fronts. So that's my pick, and I'm sticking to it.Track 3:[1:10:03] Very cool. Craig, you?Track 4:[1:10:06] Yeah, I had a hard time picking a song. And I found, kind of like what Kirk said, there was almost less of a range between the songs I enjoyed and the songs I enjoyed less. They were all in roughly the same region, whereas the other albums, there was some tracks that right away really, really got to another level with me. I think this album maybe doesn't quite have quite the emotion that the first three did, which is usually what hits me when I really love a song. Usually it just grabs me emotionally. And this album didn't have that in the same way. my my go-to song here is is going to be uh it didn't start to break my heart until this afternoon, just just a good good punk rock song yeah just nice just a great yeah great driving tune and.Track 3:[1:11:00] Gets the blood flowing, right? And I agree with you about the previous three records. They're just sort of more raw and improvised feeling.Track 4:[1:11:08] And more range to them, right? This just feels... There was more... Yeah, just... More variety. Yeah, more...Track 3:[1:11:15] Dynamics. Yeah. Yeah.Track 5:[1:11:20] There was a point where critics were really starting to tear Gord and the hip down. Yeah. When this album was coming out. And they were like, all right, we get it. The soup's getting cold. It's the same shit over and over, year after year. The performances are boring. It's not great. And I think, I don't know, but I'm thinking that this album was Gord's big middle finger to those guys. I'm still doing this. He's 50 years old.Track 4:[1:11:49] Can you think of another artist that has done what Gord has done? He's now got three bands that are all so amazing. Yeah, that's right.Track 5:[1:12:01] At the same time.Track 3:[1:12:01] At the same time, yeah, you're right.Track 4:[1:12:03] Yeah, mind-blowing how much high-quality work he put out through his whole career, but especially in this middle chunk here.Track 3:[1:12:12] Well, and if you think about it, this is a perfect segue because beginning in 2012, he started work on the record we're going to talk about next week, which is Secret Path. And that record didn't see the light of day until 2016. 16. So even then with that record, he's assembled the band again, and it's a great band as well. So this guy is just producing at a level presumably around the same time he's doing Luster Parfait. Because he's working with Bob Rock pretty exclusively, right?Track 5:[1:12:49] Right.Track 3:[1:12:50] So, God, just fascinating what we're what we've gotten up to so far i can't wait we are halfway done his records we've got one more studio record and then god damn it three posthumous records uh it's going to be tough to get through those ones guys i know it yep anything else you want to say before we wrap things up i.Track 5:[1:13:15] Don't know i love it man i i love this project i feel like we're a broken record because we're all going to say the same thing and we'd say it every episode But this project has gotten me back into, just like you said, Kirk, discovering new music. Or it's new to me. Right. And I am finding so many new things that I didn't know I didn't know.Track 3:[1:13:35] Right.Track 6:[1:13:37] I'm i have been frightened from the beginning because you know you listen because it's your first time listening to a solo stuff for you know i was frightened every single album that, yeah i was going to be disappointed yeah yep and i just keep finding a new way to be enamored and i don't mind being that easy when it comes to gourd and what's going on uh you know i i we talked about, you know, my, my experience with the hip, you know, having to hear about it from friends and not having that, you know, immediate access to everything. So I'm thoroughly loving the fact that the emotion and the feeling that Gord and the hip, all the musicians he's been involved with on the solo, just keep raising the level. So I'm now just like, I'm, I'm, you know, what I like about this, you guys is you're nervous and worried. Now I'm not nervous and worried. I'm I'm just, I'm excited about listening to what's coming up and I'm so excited.Track 5:[1:14:37] If you, if you enter the, if you enter the room knowing it's going to be a mindfuck when you get there, it's perfect

This week in the pod, the gang is up to their neck in the fantastic effort by Gord and the Sadies. You're gonna want to check this one out!Transcript: Track 1:[0:00] Hey, it's Craig here, and I just wanted to let you know that Christmastime in.Track 1:[0:03] Toronto is coming early this year. Join me and the Discovering Downey crew for the recording of our podcast finale, live at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Long Slice Brewing presents A Celebration of Gord Downey, which will include a special in-person interview with Gord's brother, Patrick Downey. Spend the evening listening to your favorite hip tunes provided by the almost hip and help us raise money for the gourd downy fund for brain cancer research with a silent auction featuring incredible items up for grabs visit discoveringdowny.com for tickets or for more information about the event, let's have a toast for charity wickedness and most importantly hope.Track 2:[1:04] DOS Beauty I name my guitar My Beautiful Behor Everybody's coughing here And music's infiltrating work In the most pleasant way It's a system based on silverware Listening's an extrasensory Perception And talking the only psychic thing and I can dress you in my thoughts until you wear them. I've been taking care of my clothes like they're cattle. Try this shirt. It would look so good on you.Track 1:[1:42] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy. Hey, it's J.D.Track 2:[1:52] Here, and welcome to Discovering Downey, an 11-part project with a focus on the music and poetry of Mr. Gord Downey. The late frontman of the Tragically Hip gave to the world an extensive solo discography on top of the hip's vocal acrobatics that awed us for years. So far, he's released eight records in total, three of them posthumously. Now listen, you might be the biggest fan of The Hip out there, but have you heard these records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week we'll get together and listen to one of Gord's records. We're starting with Coke Machine Glow and working from there in chronological order. We discuss and dissect the album, the production, the lyrics, and we break it down song by song. This week we're going to be talking about Gord's fourth record, and his first and only with the Sadies.Track 3:[2:58] Occurring son kirk from chino how the fuck are things with you buddy jd.Track 6:[3:04] I'm uh i'm back home after a little bit of travel it's been good travel um it's allowed me to really kind of soak this album in so i'm excited talking about it with you boys.Track 3:[3:15] Can you confirm this craig i'm kidding yeah how's it going pretty.Track 4:[3:20] Good yeah also looking forward to talking about this album them and it this one took me a little bit of time to get into but we'll talk about that i have been a little under the weather since the last recording it was about halfway through the last podcast i started feeling something coming on and just won't go away just a cold thankfully but yeah other than that things are well.Track 3:[3:41] Well that's good justin you've been a podcasting machine today are you spent or are you ready to talk shop with me i'm.Track 5:[3:49] Just getting started buddy.Track 3:[3:50] Yeah well let's get into it then and the conquering sun is the album we are discussing this week after three consecutive solo outings with some form of the country of miracles gourd wrote and produced this one with the sadies who had just come from supporting the hip on their world container tour Like so many, this marriage was consummated by the CBC, when the Sadies chose Mr. Downey to collaborate with, as was the program's premise. The Sadies are a Toronto-based and road-tested throughout Canada and beyond, with an original lineup consisting of Travis Goode, Sean Dean, Mike Belotiski, and Dallas Goode, who sadly passed away in 2022. This band, as I mentioned, is road-tested with buckets of swagger and chops for days. But how do you talk about The Conquering Sun? After the loose and improvised feeling of the last three records, this record is tight and economical. With a 30-minute runtime, I had to listen twice to get my walk in.Track 3:[4:55] Of the four records we've listened to so far, this one makes my Olympic podium for rock and roll with a hard-fought bronze medal, which is nothing to shake a stick at unless, of course, you're shaking the stick in a complimentary fashion. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this album. In fact, in my opinion, this record is the closest we get to a sound that is reminiscent of the hip, up and down on this record. The songs are screaming for radio play if only radio had been a factor upon its release in 2014. From the rip of Crater right through Saved, there isn't a missed opportunity on this record. I could go on about how much I like this record, na-na-na-na, blah-blah-blah, etc. You might be curious how I'm literally singing this album's praises, yet I've only ranked it third of four. I promise I'm not damning with faint praise. It's more that I loved the ceiling of the country of miracles, particles and the idea that we don't get a fourth effort from that entity bums me out a little bit so it's hard to go into this one with that ripple of bummed outness influencing me a little more than frankly i'd like but who cares what i think let's check in with the crew craig we'll start with you this week.Track 4:[6:04] Yeah this album like i i mentioned took took a few listens to get into um it's definitely not in you know it's not my favorite of the four we've heard so far but it's really just it's drastically different it just has a different vibe and there are a lot of things I really like about it and I think that my biggest realization is this this is a summer album this is a a nice weather taking a drive in the car putting the windows down this it's that kind of album and for the first couple weeks I didn't have that weather but but just past in the past few days we have and it's just it totally changed my outlook of this this album.Track 3:[6:45] I was on mute. Justin, what are your thoughts overall?Track 5:[6:49] Oh, I needed this one. I needed this album to get my headspace back into this. And I think I'm going to rank this number two so far out of the four. I actually really love this album a lot. And like Craig, it took me a minute to get into it, but something clicked and I have been listening to it at least two or three times a day every day since. And in the car, on my phone, with or without earbuds trying to get the different parts of the sound, and it kicks my ass every time. I really just like this album from start to finish. Every song kind of sounds the same, which makes it sound like one big long song, and I really kind of love that.Track 3:[7:28] Interesting. I can't wait till we break it down. What say you, Kirk from Chino?Track 6:[7:32] Like my brethren here, it took me a while. In fact, it took me a while because it almost felt like a divorce and maybe a bit of an affair Was going on with with our buddy Gord. I was so I.Track 6:[7:48] Immersed into what was happening with the country miracles and like you said in the beginning like the ceiling like i wanted more and i was so ready for more i had the vinyl of this one the last ground bounce i didn't and i listened to it and i knew there was something there but i was angry honestly i was angry because i wanted more as we had mentioned but man did it grow and grow row. I'm not going to rank it right now because every time I rank something, a day or two goes by and something happens. And I realized, oh man, that was, you know, the grand bounce. That was Coke machine glow that, and you know, every album that we've had a chance to listen to has been, I think in every slot, if that makes sense, depending on the time of day or what's going on. And and so again it just brings you back to joy because i didn't dive in when it was happening which of course i'm a little sad about but i'm so excited now that i'm like i'm really loving music discovery again i'm really loving listening to albums i'm really loving i don't care if it's in the car if i'm walking the dog if i'm sitting at work if i'm you know working on something on on the computer and I've got the music going.Track 6:[9:11] Like I have not spent this much time with new music. I say that in quotes because it's obviously not new, but it's new to me, new to us.Track 6:[9:23] And I'm just, I'm loving the ride. That's all I got to say. This one is the last two, I mean, like I'm going to be listening to these forever. And I'm going to try and preach the word and get some people to jump on board because it makes me sad when I look at Spotify or something and I see the honestly and don't jump on me. It's like the limited number of listens to the Gord stuff. I have friends that have put stuff out that have more downloads than that. I'm not saying that in a negative, I'm saying that in a like, that shouldn't be. That shouldn't be, so. Right. My diatribe's over, sorry.Track 3:[10:03] No, no. Well, that's why I was mentioning off the top too too, that it screams for radio play to me. It's very radio-friendly. There's nothing over four minutes. And fucking radio just didn't matter in 2014. So of course we were never going to hear this. Unless we were paying very close attention.Track 6:[10:26] Absolutely.Track 3:[10:27] Clearly we were not.Track 6:[10:28] Absolutely. Radio.Track 5:[10:29] Radio still matters to me. I'm a radio guy. I'm going to tell you that right now. Yeah. Love radio.Track 3:[10:34] Radio doesn't love you back though. That's the problem. Like it's getting stripped down and worn down and these formats, you know, like if you've got a, if you've got a local that you love, then by going to stand with it, right?Track 5:[10:47] Yeah, you're right. We have, we have a, I'm going to sidebar here for just a second. We have a great station here in Southern Vermont, WEQX, which is one of the last great independent alternative rock stations in North America. And they discovered No Rain by Blind Melon. They were the first one to play it. And they just got this great pedigree, and they love to play Gord's solo stuff. From 2020 on, there's been a lot of new Gord solo stuff that's really been great.Track 3:[11:19] Get up. Right.Track 5:[11:20] And it's kind of been hard to not listen ahead during this project. Wow. I don't know if they played any of the stuff from this album, but this would totally fit.Track 4:[11:28] Yeah, we once had a really awesome independent radio station down in Bellingham, Washington, which we could pick up in Vancouver. And they actually, their tagline was something like, we don't play Canadian music because we have to. We play it because it rocks or something along those lines. And they would play The Hip and Rush. and yeah that's the only american station i've heard that that played a ton of the hip and yeah of course about 15 years ago they got whatever bought out by chorus or someone and it's now just yeah yeah your standard rock radio well.Track 3:[12:02] Should we eradicate this problem and educate people on this record go through it track by track are we ready let's.Track 5:[12:10] Go sure yeah.Track 3:[12:12] All right we start with track one side a it's the classic rock tinged crater what did you think of this one mr greg.Track 4:[12:25] My dad uh came to vancouver from new zealand in 1965 to to buy a 65 chevy impala and this song crater is a 1965 chevy impala cruising down the road it's just a great rock and roll track yeah um man that snare drum is yes snare snare yeah it is it is there in the mix yeah definitely i didn't dive into the lyrics at all especially um the songs that were more kind of rocking i i just i was just enjoying them and the only thought i had lyric wise was um almost like an idea of like either you're you're the crater or you're the meter meteor And I was kind of thinking along the lines of there's that not so great Dire Straits song, Heavy Fuel, where he says, you know, sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug. And that was kind of the... What i got out of the lyrics on this song.Track 6:[13:25] I i wonder in the lyrics and maybe you guys did further research that i didn't see like how much of it was gord how much of it was the gents from the sadies because i i knew the name the sadies but i honestly until this i had not really you know dove into some of their music and i think in one of our you know communications justin had mentioned that as well like he's doing a lot of listening to the sadies and and i try i you know my listening at first it's this is it's going to sound weird um i did a lot of listening at first obviously like through spotify or whatever else but it wasn't until youtube and i got to see these guys and they're wearing like their nudie suits is what it looks like you know and i just i just saw a bunch of them they had a big exhibit at the you know country music uh hall of fame and they were We're talking about that LA country and, you know, very much a country tinge, but, you know, they're using those hollow body guitars. And anyway, so back to lyrics, like what's the balance between Gord and the Sadie's? Did anyone find anything on that?Track 4:[14:30] My understanding is that they, that the Sadie's wrote the songs and Gord wrote the lyrics that, yeah. And it was recorded apparently over a number of years. This wasn't like an album that was done in one session, which I find surprising because like someone said earlier, it's, it sounds just like a, it's a great album. It, it really sounds like it was just tracked in one day or something. It's yeah, there's a.Track 6:[14:53] There's YouTube has a, uh, interview of, I think the Sadie's had just put an album out. It was like 2010 and Gord was with them and they, you know, obviously had some discussions about their, their time together. And in some of the research it talks about, this has definitely been a long-term type of thing. Great song.Track 5:[15:10] Yeah, there was a CBC fuse in 2007 is what put them together. So it took seven years for this album to come out from that first collaboration. Collaboration I really like the sound.Track 6:[15:21] From a musicianship standpoint ethereal is really the kind of the adjective that came to mind on a lot of the the guitar parts that the Sadie's had you know very much a hollow body type guitar going through either a Fender a lot of reverb I really liked that driving sound I really really liked it it was it was pretty prevalent throughout in my opinion anything.Track 3:[15:43] Else on crater i.Track 5:[15:46] Just yeah i mean this is gourd this is like this is a live show on a record um this one song particularly and he is giving it all he has what at the end of the second verse and if we record any of these songs this is the one i'm doing because this is a this is a screamer and it's so much fun to be it you know we don't want to we don't want to do it we want to be it this song is fun to sing, Yeah. So I also, I downloaded an app because I noticed my foot was tapping a lot faster at the end of the song than the beginning. And I, so I, I downloaded an app and it picks up 13 beats per minute from the start to the finish.Track 4:[16:29] Oh yeah. That's something I'm going to be talking about later. Cause I, it was driving me nuts. One of the songs I was trying to actually figure out what was happening mathematically and yeah. Okay. I'm glad I'm not the only one noticed.Track 6:[16:43] I love that. I love the time changes in a variety of different songs. I put them down in a few notes. But the one thing I really want to say before we dive into any more, long live the guitar solo. And there's quite a few guitar solos on this album, specifically Crater. And they're just, they're solos. They're good solos. And on the other albums, we'll call lead lines, but there's not a lot of solos. And I'm digging that, getting that back, because we haven't had that in the first three.Track 5:[17:15] Oh, yes.Track 3:[17:16] Nice. Well, the next one is sort of the titular track, but not quite. The Conquering Sun does what for you, Justin?Track 5:[17:27] When I look out the window and see Audette's Blue Spruce Farm across the street, That's kind of what I think about. I mean, it's getting on time to plant. And here it is as we record this. It's planting season and working the fugitive dust. Nature, please be good to us. You know, we just had this massively wet spring that wiped out a shit ton of the farms around here. That's, you know, before they even got started. For me, that's part of what this song is. There's also the line, she is more than a conqueror. And I wonder if that's a reference to Gord's wife, Laura, with her recent cancer battle. I don't know when this song was recorded in the timeline of all that, like what year this happened. But I interpreted it as possibly something that could be a reference to defeating the cancer. And the other thing that I really, it was a callback to We Are The Same is when Gord's, his vocal run during hearing, ooh, day is your word, night is the glue. He does that exact same thing in The Depression Suite. That very same run, the change, the pitch, the length, I love it.Track 4:[18:41] Yeah, I caught that too. That's great.Track 6:[18:43] Great song. It was one of those. I think I mentioned on the last time we spoke, there was not a definitive MVP for me. This one has fallen in and out of MVP, and it may fall back in at the end of this recording. morning. But that's one of the things that really showed me this was a great album, but specifically this song. I just felt immersed in it. And like I said earlier, Ethereal, again, another great solo, another great, that sound that the Sadies have. They have, these guys, what are they like six, five, six, six, they look like trees and they might be a buck or five soaking wet and the suits are barely hanging on them and he's just playing this you know telecaster like it's a little tiny you know a small ukulele and they just have this they they just have this presence and like i said it really wasn't until i i started seeing them that i i got the sadie's because when i was listening it didn't hit me as much and i was kind of hoping i don't know if i mentioned this earlier because they were on the world container tour and i was wondering if they were the opening band I didn't find anything that showed them specifically, but when I watch the videos, it doesn't bring a memory or recollection that I saw. I think it was Sam Roberts that opened for a lot of the shows that I saw here in California.Track 5:[20:06] I saw Joel Plaskett as the opener on that tour.Track 6:[20:11] Got it. Got it. Yeah. So I was kind of hoping that they were one of the openers. But you know now i'm really excited that you know just in the last couple of days i would say is really when my attention has gone towards them and when you start hearing and seeing how they crafted these songs together and how they worked so well with gourd and his phrasing and and so yeah love this love this yeah.Track 4:[20:38] The the sadies are actually on tour as we record this and i'm hoping to pick to go down to the the vancouver show uh so you might you might want to look at dates they They might be coming down your way.Track 6:[20:48] I hope so.Track 4:[20:48] Yeah, this song, to me, as soon as I heard it, it reminded me of Nico Case. And Nico Case is someone who's worked with the Sadies. And so it is very much that sort of alt-country vibe on this song. And this was probably the song that drew me in right away. Again, like Kirk said, it was in the contention for my MVP track for sure, which, like you, keeps changing. and yeah it's just just a great feel to this song.Track 3:[21:18] Yeah i couldn't agree more i think we're two for two so far on this record and we're gonna find out that let's go pretty even record it's a pretty even fucking record los angeles times has the aforementioned swagger dripping from it, Kirk, did you like this one as much as I did?Track 6:[25:07] I'm going to say yes, absolutely. But it didn't start out that way. This actually was one of my least favorite tunes after the first couple of passes. I just didn't quite get it. It was just kind of like, it was almost too much swagger at first for me. Because remember, I think we're in a divorce right now. I think this is an affair that's going on. So I'm a little adverse to the song and the album and almost everything because I still have his last, you know, that last record that just moved us all. It was still here. So there was this almost a betrayal, swagger, distaste that I had in the beginning. But listening to it, re-listening to it, listening to it in headphones, listening to it on vinyl, listening to it in the car, listening to it in the plane, listening to it in the hotel. The key changes, like we'd mentioned earlier, just another great solo, just great rock. And, hey, I'm an LA guy. So this one definitely turned and has also filtered through multiple times sometimes on the mvp track side so yeah to me it's three for three and i'm just gonna pre-call it for y'all.Track 4:[26:22] Yeah yeah i found this song to be um i was the same way i found the the progression to be a bit generic at first and so i didn't really love it right away but yeah it really grew and i think what makes it work is that this band is just so tight they're so i mean loose but Yeah, the tempo, you know, picks up and, you know, there's the push and push and pull, but they are such a great band that they can pull off anything. Just a simple strumming pattern and make it sound pro. And there's that thing you mentioned off the top, JD, the blah, blah, blah, et cetera, which I was wondering if, I'm sure you guys were thinking the music at work, live, Gord would do the et cetera thing. Did you find anything lyrically, Justin?Track 5:[27:10] Yeah. So there's a dedication at the end of the lyrics for Walter Van Tilburg Clark, who wrote The Oxbow Incident, among many other works. And that became kind of one of the great Western movies of all time. And it's about, the subject is these cowboys thought that one of their buddies got murdered and that somebody stole their cows. And then they found this group of three people that they thought did it and they hanged them. And then they found out that the guy survived and it wasn't them and you know it was just a big mess so it was it was the oxbow incident and uh yeah so it was a complicated story and but this isn't about the story it's about the author there are a lot of references to lines in the book or the movie but it's you know there's a line he was born and raised and moved away and that's about i think walter van tillberg clark who was born in maine but then his parents moved him to nevada and then he moved to in New York and then he went he was kind of all over the place beyond that I don't know it's, There's one thing that is a bit of a departure, I think, on this album is that the lyrics aren't too deep. There's not a lot of mystery in this album with Gord's lyrics. And I was hoping for more of that, but the research was a little easier than I wanted it to be on this.Track 4:[28:26] That was something I noticed too, is like there didn't seem to be as much to dig into.Track 4:[28:31] And once I kind of got past that and just started enjoying it, I really did grow to appreciate the album a lot more. It's funny that you mentioned the Oxbow incident because number one, a couple of weeks ago i was in la and we did did a couple studio tours and this is one of the movies they actually mentioned i forget if it was warner brothers or universal but it was shot at one of those two places in the next song so one good fast job one of my notes here is oxbow incident because of the line it says art shot said wellman to fonda so wellman the director and uh fonda the the star of the show so um nice kind of a neat little tie and i had no idea that the previous song had that reference so i'm glad you caught that this song i really love and this was the one i was um i found really interesting the the progression you've got like almost like a eight bar blues but then they throw in an extra bar so it's like this nine bar which just throws you off off balance a little bit once you once you hear it a few times it makes perfect sense but there's the lyric about drop you know planes dropping paper and dropping scissors and the chimps becoming regular wizards i think it is. And so that made me think of, there's a couple of Simpsons episode that reference like the infinite monkey theorem.Track 4:[29:46] What is it? Infinite monkeys, or give a monkey a typewriter and let it type for infinity. It would create, you know, Shakespeare. And you know, it would just some ridiculous theory that has, you know, been, you know, criticized heavily, but I wonder if there's something to that.Track 6:[30:03] Sorely discredited.Track 4:[30:05] And I really like, there's the line too about something about forget the commas. This is one good fast job. And it almost made me think of this album that they just like banged off this out. Like, let's not, let's just have fun. Let's just write some songs and let's not take ourselves too seriously. So those are my thoughts.Track 5:[30:23] Well, I think there was some controversy over the name of the band. And there are commas in that band name. And I think that they're just saying, you know, screw it. And like, nobody asked for this. We're just doing it. let us enjoy it. I did see a couple of interviews where Gord and members of the band were like, can we not dissect this? This is just rock and roll.Track 4:[30:44] Yeah.Track 6:[30:46] One thing in watching some of those videos that I had mentioned, the last two songs that we discussed that they had played, it was a Greenbelt Harvest Festival thing show that was on. They had almost every song on there and he was playing with the Sadie's and watching the crowd to me was actually quite entertaining because they just sat there and looked in bewilderment right because I don't know they obviously have probably some relationship with with the hip and who knows if they're early hit people or later hit people or die hard all the way but when Gord does the solo stuff and then if they're not familiar with the Sadie's they just sat there and looked like yeah why don't what are we experiencing here what what's what's going on and bewilderment was the note note that i wrote right.Track 3:[31:34] Right i mean this makes no sense to me fuck okay sorry uh continue.Track 6:[31:42] It man one good fast job and almost back to kind of those punk type roots and that driving rocking it it's uh who i jd like this album has everything and, Also, one thing I wanted to mention, I know we're not through it all, but I think they did a great job of tracking. I really felt good about where all the songs were. I needed Crater to get me going, even though I was still mad and angry, like we mentioned, and then Saved at the end that we'll talk about. It just was like, okay, I got a good, nice, warm hug. Thank you. you um which.Track 5:[32:26] You know what's amazing is there were so many reviews about this album that said it was not cohesive and inconsistent and like what the hell are you talking about and.Track 3:[32:36] Uneven and blah blah.Track 4:[32:37] Blah yeah what.Track 3:[32:38] The hell man agree.Track 4:[32:39] Yeah no that's a reviewer who read that it was you know recorded over many years yeah that's ridiculous like maybe if you gave it one or two listens but even then even the first listen i didn't love it but it sounded like an album yeah Yeah. One more thing about this song though, before, before we move on, I love the middle section. There's like a bridge or maybe even call it a chorus. It only goes to it once the, I had to look, I had to go, I had to laugh. And it's really interesting how they go through it once, then there's that extra bar, like they keep doing, and then they change the chord progression and back off a bit. Like if you listen to the way the, you know, they're the same instruments, but they just back off and the feel changes totally. And it's such a great effect. Rather than ramping up a bridge, they almost like pull back a bit. And that really was unique. And it only happens once. It feels like a chorus to me, but it's right smack dab in the middle of the song. And I think it's two minutes and like 23 seconds or something. And this is definitely one of my favorites.Track 3:[33:43] Yeah, it's a good one. And the next one is a good one as well. It's got to hold the record for the longest title in Gord's solo oeuvre. Kirk mentioned a moment ago that there's a bit of everything on this record. And to me, the beginning of this song, just the very beginning, is shoegazy.Track 5:[34:00] Yes.Track 3:[34:00] Or it goes into a real punk sort of vibe. And it didn't start to break my heart until this afternoon. Justin, what have you got for us?Track 5:[34:09] So the line, we fought like two Irons, really stuck out to me. and it goes with Kirk. I don't know that this was the middle of a divorce. I think Gord is just polyamorous at this point because this project took seven years and in the middle of it, he released the third album, Grand Bounce. So he is just sleeping around. I love the punk, the hard driving, just we're going to beat the fuck out of this song.Track 4:[34:38] My first real positive experience with this song was driving to my show last weekend and it was like i said a nice day i was driving along and to me like i said it's a real good driving album and i was coming up to this i guess it was a school zone but it was a weekend so there's no school and there was a uh a flashing like speed limit sign it was like a happy face and as i'm driving by it's like it turns to a sad face because i guess i was a little bit above the limit i'm not a huge speeder but i found that kind of quite funny especially after the i just just listen to the line what is it um something about driving fast oh yeah drive drive it like we stole it yeah it's a great great line that's right and then later on there's the dishwasher loaded which i love because i i wish i could say that most of my music listening was in the car but i only have about a five minute commute to work so most of my listening is actually doing the dishes and so this is just a great song when you're doing the dishes and and dishwasher loaded it and it really really kind of got you know i.Track 5:[35:40] Had the same experience man that's.Track 4:[35:41] Found it pretty funny and i actually the first time i noticed that lyric i was actually had just put this open i was closing the door of the dishwasher and so it was just it was just perfect it's so funny yeah.Track 5:[35:51] That's amazing oh.Track 4:[35:53] And great harmonies too on the chorus like love those harmonies yeah.Track 6:[35:57] That's one thing you'll notice too when you watch those or or you see them like the the harmony part especially especially after what we had just experienced for the last three albums, you know, with the female voice going back to a male voice backing. I love that element that it brought to it. And I'm just gonna jump into the next song, Budget Shoes. This is one that I think has probably held the number one spot for me. I would say it's not necessarily still there, but it's been there more often than not. And maybe I'm far off on this, but being the American, one of the two Americans that really likes Canadian culture, it brought me back to Kids in the Hall for some reason. In fact, so much so, if you think of the Kids in the Hall intro, I actually looked it up to go hoping it was the sadies like that really would have made my day if it was the sadies that had done that song that's the intro to kids in the hall.Track 4:[39:34] There is there is a connection there and i hope i'm correct here but i believe i read that the dallas good the the younger brother who you know passed away recently who.Track 3:[39:44] Was the drummer.Track 4:[39:44] He he played so so the good family was a was a country family like they had like a family band and and the older brother travis actually played with his band and Dallas being younger he he went more towards punk and I believe it said that his first or one of his first bands was with one of the members of uh Shadowy Men is that the name of the band that does the theme yeah yeah.Track 3:[40:11] Shadowy Men oh.Track 6:[40:12] Wow nice it definitely was reminiscent of that uh the entire song to me is just brilliant and it it gives you I mean it It really just digs deep inside my soul going back to the ethereal. When Gord hits those moments of the desperation vocal that we heard a lot, not only in recording, but live when he was with the hip, that brought such a comfort to me, right? Knowing where the hip is at, knowing where Gord is at, knowing what's coming. Like this is three years prior to his passing. And just so thankful that we get another version of Gord. And that's really what it was to me is we got, we have the hip and we love that. We have these first three albums, but now we have another one. And it was, Justin, you mentioned it in his lyrics. It's like, I'm not trying to confuse anyone here. I got this great band. They've given me this good music and I'm just gonna give it, I'm gonna give it what's coming to me at the moment. so when he does his and i call it a desperation vocal i know exactly what.Track 5:[41:22] You mean when you say it though.Track 3:[41:26] Yeah.Track 5:[41:26] Yep. Yep. So I'm going to ask the Canadians in the room here about budget shoes because I did some research on this as well. And apparently there's a tradition in Canada that finance ministers buy a new pair of shoes before presenting the budget and they wear them on the floor. Or if they're pissed off about it, they don't.Track 4:[41:48] Oh, wow.Track 5:[41:48] And it's this thing that has happened since the 1860s.Track 3:[41:53] Jesus. Do they go bare feet? I mean, listen, I was a political science major, and I've never heard of it before, but that doesn't really mean anything.Track 6:[42:01] As the other American, I agree with what you say full-heartedly. Love it. Love that connection.Track 3:[42:10] Yeah, I think it's great.Track 5:[42:11] It was strange, but interesting. And I don't know if this song is a commentary on politics and that, or if it just works well with... I mean, this song sounds like, you know, we're sleeping in a tent in a winter storm unexpectedly in the middle of the desert, you know, and I've got nice shoes and you don't, you know, and I'm going to keep my feet and you're going to lose them to frostbite. I don't know.Track 4:[42:37] What I was thinking was I was imagining almost like an old Western movie. It's like sweltering hot in the desert. And yeah, they're camping overnight. Night and you know the most iconic thing you'll see in a western is that you know the shot of the cowboy boots and the pan up and and i'm just picturing this you know guy sleeping in his budget you know there's cheap shoes and that's kind of what i do balances on yeah yeah.Track 6:[43:04] Ouch shots fired they're.Track 5:[43:05] A great company and they.Track 6:[43:06] Make a fine shoe thank you we're not sponsored by any of these particular shoe brands yeah i mean budget shoes you talk about the westerns it's almost like a spaghetti western type feel just in that uh the guitar riff as well so.Track 3:[43:26] Oh, that's cool. I felt that, too. I wouldn't have put that together. All right, let's move on. Demand Destruction. Is it just me, Justin, or does this song feel very much like the Tragically Hip? Am I crazy?Track 5:[43:38] No, I don't think you're crazy about that at all. And this song is, I think, Gord kind of putting out his own views. Again, there's a notation at the bottom. The last one, Budget Shoes, was dedicated to Evan S. Connell, who was the author of the book about Custer where the title of The Grand Bounce came from. So that's a continuation. And then this one is dedicated to Dr. Helen Caldicott, who was an Australian physicist and anti-nuclear war advocate. And it just feels like a protest song to me. I really don't have a lot of notes about it. It's just a nice, fun tune. But there's definitely a message in there. And I think it's Gord speaking about, let's not fuck this up. and maybe some reverence for Dr. Caldecott. It says, I'm not a fan, I just like what you do. I don't know. I don't have a whole lot to unpack on this one.Track 3:[44:30] Right. Well, no, I think you unpacked quite a bit. Craig, what have you got for us?Track 4:[44:36] One thing I'll say about this song is I found maybe the snare was a little too biting for me. I found that if you if you were listening quietly it it just jumped right out of the mix to the point where you almost couldn't hear anything else and when you turned it up it just had just a little a tinge too much oh yeah you guys know who who mixed the album yeah so bob rock and i think he did a great job overall but it definitely you know he's known for those big huge drums and i just would have liked a little more balance i thought the snare was just a little peeking out a little bit too much the rest of the album i think it it works but maybe the song is the poppiest.Track 5:[45:17] I think of the of the songs on the album it's certainly.Track 4:[45:20] Radio friendly fairly typical like blues rock sort of yeah um riff at the start yeah.Track 3:[45:25] That's what reminds me it reminds me of something off of road apples you know oh yeah yeah that era.Track 4:[45:31] Yeah great great harmonies again especially in the chorus all.Track 3:[45:34] Right from there we get a change of pace with mandolin and organ off the top of devil enough. Am I right? Was it mandolin Craig?Track 4:[45:44] Um, yeah, I believe so. I need to go back and listen again. Um, yeah, this is the song I referenced earlier that was driving me nuts. Even today I was sitting there tapping my toes, like trying to figure out the time change. And I actually had this like theory about what they were doing with it, you know, how they're getting from one tempo to the next. And then I just realized after a while it's just feel it's all feel. And I won't even get into it, because there are some weird things that happen. And I think it is what Justin mentioned earlier, I think it's just that flexibility of, of like, you know, they're really pushing the tempo, bringing it back quite frequently. And so.Track 4:[46:25] Yeah, if anyone wants to transcribe this drum part for me and send it to me, I would love to see that because I would love to know mathematically how it works, but I'm pretty sure it is just like a feel thing. This was a song that really stuck out to me. I love that time change. Having said all that, it really, the first few times just really struck me. The guitar playing at the end, the sort of Nashville picking at the end is just amazing. There's a few songs that have those great guitar solos. I think often it's Travis, according to the videos I watched, although I believe Dallas will trade off solo sometimes too. There's the line, Streets Ahead, which of course is a song name from Now For Plan A. And I had just actually recently been watching Community. And I'm not sure if you guys know that reference, but there's a, you know, it's like a catchphrase of Chevy Chase's character. And I actually found a, I wondered if it was related and I found an interview where someone asked Gord that question and he's just like, what? He was so like, no, like what are you talking about? Which of course makes sense. I mean, you don't write books. All these songs you're not a prolific writer like gourd if you're if you're.Track 6:[47:36] Spending countless hours.Track 4:[47:39] Binging you know sitcoms with 120 episodes.Track 5:[47:44] Well and gourd gourd's a dan akroyd guy not a chevy chase guy.Track 6:[47:48] Yeah true hey going back to that the ending part craig yes uh you know they almost have a bluegrass feel in some of these instrumental type solos there's There's rock going on against a different instrumentation, which I absolutely love the devil enough to me almost was reminiscent of like your seventies kind of, you know, Barracuda and like the big songs that would have a slow intro and then rock out or go to another slow, but very seventies rock and kind of anthemic type of we're going to switch keys. We're going to switch tempos i very much got that but again going back to the swagger you feel the swagger in in the presentation of the lyrics at least from my perspective with gourd on this loved it loved it.Track 4:[48:43] Yeah there are some um really great songwriting techniques on this album that you can tell you know the sadies are just a pro band i think is it uh one of the guys from blue rodeo i believe was was quoted in the in the barclay book about saying that you know they're the world's greatest rock band and there's the little things like in this song they use the little bars of two to set up you know those changes and just lots of little things like that like an extra bar here an extra bar there it's just some really great little songwriting tricks what did you think justin i.Track 5:[49:14] Just this song you know growing up we only had like 10 or 12 channels on on tv and one of them was tnn the nashville network and so the grand ole opry was was on all the time, because we didn't have a choice. If it wasn't Hockey Night in Canada, it was TNN. And just this song, that run with the picking is really cool. It brought me back to late 80s, early 90s, just watching the hoedown.Track 4:[49:42] Not a country fan, but when I hear a great guitar player like that, though, like a great Nashville player, it really is great. This whole album isn't the type of music I would typically listen to. And I think that's why I gravitate more towards an indie rock feel, like the Battle of the Nudes. But man, this album is really, really solid.Track 6:[50:06] Yeah, it has a good... I mean, I know you guys say you don't like country, and I say it too. But I bet you you'd be surprised about what you do like that's country-esque. And so for me, when I think of country, I get turned away by some of the modern country. although I'm really digging some Chris Stapleton and some of these other guys I'm really digging. But like when I hear country, I think Kenny Rogers, Merle Haggard, I think Willie Nelson, I think, and I think we really do dig, even going back Hank Williams and even a little further, like when the, as you listen to, I love this that we're talking like, oh, we only had 10 channels and whatever else. And I'm going hockey night in Canada and the nashville network you know and throw in a little emma daughter's jug band christmas and that's my childhood and i'm happy and i love all that so i i i get what you're saying but this i mean the sadie's i think alt country i heard earlier from one of you guys that's very much the feel from devil enough you roll into i'm free disarray me justin you you inspired me because i I have the vinyl here with me. And so I quick looked at the bottom and I'm like, okay, I gotta catch this one cause I've missed all the other references that you mentioned. So you got Virginia Woolf, who's listed at the bottom of I'm Free Disarray Me. And when you do your research, you think about stream of consciousness.Track 6:[51:31] And that really, I think, kind of sums up your lyrics in this particular song.Track 6:[51:37] Swagger again it's it's it's it's it's the same but it's not i heard us all say that it's the same but it's not i i i loved where it went with this and it's bringing us down now right because we only have one more song we talked about the track listings and the order and now it's given us getting us i think this is kind of setting us up for saved at least me personally uh what you think craig.Track 4:[52:03] This was the first song that actually popped into my head just out of the blue one morning when i woke up because it took quite a long time for that to happen with this album i was still singing grand bounce songs you know every morning waking up and then one day it was that i was like wow okay and and same one thing i want to mention this is kind of, going off of what you're talking about with vinyl i was listening to this you know doing dishes.Track 4:[52:29] With you know on apple and the amount of times in the last few months of doing this you know this show with you guys listening to music and it glitches for just a second when i'm streaming and it just drives me nuts and so just that was one thing that i just had a note note about that that this album needs to be listened to on cd on on on vinyl anyways that was just a little pet peeve of mine and also the the snare again in this song was just a little a little much for me it was it was it was really up front and i i like loud drums typically in a mix but i just I don't know there there was it's almost like with the snare being that loud I'm missing a bit of the kick drum and speaking of which you guys must have noticed that the the bass players you know playing stand-up I had the thought a few times like I wonder and this is not to take away from what he's doing but I just wonder what it would have sounded like if they if they used an electric bass on this album because I found the bass to be not as prominent as on the last three albums you know there it wasn't sticking i don't think that's just part of the style of this band.Track 6:[53:38] Great i have a question though craig in when i look at the watch the videos oh yeah he has an he has an ampeg like he has a bass amp so he's taking a stand-up bass which traditionally you just mic or go straight into the board and he's he's running it through a traditional rock bass you know pickup bass right in through like the standard road hard ampeg so um so it gives it that good gritty sound but i will agree 100 it's not as prominent and i would like it to be a little bit more only just being a musician but it didn't didn't didn't dissuade me from my love for this album yeah.Track 4:[54:21] Not at all and i think it were like sometimes the best bass players are the ones you don't notice like they're just tight to the to the drummer and that's really all that matters but there was really only a couple times on this album where i where i noticed.Track 6:[54:34] Very accurate Accurate statement.Track 5:[54:36] This, I think, is my MVP. As a kid who was raised on prog, you fall into the song and just let it kind of take over. I don't know. I actually found, weirdly, a karaoke version of this on YouTube.Track 3:[54:52] Really?Track 5:[54:53] An instrumental version of this. No way. And I played the piss out of it just today driving. Driving and uh yeah it's it's really odd that this is the one that's an instrumental track for, yeah but just the phrasing of things lyrically and musically like he's it this doesn't sound like any other song that gourd has has put together as far as i'm concerned i.Track 6:[55:17] Love i love that connection with prog rock justin because you've mentioned that multiple times that that's something you love. And when you said it, I had not placed it until you said it. And I agree with you on that's a great, great, great description of it.Track 5:[55:31] There was a lot of references to the Sadie's covering Pink Floyd in live shows. And I'm like, oh, there it is right there. The song is that.Track 6:[55:42] The next one to the next one to could be, you know, Jim Ladd headset session, listening like with Pink Floyd.Track 3:[55:50] Oh, the next one is gorgeous, I think. It's the first slower tempo song that we have on the record called Saved.Track 5:[58:56] Again, I can't believe that the reviews said this album doesn't make sense because about halfway down, the plane starts to land, right? And every song from halfway on is just you're descending and you land perfectly softly unsaved. And this song also sounds a lot like Coke Machine Glow. And it's just really mellow and it's Gord doing his thing. and i i don't know i love it.Track 6:[59:26] Almost every album i feel like has had a an extended version of coke machine glow track to it i i i love that i i hadn't placed it until you just said that because i felt the same way about some of the other the other albums is there that could be on coke machine glow but you're exactly right and then he continues that theme as it goes almost like the uh like his is the poetry book.Track 3:[59:53] Craig is holding up his notes.Track 4:[59:55] Nobody else can see it. I said the exact same thing. Pattern of Ending solo albums and some hip albums with a track with a much different feel is what I had written.Track 5:[1:00:07] Which goes back to Road Apples.Track 4:[1:00:12] I really love the line the music is so loud that it flaps your pant leg. It reminded me a little bit of Yawning or Snarling. Just the line in that.Track 5:[1:00:23] Thank you. I would hold up my notebook if it wasn't typed out. Because that's exactly what I have to.Track 4:[1:00:30] We are, let's see, as of recording this episode, we are, what time is it there? We're about two and a half hours away from the 10 year anniversary of this album. Of the release of this album.Track 3:[1:00:41] Oh, get the fuck out.Track 4:[1:00:42] Yeah. Wow.Track 3:[1:00:44] Oh, wow.Track 4:[1:00:46] I just had to look it up yesterday. I was like, wow, that's pretty cool.Track 5:[1:00:48] Oh, shit.Track 3:[1:00:48] That is cool. Huh. I normally have them all in my calendar, and I don't have that in my calendar. Huh. Good find. Yeah, it's going to be, yeah.Track 6:[1:01:00] Good find, Craig. Great find.Track 5:[1:01:02] J.D., you have about two and a half hours to make a post.Track 3:[1:01:06] Any more unsaved?Track 5:[1:01:09] I don't know. I didn't pick it apart too much. I loved that imagery of the line, Craig, that you just mentioned. The music is so loud, it flaps your pant leg. And there's a really strange, it's almost not, rhythm to the way that he sings it. It would be really hard to transcribe that onto a, onto a sheet of music.Track 4:[1:01:29] I also enjoyed the, um, the, the, the, they finally played a bit without the drums, you know, like this whole album has been very much like a full band. And I mentioned last week, I believe that one of the strengths of, of country of miracles was that they had so many members that they could all just take a break every once in a while. They didn't feel the need to always fill up every space. This band's the opposite because they're, you know, there's just four of them and they, they, you know, they're very much a typical rock band where everyone's playing all the time and so i actually enjoyed that there was a bit of time at the start of the song without drums no no offense to the drummer um but sometimes you just need a break this.Track 6:[1:02:07] Song to me was the you know that that cup of coffee after dessert or you know the cigarette after sex it was that finisher it was uh it was that we're all in good, good, good company. I love the connection back with Coke Machine Glow. I love the connection back with that changing that ending song. But to me, it was, all right, more so than the others. It was like, okay, here's your big warm hug before whatever comes up next.Track 3:[1:02:39] Oh, I like it. It does feel like a warm hug. It's a very comforting song for me. I don't know why, but it chills me right out. It's a great cigarette after sex. Kirk, I love that. It's really tremendous.Track 5:[1:02:55] It sucks that this album was only a half hour long.Track 3:[1:02:58] I know. It's so strange after The Grand Bounce, which was nearly an hour. But again, these guys are just so efficient and economical.Track 5:[1:03:10] It's one good fast job, baby.Track 3:[1:03:12] That's right.Track 6:[1:03:14] So does- Hey, did you know that that is his second highest played single, or at least versus Spotify when I last checked? Does that not totally blow you away? Like at least if you just look in his Spotify category, I believe it's number two behind like the Chancellor, I think is probably the most sense. But now i'm now i'm gonna look sorry i'm gonna i'm gonna see if i can back my own research.Track 5:[1:03:43] So interestingly i i don't have hard copies of any of these albums so i'm i'm strictly listening on streaming i use the youtube music app i don't really care for the interface on spotify and there is zero existence of this album in that in that space so i had to download band camp and buy the album that way which i was happy to do yeah i love band camp but yeah i had to uh that's the only way I could find this lyrics.Track 6:[1:04:07] All right, gents. I did the research. I was incorrect by two. It's Chancellor, the East wind. Oh, I am lost.Track 4:[1:04:15] That's then one good. Mind blowing.Track 5:[1:04:17] No shit.Track 6:[1:04:18] Number four.Track 4:[1:04:19] Yeah.Track 6:[1:04:20] Like that. It's even in the top five to me over like.Track 4:[1:04:23] You know, it's a great song. These songs that I thought were more well-known. Wow.Track 6:[1:04:29] Thank you.Track 4:[1:04:29] Yeah.Track 6:[1:04:30] It's surprising to me that.Track 3:[1:04:32] Yeah.Track 5:[1:04:33] Well, even, Even the opener on this one, Crater, I mean, it has a great video too.Track 6:[1:04:39] Oh, that's right. That's right. It is a really cool video.Track 4:[1:04:43] So the album art's interesting too. Did you catch that there's the different members of the band on the album? There's probably about these portraits of like, I don't know, 50 people. And if you look carefully, you can find all of the members of the band. I did.Track 6:[1:05:01] I did, absolutely. It's, yeah, on the album.Track 5:[1:05:04] And the artwork and the sound and all that, it kind of reminded me of the Beatles. I don't know why. But there was something about it that was familiar.Track 3:[1:05:16] Beatles-esque.Track 5:[1:05:17] Yeah. Yeah.Track 6:[1:05:20] I could see that. I mean, especially from an artistic standpoint. Yeah. Very much can see that.Track 3:[1:05:26] Yeah.Track 5:[1:05:27] Overall, I was super happy that this was the next thing. And I wish that there had been another one to follow it.Track 3:[1:05:33] So does it stay in your rotation then, Justin?Track 5:[1:05:36] Mm-hmm.Track 3:[1:05:37] Yeah, it does. Craig, how about you?Track 4:[1:05:40] A couple of days ago, I probably would have said maybe not. It's an album I'll definitely pull out here and there. But no, I do think I really am enjoying it lately. And like I said, the turn of the weather really helped. This is, to me, a summer album, not a, I think, come winter, I'll put it away again.Track 5:[1:05:59] End but the i'm sorry but i got it before i forget it right we just had the eclipse as we're recording this and i was stuck in traffic it's a 17 minute commute to get home and it took me 90 minutes so i listened to this album three times on the ride home and it's a great even if you're stopped it's a great album to be in the car.Track 6:[1:06:20] It's going to hit the turntable for me on a fairly regular basis for a while. Like I said, Grand Bounce, I couldn't get it out of my head. And finally, it might even have been an I'm Free Disarray Me, just that very methodical line that came through that turned it for me. Me but i love i i love it absolutely love it in fact i'm i'm probably more excited about digging deeper into the sadies once this whole project is done the sadies and several other canadian bands that i'm not as familiar with that you guys have introduced me to and i'm very thankful for but uh yeah this this one's staying in the rotation if you've got any.Track 3:[1:07:02] Bands that are gore adjacent or canadian indie adjacent uh send them our way discovering downy at gmail.com And we'll be sure to read that email on the air.Track 5:[1:07:18] I will say that as much as I've enjoyed this album, I've also really enjoyed the songs that are not on the album that Gordon and Sadie have played together. The cover of Search and Destroy. Holy shit.Track 3:[1:07:32] Right, you sent that to us a few days ago.Track 5:[1:07:35] That song melted my goddamn face off. It was so good. So good. And it was like 7, 12 in the morning or something. I was like, all right, I'm out of bed now. This is awesome.Track 4:[1:07:45] One of the shows I found online was here in Vancouver at the media club. And I actually remember hearing about it. And I'm just kicking myself that I didn't get to that show. This is like a tiny, tiny, like this is where my original band a number of years ago did our CD release party. And yeah, there's maybe room for 80 to 100 people in there. would have been amazing.Track 3:[1:08:10] Oh damn that.Track 6:[1:08:14] Is definitely i don't have a lot of regrets gentlemen but not seeing any iteration of gourd solo is very much i'm glad video was around because but i would have really really really enjoyed.Track 3:[1:08:28] Seeing that feeling thousand percent live yeah.Track 5:[1:08:32] I go back to that sweaty basement uh in me in massachusetts and like dude i went to those shows all the time and I wasn't there.Track 3:[1:08:39] That's crazy so Justin you've already sort of given this away even though we we you know we tease it throughout the show and typically give it away at the end but we'll start with you and your MVP track.Track 5:[1:08:56] Yeah, it's totally I'm free, disarray me, which took me by surprise, but then it didn't totally. You know, after the way that by, you know, the music that my parents played when I was a kid, this song is just cosmic cowboy, trippy shit.Track 3:[1:09:14] Kirk, how about you?Track 6:[1:09:15] All right. Los Angeles Times.Track 3:[1:09:21] Excellent. I love that pick. I liked your pick too, Justin.Track 5:[1:09:25] That's the hometown.Track 6:[1:09:26] Oh, yeah.Track 5:[1:09:27] That's okay.Track 6:[1:09:28] And it definitely is not one that I would have really settled in on had it not been for our discussion today, honestly. Because almost every song on the album has really fallen into near the top. You know, Conquering Sun, Budget Shoes, I would say, of everything, those definitely hit that number one spot for me multiple times. But Los Angeles Times is the one that just kept coming back, and I just kept feeling, and I kept growing further, enamored with on all fronts. So that's my pick, and I'm sticking to it.Track 3:[1:10:03] Very cool. Craig, you?Track 4:[1:10:06] Yeah, I had a hard time picking a song. And I found, kind of like what Kirk said, there was almost less of a range between the songs I enjoyed and the songs I enjoyed less. They were all in roughly the same region, whereas the other albums, there was some tracks that right away really, really got to another level with me. I think this album maybe doesn't quite have quite the emotion that the first three did, which is usually what hits me when I really love a song. Usually it just grabs me emotionally. And this album didn't have that in the same way. my my go-to song here is is going to be uh it didn't start to break my heart until this afternoon, just just a good good punk rock song yeah just nice just a great yeah great driving tune and.Track 3:[1:11:00] Gets the blood flowing, right? And I agree with you about the previous three records. They're just sort of more raw and improvised feeling.Track 4:[1:11:08] And more range to them, right? This just feels... There was more... Yeah, just... More variety. Yeah, more...Track 3:[1:11:15] Dynamics. Yeah. Yeah.Track 5:[1:11:20] There was a point where critics were really starting to tear Gord and the hip down. Yeah. When this album was coming out. And they were like, all right, we get it. The soup's getting cold. It's the same shit over and over, year after year. The performances are boring. It's not great. And I think, I don't know, but I'm thinking that this album was Gord's big middle finger to those guys. I'm still doing this. He's 50 years old.Track 4:[1:11:49] Can you think of another artist that has done what Gord has done? He's now got three bands that are all so amazing. Yeah, that's right.Track 5:[1:12:01] At the same time.Track 3:[1:12:01] At the same time, yeah, you're right.Track 4:[1:12:03] Yeah, mind-blowing how much high-quality work he put out through his whole career, but especially in this middle chunk here.Track 3:[1:12:12] Well, and if you think about it, this is a perfect segue because beginning in 2012, he started work on the record we're going to talk about next week, which is Secret Path. And that record didn't see the light of day until 2016. 16. So even then with that record, he's assembled the band again, and it's a great band as well. So this guy is just producing at a level presumably around the same time he's doing Luster Parfait. Because he's working with Bob Rock pretty exclusively, right?Track 5:[1:12:49] Right.Track 3:[1:12:50] So, God, just fascinating what we're what we've gotten up to so far i can't wait we are halfway done his records we've got one more studio record and then god damn it three posthumous records uh it's going to be tough to get through those ones guys i know it yep anything else you want to say before we wrap things up i.Track 5:[1:13:15] Don't know i love it man i i love this project i feel like we're a broken record because we're all going to say the same thing and we'd say it every episode But this project has gotten me back into, just like you said, Kirk, discovering new music. Or it's new to me. Right. And I am finding so many new things that I didn't know I didn't know.Track 3:[1:13:35] Right.Track 6:[1:13:37] I'm i have been frightened from the beginning because you know you listen because it's your first time listening to a solo stuff for you know i was frightened every single album that, yeah i was going to be disappointed yeah yep and i just keep finding a new way to be enamored and i don't mind being that easy when it comes to gourd and what's going on uh you know i i we talked about, you know, my, my experience with the hip, you know, having to hear about it from friends and not having that, you know, immediate access to everything. So I'm thoroughly loving the fact that the emotion and the feeling that Gord and the hip, all the musicians he's been involved with on the solo, just keep raising the level. So I'm now just like, I'm, I'm, you know, what I like about this, you guys is you're nervous and worried. Now I'm not nervous and worried. I'm I'm just, I'm excited about listening to what's coming up and I'm so excited.Track 5:[1:14:37] If you, if you enter the, if you enter the room knowing it's going to be a mindfuck when you get there, it's perfect

This week in the pod, the gang is up to their neck in the fantastic effort by Gord and the Sadies. You're gonna want to check this one out!Transcript: Track 1:[0:00] Hey, it's Craig here, and I just wanted to let you know that Christmastime in.Track 1:[0:03] Toronto is coming early this year. Join me and the Discovering Downey crew for the recording of our podcast finale, live at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Long Slice Brewing presents A Celebration of Gord Downey, which will include a special in-person interview with Gord's brother, Patrick Downey. Spend the evening listening to your favorite hip tunes provided by the almost hip and help us raise money for the gourd downy fund for brain cancer research with a silent auction featuring incredible items up for grabs visit discoveringdowny.com for tickets or for more information about the event, let's have a toast for charity wickedness and most importantly hope.Track 2:[1:04] DOS Beauty I name my guitar My Beautiful Behor Everybody's coughing here And music's infiltrating work In the most pleasant way It's a system based on silverware Listening's an extrasensory Perception And talking the only psychic thing and I can dress you in my thoughts until you wear them. I've been taking care of my clothes like they're cattle. Try this shirt. It would look so good on you.Track 1:[1:42] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy. Hey, it's J.D.Track 2:[1:52] Here, and welcome to Discovering Downey, an 11-part project with a focus on the music and poetry of Mr. Gord Downey. The late frontman of the Tragically Hip gave to the world an extensive solo discography on top of the hip's vocal acrobatics that awed us for years. So far, he's released eight records in total, three of them posthumously. Now listen, you might be the biggest fan of The Hip out there, but have you heard these records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week we'll get together and listen to one of Gord's records. We're starting with Coke Machine Glow and working from there in chronological order. We discuss and dissect the album, the production, the lyrics, and we break it down song by song. This week we're going to be talking about Gord's fourth record, and his first and only with the Sadies.Track 3:[2:58] Occurring son kirk from chino how the fuck are things with you buddy jd.Track 6:[3:04] I'm uh i'm back home after a little bit of travel it's been good travel um it's allowed me to really kind of soak this album in so i'm excited talking about it with you boys.Track 3:[3:15] Can you confirm this craig i'm kidding yeah how's it going pretty.Track 4:[3:20] Good yeah also looking forward to talking about this album them and it this one took me a little bit of time to get into but we'll talk about that i have been a little under the weather since the last recording it was about halfway through the last podcast i started feeling something coming on and just won't go away just a cold thankfully but yeah other than that things are well.Track 3:[3:41] Well that's good justin you've been a podcasting machine today are you spent or are you ready to talk shop with me i'm.Track 5:[3:49] Just getting started buddy.Track 3:[3:50] Yeah well let's get into it then and the conquering sun is the album we are discussing this week after three consecutive solo outings with some form of the country of miracles gourd wrote and produced this one with the sadies who had just come from supporting the hip on their world container tour Like so many, this marriage was consummated by the CBC, when the Sadies chose Mr. Downey to collaborate with, as was the program's premise. The Sadies are a Toronto-based and road-tested throughout Canada and beyond, with an original lineup consisting of Travis Goode, Sean Dean, Mike Belotiski, and Dallas Goode, who sadly passed away in 2022. This band, as I mentioned, is road-tested with buckets of swagger and chops for days. But how do you talk about The Conquering Sun? After the loose and improvised feeling of the last three records, this record is tight and economical. With a 30-minute runtime, I had to listen twice to get my walk in.Track 3:[4:55] Of the four records we've listened to so far, this one makes my Olympic podium for rock and roll with a hard-fought bronze medal, which is nothing to shake a stick at unless, of course, you're shaking the stick in a complimentary fashion. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this album. In fact, in my opinion, this record is the closest we get to a sound that is reminiscent of the hip, up and down on this record. The songs are screaming for radio play if only radio had been a factor upon its release in 2014. From the rip of Crater right through Saved, there isn't a missed opportunity on this record. I could go on about how much I like this record, na-na-na-na, blah-blah-blah, etc. You might be curious how I'm literally singing this album's praises, yet I've only ranked it third of four. I promise I'm not damning with faint praise. It's more that I loved the ceiling of the country of miracles, particles and the idea that we don't get a fourth effort from that entity bums me out a little bit so it's hard to go into this one with that ripple of bummed outness influencing me a little more than frankly i'd like but who cares what i think let's check in with the crew craig we'll start with you this week.Track 4:[6:04] Yeah this album like i i mentioned took took a few listens to get into um it's definitely not in you know it's not my favorite of the four we've heard so far but it's really just it's drastically different it just has a different vibe and there are a lot of things I really like about it and I think that my biggest realization is this this is a summer album this is a a nice weather taking a drive in the car putting the windows down this it's that kind of album and for the first couple weeks I didn't have that weather but but just past in the past few days we have and it's just it totally changed my outlook of this this album.Track 3:[6:45] I was on mute. Justin, what are your thoughts overall?Track 5:[6:49] Oh, I needed this one. I needed this album to get my headspace back into this. And I think I'm going to rank this number two so far out of the four. I actually really love this album a lot. And like Craig, it took me a minute to get into it, but something clicked and I have been listening to it at least two or three times a day every day since. And in the car, on my phone, with or without earbuds trying to get the different parts of the sound, and it kicks my ass every time. I really just like this album from start to finish. Every song kind of sounds the same, which makes it sound like one big long song, and I really kind of love that.Track 3:[7:28] Interesting. I can't wait till we break it down. What say you, Kirk from Chino?Track 6:[7:32] Like my brethren here, it took me a while. In fact, it took me a while because it almost felt like a divorce and maybe a bit of an affair Was going on with with our buddy Gord. I was so I.Track 6:[7:48] Immersed into what was happening with the country miracles and like you said in the beginning like the ceiling like i wanted more and i was so ready for more i had the vinyl of this one the last ground bounce i didn't and i listened to it and i knew there was something there but i was angry honestly i was angry because i wanted more as we had mentioned but man did it grow and grow row. I'm not going to rank it right now because every time I rank something, a day or two goes by and something happens. And I realized, oh man, that was, you know, the grand bounce. That was Coke machine glow that, and you know, every album that we've had a chance to listen to has been, I think in every slot, if that makes sense, depending on the time of day or what's going on. And and so again it just brings you back to joy because i didn't dive in when it was happening which of course i'm a little sad about but i'm so excited now that i'm like i'm really loving music discovery again i'm really loving listening to albums i'm really loving i don't care if it's in the car if i'm walking the dog if i'm sitting at work if i'm you know working on something on on the computer and I've got the music going.Track 6:[9:11] Like I have not spent this much time with new music. I say that in quotes because it's obviously not new, but it's new to me, new to us.Track 6:[9:23] And I'm just, I'm loving the ride. That's all I got to say. This one is the last two, I mean, like I'm going to be listening to these forever. And I'm going to try and preach the word and get some people to jump on board because it makes me sad when I look at Spotify or something and I see the honestly and don't jump on me. It's like the limited number of listens to the Gord stuff. I have friends that have put stuff out that have more downloads than that. I'm not saying that in a negative, I'm saying that in a like, that shouldn't be. That shouldn't be, so. Right. My diatribe's over, sorry.Track 3:[10:03] No, no. Well, that's why I was mentioning off the top too too, that it screams for radio play to me. It's very radio-friendly. There's nothing over four minutes. And fucking radio just didn't matter in 2014. So of course we were never going to hear this. Unless we were paying very close attention.Track 6:[10:26] Absolutely.Track 3:[10:27] Clearly we were not.Track 6:[10:28] Absolutely. Radio.Track 5:[10:29] Radio still matters to me. I'm a radio guy. I'm going to tell you that right now. Yeah. Love radio.Track 3:[10:34] Radio doesn't love you back though. That's the problem. Like it's getting stripped down and worn down and these formats, you know, like if you've got a, if you've got a local that you love, then by going to stand with it, right?Track 5:[10:47] Yeah, you're right. We have, we have a, I'm going to sidebar here for just a second. We have a great station here in Southern Vermont, WEQX, which is one of the last great independent alternative rock stations in North America. And they discovered No Rain by Blind Melon. They were the first one to play it. And they just got this great pedigree, and they love to play Gord's solo stuff. From 2020 on, there's been a lot of new Gord solo stuff that's really been great.Track 3:[11:19] Get up. Right.Track 5:[11:20] And it's kind of been hard to not listen ahead during this project. Wow. I don't know if they played any of the stuff from this album, but this would totally fit.Track 4:[11:28] Yeah, we once had a really awesome independent radio station down in Bellingham, Washington, which we could pick up in Vancouver. And they actually, their tagline was something like, we don't play Canadian music because we have to. We play it because it rocks or something along those lines. And they would play The Hip and Rush. and yeah that's the only american station i've heard that that played a ton of the hip and yeah of course about 15 years ago they got whatever bought out by chorus or someone and it's now just yeah yeah your standard rock radio well.Track 3:[12:02] Should we eradicate this problem and educate people on this record go through it track by track are we ready let's.Track 5:[12:10] Go sure yeah.Track 3:[12:12] All right we start with track one side a it's the classic rock tinged crater what did you think of this one mr greg.Track 4:[12:25] My dad uh came to vancouver from new zealand in 1965 to to buy a 65 chevy impala and this song crater is a 1965 chevy impala cruising down the road it's just a great rock and roll track yeah um man that snare drum is yes snare snare yeah it is it is there in the mix yeah definitely i didn't dive into the lyrics at all especially um the songs that were more kind of rocking i i just i was just enjoying them and the only thought i had lyric wise was um almost like an idea of like either you're you're the crater or you're the meter meteor And I was kind of thinking along the lines of there's that not so great Dire Straits song, Heavy Fuel, where he says, you know, sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug. And that was kind of the... What i got out of the lyrics on this song.Track 6:[13:25] I i wonder in the lyrics and maybe you guys did further research that i didn't see like how much of it was gord how much of it was the gents from the sadies because i i knew the name the sadies but i honestly until this i had not really you know dove into some of their music and i think in one of our you know communications justin had mentioned that as well like he's doing a lot of listening to the sadies and and i try i you know my listening at first it's this is it's going to sound weird um i did a lot of listening at first obviously like through spotify or whatever else but it wasn't until youtube and i got to see these guys and they're wearing like their nudie suits is what it looks like you know and i just i just saw a bunch of them they had a big exhibit at the you know country music uh hall of fame and they were We're talking about that LA country and, you know, very much a country tinge, but, you know, they're using those hollow body guitars. And anyway, so back to lyrics, like what's the balance between Gord and the Sadie's? Did anyone find anything on that?Track 4:[14:30] My understanding is that they, that the Sadie's wrote the songs and Gord wrote the lyrics that, yeah. And it was recorded apparently over a number of years. This wasn't like an album that was done in one session, which I find surprising because like someone said earlier, it's, it sounds just like a, it's a great album. It, it really sounds like it was just tracked in one day or something. It's yeah, there's a.Track 6:[14:53] There's YouTube has a, uh, interview of, I think the Sadie's had just put an album out. It was like 2010 and Gord was with them and they, you know, obviously had some discussions about their, their time together. And in some of the research it talks about, this has definitely been a long-term type of thing. Great song.Track 5:[15:10] Yeah, there was a CBC fuse in 2007 is what put them together. So it took seven years for this album to come out from that first collaboration. Collaboration I really like the sound.Track 6:[15:21] From a musicianship standpoint ethereal is really the kind of the adjective that came to mind on a lot of the the guitar parts that the Sadie's had you know very much a hollow body type guitar going through either a Fender a lot of reverb I really liked that driving sound I really really liked it it was it was pretty prevalent throughout in my opinion anything.Track 3:[15:43] Else on crater i.Track 5:[15:46] Just yeah i mean this is gourd this is like this is a live show on a record um this one song particularly and he is giving it all he has what at the end of the second verse and if we record any of these songs this is the one i'm doing because this is a this is a screamer and it's so much fun to be it you know we don't want to we don't want to do it we want to be it this song is fun to sing, Yeah. So I also, I downloaded an app because I noticed my foot was tapping a lot faster at the end of the song than the beginning. And I, so I, I downloaded an app and it picks up 13 beats per minute from the start to the finish.Track 4:[16:29] Oh yeah. That's something I'm going to be talking about later. Cause I, it was driving me nuts. One of the songs I was trying to actually figure out what was happening mathematically and yeah. Okay. I'm glad I'm not the only one noticed.Track 6:[16:43] I love that. I love the time changes in a variety of different songs. I put them down in a few notes. But the one thing I really want to say before we dive into any more, long live the guitar solo. And there's quite a few guitar solos on this album, specifically Crater. And they're just, they're solos. They're good solos. And on the other albums, we'll call lead lines, but there's not a lot of solos. And I'm digging that, getting that back, because we haven't had that in the first three.Track 5:[17:15] Oh, yes.Track 3:[17:16] Nice. Well, the next one is sort of the titular track, but not quite. The Conquering Sun does what for you, Justin?Track 5:[17:27] When I look out the window and see Audette's Blue Spruce Farm across the street, That's kind of what I think about. I mean, it's getting on time to plant. And here it is as we record this. It's planting season and working the fugitive dust. Nature, please be good to us. You know, we just had this massively wet spring that wiped out a shit ton of the farms around here. That's, you know, before they even got started. For me, that's part of what this song is. There's also the line, she is more than a conqueror. And I wonder if that's a reference to Gord's wife, Laura, with her recent cancer battle. I don't know when this song was recorded in the timeline of all that, like what year this happened. But I interpreted it as possibly something that could be a reference to defeating the cancer. And the other thing that I really, it was a callback to We Are The Same is when Gord's, his vocal run during hearing, ooh, day is your word, night is the glue. He does that exact same thing in The Depression Suite. That very same run, the change, the pitch, the length, I love it.Track 4:[18:41] Yeah, I caught that too. That's great.Track 6:[18:43] Great song. It was one of those. I think I mentioned on the last time we spoke, there was not a definitive MVP for me. This one has fallen in and out of MVP, and it may fall back in at the end of this recording. morning. But that's one of the things that really showed me this was a great album, but specifically this song. I just felt immersed in it. And like I said earlier, Ethereal, again, another great solo, another great, that sound that the Sadies have. They have, these guys, what are they like six, five, six, six, they look like trees and they might be a buck or five soaking wet and the suits are barely hanging on them and he's just playing this you know telecaster like it's a little tiny you know a small ukulele and they just have this they they just have this presence and like i said it really wasn't until i i started seeing them that i i got the sadie's because when i was listening it didn't hit me as much and i was kind of hoping i don't know if i mentioned this earlier because they were on the world container tour and i was wondering if they were the opening band I didn't find anything that showed them specifically, but when I watch the videos, it doesn't bring a memory or recollection that I saw. I think it was Sam Roberts that opened for a lot of the shows that I saw here in California.Track 5:[20:06] I saw Joel Plaskett as the opener on that tour.Track 6:[20:11] Got it. Got it. Yeah. So I was kind of hoping that they were one of the openers. But you know now i'm really excited that you know just in the last couple of days i would say is really when my attention has gone towards them and when you start hearing and seeing how they crafted these songs together and how they worked so well with gourd and his phrasing and and so yeah love this love this yeah.Track 4:[20:38] The the sadies are actually on tour as we record this and i'm hoping to pick to go down to the the vancouver show uh so you might you might want to look at dates they They might be coming down your way.Track 6:[20:48] I hope so.Track 4:[20:48] Yeah, this song, to me, as soon as I heard it, it reminded me of Nico Case. And Nico Case is someone who's worked with the Sadies. And so it is very much that sort of alt-country vibe on this song. And this was probably the song that drew me in right away. Again, like Kirk said, it was in the contention for my MVP track for sure, which, like you, keeps changing. and yeah it's just just a great feel to this song.Track 3:[21:18] Yeah i couldn't agree more i think we're two for two so far on this record and we're gonna find out that let's go pretty even record it's a pretty even fucking record los angeles times has the aforementioned swagger dripping from it, Kirk, did you like this one as much as I did?Track 6:[25:07] I'm going to say yes, absolutely. But it didn't start out that way. This actually was one of my least favorite tunes after the first couple of passes. I just didn't quite get it. It was just kind of like, it was almost too much swagger at first for me. Because remember, I think we're in a divorce right now. I think this is an affair that's going on. So I'm a little adverse to the song and the album and almost everything because I still have his last, you know, that last record that just moved us all. It was still here. So there was this almost a betrayal, swagger, distaste that I had in the beginning. But listening to it, re-listening to it, listening to it in headphones, listening to it on vinyl, listening to it in the car, listening to it in the plane, listening to it in the hotel. The key changes, like we'd mentioned earlier, just another great solo, just great rock. And, hey, I'm an LA guy. So this one definitely turned and has also filtered through multiple times sometimes on the mvp track side so yeah to me it's three for three and i'm just gonna pre-call it for y'all.Track 4:[26:22] Yeah yeah i found this song to be um i was the same way i found the the progression to be a bit generic at first and so i didn't really love it right away but yeah it really grew and i think what makes it work is that this band is just so tight they're so i mean loose but Yeah, the tempo, you know, picks up and, you know, there's the push and push and pull, but they are such a great band that they can pull off anything. Just a simple strumming pattern and make it sound pro. And there's that thing you mentioned off the top, JD, the blah, blah, blah, et cetera, which I was wondering if, I'm sure you guys were thinking the music at work, live, Gord would do the et cetera thing. Did you find anything lyrically, Justin?Track 5:[27:10] Yeah. So there's a dedication at the end of the lyrics for Walter Van Tilburg Clark, who wrote The Oxbow Incident, among many other works. And that became kind of one of the great Western movies of all time. And it's about, the subject is these cowboys thought that one of their buddies got murdered and that somebody stole their cows. And then they found this group of three people that they thought did it and they hanged them. And then they found out that the guy survived and it wasn't them and you know it was just a big mess so it was it was the oxbow incident and uh yeah so it was a complicated story and but this isn't about the story it's about the author there are a lot of references to lines in the book or the movie but it's you know there's a line he was born and raised and moved away and that's about i think walter van tillberg clark who was born in maine but then his parents moved him to nevada and then he moved to in New York and then he went he was kind of all over the place beyond that I don't know it's, There's one thing that is a bit of a departure, I think, on this album is that the lyrics aren't too deep. There's not a lot of mystery in this album with Gord's lyrics. And I was hoping for more of that, but the research was a little easier than I wanted it to be on this.Track 4:[28:26] That was something I noticed too, is like there didn't seem to be as much to dig into.Track 4:[28:31] And once I kind of got past that and just started enjoying it, I really did grow to appreciate the album a lot more. It's funny that you mentioned the Oxbow incident because number one, a couple of weeks ago i was in la and we did did a couple studio tours and this is one of the movies they actually mentioned i forget if it was warner brothers or universal but it was shot at one of those two places in the next song so one good fast job one of my notes here is oxbow incident because of the line it says art shot said wellman to fonda so wellman the director and uh fonda the the star of the show so um nice kind of a neat little tie and i had no idea that the previous song had that reference so i'm glad you caught that this song i really love and this was the one i was um i found really interesting the the progression you've got like almost like a eight bar blues but then they throw in an extra bar so it's like this nine bar which just throws you off off balance a little bit once you once you hear it a few times it makes perfect sense but there's the lyric about drop you know planes dropping paper and dropping scissors and the chimps becoming regular wizards i think it is. And so that made me think of, there's a couple of Simpsons episode that reference like the infinite monkey theorem.Track 4:[29:46] What is it? Infinite monkeys, or give a monkey a typewriter and let it type for infinity. It would create, you know, Shakespeare. And you know, it would just some ridiculous theory that has, you know, been, you know, criticized heavily, but I wonder if there's something to that.Track 6:[30:03] Sorely discredited.Track 4:[30:05] And I really like, there's the line too about something about forget the commas. This is one good fast job. And it almost made me think of this album that they just like banged off this out. Like, let's not, let's just have fun. Let's just write some songs and let's not take ourselves too seriously. So those are my thoughts.Track 5:[30:23] Well, I think there was some controversy over the name of the band. And there are commas in that band name. And I think that they're just saying, you know, screw it. And like, nobody asked for this. We're just doing it. let us enjoy it. I did see a couple of interviews where Gord and members of the band were like, can we not dissect this? This is just rock and roll.Track 4:[30:44] Yeah.Track 6:[30:46] One thing in watching some of those videos that I had mentioned, the last two songs that we discussed that they had played, it was a Greenbelt Harvest Festival thing show that was on. They had almost every song on there and he was playing with the Sadie's and watching the crowd to me was actually quite entertaining because they just sat there and looked in bewilderment right because I don't know they obviously have probably some relationship with with the hip and who knows if they're early hit people or later hit people or die hard all the way but when Gord does the solo stuff and then if they're not familiar with the Sadie's they just sat there and looked like yeah why don't what are we experiencing here what what's what's going on and bewilderment was the note note that i wrote right.Track 3:[31:34] Right i mean this makes no sense to me fuck okay sorry uh continue.Track 6:[31:42] It man one good fast job and almost back to kind of those punk type roots and that driving rocking it it's uh who i jd like this album has everything and, Also, one thing I wanted to mention, I know we're not through it all, but I think they did a great job of tracking. I really felt good about where all the songs were. I needed Crater to get me going, even though I was still mad and angry, like we mentioned, and then Saved at the end that we'll talk about. It just was like, okay, I got a good, nice, warm hug. Thank you. you um which.Track 5:[32:26] You know what's amazing is there were so many reviews about this album that said it was not cohesive and inconsistent and like what the hell are you talking about and.Track 3:[32:36] Uneven and blah blah.Track 4:[32:37] Blah yeah what.Track 3:[32:38] The hell man agree.Track 4:[32:39] Yeah no that's a reviewer who read that it was you know recorded over many years yeah that's ridiculous like maybe if you gave it one or two listens but even then even the first listen i didn't love it but it sounded like an album yeah Yeah. One more thing about this song though, before, before we move on, I love the middle section. There's like a bridge or maybe even call it a chorus. It only goes to it once the, I had to look, I had to go, I had to laugh. And it's really interesting how they go through it once, then there's that extra bar, like they keep doing, and then they change the chord progression and back off a bit. Like if you listen to the way the, you know, they're the same instruments, but they just back off and the feel changes totally. And it's such a great effect. Rather than ramping up a bridge, they almost like pull back a bit. And that really was unique. And it only happens once. It feels like a chorus to me, but it's right smack dab in the middle of the song. And I think it's two minutes and like 23 seconds or something. And this is definitely one of my favorites.Track 3:[33:43] Yeah, it's a good one. And the next one is a good one as well. It's got to hold the record for the longest title in Gord's solo oeuvre. Kirk mentioned a moment ago that there's a bit of everything on this record. And to me, the beginning of this song, just the very beginning, is shoegazy.Track 5:[34:00] Yes.Track 3:[34:00] Or it goes into a real punk sort of vibe. And it didn't start to break my heart until this afternoon. Justin, what have you got for us?Track 5:[34:09] So the line, we fought like two Irons, really stuck out to me. and it goes with Kirk. I don't know that this was the middle of a divorce. I think Gord is just polyamorous at this point because this project took seven years and in the middle of it, he released the third album, Grand Bounce. So he is just sleeping around. I love the punk, the hard driving, just we're going to beat the fuck out of this song.Track 4:[34:38] My first real positive experience with this song was driving to my show last weekend and it was like i said a nice day i was driving along and to me like i said it's a real good driving album and i was coming up to this i guess it was a school zone but it was a weekend so there's no school and there was a uh a flashing like speed limit sign it was like a happy face and as i'm driving by it's like it turns to a sad face because i guess i was a little bit above the limit i'm not a huge speeder but i found that kind of quite funny especially after the i just just listen to the line what is it um something about driving fast oh yeah drive drive it like we stole it yeah it's a great great line that's right and then later on there's the dishwasher loaded which i love because i i wish i could say that most of my music listening was in the car but i only have about a five minute commute to work so most of my listening is actually doing the dishes and so this is just a great song when you're doing the dishes and and dishwasher loaded it and it really really kind of got you know i.Track 5:[35:40] Had the same experience man that's.Track 4:[35:41] Found it pretty funny and i actually the first time i noticed that lyric i was actually had just put this open i was closing the door of the dishwasher and so it was just it was just perfect it's so funny yeah.Track 5:[35:51] That's amazing oh.Track 4:[35:53] And great harmonies too on the chorus like love those harmonies yeah.Track 6:[35:57] That's one thing you'll notice too when you watch those or or you see them like the the harmony part especially especially after what we had just experienced for the last three albums, you know, with the female voice going back to a male voice backing. I love that element that it brought to it. And I'm just gonna jump into the next song, Budget Shoes. This is one that I think has probably held the number one spot for me. I would say it's not necessarily still there, but it's been there more often than not. And maybe I'm far off on this, but being the American, one of the two Americans that really likes Canadian culture, it brought me back to Kids in the Hall for some reason. In fact, so much so, if you think of the Kids in the Hall intro, I actually looked it up to go hoping it was the sadies like that really would have made my day if it was the sadies that had done that song that's the intro to kids in the hall.Track 4:[39:34] There is there is a connection there and i hope i'm correct here but i believe i read that the dallas good the the younger brother who you know passed away recently who.Track 3:[39:44] Was the drummer.Track 4:[39:44] He he played so so the good family was a was a country family like they had like a family band and and the older brother travis actually played with his band and Dallas being younger he he went more towards punk and I believe it said that his first or one of his first bands was with one of the members of uh Shadowy Men is that the name of the band that does the theme yeah yeah.Track 3:[40:11] Shadowy Men oh.Track 6:[40:12] Wow nice it definitely was reminiscent of that uh the entire song to me is just brilliant and it it gives you I mean it It really just digs deep inside my soul going back to the ethereal. When Gord hits those moments of the desperation vocal that we heard a lot, not only in recording, but live when he was with the hip, that brought such a comfort to me, right? Knowing where the hip is at, knowing where Gord is at, knowing what's coming. Like this is three years prior to his passing. And just so thankful that we get another version of Gord. And that's really what it was to me is we got, we have the hip and we love that. We have these first three albums, but now we have another one. And it was, Justin, you mentioned it in his lyrics. It's like, I'm not trying to confuse anyone here. I got this great band. They've given me this good music and I'm just gonna give it, I'm gonna give it what's coming to me at the moment. so when he does his and i call it a desperation vocal i know exactly what.Track 5:[41:22] You mean when you say it though.Track 3:[41:26] Yeah.Track 5:[41:26] Yep. Yep. So I'm going to ask the Canadians in the room here about budget shoes because I did some research on this as well. And apparently there's a tradition in Canada that finance ministers buy a new pair of shoes before presenting the budget and they wear them on the floor. Or if they're pissed off about it, they don't.Track 4:[41:48] Oh, wow.Track 5:[41:48] And it's this thing that has happened since the 1860s.Track 3:[41:53] Jesus. Do they go bare feet? I mean, listen, I was a political science major, and I've never heard of it before, but that doesn't really mean anything.Track 6:[42:01] As the other American, I agree with what you say full-heartedly. Love it. Love that connection.Track 3:[42:10] Yeah, I think it's great.Track 5:[42:11] It was strange, but interesting. And I don't know if this song is a commentary on politics and that, or if it just works well with... I mean, this song sounds like, you know, we're sleeping in a tent in a winter storm unexpectedly in the middle of the desert, you know, and I've got nice shoes and you don't, you know, and I'm going to keep my feet and you're going to lose them to frostbite. I don't know.Track 4:[42:37] What I was thinking was I was imagining almost like an old Western movie. It's like sweltering hot in the desert. And yeah, they're camping overnight. Night and you know the most iconic thing you'll see in a western is that you know the shot of the cowboy boots and the pan up and and i'm just picturing this you know guy sleeping in his budget you know there's cheap shoes and that's kind of what i do balances on yeah yeah.Track 6:[43:04] Ouch shots fired they're.Track 5:[43:05] A great company and they.Track 6:[43:06] Make a fine shoe thank you we're not sponsored by any of these particular shoe brands yeah i mean budget shoes you talk about the westerns it's almost like a spaghetti western type feel just in that uh the guitar riff as well so.Track 3:[43:26] Oh, that's cool. I felt that, too. I wouldn't have put that together. All right, let's move on. Demand Destruction. Is it just me, Justin, or does this song feel very much like the Tragically Hip? Am I crazy?Track 5:[43:38] No, I don't think you're crazy about that at all. And this song is, I think, Gord kind of putting out his own views. Again, there's a notation at the bottom. The last one, Budget Shoes, was dedicated to Evan S. Connell, who was the author of the book about Custer where the title of The Grand Bounce came from. So that's a continuation. And then this one is dedicated to Dr. Helen Caldicott, who was an Australian physicist and anti-nuclear war advocate. And it just feels like a protest song to me. I really don't have a lot of notes about it. It's just a nice, fun tune. But there's definitely a message in there. And I think it's Gord speaking about, let's not fuck this up. and maybe some reverence for Dr. Caldecott. It says, I'm not a fan, I just like what you do. I don't know. I don't have a whole lot to unpack on this one.Track 3:[44:30] Right. Well, no, I think you unpacked quite a bit. Craig, what have you got for us?Track 4:[44:36] One thing I'll say about this song is I found maybe the snare was a little too biting for me. I found that if you if you were listening quietly it it just jumped right out of the mix to the point where you almost couldn't hear anything else and when you turned it up it just had just a little a tinge too much oh yeah you guys know who who mixed the album yeah so bob rock and i think he did a great job overall but it definitely you know he's known for those big huge drums and i just would have liked a little more balance i thought the snare was just a little peeking out a little bit too much the rest of the album i think it it works but maybe the song is the poppiest.Track 5:[45:17] I think of the of the songs on the album it's certainly.Track 4:[45:20] Radio friendly fairly typical like blues rock sort of yeah um riff at the start yeah.Track 3:[45:25] That's what reminds me it reminds me of something off of road apples you know oh yeah yeah that era.Track 4:[45:31] Yeah great great harmonies again especially in the chorus all.Track 3:[45:34] Right from there we get a change of pace with mandolin and organ off the top of devil enough. Am I right? Was it mandolin Craig?Track 4:[45:44] Um, yeah, I believe so. I need to go back and listen again. Um, yeah, this is the song I referenced earlier that was driving me nuts. Even today I was sitting there tapping my toes, like trying to figure out the time change. And I actually had this like theory about what they were doing with it, you know, how they're getting from one tempo to the next. And then I just realized after a while it's just feel it's all feel. And I won't even get into it, because there are some weird things that happen. And I think it is what Justin mentioned earlier, I think it's just that flexibility of, of like, you know, they're really pushing the tempo, bringing it back quite frequently. And so.Track 4:[46:25] Yeah, if anyone wants to transcribe this drum part for me and send it to me, I would love to see that because I would love to know mathematically how it works, but I'm pretty sure it is just like a feel thing. This was a song that really stuck out to me. I love that time change. Having said all that, it really, the first few times just really struck me. The guitar playing at the end, the sort of Nashville picking at the end is just amazing. There's a few songs that have those great guitar solos. I think often it's Travis, according to the videos I watched, although I believe Dallas will trade off solo sometimes too. There's the line, Streets Ahead, which of course is a song name from Now For Plan A. And I had just actually recently been watching Community. And I'm not sure if you guys know that reference, but there's a, you know, it's like a catchphrase of Chevy Chase's character. And I actually found a, I wondered if it was related and I found an interview where someone asked Gord that question and he's just like, what? He was so like, no, like what are you talking about? Which of course makes sense. I mean, you don't write books. All these songs you're not a prolific writer like gourd if you're if you're.Track 6:[47:36] Spending countless hours.Track 4:[47:39] Binging you know sitcoms with 120 episodes.Track 5:[47:44] Well and gourd gourd's a dan akroyd guy not a chevy chase guy.Track 6:[47:48] Yeah true hey going back to that the ending part craig yes uh you know they almost have a bluegrass feel in some of these instrumental type solos there's There's rock going on against a different instrumentation, which I absolutely love the devil enough to me almost was reminiscent of like your seventies kind of, you know, Barracuda and like the big songs that would have a slow intro and then rock out or go to another slow, but very seventies rock and kind of anthemic type of we're going to switch keys. We're going to switch tempos i very much got that but again going back to the swagger you feel the swagger in in the presentation of the lyrics at least from my perspective with gourd on this loved it loved it.Track 4:[48:43] Yeah there are some um really great songwriting techniques on this album that you can tell you know the sadies are just a pro band i think is it uh one of the guys from blue rodeo i believe was was quoted in the in the barclay book about saying that you know they're the world's greatest rock band and there's the little things like in this song they use the little bars of two to set up you know those changes and just lots of little things like that like an extra bar here an extra bar there it's just some really great little songwriting tricks what did you think justin i.Track 5:[49:14] Just this song you know growing up we only had like 10 or 12 channels on on tv and one of them was tnn the nashville network and so the grand ole opry was was on all the time, because we didn't have a choice. If it wasn't Hockey Night in Canada, it was TNN. And just this song, that run with the picking is really cool. It brought me back to late 80s, early 90s, just watching the hoedown.Track 4:[49:42] Not a country fan, but when I hear a great guitar player like that, though, like a great Nashville player, it really is great. This whole album isn't the type of music I would typically listen to. And I think that's why I gravitate more towards an indie rock feel, like the Battle of the Nudes. But man, this album is really, really solid.Track 6:[50:06] Yeah, it has a good... I mean, I know you guys say you don't like country, and I say it too. But I bet you you'd be surprised about what you do like that's country-esque. And so for me, when I think of country, I get turned away by some of the modern country. although I'm really digging some Chris Stapleton and some of these other guys I'm really digging. But like when I hear country, I think Kenny Rogers, Merle Haggard, I think Willie Nelson, I think, and I think we really do dig, even going back Hank Williams and even a little further, like when the, as you listen to, I love this that we're talking like, oh, we only had 10 channels and whatever else. And I'm going hockey night in Canada and the nashville network you know and throw in a little emma daughter's jug band christmas and that's my childhood and i'm happy and i love all that so i i i get what you're saying but this i mean the sadie's i think alt country i heard earlier from one of you guys that's very much the feel from devil enough you roll into i'm free disarray me justin you you inspired me because i I have the vinyl here with me. And so I quick looked at the bottom and I'm like, okay, I gotta catch this one cause I've missed all the other references that you mentioned. So you got Virginia Woolf, who's listed at the bottom of I'm Free Disarray Me. And when you do your research, you think about stream of consciousness.Track 6:[51:31] And that really, I think, kind of sums up your lyrics in this particular song.Track 6:[51:37] Swagger again it's it's it's it's it's the same but it's not i heard us all say that it's the same but it's not i i i loved where it went with this and it's bringing us down now right because we only have one more song we talked about the track listings and the order and now it's given us getting us i think this is kind of setting us up for saved at least me personally uh what you think craig.Track 4:[52:03] This was the first song that actually popped into my head just out of the blue one morning when i woke up because it took quite a long time for that to happen with this album i was still singing grand bounce songs you know every morning waking up and then one day it was that i was like wow okay and and same one thing i want to mention this is kind of, going off of what you're talking about with vinyl i was listening to this you know doing dishes.Track 4:[52:29] With you know on apple and the amount of times in the last few months of doing this you know this show with you guys listening to music and it glitches for just a second when i'm streaming and it just drives me nuts and so just that was one thing that i just had a note note about that that this album needs to be listened to on cd on on on vinyl anyways that was just a little pet peeve of mine and also the the snare again in this song was just a little a little much for me it was it was it was really up front and i i like loud drums typically in a mix but i just I don't know there there was it's almost like with the snare being that loud I'm missing a bit of the kick drum and speaking of which you guys must have noticed that the the bass players you know playing stand-up I had the thought a few times like I wonder and this is not to take away from what he's doing but I just wonder what it would have sounded like if they if they used an electric bass on this album because I found the bass to be not as prominent as on the last three albums you know there it wasn't sticking i don't think that's just part of the style of this band.Track 6:[53:38] Great i have a question though craig in when i look at the watch the videos oh yeah he has an he has an ampeg like he has a bass amp so he's taking a stand-up bass which traditionally you just mic or go straight into the board and he's he's running it through a traditional rock bass you know pickup bass right in through like the standard road hard ampeg so um so it gives it that good gritty sound but i will agree 100 it's not as prominent and i would like it to be a little bit more only just being a musician but it didn't didn't didn't dissuade me from my love for this album yeah.Track 4:[54:21] Not at all and i think it were like sometimes the best bass players are the ones you don't notice like they're just tight to the to the drummer and that's really all that matters but there was really only a couple times on this album where i where i noticed.Track 6:[54:34] Very accurate Accurate statement.Track 5:[54:36] This, I think, is my MVP. As a kid who was raised on prog, you fall into the song and just let it kind of take over. I don't know. I actually found, weirdly, a karaoke version of this on YouTube.Track 3:[54:52] Really?Track 5:[54:53] An instrumental version of this. No way. And I played the piss out of it just today driving. Driving and uh yeah it's it's really odd that this is the one that's an instrumental track for, yeah but just the phrasing of things lyrically and musically like he's it this doesn't sound like any other song that gourd has has put together as far as i'm concerned i.Track 6:[55:17] Love i love that connection with prog rock justin because you've mentioned that multiple times that that's something you love. And when you said it, I had not placed it until you said it. And I agree with you on that's a great, great, great description of it.Track 5:[55:31] There was a lot of references to the Sadie's covering Pink Floyd in live shows. And I'm like, oh, there it is right there. The song is that.Track 6:[55:42] The next one to the next one to could be, you know, Jim Ladd headset session, listening like with Pink Floyd.Track 3:[55:50] Oh, the next one is gorgeous, I think. It's the first slower tempo song that we have on the record called Saved.Track 5:[58:56] Again, I can't believe that the reviews said this album doesn't make sense because about halfway down, the plane starts to land, right? And every song from halfway on is just you're descending and you land perfectly softly unsaved. And this song also sounds a lot like Coke Machine Glow. And it's just really mellow and it's Gord doing his thing. and i i don't know i love it.Track 6:[59:26] Almost every album i feel like has had a an extended version of coke machine glow track to it i i i love that i i hadn't placed it until you just said that because i felt the same way about some of the other the other albums is there that could be on coke machine glow but you're exactly right and then he continues that theme as it goes almost like the uh like his is the poetry book.Track 3:[59:53] Craig is holding up his notes.Track 4:[59:55] Nobody else can see it. I said the exact same thing. Pattern of Ending solo albums and some hip albums with a track with a much different feel is what I had written.Track 5:[1:00:07] Which goes back to Road Apples.Track 4:[1:00:12] I really love the line the music is so loud that it flaps your pant leg. It reminded me a little bit of Yawning or Snarling. Just the line in that.Track 5:[1:00:23] Thank you. I would hold up my notebook if it wasn't typed out. Because that's exactly what I have to.Track 4:[1:00:30] We are, let's see, as of recording this episode, we are, what time is it there? We're about two and a half hours away from the 10 year anniversary of this album. Of the release of this album.Track 3:[1:00:41] Oh, get the fuck out.Track 4:[1:00:42] Yeah. Wow.Track 3:[1:00:44] Oh, wow.Track 4:[1:00:46] I just had to look it up yesterday. I was like, wow, that's pretty cool.Track 5:[1:00:48] Oh, shit.Track 3:[1:00:48] That is cool. Huh. I normally have them all in my calendar, and I don't have that in my calendar. Huh. Good find. Yeah, it's going to be, yeah.Track 6:[1:01:00] Good find, Craig. Great find.Track 5:[1:01:02] J.D., you have about two and a half hours to make a post.Track 3:[1:01:06] Any more unsaved?Track 5:[1:01:09] I don't know. I didn't pick it apart too much. I loved that imagery of the line, Craig, that you just mentioned. The music is so loud, it flaps your pant leg. And there's a really strange, it's almost not, rhythm to the way that he sings it. It would be really hard to transcribe that onto a, onto a sheet of music.Track 4:[1:01:29] I also enjoyed the, um, the, the, the, they finally played a bit without the drums, you know, like this whole album has been very much like a full band. And I mentioned last week, I believe that one of the strengths of, of country of miracles was that they had so many members that they could all just take a break every once in a while. They didn't feel the need to always fill up every space. This band's the opposite because they're, you know, there's just four of them and they, they, you know, they're very much a typical rock band where everyone's playing all the time and so i actually enjoyed that there was a bit of time at the start of the song without drums no no offense to the drummer um but sometimes you just need a break this.Track 6:[1:02:07] Song to me was the you know that that cup of coffee after dessert or you know the cigarette after sex it was that finisher it was uh it was that we're all in good, good, good company. I love the connection back with Coke Machine Glow. I love the connection back with that changing that ending song. But to me, it was, all right, more so than the others. It was like, okay, here's your big warm hug before whatever comes up next.Track 3:[1:02:39] Oh, I like it. It does feel like a warm hug. It's a very comforting song for me. I don't know why, but it chills me right out. It's a great cigarette after sex. Kirk, I love that. It's really tremendous.Track 5:[1:02:55] It sucks that this album was only a half hour long.Track 3:[1:02:58] I know. It's so strange after The Grand Bounce, which was nearly an hour. But again, these guys are just so efficient and economical.Track 5:[1:03:10] It's one good fast job, baby.Track 3:[1:03:12] That's right.Track 6:[1:03:14] So does- Hey, did you know that that is his second highest played single, or at least versus Spotify when I last checked? Does that not totally blow you away? Like at least if you just look in his Spotify category, I believe it's number two behind like the Chancellor, I think is probably the most sense. But now i'm now i'm gonna look sorry i'm gonna i'm gonna see if i can back my own research.Track 5:[1:03:43] So interestingly i i don't have hard copies of any of these albums so i'm i'm strictly listening on streaming i use the youtube music app i don't really care for the interface on spotify and there is zero existence of this album in that in that space so i had to download band camp and buy the album that way which i was happy to do yeah i love band camp but yeah i had to uh that's the only way I could find this lyrics.Track 6:[1:04:07] All right, gents. I did the research. I was incorrect by two. It's Chancellor, the East wind. Oh, I am lost.Track 4:[1:04:15] That's then one good. Mind blowing.Track 5:[1:04:17] No shit.Track 6:[1:04:18] Number four.Track 4:[1:04:19] Yeah.Track 6:[1:04:20] Like that. It's even in the top five to me over like.Track 4:[1:04:23] You know, it's a great song. These songs that I thought were more well-known. Wow.Track 6:[1:04:29] Thank you.Track 4:[1:04:29] Yeah.Track 6:[1:04:30] It's surprising to me that.Track 3:[1:04:32] Yeah.Track 5:[1:04:33] Well, even, Even the opener on this one, Crater, I mean, it has a great video too.Track 6:[1:04:39] Oh, that's right. That's right. It is a really cool video.Track 4:[1:04:43] So the album art's interesting too. Did you catch that there's the different members of the band on the album? There's probably about these portraits of like, I don't know, 50 people. And if you look carefully, you can find all of the members of the band. I did.Track 6:[1:05:01] I did, absolutely. It's, yeah, on the album.Track 5:[1:05:04] And the artwork and the sound and all that, it kind of reminded me of the Beatles. I don't know why. But there was something about it that was familiar.Track 3:[1:05:16] Beatles-esque.Track 5:[1:05:17] Yeah. Yeah.Track 6:[1:05:20] I could see that. I mean, especially from an artistic standpoint. Yeah. Very much can see that.Track 3:[1:05:26] Yeah.Track 5:[1:05:27] Overall, I was super happy that this was the next thing. And I wish that there had been another one to follow it.Track 3:[1:05:33] So does it stay in your rotation then, Justin?Track 5:[1:05:36] Mm-hmm.Track 3:[1:05:37] Yeah, it does. Craig, how about you?Track 4:[1:05:40] A couple of days ago, I probably would have said maybe not. It's an album I'll definitely pull out here and there. But no, I do think I really am enjoying it lately. And like I said, the turn of the weather really helped. This is, to me, a summer album, not a, I think, come winter, I'll put it away again.Track 5:[1:05:59] End but the i'm sorry but i got it before i forget it right we just had the eclipse as we're recording this and i was stuck in traffic it's a 17 minute commute to get home and it took me 90 minutes so i listened to this album three times on the ride home and it's a great even if you're stopped it's a great album to be in the car.Track 6:[1:06:20] It's going to hit the turntable for me on a fairly regular basis for a while. Like I said, Grand Bounce, I couldn't get it out of my head. And finally, it might even have been an I'm Free Disarray Me, just that very methodical line that came through that turned it for me. Me but i love i i love it absolutely love it in fact i'm i'm probably more excited about digging deeper into the sadies once this whole project is done the sadies and several other canadian bands that i'm not as familiar with that you guys have introduced me to and i'm very thankful for but uh yeah this this one's staying in the rotation if you've got any.Track 3:[1:07:02] Bands that are gore adjacent or canadian indie adjacent uh send them our way discovering downy at gmail.com And we'll be sure to read that email on the air.Track 5:[1:07:18] I will say that as much as I've enjoyed this album, I've also really enjoyed the songs that are not on the album that Gordon and Sadie have played together. The cover of Search and Destroy. Holy shit.Track 3:[1:07:32] Right, you sent that to us a few days ago.Track 5:[1:07:35] That song melted my goddamn face off. It was so good. So good. And it was like 7, 12 in the morning or something. I was like, all right, I'm out of bed now. This is awesome.Track 4:[1:07:45] One of the shows I found online was here in Vancouver at the media club. And I actually remember hearing about it. And I'm just kicking myself that I didn't get to that show. This is like a tiny, tiny, like this is where my original band a number of years ago did our CD release party. And yeah, there's maybe room for 80 to 100 people in there. would have been amazing.Track 3:[1:08:10] Oh damn that.Track 6:[1:08:14] Is definitely i don't have a lot of regrets gentlemen but not seeing any iteration of gourd solo is very much i'm glad video was around because but i would have really really really enjoyed.Track 3:[1:08:28] Seeing that feeling thousand percent live yeah.Track 5:[1:08:32] I go back to that sweaty basement uh in me in massachusetts and like dude i went to those shows all the time and I wasn't there.Track 3:[1:08:39] That's crazy so Justin you've already sort of given this away even though we we you know we tease it throughout the show and typically give it away at the end but we'll start with you and your MVP track.Track 5:[1:08:56] Yeah, it's totally I'm free, disarray me, which took me by surprise, but then it didn't totally. You know, after the way that by, you know, the music that my parents played when I was a kid, this song is just cosmic cowboy, trippy shit.Track 3:[1:09:14] Kirk, how about you?Track 6:[1:09:15] All right. Los Angeles Times.Track 3:[1:09:21] Excellent. I love that pick. I liked your pick too, Justin.Track 5:[1:09:25] That's the hometown.Track 6:[1:09:26] Oh, yeah.Track 5:[1:09:27] That's okay.Track 6:[1:09:28] And it definitely is not one that I would have really settled in on had it not been for our discussion today, honestly. Because almost every song on the album has really fallen into near the top. You know, Conquering Sun, Budget Shoes, I would say, of everything, those definitely hit that number one spot for me multiple times. But Los Angeles Times is the one that just kept coming back, and I just kept feeling, and I kept growing further, enamored with on all fronts. So that's my pick, and I'm sticking to it.Track 3:[1:10:03] Very cool. Craig, you?Track 4:[1:10:06] Yeah, I had a hard time picking a song. And I found, kind of like what Kirk said, there was almost less of a range between the songs I enjoyed and the songs I enjoyed less. They were all in roughly the same region, whereas the other albums, there was some tracks that right away really, really got to another level with me. I think this album maybe doesn't quite have quite the emotion that the first three did, which is usually what hits me when I really love a song. Usually it just grabs me emotionally. And this album didn't have that in the same way. my my go-to song here is is going to be uh it didn't start to break my heart until this afternoon, just just a good good punk rock song yeah just nice just a great yeah great driving tune and.Track 3:[1:11:00] Gets the blood flowing, right? And I agree with you about the previous three records. They're just sort of more raw and improvised feeling.Track 4:[1:11:08] And more range to them, right? This just feels... There was more... Yeah, just... More variety. Yeah, more...Track 3:[1:11:15] Dynamics. Yeah. Yeah.Track 5:[1:11:20] There was a point where critics were really starting to tear Gord and the hip down. Yeah. When this album was coming out. And they were like, all right, we get it. The soup's getting cold. It's the same shit over and over, year after year. The performances are boring. It's not great. And I think, I don't know, but I'm thinking that this album was Gord's big middle finger to those guys. I'm still doing this. He's 50 years old.Track 4:[1:11:49] Can you think of another artist that has done what Gord has done? He's now got three bands that are all so amazing. Yeah, that's right.Track 5:[1:12:01] At the same time.Track 3:[1:12:01] At the same time, yeah, you're right.Track 4:[1:12:03] Yeah, mind-blowing how much high-quality work he put out through his whole career, but especially in this middle chunk here.Track 3:[1:12:12] Well, and if you think about it, this is a perfect segue because beginning in 2012, he started work on the record we're going to talk about next week, which is Secret Path. And that record didn't see the light of day until 2016. 16. So even then with that record, he's assembled the band again, and it's a great band as well. So this guy is just producing at a level presumably around the same time he's doing Luster Parfait. Because he's working with Bob Rock pretty exclusively, right?Track 5:[1:12:49] Right.Track 3:[1:12:50] So, God, just fascinating what we're what we've gotten up to so far i can't wait we are halfway done his records we've got one more studio record and then god damn it three posthumous records uh it's going to be tough to get through those ones guys i know it yep anything else you want to say before we wrap things up i.Track 5:[1:13:15] Don't know i love it man i i love this project i feel like we're a broken record because we're all going to say the same thing and we'd say it every episode But this project has gotten me back into, just like you said, Kirk, discovering new music. Or it's new to me. Right. And I am finding so many new things that I didn't know I didn't know.Track 3:[1:13:35] Right.Track 6:[1:13:37] I'm i have been frightened from the beginning because you know you listen because it's your first time listening to a solo stuff for you know i was frightened every single album that, yeah i was going to be disappointed yeah yep and i just keep finding a new way to be enamored and i don't mind being that easy when it comes to gourd and what's going on uh you know i i we talked about, you know, my, my experience with the hip, you know, having to hear about it from friends and not having that, you know, immediate access to everything. So I'm thoroughly loving the fact that the emotion and the feeling that Gord and the hip, all the musicians he's been involved with on the solo, just keep raising the level. So I'm now just like, I'm, I'm, you know, what I like about this, you guys is you're nervous and worried. Now I'm not nervous and worried. I'm I'm just, I'm excited about listening to what's coming up and I'm so excited.Track 5:[1:14:37] If you, if you enter the, if you enter the room knowing it's going to be a mindfuck when you get there, it's perfect

This week on our Friday bonus episode the boys sit down with Josh Finlayson to pick his brain on working with Gord and creating the wonderful music they did together inside and outside the Country of Miracles.Transcript:Track 2:[0:17] Hey, it's JD here, and we're back again for a special bonus episode here on Discovering Downey. This is a really exciting one to share this week. It is with Josh Finlayson, who you've got to admit was one of Gord's shadows during his solo career and really extended that friendship onward into just a wonderful partnership. Partnership i won't waste too much of your time going into details because the boys craig justin and kirk are sitting around the table right now with mr finlayson and they are amped to get this interview into your ear holes i will say one more thing though we are getting very excited about our event july 19th tickets are on sale at discovering downy.com get them while you can they are 30 $30 for a ticket or $50 for a pair or hey, if you've got a group of friends that want to come out, you can save big bucks and get 10 tickets for $200. That's $20 a ticket or $10 off the single price. We've got some fantastic prizes that we are getting ready to announce for the silent auction. And of course, you'll see the almost hip and our special interview with Patrick Downey on the finale of Discovering Downey. Before we get into the interview, I'm going to spin a special track for you. This is the Sky Diggers, of which Josh Finlayson is in, along with Andy Mays and several others. They are going to get into some Sky Diggers talk in this conversation, no doubt. So let's listen to their version or rendition of Depression Suite before we head into the interview with Mr. Finlayson. See you on the other side.Track 7:[5:27] Welcome everyone to a very special episode of Discovering Downey. My name is Kirk Lane and I'm going to be here with our good buddies Justin St. Louis and Craig out in Vancouver. We're really excited today to have a very special guest, Mr. Josh Van Laysen from, well, from the Sky Diggers, I think is well most of you will know him from. But in regards to this adventure, Josh was very involved with several of Gord's solo albums that we have been discussing here on the pod. And uh we're just really excited to have him on board and just really talk about the his musical journey and and then obviously how it relates with his experience with with gourd solo projects not only with the recorded albums but also from a live perspective so um we've got lots of uh interesting topics and things we want to talk about and we're really thankful that he took took some time to join us today so welcome josh.Track 5:[6:28] Thank you thanks for having me yeah.Track 7:[6:31] I mean i guess i want to start with something that was recent and you had a pretty uh looked like a pretty good bill recently in a gig in toronto with uh with with your band the sky diggers and the sadies and paul and was band so i i think the group would love to hear a little bit about how that that went and and some of the other shows that you guys have been able to do together.Track 5:[6:54] Well we uh we um we played at a venue in toronto called the concert hall which is which is a venue that it's a it's actually a masonic hall and was built i'm not sure when i'm i'm assuming probably, late 1800s early 1900s it's right it's very close to young young and bluer um it's right downtown but it was used as a venue uh in the 60s um it was uh it wasn't the concert hall at that point it was called uh something else it just escapes me right now but i know led zeppelin played there like early days one of their first uh shows in toronto and many other acts you know like it's a pretty storied venue I saw I saw the stray cats there I saw it admit like that would have been 1982 Wow I know the the English beat played there the jam REM like tons of bands played there in the in the 80s and into the 90s there was the the hip did a.Track 5:[8:09] I think at the end of the Up to Here tour, they did a show there. And then they did three shows at the beginning of Road Apples. And I remember those shows. I was at at least two of them. And they were amazing shows, very memorable.Track 5:[8:30] And we actually had a show scheduled there in 1995 and had to postpone it. But it's a long story, but we had to reschedule it. And then it closed for a long time. It stopped. It was actually leased by a television station up here, and they filmed live television events there. So it stopped being a venue. And it just reopened, I think, in the fall of last year. And a friend of ours is booking the room. And so we thought it would be great to play there. It's about a 1,200-seat room. It's not huge, but it's a very cool room. And so we asked Paul Langlois, who we'd done four or five shows with in March and April of this year, shows that had been rescheduled in the fall. He fell and broke.Track 5:[9:28] A few ribs in the fall um and then we also asked the sadies to join us and the sadies are, uh old friends as well so it was a it was a very special night it's a great venue it was uh it's a lot of fun it's a great sounding venue it looks great and uh we did a bunch of collaborations as we had done with paul and uh i you know we've known the sadies for since they started actually Actually, I met Travis and got to know Travis when he was playing with his dad's band, the Good Brothers, in the early 90s. When this guy Deere started playing, we did some shows with the Good Brothers. And that's how I got to know Travis before he joined his brother Dallas in the 80s with Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. And yeah, so that's kind of the background of that. I did lots of collaborations with the 80s and with Paul.Track 7:[10:22] We did.Track 5:[10:23] Some hip songs we uh did some covers uh yeah it was fun good night i.Track 7:[10:29] I really love seeing uh as we've gone through this like the connection that many of the canadian bands have and and the the gigs they do together and then the projects that they do together and and i that's been really great to me to see that community and uh i mean i guess you see it a little down down here in the States, but not to the extent that I think you guys have been doing it. And it's been really exciting to see all that and be a part of that. Let's go back to the beginning and you and your musical journey. If you wanna give us just a bit of a history, like when you started out, what really got you into music? And then talk to us a little bit about, as you'd mentioned, many of the other bands that you've been a part of, The Hip and Gord, and how that relationship formed.Track 5:[11:18] Um okay well i i was born and raised in toronto i'm the youngest of three boys um and everyone in my family played music uh and my i have two older brothers um my eldest brother's a music teacher he was a classical guitar player uh and my middle brother was uh he played piano at a pretty high level so i was and my mom played piano my dad played a little bit but had a very eclectic and very cool record collection uh so there's always music around and uh that was a big part of my uh you know i don't think i really understood at the time how enriching that experience was like it was just always around um and because my older brothers played i i just assume that anyone could play, you know what I mean? It was almost a strange thing. It's like sports a little bit. When you're the younger brother, you're always trying to keep up and, you know, you just, you think any idiot can do it because if they can do it, you can do it. So, um, I think I had this sense of, uh.Track 5:[12:30] There's a bit of fearlessness in it and it sort of coincided with an era of I'm 60 years old so you know I was in high school in the late 70s and finished high school in 1982 so I kind of came out up through that post-punk punk and post-punk era of music where it was all very DIY and people you know started bands as I did just joining them you You didn't have to play all that well.Track 5:[13:03] You just had to think you were playing well. And that was a good start. So, you know, I played in various outfits and eventually got recruited at the end of my high school year. At that time, Ontario still had a grade 13.Track 5:[13:24] And so in that year, a friend of mine, he was a musician that had played in a band that was kind of popular in our high school. And he had that band had uh uh ended and he kind of recruited me he said i want you to play bass in this band and uh i thought okay i mean i would i'd have just played guitar i'd never played bass but i thought sure i'll give it a whirl and that was sort of at the end of it was april of um, of the final year of school we started doing a bunch of gigs and kind of had this a bit of a built-in audience because he had he had been doing it for a while and we made a plan to the following fall of 1982 uh to uh move over to london england and you know have uh uh see what our uh see if we could find any luck doing that uh and uh and in fact i was just talking about at the concert hall we we did a show in the fall in i think october of 1982 which gave us the money to buy our plane texas to move over to uh to london and uh oh wow nice years and uh.Track 5:[14:41] You know that was an experience unto itself i said you know i was there for a couple of years it was you know like uh we ended up in brixton which was a which was a pretty uh rough part of town there have been a lot of riots there and race riots and um it was but over in the uk you can and a lot of europe you can squat which is basically paying no rent uh and uh so we did that we found a way to exist on very little money you know uh and stayed there and it was a great education you know i always refer to it as my university education really it was a good life education and a good musical one too um i lived it was all a lot of it was west indian uh and i lived above uh the squad i lived in was uh right above this great record store called desmond's hip city which ultimately became one of our our recordings and the song is about that not experienced living in Brixton with this band.Track 5:[15:49] And that sort of ran its course. When I moved back, I had heard about a mutual friend who I didn't know, but we had a mutual friend and this would have been 1985. He, was he was putting together his own home studio and in 1985 that was unusual you know like studios were still fairly um difficult to it was it was expensive to record it was uh but he had a he had an i think a half inch 16 track uh machine and he worked in a music store and he had he had a big uh you know a big plan to start a record label and it was all very cool and i thought well you know i'd like to do this i had done a bit of recording in the uk and um you know i knew that that was sort of the way forward with any anything so i i when i came back to canada to toronto i uh.Track 5:[16:50] Um you know i connected with him we rented a house and built a studio in the house and i mean And truthfully, we smoked a huge amount of marijuana, and I don't know, I spent a lot of time looking for the tape measure, as I recall. But we did, as a carpenter, I make a good musician, so I wouldn't be misleading you if I was trying to tell you that the studio we built had anything to do with me. But out of that experience, Andy Mays, who I grew up with, who's the singer and this guy, he and I reconnected. He had played in a band. He's a few years older than I am, but he played in a band and we had done some shows with him before we moved over to London. And we started hanging out and playing and playing with Wayne Stokes, who was the guy that owned the studio. Wayne drummed on our first couple of records before he left the band. And uh and that was really you know that was from sort of 86 to about uh 88 1988 we we started the band um and we did a residency in toronto a weekly monday night residency which eventually led to our, our first record deal with enigma records which was based in culver city in la just as It's, you know, part of L.A.Track 5:[18:18] And that record had a song on it called I Will Give You Everything, which kind of launched us into, you know, into having a career. And, you know, it's still a song that has been good to us. You know, like it's been used in lots of movies, and it's still a song people want to hear, and still a song I love playing. From there, when our first record came out, we did some shows with many bands, but one of which was The Hip.Track 5:[18:52] Uh we're i was just saying this the shows we did with paul we went back and forth introducing, paul's band and he would introduce us and uh and we were our last show with him was in ottawa, and uh our first show our first tour with the hip the first shows with the airport in montreal and Ottawa and that was 1990 1990 uh and that was 34 years ago and that was the first time we met and at that time uh Paul and Gord Downey were living in Toronto so you know they were they were just that was the tail end up to here and they were playing you know bigger rooms you know like and they had up to here sort of raised them up they often I think refer to that as their first record they had an EP before that.Track 5:[19:50] But that was I think they felt that was their first real offering as a recording and at the end of that tour we did with them they went in down to New Orleans and recorded.Track 5:[20:04] Road Apples and you know Gord and I at that, you know, and Paul, I mean, we all became friends and Gord and I in particular kind of hit it off and, you know, for whatever reason, as you do with, with friends and we, uh, you know, we kept in touch and those days we used to write letters to, uh, before email and, uh, texting. Um, and then Paul eventually a couple of years later moved back to Kingston and Gord stayed in Toronto and that was uh but we were both bands we were busy you know we were touring uh working musicians and not around a lot uh so you know our our time together was limited uh but but always uh great and and eventually led up to what became Coke Machine Shinglo, which, you know, there's sort of a story in that too. He, he wanted, we were looking to do, find a way to do a project together. Um, but the reality is that he, he had written a bunch of songs and the, and the hip, you know, they wrote as a collective, especially in those days. And, and that changed eventually Gord wrote more on his own and, um, and brought songs in and then he would write with them. It did evolve.Track 5:[21:27] And so he had written most of the songs from Coke Machine Glow he had written on his own. And eventually, he just decided, yeah, I should just make a record. And I think part of it was also.Track 5:[21:46] Besides myself, he didn't know a lot of musicians in Toronto, you know, because he was away a lot. He had a young family at that sort of by the mid, his daughter, Will, was born, I think around 96, 95. And so, you know, when he was home, you know, that was obviously a big part of his life. And I think he wanted to connect with the artistic community in Toronto. And Coke Machine Glow became the opportunity for him to do that. Which is why it's a pretty eclectic record eclectic musicians there's and he also wanted to explore the spoken word stuff which is a part of that record and and the uh uh and battle of the nudes as well it was sort of extended into that uh that record so um yeah i don't know that sort of gives you a bit of a an overview yeah.Track 7:[22:41] No we appreciate that and you know we just recently Obviously, having discussions on each of the albums, Coke Machine Glow specifically, it was such a discussion. We actually had to split up our discussion into two parts because there was so much to talk about. And again, because it was good for us to really take that in as that first offering from Gord and his solo effort. You have a producer credit on on that particular album and and the next one and then and then as mentioned I think as we go into the grand bounce that was Chris talk to us a little bit about that process and and and working with Gord and and how uh how that process went from either writing or recording or or things of that nature definitely we had our own discussions about it but it would It would be great to hear directly from the source on how some of that came about.Track 5:[23:41] Well... You know initially we were you know that we were trying to find a way into make a making a collaborative record but you know he had written these songs and um and at some point it was just like you know what like you should just do a solo record um because these.Track 5:[24:01] Songs he knew that uh they weren't going to be used in the in the hip and not because they weren't good songs but because their process was very much as a collective they would write songs together that was their that was how they did it gourd at that point uh gourd was pretty much writing all the words and uh um and they were they were you know playing they they would come up with the music and they that was just their process and um so you know we had these songs and and eventually it just became apparent that we should we should make uh the record and so we had he had had this cool little home studio set up you know this is 10 years after what i was talking about earlier and it was a like a digital i think it was a d80 da88 machine and a little board and so we were recording on that and um and then you know but realizing that neither of us were particularly good engineers and the hip had just mixed their record trouble at the hen house and I think Stephen Drake mixed that record and and he's a terrific talented mixer and a great musician and so Gord.Track 5:[25:24] Gord thought, you know, maybe we should get Stephen to engineer the session and the three of us will operate as co-producers.Track 5:[25:34] And which is what happened. So Stephen ended up coming and Gord really wanted to make the record in Toronto. Again, it was the sense of I'm living here. I've lived here for, I mean, at that point, it was probably over 10 years. Um and he had you know he had his his group of friends uh and artistic friends had grown just through meeting through you know through the hip but he thought you know if i if i do this project i can include them and i can uh um you know just sort of put down some roots in that in this community because at that point you know his creative outlet was the band and he would typically go to Kingston to to write songs and or to record and obviously all the road work they were doing so it was a you know at the time it was an attempt for him to put some roots down in in the city with other artists and other collaborators Gord was a very.Track 5:[26:44] Ambitious creatively is very ambitious and very always looking to evolve always looking to grow and and be influenced and inspired by other people so on that record you know we went in um you know the the idea was uh like initially it it uh the band was kevin hearn was there for kevin had just um he he just had leukemia and he had just he had like a bone marrow transplant and he was just in the recovering stage of that um and i'd met kevin before that but but you know um so but he was only available for a few days because he was going out with uh bare-necked ladies they were uh he was just joining back into the band and going out on tour um and uh.Track 5:[27:55] Don Kerr owned the studio with Dale Morningstar that we recorded at. It was called the gas station. And it was this cool old warehouse building down around King and Dufferin. It was on the top floor, all these open windows, really great view of the city. It's sort of looking south towards the lake through the exhibition in Toronto. And it just had a great vibe to it. And and don played a lot with ron sexsmith and ron was just about to make a record with steve earl in nashville his uh i think the record was blue boy and steve really wanted uh don to play on the record and to sing on it because he had seen don he's seen ron and don was playing with him and he loved their singing together and he loved his playing and a lot of ron's records at that point had been done in L.A.Track 5:[28:57] And their bands were put together for them. They're great sounding records, but Steve wanted Don to play on this record. So Don was only available the first couple of days, as was Kevin. And then Dave Clark, who at that point had played in the Rheostatics and left, was asked to come in and do the drumming. And Dale was just sort of around the studio to help as the assistant engineer, but he ended up playing on most of it. And then Julie Dwaran was asked to come and play on the record. She had sung on a number of hip songs and played in a band called Eric's Trip, who the hip had toured with.Track 5:[29:45] And then there was all these, like Travis Good played on the record. Travis at this point, I was talking about him. We had become good friends and he's a great musician and I thought, well, I want to invite Travis. And Gord, that's when he first met him. So this would have been 1999. As you know, the Sadies went on to make a record and do some touring with Gord as well. And they were very tight. And Travis played on Away Is Mine, the last record that Gord did that I, you know, we wrote together, um, and recorded at the bathhouse. Um, and so, and I, and then there was Adam McGaughan, who's a filmmaker who Gord had met, you know, really through the hip, but, you know, through, uh, maybe he used some hip song in a, in a movie. I can't remember the, uh, um, the connection, but he can.Track 4:[30:38] Yeah. Courage was used in the suite her after by Sarah Polly saying it.Track 5:[30:45] Right, okay. So, you know, he's another Toronto artist and Gord had met him. And so, you know, one of the, one of the, these sort of agendas of Coke Machine Glow and when it was trying to find a way to get into it because the, you know, Gord also released a book of poetry with Coke Machine Glow, but he wanted, he wanted to find a way to do spoken word stuff, which he had done. Yeah, you got it. He had done, you know, often at hip shows he was doing. He did a lot of those, like I know at Woodstock, someone was telling me all that was televised and he was reciting a lot of the Coke Machine Glow poems and a lot of the songs throughout pieces of, you know, instrumentals or whatever through that live show, as he was doing throughout that tour, I'm sure. And so he wanted to find a way to make the leap where he could do the spoken word stuff but you know of course the biggest potential obstacle was that it would be pretentious sounding so that was sort of the way that's that was this challenge.Track 5:[32:08] A couple of things ended up happening. One was that Adam Egoyan, who was a classical guitar player, when he grew up, he played classical guitar. So he brought down his classical guitar, and Gord asked him to just come up with some music, like pieces, little instrumental pieces. So he started playing, and the rest of us started improvising around those pieces. And Gord either would do the spoken word stuff.Track 5:[32:39] With us or we would find sort of this cool little section where it was it was just working and then he would use it and do do the spoken stuff the word stuff over that there was also a couple of there's a great I think it's I think it's the first first song on the record is accordion and pump organ and it's yarrow servinic who was the accordion player and the cowboy junkies and my neighbor uh at the time i invited him down and dale was playing the pump organ and um and it had it had this sort of uh, hinterlands who who kind of this funky weird kind of uh sound to it you know like it it uh and uh and it just somehow it worked you know like it was kind of charming and quirky and very much you know it was very much intended to be not it would have been a failure if it had been like a tragically hit record you know and you know because that would have you.Track 5:[33:52] They were doing that already, and Gord was doing that. This was an opportunity for him to expand his artistic palette, you know, and to challenge himself to be challenged, and challenge the other people around him. And so, you know, I think in that sense it was successful because it was very different. It was like a serious left turn. uh and i think you know from my memory people's reaction to it was like wow i didn't expect this and it's not it's not like the tragically hip which it wasn't and it wasn't meant to be um and i think it you know for a lot of hip fans it was like a real curiosity head scratcher and i think for people that weren't necessarily hip fans it was like wow i didn't expect this from gourd and it's cool and it's different and uh so you know it wasn't uh and really we just in the end we we uh we didn't we mostly toured in the states i think we maybe did one show in canada on that record um and uh and that was cool too because we were playing in a lot of smaller venues and it was a pretty eclectic band and it was a lot of fun.Track 5:[35:18] And it led in fairly quickly to what became, because he had written more songs, and a lot of those songs ended up on Battle of the Nudes. And at that point, the gas station had moved over to Toronto Island into this artscape, into this cool artistic community. Coke Machine Glow was the last record that was made at the Gas Nation. And I think it was 10 days that we made it in.Track 4:[35:50] I'm curious how different the two recording sessions were between Coke Machine Glow and Battle of the Nudes. Because in my mind, they sound very similar in that they sound like a band jamming, whereas the first one sounds like it's a little more acoustic, stick whereas the second one's like a full-on full-on band a little more you know experience under your belt was the actual were the actual sessions quite different.Track 5:[36:15] Um well uh one of the things that happened with uh so the gas station was uh it had you know it was a studio but um it didn't it had decent gear but it didn't have great gear and so what ended up happening was At that point, the hip had started to accumulate gear for the bathhouse, which was their studio in Bath, Ontario. And he brought up, there was a knave board and a bunch of microphones that he brought up and used it as, and we used his DA-88 machine I mentioned earlier. So it was eight tracks. We had eight tracks to use. so you know we could put as many mics into those eight tracks as we wanted it but and it was recorded live and it was acoustic and part of that was that you know when he and i were working on those songs initially before steven got involved it was typically two acoustic guitars and gordon had a very unique rhythm you know he always said he dropped he he played he strummed guitar like a drummer you know but his time was good you know he had great time uh he just did not strum like most guitar players he just you know it was not and i think part of that was singing and you know his phrasing was very unique too so there's a lot of syncopation going on.Track 5:[37:45] And um so initially that process was me kind of playing a more conventional rhythm which just gave the two acoustic guitars this fuller, kind of richer, solid bass. And then when Don and Dave drummed, that gave us another type of foundation. And then Steve and Drake played bass for most of that record. He played other things, too. And I think I played bass maybe on a song or two, but maybe Julie Dwarne played bass on something. But that was kind of the way it went and Stephen recorded it he had this nice gear and we used the DA-88 machine and we did a few overdubs like Paul Langlois came and sang on two or three songs and.Track 5:[38:41] And so that was an overdub. Travis Good was an overdub. Man, there was a couple of others, but I don't remember. But by the time we did Battle of the Nudes, we had done a lot of shows. And at that point, I was playing half the show on bass. Stephen didn't play in the live band.Track 5:[39:02] Partially because he was in Vancouver and he was doing other stuff. It was more of a practical decision than anything from my memory. And uh and i played guitar and julie and i and then at that point john press who's often referred to as dr p had also joined the band and those guys the dinner is around dale john press and dave clark and then myself and julie and uh and gordon uh and we did we did a couple festivals that summer we played like the edmonton folk festival but most of the shows were down in the in the states um and then when we went and recorded uh the gas station and moved to a portable on toronto island an old school uh school portable i don't know if you guys are familiar with with that phenomenon but in ontario they used to have their like boxes and they would be i guess it was It's just at schools, instead of adding, putting additions on schools, they'd have these boxes that would, you know, you'd walk out to your portable, your classroom. It was like a, it was like a cabin, you know, for lack of a better word. Obviously, it had electricity.Track 5:[40:18] But that's where the gas station moved into. And Dale recorded that. He recorded, I'd say, half of that record and mixed half of it or a third of it. And we also went to the bathhouse and recorded the bathhouse at that point. And a bunch of it was mixed there as well. Again, I'd have to look at the credits to sort of know what was done. And, you know, Gord was very taken with Dale. Dale was a very unconventional musician and very eclectic.Track 5:[41:00] And Gord loved that. You know, he loved that. He was just so outside. And Dave Clark is also a real free spirit. And John Pratt is an excellent, excellent musician, but also a free spirit, you know. So it was just it was a very different energy and even for me like it was like wow what a this is a total fucking trip you know this band can you know anything can happen at any point in time and i think gordon liked that you know like it was just it was um unpredictable and fun and uh, and yeah i think it was just and not to say that it wasn't fun in the hip it was just different and And it was exploring a different part of who he could be and his songs and his creative process. You know, that was a big part of it. So I don't know, Craig, if that answers your question, but...Track 4:[41:57] Yeah, yeah. And did you find your role in the band evolved over the years? Watching some of the live videos on doing our research, I noticed, you know, maybe a bit of a shift to playing some more bass near the end. How did you feel about your role and how it changed?Track 5:[42:15] I mean, it was really more the bass became, you know, I mean, I had played bass often on Scottie's records and the band I moved to England with, I played bass in that band. So it was not an instrument that I was unfamiliar with. And I was pretty comfortable on it. and uh and julie and i would swap uh run those first two tours and really even all the tours like she would play bass on certain songs i'd play uh guitar there's certain songs on that we toured with on coke machine glow like something like vancouver divorce i played always played acoustic as it was gore playing you know there's this cool uh interplay of the two acoustic guitars this sort of galloping feel, and Julie played this great solid bass part in that song, and Trick Rider, stuff like that. I always played acoustic on those songs, but then from Battle of the Nudes, and certainly when we did the Grand Bounce, I played almost, I think I played only bass. I don't know that I played any guitar, except for maybe, uh, uh, hello again, my friend. I'm to see you again. The East wind.Track 4:[43:37] So speaking of that song, from what I can tell, I believe there's like five guitars on that track. Does that sound right?Track 5:[43:44] If not more. You know, like it was, yeah, when the band kicks in, yeah, it was like a guitar orchestra, as I recall. It was a ton of good. I think Gord had his kids in there playing acoustic guitar. Yeah, that was for sure. Sure. And when we did it live too, I think I started playing acoustic and then it was like the guy and Rick Nielsen and Cheap Trick, you know, started playing acoustic at the beginning and then I'd, you know, Billy Ray would grab the guitar and I'd start playing bass. It was a bit silly, really.Track 5:[44:24] So I think it did just sort of evolve, Greg, I guess, really. But, you know, um dr pete was a great place bass player julie was a great bass player it was really not you know it wasn't like i'm the bass player and you know like no one else could play it was just the way it i love playing bass with dave clark drumming like he was dave is he's got a great command of many feels and uh and it was a you know the band really evolved too and and you know When you talk about the production stuff, it was also a natural. When we started, it was really Gord and I and then bringing Stephen in. But it was all very collaborative. There was no one saying, you have to do this. Gord was not that type of person. I mean, he would like something or not like it. But he was not the kind of person that would say, we're doing it this way. That was not really his MO you know like he was more into discovering what something could be rather than laying out like.Track 5:[45:36] Here's the here's where you're doing that it wasn't it wasn't like that at all rarely i mean he might have an idea that he wants to chase down you would try and do that which is of course cool but he was very open to suggestions and pursuing things and uh um and the more outside often the better he was attracted to often the diamond in the rough too you know he could see something in an idea i often couldn't you know which i always admired you know like you could see there was something there and he would keep he would keep pursuing it um and he he was very dogged that way and very persistent so.Track 6:[46:19] It seemed like you know you keep mentioning evolution and the band and um it seemed like the band took on a more significant role than just gourd downy this This is Gord Downie's band. And the name changed from The Goddamn Band to Country of Miracles. And then that even became more prevalent with The Grand Bounce. So did you guys bring songs to him? Or was it?Track 5:[46:45] Well, certainly, again, the spoken word pieces were often collaborative pieces. But the bulk of the songs were his songs. He and I maybe worked on some stuff. and I might suggest stuff in other situations. Maybe there would have been a co-writing. But for me, it was just like, these are your songs. You should, you know, like, I don't.Track 5:[47:11] You know like the uh they're great you know and you it was it you know he was at that point he was saying okay i'm putting my name on this i'm doing this book of poetry it was you know of course like any solo thing any songwriter any book of poetry there's there's a certain.Track 5:[47:31] Audacity to it all too right like it's uh and um there were collaborations on especially the first two records but by the by the time we did the grand bounce gordon had written these songs and that and there was you know it had been like four or five years before in between the grand bounce and um the battle of the nudes so he had collected more songs and i was aware of all these songs because we would still hang out and i'd come over we'd record them maybe but he had they were pretty finished songs and that you know he had gained a lot of confidence from making those first two records and he the story my my memory of um the chris walla connection was that the hip did a um there in pemberton just north ukraine there was a big festival there it would have been probably 2008 or 9 and i think tom patty was on the bill death cap for cutie were definitely on the bill because Chris sought out Gord they were on the bill he sought Gord out and said I'm a huge fan but I.Track 5:[48:42] Love your solo records, he knew them he had, Gord I think was a bit taken back and he thought wow this guy this is cool and he just as Gord did he was great at, you know, connecting with people and, um, and staying in touch with them. And, and I think in the back of his mind, he thought, man, you know, it'd be cool if, you know, cause at that point, I think Chris was just about to leave Death Cab for Cutie and he wanted to, he wanted to be a producer and kind of strike out on his own.Track 5:[49:15] And, uh, Gord thought, well, maybe it'd be cool to get him to produce the record and we'll do it at the bathhouse, which is what we did in 2010, I think.Track 5:[49:25] 2009 i can't remember the year now uh we spent you know it was august we spent i think three weeks at the bathhouse like the prime time of the year to be in southern ontario you know beautiful weather all the um the bounty of the you know the farming uh all the fruits and vegetables are coming uh and you know we spent and it was it was an amazing that was such a fun record not that the other records were not fun to make but you know we would start gordon had you know i think there's 12 14 songs on the record and we would do one song a day and we'd get up and he'd teach it to us and we start playing it and you know you know we get up around 10 in the morning and uh you know eventually you start working on the stuff and it would just the song would evolve all chris would make suggestions as we did it and then by the end of the day we'd find a um you know we it might be quick it might be a bit slower and take a few uh twists and turns but every day we got something cool down every day we got something that ended up on the record there's maybe one or two songs that didn't end up on the record but it was that was a you know i thought chris was amazing with everyone, because everyone, you know.Track 5:[50:48] Had made a lot of records at that point. And, you know, Dale produced records.Track 5:[50:55] But Gord was really good at, you know, Even choosing Chris, Chris sort of recognized everyone's strengths and their weaknesses and really empowered everyone into that. I just thought he was really great.Track 5:[51:14] That record I also love. It's a very different record. It was nice. I was mostly just a bass player on that record, but I love that.Track 5:[51:24] The opportunity to do that. And it was, again, you know, it wasn't his advice, but it was advice that I got from somewhere else. But, you know, the advice was play the gig you're playing, not the gig you think you should be playing. Just do what people are asking you to do and be the best version of that person you can be. And that was always a great thing about working with gourd like he he totally empowered you to be yourself and you know if he didn't like it or he didn't get it he would say but it wouldn't be like that sucks and i hate it and uh it would be you know we just find another way uh to, wherever that would be. It would just evolve. That was, again, a really great quality. And again, I think Chris Walla deserves a lot of credit for that record because he really kind of recognized everything. He was kind of the puppet master to a certain degree as well, really making sure that sorry.Track 7:[52:44] To interrupt yeah i just we had when we had our discussion about that about the grand bounce it was uh it was really felt like a band album and i think after i would imagine after you guys had done not only the two albums prior but you know playing together live and then having someone come in and being able to kind of shepherd that it it really came through i i think for me and i I think for us as a group, when we discussed it and, and it was, it was, I think we even talked about it when we, when we went over that particular album, like we were kind of bummed that we wanted the next, the fourth album. And I wonder if you could talk a little bit about that. Like what, what was that? Uh, was there discussions about that or?Track 5:[53:31] Yes um you know they're they're um so we we made i think it was 2010 we made the record in 2011 we toured we did a we did a bunch of summer shows um and we did some shows in the states but this that tour the grand bounce tour was almost exclusively canadian and um, And we did a bunch of summer festivals. And then we did a cross-country. We went coast to coast. So it was a pretty ambitious undertaking. It was not, you know, because Gord hadn't toured a lot as a solo act. It wasn't, you know, he hadn't really developed the, it wasn't the hip, right? And so it wasn't unsuccessful.Track 5:[54:17] But it's an expensive thing. You've got a tour bus. You've got a band. And, you know, it's expensive to, you know, with the hip, it was a different thing.Track 5:[54:27] And they could charge a different amount of money and it was just more established.Track 5:[54:32] So I think, I don't think the record was a disappointment for Gord. But I think the reality of taking a band out and touring and the costs of that were, I think that was maybe a bit sobering. I don't think he was unhappy with the you know the way the band played or or even the attendance or any of that i just think it was like you know it's it's not uh it's it it's it's more of an investment and i think it was like okay well where where do i go what do i do with this do i mean do i make another record like this and i you know he wasn't someone to repeat a process right that's the other thing like it was you know i can't say enough about working with chris was great and i thought he really brought out the best in everyone there he's really positive guy really understood everyone's kind of quirkiness and strengths and uh but so you know what happened was i think gourd we made that record and then was now for plan a that came next and then but but then what I what I remember because he he sent me we were talking about the songs from the secret path so the secret path was recorded in 2013 and.Track 5:[55:58] He had finished it and mixed it at that point. So he had this idea, and I think you probably know the story of this. So his brother Mike had found this CBC radio interview that was talking about a Maclean's article from 1966 that talked about Shani Wenjack.Track 5:[56:19] And Gord heard the documentary on the CBC and read the the mclean's article and sort of got very drawn to the story and you know he ended up writing you know again if you've watched any of the secret path stuff uh you know he wrote 10 poems and uh and that became the 10 songs for the secret path you know he ended up going there uh because he had a place just on in prince prince edward county just it was about a half hour's drive from the bathhouse and um he would come to the bathhouse and kevin drew from broken social scene where he was making a lot of records there and he kind of got to know kevin a bit and kevin said kevin uh was very much involved with arts and crafts he helped establish that label and i think he said well let's make a record and gourd had these songs and that's how that record was made so he finished it but i don't think gourd really knew what to do with the record and and my memory is more from nile spencer who was the engineer the house engineer at uh at the bathhouse i don't think gourd was i don't think he really talked about what that record was about out to any great extent i mean it was clearly a record.Track 5:[57:44] That was about a very heavy subject and he would have made rough you know he.Track 5:[57:51] Would have had some explanations for it but i don't i think he was very mindful about you know i'm not sure this is my story to tell um and uh.Track 5:[58:03] And I remember him sending it to me. They mixed it in like December of 2013. And he sent it to me early in January and just said, yeah, I did this. And I want you to hear it. And it's cool. And then he sat on it. He didn't know what to do with it. He had also been writing and recording songs with Pop Rock.Track 5:[58:32] Uh, since, um, after we are the same the hip record which led into uh the grand bounce and then you know spilled over into um the time that he he recorded um the secret path so he was doing a lot of stuff so when you say you know like it would have been cool to do another uh record uh with with the uh the country miracles and in that sense i i think it would have been but it wasn't like he was uh not doing it he was busy doing a lot of different things and and and that was very much you know he was loving all of that it wasn't like he wasn't saying oh i i will never do this again i you know but i think there's a lot of things going on and uh and and he was still being very productive and very creative. And then he got sick towards the end of 2015.Track 5:[59:33] At that point, you know, I mean, you know the story. I don't need to go through it. But, you know, he knew that he wanted, obviously, to do the last hip tour, but he knew he wanted to get the Secret Path record out. It was finished. But the graphic novel was another opportunity to provide an educational tour or for what the residential schools were in Canada. And, you know, these were things, I mean, these were things that we, Gordon and I, talked about a lot. I mean, we grew up being so ignorant of what had really happened in this country. And this was an opportunity to kind of pull the lid back a little bit and to have a discussion about that.Track 5:[1:00:22] And, you know, it's amazing. You know, like it just, you know, his illness and the attention that was brought to the hip tour and then consequently to the secret path project was kind of overwhelming, you know, like it was quite incredible to be in that sort of in the center of that, to be around him and to see the impact that it's had all of it. You know I mean like even with the hip tour you know like if you were in this country if you were if you were not a tragically hip fan you would you'd be touched by that story I mean who hasn't been uh impacted by a family member a friend who's had cancer and the story was just so incredibly touching and moving you didn't have to be a fan to be touched or moved by that story And then, you know, and then to carry on to do the, you know, the shows that he did for The Secret Path was, you know, that was amazing. I know I'm sort of going on to another subject now.Track 5:[1:01:29] Um, so just, yeah, I'm just kind of trying to bridge that time, time gap, you know, there was a, there was a lot going on for him. And, um, and you know, I think if the opportunity, if he had, if he hadn't gotten sick, I'm sure we would have made another recording, you know, I'm sure that would have happened. Maybe it would have been a different producer. Maybe it would have been something different, you know, like me was, uh, he was constantly doing things, you know, he was always working. Like he was, that was, you know, he was like a shark that way. He was always moving, you know, like he, very much part of his makeup, his DNA.Track 4:[1:02:11] So you were a part of the Secret Path live band.Track 5:[1:02:14] Yeah.Track 4:[1:02:15] And what was the lead up to that? Like, like the rehearsals, I know it seemed maybe Gord was, you know, he was quite sick at that time. were you guys you know were you ever worried that it it wouldn't work out or was there any hesitation.Track 5:[1:02:33] Well i think you know i even with the hip tour like i think you know when i mean i saw gourd all three you know from when he got sick and which was like november late october early November of 2015, he had his first operation, I think it was November, mid-November that year, and then it was a long recovery, and then he ended up having a second operation, and then, you know, went through radiation, and, you know, all the treatment that he did, so you know i saw him through a lot of that you know i you know i'd go over on a regular basis there's a time when the treatments were so he was sleeping a lot because you know they fucking kicked the shit out of you you know when he decided he wanted to do the the hip tour and you know i mean i think everyone i i mean there's it's all documented and you know in that uh show I mean, of course, everyone was concerned, could he do it? But, you know, man, the guy was a fucking force. Like, he was so strong physically and mentally. Like, he just, he was so determined to do it. And it was incredible, you know. I'm sure, Craig, you saw one of those shows, or, you know, like, it was a remarkable.Track 4:[1:04:00] I was at the two Vancouver shows. Justin was at the Ottawa show, actually, the second last one.Track 5:[1:04:06] Um, yeah, I mean, it, it, uh, I mean, to answer your question, was there concern for sure, especially for the secret past stuff, because he had never sung it beyond the recordings that he had done and when he wrote them. So as opposed to the, you know, the hip stuff where, you know, there's sort of a motor, uh, memory muscle that, you know, it's just, uh, but, you know, it's amazing like the brain is an incredible thing and you know gourd's short-term memory was impacted there were certain things that he struggled with but you know the music was it was pretty amazing what he was and he definitely made mistakes he definitely you know and it would could be counting in or waiting in it sir but we found out ways to make use or accommodate that and i I mean, it was amazing.Track 5:[1:04:58] Yes, there was concern that maybe it won't work, but it did, you know. And, you know, also, you know, Gord was not like, he could come in early on a verse when he was perfectly well. I mean, he was not a, those imperfections he often made work. You know, he adopted this philosophy, but, you know, what he used to say for a show to be interesting something something has to happen that neither the audience or the performer expects so a mistake can turn into a um an opportunity yeah and he often uh something happens and it's like okay here's my opportunity to make something of it not like not fucking freak out or fall apart and i mean that's a you know if you're a a seasoned performer, you understand that, you know, yeah, you don't have, I mean, everyone fucks up. I mean, that happens. So, yeah, I mean, it was... For all the shows we did with the secret pass stuff, there were very few mistakes. I don't think he made any more mistakes than anyone else made. Let me put it that way.Track 4:[1:06:14] Yeah, I know the show that's online is incredible. It is one of the best concerts that I've seen. I've actually made Kirk and Justin promise not to watch it yet. So we're going to watch it together one day online, I think. and it's so good. Yeah.Track 7:[1:06:35] Thank you, Justin. That's been something especially after we did the episode about the secret path and all the research we did. So yeah, when we had our recording of the secret path, that was one thing we had to make a little pack that we were going to wait. We're going to try and do a live stream of it, but it's been very difficult. Obviously watching some of the great documentary pieces that were done about the entire secret path project. And as you mentioned um you know where that kind of came in the timeline and and then obviously the it was recorded and then there was a few years break i think before it was released but um yeah we're we're very excited about seeing that that particular show and craig has has talked very highly of it so we're pretty excited to see that for sure yeah.Track 5:[1:07:23] Well it's very heavy you know it's It's not a, you know, and as it's meant to be, you know, it's a very heavy story. There's a lot to it. And it's being delivered by a guy that is well aware of his timeline, you know. And this was a part of his legacy that he was very aware that he he could have a positive impact you know any I think you personally really changed the conversation in this country and and I still see it you know I'm still very, I'm still involved with the Danny Wenjack fund and I'm actually doing a school event out of Vancouver next week next.Track 4:[1:08:17] Are you serious craig oh man craig's a teacher i'm a teacher i use it every year um, and uh i yeah so i watch that show every no no no go ahead i alternate between i'm sorry i was just gonna say i i go through every song with with the class and you know we talk and it's amazing every year there's like another another layer something else that someone will will see and we we talk a little bit about this artistic representation of this, of this boy's story and how it, it relates to the much larger, you know, issues that go back, you know, the things that we weren't taught when we were in school and it's, it's been really eyeopening and, and every year it's just a highlight of, of, of the year. A lot of students remember it years later. It's been really impactful and it's a way for me to dig into this topic that I, you know as a middle-aged white guy don't have a you know a personal connection to it gives me a way to sort of dive into this difficult material in a genuine way and students really appreciate that that um they can tell i mean i know i.Track 5:[1:09:28] Know it's in over 6300 classrooms across canada, the secret path and i know over 8 000 teachers are teaching that and i think really what's happening now is that they need to expand on the curriculum they need to build on it like the secret path has been a great introduction of course and it's a great tool but you can't teach the same thing over and over again you can't read the same book and expect you know so i think that's partially where they're at with it uh and that's a good problem to have.Track 5:[1:10:02] But you know it's it's just learning a truth that is important and a part of our history in this country that's important because you know as a canadian who spent a lot of time in the states you know i find that we are very we can be very sanctimonious and self-righteous about how fucking awesome we are and how our shit doesn't smell but you know and and you know.Track 5:[1:10:28] Canadians are the first to look down south and say well you know at least we're not fucked up like they are look at their medical system look at look at whatever you know like it's you know and and you know our shit stinks too and we you know we i just think this has been such an amazing opportunity to see how impactful uh this is and you know what's so interesting is that it's really ultimately not about gourd like and that was sort of his that was what was so incredible about this like he knew that he's he's telling the story and his illness and his celebrity and the connection to the hip were leveraging the the attention towards this but he knew that this was much bigger than him you know i i was just talking to the the guy that's organizing the uh event i'm doing out in uh in vancouver and he was saying yeah he's a huge hit fan big music fan and he's saying you know like a lot of these young kids don't know who the tragically hip are and it sort of breaks his heart you know because uh or doesn't they don't know who gourd downey is but they know the secret path and it's so interesting and truthfully it's really what it is the important part of the story is the truth of why that story had to be told and And I think Gord would be kind of smiling about that right now.Track 5:[1:11:54] I know with the graphic novel, I recall vividly him saying, in his mind...Track 5:[1:12:02] The graphic novel and the music could be played for grade fives. You know, that was sort of his target audience. That's good age. This could have a good impact. I mean, I think it's become much broader than that. And as you said, Craig, it became, you know, there are many layers to it and there's a lot to it. You know, with a lot of Gord stuff, it's very interpretive and very, you know you can really peel back the layers on it so i think that makes them happy and i know for me on a personal level to be able to they these are uh called uh artist ambassador that's part of the downey one jack artist ambassador program so i go i go into the schools and i'm introduced and i'm you know i knew gourd and i talk a little bit about my uh relationship with him and the connection to the secret path and i go around and i look at the work that the students do and i talk to them and i just it you know it fills my heart to know that i'm still connected to gourd through this project and all the other stuff i did but this was this was a special opportunity for him to leave his own legacy but not about him but the legacy of something that he felt.Track 5:[1:13:26] He felt like it's a story that needed to be told and it's a conversation that needed to be had.Track 7:[1:13:32] One thing that I was able to share with the guys yesterday, my middle daughter graduated from a local university out here, Cal State University, Northridge. And before the ceremony began, they actually had a recorded message from the indigenous tribe from the area saying, prior to the university being built. And they had partnered with them. And the leadership of the tribe actually sent out a blessing as well as a song to the university and to the graduates and to those of us that were there. And I was there with my mom, my 81 year old mom. And I'd been sharing a lot of the secret path story with her and, you know, gave her the graphic novel to read. And we talk about it because I go over and visit quite regularly. And we both were so taken aback as Americans, because we're aware of our ugly past, and we're aware how bad we stink down here. And too often, we don't get the opportunity to really recognize it and bring it to the forefront as much as we could. And for us, that was fantastic, especially after our discussion with this group about secret path to see something in the United States. And I've been to many graduations, and I've been to many events and whatnot. And that was quite literally the first time I had ever seen anything like that done in the recognition.Track 7:[1:14:50] And it really, it, it warmed our heart that it was, it's about time, of course, but it's going to take those like Gord and that project and what you guys did, um, obviously in what you're continuing to do to, to bring that recognition. So that was just, it was really great and timely. And I know Justin has spent some time i'm doing some research as well about about uh um some of the indigenous issues in the history and whatnot and it's been great for us as you know americans to have that open discussion as well and uh so we really appreciate you sharing that with us because that that was uh it was definitely emotional for us going through the secret path and having that discussion and and as as craig had mentioned you know us middle-aged white guys you know trying to pretend for a second that we We know what happened and what they're going through. The awareness, I think, was really important for us and to be able to discuss that. So definitely appreciate you sharing that with us.Track 5:[1:15:51] Yeah, yeah. I mean, I just read something or saw an interview recently and just talking about colonialism. And, you know, like, you know, our history is that is kind of the history of the world. I mean, it's not any more North American than it is. It happened in China 7,000 years ago. It continues that. You know, you can't change what has happened, but you can acknowledge what's happened. And, you know, what's amazing is, you know, I know, I mean, my mom is almost 94. for. You know, a lot of the discussions with her and people of her generation about First Nations people here was that, oh, you know, we give them so much and we give them money and they you know, there's all these sort of false narratives about.Track 5:[1:16:45] And, you know, she's just repeating things that she's hearing, right? So this is what happens. Like, you hear something enough, and it becomes the truth. You know, like, you know, and I mean, that's sort of the sad reality of politics these days as well. You get a message just fucking repeatedly all the time. And then before you know it, you're saying it yourself somehow. You're believing it. It's so weird. It's so fucked up. The truth is often difficult to accept and to acknowledge, and it's not just about being white and privileged.Track 5:[1:17:24] Which of course we are, or I am, I won't speak for you guys, but it's about being honest about what has happened. And the history is not as it often is. It's told through the eyes of the people that have been the beneficiaries of it. And this has been an amazing journey for me. I've ended up doing many different projects. And that's what I was doing with Kevin Hearn today. We do this collaboration with Chief Stacey LaForme, who's just retired, but was the elected chief of the Mississaugas of the First Credit. And he's a poet as well. And we did a collaboration with him when the 615 bodies were discovered in Kamloops. He wrote a poem and Kevin and I put some music to it and inserted his voice through that as well. I'll send it to you, Kirk. It's a very, very powerful thing. And we've done a bunch of performances with him and we're doing something with him in June again.Track 5:[1:18:36] And it's, you know, again, it's like it's just this ongoing dialogue and this process of, you know, realizing that people are people, you know. And it's very powerful to share these collaborations and these stories. And, you know, I mean, Greg, you're seeing it every day. I see it every once in a while when I go into these schools. But these young kids are hearing these stories. So they're not, they're not, they're hearing these stories firsthand. They acknowledge and accept what happened. So they're not denying it. They're not pretending it didn't happen. They weren't, as what was Gore's line, trained to ignore it.Track 5:[1:19:22] It's such a fucking good line. And that was, again, that's sort of the righteousness of our thing is, you know, if you just put it out of your mind, well, then you don't have, and you don't think about it, then it's not your problem.Track 5:[1:19:36] And, you know, lo and behold, it was, you know, like there's a very dark history to our relationship with the First Nations people in this country. And you know what's amazing is i remember travis good talking about this when he was touring with his dad's band the good brothers in the 80s and early 90s late you know mid to late 80s he'd go over to holland and they would be saying you know what's up with your country you fucking treat the natives like shit what's with the residential schools he had no idea you know like me he was sort of you know and he learned about it from another country you know like it's always amazing how you know where we can be so uh oblivious and ignorant of our own truth i know i i did i'm kind of on a bit of a rant but it was a very and still is a very moving part of uh that relationship uh with gourd and and very one i'm so i'm just so i'm so proud of him for finding the creative courage to to to make that record and then you know like just so blown away by his courage for sure but his tenacity to get it out there and to go out and do those shows that was uh that was a.Track 5:[1:20:59] Remarkable thing including the hip tour i don't i don't they're not one i don't see one is more exclusive than the other i just think.Track 5:[1:21:09] It was a remarkable feat to watch him go through that.Track 7:[1:21:12] Absolutely and and uh you know this whole project as we'd mentioned has been great for us as as tragically hip fans and already having an appreciation and a love for gordon and what he's done and the band had done and a

jD, Dan from London, Pete and Tim are joined by a very special guest on this episode that is dedicated to the new reissue of Phantom Power for its 25th anniversary.And make sure to listen to the VERY END!Transcript:[0:05] On August 31st, 2023, The Tragically Hip dropped the first track from the Phantom.[0:12] Power 25th Anniversary box set, a song called Bumblebee.I will always remember this day because my friends Dan from London, Pete and Tim were in Toronto for our big live finale and the four of us were off to Kingston to visit the Bad Houseand sightsee the tragically hip scenes in Kingston.The first thing we did inside the car was fire up Bumblebee.It was so odd to hear something so familiar but so new to my ears.I hadn't heard this melody or these bending guitar licks before and I wanted more.[0:53] Lucky for us there are several other tracks included on this box set.Songs we either hadn't heard, or maybe we've heard snips and pieces of in live performances, or maybe on a bootleg.And of course there are complete song ideas that wound up on Gord's first solo record, Coke Machine Glow.There is also a fantastic live show from Pittsburgh, demos, and alternate versions of songs that did make the final cut.In essence, this is an exciting time to be a hip fan.Although we are all collectively gutted that we'll never see our boys on stage again, as long as I've been a hip fan, I've clamored for these songs that somehow wound up on the cuttingroom floor.And I'm sure you have too.[1:41] Today we'll get a sense of what Dan, Pete, and Tim think of the Reissue and we'll speak with a very special guest about the making of this spectacular box set and so much more.So sit back, relax, and let's start getting hip to the hip.Track 4:[2:23] Hey, it's Shadeen here and welcome back to Getting Hip to the Hip.This is an out-of-sequence bonus, episode for everyone.We are going to be talking today about the box set of Phantom Power, and I am joined as always by my friends Pete and Tim, and today's special guest again, Dan from London. How's itgoing, everybody?Well, Dan got his ears lowered, looks like Dan got his ears lowered.Yeah, I lost some hair over the course of the last thing, yeah.He was shorn. Maybe it was his younger brother stepping in. Yeah.[3:07] So fellas, when we last left off and we talked about Phantom Power, I recall the conversation really revolving around fireworks.You guys both really loved that song.Something On was a little underwhelming for you.You got into Poets, you thought that was a good kickoff and here we are just like six months after, not even six months, like four months after releasing that episode and The TragicallyHip goes out and releases a 25th anniversary box set of Phantom Power.So we thought it would be cool to get the band back together and talk about that for a little bit.And we'll be joined by a very special guest who we won't reveal quite yet.Is there anything that in particular, Pete or Tim, you remember about your experience with the record, thinking back, and Dan, for you following one of them, what was your experiencewith the record in general?[4:24] Um, it's funny because I went back and I found my notes from the original and it's it's just crazy to look at.It's like it's a it's a time it's a time capsule because, yeah, there were certain songs that was like, this is good.And like and now I look at, like, some of the songs that I was.[4:44] You know, Gugu and Gaga over and I love fireworks, but I mean, by by and far, you know, Bob Cajun is probably one of the most just, I mean, it's on loop in my home.So many, so many days. She also listens to it as well, right?Oh, yeah, she absolutely loves that song. We're listening to the live version today, we went for a hike.[5:07] And Cherrigan Falls. Poets is like, I think didn't, didn't, goodness, 50 Mission, didn't they?They came out with Poets when they played the live event.That song just, I had like one line written for that song. And this is the line, this is how sad it is. Dig it.Verse phrasing is key to the song. Lines go to the next measure.Layers and guitars. Nice. Now I'm just like, I hear that song.And I just fucking stop what I'm doing. And I just like, I fucking love that song.It's crazy how this album grew on me like a fucking virus. It's amazing.Timmy? Great. Yeah. Great, great question, JD, for sure.I mean, there's still a few on it that I'm not a super fan of, just to start off being negative here.Like, the rules to me is still a yawner, you know, but like, I kind of dig Chagrin Falls more than I did last time.I don't think I was anti, but in Emperor Penguin, I've read so many times across platforms that people love Emperor Penguin, and that song's slowly growing on me too. It's one of myfaves.There's still some really good ones in there.[6:31] Thompson Girl I could still live without. That's another one that grew on me, Timmy. I feel you, but I grew on it.With the new songs, and this is a question for a few minutes ahead, but somebody asked with the new songs, are any of those potential replacements for what's on the original?Oof. So yeah, that got me thinking a little bit.Tim, why do you always have to embroil things in controversy?I mean, that just is a controversial question.I mean, probably because of aliens, I guess. Oh, stop it.[7:15] Dan, what did you think of Phantom Power? I mean, Phantom Power is an absolute solid album.It's just a kicker, isn't it? I mean, I always love something on, I think it was the first track I got into off the album and I still absolutely love it. I think that song kicks ass.Something about the bass drum and the bass just driving it and the timing is just fantastic.Obviously, yeah, Bob Cajun.That always used to come on at a certain point on my commute when I was arriving at a certain station and I now still have overwhelming feelings when I pull into that station.[8:02] I can't believe how big a song can be, how overwhelmingly amazing a song can be.But yeah, I mean, the other stuff, I mean, Escape is at hand, I think, is just my favorite track on the album.You know, again, it's a whole other different story and different sentiment that it carries.And I don't know, I think that is a Bob Cajun and Escape is at hand, I think that just works a genius.And I can't say much more than that.Yeah. You know, the loss related with Escape Is At Hand is so relatable for me. And probably everybody.But I tend to live with you, Dan.I think Escape At Hand is... There's something about that song that just hits home, I think, probably for most people.[8:58] Maybe not sociopaths. I don't know. Maybe not.I think, Dan, you hit on the point. It's crazy how songs, even if you listen to them and enjoy them, it's like they get to a point where you've listened to them so many times, and perhaps thesame situation, like you said, pulling into that particular tube station or whatever it is, that maybe you don't hear it for a while, but then you hear it again, And, and just like a flood ofmemories and images come back.Just weird how the human brain works, man. I mean, this summer, we were go, go ahead.I mean, I just, I was just gonna say also in terms of that as well, it's the same station that I come into, I used to come into every time Fiddler's Green came on as well.So there's a time in all the albums where some of this stuff happens.[9:49] That's cool. That's cool. So have any of you guys had a chance to listen to the bonus tracks or the outtakes or the live show or any of it?And if you haven't, that's cool.All of it. All of it? Yeah. Yeah.I'm just happy to have more live music from these guys.For the obvious reason. It's a nice sounding show. So I read some kind of critique, so it's not the best sounding live show they played. I mean, who cares?I'm just happy to have more live music. That's an easy go-to wherever I am, in the car, on a plane, whatever.So as far as the new songs go? Yeah, back to your question.Yeah, I dig most of them. What's the best of the bunch? Eh, I don't know, I'm not there yet, I wouldn't say I'm there yet, I kinda like them all for different reasons.[10:52] Vegas Strip may be the least, but I like all these songs. I haven't gotten to it yet.It's my least favorite, but I still really like it.Yeah, like Songwriters Cabal isn't my favorite, but I love that song.Mystery, just lastly. Mystery is kind of a phenomenal ending to this group of songs.It's just this somber kind of tearjerker.Yeah, that was that was a happy listen. Joy meant either you fellas dabble.[11:31] I dabbled today and a couple of days last week, not yesterday, but I think Thursday and Friday in the fly stuff, which I concur with Timmy, I just love the live shit and I don't give afuck If it was a, you know, if it was a tape recorder jammed behind a, you know, bathroom stall and you got it picked it up in the background.It's just cool to hear this band live, but I loved it. Um, of the new tunes.I agree. I'm not there yet, but I, I got, um, I did hear bumblebee a lot when that came out, cause that dropped first, if I'm not mistaken, right. It dropped the day we went to Kingston.Kingston.So we got to it on the way to Kingston. That was fun. That's right.But I would say of the new tracks, I think the strongest one is Insomniacs. Me too.I just think it's very brawling, fucking harking back, just cool, fucking, just has that cool, easy, fucking hip, early shit to it.Early feels to it. Yeah, you know, has the road apples feel to it or something.Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree with that. I like that too. I could be swayed.[12:50] Okay. Dan? Yeah, and I mean for me, I've listened to the extra tracks.I mean, I still love Bumblebee.[13:04] There's something about that with the guitar bends, that like, I mean, I think we next sort of hear those kind of guitar bends on my music at work.Something very similar happens towards the end of that, doesn't it?But in terms of the live stuff, there's a few little things going on in there.I mean, obviously, when you get down to 100th Meridian, there's a kind of improvised extract of Bumblebee in there, which is fantastic.And also, in the Chagrin Falls live version, he breaks into Born Free, but in the alternate version of Chagrin Falls, he's singing Chagrin Falls with a Born Free kind of lilt to it.So there's these kind of little parallels between some of the stuff that's been chosen, I think.Yeah, so maybe that's the reasons for some of those selections.Yeah. To you for choosing this live this light those like cuts you mean I Think so. Yeah.Yeah. Yeah, there's definitely some some thread woven throughout.Yeah Too bad. We don't have anybody to ask We might get some insight from our special guest Yeah, we should kick to him right now.We'll go to a song and then we'll come in with our special guest Johnny fucking thing.Track 6:[17:35] Hello, hello, hello, hello, I hear you guys now. There we go. Oh good. Am I good?Am I good? Yeah Hello Hi johnny Good doing well Sorry about that Hi, that's my fault. Not yours.I'll take full credit for that We're just waiting for one more to join Okay, he's uh in the waiting room now.Oh, there he is amazing how everything just Clicked and then johnny came on because we were having some severe problems, Dan, can you hear us? Yeah, absolutely. Awesome. Can youhear me? Yeah. Grant.[18:18] How you doing technically there, Danny? Good. Can you hear me?I can hear you. I can see you.Perfect. So then are you done? Are you done taking the McDonald's in London?London? London. Yeah. Yeah. My dad, my dad's hometown. He's from Woolwich.Woolwich, really? Yes. Oh yeah. South of the river. And we got to Canada and some friends would say, are you from London, Ontario or London, England?And my dad would just shoot back, he'd go, there's only one, London.Ooh. Although they have a Thames where the Canadian one. Ooh. Anyway.[18:59] That's beautiful. Isn't there in London, Missouri or something, too? There's a London... Oh, they're all over the place.Yeah. What's the deal with that? What's the deal?I think there's one in India also. You can't throw a shoe without hitting a London, is basically what you're saying. Yeah.All right. Well, let's get things on the road here.Johnny, just a brief introduction. We've ran a podcast from May 2, 4 to Labor Day this summer, where I took my friends that have never heard of the hit before. One is in Spain, Malaga.One is in Portland, Oregon. That's Tim and that's Pete, who is from Spain.And then Dan is from London.And we took them through a record a week, starting with the Baby Blue record and working up to Man-Machine Poem and just.[19:54] Inculcated them into the world of Tragically Hip.We ended up with a big party at the end downtown at the Rec Room.We raised like almost four grand for Donnie Wenjack.Oh that's amazing. Incredible.Yeah, so that's our story. I'm sorry I had to get the The music stuffed down your throat like that.[20:19] Can you imagine doing it, Johnny, like of a band that you've never heard of, right?And I've heard of you guys, but like never heard of you guys. I mean, I never heard it.But it's crazy how we did get it literally shoved down our throats.And now we were going back today talking about Band and Power, about what our first reactions were for it.And even compared to now, how much everything's just grown on us.It's just like, and we're diehard fans now, but go back a year from today, we didn't know. That's incredible.Wow. It's crazy, man. Thanks for sticking with it. It's not always easy.My Spotify algorithm is still totally convoluted, but a lot of a lot of hit playing in there.So Johnny, let's start at the start and get to know a little bit about you as the drummer of The Tragically Hap.And youngest member of The Tragically Hap. That's right, that's right. It's a dig.[21:27] It's Gord Sinclair's birthday today, right? It is indeed.Yes. Yes. I had dinner with him and Paul the other night in Toronto, and we had a nice evening.And, you know, we're 40 years young next year.I was in high school when we started, and I guess here we are.Wow. Wow. Who, before you got into the band and as you guys were forming, um, you know, your sound and your, you know, cadence, who were your big influences?I've, I know Stuart Copeland came up at one point. Oh, without a doubt.Yeah. I've heard a story about an exam or something like that, that you missed.That's correct. Yeah, that's correct. Uh, and we later ended up working with Hugh Padgham, the great British producer. and Synchronously was coming out and it came out on the daybefore my.[22:29] My math exam for Mrs.Griffordy and Lynn got this record and I listened to it.I'd heard Every Breath You Take on the radio, but then when I heard Synchronicity II and just the blistering drumming of Stuart, I just had to drink it all in.I remember making the decision. I was like, I can listen to this record, I can study for the exam.If I don't study for the exam, I'm going to summer school, which I did.And then I took one day off to go see them at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, but it was worth it because that was, that was really my education was living, eating and breathing.And if you were a drummer in the eighties, who, uh, the guy, he was instantly identifiable by a snare drum.Um, just the hit one snare drum, there was Stuart Copeland.So, And this was an era of drum machines, don't forget, this was Len drums and sequencers, and I loved all that stuff too, absolutely did, but to be on the radio, and Stuart was it, he was,and I'm still finding things out about him, that he held the drumstick between two fingers, he didn't hold it, he held it up here.[23:48] Instead of the two fingers, which is the traditional way to hold the drumsticks.But he invented a way to play and invented a kit, which was a sound, you know.And he really, I can't say enough things about Stuart Copeland.Yeah, he's amazing. But I'll also listen to Alan White of Yes, who was fantastic. and of course, you know, Neil Peart, Bob Rush.That's a pretty good pedigree.Well, you try and take a little bit from each guy, you know, you don't want to be a lab rat. You don't want to copy them.You want to just take all the little things you like the right hand from this guy, this snare drum from that guy, the bass drum.And of course, the great I saw him the other day, the Manu Katché, Peter Gabriel's drummer, who is the Picasso on the drums. He has hands down, Art Picasso on drums.High praise. Dan?Yeah, so yeah, those are your sort of past influences. But who do you enjoy listening to now? Who does it for you now?Well, it's really funny because what's on my turntable right now is Heavy Weather by.[25:12] Weather Report and I'm listening to Jaco Pastorius.I'm trying to get as much of him into me because he was the guy really, you know. You hear Geddy Lee talk about him, you hear.So I'm listening to a lot of bass players these days and loving it.So that's what's going on.[25:36] I gotta I gotta ask you, just because you mentioned synchronicity, this is just a this is just a note.And if you didn't know it, then I think we brought it up with Paul.But do you know that that record had 33 different covers?[25:53] I did, yes I did. I didn't know that I thought it had.I thought it had. Well, I guess it would because each guy was sort of on one of the strips and it changed.But I didn't know there were 33. 32 or 33. But yeah, it was when I found and some some versions are rarer than others. But that record is.And that song Mother is just nuts. And isn't Stewart Copeland singing that song?No, that song is Andy Summers, and I heard a story, they did part of it in the Moran Heights in Montreal and the engineer asked Hugh if he could bump himself off a cassette in the day.In those days there was no internet so it was cool. The engineers usually got to be able to do that.Here's a record I'm working on, just happens to be with the police.And he asked Hugh Padgham if he could leave that song off.A lot of people hated it. It's a hard song to listen to if you're not into the record. You know, what went into the trash bin was I Burned For You, that was slated to go on that record.And think about how that would have, you know, from Sting's soundtrack work, would have changed that record. Totally.[27:22] I'm a little curious of then and now also, when you first started playing drums, I raised a drummer.I have a 21 year old who plays drums.Awesome. Actually, yeah, the past year or so he's been out of the country and he's been more focused on DJing, techno of all things.But he's, you know, can hear kind of a drummer influence. But anyways, you know, we got him on hand drums early and drum lessons early.And I lived through, you know, a drum set in the basement.Just anywhere you went in my house, you had to go outside or take a call.It was just, you know, what was it like for you in your early years playing drums? Like what pushed you over to the drum set or being interested in it? And...Conversely, do you still play now? Do you still have access to a drum set or a drum set at home?[28:13] Great questions. Number one, my brothers had a friend who had a drum set and they said to me, they went and got the snare drum and they said, we'll get you the snare drum.And after a year, if you're still playing, we'll go get the rest of the drum kit.And I'm still playing. And so they Then I had an eye injury, which for three weeks I had both eyes sort of closed off with cotton batting.And it was a really weird, weird accident.I still, when I'm explaining it to people, my dad was on the phone.He was a pediatric cardiologist and he was talking to the hospital and we were at a friend's house.And it had this jar of erasers and pens and pencils and elastics and he was talking and I remember he had his hand on my head like that and I grabbed an elastic band and a pen, and I shotthe pen into my eye and yeah it was very bizarre I thought it was shooting at the other end so it went right in and I remember my dad saying to my mom don't touch it leave it leave it andshe was trying to pull it out and so I went in and my sense of hearing was heightened.[29:33] I could hear my dad walk down the hall after he had his morning rounds.I could hear the cadence of his footstep and so you know for that three weeks where I was unable to see, it just kicked that.At about seven years old into a different gear for me. I started hearing rhythm everywhere.As you do with your indicator of your car, to industrial sounds, trucks backing up. I can put a rhythm into it.Like your son, his, like you're saying about drumming, and now he's DJing, his internal clock is always going as a drummer because that's where it started. Absolutely.Yeah. So it's the same. Drummers are that way. You just pick those things up.And then second question. No, I'm not playing. I'm kind of doing what your son is doing with drum machines.But I have two drummers in the house, two nine-year-old boys.[30:29] And one is a lefty. And I would set a kit up for him and then my other son, Finn, and then I would forget about Willie.And then, so I just said, well, I'm going to set it up on the left for you because he has a great acoustic kit, a set of Gretsch 1960s.And now I play left because I'm not the drummer that I'm not, you know, I'm not that drummer anymore. So now I'm discovering all kinds of new things about playing on the left side, andleft-handed drummers I find are way more creative.It's funny you mentioned that because we often notice when I've gone to shows with my son, we'll just say immediately that guy's left-handed.You just see it like that. That's very cool.Ringo was left-handed, they say, and that's why no one could ever duplicate the way he got around the kit.Yeah. His left hand pushed his right hand, I think.Phil Collins, Ian Pace, they're not good drummers.They're incredible drummers. Those two guys for me, Ian Pace and Phil Collins.Phil Collins, the stuff that I listened to today, and I'm like, how is he doing that?How is he doing that? He was incredible.He really was. He is incredible.[31:48] Johnny, you've been hard at work on the Phantom Power reissue, the box set, the amazing box set.I got it last week, and it was so fun to open and just touch the vinyl, and the book that's inside is really wonderful.I'm just, I'm so curious what a project like that.[32:17] Entails like from a from a time perspective. And I know you guys are hard at work on another one for next year.Like, when does that begin? And what does that process even look like?Like, is it just climbing Everest or what?It's really fun. It's really great therapy for us.You know, we get to talk about the past and if one guy doesn't remember it, someone else will.We have weekly calls and it's fun.We didn't do any therapy after Gord passed away and we really should have.We have just all kind of dealt with things and I think really right now that this is our therapy.I'm in Toronto, so that's where the tapes are. I'm very happy to do it and we're digitizing things and Phantom Power was a different one because it was in different formats.It was on D88, little digital tapes.[33:11] DAT machines were around and kicking at that time.We also had our 2-inch machine and then Pro Tools, the dreaded Pro Tools was coming in.Well, you didn't have to make a decision and you could have a hundred tracks on something and and I was like the you know There was such economy when we were going to tape andAnd I really liked that.So, you know, if you look at the early records, we're still I, Think there's the most that we used was 18 tracks You know Don Smith would consolidate things and that was really a goldenperiod So, it's not as daunting as you think, it's been fun, it's been fun, it's been a discovery.[34:00] You know, to listen to some of those tracks and hear Gord Downie speaking in between takes is really these beautiful moments.So yeah, it's been a lot of fun.Robbie is in charge of the box set, putting it all together.So he's doing all of that stuff.And you know, Gord and Paul are very involved in it. But they have solo careers too.So, um, you know, uh, but we are, we're all together on this.Uh, it's not me, uh, just doing, um, the tape stuff there. They're involved in it too. Very cool.Yeah. I mean, I was going to ask in terms of the project from the offset, uh, you know, when you're going through the tapes and covering all of these tracks and these, these different takesof the tracks that you have, what, what shape, you know, with those tracks in, did they require a lot of work to get them up to spec, or was there anything that was kind of left off that was,you regard as pretty good, but it was still a bit too rough around the edges to include?[35:04] Well, if we did any editing back in the day, if it was tape, we would do chunk editing.We would take the ending of one, with the hip, we would play a tune, it'd be great, be great and we would get close to the end and then we'd anticipate the ending and I'd make the otherguy speed up so we get to it and then our producer would say well the ending of this one's good so let's take the last four bars so there we go there's the track.So they were in pretty good shape you know the tape that we got was really forgiving.The crazy thing is I heard about the Rolling Stones going back and doing stuff that they did in the early 60s.And the early 60s tape actually lasted better than the stuff they made in the 80s.They had to do very little to get them back into shape, which is cool.You got to bake them in what essentially is an easy bake oven for tapes at a low temperature and it just sucks all the humidity out.And so record companies are obviously very well prepared to do all that sort of stuff and then it's just digitizing them.But when you first have a go through the tape after it's been baked and it's coming off the head and going through a board at the studio, it never sounds better.You know and they shoot it over to Pro Tools and they say now we have it We've have it and I always say well it sounded better a few minutes ago when it was going through the machineand so, Yeah Tape is king.We lived in the Golden Age. We really did in the in the 80s and 90s When you when you still were spinning tape.[40:59] So I imagined with coming across tapes, you guys did so much work, you know, in the recording process that I imagined it was just so fun to go through. It has been.It was, you know, but, you know, talk about Bob Cajun being an example.We only really have two versions of that.[41:23] And Gord Sinclair and I had a conference and we were like, well, we can play that again and we can play it better. And we were like, yeah, let's do it.And so the version you hear is the demo version, really.It's just we said we would go back and address it later. I think we went on tour and then it was Steve Berlin listening to it, which was really cool because he he recognized you can't beatyour demo.And that's what bands try and do.And he was so smart with it. And he said, I'll let you play it again.But you're not going to beat this. It's just there's a vibe there.And Gordon and I were like, we're going to beat it. We're going to do it. And we never did.And so I always loved that, that he did that because as a producer, I wouldn't have done that.And I would have screwed it up if I was producing that record.And he had the brainpower and the knowledge and he'd made so many great records before that he just, he let us play it, but we never beat it.It's our biggest song, too. Well, we were talking before, I absolutely love that song.That song is the soundtrack of this past summer for my wife and I.You jammed it down her throat. Oh, yeah. She drank the Kool-Aid, man.Let me tell you. She sure did.I've tried. We're getting there.[42:46] That's the pocket of that song, in my opinion, and this is my opinion, and if Robbie was here, I'd maybe change it just to be sweet to him, but it's you and Gord.It's just that the pocket's so tight with that.But you said something earlier about tape, and I want to just touch on it real quick because you were talking about how they have Pro Tools and this and that, and how you would havemade a different decision with Bob Cajun.But we cut a record in this last March, our band, we did our second record.And the engineer was using Cubase, which is just another version of Pro Tools or whatever.You've got a million, you can do a million tracks. But like he was like, no, you're going to do this many. And I'm like, no, I don't like that.He's like, nope, that's it.Yeah, because you get to a point to where you could just you just go crazy.And you could do 25, 30 tracks, you know, on one take or 25, 30 takes.And it's just it's stupid at that point.You've got to appreciate the moment that it is, you know, whether it's, you know, you're never better than your demo, like you said. You know? Yeah.And and I don't know, I guess.[44:01] There was, and not to get off the topic of, of, of, of Phantom Power, but for me, and I know we all had this, this reaction.We felt like I felt like In Between Evolution was the Johnny Faye record.[44:17] Really? Yeah, and there's... I don't remember that record, really.Well, yeah, there's a specific thing. That's crazy because there there's at the end of certain songs, there's little, you know, hi-hat touch, there's a rimshot, there's just little sprinkles of youthat is the last sound you hear on multiple tracks and or, or the beginning of a track.And I'm like, I wonder if there's something to this, but they must have just been the take that you guys did and it's taking up, maybe so.That was confusing record.Well, it's interesting about the tape to dress the tape thing.Yeah. And you have limitations. You got to make decisions.Uh, and you know, and I didn't say that I read Keith Richard's book and he was like, give me eight tracks and I'll write you a hit.And, you know, when they went to 16, he was like, man, okay, but I can still do it. Nay. And it's true.Um, you know, that, that the a hundred guitar tracks or whatever, the layering and, and, uh, it's just, you know, it goes, just lets up on records, John Bonham.I worked with a guy named Terry Manning and he had, John Bonham got very upset with him because Terry Manning said to me, I was the guy who put the third microphone on thedrums, he didn't like that, he only wanted two.[45:36] Only wanted two. So yeah, Inbetween Evolution was, we worked with Adam Casper, he was fantastic, obviously he's a guy who worked with Pearl Jam and we were very chuffedabout working for him, with him.And we seemed to move around studios a lot.For me that was a little bit confusing, so I never knew what we really had in the can.And it was in Seattle, where I love. I absolutely love Seattle.And so that was cool to be there. But yeah, I don't sort of...It's just a record that's easy to associate with you.And I think at that time too, we were looking at videos. I remember talking about this video I saw of you.You were so in the friggin zone playing live.You broke a cymbal and somebody just came like middle of the song.You just kept going along, replace cymbal.That would be Mike Cormier. He was my drum check and he was amazing.He could tell when they were broken. He sort of mid-song and he'd say, should I wait for the end of the song? I was like, no, just get rid of it.[46:44] Yeah, you know, we're going through something now where we're going back even further and with Up To Here.And a question was asked earlier about is there some songs that were left off?And there was a song that was left off, Up To Here, and it's called Wait So Long. and it was a really, really special song.Our producer and his manager and some people at the record company really thought that that was the lead track.[47:15] It ended up being Blow It High Dough, I believe.Or New Orleans is sinking. But Wait So Long is a great track, and that will come out next year.Oh, that's exciting. We have a mix of it and everything from Don Smith, so that's fully intact.So when we looked through the tapes and thought, oh, what do we need to remix?There was that one, you know, the lettering. It was like, okay, we got that one.So that'll be great to get out.You know, hear what people think about that. So one of our go ahead, Judy.So I have an ammo system set up at home. So I've been listening to the mix and Dolby Atmos.And I'm just curious about how that works when you're when you're doing a mix of that because there are instrumentations and sounds that I've never heard in those songs before.And now all of a sudden, they're they're shooting over my head.And it's, it's really fucking tremendous. It's a great way to experience music.But I just wonder what it's like.Do you have a mixer that just takes care of that?Because I noticed there was there's three writing credits for mixers on the Yeah, on the album.So I'm just curious if one is just for Dolby Atmos, sir.Yeah, well, we had a guy in the first couple, I think he did Road Apples.[48:43] And his name is Rich Chicky, and you might know him because he's done all the Rush stuff.He's like the Rush in-house guy for Atmos.Since then, we've had our key engineer, Mark Braykin, has been doing the Atmos stuff because he built an Atmos room.[49:00] You're right on this one. Phantom Power has a lot of stuff. I was sitting in the back of the room when they were mixing that and it's like there's some backwards guitars and somestuff that just goes out and it makes sense.I'm not gonna lie, I'm not the hugest fan of, I get it, you know, let's send the hi-hat into outer space, changes the groove, changes the groove for a five-piece band, we're not gonna lie.[49:29] On an album like Road Apples, which Rich did, and he did a great job.I just don't get it. On Phantom Power, which would be the closest thing that we would ever have to Dark Side of the Moon, I get it.You sit in the back of the room and hear the backwards guitar or stuff swirling around. It's cool.But I know people want this in their headphones, but I guess I'm a little bit like Monomix guy.I don't mind that either. I love it. I love that. Yeah.Dan? I'm with you, Joni.[50:04] Coming back to the other aspect of the box set, which is the live recordings, I mean, what criteria do you sort of use for selecting the live recording?I mean, out of the three that have been, you know, re-released.[50:18] Obviously one was the Horseshoe, but the other two have been from, like, American venues.Would you perhaps, like, choose the American gigs because they might be lesser known to a predominant Canadian audience?Or, I don't know, how do you choose? We pick a gig that has fewer clams in it and less mistakes.We just kind of really, we really do.We did a live record called Live Between, it was way back in the day, and we argued about this.We had really sort of a good old fashioned fight about it.And Gord Downie wanted one from this place called the 40 Walk Club, which we'd listened to and it was a great, great version.It was a great night.And it's where REM, I think, got their start.And so we were sort of between that and another couple.[51:12] And then we ended up picking Detroit because it sounded good.Um, I think that's kind of what we go on when we're, we're picking these, um, these live, uh, albums and Gord Sinclair's son, um, is the one who really goes through them and says, there'ssomething here.He knows the hip really well. And so he really kind of directs us.So there's so many tapes out there. Um, and so he, he sort of says this one, um, from, uh, Chicago second night, a house of blues.This, this one's got something there. And so Colin Sinclair is really in charge of that.I don't think any other guy in the hip can take credit for it.[51:52] Can I just ask as well then, so what percentage of hip shows do you think were actually recorded, you know, documented?[52:00] It would depend on the period. One tour we went out with D88 machines, other eras we let people tape, like Fish Show or Grapevold Head, we would set up a little area where theycould get stuff off the board.That was cool. And there were some remote stuff, not a ton of 24-track, tape stuff. We would do stuff for Westwood One.Most of this stuff is going to be in-house, or a record company generated through a live truck, Usually in LA or New York, we have one coming up from a show we did in the States forRecord Day next year.Not a ton. There's not a ton. Two scoops in this session. That's great.That are coming out?[53:05] You mentioned Zeppelin too. I was going to ask you about Hedley Grange, but I forgot what I was going to say. You know where Bonham did that thing with the, for, for, um.[53:16] When the levee breaks, you know, yeah, they put the mics up on the stairs. God, that's so cool.But, but no, that was Jimmy. That was Jimmy Page. That was Jimmy Page doing that.He engineered page based on that. That's that's such a it's such a I mean, never in in history. Can anybody recreate that sound? I mean, it's just so cool.No, the sound of like a double bass almost, but people people don't understand that there's the economy of it.If you worked with one of These older guys, I always say that Don Smith was like Rudy Van Gelder, he got it.He knew, he kept on coming into the studio, back in the control room.He would make the live room, the studio sound, the control room sound like the live room. And he was constantly tweaking like that.[54:02] The guitar, if you listen to the Zeppelin, it's all the stuff that's implied in the chords I think.The drums are what everything is hanging off of. The guitars are really quite small, you know, you know, there's these these bands that came out in the 80s that were trying to be likeZeppelin, use 24 microphones on the drums.It sounded horrible, you know, and for John Bonham, it was just the way he played. He was really good.Incredible jazz sensibilities, an incredible groove. And he was able to move, you know, all four of those guys were spectacular.We went on the road with them. We went on the road with them, Paige and Plant, through the States, and it was incredible.[54:49] Yeah. Never a nicer, never a nicer guy than Robert Plant. He was so, so nice.Oh, yeah. That's that's, that's, that's amazing.Yeah, I'm a huge, I'm a huge Zep fan. But I just got to ask you real quick about the song Fireworks.Is there, there's got to be some Rush influence in that. I just hear so much like spirit of the radio in that tune.It's just such a, I think that when that song, when we heard that song on this record, Tim and I both, I was like, that was for our first favorite song on this record. Oh, that's sweet.[55:26] Don Smith's mix on the box set is really interesting.Because for Phantom Power, where we mixed it three different times.Yeah, I mean, Neil, I got to meet him a couple of times.He was obviously a huge influence and I would say, yeah, yeah.I went trick or treating as him one year. I crank called him.[55:50] Oh my gosh, amazing. Love Rush, man, love Rush.J.D. be mindful of the of the clock too on the thing. You're on mute.Yeah, we can't hear you, J.D.Oh, sorry about that, guys. I was just going to say we've got a minute 45 left of this session before it cancels out.So, Tim, if you've got a quick one and then we'll bid adieu.Well, I just had one of our pod listeners asked about Bumblebee and basically was like, why didn't this make the album?You know, this it could fit in there so well. So just a quick comment on that.And yeah, yeah, that was one that was that was on on the list.And I think it just, we just sort of Gord Sinclair was putting the sequences together for that.And it just for us, there was just something maybe missing. It's really great.[56:46] And I love the line when the moon's a water balloon.It just is so great. That's so Gord. You know, yeah.And I look at every time I look up at a supermoon and it looks like a water balloon. I think it's very cool.Well, it made the box set. So that's, yeah, that's important.Yeah. Well, Johnny, we really want to thank you so much for your time.It means a lot. And thank you gents for, for all your promotion to the hip. Our pleasure.Keep ramming, keep ramming it.Hopefully not your family. They love it too. It happens.Track 1:[57:29] Thanks for listening to Getting Hip to the Hip. Please subscribe, share, rate and review the show at gettinghiptothehip.com.Find us on Twitter and Instagram at gettinghippod.And join our Facebook group at facebook.com slash groups slash fully and completely.Questions or concerns? Email us at JD at getting hip to the hip.com.We'd love to hear from you.Track 6:[58:25] I can't wait for the music at work box set as well, just so you know, just so you know, we're dying for that one. Oh yes, please, please.I'll tell you, I'll tell you the one that I was listening to last night and the demos are really great and and I'm really pushing for this one is in violet light.Oh yes. Yeah. In violet light. The demos were just incredible.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

jD, Pete, and Tim are back and this week they're discussing the EP Saskadelphia. TracksMontreal - Studio outtake Ouch - Studio versionCrack my Spine (Like a Whip) - Live from Halifax 1991Reformed Baptist Blues - Studio versionTranscriptTrack 1:[0:00] If you're a fan of the Tragically Hip, this is your hip fest. Getting Hip to the Hip, September 1st at The Rec Room. Celebrate the music of the hip with a live tribute act, the finale of a hip-based podcast, and a silent auction with amazing hip prizes, with all proceeds going to support the Gord Downieand Chani Wenjack Fund. If you're a fan of the hip, you need to be there. Tickets available now at gettinghiptothehip.com. Track 2:[0:28] The first, and to date, only posthumous release by the tragically hip is 2021's marvelous EP, Saskadelphia. [0:37] Borrowing its title from the original name of Road Apples, this record packs a punch in under 20 minutes of non-stop rock. Even the chilling theme of the song Montreal moves mountains with its haunting chorus. I remember downloading Saskadelphia on the mail-on weekend in 2021 and I was immediately transported back to 1991. [0:59] In some cases, we're even invited into this studio with banter between Gord and someone named Bruce. It was a total trip hearing these songs from a bygone era with a pair of ears from the 21st century. In some cases it was familiar, as I own bootlegs of Crack My Spine Like a Whip and Just as Well, but these new versions were bursting at the seams with nuance that only a studiorecording can offer. I felt nostalgic and sad listening, but by the end I was grinning ear to ear. This was a fantastic hip experience, and it's one I hope we get to enjoy with the upcoming re-release of Phantom Power, and I'm calling it here first, but I think we see an Up to Here boxset celebrating 35 years sometime in 2024. But don't quote me on that, unless I'm right of course. At any rate, I'm nervous about giving this one to Pete and Tim. Although they both enjoyed Road Apples initially, will they appreciate the significance of this EP? Will nostalgia be a factor for a pair of people who only first heard the band in November of 2022? [2:08] What kind of impact will this have? We'll have to wait and see on this episode of Getting Hip to the Hip. Track 5:[2:40] All right hey hey it's JD here and we are back again for another uh well let's call it the penultimate episode of getting hip to the hip i'm here as always with my friends Pete and Timto discuss Seminole Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip we're going through every album and we find ourselves at the last album. An EP as it were, Saskadelphia. It was released for the May long weekend in 2021 and it's a it's it's a trip back to the road Apple days. Before we get too deep into that discussion though, how the fuck are you guys doing? Well you know I'm a little a little of a Climbed a little tongue-tied. I don't know. I told my kid, Sage, this morning, I was like, this is sort of one of the last recordings. It's about 20 minutes of music. [3:41] And he was very encouraging on moving on to more pod stuff, because he knows I've totally loved doing this. But at the same time, I'm like, do we have to do this today, guys? Can we postpone it? Pause right here and do it later. Because it's like the last bunch of songs, really. The problem is, in a week, you'll be here. It's true. It's true. You'll be here, and we'll be doing the For Real last episode. Hope to see you there at Getting Hip to the Hip, an evening for the Donnie Wenjack Fund. Tickets are $40. You can get them on gettinghiptothehip.com. [4:20] Slash click the ticket button. Do that. It'll be good. Pete, how are you, man? I'm good. Um, your cadence threw me off there at the beginning, JD, because when you said I'm here with my good friends, Pete and Tim to discuss, and I thought you were going to,you're going to say two disgusting fucking individuals, but just to discuss. And then you were like the penultimate record. So, no, I'm good. Everybody knows that by now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Kidding me with our link or that way. We fucking two sailors, three sailors here. That's right. With your captain Pete who we've gotten, I think we've gotten, uh, we've gotten a couple of emails from people saying, do you haveto use the F-word so much? You swear like sailors, ahoy motherfuckers. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm, I'm still looking forward to the, to the, uh, to the live event. I cannot wait. It's going to be so much fun. I'm I just I just hope I hope people are that show up want to that want to just talk about the hip. And I'm like, I'm wondering what other people say because I only know you guys. [5:37] Like, I've only I only really well my friend Barb too, but like, like, yeah, I don't talk about the hip, but I'm gonna be surrounded with a shit ton of people who fucking love the hip. It's going to be cool, man. Has Barb, has Barb confirmed? Barb's not confirmed, but Barb's on the fence. She's, she's, I think she just, we need to, we need to push Barb over the edge. How do we do that? We're pushing her right now. Barb, if you're listening. It's a, it's a love push, Barb. Barb. We're just giving you, we're just giving you a little, little bump you need. You need to be there, Barb. Careful, one person's love push is another person's incarceration, so you want to be careful with that. Well, I said bump, I meant like a little tiny, you know. Was that a Burning Bush reference? Is that a Bible reference? I missed it, went over my head. I'm out of swords today, gentlemen. [6:37] Are we gonna tackle this record? Well, let's talk about where you guys listened to this record for the first time. Where did listen to it, give me the environment, give me the background, give me the details, and then we'll go song by song. For me, no, my car is not a Yugo with the premium audiosound system. Surely it is not. Surely it is not. They're out of business. No, I listen to it in the car a lot, listen to it on my computer a lot. I've been doing a lot of work at the desk and was really surprised with this record, really surprised. kind of. [7:18] Yeah, I'll save all that, but yeah, listen mainly at the computer and in the car. All right. How about you, Tim? I'm the same. Same exact. Yeah. Sitting down. Sitting down. And it's a quick one, right? It's like 20 minutes and you're through. Yeah, 20 minutes. Right. Yeah. It's a tupper. When they first released it, they called it an album. I'm pretty sure they said it was an album. And a lot of people bitched. A lot of people were like, this isn't an album, it's an EP. It's six songs. Who called it that? I believe they did centrally, but even on the wiki page now, it's listed as an EP. So I don't know if it's been officially changed or what, but I'm calling it an EP. And it's a nice bookend. You get the EP at the beginning and you get the EP at the end, you know, in terms of bookends. Unless there's other music out there. But this came out after Gord's passing. This did. Yes. Yeah. 21. Yeah. 2021. People are bitching after the fact. Way to go hit fans. What a show. How about you? How about you, JD? JD, where, what was your experience when this came out? Oh boy. [8:25] Uh, did you grab it? Yeah. Um, I bought the 35th or the 30th it's yeah. The 30th anniversary of road apples, a box set. And it came in that box set and it came with live camp. It was a great box set because it came with a remastered road apples. It came with Saskadelphia. It came with Live at the Roxy and I want to say another record so it was chock full of cool cool shit for me it was just it was just a trip because it was like the last we heard of this band. [9:03] Was Man-Machine-Poem and it's very different from Road Apples, very different from Road Apples. And all of a sudden I was listening to brand new hip that was 35 years old, you know? So it was like, it was really, it hurt my brain a little bit, my brain was doing spirals, you know? Like it was like, this doesn't make sense, this is new, but this is really old. So I don't quite understand what this is all about, you know. But very much enjoyed it. A little disappointed that the version of Montreal is a live version, but I like the live version. It's good, you know. There's a reason. Yeah, there's a reason. And we'll get into that as we go. Should we start with Ouch? [9:54] Well, let's do a little more backstory. Yeah, go. Because in my experience of this EP, I went really quickly to YouTube and ended up watching some of the mini episodes that featureJohnny Faye in the Universal Warehouse finding the tapes. That's crazy. And all that stuff. And it was really interesting to go through those and hear him talk about Universal claiming the fire they had in the warehouse that was, I think he said they found out about it, the NewYork Times article. Yeah. Yeah, that's all I remember. And it listed all these bands whose tapes burned, and they were on the list. And so... [10:42] Johnny, I think. I forget who else. Johnny and somebody else immediately, it sounds like, really quickly went down to hunt down the tapes and they didn't burn. And he even had a comment, or most of them anyways, he even had a comment about how universal they thought. Actually, this was Baker in a different interview, because I watched a bunch with him too. Baker said that they thought that maybe the fire and the tapes were this multi-mega cash-in on getting assets destroyed that weren't really destroyed. But ultimately, they've said that they found 45-ish of 60-ish tapes and there's still potentially more out there. [11:29] So, there's some great interviews on this stuff. I probably watched, I don't know, six interviews. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah, I was kind of laid up one day and just had some time to kill and watch them, watch them interview. So yeah, so it's, maybe there is more out there. I mean, they pulled together, what is this, five songs? Well, six with Montreal, but yeah. Six. Yeah, six. And, you know, if there's, if we get six more eventually, that would be awesome. Yeah, because they are, I mean, there is talk of Phantom Power being reissued. They announced that last year that Phantom Power would be reissued this year. The 25th anniversary has passed, but I suspect it'll be a Christmas release, you know, but I don't know anything beyond that. [12:16] No, the cover of Phantom Power was actually done by Rob Baker. Really? That's a fact. Oh, wow. Rob Baker studied graphic design, I believe. Graphic design. Oh, yeah. University of Queensland? Queens, Queens University, yeah. Queens. Yeah. near the Bronx. Yeah, right now the Bronx just a hop, skipping the jump away. I'm skipping a jump. I had not, I had not heard or watched and heard interviews with him really yet. And man, I want to hang out with that guy. He is so. Baker? I don't know. He had so many. He had, yeah, he had so many fun, not fun. It's somebody wise one-liners just in the course of conversation with interviewers. Like he's just fucking Zen dude. So chill. Sorry. Some of it was during COVID and he was talking about like during COVID, how his son moved back home and they were, they had set times during the week where theywere jamming together and ah, man, it just. That's very cool. It's just a rad sounding dude. Yeah. Yeah. Well, get in line, Tim, because. [13:26] I'll be behind you. Yeah. Yeah. Rob Baker and I, we go back. We're gonna, I'm in Kingston. We got a we got a couple of beer dates Talk gear. I think it was I think it was ouch That Johnny Fay one of the YouTube video the one of these little mini episode things that Johnny Fay He's listening. There's a video of him listening to ouch. I believe it was out and And it gets to the end, and it stops. And he's so elated and excited. And he said something like, it even has an end. So stoked to find a complete song. Before we jump into the record, did you guys see the, Tim, I didn't watch all the interviews, but what's his name? Craig Rogers sent that email with the videos from the Cineplex event they did. Right, yeah. They did an event at the bathhouse. I didn't see that. Oh, dude, it's fucking cool. I mean, the only videos that he could find were... Or Bob Cajun, Escape is at Hand, Country Day and Coffee Girl, but they did this live event at the bathhouse. [14:44] During Bob Cajun, Rob Baker's just playing guitar. I don't think anybody else is in the video if I remember correctly, and Gord Downie's just shooting pool and singing this songwhile he's shooting pool. It's the coolest fucking thing. Oh my God, I got to see this. It's so cool, man. It's one of the coolest fucking, he's just like, he's, and it's a weird, like, I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm not, when, you know, when we go to the bath house and eventually record there one day, I'm not going to piss and moan to the guys about the pool table. I hope it's a bar size table, but I noticed that the balls in Canada, they weren't like, you know, the color balls like we have in the U S or like red balls. And then maybe a different color. Were they playing snooker maybe? Maybe it was like a snooker table but yeah. Yes they are. They are. They're playing snooker. I just pulled it up. I did this. Sorry Craig. I didn't I didn't I didn't go through. I saw it Craig. Thanks. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to respond. I've been busy working this week. Yeah I haven't. [15:51] Sorry Craig. Very cool. Yeah. Got something new to check out. That's great let's dive in ouch ouch ouch. [19:12] Go ahead, Timmy. Take it. Well, this one kind of brought me back to Born in the Water. And back then, when we were talking about Road Apples, if I recall correctly, I had some comments about it being bluesy, and George Thurgood, whatever. I had some comments like, why are these guys? They're a rock and roll band, but they're in different buckets of genres within rock and roll. And not many bands can do that and do it successfully. A lot of them try, and I think don't do as good of a job. And so listening to Ouch made me realize, it just brought me kind of full circle on The Hip's abilities and their skills and their talents and brought me to this kind of new level of fandomof thinking about that. [20:18] And like I imagine I have some friends from back in the day who are big time music guys and I imagine that what they would would think about listening to different types of songsby The Hip and how some who are not Hip fans might think it's kooky or why they're doing this. Or it's kind of out of a comfort zone. But listening to Ouch and going back to Road Apples and Born in the Water and songs like that, like it just, it brought me kind of, It completed the circle of thinking. [20:49] These guys are really talented they can do whatever they want to do they're they got the they got their driver's licenses they got the keys you know it's it's just like god what couldwhat can they not do at this point you know and the the song is we could talk about the song and all the aspects of it and gourd's growly singing and you know all the things but this onejust kind of it just kind of hit me full circle with the band and it made me think like at one point i was like thinking about you know in the u.s, raiders fans or fans of certain teams or youknow i bleed whatever i don't know it's all these stupid things of these allegiances to to cultural items and how, or genres or arts and how some people can be like, just so narrow within acategory of something that they really love and how, like, I don't know this. If you opened up your mind a little bit and accept things a little more, why are you hiring now? [22:04] Have more enjoyment. No, no, you can have more enjoyment. No, seriously, I had a moment with this song. Wow. Really fucking solidified why I like The Hip and why I could argue to the end of all day is about how they're fucking better than youtwo. How's that? Yeah. You know? Yeah. So there. That's what happened to me with this song. [22:29] That's far out. Probably led to so many video watchings because I was like, Like just give me more at a personal level of these guys. It's 9.53 in the morning for fuck's sake. It's not even 10. Can I wait till 10 to get high? 20 somewhere, baby. That's right. What about you, Pete? [22:52] Um, I, I dug this song. The only thing I, you know, can kind of gather that, you know. [23:00] I, I agree with Tim on, um, not that I disagree with him on what else he was saying. But you know, just kind of one of the points that he made was that this kind of brought it full circle. Like, I think when we started out with road apples, Tim and I were both kind of like,where are we going with this? And then even when we talked to Paul Ling Wah the other day, how he was, you know, we were talking about, you know, everybody has a different entry point to the hip, you know, westarted from the, from the very beginning. You know so maybe that wasn't our destined entry point, but it was the entry point nonetheless. And we kind of came back full circle because now we got this similar sound of what road apples was without and My only comments on the song itself, which I loved It just painted apicture And I'll read it to you It's 11 15 p.m, The bar is dirty and it's dingy the happy hour crowd has gone home drunk already The band's starting to get into its back catalog and angrytunes. And the close the bar down crowd has just showed up, you know. The guy with the pull cue in the fucking case, a couple of bar room hustlers, a couple of hot chicks that um... [24:29] That frequent the bar. Everybody showed up. Barkeep's getting surly. Barkeep is getting surly. [24:39] Everything about this band, this song, gave me the vibe like they're just up on stage playing and they don't give a fuck. They don't care. They've done it so many times, It's just, it's like muscle memory to them. And they're just, rock and roll is just fucking in their veins. And it's on display for everybody who's probably taking it for granted at the bar. It seems that way. Yeah. Yeah. Because Lord knows, I mean, I took Road Apples and that shit for granted. Did you guys go back to it? Like, after listening to this record, did you go back to Road Apples? To Road Apples, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, like to try and see what like to me I did the same thing and it was like it was to try and see where these songs would have fit in because like asmuch as it's new material we all have to understand too it's material that they felt wasn't up to snuff to make the actual record, right? Yeah, which is weird to me like but maybe it was just a time thing. Yeah, yeah. Because I thought the majority of these songs on this record were great. [25:51] Yeah. Yeah, I tend to agree with you. I enjoy it. It's not long enough to be offensive. Even if it was offensive, you know? You're in and you're out, and it's done. Yeah. What it did for me, I mean, I went back to Road Apples, but I also, again, went. [26:12] To video stuff like i hung out on youtube more with this one and pete it's funny you mentioned kind of a bar scene because the video for this song it's kind of all about a bar sceneit's it's a fun it's a really i didn't know there was the videos for a few yeah there's videos for a few of these yeah jay baruchel's in that video right ouch ouch is it yeah yeah ouch is a hootit's got like all these hidden nuggets through the video with references to other songs or albums. Yeah I think there was like 20 of them. It's a really good video. Yeah, yeah. It's a really, really good video. I watched it a couple times. Super interesting. Yeah, a lot of fun. So check that out. All right, let's move to Not Necessary. Not necessary. [27:01] Um, again, this is just like, I thought this song would have fucking cooked live. I mean, like, like most of the songs on this EP, just like pictured sweat just fucking pouring off of everybody's foreheads. And just, yeah, it was just a good time record, man. A good time tune. Chorus was super hooky, just like, had a great, like it did sound, the chorus sounded like it was, you know, crafted in that time. Like if you saw a TNC Surf t-shirt, somebody was wearing it walking down the street, you'd know what like year that kind of came from. I don't know if anybody remembers TNC Surf.Do you remember that company? Well, yeah. Yeah. Anyway, um, TNC Serpent Skate it was called. But yeah, it's just like, yeah, that would be, you'd know what era it was from. And definitely this song was a bit of just, they were justhaving such a fucking good time. It was kind of a window into their youth. Yeah, yeah, that's good call. Life on the road in the van, you can almost smell the inside of the van, stinky and, you know, sweaty and lived in. Yeah. How about you, Tim? [28:25] I agree with Pete on all that. I don't have much more on the song. I dug the song. I really no qualms about it. [28:37] This one I went faster to video. I hate to say that I just watched videos on all this shit, but I watched a lot of videos. And this one's cool. It's like bank robbery gone wrong. It's got a total plot, to it that somehow ties into the song. I haven't seen the video for this one. It's a really... Oh man, it's killer. Check that out. It's got a cliffhanger at the end. It's a fun video and I just... It really... I don't know, just after listening to so much music by these guys with cans and not having much visually other than some live stuff, like it was fun to find videos from this EP. So, definitely watch Ouch and watch Not Necessary. Great song. Right, we move next to the very solemn song about the École Polytechnique massacre that happened in the late 80s in Montreal, where a young man brutally murdered 14students and the Tragically Hip wrote a response to that it's very loosely based in that although it's bang on at the same time like there are lyrics in it that give you chills, you know? [30:05] But what did you think of Montreal, Tim? [30:11] It's a heavy one. I think I read that 27 people were shot, 14 died. You know, it's one of these songs that you could throw in a bucket by the hip that aren't something I reach for just because of the subject material. You know, it's like one of those heavy things that's Marked history and something uncomfortable and something that we we still deal with Every day, you know like the like a few othertheir songs in this this whole Tragedy, I don't know it's it's a It's you know our Mind may be privileged to listen to it and feel unsettled and move on and put it in a drawer You know,because it's fucking tough history and a tough topic and all the things. And yeah, it's also like, I commend The Hip for and Gord for writing it and them playing it live. Like it's this song is brave, it takes courage and I don't know, I just I don't have a lot of music, just actual tune. Sure. Comments about it, just because it's like, you know? [31:40] Because, I mean, just also being in the USA, I mean, we deal with this stuff all the time. So it's just like, you know, it's probably a song that everybody should hear and play. [31:55] Let me just tell a quick little anecdote before we come to you Pete. I remember my friend Jeff who was older than me and he drove to Toronto for a show, a hip show at the old Ontario Place Forum and I remember him coming back and saying there's thissong called Montreal I think it's going to be on the next record like it was so great like and I got to hear it again And this is back in the day when you just couldn't hear it again. That was it. He heard it and that was his memory of it. And that's the end. He didn't get to hear it again until years later. You hear traces of it on Live Between Us during Courage, I believe. They start singing the tail end of Montreal. Pete, what did you think of this live version? I really liked it. I did. I thought it was very haunting. Those little, you know, cool guitar licks. Those little, you know, I think they're arpeggios or something. And then when the chorus just switches over to a major, it's like a, you know, beautiful. [33:12] What's the way it kind of puts into a happier space, but then it just gets dark again. It was just a bit of a seesaw feeling, this song, but it's definitely something that I, again, I mean, I don't know if it was because of it was a live version, but, you know, I would probably, if Iheard the studio version of this tune, I would want to hear it live too, because it was really a really pretty song, but it was, Because of the six songs on this record. [33:45] I would say it was, you know, I would say it was not my favorite, but I really liked it. I think just because it starts off so heavy. Yeah. Record, you know? Yeah. So. All right. No. JD, if you checked out JD, I guess there's a DVD of that show at the Metropolis. Oh really? That's available, yeah, there's a DVD that's available for free, like via the Hip Fans webpage. I haven't gone back to checking that. Yeah, you might. Check that out, because that sounds pretty awesome. There's some fan... They don't tend to give things away very often. There's some fan footage that... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, there's some fan footage that somebody produced a DVD. Oh, wow. Okay. Well if you're interested in the 7-inch of Montreal, we have an autographed copy of the 7-inch of Montreal and it'll be at the silent auction of the event so that's kind offun. That's a fun one. Yeah, and I should note it's auctioned by the four living members of the band. Like it's not a complete, you know, Gord is not on there. But you get all the living members of the band and that's pretty fucking cool. You get Pete, Tim and JD to sign it too. That's right. That was a joke because it'll be devalued if that happens. [35:14] So we flip the record over and we get the fucking electric, crack my spine like a whip. [38:30] This song fucking melts, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah. [38:35] You know, this is the one, this is the one that Johnny Faye was like, it has an ending too. This was the one he was so psyched about. This is over here in my notes, I'm finally getting on that. And this is the song that led me to ask Paul about he and Baker's guitar playing and he noted how they're who was it Dan Smith Don Smith who also makes this yeah how he channeledthem yeah how he channeled them and put one in the left and one of the right and the hard pan yeah so this song made me yeah the hard pan this song made me realize I don't know it wasit It was a complete picture in my brain of what these guys were doing on guitar. And I even said to Paul, I tried to get into it a little bit, but I would love to talk to him in person about it. But this song, Paul on guitar, he's just got the, just reminds me of 80s power guitar chords, just like Ramones and 80s bad religion. And he's just going through it. It's like he's the fucking locomotive of this song, which also ties in with Pete so many times, how you've said how Paul and Johnny are like a unit unlike any other, cause it's usually drumsand the bass player, you know? [40:02] But these guys have such an interesting compositional makeup within each other, you know? This song to me, like, it kind of personified their abilities And, you know, they're I don't know, just this this song is killer. I just loved it. I listened to it so many times, so many times. It's just killer. Good one. Good song. Yeah. Thanks. Thank you, Don Smith. I mean, you you nailed it with these guys not being rhythm and lead or lead and rhythm. You nailed it with these guys being guitarists. So just let it ride. [40:39] Well, I thought this song it fucking cooked. I mean, I don't have much to say about it, other than the fact that, um, I, you know, to your point, Tim, to add on to it, I think it was more than just Paul and Johnny, I think, Paul, Johnny,Gord, and Rob Baker, are all like, on stage in a fucking musical orgy. And strangely enough, I feel like Gord is in background of the song. He's not a I mean he's there but I wouldn't call him the star of the show for this song. That fucking band like just stepped in front. Gord's like you know in the back like, you know, Maybe changing Johnny's fucking crash cymbal because he broke it so many times duringthe song. He's there and it's good and not trying to take away from Gord's vocals, but the band just fucking destroys this song. You could tell they were having a blast when they recorded it. Hands down. They just take over, you know? Yeah. So yeah, good song. [41:56] One of the YouTube videos on this, I just went back to it. They're called the Saskadelphia Minutes. And there's like five or six episodes, but not all of them are posted. But there is a one minute, they're all short, there is a one minute version of our video for this song just as well. And it's got some fun live footage of the guys. is one thing I think Baker was talking about in a video is how a lot of these songs they did play live and he didn't really have many answersor questions about like why didn't they make it or where did they go or what happened you know he was just like we had a lot of songs and he one cool takeaway of these songs inparticular and just as well was that they didn't rehearse much He spoke at length about how they didn't rehearse much and they road-tested new songs. He said often they'd come out and whatever new song they were working on, they'd play first. Like that was their warm-up, was road-testing a song. And like bands don't do that. Like nobody does that. You know what I mean? It's like you play first base for whatever. [43:16] And coach is like, hey, you're going out, move to left field. And it's like, OK, I'll play left field. I think I can do this. And it's just gnarly what these guys were capable of. It's pretty awesome. And just to back up to our last pod, it's about the absolute opposite of what Mr. Bob Rock these guys do one. You know? It really is. It's like if they could go out and road test a song, first show, the first song of the night. Yeah. Phew. you, Yeah, rather than work on something for a couple ofmonths. It's I think road testing was the way to go. That's the unique gift there to us as listeners and fans. You got to just see your favorite band jam. [44:09] And sometimes they'd come up with something, and you're just like, wow, what is that? I got to hear that. Like my friend with Montreal. Yeah. You know? And then when. Yeah. Yeah, Baker said, you know, we played 200 plus shows a year. We knew each other. We know each other. We're all best friends. We could do it. We could just sit down and figure something out. And if we liked it, we'd go do it. Goddamn. What a gift those guys had. So you merged into Just As Well there, Tim. We were talking about Crack My Spine Like a Whip, and you've brought it into Just as Well, so should we stick with Just as Well for Pete? Or do you have more to say about Just as Well? [44:55] I mean only about picking scabs. All right. Yeah. Because that's the line in Just as Well. For the love of Pete. It's going to keep getting infected. It's going to keep getting infected if you keep picking at it. Oh, Pete, they knew. Yeah, right, right. Sure they did. I love the ready Bruce right at the beginning. That was fun. [45:23] Hmm. This was one I genuinely was like, what the fuck? Why is why was this not on the record? Oh, wow. This was. Hmm. Hundred percent. Hundo. This was probably my favorite tune on the record. Got a lot of Stones vibes. Yeah. I mean, super big. Everything from the guitar tone to just the song itself, just rolling stones. Yeah. And I don't know, man, the more it ebbs and flows because, excuse me, the longer I listen to this band, the more I just understand each and every member, because specifically thissong, Gord Sinclair's bass stands out so much because it follows, I think, Rob Baker's guitar licks. And it just, yeah, what a talented fucking band, man. At this stage in the game they were. [46:31] You know, yeah, what do you, I mean, what a fucking jam. What do you want me to say about the song just cooks dude you know the hook turn around it's just it's so good it's a pop tune, rock pop tune fucking formulaic yeah it is a good one it is agood formula right like it's like original coca-cola it's like it's a formula but it's it works it's it's yeah but there's a lot there's a lot of coke out there there's a lot of soda there's rc there's youknow there's shasta There's that store-bought shit, but this is original fucking recipe, man. This is, maybe even a little savour original. [47:13] Listen to that rolling R's. You like that? Yeah. So, the next one is... [50:44] I just thought, let's go get in the car and go for a drive, you know. It's just reminded me of like my teenage years as a Catholic youth and having a driver's license. I literally had a time in my life and it was like with that summer where I was to go to church and I would just pick up my buddy Dave and we'd drive around for an hour and smokecigarettes and go back home. How was church? It was great. That's what this reminded me of. [51:13] But again, it made me think about the band and the various aspects of rock and roll they could go after, which, you know, we have in our time, you know, we had The Stones whocould do that. We had Zeppelin who could do that. Maybe Queen. Definitely The Beatles. You know, there aren't many bands who can go after kind of different aspects of rock and roll and do it really well and still remain respected and still keep, you know, selling out stadiumsacross Canada or whatever. But this song, it's huge. It hits the two-minute mark and it felt like it could kind of be done or not, and it just keeps going and that's awesome, you know. [51:53] Yeah, I just, it's got like a 15-second fade out. That works for you, doesn't it? And it's cool. Oh my God. I mean, this is this is a killer song. It's the live versions of this song are amazing. This song live is yeah, that's what I'm saying to you. It's alive. It's it's a cooker. It's out there live. I don't know, man. I mean, yeah, I mean, I'm sure I have no doubt that the song cooks live, but you cannot debate that the song does not cook on the fucking studioversion. Because Because it's, it's, I mean, dude, it, it's, this song, if it was like, it's a, it's another bar brawl. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, everything is so filthy, dirty, the guitars, gourds, gourds, who's, you know, Cheers. [52:46] There used to be this bar, nobody knows where this town is, it's in Cedar County, Missouri, near Stockton, it's about 70 miles from, Jesus, where would you fly, what's the gamblingtown where they got the riverboat? It's a shithole town, apologies if you're from there. Oh, God, Branson, it's about 75 miles from Branson, yeah. [53:16] And Cedar County, a town called Jericho Springs, I can't remember the name of it, but everybody called it the Purple Unicorn, because there was a purple unicorn out front. And this was a bar where like you would, 90% of the jukebox would be Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, and that's it. Nothing else. You wouldn't you would not find anything else on there. And this band would like maybe, you know, be staying in town and play a show there. And it would just the place would erupt in a ballroom, ballroom brawl, cops, which cop cars blackand whites all over. Fucking people getting fucking taken out of their Bottles getting broken over people's fucking heads. Then them just fucking smoking a cigarette. The only way I would want to hear this song live would be with at least a fifth of Jim Beam in me or some shitty whiskey. Not even Jack Daniels, just some shit whiskey. I do like this song. [54:27] It's a barroom brawler too. That's awesome. Yeah. And that's how the record ends. That's, you know, as far as we know, that's all the hip we're gonna get. And that puts us in a position to pick our last song for our playlists. You guys each get to pick a song and it'll be the last song in your playlist and you'll debut your playlists at the last episode. So in the proper order that they belong in and everybody will get to see your playlists. What are you choosing? Well, I know I said before that Just As Well was probably my favorite tune, but then I'm taking that back because I just painted that picture in my head so well. I would say Reformed Baptist Blues, man. Oh, wow. That's gonna be it. Yeah, 100%, dude. That song is fuckin'. [55:32] You know like where they get the guy and they throw the guy on the bar and they fucking they shovel him down the bar and he slides and he breaks a bunch of glasses and his headgoes into the jukebox like that's this song and the band's still playing they're still finishing the song because if they stop playing they don't get paid exactly exactly Cool cues gettingbroken over people's fucking heads. What about you Tim? What's your track? I love that song. Yeah, I love that song as well, but I'm going with Crack My Spine. I love the guitar. Yeah, I love the guitars in that one. They're rhythmical like a whip. That song did it for me. Well, your lists are now complete. I will send them to you so you guys can sequence them and maybe you do that on the plane ride over. Who knows? You'll listen to it to see if it works. [56:31] But that's what I've got for you. I want to thank you as always for doing all the heavy fucking lifting and listening to the music, having to describe it, answering my stupid assquestions, all that shit. Guys are fucking gold to me and I can't wait to see you next week and uh, and share you with the world so there's that peace out guys peace out see you in canada pick up your thanks Itwas... It was... You stepped on my fucking line. Fuuuck you Tim how could you? Pick up your shit! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, join hosts Pete and Tim along with special guest Dan as they dissect and analyze the Tragically Hip's 2012 record, "Now For Plan A". They dive into the musical journey, reliving their first experiences and evolving impressions over multiple listens. From highlighting the unique elements of each song to the lyrics and influences behind them, no detail is too small. They examine the guest vocals of Sarah Harmer in 'Look Ahead' and the Rolling Stones-esque 'Modern Spirit', exploring the musical and lyrical details. Listen in as they debate the meaning of the lyrics in 'Take Forever' and uncover the mysterious 'About this Map'. A treat for any Tragically Hip fan, this episode is a deep dive into the iconic band's musical journey.TracksAbout this Map - Studio VersionMan Machine Poem - Toronto 2012Streets Ahead - Ottawa 2011Take Forever - Toronto 2012TranscriptTrack 3:[2:51] Hey, it's JD here, and welcome to Getting Hip to the Hip. [2:54] A weekly podcast where I take my friends on a whirlwind tour of the Tragically Hips discography, one record at a time, week over week. And that is the case with this week, as we're discussing 2012's Now for Plan A, the 12th studio record from the Tragically Hip. I'm joined as always by Pete and Tim, and we've also got Dan from London here. How the hell are you guys doing? Oh good, oh good. Excellent. Well, after that, hold on, let me look at my segment guide here. Uh, introduction, rousing response from the gentlemen. Yep. Check. [3:53] Now we'll move on to the next segment, which is, uh, experience with this record. This is a coming off of, we are the same, a record, which was, uh, roundly dismissed by these two gentlemen, uh, a week ago, Dan, um, it was one that It was one that was not well liked. So we're hoping we've got a comeback on our, in the mids tier. It happens. Bye bye. Pete and Tim Burse, talk to me about where you listened to the record the first time, how you experienced it on multiple listens, and overall vibeage off the top. And then we'll fire it over to you, Dan, to get a similar reaction. Well, I listened to it in multiple places. Listened to it first, I think, I think, working, sitting at the computer, listening to it in the home stereo system, listening to it in the car. [5:02] I love the record. I don't want to say too much because I think we're going to get into a lot of it. But only thing I will say, and in all due respect, I don't want to come off harsh here, but fuck you, Dan, right off the bat, Because you've had this record for some time, and we got a weekto soak it in. A week. Let me tell you, a week wasn't even enough. I mean, I could soak this record in for a year. That's all I'm going to say. I'll agree with that. With all due respect, but I can't fuck you down. Like, with all due respect. Thank you. We had a week with it. We had a week with it. I feel like we had a lifetime with We Are The Same. But we only had a week with Now for Plan A. And I felt a little rushed to let it resonate, but every time I turned it on. [6:00] I don't know. I don't want to say it felt like the first time, but it just clicked with me. There are some good tunes on here that we'll get it. We'll get it. We'll get into it. But I listen to it my usual places. Usual places. I listen to it more, I guess, excitedly with my better headphones on around the house, which always makes for, where's dad? Oh, he's right there. but he's not here. So I, you know, because I wanted to hear it in its entirety. And I can only really do that in the car or with the cans on. So yeah, that was kind of my experience. It was quick for a quick album, right? Yeah, the fastest record in their oeuvre at like 39 minutes or so. And only two singles as well. That was shocking to me as well. Which were those? I didn't think they were at transformation was the first single. Of course. And hold on. I've got it right here. [7:09] Streets ahead. Cool. Cool. Any feedback from Spotify? Did any of you guys look at Spotify? Like where the play counts were? Yeah. I mean, I think that's definitely up there. there. So is, so is that transformation and, and I think the title track. Okay, gee, I just want to get transformation. Judy, do you use the term oeuvre a lot? And I pause it to think that you use that term a lot because it rhymes with your last name and the production company that this that is gifting us with this here podcast oeuvre. Yeah, yeah, that's what it Is that why? It's my last name. [8:00] And Ouvra combined without the D. Yeah, and it's because it's all my work, right? It's my collection of work Right is do. Yeah, so so you don't like the D is what you're saying Hey now Pete told me he thought it might be a extra terrestrial Anatomy that he's not aware of Dan, Dan, he actually said this is thisis this somebody part that I didn't learn Dan's regretting joining this podcast. Dan, what are you, like, well I want to hear from Dan, I want to know what, he's had a wild time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well listen with this whole thing I'm just along for the ride, you know. I'll let you guys play out in front of me. Um, no, um, yeah, as you say I was really lucky because it was after the last one I was on that I learned that this was the next one I was going to beon. So I had some considerable amount of time and also time to purchase Jan's album and get it imported from Germany I think. [9:09] So I had a real binge at first because I think it's a pretty easy album to get into. There's a, there's a couple of tracks that sort of, you kind of misplace, you know, in the order along the way for various reasons, but, um, I've, I was just listening to on my way to work. So that was always, you know, whilst traveling on the train, um, and, uh, and I had, I had good times of it and I had it all prepared what I was going to say. Um, because it was many months ago, I then moved on and got busy and did different things, forgot it all. And then spent today binge listening and making notes again. So I'm actually catching up with you guys now, which is typical. What can I say? I mean, that represents our week with this album. [9:57] Oh, that's great. Dan's last visit was Trouble at the Hidden House, right? So he's had a couple of good ones. Which we also have in the collection now. Nice. Awesome. Look at that.All right. Look at that guy. Well, what do you say we start this, Son of a Gun, then? We get in, turn the keys, and see where we end up. All right. Analysis of the first song, "At Transformation"[10:16] The first song, we start in with this cancer metaphor right off the bat with At Transformation. Can I go? Sure. This one, I was so happy hearing the first seconds of this song coming off of our last album's experience. [10:39] This one was so fun for me. I was relieved to hear this song. I played it three times before I went on with the album. Literally, just like, OK, let's do that one again. OK, let's do that one again. It's just so I mean you can feel I don't know the, the bass is on fire in this song. You can feel Gord when he does the you know after that transformation towards the kind of the end. I feltthat coming. You knew the woo was coming, right? I don't know, it just... Context aside, it's a killer song and even the The outro loops back everything about the intro. It just was this circle of a song I felt like just could have been a single, been done. OK. Yeah. Great starter. There's some weird, on this album, there's definitely some playfulness with song endings, with distortion and feedback and keys and synthesizers or something, which this one kind ofgives us that first taste of. So I was happy to hear it. Played 128 times live. 128 times live. So they played this one a bit. How about you, Dan? [12:04] I mean, my second favorite track on the album. Yeah. I mean, as soon as that sort of distorted bass kicks in, you know you're in for a bit of a ride. And again, similar to other tracks that we were looking at when I was last in on the Hen House, this does similar things where you've got that not quite, you've got a really good bridge andthen a not quite a chorus, but then it comes in the second time with the, you know, that transformation bit. Well, the I can see it all at once and that transformation bit, and then that bass takes off and does its thing and it just, man, it just takes off. And as we say, it just dissipates into this weird sort of sonic, mad sort of ending. And similar to the start, it's like after that bass is there, the guitars kind of come in in some kind of informal manner, and then it just, bang, picks up when he starts singing the verse. So it's a banger. Yeah, absolutely. Listen to it again and again and again and again and again. [13:04] Contextually, it's weird. I second-guess myself a lot, not just to this song, Especially with the song though, but with the whole record I say because Tim alluded to it a little bit. Dan doesn't have the context of last week's record So I'm like is this fucking record is amazing as I think it is? Or is it, it's like, hey, I've been living in a, you know. In a faraway prison eating rice and stale bread for three years and now I'm sitting down at fucking Ruth Chris, Steakhouse and you know eating a. [13:59] Filet mignon medium rare with a bottle of uh It just comes in like a beat and a half before. It's fucking cool. I'm just looking at the notes. So long, Bob Rock. A Welcome Back to Tragically Hip[14:21] There's a lot of that in these notes, the bass, guitars, chords, voice throughout this entire record. This is just a welcome back, Tragically Hip. [14:37] One thing that I thought of when I was listening to it was I pictured in my mind the whole band on stage playing this song after maybe being through some shit for a while and likeyou know 45 seconds into this tune everybody just looks over at each other and like they don't say shit they don't have to say shit they just say everything with their eyes and they look ateach other and just smile and are just like yep welcome back Welcome fucking back. I mean, what a return. I mean, yeah, I just feel like we drifted so much from last week, again, that listening to this first song was awesome. Loved it. At the same time, you know, in my research and reading about Gord's wife and her breast cancer and him dealing with that and that kind of being a thread through this album, I believe.It's... BOOM! [15:45] You know, it was exciting, listened for me and I love this first song, but at the same time, it's like, oh, fuck. We all in our own ways, our own stories, our own experiences can relate to cancer and probably even breast cancer. And we have a good friend who just went through it all the way and just a couple of days ago found out she was cancer free. So. Oh, wow. You know, this is Gord's. Yeah. Gord's wife, you know, came out. Yeah. In the end and it didn't take her, which is fucking cool, but you know, to read, I don't know, there's one quote, just to get into it real quick. There's one quote from him, um, from Gordon. He says, many of these songs are me trying to help, you know, through the process, mutely the way a man does around breast cancer. So it's, it's some, some heavy conceptual. Oh my God. Themes here going on. But even straight, even straightforward though, I was unaware that a transformation is the term, the medical term for a cell going from malignant tocancerous. That's called a transformation. So that's what, you know, the title of the song is, right? Yeah. Heavy, heavy stuff. And then we move into man-machine. [17:07] Poem. A Bold Statement: My Favorite Hip Song[20:44] I'll tell you. Yeah, I'm going to say right off the bat, I'm going to make a bold statement. This may be my favorite hip song. Oh, wow. I mean, I didn't I. Tim, I'm telling you the whole thing. I was like mourning sort of Tiger the Lion for a minute in a weird way because I was just. I mean, I don't know what to say about this song. Yeah, Yeah, it's cinematic, JD, but it's just so different. And it's funny, because your whole thing that you just said was it's such a return to form. And while it is, it's still melodically nothing like I've heard from the hit before. That when it gets that minor four, that man, it trickles down. Howard's Strained Voice and Unique Guitar Tone[21:37] It's amazing. Howard's voice is like, I feel like he's straining it on purpose. It just sounds like he's screaming, singing with every fiber of his body. And when he gets to the end of a phrase or a word or a breath, it's like, you know, it's out of gas and he's got to take a breath to recharge and say the next line. One thing I thought of when I heard this, the guitar tone on this song is forged from something not of this earth. I don't know what, and there's a lot of really cool effects on this record, but I just don't know what that is. And I don't know if they remember, if they know how they got it, but it just... The keyboards hit in this song too. Like there were so many keyboards in the last record that I think Tim and I and JD as well felt were squandered, overused. [22:45] Like this was just. Did you gotta, you gotta write, you gotta write to Gavin Brown, the producer. I bet he'll know you should. Oh, I mean, you're, you're talking about effects, settings, everything, all the mix to make that sound the way it did just Jesus dude it was wow what a song what a song. [23:11] So this was played at their last show, right? At Air Canada Center, August 14, 2016. Wasn't that it? K-Rock Center is their last show, which was the 16th, I think. Ah. Or the 18th. Either way, towards the end, this was played, and I can't imagine. I mean, did people know Gord had cancer? They did, right? Sure did. Before the end. Yeah. So I just can't imagine hearing this one live, because it's, you know, originally about his wife. And yes him talking about her having cancer and it turns out, you know I just when I heard this and put it all together I just thought this probably just made people cry towards the endwhen he was singing this song when you sorry That's exactly what I is one other thing I put my if I would have seen this song live it would have crushed me it would have physicallyFucking crushed me Yeah, I Mean the the metaphor of the Abbas it and the Peregrine Falcon. [24:13] I mean you're talking a ballerina of a gentle long skinny legged bird versus a fucking Falcon which will swoop down and you know steal a Chipmunk or a squirrel or chicken oranything? You know, there's just the the position in this song is just just so big and heavy. And the first time I listened to it was in the car, and it was just like, you want to scream along with him, the chorus, but I just couldn't do it. And then at the end, it's like this bomb going off. The end is just as explosive as the middle of the song. So. Yeah. I mean, the song, at the end of that transformation, after you've gone through that weird little sporadic, you know, sonic soundscape thing, you get that little percussive knocking,you know, and it's, it's like a little sort of artificial heartbeat. And then, you know, you track that in and it starts the song and then it's there at the end as well. After the everything, you know, that big chord goes away. It's it comes back into that as well. Um, but also within that as well. Um, I mean, Pete was talking about guitars, but there's, there's, there's so much like weird tambourine stuff going on in it amongst all things as well. So that was good. But I mean, man, yeah, what a huge song. And then. [25:40] Yeah. I mean, I say that the, the, the, the chorus is huge, even though it's just three words, absolutely massive. And, um, you know, God singing, as we were saying, it's just the, the first verse just starts off with this kind of declaration, doesn't it? And it's a kind of desperate declaration and it just sort of, yes, this attacking desperation in his voice sort of carries on from there. It's yeah. It was the same. It's just not like anything I've heard before. That was amazing delivery. Yeah. And those lyrics, crazy. Now, Pete, I want to go back to something that you said about, you know, this being something we've never heard before. I feel like this is a band that even on the records that we didn't necessarily like, they do that every record. They, you feel like they're touching the edge of their capabilities and you know, they're sort of, they're sort of, you know, whoa, they're sort of out there, this record, but you can do, youcan go all the way back to Road Apples and say that about Last of the Unplugged Gems, you know, well, this is sort of, uh, out of, out of left field, it doesn't necessarily fit on this record. And then, you know, uh, we are the same. You could say that about the Depression Suite, right? Like holy shit, who knew they had this opus in them? [27:07] So I'm just curious, you know, if you vibe what I'm saying. Yeah, no, it's a good point, JD. And I think the component here that I feel is different, because I agree with you, especially you on the last record, we are the same. And you could you could tick along to every record since. And there's an element of that on there. But Tim said something in the beginning of the pod. I can't remember exactly how you said it, but what I had the feeling that I got was like this record being about his wife and all thatstuff. It's one thing to be elaborate. [27:55] It's one thing to show up to a party or whatever wearing the coolest outfit or dress or suit or whatever. [28:09] But it's another thing if you wear it well. And what I mean by that in terms of this song is that you can feel that there's a feeling behind It's not just, hey, we're going to go fuckingbig and elaborate because, I, don't know, name a hundred reasons why the hip would go big and elaborate. Probably the most used excuse would be that they want to break through the American market. Whatever. That's not what's going on here. This is like organic as hell. Everything about this song. They're going big and elaborate on this tune because they don't have any other choice. They're like, this is the fucking song that's coming out of all of us right now. [28:54] Yeah, it's elaborate. I'm just, this is the song. Fucking take it or leave it. If that makes sense, JD. It's that difference, I feel. OK, gotcha. Well, in the car with this one cranked, I just thought, imagine being in the recording studio with these guys and everybody's kind of listening to Gord belt this one out. Or Idon't know. This song is just a gigantic one. So for song number two, following that transformation to get into this, if we want to jump ahead to the look ahead. I mean, this gave us just a, we shifted gears a little bit and got a little more lighthearted with the look ahead. [29:41] I thought the song packed a punch under three minutes. It's quick. So the bass and the guitars seem a little more in tandem on this one. If I remember right, there's like left riffs throughout. But for me, the lyrics of you weigh a snowflake, the glamour of the sky descending past perfect eyes and hearts leaped. That's just... Poof. I am the look ahead. I first searched it as the look ahead three words and you know couldn't find shit until I realized look ahead was one word and then learned that that means awesomeyou know like I'll say Dan and JD have fucking look ahead shirts on today we Pete and I didn't get the memo where to wear pavement shirts but that that's that's the phrase The text wasnot sent. The Look Ahead: A Beautiful and Uplifting Tragically Hip Song[30:47] Yeah. I don't know. What about you, Dan? What do you think? I think the Look Ahead is my favorite Tragically Hip song by a long shot. And as we were saying, it's just because of those choruses, those words that just hang over between the lines. It's just beautiful. It's just absolutely beautiful. It just does something so amazing to make you feel fantastic. [31:17] That's it, man. If I'm having a bad day, I could stick that on and that's me. Yeah, because I just quickly mentioned that it felt more light-hearted, but I also thought this one is still fucking full of of juice, you know, it's still, I don't know, this is kind of felt like thisgreat tragically hip rock song, but it's it's loaded. And it's under three minutes. So yeah, it's, yeah, I say it just it comes and goes. But as it comes along, it's just magnificent. You know, you can't say more than that. It's just it's fully formed. And this was one of the ones that I just started listening to it. You know, you'd start at the start and the start is just so different to what it evolves into. And you keep thinking you've got the wrong song, but that start section only lasts about 20 odd seconds before it just everything kicks in. And it just, you know, it's one of those songs that you just can't say that much about. It just is what it is. It does what it does to you. And you just recognize that and it's unstoppable. Yeah, it's cool. Yeah, I would, I tend to agree with you. [32:26] It's a banger for sure. Wouldn't be my favorite Tragically Hip song, but it would make my top 20 list, probably. But boy, oh boy, we haven't really commented on the backing vocals of Sarah Harmer in this one. Pete, what did you think about Ms. Harmer's addition to this song? Well, question, is she on the other tunes on this record as well? Or is it somebody different? Yes. Okay. Well, I want to get up. I'm going to kind of save that if that's okay for some other songs. All I'll say about this is that it's crazy. I love that Dan feels it's his favorite tune, because I feel like this song is like, it is formulaic, tragically hip. Yeah, I agree. It's not just like, there's some songs that you feel like it's, yeah, exactly, exactly. There's some songs you feel like, oh yeah, this is a hip tune. But it's not just that, it's fucking great. [33:35] And you know, generally with their records, they come out with two or three bangers to start and they kind of like, or ones that just jaw drop you. And then song three or song four, they just pull it back a little bit. And I feel like in terms of the, they take off the throttle. It's not as crazy. But melodically, this song is just, I mean, you can't not put this song on and enjoy the shit out of it. Like it's a surefire. You know? Yeah, Dan hit the nail on the head. Nail on the head. He's like, if I'm having a bad day, I put this song on and it, you know, helps turn it around for me. I completely agree. [34:24] I read a critique of this song about it being too simple or less prolific or, you know, there are even some other critiques of the album citing the lyrics to be not as complex or, youknow, less poetic. All these kind of harsh critiques. Yeah, fucked. For real, they're out there. I can't even believe that. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And it just made me like this album more, you know, this. This song in particular, it's like, I couldn't agree with you more, Pete. Under three minutes, it just totally packs a punch. It's sure a hip song, but fuck, it's killing it. This is a top five record for me. I figured. Hands down. [35:13] Yeah, yeah. Hence our special guest. Anybody else, anything else to say about The Lookahead featuring Sarah Harmer. Okay, then we go right into the really heavy We Wanna Be In. I don't have a lot on this one, just because it's fucking huge, you know? Like, the drip, drip, drip stayed in my head for days. [35:38] It's so impactful. This is just a fucking loaded song. It was played towards the end of their career live as well, and it was just another one of of those where it was like, what was this like? I think this one was the same show I mentioned, Air Canada Center. So what was it like to hear this in that state of the career of this band and Gord's life? [36:05] Yeah, and I was there for one of the shows at the Air Canada Center. The first one, I can look up what the set list is, what the setlist was, but so can anybody who's listening to this right now. Yeah. A bunch of these, I think half of these songs on this album were played at those last shows of this album. I think it's like four or five songs off of those last shows. Four songs peralbum. And then I selected, you know, six albums a night to play. So, you know, that's, So even if you went to all three nights at the Arcanda Center, you probably didn't get repeats. Um, cool. Yeah. So, I mean, and this is guys just wait, just wait, just wait for the documentaries. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. It's crazy town. Crazy town USA. Yeah. So... [37:09] We Want To Be It, Giant Song, You're Right, The Drip Drip Drip. Did you get it right away? For me, it took a bunch of listens before I was like, oh, that's fucking, that's fucking chemo. Yeah, I got it. My mind went to morphine first, but I got it. Oh, morphine. Oh, okay. Maybe that's what it is. Something. I was thinking it was probably chemotherapy. [37:36] I mean, for me, I didn't know anything about the context of this album until just before we started recording, which obviously puts a completely different slant on it for me. So I'minterpreting this as we go along as well. I mean, yeah, an amazing song, absolutely huge. But at the bottom of the page, at the bottom of the lyrics in the album, it says for Alan Arkin and Madeline Khan. And, um, they were in a film together, 1980 called Simon. Anybody seen that where, um, yeah, this is, this is what I came across. So, uh, in this film, Alan Arkin plays a guy who, um, the psychology professor, he gets brainwashed and, um, basically by this company and they, uh, they persuade him that he's from adifferent planet and he escapes from them and attempts to reform American culture by overriding TV signals with a high-powered TV transmitter, becoming a national celebrity in theprocess. But also in that film, he's trying to break this record as well for being a sensory deprivation tank for 80 hours. So I don't know how it relates, but that's something that I found out in relation to this. The Mystery in the Song[38:57] Yeah That is totally crazy because again that means Maybe there was one line in that song that is about that or maybe there's a whole theme. It's you know I don't see it or hear it, but Doesn't mean it's not there. There's there's some I don't I don't know what the relationship is there, but that's that's on the page. Yeah, very strange. So we all need to watch that film anyway, yeah. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah, when you said that they convince him that he's from another planet, it reminded me of the movie Joe versus the Volcano. I don't know if you ever saw that movie with Tom Hanksand Meg Ryan. It was a bomb at the theaters, but they convinced him that he has something called a brain cloud, like a cancer, but he's going to die. So they get him to jump into this volcano. It's the craziest fucking movie. [39:56] But it reminded me of that. No, I, yeah, this song is, it's huge. There's a bridge part in this song and. You know, my feelings with bridge, it's either good or it's not. Or actually, no, it's either standard, and you're like, OK, that's the bridge. OK. Or it's total shit. And you're just like, man, that just threw the whole fucking tune off. This is a good bridge. I like it. I love it. There's a third layer, you're saying. Yeah, and very few bands are able to pull it off. [40:36] I feel like when you're writing the standard pop song, it's just like there's a formula of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, you know, whatever, and bands fall right into it. It's just like this thing that happens and it didn't happen here. And I love it, man. mean, I, I would say this is maybe my third, I don't know, third or fourth best song on this record, because there's just so many good ones. Don't give away the final segment. [41:16] Well, I kind of already gave my whole segment, but but oops, No, if we're going to move ahead to the next street, we'll see what I did. I'm Ted. Yeah, thank you. Ted's just like, you're a fucking idiot, dude. It's just like, you're a fucking idiot, dude. I know. Introduction to the thread of fuzz in the record[44:41] His head is definitely... So this is the first song where I noticed the thread of fuzz in this record. Because then after this, it's wildly apparent on every song. This fuzz and this distortion, it's like a static that's there on every track after this. Incredible Musicianship: Bass and Drums Shining[45:06] The bass, Gordon Sinclair's bass for this one. I know we talked about it taking off in the look ahead, but I really just, it just off the charts, the licks he's throwing. The drums too, the drums are fucking killing it right there. Absolutely. The drum fills. Thank you, Tim. Yeah, I, this must have been, I actually wrote down, holy macaroni, because it just, it just feels like this song, They're hitting on all cylinders. At this point, it's like the car is going. You've gotten to fifth gear and the car is just brrrrrr. [45:50] It's humming along. You can go faster, you can slow it down a little bit. Still in fifth gear, engine is just humming perfect. The car has just been serviced. Oil's changed. Everything's great. 160 or anything going like 150 and it just feels good Yeah, and it feels the same 100% Thank You Tim That's what I got to say about I'll retrieve my Statement a minuteago about the look-ahead meaning. I totally blew it. It's the streets ahead which means cool or awesome So my bad there. Yeah, Streets Ahead, if you wanna say, you know. Oh, okay. Pete's new do is Streets Ahead, he's there. I did get a haircut, thank you for noticing. Oh, Streets Ahead, okay, okay. Well, Look Ahead then, Look Ahead has significance. Look Ahead is something that was said between Gord's wife and him. And it was like sort of what they would say to each other. [46:57] Yeah, I did as well. God, I'm just hacking this up like a big, it's a perfect piece of meat. I've just hacked it into tartare. You cooked it well done. Which is, you know, tartare's delicious, but not, you know, the way I did it. Yeah, it was like all good kind of thing. It was her look, you know, to him as if everything's going to be okay. Yeah. So streets ahead, different. Means awesome. It means really cool. This one I thought it kind of kicked off. It reminded me of Elvis Costello or the Kinks. Kind of had this loud, like, late, I don't know, mid-70s rock kind of love-slash-anthem sound to it. It felt like it could end around two minutes, but there's a bridge and then it takes another lap, which is great because it's still a short song. But it really felt like it just brought me back to, I don't know, middle school and hearing the kinks and those times. It has this crazy, ominous 20-second ending, over 20 seconds, Like, this one's the best. Yeah. I got to give kudos to Gavin Brown, because he really let the band explore intros, outros. Live Experience: Fans' Regret for Missing Their Live Shows[48:23] They got more creative on this album in general. Yeah, I think it makes it harken back to that live sound that we all crave so much with this band, sorry to say, what you guys havebeen saying the last few weeks about like, oh man, I wish I could have seen them live. That's what a lot of people are saying right now. There are a lot of people in that camp. They were renowned for their live show, absolutely. I wonder how many people listening to right now are late to the fucking, got came to the party really late. It's like, Hey, punch bowls empty. There's fucking no K left. And they're just talking to people. Yeah. You know, I never got to see the fucking family. Please send Pete a mail at Pete at getting hip to the hip.com. Yeah. There, there was a blurb from Gord giving some journalists a quick, ah, it's about, dog sledding. [49:35] And that was that's all I gave so who the fuck knows with that guy? I mean, I would love to have been in Gord shoes during interviews because he was all over the place from things I've read. He was all over the place. He would he would give like heartfelt, you know, meanings to stuff and then he'd be like, ah, That's that's that's what somebody said to me on the train one timeand I misheard them. One of my favorites is somebody asked him about Cordelia. What is Cordelia all about? And he's like, well, it's like a metaphor. Just go read King Lear. [50:18] Well, it's like, I feel like that's like as much as we're joking about it, it's got to be, there's got to be an element to that that's true. It's like, you know, at one point a song means something to you. [50:31] And then as time goes on, you're like, yeah, it's just about some shit I heard on a fucking train one day or whatever it is, you know? That's right. I don't think he's poo poo in the bed. Like he's not pulling a Donald Fagan, as I've said before, from Sealy Den or just like, yeah, they're just words written down on a page. They don'tmean anything. You know, he's not pulling that, but he's, you know, was it. Did you ever hear that interview that or that clip? It's a great clip of Jack White from the White Stripes where he says, and whatever you think about the White Stripes is irrelevant, where he said that when he hears Seven Nation Army,which is arguably one of the most overplayed rock songs in the history of rock and roll, that he doesn't even feel like it's his song. He's like, I just wrote it. We recorded it. It was a cool tune. And now it's out there. And it's like, it's like, that's another band. It's not my bad playing that shit It's really cool. It's really cool the way he comes across Hey, he basically said his I've heard some read some of it from him, too And he basically says once once a song is out Yeah, yeah, and, he openshis wallet and cool and looks at that Yeah, oh my god the songs or his Ford Broncos. Jack White's Perspective on Songs and Fame[51:56] Oh my God. That guy is funny. He's he's got some on him. Sure, man. I just recently learned that my wife has a thing for him, which I had no idea about. And I'm like, I'm like, oh, fuck. [52:14] Definitely, definitely not measuring up to that guy. Oh, you just need to write a couple of hit songs that are like global phenomenons. Yeah. Paint my house red. Anything else on the streets ahead? So this next part of the album is where we take a dip in amount of time songs were played. And I'm not really sure why, but now for plan A was only played 10 times live. [52:45] There's no explanation for me, but that's just a data point. But this one I thought was kind of this level of super heaviness, no turning back. This is like you're facing this song, you know? There's nothing short of everything's enough. You know, there's acoustic guitar in here that feels at one point in the song it... I don't want to say it feels forced but it feels like it could be played softer and nicer but it's not, And which is very distinct with acoustic. And I thought I at this point wasn't sure who was on backups, who was singing backups. You know, I didn't know if it was Kate Fenner who we had before. Oh, right. Right. JD, you mentioned it. Who is this gal? This is Sarah Harmer. So she's a... What's her story? Anybody got any data? She's got a pretty good solo career. Gosh, I'm trying to think of what her big song was. That would have been in around 2002, 2003. I'll take some links for those of you out there. TimbyGettingHitToTheHit.com. Please register him as a Republican. Send me some email. I have notifications turned on. And it's... [54:06] Email Pete at GettingHitToTheHit.com if you want the address and phone number. No, she's gorgeous. She has an amazing matchup with Gort. Her voice is, I thought, incredible. Basement of Parliament was a big song in 2000. Okay. [54:28] For the cadence of the album, for this being Song 6, these are my chapters of the book. The chapters of the book. It's a good Song 6. No issues. It's there's also with one point, this lastly, um, when Gord sings, nothing's short of nothing short of everything's enough at one point when he's seeing that in the song that Iheard Johnny Cash, like there was some kind of Johnny Cash coming through. Definitely more growly and Gord ask, but it's, it's a cool song. Only played 10 times life. Thoughts on the length and build-up of the song[55:07] So special. Yeah. I say, this is the, is this the longest song on the album as well? And it's only like five minutes and four, but, um, the, the buildup is such that it's, uh, one minute 16 when the lyrics actually start. So it's just swirly, swirly buildups. And then, uh, yeah. And then you, you get it. I don't, I don't know what to say about this. I say it's, it's one of those tracks that I. [55:40] I just get through. It's one of these things that's just not really on my attention span. I don't know why, because of the, I don't know. I don't know, it's weird. Because of the aesthetics of the song, I don't know. But listening to it again today, I have grown to like it more. It's a dynamite song on great headphones after a joint. The way it settles in the album, It's almost like you've been through a few things and then you get a snowstorm and everything just really sort of settles down and you're sitting sort ofwatching the snow. But for me, I don't know, it doesn't feel like I want to sit down and be there watching the snow. I want to kind of hop on a bit. So I don't know why, it just feels a little bit misplaced for me. But that's how I am with albums. I always want something more. I always want them to sort of build up. I'm not so good when they change down slightly. For me, I don't know, maybe if it was later on in the album. No, we talk about sequencing all the time here, so this is great to think about that. [56:54] That film I was talking about, the Simon film, when I saw trying to delve into what that was about, there was a few little trailer-y bits and a few little segments of it, And there's onewith Alan Arkin doing one of his psychology lectures, you know, and he's with these kids and he's just saying, yeah, one of the greatest Wittgenstein quotes you'll hear is the, I don't knowwhat I don't know, which is fantastic. Oh, yeah. Yeah, there you go. That's the ultimate wisdom. That is the ultimate wisdom. When you can truly think that out your fingertips, fingertips, you know? [57:38] You've got it. You've got it. Made in the shade. I've tried many times to get there, but just can't get that. Oh, wait a minute. That's another podcast. Dan, what you said about it taking a while to come in. I feel that. And I think JD's right. You need a joint and some good cans for it. but I would say this is probably my second favorite song on this record. Inquiry about the woman singing[58:11] JD, you asked me about the woman singing before. Bands featuring female guest vocalists on certain songs[58:19] I feel like nowadays that's a cool thing to do. I think it started in like 2017, 2018 a lot of bands. I know the National's been doing it a lot with their new records, having like female guest vocalists join in on certain songs. Oh, wow. It's cool. I like it. But I feel like when they did this record in 2012, nobody was doing it. Nobody was doing that. You got a band of five guys. That's the fucking band. I know, you know, it's not like a song featuring so-and-so, like bands very rarely do that. That's totally true. Yeah, absolutely. And this this woman's on at least what, three songs? Two for sure. I've only got two, two, maybe, maybe two, sorry. Yeah, I mean, I, I, I. The song is just amazing the way it starts. I got some, production-wise, I got some Beach Boys vibes from this because there's so much production. [59:39] Like, Abbey Road stock level, like we're in the studio sitting around the board like, what do you think if we do this and we throw this in and everybody's talking like that's the levelof this song because the musicianship is just it's gone when you look at the the EP compared to where we're at now everybody is just you know it's not they're not even on the same planetanymore this band um, i would say that just just if you look at this song from production wise whatever you think about it, you know, the song, you like it, you don't like it. I happen to like it, but it's got to be some of their best, most accomplished work because of how well everything is done in it. Whether or not you like the melody, whether or not you like the minute and 17 or 16 seconds without anything, I get that. I get how sequencing wise I could put you in a weird spot, but like, You can't deny that this song is extremely well done, well recorded, produced, written, everything. Yeah, I completely agree with you and you know, again, there would be a lot of people who would argue that the last two records were really well produced as well. [1:01:07] And maybe they're right, I don't know. But to me, it's just more heavy handed. It's, you know, it's much more heavy handed. This record is much more subtle. Yeah, there are still brushstrokes, but it doesn't feel as like they are put on by like a makeup specialist Right, you know difference between a produced record and a well-produced record. Yeah Yeah, or overproduced maybe overproduced So let's get into the modern spirit and we can think about the modern spirit in a couple of different ways We were talking aboutsequencing earlier, and I'm wondering wondering, would Dan, would this have satisfied your palate if the modern spirit had come after Streets Ahead, or was it something more specificyou were looking for, something more to drive it even higher? No, no, I mean, you can link those two together. You can imagine it coming straight in after Streets Ahead. It would have been a good transition. Yeah. But I say, in terms of this track, I mean all of their Rolling Stones cover versions paid off, didn't they? This is Modern Spirit's pure Rolling Stones. It's just, in every aspect, it's just fantastic. Modern Spirit's Rolling Stones influence[1:02:31] Do you get that vibe? Yeah, I can hear that. Even the drum shuffles are just stones. [1:02:42] Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's some wattage in there for sure, 100% and well said. Yeah, it's it's it's it's very sort of modern, late sort of stones, but it's it's it's spot on, even though it's not supposed to be stones. But yeah, you know, versatility and how to do it so well. And his voice is fantastic on this as well. Banga. Yeah. Yeah, hard agree. The way this song starts, I mean, I mean, I listened to this song in a number of different venues. [1:03:26] I'm 100% the way this song starts and it hits. It's a fucking driving song. I mean, And it's just driving down the fucking highway, windows down. You know, I know last time Tim was with us, what record was it? Or Tim? Last time Dan was with us, what record was it? I'm trolling right now. So I don't know if Tim or I don't know if Dan remembers, but Dan, my car, so my car has what you would call, what the layman would call a premium audio sound system. So the listening experience is not what you'd normally get from, you know, even a decent sound system in a car. It's quite advanced and this. The transcendent vocals of Gord and his evolution as a vocalist[1:04:26] I don't know if Dan remembers that from the last listening, but I think I remember you mentioning it. Yeah. Yeah, it's it's it's it's definitely a cut above. I think the backup vocals on this song to the way they come in. Everything about this song is fucking cooks. If you don't have a smile on your face, jamming along to this song, driving, whatever you're doing, then you need a fucking lobotomy or you need something, I don't know. I don't know how you could not absolutely love this song. [1:05:11] The one note I want to bring up here, I feel like Gord's, when it comes to his vocals and everything. This song, I think that it's thematic throughout the record, but this song really makes me realize he's not he's, he's transcended humanity as a vocalist. And I know this is bold words I'm saying here. But I feel like where he was at from the EP and where we've seen it go. It's like he's an evolved, you know, humans evolved from apes. Like Gord has evolved from humans. So they say. Right, so they say, my apologies for all you creationists out there. No, but I feel like Gord is, he's moved past it vocally, he's just, and as a songwriter and as a front man, he's just like, I don't think I've ever seen, you know, no disrespect to the Stones,because we were talking about the Stones, Dan brought up the Stones. You know, mix mic man, you know what you're getting every time. [1:06:15] He's great, and he's consistent, and he's always great. But I wouldn't say the guy's vocals and style and everything has evolved much since Get Off My Cloud to where it's at today. It's the same dude. Gord, I feel like, is just... He's evolved past the normal human Gord. You know, like Megagord or... Okay, you know. Megagord. Mechagord, you know, like... Yeah. He was five lions, and then he converged into one. [1:06:57] I don't know. I'm gonna use Voltron as a verb. He Voltron'd into one giant robot of a lead singer. Tim, what do you think of this one? I thought the same about the open road with this one. The white and open throat. Night slips back with no noise. I mean, that's... Yeah. It's a great song. All right, next. So this next one about this map was last played in Spokane, Washington, 2012. It was only played twice. Oh, Tim, how about Modern Spirit? Was it played more? Feels like a live song. Ah, sorry. Modern Spirit, only 12. Only 12. So as this album goes by, these songs are played less live, which, yeah, it just made me wonder about the band and what, what, what, or why, or, you know, it, was it, was it thetheme of the album and the life and the times that was kind of too heavy to play live or I'm not sure. Well, they only had one sure after this as well. And that was the last tour. How many stops do you think? And we'll, and we'll get into that. Like, I think it was like, it was strictly Canada. Yeah, it was a pretty big deal. [1:08:22] So about this map. The mysterious and unique start of the song "About This Map"[1:08:26] Pete, talk to me about this map. It's a really weird start. And not in a bad way, just in a... About this map. It's kind of a mysterious song. Yeah, very mysterious. But I love the... [1:08:46] This was the song that made me think on the whole record, because again, like Dan said, I didn't know the history of what was going on in Gord's life during this record. But thisis the song where I kind of was like, okay, what the fuck is going on? This is just, everything's just too different, especially when you look at what the previous record was. But I dug it. The chorus and the pre-chorus is so good in this song. I don't have a ton to say, but the melody and the guitar licks are just top notch. I mean, I feel like it would take me a year to come up with that. Being so cool, making guitars sound that cool, and then afterward, I would just like pat myself on the back for the rest of my life because it's just that fucking cool. And fucking Rob Baker probably just did it in like two takes and then just forgot about it and went home and had, I don't know, fucking rotisserie chicken or whatever you guys eat overthere in Canada. We do eat a lot of rotisserie chicken. [1:10:00] What about blue? What about blue? Oh no, I'm really hungry and thirsty. Fuck. Well, what did you think about this map, Dan? Yeah, it's a good track, but as we were saying, yeah, it's a bit of a weird one. The lyrics, the sort of, the sentiment in the lyrics doesn't sort of, like, build, you know? Of stays on this sort of level. Was the sort of guitars and everything kind of rise around it, which I found was pretty fascinating. And again, it's like, yeah, in terms of sort of lyrics, about this map is said 15 times. So there's a there's a lot of that in there, which I think sort of flattens the lyrics out a bit. But a lot of textures in there that I haven't heard in other stuff as well. [1:11:04] It's a grower. It's an absolute grower. It was for me. Again, it was one of those tracks I'd always get to this stage in the album and then think like, oh God, hang on, is that? And then, uh, yeah, it, it, it had come back to me and, um, I dig. It'sgood. Are any other two fuckers going to recognize the irony of the fact that Dan's discussing the song about this map and directly behind him is a gigantic map? Oh yeah. Am I the only one like seeing the irony here? Sorry. Yeah. For those of you listening... We got a theme. Yeah. Tim's got a map up here. Yeah, got a couple. He's got a couple there too. You got Spain and Italy behind you, right Tim? Staring at it every day. [1:11:56] Good ol' EU over there. Sorry. We'll save the tour for another day. Did anybody get the edge vibes? Like from the guitar? Like, from the guitar? 100%! This song and one coming up, 100% got the edge. Well said, JD. Yeah, we've talked about how the latter part of U2's career has sprinkled some seasoning on this band. I've heard that too. Dave's Weed Shop: The Edge's Redemption?[1:12:36] I think the edge is a bit of a cheat though. So I have a hard time talking about him. I forget his real name. It's probably let's let's let's name him. What was his name? It's probably like, I think it's Dave. It's got to have three syllables. I think he's going to open a weed shop. It's going to be called Dave's not here, man. Now if the edge opened a weed shop, I'd probably, I'd probably like him again. Yeah. David Howell Evans. How? See I call him Dave. We're tight. What's the middle name? Let's move on. Dan? Did you have anything to say about this map, Tim? I didn't realize that about this map was said 15 times. That's a lot. I don't have a lot on this one. I thought that it was a bit of a filler, like we've rounded the bend, and we're getting towards the end of the album. You know, the bass, there's areally nice bass guitar through this. It's a little bit more meandering and I don't know. I didn't have a lot on this one. Yeah, it just kind of kept me going. Again, this part, this chunk of the album just felt just stronger than the past couple albums. Okay, let's move on to... Take Forever? Goddamn son, where we going? Take forever. Forever. Song about astronauts and Calgary[1:17:03] Yeah, this one's eight times live. Last played in 13. I, you know, maybe it was a song about astronauts. I'm not sure. It seems like also some statement about Calgary. Is Calgary the, where the wealth is of the roof? He seems to think everyone should have heart attacks there, According to the songs is what I read Yeah You know, I listened to another podcast and they were from Calgary and they tookgreat offense I don't recall as to why right now, but to me I think about it like, you know that beginning part like When I broke down, I always thought I'd go to Calgary. I think that's a nice sentiment But what do I know? But the yeah, there is a lot about Calgary, right? What about you Dan, how does that? [1:17:58] Totally stumped by this track. For some reason it reminds me of a late Blondie track as well, it's got some kind of vibe like that about it. But yeah, the lyrics and the Calgary thing man, yeah, it's crazy. I mean this is what I'm getting from some of these, I like the tracks, but the lyrics when I'm looking at the lyrics, it's just like, whoa, where are you going with that, Gord? Any insight, JD? [1:18:31] I wish. It's like a time bomb, you know? There's so many wires and things in there that you might pull one wire and it might make some progress, but then there's a whole other pack of wires underneath, you know? Yeah. I mean, again, when you do look at the lyrics for this album, there are a few themes that go through I mean this again this has got the whole kind of man machine reference and it's got thiswhole sort of um you know destroying space thing that we've we've heard um quite a few times as well yeah yeah um I I think this song is textbook hip I mean just the sound that it is I Ihear you on the lyrics, I guess they didn't make enough of an impact on me as the instruments of the song, you know, the instrumentation. Love the fucking thumping bass, just Sinclair's all over this record, you know. It's classic hip. [1:19:46] This is a song, especially in terms of chords, vocals, again, not speaking about the lyrics per se, just his singing. I think this is one of the songs where I'm like, God, why does nobody get this band? Just the song that made me think of it. So yeah, not a ton to say about it, but I dug it. I'm not, um, I feel like compared to last week, you could, you could, you know, serve me a shit sandwich and I'll just be like, you know, Can we, can we get into just a little bit about whydidn't this band, blah, blah, blah, make it in the U S or whatever it is. I had a lot of thoughts about this during this listen, which you just reminded me of. And I was kind of neither here nor there. nor there. But this album, I too, Pete, had thought a bit about. The popularity of this band in Canada versus the U.S. and all those things. And it was concurrently during, while listening to this past week, it was concurrently during Coachella that's 

jD, Pete, and Tim welcome Paul Langlois to the show to talk about his new record Guess What.TracksWill to FightDesperation Calling638 MainGuess WhatTranscriptTrack 1:[0:03] Well, I would see him working away in Timothee's from time to time, like I would walk past Timothee's and there would be Gord Downie sitting there on a laptop and, you know,my reaction as a super fan is like, I got to go in and say hi. And then, and then as the same super fan, I'm like, what if he's writing? Well, what if he's writing the next fucking great song? And I'm the asshole who interrupts that, right? Track 6:[0:28] Well, he would have been writing something, but he kind of put the songs together after. Track 1:[0:35] Oh, gotcha. Okay. Okay, gotcha. Track 6:[0:38] So, how is my signal? Because I can hotspot. It could be better. Track 1:[0:41] No, this is good. You're coming through great. Track 4:[0:43] It's great. Track 5:[0:44] Okay. Track 1:[0:44] It looks like a nice day. Are you outside? Track 6:[0:47] I'm outside. Track 1:[0:49] That's great. Track 6:[0:49] These are my little sister's paintings. Yeah, I sort of had a thing built where I can live outside and just be Oh, man Shelter shelter up there, you know, yeah So I spend a lot of time outhere. So I'm in downtown Kingston ish like about five blocks from the center of downtown and Cool. Yeah, so I like it here. We've been here like five years ever since the kids left Nice, nice. Track 5:[1:23] Just the two you have? Sorry. Track 6:[1:26] Two girls, yeah. And they're both kind of making their way in Toronto, 27 and 23, and in their separate career paths. Track 5:[1:34] Okay. Track 6:[1:36] So they're kind of, you know. Fairly entry-level and where they're working, but Sure. All right, and we just thought we Give them a break and they pay us far less rent than they would have to pay. Track 5:[1:49] Yeah. Track 6:[1:49] No, that's good I said and we've actually used the place because I have to be in Toronto More than I ever thought I thought I was retired and now I have to be in Toronto all the timeand So we stay there every time Cool. Ah. Toronto hotels these days, you're saving 600 bucks every time. Track 1:[2:07] Toronto hotels are insane right now. They're totally insane. So the premise of this podcast was, I found these two friends of mine that are from different parts of the world, but they both grew up in Southern California, and they had not heard ofThe Hip. So this is getting hip to The Hip, where we're taking them from not having heard them, and We go through the discography and sort of get their reactions as to what they're hearing. Because you know, you guys are a cultural phenomenon and it's strange sometimes when you meet people who aren't aware of this thing that is like 11 million people watched the lastconcert. You know, that's staggering when people don't know. Track 6:[2:51] I've got to say, great concept for a podcast. I did notice the title and I didn't really catch, like I didn't really know what it meant. Yeah, I love it. I love it. Track 5:[3:03] We're of the we're of the same generation pretty much here And you know Pete and I grew up with Southern, California radio you know, that's what got us into music and You know80s 90s. Track 4:[3:15] Yeah the radio. Track 5:[3:16] Yeah, I was making mixtapes off the radio and Middle school and yeah, you know, we didn't we didn't have the the hit playing on 91x in San Diego No, not a lot of radio play inCalifornia. Track 6:[3:28] There's a San Francisco station, uh, K-Fog? I forget the name of it. That's not K-Fog. There was a San Francisco station that played us, which is why we were able to, you know, eventually play the film or, you know, a couple,couple of days in a row kind of thing and sell that out. But that, I think it's K-Fog, something like that. Track 1:[3:50] It sounds very San Francisco. Yeah. There you go, actually. Track 6:[3:55] Our radio play was random. Dallas, we got played in the early days, and Chicago, we got played. So all the non-border towns, like, you know, Buffalo, they have Canadian radio. So we're always, we ended up in arenas there. Seattle, not as much, but then it was just random. You know, we'd get play in some American cities and no play whatsoever in others. So it takes so much longer by word of mouth than it does if you've got a song on the radio. Track 4:[4:29] Sure, you know, so so so Paul, this is something that I are you guys recording, by the way? Track 1:[4:35] Sorry, recording? Yeah, it's right. Track 6:[4:37] Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you're not losing all the all the goal. Track 5:[4:42] Okay, so we pretty much hit go and do no, no. Track 4:[4:45] Um, because we're talking about this too. And this has come up a number of times on the podcast, right? And obviously, you just were talking about some radio stations, you got random and play in certain cities, this and that. And Tim and I grew up at a time prior to streaming. We saw that switch. So essentially, whatever we were listening to, unless you were in some like super niche underground group with the cool kids and shit, you were listening to what wasbeing played on the three main stations, right? And we saw all the takeover with Clear Channel. We saw all that shit happen. Yeah, us too. The thing that I noticed, and I'm not trying to blow smoke up your ass here, Paul, but I'm going to maybe do a little bit, so clench if you got to. [5:39] I thought about a lot over the nine months we've been recording this podcast, is that good music is good music, and there's probably so much shit that falls through the cracks. Here you got Tim and I, who never heard of the hit before. We both have a lot of similar bands in common that we like, but J.D. Put us on this mainline IV drip of the Tragically Hip since we started this, and at first it was a slow burn, but But now it's like, I cannot imagine my life without your guys' band. And again, I'm sorry to blow smoke at you. No, that's not. I'm not trying to do that. No, I love it. I love it. But it's just like, good music is good music. And I had a deep dive into Guess What too, and we'll talk about that, I'm sure. Yeah, just it's if you're not exposed to it, man, then you're not exposed to it. Track 6:[6:43] You know, I really appreciate that like it's it's like and And the slow burn part as well. Like I think It was a slow burn for many people just because I Don't think it was that obvious like, you know, the early days were kind of like Oh, it's kind of like more a barroom bumpkind of you know know, um, really kind of not boring, but, you know, simple. [7:15] And so, but I know that when we were writing and recording, When we were writing and recording, we meant to do that. For these songs, the songs that we chose for each record, we believe that they would stand the test of time, that you'd probably have to listen to it four, five, six times before you start to,before it starts to grow on you, as you said, slow burn. And I think that's better. I mean, there are certainly songs I love that immediately it's kind of like, wow, okay, that's a hit. But a lot of times there's, even back then, you know, in the 80s and 90s, sometimes it's kind of spoon-fed stuff. I mean, it smells like Team Spirit right away. I loved it. That's not spoon-fed. We're just doing this thing. They're doing their thing. But there's many more examples of where it's more spoon-fed, where it lasts about nine or 10 listens, and then it's like, okay, I've had enough of this. Track 4:[8:18] Moving on, when I do when I when I press play on in violet light, I remember and I told JD and Tim this I was like, dude, I'm not I this is not gonna work. This is gonna be a shittytwo weeks. We're listening. And then like it ends up like, I just it just starts. It's like a cicada man. It just burrowed its way into my head. And then, like, at some point a week and a half into it, I'm rolling down the highway here in Spain, just like fucking windows down just like what? Where have you been all my life? Track 6:[8:50] That starts with Use It Up, right? Oh yeah, Use It Up. Track 1:[8:54] Oh yeah, yeah. Track 4:[8:56] Oh dude, Use It Up. Oh fuck. Track 1:[8:57] That was the song he picked. Yeah. Because every album I make them pick a song and Use It Up was for that record. Track 6:[9:05] It's so funny because I didn't like that song at first. I was like... You didn't? Yeah. Now what? We're reaching here, it's no good. And then it grew on me as we were sort of all learning our parts and playing it together. It was like, oh, I get it now. Use it up. Yeah, this is the best thingfor later. But at first, I was just like, this is going to be a horrible record. Track 4:[9:31] Oh, dear. Track 5:[9:32] Well, I even said to my kid, I have a 21-year-old, I have 21 and 18-year-old sons, and my 21-year-old plays drums and an amazing drummer and he's getting into other stuff too. But I played him some of the, you know, I don't remember which album, but he looked at me and he's like, are you sure you can do this? What is this band? And the guy, does he sing weird? What are you doing? And I'm like, I hope so, bro. Let's see what happens. But no, since then, I've played in bits here and there. And my whole family, of course, has been subject to the hip. Yeah, same here. And they're now recognizing the hip when they come on. I haven't forced them to sit down and hear an album, but that'll happen eventually, I'm sure. But yeah, the slow burn has been awesome. And for you guys to accomplish that, I mean, you were in high school, right? When you... Shortly after high school? Track 6:[10:34] Just after, yep. So there's a university here, Queen's, so three of the guys were at Queen's. Johnny was still in high school, drummer. Okay, that's right. He was in grade 13, which they don't have grade 13 anymore, but... Yeah, so it was kind of Yeah, a long long time Yeah, I mean for that to happen. Track 5:[10:55] It's like you know I have a My brother-in-law told me at one point like what are you gonna? Do bro? You know you're 19 You're not doing anything is like I'm gonna be a pro skateboarder And I'm like dude you got a one and what 40 million shot to be a pro skater Yeah, come on.I mean, but you guys you guys were young and you kept at it, and you didn't go after careers I don't think I mean, I'm sure some of you held like part-time jobs or something But you guysjust kept going at it. Track 6:[11:24] We all had parents that were kind of like very supportive but at the same time everyone was in University and You know, what's the backup plan my dad said all the time and I'mlike no backup plan dad These guys because I joined a bit later like a year and a half in they were covered in And I love them and Gord Downer is my best friend and he asked me to joinbasically because I was Leaving. I mean I didn't think of it as a threat, but he thought it was a threat that I was just gonna go down Try my luck as a songwriter and He was like he didn't like that at all. And so that's the other And when I joined, my dad was like, yeah, but, um, you're going to go back to school and you'll have a backup plan. I'm like, I don't need one. Track 1:[12:20] And so I'm just going to ask you what's the moment, what the moment was where you knew you didn't need a backup plan. You knew that early on, like that it was like you guyshad lightning in a bottle. Track 6:[12:31] I knew when I joined, I went to all their gigs and, um, but whenever I could, like I I was driving cab, but Gord would always have me on the list. And they were just like small in-town gigs, either at the university or at a biker bar or whatever, a few bars that they were playing. And... I knew, like, and it wasn't just Gork. I knew that Robbie and Johnny and Sinclair, like, that they were just doing something different. Now, mostly they were playing covers, but they had songs that never made it even to our first baby record. Great songs, Heart Attack Love and Baby Blue Blood and, you know, all these songs were Reformed Baptist Blues, which was on Thaskadelphia, but surprising. [13:21] But it was just like, God, they know how to write songs. Gord is unbelievable. Nothing like the friend I had. Like as soon as he got up on stage, it was just kind of like, wow. And so I just felt like, you know, they have it. And word of mouth already just in Kingston. You know, they say you can't, if you're in a band and you can't draw a crowd in your hometown, then chances aren't great. [13:53] But if you can, you can take that. And so we just would just gradually take it to the next town over, Belleville or, you know, Brockville, then Cornwall and, you know, Oshawa, justsort of like just took it up and down the 401, which is a highway around here. And just, we relied on word of mouth. And then we started booking things that way. Let's do three nights. So we'll play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and by Saturday we'll have it full because everyone's gonna be going home saying, okay, the singer's crazy and the band isheavy and tight. And so we built it up that way. I'm not sure if you could do it these days. I mean, there's still venues. So I think you actually could still do it our way. It was the only way we knew how to do it, but we always felt like, we were always like. We all had a couple of hundred bucks in general, you know, so it wasn't like, um, we were, we weren't, uh, not making money, you know, we were able to, and our parents weresupportive, you know, Gord's parents got us a van and et cetera. It just kind of, um, we knew very early on that we could just keep doing it. Let's just keep doing it until it goes south. And it never did. Track 1:[15:10] I guess not. Track 4:[15:11] Holy shit. Track 1:[15:11] Amazing. Track 4:[15:13] It's an understatement. Track 1:[15:14] Yeah. Track 4:[15:17] So I want to, I don't know if it's cool fellas, but I want to dig into the to guess what a little bit. Track 1:[15:23] Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Track 4:[15:27] So first off, you guys recorded the bathhouse. Yeah, we talked to we talked to Gord. What was it like three months ago? We talked to Gord. Track 1:[15:35] Oh, yeah. Yeah. Track 5:[15:37] Let's go. Yeah. Track 1:[15:39] When his record dropped, he came on. Track 6:[15:41] Pardon me? Track 1:[15:41] When his record dropped, he came on. Track 6:[15:44] I really love that record. I've told him many times. He's so funny. You know, he's just like... He's such a sweet dude. Yeah, he is. And he's, you know, we complain mutually about having to be the singer and, you know, and just all the complications. But I love his record. I've told him all the time. It's just like, it's classic him. just such variety. But we're not talking about his record, I guess. Sorry. Track 4:[16:15] No, no. No, he kind of said some of the same stuff, but your vocals on, I love the vocals on it. And then I was kind of reading about what you did with the, in terms of choosing the band and what's his name? His name is, oh, Billy Anglin. That dude is a, he's a freak on the drums, man. Track 6:[16:45] Desperation calling oh yeah yeah when he does that yeah like what the hell is that he's a giant in real life I don't know if you knew that's crazy he's like I don't know I think he's sixfive Oh he's easily 250 must be I don't know how much away but well hey he's a giant and he was a kid that we heard about Johnny mentioned him to me. I remember back when we first started, Johnny was like, there's a kid over at Elsie, which was another high school. We were at Casey and they were at Elsie and there's a kid, Billy Anglin, and he's like five years younger than us. He's like, they had the same drum teacher and he's like, that kid's really good. And he played into his 20s and then he started a construction company and hadn't played for 20 some years. And another The other guy in the band, Joe Carscallon, is kind of like a family friend of his. And he was like, you know, Bill Anglin would do it if he asked and I'm like, seriously? And anyway, he is great. We just played a show just out of town. There's a little quaint little town, Guananacue. I'm not sure if you've been there, JD, but it's a beautiful little summer town, Thousand Islands. Track 1:[18:00] Okay. Track 6:[18:01] And we played a gig on Saturday night. And I was just like, for some reason, I was just kind of really focused on Bill and the stuff he was doing. I'm very lucky. And the same with everyone else in the band, of course. Oh yeah. He just hits them so hard and he's so big. And he has a huge drum kit too, like huge. Where it's like, oh my God. We pull into a little club a couple of weeks ago just to have a warmup show. Track 4:[18:32] And the club owner's like, You know, the drums basically took up the whole, it's like, is this a Russian, is this a Russian cover band? Is Neil Curtin? Yeah. Track 6:[18:43] Anyway, I'm going to tell Bill you mentioned him because he's amazing. Track 1:[18:49] The big toms at the beginning of Will to Fight as well. Track 6:[18:52] Right. That's what I thought. That's what I thought Pete was going to say. Track 1:[18:55] Those big toms right off the start, it's like, oh fuck, this song has a bone to pick with me. It's like, it's challenging me right now, this song, it's. Track 6:[19:09] We've been opening with that one. Oh yeah. And Bill loves it, you know, he's had a setlist. Track 5:[19:14] Cool. Track 6:[19:16] Oriented and I always put Will to fight first and he's quite happy with it, he loves starting. Like he is not short on confident. For a guy who hasn't played, he's played on his own but who hasn't played with anybody for 20 years, It's pretty amazing. Track 4:[19:31] That's crazy, man. You know, you, well, it's because we're talking about drums. This is something that's that came that came up a couple times in the podcast. I don't know what record it was that we're talking about. But I had mentioned and I said it and I said it exactly like this. I was like, Paul Langlois is a fucking drummer. Track 1:[19:52] Yes. Yeah. I remember you remember that? Track 4:[19:55] Yeah. And and I said that because I don't remember what song and what record it really hit me like a Like a freight train, man. Track 1:[20:02] It was in between evolution is what you said it. Was it? Track 4:[20:06] Was it in between evolution? Track 1:[20:07] Yeah. Track 4:[20:07] Yeah. Just your, the tone of that, bless Paul, and just the chunk, chunk, chunk that was, I can't remember the song that it was on where it hit me and I was like, dude, I don't knowwho's drumming here. Is it Paul or is it Johnny? Because I'm getting, because I've done that. I've done that thing where you listen to each member of a band individually. Like, I don't know if you've ever done that, like next time you, next time you want to have a good time listening to your, if you like Rush, I mean, I like Rush. Who doesn't? Track 6:[20:40] I love Rush. I love Rush. Track 4:[20:42] Take it, take a Rush tune or watch maybe a live, live recording and focus on one. Watch it three times and focus on one musician each time. And you'll just see something new every time. Track 6:[20:54] I love that idea. Yeah. I love that idea. And thanks for that. On my first solo record, because I always thought... I got a drum kit when I was 30 as a birthday present, and it was Johnny's kit. Well, he set it up. And so my wife got it for me, Joanne. And then, so I was just drumming secretly in the basement, just because I always wanted to try it. And so my very first record, Fix His Head, which was like, I don't know, 15 years ago or something. Track 1:[21:27] 2010, yeah. Track 6:[21:30] Yeah, so 13 years ago and... I was just on my own. It was just me. And really, I was in there, in our studio, just with the engineer. Like, it's quite awkward, really. Because it's just the two of us, you know? I'm like, Aaron, you go outside or go do what you're going to do. Just give me the song on a loop. And I'm just going to play the song. And if I get a good one, I'll run into into the control room and push the space bar and stop it. And so that's how I drummed, really, because I just didn't like him kind of just being bored in there, probably on his phone. Yeah. Track 5:[22:10] Hovering. Track 6:[22:11] So anyway, I did all the drumming on Fix His Head. And it's not stellar drumming, but I was happy enough with it that it passed. I mean, it would have been way, if Johnny or Billy Anglin was playing, obviously, it would have been way, way better. But I wanted it to be a private record. I didn't really want to put it out. Track 1:[22:33] That's crazy. That's so crazy. But it's interesting you say that. I have a question for you that's been bothering me since your new record came out. Your new record is called Guess What, and it's the Paul Langlois band. But I go back into my old records that I have. I have them in Apple, so they're digital. And they say, like, fix this head, says Paul Langelois band now on it. But wasn't it just Paul Langelois before? Track 6:[23:02] Yes. Track 1:[23:03] Oh, so I'm not going crazy. Track 6:[23:06] Yeah, no, you're not crazy. You're not going crazy. I mean, it drives me a bit crazy, really, the thought. And Joanne hates, hates Paul Langlois Band, hates that there's no the. Oh, really? Track 1:[23:19] She's like, Jake. Track 6:[23:22] Yeah, the hips are my manager. My manager is also the hips manager, Jake Gould. He does a great job, but he was kind of, he was very in favor of just Paul Langlois Band. And I'mlike, okay, that's awkward, though. Wouldn't you say the Paul Langlois band? Track 1:[23:39] Yeah. Track 6:[23:40] Two guys in the band, Greg Ball especially, was like, no, Paul Langlois. Don't say Paul Langlois band, your first two records were Paul Langlois, so just Paul Langlois. And through the agents and all the people booking and stuff, it's like, well, the Paul Langlois band would probably be more appealing as an act to book, because I was trying to playfestivals this summer. And so I was like, okay. And then it's like, oh, by the way, we gotta go back. And it's all because of Spotify. Everything's because of Spotify these days. Track 1:[24:15] Oh, God. Track 6:[24:17] You gotta go back and call your first two records Paul Langlois banned because if someone searches, I don't understand it, but the algorithm, whatever it is, if someone searches,guess what, Paul Langlois banned, my first two records aren't gonna come up. And so that convinced me. I'm like, I want my first workers to come up. Track 5:[24:36] It happens. Track 4:[24:37] But that's the same thing with Malcolmus and the Jicks. Do you guys, I don't know if you guys know that. He has the same, that's a weird thing on Spotify. They want it to come up. They wanted to come up the other records so everybody can access all the music. And I get it because you also want people to listen to your, you know, your other records. But it's also like that. Track 6:[24:59] Yeah, I would like that. But I get it. But I hate it. You know, it's, it's, it's silly. It's silly. Track 4:[25:04] Me too. Track 6:[25:05] Paul Langlois would come up. Just if I call this the Paul Langlois band, which is- Change the algorithm, man. Track 4:[25:13] Change the search bar. Like make them both come up. Track 1:[25:16] Jesus Christ. Track 5:[25:18] That's funny you mention that Paul, at one point during our discography review of you guys I said, yeah, I love this whole process but the hip has totally fucked up my algorithm inSpotify. Like every time I play something now it's like something associated with the hip. It's like all these other bands but I have discovered some other bands. Track 1:[25:39] We were talking one day, Tim and I were talking, I was out for a walk and he's like, you're going to get a kick out of this, Paul, cause he's like, who is April wine? Oh, really? And I was like, April wine is like a seminal Canadian. Track 5:[25:52] Absolutely. Many, many hits. Track 6:[25:53] Big band. Good hits. Good. Yeah. Track 5:[25:59] Yeah, they're, they're fucking cool. Like I would, that was a fun surprise for me. That was, you know, thanks to the algorithm. So, but that, but that was, that was one of those things, you know, So 10 years, 10 years between Not Guilty and Guess What? Track 1:[26:18] Yeah. Not Guilty was 2013. Obviously that was a fucking giant 10 years in your life. What changed singer-songwriter wise? What did you take from that 10 years of experience and put onto this record? Is there anything you can lay down for us? Track 6:[26:47] You know, I think I got the… Lyrics are my toughest. That's the toughest. It's like finishing the bathrooms, you run out of money. And so, oh yeah, let's go for the vinyl shower. And so that's what I would do with lyrics. I'd kind of almost get, I get somewhere, but then I just stop and I didn't know where to go. So I think time passing more than anything. Gord, Gord passing. Track 1:[27:18] Yeah, yeah, of course. Track 6:[27:19] Time passing, the way the tour was so special, such an achievement on all our parts, but especially for Gord. Of course. The achievement on his part was unbelievable. It was unbelievable to watch, like from the inside, just how hard he worked and how driven he was. Was, like he didn't stop. And so I think that kind of affected, that helped me just with lyrics. Time passing, the girls moving out, my daughters, you know. And you know, now it's like in my 50s. And it's kind of like, I think that sort of just came through in the songs, Will to Fight, you know, just anything, just kind of like. So there was that. I didn't think I would ever, like I just was not interested in songwriting until I got offered a gig. And it was a few months away. And Joanne said, well, you've got to do it. And I'm like, well, I've got to put a band together. I'm not fucking into that. Who would I get? [28:34] Anyway, so then I thought of they're all buddies, Kingston buddies, and musicians, but they all have other jobs. And, um... Yeah, and then we started rehearsing and playing and and It was fun and so I decided I had a couple of songs Okay, maybe I'll finish those and we'll have a couple of You know new recordsongs. I was just playing my first two records kind of thing and then that was the end of August last year and and I booked the studio for November 7th, I think or 8th and And so then I had adeadline, so in September and October, I just kept throwing songs at them and I kept writing. And so it was the first time I'd written anything in 10 years. Like I just, I hadn't written anything. And then it was like, oh, wow, this is fun. These guys are good. And so the whole record is live. I mean, I play guitar and at the same time, I didn't do anything except one scratchy vocal. I redid one vocal, but we're playing live and there were very little fixes and very little overdub. Joe overdubbed a couple of solos. [29:54] So it was just kind of exactly how I wanted it to be and it was very reminiscent of how the hit recorded. You know, we like to not make mistakes, go into the control room and be like, yeah, this is a one. Of course, we'd leave it mostly up to Johnny, because the drums have to be right. He would always pick the ones that we wanted, without even talking about it. Okay, we like take number three. That was a very similar process to recording in the hip or in the bathhouse, so it was all very inspiring. So I'm a new person, honestly. I really thought I was done. Gord died, I just thought, well, we had a good run. It's sad. Yeah. But it was like 32 naturally years actively together. It's been longer now, but you know, all of us together playing and it wasn't like a five-year run, you know? And so I just thought, okay, that's good. But you know, yeah, we did it. And I'm just going to move on and come up with other things. Track 4:[31:07] I just didn't come up with anything else. No, but 638 Main says, like, I got a window into the song where you were at with this record and what kind of the question that JD asked. Like that I was like, okay, I see kind of where Paul's Brain was at with this record and like that's fucking cool, man. I'm so happy for you, dude I don't know. I had the same shit too before we recorded like before I Jumped in with this band that I'm in man. I was just kind of like, all right, I'm done playing music and then you fall in and then you get a band together and then you're like Like, oh, this is fucking, this is fun, man. This is rightwhere it should be. Track 6:[31:52] Yeah, you forget how fun it is. I did. And it's funny you mentioned 638 Maine. Not many people, but I have a couple of quirky friends that are like 638 Maine, man. I love that one. Whereas most of my friends, I'm sure they've never mentioned that song. I don't think it's necessarily a skipper, but it's an odd one. Track 4:[32:14] And basically- That's what's cool about it. Track 6:[32:17] Yeah, it's, you know, to me, it's cool, because I made it up on the spot. I didn't have anything written down. And I just pictured myself. Track 1:[32:26] What? Track 6:[32:26] Like I'm talking about what it's like to be in a studio. And we were in there eight days. And Greg and I, those guys were going, like there's a firefighter, construction, a factory shiftworker. Greg's a waiter, so he took the eight days off. And I don't have another job, so I did too. So Greg and I were out there the whole time. And a couple of nights, it was late. They were all latenights. And I was just sitting there, just like, oh, it'd be good if I could set myself in a bar to describe what it's like being in a studio. I didn't know if it was Monday or Tuesday. It was kind of like, you're lost in the music. You're lost in the recording. So I thought, and we only had nine songs, or nine that I liked. And so I was like, I want to try this one. And I just made it up. I just like set myself on fire. And then I'm kind of chasing the song. You know, it's all turning out like it should or whatever the words are. Track 4:[33:29] But it paints the picture, man. There was a hip song like that too. Do you remember, Tim, the apartment where Gord was describing the apartment? You know what I'm talking about? Track 1:[33:40] Apartment song. Track 4:[33:40] But that 638, man, it paints the picture, man. Track 6:[33:44] Oh, well, thanks. Thanks. Yeah. I was, I was very, uh, very happy with that. And Greg and Joe were asleep on the couch in the control room. So it was just, I just laid it down on acoustic and then, um, and saying it. And... And Bill and Matt, drums and bass, they played. And Joe and Greg were kind of pissed off because I missed it. So I allowed them to add a guitar and backup vocal. Track 4:[34:23] So anyway, I'm glad you mentioned that. It's cool, man. It's a deep cut. Deep cut. Yeah, we're going to Kingston. And for the finale we're doing is September 1st, but I think the day before or the day after we're going to Kingston. Yeah, August 31st. Track 1:[34:41] We're doing it. They're flying in August 30th. And uh, we're doing a road trip to Kingston. Track 6:[34:48] You're kidding. Track 1:[34:50] No. Oh, yeah, we're gonna do it. Yeah. I've got it right. Track 4:[34:54] Like I mean, yeah, I'm gonna be so dragon ass, man. Track 5:[34:59] It's all part of this process. Track 6:[35:00] That's what are you? Are you kind of Just doing it for fun. I'll meet up with you either way whether you're recording something or not That would be amazing to buy you a beer yeah, yeah, that would be absolutely amazing Yeah, we check the redhouse. Just get in touch with me. Track 4:[35:19] All right Let's do it, man. Let's do it. Track 5:[35:22] Let's do it Yeah, we're flying into town and we have an event at the rec room in Toronto on September 1st. So that's that's like our Our grand finale of the pod is we're meeting up and there's a tribute band, 50 Mission, playing at the Rec Room and we're doing this fundraiser for the DanielWinsor Fund. Track 6:[35:45] Oh cool. And so are you going to be, is it an event where you're not sort of talking together or are you guys going to get up and sing? Track 1:[35:54] We're going to record the final episode of the podcast at this event. Track 6:[35:58] Oh cool. Track 1:[35:59] So they'll finally reveal whether or not they're hip bands, which they've done a poor job concealing it. It's so funny at the beginning, they would be like, Pete would be like, oh, yeah, there's this lick that the rhythm guitarist plays. And you know, then later on, it's like, Paul Langlois, am I saying his name right? And then later on, it's just Paul. You know what I mean? Track 4:[36:21] I had no concept of your existence, man. I mean, I was like, what's this guy's, who's this guy's name? Now it's like, everything's off the tongue, man, but I, by the way, I gotta ask you, and I know they're for different things, but what do you prefer about it? Do you like your telly or do you like the Les Paul? What's the, what's the one that you're, that you, if you die with the guitar in your hands, the one you want in the hands? Track 6:[36:45] I mean, it would kind of, it would have to be to tell you, I'm playing the telly on the solo band shows. Okay. So, I've gone back to the telly. I don't regret playing a Les Paul. I started Les Paul day for night on. And that was a black one, Black Beauty. But then I switched to a Sunburst, which I love that guitar. That's my second favorite. That's my second favorite. But the Tele for sure. That was the first electric I bought, like officially bought to play in the band. And I'm using it now. And yeah, it would be the Tele for sure. Track 4:[37:28] I never played a telly ever until about six months ago when I visit my family in California. I walked into a guitar center and I went into the expensive room that you're not supposedto go in. I sat and there was nobody there. It was just a ghost town. I sat with a telly for like an hour and I was like, jeez, man. I got it because I always played a Strat. I got a Jazzmaster, and an SG, but I never, and I've never played, I mean, I played a Les Paul once, twice, but I never owned a Les Paul. That's thenext on the list. But a Tele was, I liked it. Track 6:[38:05] Yeah, well, see, it's funny, because I find a Strat the most different guitar, and because Robbie played it already, and he was like, he had 15 years of experience on me, because Ididn't start playing until I was 19, and he started playing, he was small. And he was playing a Strat. And so I was like, I mean, I started out playing acoustic and after a while I was like, fuck this, I can't fucking hear. And I had a big train ramp and it was just like, it was impossible to, I'd turn it up to, and I got electrocuted all the time because it was a old shit. Well, I finally said, I'm playing electrocute It's a lot of telly and because I figured that telly is kind of the opposite of a strat almost and I've never really ever tried to play a strat, like Ireally honestly never have. Les Paul's and Telly's I find are way more similar. The Strat to me is a different one. It's super cool, but it's just not my thing. Track 4:[39:13] I just like the pickups, man, like that Steve Miller tone, that Buddy Holly, those 57s and those 59s, those pickups are just so tinny and, you know. I don't know, I like that. Yeah, no, it's amazing. Track 5:[39:31] So, when we were just getting into Saskadelphia, right, and I'm listening to Crack My Spine the other day with my headphones on, you know, because I want to hear everything, andyour guitar on that was just like, it kind of just sounded like, it reminded me of the Ramones, like you were just kind of playing some power chords through there. It just reminded me of like 80s kind of punk rock, you know, and I just, I just loved that about it and it's been such an interesting thing hearing you guys playing guitar because, you know,most bands you got bass and drums kind of linked up as the backbone and you might have a lead guitarist but you might not or a rhythm guitarist but you guys were just like playing guitardoing your thing and it works and I think that's just such a cool rare thing about a band that you guys pulled off. And then it's been so fun to then go on and listen to your solo stuff and hear your evolution too, because we don't get this opportunity with bands very often in general. Like how many bands are still around or guys still around? Well, that's so cool to hear. Track 6:[40:43] You know, what I would credit that the most, or whom I would credit, is Don Smith, who produced Up to Here and Road Apples, because he handled us, he hard panned us, left andright, Robbie and I. So listen, I listen to ACDC, and sorry, but Malcolm Young isn't loud enough. Like, it's like the guitars are like this. Track 5:[41:12] It's true. Track 6:[41:14] So Don panned us. And so then every producer after that, and our guy, Mark Breakin, who actually helped us produce our only record we did without a producer was Trouble at theHen House. And Mark Breakin still mixes, you know, he mixed Saskatoon, he's been our sound man and our live sound man for the whole time. Although he did leave to bigger and better things for a good chunk of 15 years or so, but he's back with us and he pans them too. So he, so you can hear one in one ear, one in the other. I'm deaf in my right ear, So I have to listen to it twice just to. You know, hear what Robbie's doing, the odd time I'm interested. [42:03] But I credit Don because Don did that and he was super cool and we were so, he was unbelievable and we couldn't believe we were working with him. He'd done Traveling Wilburys and he did everything and he was Mr. Cool and he was just like, you guys just do your thing. And this is when we were young, impressionable, you know, we wanted to do our thing, but we figured, you know, people are going to tell us, you know, you should be a bit more countryand people did, you know, a bit more country, maybe or something. Don was just like, just do your thing. And he panned the guitars. So basically, he, he, I credit him with my job. Because people can hear me if they want, you know, if they're taking a closer listen, and like you guys do, it's kind of like all my parts are just naked on one side. At one point though, I made a list, and it's an ongoing list of songs where I'm in the right speaker if you're looking at it. I'm always on the left, and Robbie's always on the right. Except more and more, I'll check it, and I have like a list of about 12 songs where I'm on the right and Robbie's on the left. My producer decided to switch it. Track 1:[43:20] Oh, funny. Track 6:[43:23] Which is curious to me. Because when I put on headphones, so I can only hear out of this ear, 100% deaf in this one. Wow. I always put the left ear, because that's me. Oh, shit. Track 4:[43:37] And then you go. Track 6:[43:39] And then the odd hit song I'll run into, and it's kind of like, that's not me. That's Robbie. Track 4:[43:44] Who's this shitty guitar player? Track 6:[43:46] We didn't listen to each other at all, by the way, not at all. Track 4:[43:53] It's funny, dude. Paul, when you guys did Trouble, man, and that was a record, I think Tim and I, I don't know, I'm speaking for Tim here, but for me, that was the record where I was like, it finally openedfor me. And I got everything prior to that too, but that record was like, okay, this band doesn't give a shit about what anybody thinks, man. Just gonna do their own thing. And that's where I was like, you guys grew into this just animal that nobody knew existed. I don't know, man, that was a that was a break. That was the record that JD when JD flew to Malaga for primavera sound last year, he brought a vinyl and this is me still not knowinganything about you guys. And he brought me trouble at the house. And I was like, Yeah, I do you remember? Track 1:[44:48] Do you remember I mailed you trouble at the hen house on CD. And you're like, I don't have a CD player. I was like, who doesn't have a CD player? Track 4:[44:56] We moved here and I and then yeah, because we moved from the state. Anyway. Yeah, yeah. Track 6:[45:07] It's it's funny. Just to add something, because I thought of it earlier, very early on this chat, you were saying something, Pete, that I thought of, and I'm like, oh, fuck, I thought ofsomething good to say, and I forgot, but now I remember. So there was this band, there's this, I don't know that they're a band anymore, they're from Philly, and they're called Marah, M-A-R-A-H. [45:36] And they're a couple of brothers. And anyway, out of the blue, the day after our last show, the singer writes Robbie a letter. And he's like, and he describes, the letter makes me cry. me cry like it he describes his life and you know they got signed to, Maybe Steve Earle had a label, someone like that. Oh, nice. Nashville person. So they had some success, but they just ruined everything all the time. That was just their nature. You have brothers, and any time things started to go well,they would kind of blow it up. And then he described, he goes on to describe, he was out in the country on a TV at a cabin he doesn't use, but he happened to throw on the TV, and the CBC covered that show live, youknow, so it was live on the air, and he describes, you know, watching the show and what's about to happen, and what was my point? Well, there's this thing in the doc that Robbie quotes him, like, what's going to happen here? You know, are they gonna all bands either explode on the way up or on the way down everything? [47:01] Burn out nothing works out and What are you telling me? These guys are gonna pull the he compared it to a You know an air balloon, whatever they're called parachute No, like a balloon, you know, oh, yeah hot air balloon what they're all gonnapull it down and and land safely, like win rock and roll or something. It's just kind of like, anyway, it was just an amazing letter years ago. And I've always had the intention to kind of reach out to him and say, fuck your letter, man. Cause he, it's way more than that. Another thing he said is he would try, cause this is quite like this podcast that you're doing JD. He would, he learned not to play the hip to people, to his friends, to anyone, various girlfriends. He was like, I'd never do it. If he found a real hip fan, he said, like because they're touring, right, in New York or London or wherever, as soon as he realized it's a real hip fan, they'd be at the back of the bar. He'd take them to the back of the bar, and they'd have pints, and they'd talk about all things hip. [48:18] And anyway, so he said, if someone came over to my house, and I trusted them enough to play the hip, And they started talking over the music. That's it. Christmas lights off. Everyone's going home. [48:34] He's an amazing writer. Track 4:[48:38] It's so true. I said that to JD a couple of weeks ago when I was in California this last time in May. We were driving to Joshua Tree. And I fucking hate when people put on music and they're like, listen to this band. You're going to love this band. And it's like, you build it up, right? I didn't do that. I grabbed my buddy's phone, we're driving down, I don't know, 64 or whatever it is, down in Joshua Tree, 29 Palms, and I just grabbed his phone and I put on Trouble atthe Inn House. Yeah. And he's like, who the fuck is this? Track 6:[49:10] That's how to do it. Yeah. Track 4:[49:12] That's all I did. I played a couple tunes and he's like, who's this band? I was like, oh, it's... And then, you know, cause you don't set the expectations. Yeah. Track 6:[49:23] Yeah, no, exactly. That's how to do it. That's the downy way, actually. Did Gord and all his brothers. You surprise somebody. If you give people warning, it's not the same, you know? Yeah. It's just like, no, no. Track 1:[49:38] Expectations. Track 6:[49:39] Yeah, and when Gord was sick. Track 5:[49:41] It's true, it's true. Track 6:[49:42] His brother was looking after him mainly, and I was mainly there to help Pat. Someone would be, I wanna come over and see Gord, you know, because there was no tour in the future. Like, we all just thought this is it. And I was like, oh, this guy wants to come by. And Pat's like, well, just don't tell Gord about it. Tell them to come but we won't tell them about it. It'll just get surprised. That's how the Downies do it. It's like, oh we're here. Track 5:[50:10] That's cool. Track 1:[50:15] Paul, I know we said 45 minutes and we're over so I'm sorry for taking more of your time than we should have. No problem. Track 6:[50:20] I still got seven minutes before the next one. Track 1:[50:26] Oh wow, you're on junket mode, eh? Track 6:[50:28] Yeah, three today. Track 1:[50:32] Oh wow. Well, any chance we'll see you on the road in the fall? Or is it just take it as it comes? Track 6:[50:43] Take it as it comes, yeah. Sort of trying to stick to festivals, but obviously they start disappearing when the fall comes. So, unknown. So, I've got two more gigs in August and like one in Windsor-ish, Kingsville, and one in Bath, where our studio is, and those are both in August. Track 1:[51:08] It's been great talking to you. So great. Track 6:[51:10] Yeah, great talking to you guys. It's nice to meet you too, as well. Track 4:[51:13] Nice to meet you, Paul. Thanks for your time, man. Track 6:[51:17] Hey, we'll talk again. Track 5:[51:18] Yeah. Track 6:[51:18] Good luck with everything. Track 5:[51:19] For sure. Track 4:[51:20] Take care. Track 5:[51:20] Thanks. Track 6:[51:21] OK. See you guys. Track 5:[51:22] All right. Cheers! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ever find yourself reminiscing about the good old days when tunes from The Tragically Hip filled the airwaves? My pals, Tim and Pete, and I sure did, as we took a deep dive into their 6th studio album, Phantom Power. We discovered that our own past experiences and relationships managed to shape our views on this collection of radio hits, which seemed like a pivotal moment for the band. We weren't just content with superficially jamming out to the music. We dissected the unique sound and lyrical themes, compared them to previous Hip releases, and found ourselves swapping stories from past concerts. One standout memory was Tim being recognized by lead vocalist Gord Downie backstage. We also discussed the historical context of the album, like how its recording coincided with a major ice storm and a surprise tour that benefited a children's cancer camp. Stick around as we analyze some standout tunes like 'Poets' and its references to Gwen Jacobs' fight for women's equality. We also shared our thoughts on 'Fireworks' and how it reminded us of Canada's victory in the hockey series against Russia in 1972. So, whether you're a die-hard Hip fan or just love a good music chat, this episode is for you!TranscriptSpeaker 1 It's June of 1998 and I'm done with York University. To celebrate, my friends and I embarked on a camping trip to the Pinary Provincial Park just down the road from Grand Bend. It was just outside the liquor store in town that I heard a finished version of Pullets for the first time. Gord had long been one of my favorite Pullets, so to me this song resonated in a way that I can't quite describe. It was a feeling of euphoria and relief. This new record was going to be just fine, i thought to myself. Little did I know that several tracks on this record would stand the test of time and join the pantheon of great hip songs I still enjoy to this day, from the meandering escape is at hand to the traveling man, to the exquisite Bob Cajun and the downright delicious Emperor Penguin. Phantom power was right in the pocket, coming off of the exceptional trouble at the henhouse. As I got inside the truck to head back to the campsite I turned the volume up and just let Pullets sink into my brain. This was living. Today. We're going to hear from our friends Pete and Tim to check out what they think of Phantom power. Will it stack up? Find out today. On Getting Hip to the Hip. 0:01:41 - Speaker 2 Long sliced brewery presents Getting Hip to the Hip Hey it's JD here. 0:01:58 - Speaker 1 Welcome back to Getting Hip to the Hip. This week we are talking about Phantom Power, the sixth studio record by Seminole Canadian rock band, the Tragically Hip. I'm joined this week, as always, by my pals Tim and Pete Fellas. how are you doing? 0:02:19 - Speaker 3 Hey guys, hey guys, hey guys, glad to be here. Good to see you, i'm ecstatic to be here. 0:02:26 - Speaker 4 I'm ecstatic to be here right now. 0:02:27 - Speaker 1 Oh, I love it. 0:02:28 - Speaker 4 I love the energy This is happier than a pig and shit. 0:02:31 - Speaker 1 Oh boy, oh boy, that's pretty happy. I've seen some, some porcine creatures rolling in fecal matter and they sure love it. Okay, so if you are wanting to experience The Tragically Hip's music for the first time, tim and Pete are your avatars this week because they got to experience the record Phantom Power, which again is the sixth record produced by Steve Berlin, first record on Universal. But I guess I should tell you guys both. I guess I should say this to you both as honorary Canadians. Now, happy Canada Day. It's almost the 4th of July. It's July 3rd today, but it's July 4th tomorrow for you, but July 1st for us is Canada Day. So happy Canada Day, folks. 0:03:20 - Speaker 4 Wow, Yeah, Very close to the other 4th of July, which is America's Independence Day. In the UK they call that Thanksgiving. No, No, I had a. I took a flight one time on some shitty airline and the pilot was British and it was on the 4th of July and he was like so I just want to say you know, that's my shitty British accent Happy 4th of July was we call it. We're on from Thanksgiving. Enjoy Whatever. 0:03:57 - Speaker 1 That's great. Oh, anytime you can burn an American a little bit, it's. you know there's some fun. There's some fun there because you guys are so goddamn good at this shit, you know Anyway let's get into the record as a whole. Before we go into the song by song segment, let's just talk about this record, produced, like I said, by Steve Berlin. Five singles come from this record. All music rates at a three out of five Three. So there's that. What did you guys think? I want to know where you listen to it, how you listen to it and what your initial thoughts were, and you know, maybe, what they percolated up to. What do you say there, tim? 0:04:45 - Speaker 3 Well, there's a pause. I thought it was a three star album, kind of like all music I felt wasn't really sure. it felt a little bit deluded in a way. to me It felt a little bit, a little bit more generic from what I've heard in the past. But it also felt kind of expected for the whole catalog of albums this band has produced and the timeline going into the late 90s. You know this album felt like full of radio hits but at the same time I was missing a little bit of that raw kind of hip feeling. You know, i was wondering like, should I be okay with this album just being kind of fine? This was the turning point for me. I was really not sure. When I read kind of some reviews about it, i think there was some sentiment, some shared sentiment, and also some people were like it's my favorite album and some hip fans said it's their least favorite album. So this one's kind of a gray area for me. 0:06:00 - Speaker 1 It's funny. Well, I'll get into my, you know, sort of backgrounder on this for you guys after we hear from Pete. Pete, what did you think? 0:06:09 - Speaker 4 I hear you on the gray area, because I could totally see that. I could totally see how some hip fans are like this is the best album they did. Or this is not my favorite album. For me I listen to it everywhere. I listen to it in my office, so for my computer, with some some decent cans, i took it out running a lot. Probably. I think maybe the first time I listened to it was that took it in the car. It sounded great. The thing I found like I would say 3.5 for me, tim, instead of a 3. But you know I feel you on that My initial thoughts were that a lot of rawness of the hip was gone from this. In the first couple of listens it sounded very watered down. It was like somebody pulled Gord Downey aside and said Hey man, can we just like, kind of like the dude, can you, can, you fucking can you take it easy, man, you know, just like. Told him to just like chill out a little bit, and I don't know. The more I listen to it though, the more I dug into it and see how much work maybe not production, but just from the band themselves went into this record maybe changed my tune a lot Like I dig it. And Phantom Power, that was the coolest thing in the 90s, man Like because sometimes you didn't know what it was. If you never heard of Phantom Power before, it has a fucking cool name. If you had a guy that had like a condenser mic or something with Phantom Power, you're like dude, yeah, he's got a mic, that's got a Phantom Power. It was just like fucking. You were 17 and you heard that it was fucking cool. 0:08:00 - Speaker 3 Yeah, you know, i went and looked at a number of albums sold by a bunch of different bands, including the hip, and I was trying to kind of have this try to find this correlation of how many albums sold from the band start to like 10 years later, or 10 albums later, something like that. And I compared the hip with a bunch of bands And it's, it's. It's really all apples, oranges, of course, but when you look at how many albums they've sold and how they, you know, started off selling a ton and then just kind of went down to this million album mark. And then when I heard this album and I like UP, i listened to it all over the place. I listened to it on the plane I traveled, listened to it in the car, listened to it at home with the cans on. I mean I listened to it in more places than past listens because I was really trying to give it a go. I mean, it was the first time, upon first listened, that there were a couple songs where I was like okay, get it, i'm going to go to the next one, like I had not fast forwarded songs, you had her skipped ahead. So this, yeah, but but one of those songs that I skipped ahead on, sorry hip fans. You know I came back to and it's might be one of my most favorite on the album, so this this one like yeah, this one, this one to me like didn't grab me right away. Maybe it will more over time, maybe it's one of those types of albums, but well, i'll tell you what this record has. 0:09:36 - Speaker 1 An interesting, an interesting story, i think, and it it's my own headcanon This is. This is not like actual fact by any stretch, but in my opinion, trouble at the Henhouse, which is one of my absolute favorite records by the Tragically Hip or or or any other band, is, was maligned Like it, it, it, it, it both it and day for night didn't perform as well as fully, completely, and fully completely was very, if you recall, it was very polished, it was very produced. You know they went to London to record it. It was like a big deal. And then, following that, the next two records, they were sort of self-produced, with Mark Vreakin and Mark Howard on day for night and just Vreakin on fully, on Trouble at the Henhouse, and those records are sparse and they are. The core energy is, is there, it's, it's. It's like boiling hot magma, you know, and they're and they're forming these songs that are just age old now and and just wonderful, and then phantom power comes out and phantom power goes back to the like. To me it's sort of back to the back, to the basics. It's like back to really structured songs, really produced, and, like I always said, that this record was the baby of day for night and fully and completely, fully, completely, rather not fully and completely fully. It's sort of the baby of those two records. It's got the, it's got the production values, but it's still got songs. So I'll challenge you guys on that, because I think this record has songs and I think it has songs for days. You know what? 0:11:40 - Speaker 4 you are JD, let me tell you who you are. So when I was like 19 or 18, working with the movie theater, i dated this girl that that worked at the calendar place across the way And I just kind of went out with her because I was like really stoked. She gave me your number But I really wasn't that into her and all my friends were like, dude, she's really hot man, she's really amazing, and I just didn't see it. And so then like I stopped going out with her. We only went out a couple of times and that was that. And then I saw her again. I was like, damn, i really screwed that one up And that's kind of felt with this record, but I didn't want to like make that same mistake again. So like I, i'm sticking with it. I'm sticking with this being a solid album. Yeah, you know, yeah Masked it for, you know, a third and fourth date. 0:12:26 - Speaker 1 Yeah, i think, and I think three out of five stars is fair Like it's not it's not one of my. it's not my favorite record, but it's a lot of hit pants favorite record It's a lot Yeah, yeah. 0:12:39 - Speaker 3 That's that's what I found in my research. The covers are awesome. The covers are great. 0:12:43 - Speaker 1 They have that They actually have that panel in in their studio and bath, which is really cool. Yeah, so that's, you know this is. I want to say this is the second record they recorded at their studio. So they didn't go anywhere, you know, adventurous or anything like that, but they were at home. And what happened in 1998, i don't know if it made news anywhere else but Quebec and Ontario there was a major ice storm, yeah, major ice storm, and in Ontario it, like it absolutely shut down the city of Toronto. It shut down, you know, major thoroughfares. It was like devastating this ice storm. And we'll get into that a little bit more as we talk about the songs. But you know, they bring Berlin in and they're sort of trapped in the studio. You know like during during this, so really fascinating I think. 0:13:43 - Speaker 3 But yeah, it's a go ahead. Did you see this tour? Did you see them play on this tour? You want to hear a story Now? 0:13:52 - Speaker 1 people who listen to the movie and completely heard this. But the hip announced five secret shows that they were going to do, and all proceeds from these shows were going to go to a charity I forget which charity now at the oh, it was Camp Trillium. Camp Trillium, which is a camp for children with cancer, children that have cancer, and there's a location of that is near where I grew up And I'll show you when we, when you're in town for the finale. My friend's parents were on the committee for the cancer camp in our community, and so my friend Heather had intel and she she knew that they were going to go on sale at this time in this place in Hamilton, which is about an hour outside of Toronto, when traffic's good, and so we ended up getting third row center seats Wow, in this small theater in Hamilton, like 2000 people, and they blew the roof off the place. And a band called oh my goodness. They sang, come for a ride. Open for them, and they were tremendous as well. I forget the bands right now who open for them, but if you know it, send me an email. Jd at getting hip to the hipcom. So we're third row center. We watched the show, But the kicker here is is that Heather has got gifts to give the band And it's been arranged with the stage manager that we're going to go backstage afterwards to give. She's going to go backstage afterwards to give these gifts And she ended up inviting me along And so we got to go backstage and I introduced her to the tragic lab. So this was like this was like full circle for the two of us And it was just a wonderful experience. We went backstage after the show and they were all there and Gord had a. Gord Downey had a soccer ball And he was doing that thing where you flip it out, catch it and roll it back in your arms. Flip it out, catch it, roll it back in your arms And he just kept doing that And I remember at one point I must have looked silly or something, because somebody said and maybe it was Gord Downey said is everything all right? And I said, oh, everything is fucking perfect. I could go outside and get hit by a bus right now And it just wouldn't matter. And Gord Downey looked at me and he goes Oh, don't do that, jane. He called me Jane, only my mom calls me Jane. Like it was so cool It was cool. 0:16:37 - Speaker 4 How did I not know the story? How did I not know that you had interactions with Jesus? 0:16:44 - Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, how was this? 0:16:45 - Speaker 4 coming up in episode. What fucking episode are we on. 0:16:48 - Speaker 1 Well, it was Tim asked me the question, yeah. 0:16:50 - Speaker 3 I don't know. We're like 15 minutes in. I think we could just call it. That was good enough. 0:16:55 - Speaker 1 Well, here's the kicker. Here's the kicker. I don't think I told this part on fully and completely, but the kicker is I had been dating a girl all through university and I broke up with her the summer of 98 and sewed my wild oats And this was all toward the end of the summer of 98. And she was in Hamilton to meet me after the show. So I'm backstage with the hip and they go Okay, well, we're going to go to the after party now in the next room over, because this was in the green room or whatever And we're going to go in the after party room and drink some beers. Do you guys want to join us? And I had to say no. I had to say no because my girlfriend was waiting outside for me. Now, in hindsight, what a boner move I made, because I wanted to get back together with her. Totally. It only lasted another two years after that, like I then absolutely blew up, but it was those. Those final two years were awful anyway, like they just weren't, you know, like both of us would agree to that now I'm sure the university years were wonderful, they were, they were great, but those those two years after our break up we're not so good And I blew a chance to go party with the hip. 0:18:15 - Speaker 3 You had a Davis Manning moment. 0:18:18 - Speaker 1 Yes, Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 0:18:22 - Speaker 3 He chose the girl over your fandom. 0:18:25 - Speaker 1 The hip lived between us. 0:18:27 - Speaker 3 They totally lived between you. They might still sorry, sorry, jess. 0:18:38 - Speaker 1 Well, folks, should we go song by song? 0:18:41 - Speaker 3 Yeah, let's do it, let's do it. 0:18:44 - Speaker 4 So I really liked this song. I really liked poets. This is probably the song I would say I have the least to say about. I really like the verse phrasing. I think it's probably the best part of this song, the way he phrases the verses. There's a part where the lines of a verse he kind of like carries into the next measure. It's really weird, like, like, like the mind, you think, okay, you sing the verse, then it's the next measure, but like he sings that verse over there Because it's when you look at it it's a complete line. I can't remember the line specifically, but it was. It was cool man. It's a hard thing to pull off man, but like that guy just does. It was so much, so much finesse. I liked the layered guitars in it, yeah. But I think, going back to what we're saying sort of at the beginning of the top of the show, it was, this song didn't punch me in the face Like right when I, right when I started listening, i dug it. I it was a soft open, it was a soft open. 0:19:59 - Speaker 1 All right, how'd you feel, tim? 0:20:01 - Speaker 3 I felt it was a harder open. I thought it was it. You know this. Like we've talked about before the cadence of songs and track orders. You know the first one I expect to really get me, bring me in, and this one did it. I thought it was pretty good. There's a fun kind of change over into the chorus It again I spoke about this a little bit before, but the kind of remind me of REM in REM's, like first half of the 90's albums, like they come on with like a punch of a song and then, like the cadence of the album kind of goes soft and then gets whoa, got a little dirty there, gets a little bit harder as time evolves. But yeah, this I thought this was a good start off. The themes you know I looked into a little bit of the song's meaning regarding lyrics and you know just talk about agriculture and super farms and like I don't know, ultimately fresh vegetables versus buying frozen and what that means. And this, this is the song that references Gwen Jacobs. Right, you know the story about her JD, and she was this woman who walked into town I think in Ontario topless and it created this whole. I don't have to look into this more, but I'm pretty sure this was the song about the Gwen Jacobs case. So Gwen was a woman who walked through town topless and was arrested and started this whole kind of woman's lib. You know movement with. You know making it okay to cut your lawn without a shirt on, just like the men do. That's kind of where the line in here from Gord comes from. It's a let's see. 0:22:02 - Speaker 1 Oh, that's great Lawn caught by breasted women. 0:22:04 - Speaker 3 Yeah, it's kind of this comment on pushing for women's equality and gender rights. So I thought that was fucking cool And that, to me also, is like really appropriate for the 90s or late 90s, you know it was. we were kind of circling back to, of course, some things we've had in North America before and prior decades. So I thought this song was cool. Again, it really reminded me of REM. I kind of went back and started looking at some of REM's albums and I wish, again, i wish I could know what the band listened to when they were traveling Me too. You know what they were sharing, what albums they were digging. you know if any of them were like Oh my God, did you hear REM's new one? We're going to put it in the the the buses stereo or whatever. Like I wish I could know what was influencing them, because I'm hearing, i'm hearing some some themes for sure. 0:22:57 - Speaker 1 Okay, earlier I was telling you about the ice storm. The next track, something on, was recorded and they literally were trapped in the studio. They were, you know, they couldn't leave the bath house, they couldn't leave the studio in bath. So they did what they do best They wrote a song and there's some lyrical content in there about the ice storm even And I think it's really wonderful lyricism. What did you guys think of something on? 0:23:33 - Speaker 3 I felt like, okay, i read about it, i read about this and I read about the ice storm and you know sounded awful. And for I hate to say this, but to go get stuck in a studio, for me that'd be like the time to really fuck things up, like really experiment. You know, you know, just hopefully somebody shows up with a huge bag of weed and somebody shows up with a bunch of acid and somebody shows up with a shit ton of beer and like this is when you like really go to town to experiment and what do we got out of it? We got like kind of a radio hit. So it was a little surprise to kind of hear the whole story and it just made me realize that maybe for this era, the guys were really I mean, they were at a point to where they could bust out a really good album, you know, and what, for me, that really good album is? like you go to a restaurant and it's like yo, that was a good meal. You know, everything was like satisfactory. 0:24:37 - Speaker 1 Well, yeah, it's a blooming onion man. 0:24:38 - Speaker 3 It's a blooming onion, Yeah, but to get stuck in a studio and ice storm, it's like I personally would want to just start going places. I haven't been before with my band, but you know this one's interesting take. Yeah, this one felt. This one felt a little radio felt a little you too, dave Matthews like splash of John Cougar melon camp or something like I don't know. Man, it felt, i know. I know, i know, i know. 0:25:10 - Speaker 1 And I was a big melon camp guy at one point. 0:25:13 - Speaker 4 But Dave, Matthews are regular. 0:25:16 - Speaker 1 Cougar and regular. 0:25:18 - Speaker 3 Yeah, like I couldn't get overly excited about this one. Well, again. 0:25:26 - Speaker 1 I think you were waiting for the follow up from the follow up to trouble at the house, and this isn't the follow up that you're expecting on a trajectory perspective. You know no no, i agree. 0:25:44 - Speaker 4 It's funny. You talk about getting trapped in the studio, like I mean, i don't know if I'd go like full steely Dan when they recorded the Albuquerque show, where, like you know, there maybe was not that much cocaine around, but I still agree with him, i would. I'd get really spacey, and I think they do it on a couple songs that we'll get into, but first time I heard this song got some heavy Jim Blossom's feels. Yeah yeah, Yes that's the first thing that hit me and I couldn't think of any of the band that it was like a buddy of mine used to play the band that they open for them a ton, and I was like the first band that came to mind like this Oh, and it was really poppy. And okay, my notes. Once you get past the repeated cheesiness of the chord progression and the vocal melody, it's not a bad song. 0:26:40 - Speaker 1 Oh dammit, with faint praise here. No, no, no, it's not a bad song. 0:26:44 - Speaker 4 I think it's a good song, but you know it's a good song. If, like you, take this song and go, is this a good song? Anybody will say it's a good song, but like you, said to me compared to the follow up of what you really wanted after trouble. Then else, and this was a song where I feel like Gord sounded a bit like he was put in the cage Like whoever was a universal when this record was getting recorded, put baby in the corner. And this is a song where really I feel like you know he's, he wants to be himself, but somebody's like, hey, man, just could you like you don't have to do it all the songs, but like at least on this one could you just, fucking, you know, tone it down a little bit. And I was just like, ah, where's my fucking, where's my lead singer. 0:27:33 - Speaker 3 Yeah, I totally agree, Because you know it's still a good song, because it's still all the guys and it still has themes, because it's Gord, you know you're still going to get one liners that are amazing. I feel like probably no matter what in any hip song there's going to be some standout lyric to me, some standout part like to the core fan. That's. That's really what I'm imagining. The line that stood out in this one for me was your imaginations having puppies, I mean yeah, yeah. I've had so many letters of puppies, you guys. It's like I'm just, i've got puppies all over the place. It's like. 0:28:11 - Speaker 4 I was a cool. I really like that one. Yeah, like that, like that video for new recruits or something. 0:28:17 - Speaker 3 Yeah, so I like identified in it. You know, at that personal level, which I think they're able to do just about on any song which is fucking amazing for a band to do, because I could probably name 10 bands right now. What that does not happen to me, yeah, so you know. So, in that regard, like hip fans, you know I'm, i'm I'm not really trying not to be the bad guy here, but we this, this, this just made this song, just made me keep going So into save the planet. I mean, i got to this one, arrived at this one, and I was like, is this the band's fucking Earth Day song? or stretch their reach to get on the farm aid bill, like what is going on here? I felt like I don't know, there's a flute in there. Who's playing the flute? 0:29:09 - Speaker 1 Who plays the flute? You know, i don't. I don't have the liner notes handy And on the wiki page it is remarkably barren in terms of additional players. Yeah, it doesn't, it doesn't have them, so I need people to write in. 0:29:25 - Speaker 3 If people know, let us know, because there's some flute in there And it made me wonder like what else? 0:29:31 - Speaker 1 there's keys all over this record. 0:29:33 - Speaker 3 Yeah, what else have I been missing in the background that maybe other people are participating in? But I felt, like you know this song, in the placement we were, we were filling, we were filling in the gaps on the menu And you're like, no, I had a burger yesterday. No, I'm not in the mood for that. Oh, I could really use some lasagna. Here we go. That's that's how Save the Planet felt, felt very time appropriate. This is, like you know, the millennial song. 0:30:02 - Speaker 1 Okay. 0:30:03 - Speaker 4 All right. So if anybody's got a line on the flute player, email Tim getting hip to the hip, talk there you go. Right, i copy Pete at getting hip Yeah. Save the Planet. I thought it was a banger. I really dug it. I at first I saw that too, but then I kind of look past the name of it And just look at the song itself. There's a. There's two references in this album to Crossing the Street, to pedestrian crossings. Yes, i'll point out the other one. This is the first one Fucking solo bangs in this. I thought the flute at the end was cool because it was so random. 0:30:47 - Speaker 3 I was like well, what the fuck is that? Yeah? 0:30:50 - Speaker 4 Same. 0:30:52 - Speaker 1 There's. You just can't imagine listening to road apples and having a flute right Like. It's just not part of this band. You know like and and and it works It works well, no, right? 0:31:05 - Speaker 4 Yeah, you know, if they went into that I'd be like, well, what the fuck's going on? 0:31:10 - Speaker 3 But I'll just quickly, quickly add that I'm okay with the flute. Like sometimes, the flute really is awesome. Oh, i think it's great. So you know, like some people like hear the flute and they're like oh why You know, but it works. 0:31:24 - Speaker 4 No, i dug it And this is again. This is not the first song, or not the only song in this record where I got some heavy Alanis vibes. The phrasing on if the bathwater is clear and my ears underwater, it's a tolerant hum from the core. Carry the water Like that the way he phrases that shit, it's just. I don't know if I see because it's a Canadian band, if I see everything through the lens of like Canadian pop artists. But like it's just the vibe I got from this and it's a great tune to get out and move your feet to get running. It's a fucking cool song to run. 0:32:09 - Speaker 3 All right, i'll put it on my point first I hear your Alanis vibes marry and up with my Michael Stipe vibes. I think those are in sync for sure, for sure. 0:32:20 - Speaker 1 I think there's a nice correlation between the hip and REM, like I think you're right, like they both have that enigmatic front man, you know, who is really literate and really interesting in the way they sort of phrase things and put things together. 0:32:39 - Speaker 4 They both went bold too, halfway through the careers, that's right, that's a fair point. 0:32:45 - Speaker 1 Fair point, fair point, all right, we're getting in the car right now and we are cruising northeast of here and we're going to Bob Cajun. I left your house this morning. 0:33:40 - Speaker 7 It was quarter after nine. I left your house this morning. I left your house this morning. I drove back to town this morning This morning with working on my mind, i thought I'd maybe try to leave an ear behind. I went back to bed this morning and it's time pulling down the blind. Yeah, the sky was dull, it was high but never come. And morning went down at a time that night in Toronto And I was jacking boardboards, riding on horseback and keeping order restored. Tell the men they couldn't hide. Step to the mic and sign and their voices rang with the area of time. To your house this morning. It was quarter after nine. In the middle of that riot I couldn't get you off of my mind. To your house this morning. It was just a little hour tonight Cause it was in my page on the rossard and constellation, but they themselves won't starve at time. To your house this morning It's a little after nine Cause it was in my page on the rossard and constellation, but they themselves won't starve at time. 0:37:32 - Speaker 5 Tell the men they couldn't hide, they didn't choose your bones and bones. They're all south of the wind and down the lawn to the lake For as long as it takes. 0:38:05 - Speaker 7 I don't want to be a hill of the birds last hour. I don't want the last words out of my mouth to be stained Out of my way. 0:38:16 - Speaker 4 Okay, I fucking love this tune. I got some heavy and Tim, yes or yes. If I hear no, I'm just I'm off this podcast Got some really strong G love special sauce vibes from this. Yes, Just the way they owe up. Am I my GD? 0:38:42 - Speaker 1 I don't know, i think I think I'm very familiar. 0:38:46 - Speaker 3 I did not go there, but I will Okay. 0:38:51 - Speaker 4 Right, i mean the. there's a oh dude that it could have been Willie, could have been the wine. I heard that song. The first time I heard that song I was. I took it out for a run and I came home and I like I listened to it again because I just thought it was such a good fucking song, because it's a weed. reference to may not necessarily be about them listening to Willie Nelson. It's like they were smoking weed or they were drinking wine, absolutely Yeah. The opening, like spacey guitar licks The dobro which I think he's playing. there's a dobro in there that he's playing which kind of gets sort of like a banjo slash guitar vibe. Oh God, just. 0:39:40 - Speaker 1 I feel like that lyric that you just quoted, though, could have been the Willie Nelson, could have been the wine. That's like one, like when he wrote that he should have just put the book down, put on a fedora, long overcoat, grabbed his briefcase, just went home for the day, that's. That's the days. That's the day at the office, that's a fucking. Exactly. 0:40:00 - Speaker 4 That's just a great lyric Exactly dude, no, 100%, it's so good. I was like you know. You know, a line is a good line when you hear it and it's so good you think you've heard it before. Meaning like I'm like right, i mean because it just sounds like it belongs on this in the history of life, Like like someone has, like if someone hadn't said it, they sure as shit should have said it. Does that make sense? Yeah, you know, it sounds like it's just. It's a great fucking line. I thought I maybe quit that line. It's just. It's really the part of this song where Gord starts coming out of the cage. On this record, i feel like that was the moment Somebody gave, somebody unlocked the door of the cage and he's starting to come out, and then the song ends on a random minor chord, which is so weird, it's such a happy, spacey song that ends on this minor chord. 0:41:09 - Speaker 3 I loved that. I loved that about it. So for me this one it felt a little Out of the gates. I need to listen to the beginning of it to see your G-Love reference. But out of the gates. It felt to me a little bit country and a little bit like are we reaching again for some crossover fans Along? the southern belt of the US. Like where are we? What's happening here? You know there's some slide guitar, but is it a song about lost love? You know looking up at the stars waiting for a reveal. You know there's synth work in here again, so there's some sort of keyboard happening, which is fucking cool. And to me, the first lesson I had all those kind of questions going through my head And then I thought at one moment like this is actually a fucking beautiful song. Like it's a little bit of an odd man out on the album, but it's actually a beautiful song. There's this long ending with no singing. It's just mysterious. Like you said, pete, the last five seconds or so, or this just bizarre tune out. It's like I found one quote when Gord was asked about this song. He said this was an interview in 2004,. He said this one asks the question evil in the open or evil just below the surface? That was his comment about this song. So it's like this song to me was super mysterious Yeah, super mysterious song which I fucking love, like I don't need literal storytelling every single song you know. Social themes, i don't know all these different things, i don't need that. Every single song I love you know kind of the knuckleball that comes in. You're like whoa okay, this is reeling me back in to the album in a good way, a way that I'm looking for, you know, i'm hoping for, but still, again, this one felt a little bit odd, man, just the way it fits into the album. They've done this before. They've gotten. 0:43:15 - Speaker 4 They lose green man. 0:43:16 - Speaker 3 Yeah, they've gone on this path of like okay, this one, now we're going to turn off the highway and head down this two-lane road and we're going to stop at this farm and we're going to have an afternoon barbecue with this family, and you know, i don't know, like it's just this one's off the highway. 0:43:35 - Speaker 1 Cool. What do you guys think of the bridge? It makes my arm hair stand up That night in Toronto with the checkerboard floors. There's a bar in Toronto that's famous legendary in fact called the Horseshoe and that references the Horseshoe, the checkerboard floors. Oh shit, that's one of the first big gigs they played in Toronto. 0:43:55 - Speaker 4 Can I get taken to that bar when I come visit Toronto? 0:43:57 - Speaker 1 Absolutely. Let's do it. Sure shit hopes so man. 0:44:00 - Speaker 4 That would be cool. This song is actually the most listened to hip song on Spotify. 0:44:07 - Speaker 1 Oh, wow Yeah. 0:44:09 - Speaker 3 Surpasses. I read something about that as well. 0:44:13 - Speaker 4 What was the one that it surpassed? 0:44:16 - Speaker 1 I can't remember Anyway yeah Well, so it's a hit all around Pop Cage. 0:44:21 - Speaker 3 Yeah, it was a fucking interesting song, right? This is. 0:44:25 - Speaker 1 So we shift gears now in a well, not in a huge way, because this is sort of low tempo or slower tempo. We go to Thompson Girl and you're both hesitating to start Thompson Girl. 0:44:41 - Speaker 4 Go ahead Tim. 0:44:42 - Speaker 3 Yeah, well, you know what's the story about here. I don't know. It's the story potentially about where is it here, This town in Manitoba, thompson, yeah, or it's. You know it's potentially about a nickel mining company up there. You know it's got this kind of sweet, forlorn grunt work somewhere between dream and duty, poking through with all them shoots of beauty. I mean, what is that about? You know, this is kind of a cute, in a way stripped down acoustic song. There's some banjo in there. You know, i've kind of been waiting for, I had been waiting for this type of stripped down, simpler song that you know it's kind of this forlorn, sad song to me at the same time. 0:45:42 - Speaker 1 Probably Pete. 0:45:44 - Speaker 4 I loved it. I thought it was cool. I think I don't know if it's consistent with you and I, tim, but like I really try not to look too deep into the lyrics because oftentimes I'm disappointed, that's why I don't do it. I know you do it a lot more than I do I totally do. 0:46:03 - Speaker 3 I mean it's because of Gord, like Gord Gord. for me, gord merits it. 0:46:09 - Speaker 4 I get intrigued though, but like dude so does. I mentioned Celie Daner earlier. Like Donald Fagan's lyrics are notoriously cool as fuck. But have you ever asked that guy like what he you know what's, what's the meaning of? you know Dr Woo or whatever, like he'll be, like I don't know man, we're on so much cocaine. Back in the day I was just getting shipped to prime or whatever you know like, and I know that's not really the case here. But that line, the way he goes up so high with grunt work, i can't. I'm not even gonna fucking try lest I fucking destroy your listener base JD by singing that line. But when he goes grunt work time between dream and duty the melody is so fucking good It's then there's a part. Um, i don't know if it's like, i don't know, i wouldn't call it the bridge, but it is a bit of a some sort of key change to the regular chord progression. When he goes really high and then the mandolin starts to come in fucking dug that. And then the piano kind of comes in at the end as well, it's fucking cool. I really dig it. Yeah, i liked it First. I didn't like it. I didn't like the chord progression. It just seemed to like, like you said, tim, acoustic. It's sending, like it was like this should be an acoustic song. 0:47:30 - Speaker 3 Keep it that way. Yeah, yeah. But then it grew on me real quick, which is maybe something I would potentially envision. From a stuck in the studio couple days, you know, you'd get to a point to where everybody's kind of burned out and you pick up the acoustic and somebody says to the piano and you talk about is it INCO, inco and the fucking nickel mining, and I, you know, i looked at it a little bit into that in Manitoba and was like, oh geez, here's, here's a historical. You know, just rabbit hole that I can't go down right now. But it just this, to me, is just one of those, one of those songs that fits in well with this whole album And it's something we haven't really had in the past. So it's kind of happy to hear it. Next one membership Who's who's singing backups Somebody found, is it Gord Is? 0:48:28 - Speaker 1 it Gord over. Usually it's Paul Angla, usually Well. 0:48:32 - Speaker 3 I don't think it's Paul. It might be doubled. If you, if you go in and listen again, check out membership and listen to the backups, because it sounds like a woman to me and it sounds really familiar, like I've heard this voice before And I've looked and looked and looked but I can't find anything. It might be one of the guys, just you know, editing it in post or something, i don't know. But there's, there's some beautiful backup happening. This one, though you know it's wasn't my favorite on the album, i'm not going to put it on the playlist There's kind of a big change after the three minute mark with, like this new chorus. Of course it has my fade out at the end. You know there's there's kind of this bigger start to the song, but it's kind of slow in a way. I don't know. It's maybe about addiction, it's kind of a ballad. you know this, this one, it just felt like it didn't really fit in, didn't really wasn't really sure how it was working and it it made me consider you know I've done this a few times that it made me consider the band and what they were feeling you know they're coming in on 2000 here What they were feeling after 10 years, which is long for any band to retain some amount of success 10 years of playing and predominantly being popular in their home country and not even gaining a huge you know the level they deserved in the neighboring USA. So this this kind of made me think about all those things. I just didn't know if it was like about power abuse of power addiction or longing loss, i don't know. This song was kind of all over the map for me, but ultimately the chorus bugged me and it stuck in my head for a little while. I was like, oh, i need, i need some other, i need some other hip song stuck in my head and that's kind of where, honestly, that's where, like blow a high dough, just comes and takes over my brain. So that's what happened. 0:50:50 - Speaker 4 on membership, I you know I have a ton to say about this song. It's kind of like I put in the same categories Poets. It wasn't my favorite song in the record. I liked it, felt it like it was a very drone rock with a chord progression. It's the way it sounded. I love the harmonies. Tim mentioned the harmonies being drawn along by it. Like that line with the harmonies come in The middle, guitar solo where they kind of tease you with the guitar solo helps build the song kind of cool. But then, yeah, the fade out at the end is just like to me. It felt like they maybe didn't have, they didn't nail everything down with this one. That's all I'll say, you know, but yeah we can move on if you want, let's slide over to fireworks. 0:51:46 - Speaker 7 You like fireworks? Yeah, me neither. The frustrating part Never back in old 72 Without school, just a gun, without a gun or trigger. I don't remember a reason. Set me sight of you. You said I couldn't get a fuck about the party. Never heard something true back before You held my hand. We were on the long way Loosing in my grip on Bobby Moore. Never heard anything wrong before I blushed. When these ever sensations get in your way, no doubt this shit me spurred right now By your shoulder, and that an amazing what you can't accomplish now I'm not together every single moment. That's what we thought. We'd be married. We both do deep with the grip of art, of fish chaos, believing in the country, me and you. Christ has a faith in Christ, the sinner cramming Yeah, we've heard all this before It's winter time. The house is solid to the bones, loosing in our grip on this fake cold war. Is it an amazing and a better accomplish When we don't let no nation get in our way? No doubt this shit me spurred right now By your shoulder, and that an amazing what you can't accomplish now, next to your comrades in the nation of fitness, the program regarding some eternal past time, clopping to the mind in a fit of laughter, showing no patience, no tolerance, no respect By your words, next to the distance, contemplating towering, towering star By your words. And in late, never, till there are no stars anymore By your words. And in, straight in heaven, contemplating towering, towering star, till there are no stars shining up in heaven, till there are no stars anymore. Isn't it an amazing and a better accomplish When we don't let no nation get in our way? No doubt this shit me spurred right now By your brand of error, shining up in heaven, contemplating towering, towering star. I think this one thing never goes away And this ones thing's always supposed to stop. Oh, this funny thing doesn't have to go away, and I'm gonna lie. 0:55:41 - Speaker 4 Oh fuck, How much time you got, then Fucking song, this song, i just have the word. It's this fucking rush, rush, rush, rush, rush. Just so much rush in this song. Really, there's a couple of rush references on this record and this is number one. I would say that is it. Gord Sinclair, yeah, so like and I think he would agree with me, because I don't know that I don't know any bass player in Canada, let alone the entire world, would put them up against Geddy Lee. So I can't like, true, Like. I don't think the bass in this song was supremely rushed, but the chord progression, the structure of the song, the lyrics, isn't it amazing? anything's accomplished Is fucking. It's so fucking dude, it's fucking rush, completely Fucking. It's like they should have just made a record with one song on it and sent it to Rush and been like this is for you guys, we love you guys. And dude, i'm not saying anything remotely like they jocked anything. It's an homage in the sweetest sense. It's fucking beautiful. I fucking listened to the song so many times. There's I don't know if he's playing a Les Paul or a Hamer Rob Baker, but it's got some hollow tone electric guitar. There's a line in there Christ in the Kremlin. I'm fucking. The words in this song are fucking spectacular. I bet it just destroyed. Destroyed. The crowd live Like. I mean if they played this fucking live you'd have to close with this or I don't know what you'd play with this. I mean it's just fuck. What's the other line Next year? comrades in the National Fitness Program caught in some external flex arm hang dropping the mat. Dude the lot. This that the way he speeds up that verse and fits all those fucking words into that, and then he goes back to the normal cadence, like when I say cadence I mean like the tempo, not a modal cadence, but like tempo. He goes back to that. I just bet when they, when they all listened to this track after it was mixed, or they all recorded everything, they all just fucking high-fived and hugged each other and had a big old fucking circle 100% Yeah. Dude, it's a fucking. It's one of my favorite fucking hip songs period. 0:58:23 - Speaker 3 Oh, you know what they. You know what they said after they recorded this. They were like this is going to be an every jukebox across Canada. I mean, it's a jukebox song. I mean, really, this is like play something by the tragically hip. Okay, i'm at the jukebox. Stick in a quarter. Oh, here's fireworks. Everybody loves this song. You know, that's that's. I couldn't agree more, pete. I just felt like this could be put on a seven inch only and out in the world. You know it was one of the first songs in a while where, like, i immediately just started snapping my fingers. It was like, okay, this, this song's, this song's moving. I completely agree with the rush references I love. I so identified with this girl. There was actually a girl who said she didn't give a fuck about hockey. I never heard a girl swear and I've never heard someone say that before. It was like there was some whole other world out there which is hard to fathom at times. I don't follow hockey. I totally identify with this. When I go on Facebook and it's like near the weekend it's mostly fucking NFL comments from people I know in Southern California. It's like, god damn, i wish I had a sports filter on my life because I don't really follow any sports. So the hockey the hockey comment, i was like yes, i, i want to hang out with you, let's go drink beers. You know, i probably follow that. It's whatever I just I just identify with that part, it's. You know this, though, you're right, pete, isn't it amazing you could do anything when the notion isn't in your way, believing in the country of me, and you, ah, you know, it's just, it's, it's, this is, it's more. It's more than an anthem. 1:00:17 - Speaker 4 You know, the crazy is so it's so, Getty Lee, though man. 1:00:21 - Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. What's? 1:00:24 - Speaker 4 this, it's, it's spirit of the radio. Okay. That's the song thing you have in so many ways. Yeah, i mean, and I don't think any musician in the band would say like they can you know drum? like Neil Pert? I think the guitar is pretty. It's got some solid Alex life and vibes. like you could fucking compare that guitar wise. but like bass and drums, you can't fucking come close to those, like it's just. but sorry, tim, i didn't mean to interrupt you, but it's just a fucking. 1:00:55 - Speaker 3 That's good. Good, it's such a JD. What JD, what? what were your thoughts on the song? Do you have, do you have memories of hearing the song, or anything, or like? 1:01:03 - Speaker 1 I think it's, I think it's a romantic song, Like. I think it's like the firework of like meeting somebody that is just, you know, absolutely the sparkle of your eye, you know, sort of thing. The context, to give you some context, the goal that he's talking about, the goal that everyone remembers, is when Canada beat the Soviets in 1972. And that was, that was during the Cold War. So it was a big deal, that series, Canada playing hockey against Russia. you know a few games here in Canada and a few games in Moscow. It was a big deal, Like for these Canadian hockey players to go to Russia. Like at that time Russia was so mysterious And there was a very famous goal that won the series by Paul Henderson that everyone remembers. It's one of those moments in Canada, the, if you're of the right age or generation I'm not, I'm born in 74. So it's over my head, But if you were there then it's one of those like you know where you were moments. you know what I mean. 1:02:10 - Speaker 3 It's huge huge moment in sports history. 1:02:13 - Speaker 1 So for him to be just blown away. Like you know, loosening my grip on Bobby Orr, like I just picture, the 16 year old who's in love with Bobby Orr has the hockey cards on the wall, you know, he's just tremendous and all of a sudden he just oh, there's girls out there. Oh, and there's this particular girl who doesn't give a fuck about what, like whoa fireworks, you know. 1:02:40 - Speaker 3 Yeah, great song, Great song. This. yeah, I could have had this song, you know, and had a satisfied meal and went to bed. 1:02:49 - Speaker 1 You and your food All right. Go next to vapor trails. 1:02:58 - Speaker 3 So vapor trails, like I started this one and paused and had to come back to it, i didn't keep going like this, this, this, this was one of the breaks. And now for me, where I was like, okay, i'm not, either not in it enough or not focused enough, let's come back to it and didn't hold your attention. He would not not at the get go, but eventually it did. Oh, eventually it did bring me in. It totally was one of those songs that I wasn't so sure about, but over time was like humming it while walking around the house. You know, there's just to me it has some mysticism to it. There's this mysterious not to say it again but backup singer, whoever is in there. I mean there's some really good backup singing happening, but I just love some of the lyrics. There's nothing uglier than a man hitting a stride. 1:04:00 - Speaker 1 What a great lyric, right Dude And just the way he says it as well. There's nothing uglier than a man hitting a stride, yeah. 1:04:09 - Speaker 3 I can't wait to use that some point in life. You know, watching something happen, yeah, chords, use that line, throw away the rudder, float away, like they portrayals. You know, i get this. It's like, it's this feeling of like giving up. You know, at some point we all, everyone, i think everyone has contemplated, you know, life being different or serious change, or giving up, or you know, we've all had these heavy times in our lives and maybe the song kind of hits on that. There's amazing guitar riffing just towards four minute mark. It felt, you know, just to kind of wrap it up. For me it felt like a produced ending. You know, the fade out was like it wasn't just let's wrap the song up, let's just fade it out, it was like let's produce the fade out. So it was a little, i don't know a little more, a little more orchestrated. But yeah, it's, this song is. This song was a banger. I think it was really good for the spot in the album. I think it was like really fitting. 1:05:27 - Speaker 1 Yeah, because we're well into the second side now. Yeah yeah. Second track, second side, if you're playing by those roles, It has a good place, good place in the album. What do you think of APR Trail's Pete? 1:05:39 - Speaker 4 Well, this is the other thing that I thought was it's not. It's not a Rush reference, but I actually think there's a possibility that Rush's 2001 record Vapor 12, vapor Trails was perhaps, maybe, an homage to Tragically Hip. Wow, i don't know, that's my, that's my in my dream world. I don't know if that's really true, but and I saw them on that tour and they were fucking just amazing. Saw them at the Irvine Meadows man. 1:06:18 - Speaker 1 Such a great show. 1:06:19 - Speaker 4 Never saw. 1:06:20 - Speaker 1 Rush. I was supposed to see Rush on a tour in 93 and guess who was opening for them? Who, tragically Hip Jesus Christ. Wow, on Road Apples. Yeah, dude. 1:06:30 - Speaker 4 I don't know what's a bigger fail That or not partying with them. 1:06:34 - Speaker 1 Oh God, it's the, that's the, that's the fail. 1:06:36 - Speaker 3 They're close. Not partying, I think. 1:06:39 - Speaker 4 Well, we, let's put it this way, we, we, we showed to that concert, i think, and they were they, we were at that time. It's strange, real quick, because I know. but during that time, because 2001 was coming out of the Napster years and years, right And into, like I think it was right where the iPods came out, um, so people started buying music online again, sort of. So bands didn't have money to pay for opening bands during that time, so a lot of bands would tour and be like who's opening? And like there's nobody opening. So we assumed that somebody was opening, for Rush happened to me with pavement one time, but that's another story Um, and we walked, we're, we're racing through the parking lot Because we hear a spirit of the radio, but right into Red Bar Chat after that and just fucking made my, made my life. But to the song. Paper Trails. Um, the fucking vocal melody in the opening verse same. I got the same cadence, Tim. I don't know if you mentioned this as Thompson girl. Um, but the song I loved it. I imagine when they sung this song live, that when Gord sings the line you can throw away the rudder. He probably blows out either part of the low end or part of the mid end frequencies in the fucking speakers at this this, this house, his voice is just at that frequency where, if he really punches it like he could, he could break. He could break some fucking windows, because it's, it's just fucking just the way he delivers that shit. Throw away the rudder, um, uh, what else? Yeah, just that line to me was worth buying the fucking record. Pulled the car over. There's nothing uglier. Yeah. Then a man hitting his stride. Yeah, there's a transition from the bridge back to the chord progression. That's super abrupt And it's so cool because there's no transition. It's just like boom, boom, they go right back into the chord progression and it's fucking cool. I'm not, can't think of any band that I've heard do that. And then the last thing is the line, and it's it's. It's maybe Rob Baker, i don't know who's singing the backup, but Mexicans dressed in beige shirts Crazy line, yeah. 1:09:16 - Speaker 1 Yeah, I've never heard that Mexicans dressed in beige shirts. 1:09:19 - Speaker 4 It's. It's like almost whispered. 1:09:25 - Speaker 3 Wow references you know references, folks who spend their life picking the strawberries and raspberries. 1:09:31 - Speaker 1 We, i believe, Yeah, I would guess so. 1:09:37 - Speaker 3 I believe it does So yeah. 1:09:39 - Speaker 4 Are we going to? 1:09:40 - Speaker 1 rules. You got it, dude. 1:09:48 - Speaker 4 I love the song. It was so fucking cool and so chill. This starts out with those huge cymbal crashes in the beginning. This is the second song in the record that references a pedestrian crossing, talks about a crossing guard not doing their job. 1:10:04 - Speaker 1 So yeah, it's really reference of and the second reference of super farmer. Uh-huh Right. 1:10:11 - Speaker 3 In that same in that same Stan's line. Got some agricultural themes happening. Probably the third agricultural theme. 1:10:21 - Speaker 4 Yeah, I don't know I just the phrasing was beautiful. I'm wondering what a bard is. B-a-r-d. 1:10:28 - Speaker 3 There's a couple of references with that. One is it has to do with a Shakespeare reference. 1:10:35 - Speaker 1 That's what I thought, yeah. 1:10:36 - Speaker 3 Yeah, and then the other one is I'm not going to butcher it, the other one has to do with fighting. I have to look it up. 1:10:46 - Speaker 1 Let's just go with Shakespeare. 1:10:48 - Speaker 3 Yeah, it's some Shakespeare reference. 1:10:52 - Speaker 4 And then to the line about the vacuum's got a guarantee. I just that line hooked me in so much because it was so random that I was like really in just pay super close attention to what he said. And the next line that he delivers, which is it could suck a virus, an ancient virus from the sea, is like what the like again put on the hat, put on your jacket, close the briefcase. Fucking. Done your job today. 1:11:23 - Speaker 1 Leave the office, gordon, that's right Punch out or whatever. 1:11:27 - Speaker 4 The whole, that whole stand is fucking amazing. There's a table slide And then oh, by the way, this song, and fuck, there was one other song. God damn this song. and one other song at the record. on the record It's earlier. I want to say it may be something on or say the planet. at the very end of it You hear the word somebody in the studio is cool. Yeah, so it doesn't feel so and there was one other two, one other song on the record that they did, so I was like they did that twice. 1:12:05 - Speaker 1 That's cool. I'm going to need access to your premium sound system. 1:12:10 - Speaker 4 Well, I mean GD, that's. We know this is not stuff we just hand on. It's kind of like you know top secret Clarence, There's a lot involved, A lot of screaming All right, all right, all right. 1:12:22 - Speaker 3 He passed. He's done it. Yes, true, yes, we're adjourning my current, for he's had it. Yeah, i heard the song and I thought Pete loves this song so much And when we come talk about it on the pod it's going to be all Pete. 1:12:43 - Speaker 1 You know how much to say. 1:12:44 - Speaker 3 I thought it was kind of a yonder. I got you know some, some from it, But you know I was like this. The song isn't for me. I thought it was kind of a yonder. I was going to leave it to Pete. 1:12:58 - Speaker 1 We're going to come back in a year because it's going to be a grower for you. I guarantee this song will be a grower for you. 1:13:04 - Speaker 3 If it's not, you guys both have to buy me beers. I can live with that, Yeah, yeah. 1:13:11 - Speaker 1 Okay. Well then let's slide into Sugar and Falls Ohio. 1:13:15 - Speaker 4 Take it Timbo. 1:13:17 - Speaker 3 Yeah, so Sugar and Falls. So this song I thought was basically a huge fuck off to corporate man, to the man. I thought this is like. This song is driving some culture into the fan base. It's probably, you know, was played a lot on the radio. I thought this one you know I could be wrong, but this song to me felt like on the verge of angry a little bit more than usual. I'd maybe really wonder about it live, if this got more raucous, if it got a little bit more I don't know violent feeling. And I think it's because it thematically, which is where I'm going to go, not so much with music on this one, but thematically it Sugar and Falls, in my research. That's the headquarters of Clear Channel, which at the time Clear Channel Corporation was slowly taking over media, especially North America. Yeah, so that's a lot of the references to Grand Falls. You know where the unknown won't even go. Because at this point I mean that line to me says if you're an artist and you're trying to make it like, avoid your Grand Falls, avoid Clear Channel, you know, be careful with what radio you're sending your tapes to your CDs to like this. This is that song that is kind of the band's shout to the world of, you know, corporate media is taking over the airwaves, you know, be aware So that that to me the song has like a mission. It felt like the first time I listened to it. When I got to you know, three quarters, two thirds of the way through, i thought is this song like over five minutes? you know it felt long, but it didn't feel long in a bad way, like it felt like a good, just a really well written song. Like I was kind of digging through Grand Falls, it felt like a five minute song, but it's not a five minute song. I didn't look up live versions of it but I definitely want to find something. 1:15:47 - Speaker 1 Yeah, get the answers to your questions. I can't, unfortunately, answer because I saw them on that tour and I don't remember if they played it, but I can't. 1:15:57 - Speaker 3 It was somewhat rare. I feel like it was probably going to be a rare rarely. 1:16:01 - Speaker 1 Yeah, it would be one that would be, you know, gosh. Well, let me just quickly look up how many times they played it. 1:16:09 - Speaker 3 I mean for people that don't know, Clear Channel took over corporate. I mean took over FM radio. Over time, like so many stations became Clear Channel stations and became programmed. And I remember hearing the transition because, as a big radio listener, being bored in 71, you know, i listened to radio for like 20 years, 15 at least, 20 years and they just completely took over And I remember hearing DJs demeanor changing from independent radio station to now being put into this box And I feel like that's what the band is trying to talk about in this song And I think it's their fuck you to this corporate system of being in a band and trying to make it and just to inspire people to be independently minded. 1:17:08 - Speaker 4 Yeah, it's funny you mentioned Clear Channel only because I want to talk about the song, because I feel a little bit different about the song in some ways than you do, tim, and it's funny, like Tim, i didn't do fucking a pubic here. The research you did for this fucking song. I had to look up where Chagrin Falls was but, and I dug it. But yeah, that's when there used to be a great station in classic rock station in LA called Arrow 93. And they went over to that Jack. You know that Jack format Jack FM, which is just, it's just a guy who like record something and it's like a cheesy line and he

Ever find yourself reminiscing about the good old days when tunes from The Tragically Hip filled the airwaves? My pals, Tim and Pete, and I sure did, as we took a deep dive into their 6th studio album, Phantom Power. We discovered that our own past experiences and relationships managed to shape our views on this collection of radio hits, which seemed like a pivotal moment for the band. We weren't just content with superficially jamming out to the music. We dissected the unique sound and lyrical themes, compared them to previous Hip releases, and found ourselves swapping stories from past concerts. One standout memory was Tim being recognized by lead vocalist Gord Downie backstage. We also discussed the historical context of the album, like how its recording coincided with a major ice storm and a surprise tour that benefited a children's cancer camp. Stick around as we analyze some standout tunes like 'Poets' and its references to Gwen Jacobs' fight for women's equality. We also shared our thoughts on 'Fireworks' and how it reminded us of Canada's victory in the hockey series against Russia in 1972. So, whether you're a die-hard Hip fan or just love a good music chat, this episode is for you!TranscriptSpeaker 1 It's June of 1998 and I'm done with York University. To celebrate, my friends and I embarked on a camping trip to the Pinary Provincial Park just down the road from Grand Bend. It was just outside the liquor store in town that I heard a finished version of Pullets for the first time. Gord had long been one of my favorite Pullets, so to me this song resonated in a way that I can't quite describe. It was a feeling of euphoria and relief. This new record was going to be just fine, i thought to myself. Little did I know that several tracks on this record would stand the test of time and join the pantheon of great hip songs I still enjoy to this day, from the meandering escape is at hand to the traveling man, to the exquisite Bob Cajun and the downright delicious Emperor Penguin. Phantom power was right in the pocket, coming off of the exceptional trouble at the henhouse. As I got inside the truck to head back to the campsite I turned the volume up and just let Pullets sink into my brain. This was living. Today. We're going to hear from our friends Pete and Tim to check out what they think of Phantom power. Will it stack up? Find out today. On Getting Hip to the Hip. 0:01:41 - Speaker 2 Long sliced brewery presents Getting Hip to the Hip Hey it's JD here. 0:01:58 - Speaker 1 Welcome back to Getting Hip to the Hip. This week we are talking about Phantom Power, the sixth studio record by Seminole Canadian rock band, the Tragically Hip. I'm joined this week, as always, by my pals Tim and Pete Fellas. how are you doing? 0:02:19 - Speaker 3 Hey guys, hey guys, hey guys, glad to be here. Good to see you, i'm ecstatic to be here. 0:02:26 - Speaker 4 I'm ecstatic to be here right now. 0:02:27 - Speaker 1 Oh, I love it. 0:02:28 - Speaker 4 I love the energy This is happier than a pig and shit. 0:02:31 - Speaker 1 Oh boy, oh boy, that's pretty happy. I've seen some, some porcine creatures rolling in fecal matter and they sure love it. Okay, so if you are wanting to experience The Tragically Hip's music for the first time, tim and Pete are your avatars this week because they got to experience the record Phantom Power, which again is the sixth record produced by Steve Berlin, first record on Universal. But I guess I should tell you guys both. I guess I should say this to you both as honorary Canadians. Now, happy Canada Day. It's almost the 4th of July. It's July 3rd today, but it's July 4th tomorrow for you, but July 1st for us is Canada Day. So happy Canada Day, folks. 0:03:20 - Speaker 4 Wow, Yeah, Very close to the other 4th of July, which is America's Independence Day. In the UK they call that Thanksgiving. No, No, I had a. I took a flight one time on some shitty airline and the pilot was British and it was on the 4th of July and he was like so I just want to say you know, that's my shitty British accent Happy 4th of July was we call it. We're on from Thanksgiving. Enjoy Whatever. 0:03:57 - Speaker 1 That's great. Oh, anytime you can burn an American a little bit, it's. you know there's some fun. There's some fun there because you guys are so goddamn good at this shit, you know Anyway let's get into the record as a whole. Before we go into the song by song segment, let's just talk about this record, produced, like I said, by Steve Berlin. Five singles come from this record. All music rates at a three out of five Three. So there's that. What did you guys think? I want to know where you listen to it, how you listen to it and what your initial thoughts were, and you know, maybe, what they percolated up to. What do you say there, tim? 0:04:45 - Speaker 3 Well, there's a pause. I thought it was a three star album, kind of like all music I felt wasn't really sure. it felt a little bit deluded in a way. to me It felt a little bit, a little bit more generic from what I've heard in the past. But it also felt kind of expected for the whole catalog of albums this band has produced and the timeline going into the late 90s. You know this album felt like full of radio hits but at the same time I was missing a little bit of that raw kind of hip feeling. You know, i was wondering like, should I be okay with this album just being kind of fine? This was the turning point for me. I was really not sure. When I read kind of some reviews about it, i think there was some sentiment, some shared sentiment, and also some people were like it's my favorite album and some hip fans said it's their least favorite album. So this one's kind of a gray area for me. 0:06:00 - Speaker 1 It's funny. Well, I'll get into my, you know, sort of backgrounder on this for you guys after we hear from Pete. Pete, what did you think? 0:06:09 - Speaker 4 I hear you on the gray area, because I could totally see that. I could totally see how some hip fans are like this is the best album they did. Or this is not my favorite album. For me I listen to it everywhere. I listen to it in my office, so for my computer, with some some decent cans, i took it out running a lot. Probably. I think maybe the first time I listened to it was that took it in the car. It sounded great. The thing I found like I would say 3.5 for me, tim, instead of a 3. But you know I feel you on that My initial thoughts were that a lot of rawness of the hip was gone from this. In the first couple of listens it sounded very watered down. It was like somebody pulled Gord Downey aside and said Hey man, can we just like, kind of like the dude, can you, can, you fucking can you take it easy, man, you know, just like. Told him to just like chill out a little bit, and I don't know. The more I listen to it though, the more I dug into it and see how much work maybe not production, but just from the band themselves went into this record maybe changed my tune a lot Like I dig it. And Phantom Power, that was the coolest thing in the 90s, man Like because sometimes you didn't know what it was. If you never heard of Phantom Power before, it has a fucking cool name. If you had a guy that had like a condenser mic or something with Phantom Power, you're like dude, yeah, he's got a mic, that's got a Phantom Power. It was just like fucking. You were 17 and you heard that it was fucking cool. 0:08:00 - Speaker 3 Yeah, you know, i went and looked at a number of albums sold by a bunch of different bands, including the hip, and I was trying to kind of have this try to find this correlation of how many albums sold from the band start to like 10 years later, or 10 albums later, something like that. And I compared the hip with a bunch of bands And it's, it's. It's really all apples, oranges, of course, but when you look at how many albums they've sold and how they, you know, started off selling a ton and then just kind of went down to this million album mark. And then when I heard this album and I like UP, i listened to it all over the place. I listened to it on the plane I traveled, listened to it in the car, listened to it at home with the cans on. I mean I listened to it in more places than past listens because I was really trying to give it a go. I mean, it was the first time, upon first listened, that there were a couple songs where I was like okay, get it, i'm going to go to the next one, like I had not fast forwarded songs, you had her skipped ahead. So this, yeah, but but one of those songs that I skipped ahead on, sorry hip fans. You know I came back to and it's might be one of my most favorite on the album, so this this one like yeah, this one, this one to me like didn't grab me right away. Maybe it will more over time, maybe it's one of those types of albums, but well, i'll tell you what this record has. 0:09:36 - Speaker 1 An interesting, an interesting story, i think, and it it's my own headcanon This is. This is not like actual fact by any stretch, but in my opinion, trouble at the Henhouse, which is one of my absolute favorite records by the Tragically Hip or or or any other band, is, was maligned Like it, it, it, it, it both it and day for night didn't perform as well as fully, completely, and fully completely was very, if you recall, it was very polished, it was very produced. You know they went to London to record it. It was like a big deal. And then, following that, the next two records, they were sort of self-produced, with Mark Vreakin and Mark Howard on day for night and just Vreakin on fully, on Trouble at the Henhouse, and those records are sparse and they are. The core energy is, is there, it's, it's. It's like boiling hot magma, you know, and they're and they're forming these songs that are just age old now and and just wonderful, and then phantom power comes out and phantom power goes back to the like. To me it's sort of back to the back, to the basics. It's like back to really structured songs, really produced, and, like I always said, that this record was the baby of day for night and fully and completely, fully, completely, rather not fully and completely fully. It's sort of the baby of those two records. It's got the, it's got the production values, but it's still got songs. So I'll challenge you guys on that, because I think this record has songs and I think it has songs for days. You know what? 0:11:40 - Speaker 4 you are JD, let me tell you who you are. So when I was like 19 or 18, working with the movie theater, i dated this girl that that worked at the calendar place across the way And I just kind of went out with her because I was like really stoked. She gave me your number But I really wasn't that into her and all my friends were like, dude, she's really hot man, she's really amazing, and I just didn't see it. And so then like I stopped going out with her. We only went out a couple of times and that was that. And then I saw her again. I was like, damn, i really screwed that one up And that's kind of felt with this record, but I didn't want to like make that same mistake again. So like I, i'm sticking with it. I'm sticking with this being a solid album. Yeah, you know, yeah Masked it for, you know, a third and fourth date. 0:12:26 - Speaker 1 Yeah, i think, and I think three out of five stars is fair Like it's not it's not one of my. it's not my favorite record, but it's a lot of hit pants favorite record It's a lot Yeah, yeah. 0:12:39 - Speaker 3 That's that's what I found in my research. The covers are awesome. The covers are great. 0:12:43 - Speaker 1 They have that They actually have that panel in in their studio and bath, which is really cool. Yeah, so that's, you know this is. I want to say this is the second record they recorded at their studio. So they didn't go anywhere, you know, adventurous or anything like that, but they were at home. And what happened in 1998, i don't know if it made news anywhere else but Quebec and Ontario there was a major ice storm, yeah, major ice storm, and in Ontario it, like it absolutely shut down the city of Toronto. It shut down, you know, major thoroughfares. It was like devastating this ice storm. And we'll get into that a little bit more as we talk about the songs. But you know, they bring Berlin in and they're sort of trapped in the studio. You know like during during this, so really fascinating I think. 0:13:43 - Speaker 3 But yeah, it's a go ahead. Did you see this tour? Did you see them play on this tour? You want to hear a story Now? 0:13:52 - Speaker 1 people who listen to the movie and completely heard this. But the hip announced five secret shows that they were going to do, and all proceeds from these shows were going to go to a charity I forget which charity now at the oh, it was Camp Trillium. Camp Trillium, which is a camp for children with cancer, children that have cancer, and there's a location of that is near where I grew up And I'll show you when we, when you're in town for the finale. My friend's parents were on the committee for the cancer camp in our community, and so my friend Heather had intel and she she knew that they were going to go on sale at this time in this place in Hamilton, which is about an hour outside of Toronto, when traffic's good, and so we ended up getting third row center seats Wow, in this small theater in Hamilton, like 2000 people, and they blew the roof off the place. And a band called oh my goodness. They sang, come for a ride. Open for them, and they were tremendous as well. I forget the bands right now who open for them, but if you know it, send me an email. Jd at getting hip to the hipcom. So we're third row center. We watched the show, But the kicker here is is that Heather has got gifts to give the band And it's been arranged with the stage manager that we're going to go backstage afterwards to give. She's going to go backstage afterwards to give these gifts And she ended up inviting me along And so we got to go backstage and I introduced her to the tragic lab. So this was like this was like full circle for the two of us And it was just a wonderful experience. We went backstage after the show and they were all there and Gord had a. Gord Downey had a soccer ball And he was doing that thing where you flip it out, catch it and roll it back in your arms. Flip it out, catch it, roll it back in your arms And he just kept doing that And I remember at one point I must have looked silly or something, because somebody said and maybe it was Gord Downey said is everything all right? And I said, oh, everything is fucking perfect. I could go outside and get hit by a bus right now And it just wouldn't matter. And Gord Downey looked at me and he goes Oh, don't do that, jane. He called me Jane, only my mom calls me Jane. Like it was so cool It was cool. 0:16:37 - Speaker 4 How did I not know the story? How did I not know that you had interactions with Jesus? 0:16:44 - Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, how was this? 0:16:45 - Speaker 4 coming up in episode. What fucking episode are we on. 0:16:48 - Speaker 1 Well, it was Tim asked me the question, yeah. 0:16:50 - Speaker 3 I don't know. We're like 15 minutes in. I think we could just call it. That was good enough. 0:16:55 - Speaker 1 Well, here's the kicker. Here's the kicker. I don't think I told this part on fully and completely, but the kicker is I had been dating a girl all through university and I broke up with her the summer of 98 and sewed my wild oats And this was all toward the end of the summer of 98. And she was in Hamilton to meet me after the show. So I'm backstage with the hip and they go Okay, well, we're going to go to the after party now in the next room over, because this was in the green room or whatever And we're going to go in the after party room and drink some beers. Do you guys want to join us? And I had to say no. I had to say no because my girlfriend was waiting outside for me. Now, in hindsight, what a boner move I made, because I wanted to get back together with her. Totally. It only lasted another two years after that, like I then absolutely blew up, but it was those. Those final two years were awful anyway, like they just weren't, you know, like both of us would agree to that now I'm sure the university years were wonderful, they were, they were great, but those those two years after our break up we're not so good And I blew a chance to go party with the hip. 0:18:15 - Speaker 3 You had a Davis Manning moment. 0:18:18 - Speaker 1 Yes, Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 0:18:22 - Speaker 3 He chose the girl over your fandom. 0:18:25 - Speaker 1 The hip lived between us. 0:18:27 - Speaker 3 They totally lived between you. They might still sorry, sorry, jess. 0:18:38 - Speaker 1 Well, folks, should we go song by song? 0:18:41 - Speaker 3 Yeah, let's do it, let's do it. 0:18:44 - Speaker 4 So I really liked this song. I really liked poets. This is probably the song I would say I have the least to say about. I really like the verse phrasing. I think it's probably the best part of this song, the way he phrases the verses. There's a part where the lines of a verse he kind of like carries into the next measure. It's really weird, like, like, like the mind, you think, okay, you sing the verse, then it's the next measure, but like he sings that verse over there Because it's when you look at it it's a complete line. I can't remember the line specifically, but it was. It was cool man. It's a hard thing to pull off man, but like that guy just does. It was so much, so much finesse. I liked the layered guitars in it, yeah. But I think, going back to what we're saying sort of at the beginning of the top of the show, it was, this song didn't punch me in the face Like right when I, right when I started listening, i dug it. I it was a soft open, it was a soft open. 0:19:59 - Speaker 1 All right, how'd you feel, tim? 0:20:01 - Speaker 3 I felt it was a harder open. I thought it was it. You know this. Like we've talked about before the cadence of songs and track orders. You know the first one I expect to really get me, bring me in, and this one did it. I thought it was pretty good. There's a fun kind of change over into the chorus It again I spoke about this a little bit before, but the kind of remind me of REM in REM's, like first half of the 90's albums, like they come on with like a punch of a song and then, like the cadence of the album kind of goes soft and then gets whoa, got a little dirty there, gets a little bit harder as time evolves. But yeah, this I thought this was a good start off. The themes you know I looked into a little bit of the song's meaning regarding lyrics and you know just talk about agriculture and super farms and like I don't know, ultimately fresh vegetables versus buying frozen and what that means. And this, this is the song that references Gwen Jacobs. Right, you know the story about her JD, and she was this woman who walked into town I think in Ontario topless and it created this whole. I don't have to look into this more, but I'm pretty sure this was the song about the Gwen Jacobs case. So Gwen was a woman who walked through town topless and was arrested and started this whole kind of woman's lib. You know movement with. You know making it okay to cut your lawn without a shirt on, just like the men do. That's kind of where the line in here from Gord comes from. It's a let's see. 0:22:02 - Speaker 1 Oh, that's great Lawn caught by breasted women. 0:22:04 - Speaker 3 Yeah, it's kind of this comment on pushing for women's equality and gender rights. So I thought that was fucking cool And that, to me also, is like really appropriate for the 90s or late 90s, you know it was. we were kind of circling back to, of course, some things we've had in North America before and prior decades. So I thought this song was cool. Again, it really reminded me of REM. I kind of went back and started looking at some of REM's albums and I wish, again, i wish I could know what the band listened to when they were traveling Me too. You know what they were sharing, what albums they were digging. you know if any of them were like Oh my God, did you hear REM's new one? We're going to put it in the the the buses stereo or whatever. Like I wish I could know what was influencing them, because I'm hearing, i'm hearing some some themes for sure. 0:22:57 - Speaker 1 Okay, earlier I was telling you about the ice storm. The next track, something on, was recorded and they literally were trapped in the studio. They were, you know, they couldn't leave the bath house, they couldn't leave the studio in bath. So they did what they do best They wrote a song and there's some lyrical content in there about the ice storm even And I think it's really wonderful lyricism. What did you guys think of something on? 0:23:33 - Speaker 3 I felt like, okay, i read about it, i read about this and I read about the ice storm and you know sounded awful. And for I hate to say this, but to go get stuck in a studio, for me that'd be like the time to really fuck things up, like really experiment. You know, you know, just hopefully somebody shows up with a huge bag of weed and somebody shows up with a bunch of acid and somebody shows up with a shit ton of beer and like this is when you like really go to town to experiment and what do we got out of it? We got like kind of a radio hit. So it was a little surprise to kind of hear the whole story and it just made me realize that maybe for this era, the guys were really I mean, they were at a point to where they could bust out a really good album, you know, and what, for me, that really good album is? like you go to a restaurant and it's like yo, that was a good meal. You know, everything was like satisfactory. 0:24:37 - Speaker 1 Well, yeah, it's a blooming onion man. 0:24:38 - Speaker 3 It's a blooming onion, Yeah, but to get stuck in a studio and ice storm, it's like I personally would want to just start going places. I haven't been before with my band, but you know this one's interesting take. Yeah, this one felt. This one felt a little radio felt a little you too, dave Matthews like splash of John Cougar melon camp or something like I don't know. Man, it felt, i know. I know, i know, i know. 0:25:10 - Speaker 1 And I was a big melon camp guy at one point. 0:25:13 - Speaker 4 But Dave, Matthews are regular. 0:25:16 - Speaker 1 Cougar and regular. 0:25:18 - Speaker 3 Yeah, like I couldn't get overly excited about this one. Well, again. 0:25:26 - Speaker 1 I think you were waiting for the follow up from the follow up to trouble at the house, and this isn't the follow up that you're expecting on a trajectory perspective. You know no no, i agree. 0:25:44 - Speaker 4 It's funny. You talk about getting trapped in the studio, like I mean, i don't know if I'd go like full steely Dan when they recorded the Albuquerque show, where, like you know, there maybe was not that much cocaine around, but I still agree with him, i would. I'd get really spacey, and I think they do it on a couple songs that we'll get into, but first time I heard this song got some heavy Jim Blossom's feels. Yeah yeah, Yes that's the first thing that hit me and I couldn't think of any of the band that it was like a buddy of mine used to play the band that they open for them a ton, and I was like the first band that came to mind like this Oh, and it was really poppy. And okay, my notes. Once you get past the repeated cheesiness of the chord progression and the vocal melody, it's not a bad song. 0:26:40 - Speaker 1 Oh dammit, with faint praise here. No, no, no, it's not a bad song. 0:26:44 - Speaker 4 I think it's a good song, but you know it's a good song. If, like you, take this song and go, is this a good song? Anybody will say it's a good song, but like you, said to me compared to the follow up of what you really wanted after trouble. Then else, and this was a song where I feel like Gord sounded a bit like he was put in the cage Like whoever was a universal when this record was getting recorded, put baby in the corner. And this is a song where really I feel like you know he's, he wants to be himself, but somebody's like, hey, man, just could you like you don't have to do it all the songs, but like at least on this one could you just, fucking, you know, tone it down a little bit. And I was just like, ah, where's my fucking, where's my lead singer. 0:27:33 - Speaker 3 Yeah, I totally agree, Because you know it's still a good song, because it's still all the guys and it still has themes, because it's Gord, you know you're still going to get one liners that are amazing. I feel like probably no matter what in any hip song there's going to be some standout lyric to me, some standout part like to the core fan. That's. That's really what I'm imagining. The line that stood out in this one for me was your imaginations having puppies, I mean yeah, yeah. I've had so many letters of puppies, you guys. It's like I'm just, i've got puppies all over the place. It's like. 0:28:11 - Speaker 4 I was a cool. I really like that one. Yeah, like that, like that video for new recruits or something. 0:28:17 - Speaker 3 Yeah, so I like identified in it. You know, at that personal level, which I think they're able to do just about on any song which is fucking amazing for a band to do, because I could probably name 10 bands right now. What that does not happen to me, yeah, so you know. So, in that regard, like hip fans, you know I'm, i'm I'm not really trying not to be the bad guy here, but we this, this, this just made this song, just made me keep going So into save the planet. I mean, i got to this one, arrived at this one, and I was like, is this the band's fucking Earth Day song? or stretch their reach to get on the farm aid bill, like what is going on here? I felt like I don't know, there's a flute in there. Who's playing the flute? 0:29:09 - Speaker 1 Who plays the flute? You know, i don't. I don't have the liner notes handy And on the wiki page it is remarkably barren in terms of additional players. Yeah, it doesn't, it doesn't have them, so I need people to write in. 0:29:25 - Speaker 3 If people know, let us know, because there's some flute in there And it made me wonder like what else? 0:29:31 - Speaker 1 there's keys all over this record. 0:29:33 - Speaker 3 Yeah, what else have I been missing in the background that maybe other people are participating in? But I felt, like you know this song, in the placement we were, we were filling, we were filling in the gaps on the menu And you're like, no, I had a burger yesterday. No, I'm not in the mood for that. Oh, I could really use some lasagna. Here we go. That's that's how Save the Planet felt, felt very time appropriate. This is, like you know, the millennial song. 0:30:02 - Speaker 1 Okay. 0:30:03 - Speaker 4 All right. So if anybody's got a line on the flute player, email Tim getting hip to the hip, talk there you go. Right, i copy Pete at getting hip Yeah. Save the Planet. I thought it was a banger. I really dug it. I at first I saw that too, but then I kind of look past the name of it And just look at the song itself. There's a. There's two references in this album to Crossing the Street, to pedestrian crossings. Yes, i'll point out the other one. This is the first one Fucking solo bangs in this. I thought the flute at the end was cool because it was so random. 0:30:47 - Speaker 3 I was like well, what the fuck is that? Yeah? 0:30:50 - Speaker 4 Same. 0:30:52 - Speaker 1 There's. You just can't imagine listening to road apples and having a flute right Like. It's just not part of this band. You know like and and and it works It works well, no, right? 0:31:05 - Speaker 4 Yeah, you know, if they went into that I'd be like, well, what the fuck's going on? 0:31:10 - Speaker 3 But I'll just quickly, quickly add that I'm okay with the flute. Like sometimes, the flute really is awesome. Oh, i think it's great. So you know, like some people like hear the flute and they're like oh why You know, but it works. 0:31:24 - Speaker 4 No, i dug it And this is again. This is not the first song, or not the only song in this record where I got some heavy Alanis vibes. The phrasing on if the bathwater is clear and my ears underwater, it's a tolerant hum from the core. Carry the water Like that the way he phrases that shit, it's just. I don't know if I see because it's a Canadian band, if I see everything through the lens of like Canadian pop artists. But like it's just the vibe I got from this and it's a great tune to get out and move your feet to get running. It's a fucking cool song to run. 0:32:09 - Speaker 3 All right, i'll put it on my point first I hear your Alanis vibes marry and up with my Michael Stipe vibes. I think those are in sync for sure, for sure. 0:32:20 - Speaker 1 I think there's a nice correlation between the hip and REM, like I think you're right, like they both have that enigmatic front man, you know, who is really literate and really interesting in the way they sort of phrase things and put things together. 0:32:39 - Speaker 4 They both went bold too, halfway through the careers, that's right, that's a fair point. 0:32:45 - Speaker 1 Fair point, fair point, all right, we're getting in the car right now and we are cruising northeast of here and we're going to Bob Cajun. I left your house this morning. 0:33:40 - Speaker 7 It was quarter after nine. I left your house this morning. I left your house this morning. I drove back to town this morning This morning with working on my mind, i thought I'd maybe try to leave an ear behind. I went back to bed this morning and it's time pulling down the blind. Yeah, the sky was dull, it was high but never come. And morning went down at a time that night in Toronto And I was jacking boardboards, riding on horseback and keeping order restored. Tell the men they couldn't hide. Step to the mic and sign and their voices rang with the area of time. To your house this morning. It was quarter after nine. In the middle of that riot I couldn't get you off of my mind. To your house this morning. It was just a little hour tonight Cause it was in my page on the rossard and constellation, but they themselves won't starve at time. To your house this morning It's a little after nine Cause it was in my page on the rossard and constellation, but they themselves won't starve at time. 0:37:32 - Speaker 5 Tell the men they couldn't hide, they didn't choose your bones and bones. They're all south of the wind and down the lawn to the lake For as long as it takes. 0:38:05 - Speaker 7 I don't want to be a hill of the birds last hour. I don't want the last words out of my mouth to be stained Out of my way. 0:38:16 - Speaker 4 Okay, I fucking love this tune. I got some heavy and Tim, yes or yes. If I hear no, I'm just I'm off this podcast Got some really strong G love special sauce vibes from this. Yes, Just the way they owe up. Am I my GD? 0:38:42 - Speaker 1 I don't know, i think I think I'm very familiar. 0:38:46 - Speaker 3 I did not go there, but I will Okay. 0:38:51 - Speaker 4 Right, i mean the. there's a oh dude that it could have been Willie, could have been the wine. I heard that song. The first time I heard that song I was. I took it out for a run and I came home and I like I listened to it again because I just thought it was such a good fucking song, because it's a weed. reference to may not necessarily be about them listening to Willie Nelson. It's like they were smoking weed or they were drinking wine, absolutely Yeah. The opening, like spacey guitar licks The dobro which I think he's playing. there's a dobro in there that he's playing which kind of gets sort of like a banjo slash guitar vibe. Oh God, just. 0:39:40 - Speaker 1 I feel like that lyric that you just quoted, though, could have been the Willie Nelson, could have been the wine. That's like one, like when he wrote that he should have just put the book down, put on a fedora, long overcoat, grabbed his briefcase, just went home for the day, that's. That's the days. That's the day at the office, that's a fucking. Exactly. 0:40:00 - Speaker 4 That's just a great lyric Exactly dude, no, 100%, it's so good. I was like you know. You know, a line is a good line when you hear it and it's so good you think you've heard it before. Meaning like I'm like right, i mean because it just sounds like it belongs on this in the history of life, Like like someone has, like if someone hadn't said it, they sure as shit should have said it. Does that make sense? Yeah, you know, it sounds like it's just. It's a great fucking line. I thought I maybe quit that line. It's just. It's really the part of this song where Gord starts coming out of the cage. On this record, i feel like that was the moment Somebody gave, somebody unlocked the door of the cage and he's starting to come out, and then the song ends on a random minor chord, which is so weird, it's such a happy, spacey song that ends on this minor chord. 0:41:09 - Speaker 3 I loved that. I loved that about it. So for me this one it felt a little Out of the gates. I need to listen to the beginning of it to see your G-Love reference. But out of the gates. It felt to me a little bit country and a little bit like are we reaching again for some crossover fans Along? the southern belt of the US. Like where are we? What's happening here? You know there's some slide guitar, but is it a song about lost love? You know looking up at the stars waiting for a reveal. You know there's synth work in here again, so there's some sort of keyboard happening, which is fucking cool. And to me, the first lesson I had all those kind of questions going through my head And then I thought at one moment like this is actually a fucking beautiful song. Like it's a little bit of an odd man out on the album, but it's actually a beautiful song. There's this long ending with no singing. It's just mysterious. Like you said, pete, the last five seconds or so, or this just bizarre tune out. It's like I found one quote when Gord was asked about this song. He said this was an interview in 2004,. He said this one asks the question evil in the open or evil just below the surface? That was his comment about this song. So it's like this song to me was super mysterious Yeah, super mysterious song which I fucking love, like I don't need literal storytelling every single song you know. Social themes, i don't know all these different things, i don't need that. Every single song I love you know kind of the knuckleball that comes in. You're like whoa okay, this is reeling me back in to the album in a good way, a way that I'm looking for, you know, i'm hoping for, but still, again, this one felt a little bit odd, man, just the way it fits into the album. They've done this before. They've gotten. 0:43:15 - Speaker 4 They lose green man. 0:43:16 - Speaker 3 Yeah, they've gone on this path of like okay, this one, now we're going to turn off the highway and head down this two-lane road and we're going to stop at this farm and we're going to have an afternoon barbecue with this family, and you know, i don't know, like it's just this one's off the highway. 0:43:35 - Speaker 1 Cool. What do you guys think of the bridge? It makes my arm hair stand up That night in Toronto with the checkerboard floors. There's a bar in Toronto that's famous legendary in fact called the Horseshoe and that references the Horseshoe, the checkerboard floors. Oh shit, that's one of the first big gigs they played in Toronto. 0:43:55 - Speaker 4 Can I get taken to that bar when I come visit Toronto? 0:43:57 - Speaker 1 Absolutely. Let's do it. Sure shit hopes so man. 0:44:00 - Speaker 4 That would be cool. This song is actually the most listened to hip song on Spotify. 0:44:07 - Speaker 1 Oh, wow Yeah. 0:44:09 - Speaker 3 Surpasses. I read something about that as well. 0:44:13 - Speaker 4 What was the one that it surpassed? 0:44:16 - Speaker 1 I can't remember Anyway yeah Well, so it's a hit all around Pop Cage. 0:44:21 - Speaker 3 Yeah, it was a fucking interesting song, right? This is. 0:44:25 - Speaker 1 So we shift gears now in a well, not in a huge way, because this is sort of low tempo or slower tempo. We go to Thompson Girl and you're both hesitating to start Thompson Girl. 0:44:41 - Speaker 4 Go ahead Tim. 0:44:42 - Speaker 3 Yeah, well, you know what's the story about here. I don't know. It's the story potentially about where is it here, This town in Manitoba, thompson, yeah, or it's. You know it's potentially about a nickel mining company up there. You know it's got this kind of sweet, forlorn grunt work somewhere between dream and duty, poking through with all them shoots of beauty. I mean, what is that about? You know, this is kind of a cute, in a way stripped down acoustic song. There's some banjo in there. You know, i've kind of been waiting for, I had been waiting for this type of stripped down, simpler song that you know it's kind of this forlorn, sad song to me at the same time. 0:45:42 - Speaker 1 Probably Pete. 0:45:44 - Speaker 4 I loved it. I thought it was cool. I think I don't know if it's consistent with you and I, tim, but like I really try not to look too deep into the lyrics because oftentimes I'm disappointed, that's why I don't do it. I know you do it a lot more than I do I totally do. 0:46:03 - Speaker 3 I mean it's because of Gord, like Gord Gord. for me, gord merits it. 0:46:09 - Speaker 4 I get intrigued though, but like dude so does. I mentioned Celie Daner earlier. Like Donald Fagan's lyrics are notoriously cool as fuck. But have you ever asked that guy like what he you know what's, what's the meaning of? you know Dr Woo or whatever, like he'll be, like I don't know man, we're on so much cocaine. Back in the day I was just getting shipped to prime or whatever you know like, and I know that's not really the case here. But that line, the way he goes up so high with grunt work, i can't. I'm not even gonna fucking try lest I fucking destroy your listener base JD by singing that line. But when he goes grunt work time between dream and duty the melody is so fucking good It's then there's a part. Um, i don't know if it's like, i don't know, i wouldn't call it the bridge, but it is a bit of a some sort of key change to the regular chord progression. When he goes really high and then the mandolin starts to come in fucking dug that. And then the piano kind of comes in at the end as well, it's fucking cool. I really dig it. Yeah, i liked it First. I didn't like it. I didn't like the chord progression. It just seemed to like, like you said, tim, acoustic. It's sending, like it was like this should be an acoustic song. 0:47:30 - Speaker 3 Keep it that way. Yeah, yeah. But then it grew on me real quick, which is maybe something I would potentially envision. From a stuck in the studio couple days, you know, you'd get to a point to where everybody's kind of burned out and you pick up the acoustic and somebody says to the piano and you talk about is it INCO, inco and the fucking nickel mining, and I, you know, i looked at it a little bit into that in Manitoba and was like, oh geez, here's, here's a historical. You know, just rabbit hole that I can't go down right now. But it just this, to me, is just one of those, one of those songs that fits in well with this whole album And it's something we haven't really had in the past. So it's kind of happy to hear it. Next one membership Who's who's singing backups Somebody found, is it Gord Is? 0:48:28 - Speaker 1 it Gord over. Usually it's Paul Angla, usually Well. 0:48:32 - Speaker 3 I don't think it's Paul. It might be doubled. If you, if you go in and listen again, check out membership and listen to the backups, because it sounds like a woman to me and it sounds really familiar, like I've heard this voice before And I've looked and looked and looked but I can't find anything. It might be one of the guys, just you know, editing it in post or something, i don't know. But there's, there's some beautiful backup happening. This one, though you know it's wasn't my favorite on the album, i'm not going to put it on the playlist There's kind of a big change after the three minute mark with, like this new chorus. Of course it has my fade out at the end. You know there's there's kind of this bigger start to the song, but it's kind of slow in a way. I don't know. It's maybe about addiction, it's kind of a ballad. you know this, this one, it just felt like it didn't really fit in, didn't really wasn't really sure how it was working and it it made me consider you know I've done this a few times that it made me consider the band and what they were feeling you know they're coming in on 2000 here What they were feeling after 10 years, which is long for any band to retain some amount of success 10 years of playing and predominantly being popular in their home country and not even gaining a huge you know the level they deserved in the neighboring USA. So this this kind of made me think about all those things. I just didn't know if it was like about power abuse of power addiction or longing loss, i don't know. This song was kind of all over the map for me, but ultimately the chorus bugged me and it stuck in my head for a little while. I was like, oh, i need, i need some other, i need some other hip song stuck in my head and that's kind of where, honestly, that's where, like blow a high dough, just comes and takes over my brain. So that's what happened. 0:50:50 - Speaker 4 on membership, I you know I have a ton to say about this song. It's kind of like I put in the same categories Poets. It wasn't my favorite song in the record. I liked it, felt it like it was a very drone rock with a chord progression. It's the way it sounded. I love the harmonies. Tim mentioned the harmonies being drawn along by it. Like that line with the harmonies come in The middle, guitar solo where they kind of tease you with the guitar solo helps build the song kind of cool. But then, yeah, the fade out at the end is just like to me. It felt like they maybe didn't have, they didn't nail everything down with this one. That's all I'll say, you know, but yeah we can move on if you want, let's slide over to fireworks. 0:51:46 - Speaker 7 You like fireworks? Yeah, me neither. The frustrating part Never back in old 72 Without school, just a gun, without a gun or trigger. I don't remember a reason. Set me sight of you. You said I couldn't get a fuck about the party. Never heard something true back before You held my hand. We were on the long way Loosing in my grip on Bobby Moore. Never heard anything wrong before I blushed. When these ever sensations get in your way, no doubt this shit me spurred right now By your shoulder, and that an amazing what you can't accomplish now I'm not together every single moment. That's what we thought. We'd be married. We both do deep with the grip of art, of fish chaos, believing in the country, me and you. Christ has a faith in Christ, the sinner cramming Yeah, we've heard all this before It's winter time. The house is solid to the bones, loosing in our grip on this fake cold war. Is it an amazing and a better accomplish When we don't let no nation get in our way? No doubt this shit me spurred right now By your shoulder, and that an amazing what you can't accomplish now, next to your comrades in the nation of fitness, the program regarding some eternal past time, clopping to the mind in a fit of laughter, showing no patience, no tolerance, no respect By your words, next to the distance, contemplating towering, towering star By your words. And in late, never, till there are no stars anymore By your words. And in, straight in heaven, contemplating towering, towering star, till there are no stars shining up in heaven, till there are no stars anymore. Isn't it an amazing and a better accomplish When we don't let no nation get in our way? No doubt this shit me spurred right now By your brand of error, shining up in heaven, contemplating towering, towering star. I think this one thing never goes away And this ones thing's always supposed to stop. Oh, this funny thing doesn't have to go away, and I'm gonna lie. 0:55:41 - Speaker 4 Oh fuck, How much time you got, then Fucking song, this song, i just have the word. It's this fucking rush, rush, rush, rush, rush. Just so much rush in this song. Really, there's a couple of rush references on this record and this is number one. I would say that is it. Gord Sinclair, yeah, so like and I think he would agree with me, because I don't know that I don't know any bass player in Canada, let alone the entire world, would put them up against Geddy Lee. So I can't like, true, Like. I don't think the bass in this song was supremely rushed, but the chord progression, the structure of the song, the lyrics, isn't it amazing? anything's accomplished Is fucking. It's so fucking dude, it's fucking rush, completely Fucking. It's like they should have just made a record with one song on it and sent it to Rush and been like this is for you guys, we love you guys. And dude, i'm not saying anything remotely like they jocked anything. It's an homage in the sweetest sense. It's fucking beautiful. I fucking listened to the song so many times. There's I don't know if he's playing a Les Paul or a Hamer Rob Baker, but it's got some hollow tone electric guitar. There's a line in there Christ in the Kremlin. I'm fucking. The words in this song are fucking spectacular. I bet it just destroyed. Destroyed. The crowd live Like. I mean if they played this fucking live you'd have to close with this or I don't know what you'd play with this. I mean it's just fuck. What's the other line Next year? comrades in the National Fitness Program caught in some external flex arm hang dropping the mat. Dude the lot. This that the way he speeds up that verse and fits all those fucking words into that, and then he goes back to the normal cadence, like when I say cadence I mean like the tempo, not a modal cadence, but like tempo. He goes back to that. I just bet when they, when they all listened to this track after it was mixed, or they all recorded everything, they all just fucking high-fived and hugged each other and had a big old fucking circle 100% Yeah. Dude, it's a fucking. It's one of my favorite fucking hip songs period. 0:58:23 - Speaker 3 Oh, you know what they. You know what they said after they recorded this. They were like this is going to be an every jukebox across Canada. I mean, it's a jukebox song. I mean, really, this is like play something by the tragically hip. Okay, i'm at the jukebox. Stick in a quarter. Oh, here's fireworks. Everybody loves this song. You know, that's that's. I couldn't agree more, pete. I just felt like this could be put on a seven inch only and out in the world. You know it was one of the first songs in a while where, like, i immediately just started snapping my fingers. It was like, okay, this, this song's, this song's moving. I completely agree with the rush references I love. I so identified with this girl. There was actually a girl who said she didn't give a fuck about hockey. I never heard a girl swear and I've never heard someone say that before. It was like there was some whole other world out there which is hard to fathom at times. I don't follow hockey. I totally identify with this. When I go on Facebook and it's like near the weekend it's mostly fucking NFL comments from people I know in Southern California. It's like, god damn, i wish I had a sports filter on my life because I don't really follow any sports. So the hockey the hockey comment, i was like yes, i, i want to hang out with you, let's go drink beers. You know, i probably follow that. It's whatever I just I just identify with that part, it's. You know this, though, you're right, pete, isn't it amazing you could do anything when the notion isn't in your way, believing in the country of me, and you, ah, you know, it's just, it's, it's, this is, it's more. It's more than an anthem. 1:00:17 - Speaker 4 You know, the crazy is so it's so, Getty Lee, though man. 1:00:21 - Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. What's? 1:00:24 - Speaker 4 this, it's, it's spirit of the radio. Okay. That's the song thing you have in so many ways. Yeah, i mean, and I don't think any musician in the band would say like they can you know drum? like Neil Pert? I think the guitar is pretty. It's got some solid Alex life and vibes. like you could fucking compare that guitar wise. but like bass and drums, you can't fucking come close to those, like it's just. but sorry, tim, i didn't mean to interrupt you, but it's just a fucking. 1:00:55 - Speaker 3 That's good. Good, it's such a JD. What JD, what? what were your thoughts on the song? Do you have, do you have memories of hearing the song, or anything, or like? 1:01:03 - Speaker 1 I think it's, I think it's a romantic song, Like. I think it's like the firework of like meeting somebody that is just, you know, absolutely the sparkle of your eye, you know, sort of thing. The context, to give you some context, the goal that he's talking about, the goal that everyone remembers, is when Canada beat the Soviets in 1972. And that was, that was during the Cold War. So it was a big deal, that series, Canada playing hockey against Russia. you know a few games here in Canada and a few games in Moscow. It was a big deal, Like for these Canadian hockey players to go to Russia. Like at that time Russia was so mysterious And there was a very famous goal that won the series by Paul Henderson that everyone remembers. It's one of those moments in Canada, the, if you're of the right age or generation I'm not, I'm born in 74. So it's over my head, But if you were there then it's one of those like you know where you were moments. you know what I mean. 1:02:10 - Speaker 3 It's huge huge moment in sports history. 1:02:13 - Speaker 1 So for him to be just blown away. Like you know, loosening my grip on Bobby Orr, like I just picture, the 16 year old who's in love with Bobby Orr has the hockey cards on the wall, you know, he's just tremendous and all of a sudden he just oh, there's girls out there. Oh, and there's this particular girl who doesn't give a fuck about what, like whoa fireworks, you know. 1:02:40 - Speaker 3 Yeah, great song, Great song. This. yeah, I could have had this song, you know, and had a satisfied meal and went to bed. 1:02:49 - Speaker 1 You and your food All right. Go next to vapor trails. 1:02:58 - Speaker 3 So vapor trails, like I started this one and paused and had to come back to it, i didn't keep going like this, this, this, this was one of the breaks. And now for me, where I was like, okay, i'm not, either not in it enough or not focused enough, let's come back to it and didn't hold your attention. He would not not at the get go, but eventually it did. Oh, eventually it did bring me in. It totally was one of those songs that I wasn't so sure about, but over time was like humming it while walking around the house. You know, there's just to me it has some mysticism to it. There's this mysterious not to say it again but backup singer, whoever is in there. I mean there's some really good backup singing happening, but I just love some of the lyrics. There's nothing uglier than a man hitting a stride. 1:04:00 - Speaker 1 What a great lyric, right Dude And just the way he says it as well. There's nothing uglier than a man hitting a stride, yeah. 1:04:09 - Speaker 3 I can't wait to use that some point in life. You know, watching something happen, yeah, chords, use that line, throw away the rudder, float away, like they portrayals. You know, i get this. It's like, it's this feeling of like giving up. You know, at some point we all, everyone, i think everyone has contemplated, you know, life being different or serious change, or giving up, or you know, we've all had these heavy times in our lives and maybe the song kind of hits on that. There's amazing guitar riffing just towards four minute mark. It felt, you know, just to kind of wrap it up. For me it felt like a produced ending. You know, the fade out was like it wasn't just let's wrap the song up, let's just fade it out, it was like let's produce the fade out. So it was a little, i don't know a little more, a little more orchestrated. But yeah, it's, this song is. This song was a banger. I think it was really good for the spot in the album. I think it was like really fitting. 1:05:27 - Speaker 1 Yeah, because we're well into the second side now. Yeah yeah. Second track, second side, if you're playing by those roles, It has a good place, good place in the album. What do you think of APR Trail's Pete? 1:05:39 - Speaker 4 Well, this is the other thing that I thought was it's not. It's not a Rush reference, but I actually think there's a possibility that Rush's 2001 record Vapor 12, vapor Trails was perhaps, maybe, an homage to Tragically Hip. Wow, i don't know, that's my, that's my in my dream world. I don't know if that's really true, but and I saw them on that tour and they were fucking just amazing. Saw them at the Irvine Meadows man. 1:06:18 - Speaker 1 Such a great show. 1:06:19 - Speaker 4 Never saw. 1:06:20 - Speaker 1 Rush. I was supposed to see Rush on a tour in 93 and guess who was opening for them? Who, tragically Hip Jesus Christ. Wow, on Road Apples. Yeah, dude. 1:06:30 - Speaker 4 I don't know what's a bigger fail That or not partying with them. 1:06:34 - Speaker 1 Oh God, it's the, that's the, that's the fail. 1:06:36 - Speaker 3 They're close. Not partying, I think. 1:06:39 - Speaker 4 Well, we, let's put it this way, we, we, we showed to that concert, i think, and they were they, we were at that time. It's strange, real quick, because I know. but during that time, because 2001 was coming out of the Napster years and years, right And into, like I think it was right where the iPods came out, um, so people started buying music online again, sort of. So bands didn't have money to pay for opening bands during that time, so a lot of bands would tour and be like who's opening? And like there's nobody opening. So we assumed that somebody was opening, for Rush happened to me with pavement one time, but that's another story Um, and we walked, we're, we're racing through the parking lot Because we hear a spirit of the radio, but right into Red Bar Chat after that and just fucking made my, made my life. But to the song. Paper Trails. Um, the fucking vocal melody in the opening verse same. I got the same cadence, Tim. I don't know if you mentioned this as Thompson girl. Um, but the song I loved it. I imagine when they sung this song live, that when Gord sings the line you can throw away the rudder. He probably blows out either part of the low end or part of the mid end frequencies in the fucking speakers at this this, this house, his voice is just at that frequency where, if he really punches it like he could, he could break. He could break some fucking windows, because it's, it's just fucking just the way he delivers that shit. Throw away the rudder, um, uh, what else? Yeah, just that line to me was worth buying the fucking record. Pulled the car over. There's nothing uglier. Yeah. Then a man hitting his stride. Yeah, there's a transition from the bridge back to the chord progression. That's super abrupt And it's so cool because there's no transition. It's just like boom, boom, they go right back into the chord progression and it's fucking cool. I'm not, can't think of any band that I've heard do that. And then the last thing is the line, and it's it's. It's maybe Rob Baker, i don't know who's singing the backup, but Mexicans dressed in beige shirts Crazy line, yeah. 1:09:16 - Speaker 1 Yeah, I've never heard that Mexicans dressed in beige shirts. 1:09:19 - Speaker 4 It's. It's like almost whispered. 1:09:25 - Speaker 3 Wow references you know references, folks who spend their life picking the strawberries and raspberries. 1:09:31 - Speaker 1 We, i believe, Yeah, I would guess so. 1:09:37 - Speaker 3 I believe it does So yeah. 1:09:39 - Speaker 4 Are we going to? 1:09:40 - Speaker 1 rules. You got it, dude. 1:09:48 - Speaker 4 I love the song. It was so fucking cool and so chill. This starts out with those huge cymbal crashes in the beginning. This is the second song in the record that references a pedestrian crossing, talks about a crossing guard not doing their job. 1:10:04 - Speaker 1 So yeah, it's really reference of and the second reference of super farmer. Uh-huh Right. 1:10:11 - Speaker 3 In that same in that same Stan's line. Got some agricultural themes happening. Probably the third agricultural theme. 1:10:21 - Speaker 4 Yeah, I don't know I just the phrasing was beautiful. I'm wondering what a bard is. B-a-r-d. 1:10:28 - Speaker 3 There's a couple of references with that. One is it has to do with a Shakespeare reference. 1:10:35 - Speaker 1 That's what I thought, yeah. 1:10:36 - Speaker 3 Yeah, and then the other one is I'm not going to butcher it, the other one has to do with fighting. I have to look it up. 1:10:46 - Speaker 1 Let's just go with Shakespeare. 1:10:48 - Speaker 3 Yeah, it's some Shakespeare reference. 1:10:52 - Speaker 4 And then to the line about the vacuum's got a guarantee. I just that line hooked me in so much because it was so random that I was like really in just pay super close attention to what he said. And the next line that he delivers, which is it could suck a virus, an ancient virus from the sea, is like what the like again put on the hat, put on your jacket, close the briefcase. Fucking. Done your job today. 1:11:23 - Speaker 1 Leave the office, gordon, that's right Punch out or whatever. 1:11:27 - Speaker 4 The whole, that whole stand is fucking amazing. There's a table slide And then oh, by the way, this song, and fuck, there was one other song. God damn this song. and one other song at the record. on the record It's earlier. I want to say it may be something on or say the planet. at the very end of it You hear the word somebody in the studio is cool. Yeah, so it doesn't feel so and there was one other two, one other song on the record that they did, so I was like they did that twice. 1:12:05 - Speaker 1 That's cool. I'm going to need access to your premium sound system. 1:12:10 - Speaker 4 Well, I mean GD, that's. We know this is not stuff we just hand on. It's kind of like you know top secret Clarence, There's a lot involved, A lot of screaming All right, all right, all right. 1:12:22 - Speaker 3 He passed. He's done it. Yes, true, yes, we're adjourning my current, for he's had it. Yeah, i heard the song and I thought Pete loves this song so much And when we come talk about it on the pod it's going to be all Pete. 1:12:43 - Speaker 1 You know how much to say. 1:12:44 - Speaker 3 I thought it was kind of a yonder. I got you know some, some from it, But you know I was like this. The song isn't for me. I thought it was kind of a yonder. I was going to leave it to Pete. 1:12:58 - Speaker 1 We're going to come back in a year because it's going to be a grower for you. I guarantee this song will be a grower for you. 1:13:04 - Speaker 3 If it's not, you guys both have to buy me beers. I can live with that, Yeah, yeah. 1:13:11 - Speaker 1 Okay. Well then let's slide into Sugar and Falls Ohio. 1:13:15 - Speaker 4 Take it Timbo. 1:13:17 - Speaker 3 Yeah, so Sugar and Falls. So this song I thought was basically a huge fuck off to corporate man, to the man. I thought this is like. This song is driving some culture into the fan base. It's probably, you know, was played a lot on the radio. I thought this one you know I could be wrong, but this song to me felt like on the verge of angry a little bit more than usual. I'd maybe really wonder about it live, if this got more raucous, if it got a little bit more I don't know violent feeling. And I think it's because it thematically, which is where I'm going to go, not so much with music on this one, but thematically it Sugar and Falls, in my research. That's the headquarters of Clear Channel, which at the time Clear Channel Corporation was slowly taking over media, especially North America. Yeah, so that's a lot of the references to Grand Falls. You know where the unknown won't even go. Because at this point I mean that line to me says if you're an artist and you're trying to make it like, avoid your Grand Falls, avoid Clear Channel, you know, be careful with what radio you're sending your tapes to your CDs to like this. This is that song that is kind of the band's shout to the world of, you know, corporate media is taking over the airwaves, you know, be aware So that that to me the song has like a mission. It felt like the first time I listened to it. When I got to you know, three quarters, two thirds of the way through, i thought is this song like over five minutes? you know it felt long, but it didn't feel long in a bad way, like it felt like a good, just a really well written song. Like I was kind of digging through Grand Falls, it felt like a five minute song, but it's not a five minute song. I didn't look up live versions of it but I definitely want to find something. 1:15:47 - Speaker 1 Yeah, get the answers to your questions. I can't, unfortunately, answer because I saw them on that tour and I don't remember if they played it, but I can't. 1:15:57 - Speaker 3 It was somewhat rare. I feel like it was probably going to be a rare rarely. 1:16:01 - Speaker 1 Yeah, it would be one that would be, you know, gosh. Well, let me just quickly look up how many times they played it. 1:16:09 - Speaker 3 I mean for people that don't know, Clear Channel took over corporate. I mean took over FM radio. Over time, like so many stations became Clear Channel stations and became programmed. And I remember hearing the transition because, as a big radio listener, being bored in 71, you know, i listened to radio for like 20 years, 15 at least, 20 years and they just completely took over And I remember hearing DJs demeanor changing from independent radio station to now being put into this box And I feel like that's what the band is trying to talk about in this song And I think it's their fuck you to this corporate system of being in a band and trying to make it and just to inspire people to be independently minded. 1:17:08 - Speaker 4 Yeah, it's funny you mentioned Clear Channel only because I want to talk about the song, because I feel a little bit different about the song in some ways than you do, tim, and it's funny, like Tim, i didn't do fucking a pubic here. The research you did for this fucking song. I had to look up where Chagrin Falls was but, and I dug it. But yeah, that's when there used to be a great station in classic rock station in LA called Arrow 93. And they went over to that Jack. You know that Jack format Jack FM, which is just, it's just a guy who like record something and it's like a cheesy line and he

We're taking you on a journey through the Tragically Hip's live album, 'Live Between Us', which was released back in 1997. Our excitement leading up to its release was off the charts, and we're here to share that with you! We'll be dissecting some of the tracks on the album, such as 'Grace, too', 'Ahead By A Century', and 'Nautical Disaster'. Prepare to be immersed in the intimate connection between the band and their fans that this record so beautifully captures.In this episode, we dive deep into the recording process of 'Live Between Us', exploring the incredible energy of the show, and the role the audience played in the final product. Also, get ready for an insight into the potential impact a sax player could've had on the band's sound, as well as a fascinating anecdote about Dave Matthews' tour bus incident in Chicago. Plus, we'll delve into the tough decision faced by sax player David Manning – stay with the Hip or leave with his girlfriend?Finally, let's talk about the Tragically Hip's songwriting process and live performance dynamics. We'll discuss how the energy of the show and the crowd's reactions influenced their performances, and examine the live version of 'Fully Completely', which unlocked the song in a completely different way from the original recording. We'll also touch on the band's influences and listening habits, and how they incorporated lyrics from other bands into their set. So, join us as we unearth the magic of 'Springtime in Vienna' and the excitement its introduction caused among the crowd. You don't want to miss this!Transcript0:00:00 - Speaker 1So, guys, this is Pete here. I'm coming to you with a very important message. Okay, this is serious stuff. I know we joke around a lot on the on the pod, but in all honesty, i'm asking for a favor. I need you to do yourselves a favor. I need you to do your family and friends a favor. I need you to do society as a whole favor. Go to getting hip to the hipcom, click on the bonus feed and join the bonus feed, because there's some pretty next level content or covering everything from geopolitics to UFOs and the tragically hit most importantly, but you're really not gonna want to miss it. So, again, do yourself a favor, do the next generation a favor. Okay, before you, before you focus on recycling and nobody cares about climate change, the more important thing is to join the bonus feed. Getting hip to the hipcom click bonus feed. 0:01:14 - Speaker 2You. 0:01:41 - Speaker 3A live hip record on May 2 for a weekend. What more could I have asked for? It was 1997 and I was getting ready to do my annual sojourn from Toronto back home to Waterford. The hip was still number one for me and this record was something I had been craving since having first seen them live. For some reason, though, it didn't scratch my itch the way I wanted it to. No matter how many times I spun the CD on my discman, i just couldn't get as excited about it as I did for a studio record. Were the hips so good live that it was impossible to capture the greatness in ones and zeros? I don't know, but what I can tell you is the album has aged extremely well and it's often something I go back to when I need a jolt that, for whatever reason, it didn't offer me back in 97. Now, in this episode recorded before his untimely passing, we get into the late Davis Manning. So allow me to acknowledge that now. Rest in peace, davis. If you've been following along, you know how hungry Tim and Pete are for a live performance from the band. Although they'll never get to see them in person, the time is right to unleash live between us onto them? Will they eat it up the way I think they will? We'll find out today. on Getting Hip to the Hip. Long Sliced Brewery presents Getting Hip to the Hip. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to hear the tragically hips music for the first time again, here's your chance. Join music fans Pete and Tim from Portland, who have never heard the band before, on a journey through the hips discography, accompanied by me, their guide, jd. Welcome to Getting Hip to the Hip. How's it going, guys? 0:03:56 - Speaker 5Going great, it's going good. 0:03:59 - Speaker 1Fantastic Couldn't be better. 0:04:01 - Speaker 5Glad to be back. 0:04:03 - Speaker 3Yeah, it is, it is. It's good to be back at it. Okay, before we get into things here, we are talking about the live record that everybody was really waiting for. You know, around the time it came out It was 1997. Everybody had heard that this was a really great band to see live and to experience live, and so we were all longing for, you know, a live record, and when it was announced we were really quite excited And I'm curious how you guys felt. But before we get into your feelings, let's take a look under the hood of this record. This one was recorded live at Kobo Arena in Detroit, michigan, november 23rd 1996. It was released May 24th 1997 for the long weekend. Produced by the tragically hip and Mark Freakin. It clocks in at 70 minutes and 31 seconds and it was released on MCA. All Music gave this a 2.5 out of 5. And here's what they had to say about this. The tragically hip, one of Canada's musical merry makers, are also praised for their raw, sweaty live performances. Frontman Gordon Downey is a real dynamo, lyrically and physically, and his bandmates only support the beautiful live chaos. With that aside, the hip treated fans with their first ever live album, live Between Us, recorded well. On tour in support of 1996's Trouble at the Henhouse, live Between Us documents one of the band's more ambitious evenings. Without any technical tweaking, a very loyal Detroit audience is captured at the sold out Kobo Arena and a very tight knit and fiery, tragically hip is in command. The unity between the hip and their fans depicts something heavy. Downey's random improvising and loose poetic ramblings spark the intro of Grace 2. It creeps along with Johnny Faye's electric percussion and already Live Between Us is a steady, creatively stripped and vibrant. The emotional rage fully, completely sets up the rest of the record, particularly the relaxed ballad ahead by a century Layered backing vocals and plucking acoustics depict the hip's signature sincerity and the sneaky rock snippets of David Bowie's China Girl And the Beach Boys Don't Worry Baby midway through New Orleans' sink and flow without hesitance. Most stunningly is his lyrical rant of Jane Sivarys' The Temple Near the End of the Taunting Nautical Disaster, which also includes a verse from the reaesthetics Bad Time to Be Poor. As a whole, the band is abrasive in a simplistic sense, making Live Between Us an intimate jam between the band members themselves and a shared moment with the fans. The tragically bad men have maintained their beloved status because of such grateful informality. What in the living fuck is a 2.5 out of 5? The only negative word in there is abrasive, and abrasive comes right to the end. It's such a pussy review, wow. 0:07:15 - Speaker 1It's a bitch review. It's like going out on the best date of your life or something and then just saying like, yeah, maybe I'll call you next week or whatever, or maybe I won't. I can't even think of something stupid and shitty to compare it to, because it's so fucking bullshit. Sorry, what a shit. the bed review that is Sorry. 0:07:42 - Speaker 5Well, i have a maybe, maybe, why So kind of the elephant in the room on this recording is the actual show is longer than what they put out for the album And we're missing all these. We're missing, yeah, we're missing all these songs. So if you, let's say, the writer, went to this show in Detroit and was so psyched about it And then a year or whatever, whatever it was, later bought the album and brought it home and realized it was three quarters of the songs and they don't even get the actual ending of the show on the record, and so you're kind of you're like you're playing if you got this on vinyl or CD, you're playing like the highlights of the show And as a very amateur taper and someone who absolutely loves live shows and kind of you know, on some of the bad weeks lives for them, you know, when I listened through this I was like okay, is this just the hits? Like what is this album Like? I really questioned what was going on with it. I absolutely loved it And I loved. You know I have all these comments about everything that I dig from it But at the same time I'm like God damn. So that's when I pursued the search of the whole recording, start to finish, because I mean I have socked away whole recordings of shows And this is not a whole recording. 0:09:11 - Speaker 3Yeah, it's interesting. It's interesting, I wonder. I was just going to say it's interesting. I wonder why they did it that way. What do you think, pete? That's what I was going to say. 0:09:21 - Speaker 1No, it's totally yeah, because here's a couple things Like I see what you're saying, but I'm also looking at this from 1996, number one, number two it's on MCA, which at the time MCA was a really large record company. Okay, so you know, you've got, you've got the record company's influence of. oh, i don't think this track should be on there, whatever They take it off. You know they wanted this to be a sellable record that they were going to put out number one. I'm not defending it, i'm just saying I'm just trying to get in the mind of the methodology of what, why these decisions were made. And on top of it, i think nowadays bands will put out a live record and it'll be like you know, because, for example, new Orleans is sinking. You know, nowadays that would be New Orleans is sinking. Parenthetical China girl slash, don't worry, they met me or something. You know they'll throw that shit in, whereas back in the day, when you had a packaged live record, that shit was a no. No, you know, i didn't see it a lot that I remember Either way. Dude, this fuck all music, dude. I think that's the narrative we need to stick with, because they don't know what the fuck is going on. 0:10:38 - Speaker 5It. Just this record blew me away. Yeah, I would say. I would just add that my my only thought behind their low review score is because they didn't get all the show, Maybe they went to it and they saw it and they wanted to hear it all again. Yeah, exactly, or maybe they didn't, i don't know, but it's just the review is written It was a bad way. 0:11:01 - Speaker 3Kindly like it's. so it's such a nice review, really, until the word abrasive comes out and then which is weird And then it ends with like a nice, like they're redeemed, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and then it's like 2.5. It's like this person is a hard grader man. That's all I'm going to say. 0:11:20 - Speaker 1But I don't, i don't buy that. Oh, i mean, i see what you're saying, tim, again about the record. You know. But look at, you know, a lot of live records aren't even a whole concert, let alone you're going to put a whole concert. So if a band plays for you know, three hours or plays a three hour set, like the Stones, and they put out a live record, they're not going to do that. Led Zeppelin's How the West is One great live record. It's probably. You know, if you look at the back and the liner notes, it's recorded in Madison Square Garden, it's recorded at the Long Beach Arena. It's recorded different places. It's not one concert. They kind of just took the best takes. 0:11:57 - Speaker 3I do like they used just the Kobo Hall performance because a lot of bands do that for live. They do like two or three nights and they record and they pick the best stuff. 0:12:08 - Speaker 5The actual album is about 83% of the show, so you you miss the whole. Encore There is some. There is some missing there The entire encore you missed. 0:12:17 - Speaker 3So what you do get the end of the record is the Weirothal, which is the last song they played. But whatever we missing, it goes Grace to fully completely springtime in Vienna. Trust my arm gift shop ahead by a century. The luxury 700 foot ceiling is not on there. 0:12:33 - Speaker 2Courage. 0:12:34 - Speaker 3That sucks, is courage on there. 0:12:36 - Speaker 5Daredevil is not. Daredevil is not Daredevil is not. 0:12:40 - Speaker 3Flamenco is not Scape is at hand for the traveling man is not, which is crazy because that's on the next record. So they were showcasing Wow, yeah, yeah, if anyone's got this. 0:12:52 - Speaker 5No, i'm thinking, don't wake, daddy. 0:12:55 - Speaker 3Yeah, please send an email to Tim at getting hip to the hipcom. He's a completist. I need it. Oh little bones man That would have been fucking rad. 0:13:06 - Speaker 5Yeah, ender with me locked in the trunk of a car would have been the ominous Ender. But then you got little bones, so new, the very end. I mean we got you another recording. You get 82, like I said, 83% of the whole entire show, which is killer. And you know, honestly, a positive there is it gives people access to the hip live who may own like one album, and then they pick up a CD with a bunch of live shit and they're like, oh man, why haven't we seen this band play yet? You know, so that could be part of it. It's a little bit of a teaser without an encore or a second encore. I mean I don't know, though That's all the same time. I've, i've recorded shows and I've sent friends just the encore, just kind of piss them off, but sometimes like from a recording. Sometimes for me, listening to the encore, like the last three, four songs, you're like fuck, yeah, that probably was an amazing show. I get it And you know this recording without hearing the, on course I pretty much get it too, but just specifically, i talk about the show. 0:14:10 - Speaker 3Yeah, well, this is what I want to. I want to sort of level off with the audience. You know how we're going to approach this Yeah. And you know, you came up with the idea of approaching it like it's a real concert, like let's give, give it a concert review. My curiosity starts to go from there. What do you look for in a live concert without referencing this record? What, what are? or, if you want to reference this record, what do you look for when you go to a show like that makes it a great show. 0:14:40 - Speaker 5Yeah, well, oftentimes it's the crowd. Man, if it's a rock and roll band, if it's a band with energy, you know there's. There's a electronic duo that we love, that we've seen play a handful of times. That really gets their crowd going like it. Just, oftentimes it's the crowd. You know, at the beginning of this album, as I listened to it, i thought, okay, probably not, because I didn't research it much. You know, i was excited to hear a live album But I thought, you know, it's probably not. The stadium sounds big, though definitely arena feeling and crowd sounds pretty hyped. They weren't. They weren't screaming like a bunch of fucking going crazy, drunk ass Canadians. They were hyped But it wasn't. To me it didn't feel like a home show. Well Tim, the ABV in the back blue is not that high Just well, sure, sure, sure, sure, Sure, sure, but you know, but when I did research it I was like, oh, i was like, oh, detroit, okay, detroit shows must have been really fun Because you know, you're in the US, you're in the USA. Whether or not is highly regarded in Detroit is like there is their home away from home. So the crowd for me was either way like hitting the mark that the crowd was pumped in the just right off the bat I had wondered about you know, because I'm nerdy that way like how it was recorded And I thought about the time and the era and what people were using to record stuff. So I did a little bit of research on that note, just to see, like what the heck or see if there are any notes about how they recorded this thing, because back then it was like dat recorders or radar recorders. I mean it was like the kind of the evolution beginning evolution of digital audio recording which people could then just pump out on the scene or mini discs around. 0:16:28 - Speaker 3At that point I forget when I had, i had a. 0:16:30 - Speaker 5Yeah that was, that was the yeah, those things were cool. Yeah, that was around the same time. You could yeah, you could plug those straight into a sound board and get like CD quality. So I was curious about that as a taper person, you know, just to hear how it went down, because it overall you know whether it was on my home sonosystem or my basement PSS premium sound system or on my my home headphones, my Bose headphones, like it sounds fucking good Like whoever. Whoever posted this did a great job. 0:17:06 - Speaker 3What did you think, pete, in terms of your rubric for measuring a live show? 0:17:13 - Speaker 1It's a it's a weird question because you know, and Tim comes from a place of recording a million shows in his history On me. I look, i gotta kind of look at it back. We gotta kind of look at this backwards because, number one, we worn out the show. You know, if we judge it by the crowd, i think, but by anybody's standards, you know, the show that Peter Frampton played at the Fillmore West for Frampton Comes Alive was was a banger on the show. But if you know anything about that record they dubbed in the audience of the crowd. Do you know? do you know that, right, tim? 0:17:47 - Speaker 5Boo. 0:17:47 - Speaker 1I say that Boo, i mean it's, it's, it's. the American Idol effect is of of making things seem like they're popular when they're not. 0:17:57 - Speaker 5Now I have a. It's the fucking laugh track, you know it's a laugh track. 0:18:02 - Speaker 1So I have a weird take on this. This record made me, gave me a weird take on this band as a whole that I'm really looking forward to show you guys. But just to your question, jd, before I get ahead of myself. I think the the show you can. You can hear how good the show was from the band and what the energy that the bands convey, what Gord Downey's saying and how he's interacting with the crowd, cause you never know with the crowd again. The Frampton record but based on what you're hearing from the band, it was a fucking rager. Yeah, whoever was at this show you know, kiss my ass, i wish I, i wish I was there, i mean, you weren't there. 0:18:49 - Speaker 3She was an email. JD at getting hip to the hipcom. 0:18:52 - Speaker 5Hey, jd, question for you. 0:18:53 - Speaker 3Call her Go ahead Yeah. 0:18:55 - Speaker 5Yeah, jd, you know. So after I did research this show a bit, i came upon the reason why it's named what it's named. Do you want to share that? And yeah, so it sounded like in the early days the hip had a sax player. 0:19:15 - Speaker 3David's. 0:19:15 - Speaker 5Manning, that's right, am I right? 0:19:17 - Speaker 3Yeah, talked about him in the first episode. 0:19:20 - Speaker 5So that that kind of rocks, yeah, yeah, I forgot all about that. I forgot all about that, obviously, and and I thought, oh my God, and I just I just kind of sat there and wondered about everything I've listened to and how there has been no sax player. And there could have been a sax player, you know, and there's, and it recalled to mind some bands that I love that have horn players that you know really feels like part of the soul of that band with this horn player. So can you imagine, like recordings up to this date, having this sax player? that's like you know, i don't know, would he have been the equivalent of I don't know the guy's name, the guy that plays um Phil or violin for Dave Matthews, you know, wouldn't have been this overwhelming presence, so that that first of all. 0:20:08 - Speaker 3First of all, dave Matthews, barf Barf. 0:20:12 - Speaker 5Oh, i know right, the best, the best story about Dave Matthews Segway is the story about his tour bus in Chicago. Do you guys know this story? 0:20:22 - Speaker 1Oh yeah, the the, yeah, the shit. 0:20:24 - Speaker 5Yeah, So he's he's. 0:20:25 - Speaker 1I thought you were going to say Clarence Clemens of uh, yeah, that's where I thought it was No, Yeah, Dave Matthews tour bus. 0:20:32 - Speaker 5You know they're whoever's on the bus, but they're driving in Chicago across an abridge and they're uh, they're black water tank, which is all the poo, poo and wee wee supposedly broke open and burst onto a bunch of tourists on a on a boat platform, boat going down the river on a scene. 0:20:50 - Speaker 3Oh my God. 0:20:51 - Speaker 5So Dave Matthews has actually shit on fans, so that's, that was pretty fun. Anyway, back to this. 0:21:00 - Speaker 3Hey, today's all about live music. 0:21:02 - Speaker 1Metaphorically and and sonically. 0:21:05 - Speaker 5I I last week I turned down the opportunity to co-host that Dave Matthews podcast. Um, so so this fellow uh, uh, uh, dave, dave is manning It was at a crossroads with staying in the band or not and was given to ultimate him by his girlfriend, who I wonder if he's even still with her doubt it. And, um, she, she noted that that the hip lives between us, to him, to Davis. So she was like you know, the band lives in between us in bed, the band is in between us. You got to pick, you got to pick one of us, pick the band or pick me And he's supposedly chose her, and this was spray painted on the wall of I don't remember some building I don't know in in whatever Queens Yeah, in Kingston, and, uh, you know when, it was lived between us. So I think the actual record is lived between us, but everybody calls it live between us because it's live. 0:22:06 - Speaker 3That's why I've all got it live between us. But yeah, i knew that, but I knew that story. But I still call it live between us. I don't yeah What man. if you've got to take on that Pete, do you? 0:22:15 - Speaker 1But isn't that a? isn't that a dick move, dude, like I mean? it's a I got to. How do you for the band in their current form to name it? 0:22:24 - Speaker 5that is like I think it's awesome. 0:22:28 - Speaker 1I think it's awesome too, but God. 0:22:29 - Speaker 5Here's the code It says. There, in an alley that now stands beside a tattoo parlor, he painted a huge mural featuring a weeping eye and a shooting star, which is hard to decipher. In the art He painted the hip live between us in large letters across the wall and an apparent reference to he and his lover. In the end, davis chose his girl, left the band and continues to be an active musician to this day. The mural stood until the summer of 2005, when it was painted over by local business owners. His artwork was used as the CD art, which is fucking hilarious and perfect for the hips 97 live release. The disc, in clever turn of phrase, was called live between us. 0:23:12 - Speaker 3That's very cool. 0:23:13 - Speaker 5Perfect. It's just perfect. I love it. That right there just made me love the whole thing. It was like great story, Great story. 0:23:21 - Speaker 3So let's start at the start. With the opener is Grace to a good opener. Hello. 0:23:55 - Speaker 2This is for the real statics. We're all richer for having seen them tonight. All right, i got a son, came up shocked with the lines. Today was the day that I was already behind Steal the drink. Our brothers and sisters, our young all-ter체 Note Uhl are here at the site. Come on, blir gladzis. I can hear a singing. I'm turned off from No, they don't know no more. That's why I'm here, for I kept them downtown, but I'm ready for you. I went well into Dona Nace and Brace to leave. I'm a little bit alone. I was, so I'm a little bit. I can't hear you. Can't you fucking hear that man? Can't you fucking hear that? Can't you hear what I heard? Look out, jesus Christ, big fuckin' bear. The secret rules of engagement Are hard to endorse When the appearance of comfort Meets the appearance of force, when I can guarantee They've been a knock on the door, i can't hear you. I'm turned off from here. I'm turned off from the door. That's why I'm here, for I kept them downtown, but I'm ready for you. I went to scale and it's my strength. Yes to you. I didn't give a fuck. Where the hell did you get an inch? I never fought for a thing. I never fought for anything. I got a palace wage gone to do. I'm like so many of you. I see around me Nothing to live or die for, no limits in tune. Help, help, no, no. I was growing up in town. I was growing up in town And I was gonna pick up my friends And I know you'll come to some kind of dead end. Oh, but I can swear there's a bear. I can swear there's a place where all is A bit to be manned And you can never be a piece of cake. And then there's everyone Around you smiling and everyone Around you styling. You got nothing to worry about. And then you got nothing to worry about. You got nothing to worry about. You got nothing to worry about. 0:29:31 - Speaker 1So fucking Lulie, absolutely, i mean. 0:29:34 - Speaker 5Perfect. 0:29:35 - Speaker 1It's just the way they come into it. I pictured like I don't know if they had played arenas this big before I know they toured. They sounded so tight, they couldn't fuck up if they tried, you know. And this band just sounded so good. Yeah, what was this? How far was this show off of their SNL release? SNL appearance. 0:30:12 - Speaker 3Oh well, snl was March of 95 and this was November of 96. 0:30:22 - Speaker 1Yeah, i mean, they knew then that this was a banger of a tune. But just What a way to ease in, to get everybody to get the water warm in the bathtub. Man. 0:30:36 - Speaker 3Did you dip your toes in the bath there, timmy? 0:30:40 - Speaker 5I did, i did, and it's good. The jets came on right away, so in the tub. So, yeah, i loved his phrase. Sun came up and shot through the blinds. Today was a day And I was already behind. You know, like I First of all, great line, great, just random thing. And it was also like I don't know. I love that phrase Cause to me it was like Sun came up and shot through the blinds. Today was a day And I was already behind. You know, and this is this to me, is a line that says it's kind of okay, you know, it's okay to be behind. You know, i don't know, i just you could read this line in so many ways. You can read it as like You're fucked, or you can read it as fuck it, and I love that about it. So, you know, there's there's just the grace to as a starter. You know, the first time I heard it as a starter live was that 99, woodstock, woodstock, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the first time I heard that was like okay, this is what gets the crowd going, this is, this is the shot in the arm energizer, and you know this, this is it for for this show as well. And to try, i love he has. Gord has one of his now iconic Woo. Yes, this is like, yes, the crowd is psyched, we're psyched. You know, that's to me going back to the crowd, kind of making the show. There you go, he screams. He's got like he does this droll, this guttural scream. You know, come from downtown. You know it's just, i just love it. I love it yeah, i love it when singers kind of stray and do something a little bit different Than the recordings and just get fucking into it, and that's that's how this started, for sure. 0:32:35 - Speaker 3And it carries on into a song that I don't recall how you felt about it on the fully, completely record, but to me this live version is so like, almost like psychedelic-y and like maybe it's because I've been listening to it high, i don't know but there's something really awesome about the live version It just unlocks live. I'm curious if you agree about certain songs, in this case, fully, completely Getting unlocked in a live version. 0:33:17 - Speaker 1The perfect word you use is unlocked. I couldn't think of a better word to use, because I don't know if they make them anymore. They used to be these 12-cylinder Mercedes-Benz two-door coupes. Do you remember those, Timmy run around. 0:33:35 - Speaker 5Yeah, yeah, they came with like an extra, extra gas tax on the They're ridiculous. 0:33:40 - Speaker 1Who needs this 12-cylinder? 0:33:46 - Speaker 5It was like a luxury gas tax in California that was added. 0:33:49 - Speaker 1That's how I feel about this song. 0:33:52 - Speaker 5And. 0:33:52 - Speaker 1I actually remember, because I remember thinking about it too. Jd, this was a song that I didn't say. I didn't like it but it wasn't my favorite on the record. I remember specifically because it was the title track And this was like again, a nice Mercedes, i would say a Ferrari, but whatever, whatever, your nice car is that you like sitting in your driveway and being like that's really cool, that's really pretty to look at. Okay, then you get in your fucking Honda, your fucking shitty beater, and you drive to work, but the live record gives you the keys to open it up and to fucking take it for a spin And it was, oh my God, yeah, exactly Like I really enjoyed this tune. It made me like and respect this tune for what it is And yeah, i mean think of all the reasons why. But again, you know I'll say that for a couple of other tunes. But I loved it, kim. What? 0:34:52 - Speaker 5do you think, man, i related to it quite a bit. You know I loved his singing, ranting poetry, whatever. At the beginning He's talking about being in love with the old rule being raised by TV. I mean, that's me, you know, that's my childhood. But I will add the end of this, which I couldn't find any reference on. Maybe someone else can find it. But towards the end of this I think is the first time he starts singing lyrics from other bands at the show And I didn't find this noted. So he, towards the end, he starts singing. Please take me there. He sings there's a light that never goes out. These are lyrics from the fucking Smiths from the 80s And I have a feeling, you know, i'd really just wish I could know what the band was listening to from early through later, like what they were really jiving with. You know what they listened to on the bus and what their influences were. If they were carrying around CD player, fucking Walkman, whatever. You know what they were jamming to cause. There's more see early, more see lyrics here. I might be wrong, It might just be a coincidence, but when I heard that the first time I was like fuck. 0:36:12 - Speaker 1Well, we know what Tim was listening to, please. 0:36:16 - Speaker 5One of my first. Honestly, that's one of my. My second tape was the Smiths Queen is Dead. 0:36:22 - Speaker 1Same here. 0:36:24 - Speaker 5That was it. So, yeah, i felt like this took it bigger. I hear the song in this order at this show. It took it a level bigger and louder and took it a level more aggressive. It was like Pete, you know the V12, you drive your shitty Honda, but you get in a car. it's a V12. It's like a jet boat, you know. and this I felt, i felt fully, completely, really dug in and kept us accelerating. I love your old ways, i love your old world ways is what he sings towards the end And I just that's so romantic to me. That's like pulling on my heartstrings because, you know, I'm a Gen Xer. There's so many times in my life where I want to throw my iPhone across a room. Yeah. 0:37:11 - Speaker 1Yeah, the torque it gave us, i thought one of the. I thought the crazy part about springtime in Vienna was and if I remember correctly, he introduces it And I don't know if the crowd goes nuts for it. But I'm just thinking to myself like the minute this song starts. I'd fucking lose all my shit if I'm in the car. 0:37:35 - Speaker 5Yeah, yeah, losing my shit. 0:37:37 - Speaker 1And the fact that he introduces it is almost like, kind of like, is he doing it because it's a light record? And there's maybe people that are gonna buy this record and not be looking at the back of the CD when they when it's on, i mean I don't know because, whatever, but this song, i mean just when it goes on the fucking chorus, it's just it's madness too. 0:38:02 - Speaker 5It's Yeah, you love this song. 0:38:04 - Speaker 1You hate to be loved, right? Yeah, i love this song and I just feel like if I I can hear the band having so much fun playing this song, you can hear it. 0:38:17 - Speaker 5Yeah, you can, you can. You can hear it a lot of times throughout this whole performance. Yeah, you can hear the amount of fun, i think, through the bass that's happening. You know there's some really the bass guitar so many times to me is like fuck, these guys were into it, you know. And springtime in Vienna, just like that. I felt like that was the point in the show, where you're like either chugging down your second beer or you're lighting up another spliff or whatever. Like this is like serious momentum. twist my arm, which was next, you know That to me felt I don't know that's that to me for this position of this show. This is like where you were dancing, Like this is super fun, like it felt danceable. You know, it's like I'm not standing still at this show. That was my comment for that one. 0:39:14 - Speaker 1I got some weird takes, i mean and these aren't necessarily related to this particular songs And the first thing I want to say is that I feel like like when I was young, jd, my dad used to tell me when I was playing in a band, you need to play with dynamics, right. And when you're young and you're just fucking want to turn your amp up louder than the guy next to you, you don't know what the fuck dynamics are. And it's ironically. You know, i don't have to give away my age, but I'm up there And I still I'm trying to play with people who don't know what the fuck dynamics are. Some people get it, some people never get it. It's just the ability to listen to one another, to play to the band, not to just play your instrument right, and this you can just tell. This band is weathered by the road. They have amazing dynamics to start songs like well, springtime in Vienna gift shop, especially a head by a century which builds. So just do this, do what is. Isn't it the most streamed song of the band period? Yeah, yeah. 0:40:31 - Speaker 5Head by a century. 0:40:32 - Speaker 1Yeah, head by a century, which is funny because race two on this record has more streams on this live record than head by a century. 0:40:45 - Speaker 3Oh really. 0:40:46 - Speaker 1Yeah. 0:40:48 - Speaker 3Oh wow, well, maybe it's not that, i'm not sure What. We should look that up, you know. 0:40:55 - Speaker 1You know me, though, but yeah, I think they know what they're doing on stage clearly. 0:41:03 - Speaker 5Yeah, you don't want a drummer or a guitarist or a fucking keyboardist. I'll talk a little, reference the doors there for two seconds. You don't want another musician in your band getting in the way. You know, like I actually, who is it, i'll recall. But anyways, i heard someone once say yeah, i just can't have a drummer who gets in the way. You know, you don't want somebody just cranking themselves too often And I think that's kind of what you're saying. Pete, this show, you know it. just it gets this momentum going to where you might all of a sudden realize oh shit, we're already in song five or this is already the sixth song. Like, i feel like their shows have this build up. I would assume now, after hearing this one, that their shows kind of have this build up and then they start carrying people. you know, before you, yeah, before you realize it, you're like, oh, my God, you know, it's probably halfway over or something, i don't know. It's like a century when it, yeah by century, when it started on this recording, that kind of felt like a mile marker with Gordon, his goofy start, when he's doing his one liners and making sense and not making sense at all, like that. that was kind of like the check in to to like yeah, catharsis one Yeah. That all about right, right. That to me was like let's see how into it the crowd is. You know, maybe we'll make somebody fall over with these statements, i don't know. But that, but there's a moment in a head by a century on this recording that I've kind of been waiting for to hear these guys live, do And that's like a right around the three minute marker. So they just start riffing a little bit more. They dig, they dig a little bit deeper. They reached that, you know, five fifth speed of the V12 Mercedes and they're finally on the stretch of freeway where they can let it go a little bit. And that's that's what happens with with this song. I've been waiting, waiting to hear that. So that was, that was good, that was good for me. 0:43:10 - Speaker 3Gift shop I wanted to ask you guys about, because gift shop to me feels like grace two, in the sense that it's like an opener Like. It feels like an opener to me. So I'm just curious about where it gets put. Like you've you've talked about this car metaphor you know you get grace two to open the show, then fully, completely, which sort of like you know, gets you, gets you sort of high, and then springtime in Vienna to get you jumping up and down And then twist my arm is like an old classic at this point. So you're like wow, like, like Tim said, you're dancing, And then gift shop sort of resets everything. 0:43:52 - Speaker 2You know what I mean. The rest of the world becomes a gift shop. So you're like wow, like Tim said, you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said, you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said, you're dancing. I don't know what to believe. Sometimes I even forget. And if it's a lie, a terrorist may be saying A beautiful love, a dangerous time, we get to feel a smile. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I don't know what to believe. 0:47:43 - Speaker 5I wish I knew what to believe. I knew what to believe. Close the window. You'll hear the sound of death. Run, run, run, run run. 0:48:38 - Speaker 1I feel like gift shops an opener too. Absolutely. If you want to use the car analogy, that's cool, but if we're powering a big amplifier with a car battery, it's like it's got some juice, it's got some sound. It's really pushing. You're waking up the neighbors and you hook up a second car battery. Now all the tubes are really lit up. Gift shops. It's just like Grace II and that it's another opener. It's the nitrous oxide on the engine. It just puts the show forward even faster and harder. 0:49:28 - Speaker 5I agree with that. I think it's not my favorite song simply because it's. I feel like it's. I don't know we're up to bat against a pitcher. You know you're going to get it on. It's an easy one, the chorus is easy, it's sing-alongable. I think gift shop could be an opener of the show, but I feel like it fits here well, because it's like dude, we've had the basses loaded twice. We're going to have the basses loaded twice. Let's just fucking keep bringing them in. And that's gift shop for me for sure. 0:50:02 - Speaker 3A lot of the baseball. 0:50:04 - Speaker 5Yeah, that was for you, buddy. 0:50:06 - Speaker 3Basses loaded twice. So the basses were loaded with Grace II, fully completed in springtime in Canada, and then gift shop ahead by a century and the luxury which is. This is a cool thing. If you're exploring Hiptim, you to Hiptim and you want to explore, there's a website called HIPBASE H-I-P-B-A-S-Ecom And it's got like every lot. It's like setlistfm, except for it. It's got super detailed statistics Like so, for example, the luxury this was only the 19th time that it played the luxury live. That's interesting. Yeah, it's like it's an older song at this point, but they've only played it 19 times. They only ended up playing it 65 times in total in their career. 0:51:01 - Speaker 1I feel like it's a good. It brings it down a little bit. It it, it. It mellows it out. You know, i mean being as that ahead by a century was such a popular song, like the crowd was going I mean they were going to eat shit right. When that song started, as it was This kind of like you know, take some away from the edge for a little bit. It's a really cool song, super cool bass groove. I love that. Yeah, one thing that really showcases Tim Is that on your guys' end, That's on my end. 0:51:38 - Speaker 3I think, yeah, that's JD, i come from downtown. 0:51:42 - Speaker 1One thing that Tim mentioned about drummer not getting in your way. It's crazy Again because, like my thoughts on this record are more broad and as opposed to individual songs, but I felt like like Gord Downey for the longest time and listening to the records and listening to it at this point has been the draw, and not in a bad way, but I'm saying it in the context of what Tim said the guy who's in everybody's way And I don't mean that in a bad way because he's such a fucking talent, absolutely And this was the first time where I was actually and I feel kind of like a fucking douchebag, because when it comes to the whole entire band I mean the entire band you really hear like whoa, these motherfuckers are good musicians, these guys are Yeah. And that's really hard to come through on a record because you don't know when what's recorded, how it's cut together. 0:52:42 - Speaker 5Yep. 0:52:42 - Speaker 1All that. When you hear it live you're like, okay, this is the way it sounded there And everybody sounds so good. So it's, you don't hear and I don't mean that again at this respect of Gord Downey getting in anybody's way, but like he's so good It's sort of hard to not Have that guy overshadowed. Yeah, yeah, the band, but live you don't get that vibe at all. On the records I sort of do. The records are really smooth, this far sort of, but on the fucking live performance holy shit. 0:53:16 - Speaker 3Yeah, and that's. It's funny because that was one of the questions I literally just wrote down. I was going to ask you guys if the band, if you feel differently about the band now that you've heard them play live, and you just answered that exact question, do you get what I'm saying now about being sort of an improv troupe? 0:53:35 - Speaker 5Yes. 0:53:36 - Speaker 3Because Gord will sort of carry on and do his own thing and they still have to end a song And they don't know if he's like how far he's going. Or sometimes they'll just end a song and go into, go right into something else And he's still sort of like finishing a thought or explaining an idea or whatever. 0:53:59 - Speaker 1The musicians clearly all listen to each other enough to know when to where things are going, You know. 0:54:07 - Speaker 3Yeah, And they're just as in charge as he is in a sense. 0:54:12 - Speaker 5I have to wonder what that would have been like if Davis was playing sax and all this, you know might not have been. It would have been different. Could you imagine just having a horn blowing in here and there? Yeah, like I said, having horns and bands and having a fit. but oh it may have been, I don't know I think like in excess. 0:54:34 - Speaker 3You know, they were good with the sax, yeah, but yeah, it would have been different for sure. 0:54:38 - Speaker 5Last night we were listening to this band that I loved, loved, from Boston, called Morphine. If anyone hasn't listened to Morphine, you got to check them out. They're no longer, but they were a three piece and saxophone, bass player and drummer, and that was it. It's one of the perfect examples of a unique rock and roll band where saxophone fits in and leads and doesn't take over, because it was such a unique trifecta of you know of a band. But you know, i just I think where was I going to go with this? I think, yeah, i think it would have been so different. I just circled back to the luxury. I commented on this before. It's noted on the internet, of course, but I would love, jd, for you to to play the end, maybe, of the luxury of this one and then blend in, come as you are from Nirvana, cause dude, it's the same. I mean they, they, the band was listening to Nirvana. It's just the same guitar, the same bass. It's pretty fucking cool, and I've noticed that the first time I listened to the luxury, and it's completely evident in here as well. 0:55:57 - Speaker 3But the luxury came out in 91. How much art came out in 92? 0:56:03 - Speaker 5Well, they heard it, i swear. I mean it's timing or not? 0:56:09 - Speaker 3Or Nirvana heard it. 0:56:11 - Speaker 5Yeah, nirvana heard it, who knows? 0:56:12 - Speaker 1Yeah. 0:56:13 - Speaker 5But anyways, courage, So courage. I love courage. It couldn't come at a worse time. 0:56:47 - Speaker 2Where something more familiar, quickly something familiar. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Sleep, watch so fast, asleep in a motel that has a lay of hope And piss on out of your background And piss on three eyes around your face. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Can't change your words, it doesn't matter. Can't remember, it doesn't matter. Can't change my words. Time. It's pretty snowy in here. Snow is so merciless for old country. There's no sample explanation for anything important Any of us do and yet a human tragedies, obsession or necessity of living with the consequences of depression and depression. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Can't change your words, it doesn't matter. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Can't change my words. Can't change my words. Can't change my words. I'm a child of the church, god. Snow is so merciless for old country. There's a spite of everything that's happening. It's a spite of love. Can't change my words, don't you worry, i'm a child of the church, god. I'm a child of the church, god. Snow is so merciless for old country. 1:00:57 - Speaker 5Can't change my words. Can't change my words. I don't know. There's something about this song that it's positive. It's. You know, it's something I can't turn off when I hear it, Like I got to go through the whole song. I got to sing the chorus One of the coolest parts. The bridge, Yeah, yeah, it's good. One of the coolest parts of this live recording for me, of this song, Courage, is you can hear the crowd singing a little bit Like Gord stops. When Gord stops singing, the crowd carries the lyrics for him. There's a brief moment of that, which I just adore when bands do that, when the crowd is so into it that they just stop singing. But I have the question. I don't know, This is a question. Towards the end of this he starts to talk about Montreal and the snow and poor old Montreal, You know, and I guess that's a reveal on a song in the future about Montreal or something. 1:02:15 - Speaker 3Is that true? Actually, a song from the past. 1:02:18 - Speaker 5Oh, oh, oh oh. 1:02:20 - Speaker 3It was a song that was written for Road Apples. Oh, that's right. It never came to light until much later on, but they always played it. They always sort of kept it in the back pocket and would pull it out and play it occasionally, and there's a live recording of it that just came out in a box set. That is a really good live recording. I also have the demo. I have the demo from Road Apples Ooh, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. So, yeah, it's a great song and it's fucking ooh, it's a tough one. It's about the young man who shot and murdered 14 young women at a school in Montreal, and it happened in late 80s and it's recognized annually as a result. 1:03:10 - Speaker 5Oh, yeah, So I just pulled that up. It's the massacre at Montreal's Polytechnic School, which was fueled by misogyny, horrifying memory of a bygone era. Damn Fuck. 1:03:27 - Speaker 3Yeah, so the song Montreal is about that. 1:03:33 - Speaker 5Got it. There's our heavy sort of segue in there to get us to New Orleans and Sinking. So New Orleans and Sinking for me. I don't know about you, pete, but man, this was fun. On this recording This is like crowd goes berserk. The guitar has this big start, the drums are big. It feels like we've reached top speed perhaps of the show. It oddly slows down about. There's a I don't know if you caught this, pete there's this tempo, little chug, slug, like it slowed down for just a little bit there. Like it really caught my attention that the band kind of went a tiny bit out of sync and I think that was with the drums. But man, this one I think the crowd was just, for lack of a better term banging their heads and just going along and, you know, felt so awesome The fucking David Bowie references at the end talking about where's my little China girl, all that you know that was China girl was like forever stethled to my brain because of MTV as a youngster. You know that was just such a memorable video for me Made me an instant David Bowie fan. It's just I just. New Orleans and Sinking. It might have been, might have been one of my. We're gonna get into it one of my top songs here. 1:05:25 - Speaker 2Silly way down this sidewalk in jail. My memory is muddy. What's this riff that I'm in? You gonna need to sink it, man. And I don't wanna say that I'm a child, i'm a throne. I'm going home, can't do this now. I'm a party, he said. You know yourself. Shut your big mouth. Gotta do what you feel is real. Got no pictures false gods. Got no shivers in these. My fingers she won't open when I'm thinking about those. Yeah, i'm a child, i'm a throne. I'm going home, can't do this now. I'm a party, he said. You know yourself. Shut your big mouth. Gotta do what you feel is real. I'm a child, i'm a throne. I'm going home, can't do this now. I'm a party, he said. You know yourself. Shut your big mouth. Gotta do what you feel is real With my ginocent girl. Wake up in the morning. Where's my ginocent girl? She's too tired, she's too small. Baby, just shut your mouth, she says. She says, yeah, don't worry, baby, everything will turn out alright. There's a light bulb hanging on a wire, sucking up the sun doesn't stoop to fire. Taking out the highlights of the scenery, saw some little clouds and looked a little like this In the river, my feet back up on the banks looked up to the Lord above, said hey, hey, hey, banks. Sometimes I feel so good I've got to scream. He says Georgie, baby, i know exactly what's the change He says. He says I swear to God. He says hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. My memory is funny. What's his clever man of man? he won't need to sink in that, i don't want to sell Trout. 1:10:36 - Speaker 3Trout, trout, trout. 1:11:31 - Speaker 1Trout, trout, trout. 1:12:21 - Speaker 3Trout, trout, trout. 1:12:46 - Speaker 1Trout Trout. 1:13:00 - Speaker 5Trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout. 1:14:13 - Speaker 3Trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout. 1:15:25 - Speaker 5Trout Trout, trout Trout. 1:16:12 - Speaker 3Trout Trout. 1:16:21 - Speaker 1Trout Trout, trout Trout. 1:16:56 - Speaker 3Trout Trout. 1:17:13 - Speaker 4Trout Trout. Questions or concerns, email us at JD at GettingHipToTheHipcom. We'd love to hear from you. 1:18:16 - Speaker 3Hey, it's JD here. 1:18:18 - Speaker 5Hey, it's Tim. 1:18:19 - Speaker 3And Pete Fellows, i'm really excited that you're flying to Toronto on Friday, september 1st for our big party GettingHipToTheHip an evening for the Downey Wain Jack fund. We just need to sell some tickets. How are we going to do that? 1:18:33 - Speaker 5Go to our website GettingHipToTheHipcom and you'll find a link to get tickets to our event at the rec room in Toronto. 1:18:40 - Speaker 1Early burn tickets are 35 bucks. If you go to GettingHipToTheHipcom and click on the bonus fee, you get 10% off, which means tickets are 31.50 right now. If you were to join the bonus fee and buy tickets, you'd literally have to be stupid not to do that. Definitely join us on September 1st. I'll be at the bar putting out the vibe JD. where are you going to be at? 1:19:00 - Speaker 3I'm going to be watching 50 Mission perform some tragically hip songs and I'm really excited for you guys to see them. 1:19:06 - Speaker 5Yeah, and we have a silent auction which we've garnered some great prizes so far. It's amazing what people are donating. Some hip fans are really coming forward with some great donations And again, all proceeds are going to the Downey Wain Jack fund. 1:19:18 - Speaker 3And the Long Slice beer will be flowing because Long Slice is stepped up and they are our title sponsor for the event. How cool is that. 1:19:27 - Speaker 1I cannot wait to drink some delicious beer and also watch the comedy of Pete and I too, because that guy is a side splitter, that's for sure. September 1st, live Toronto, Be there, B-square, gettinghiptothehipcom, Click on the bonus feed at 10% off the tickets and we'll see you there. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're taking you on a journey through the Tragically Hip's live album, 'Live Between Us', which was released back in 1997. Our excitement leading up to its release was off the charts, and we're here to share that with you! We'll be dissecting some of the tracks on the album, such as 'Grace, too', 'Ahead By A Century', and 'Nautical Disaster'. Prepare to be immersed in the intimate connection between the band and their fans that this record so beautifully captures.In this episode, we dive deep into the recording process of 'Live Between Us', exploring the incredible energy of the show, and the role the audience played in the final product. Also, get ready for an insight into the potential impact a sax player could've had on the band's sound, as well as a fascinating anecdote about Dave Matthews' tour bus incident in Chicago. Plus, we'll delve into the tough decision faced by sax player David Manning – stay with the Hip or leave with his girlfriend?Finally, let's talk about the Tragically Hip's songwriting process and live performance dynamics. We'll discuss how the energy of the show and the crowd's reactions influenced their performances, and examine the live version of 'Fully Completely', which unlocked the song in a completely different way from the original recording. We'll also touch on the band's influences and listening habits, and how they incorporated lyrics from other bands into their set. So, join us as we unearth the magic of 'Springtime in Vienna' and the excitement its introduction caused among the crowd. You don't want to miss this!Transcrip0:00:00 - Speaker 1So, guys, this is Pete here. I'm coming to you with a very important message. Okay, this is serious stuff. I know we joke around a lot on the on the pod, but in all honesty, i'm asking for a favor. I need you to do yourselves a favor. I need you to do your family and friends a favor. I need you to do society as a whole favor. Go to getting hip to the hipcom, click on the bonus feed and join the bonus feed, because there's some pretty next level content or covering everything from geopolitics to UFOs and the tragically hit most importantly, but you're really not gonna want to miss it. So, again, do yourself a favor, do the next generation a favor. Okay, before you, before you focus on recycling and nobody cares about climate change, the more important thing is to join the bonus feed. Getting hip to the hipcom click bonus feed. 0:01:14 - Speaker 2You. 0:01:41 - Speaker 3A live hip record on May 2 for a weekend. What more could I have asked for? It was 1997 and I was getting ready to do my annual sojourn from Toronto back home to Waterford. The hip was still number one for me and this record was something I had been craving since having first seen them live. For some reason, though, it didn't scratch my itch the way I wanted it to. No matter how many times I spun the CD on my discman, i just couldn't get as excited about it as I did for a studio record. Were the hips so good live that it was impossible to capture the greatness in ones and zeros? I don't know, but what I can tell you is the album has aged extremely well and it's often something I go back to when I need a jolt that, for whatever reason, it didn't offer me back in 97. Now, in this episode recorded before his untimely passing, we get into the late Davis Manning. So allow me to acknowledge that now. Rest in peace, davis. If you've been following along, you know how hungry Tim and Pete are for a live performance from the band. Although they'll never get to see them in person, the time is right to unleash live between us onto them? Will they eat it up the way I think they will? We'll find out today. on Getting Hip to the Hip. Long Sliced Brewery presents Getting Hip to the Hip. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to hear the tragically hips music for the first time again, here's your chance. Join music fans Pete and Tim from Portland, who have never heard the band before, on a journey through the hips discography, accompanied by me, their guide, jd. Welcome to Getting Hip to the Hip. How's it going, guys? 0:03:56 - Speaker 5Going great, it's going good. 0:03:59 - Speaker 1Fantastic Couldn't be better. 0:04:01 - Speaker 5Glad to be back. 0:04:03 - Speaker 3Yeah, it is, it is. It's good to be back at it. Okay, before we get into things here, we are talking about the live record that everybody was really waiting for. You know, around the time it came out It was 1997. Everybody had heard that this was a really great band to see live and to experience live, and so we were all longing for, you know, a live record, and when it was announced we were really quite excited And I'm curious how you guys felt. But before we get into your feelings, let's take a look under the hood of this record. This one was recorded live at Kobo Arena in Detroit, michigan, november 23rd 1996. It was released May 24th 1997 for the long weekend. Produced by the tragically hip and Mark Freakin. It clocks in at 70 minutes and 31 seconds and it was released on MCA. All Music gave this a 2.5 out of 5. And here's what they had to say about this. The tragically hip, one of Canada's musical merry makers, are also praised for their raw, sweaty live performances. Frontman Gordon Downey is a real dynamo, lyrically and physically, and his bandmates only support the beautiful live chaos. With that aside, the hip treated fans with their first ever live album, live Between Us, recorded well. On tour in support of 1996's Trouble at the Henhouse, live Between Us documents one of the band's more ambitious evenings. Without any technical tweaking, a very loyal Detroit audience is captured at the sold out Kobo Arena and a very tight knit and fiery, tragically hip is in command. The unity between the hip and their fans depicts something heavy. Downey's random improvising and loose poetic ramblings spark the intro of Grace 2. It creeps along with Johnny Faye's electric percussion and already Live Between Us is a steady, creatively stripped and vibrant. The emotional rage fully, completely sets up the rest of the record, particularly the relaxed ballad ahead by a century Layered backing vocals and plucking acoustics depict the hip's signature sincerity and the sneaky rock snippets of David Bowie's China Girl And the Beach Boys Don't Worry Baby midway through New Orleans' sink and flow without hesitance. Most stunningly is his lyrical rant of Jane Sivarys' The Temple Near the End of the Taunting Nautical Disaster, which also includes a verse from the reaesthetics Bad Time to Be Poor. As a whole, the band is abrasive in a simplistic sense, making Live Between Us an intimate jam between the band members themselves and a shared moment with the fans. The tragically bad men have maintained their beloved status because of such grateful informality. What in the living fuck is a 2.5 out of 5? The only negative word in there is abrasive, and abrasive comes right to the end. It's such a pussy review, wow. 0:07:15 - Speaker 1It's a bitch review. It's like going out on the best date of your life or something and then just saying like, yeah, maybe I'll call you next week or whatever, or maybe I won't. I can't even think of something stupid and shitty to compare it to, because it's so fucking bullshit. Sorry, what a shit. the bed review that is Sorry. 0:07:42 - Speaker 5Well, i have a maybe, maybe, why So kind of the elephant in the room on this recording is the actual show is longer than what they put out for the album And we're missing all these. We're missing, yeah, we're missing all these songs. So if you, let's say, the writer, went to this show in Detroit and was so psyched about it And then a year or whatever, whatever it was, later bought the album and brought it home and realized it was three quarters of the songs and they don't even get the actual ending of the show on the record, and so you're kind of you're like you're playing if you got this on vinyl or CD, you're playing like the highlights of the show And as a very amateur taper and someone who absolutely loves live shows and kind of you know, on some of the bad weeks lives for them, you know, when I listened through this I was like okay, is this just the hits? Like what is this album Like? I really questioned what was going on with it. I absolutely loved it And I loved. You know I have all these comments about everything that I dig from it But at the same time I'm like God damn. So that's when I pursued the search of the whole recording, start to finish, because I mean I have socked away whole recordings of shows And this is not a whole recording. 0:09:11 - Speaker 3Yeah, it's interesting. It's interesting, I wonder. I was just going to say it's interesting. I wonder why they did it that way. What do you think, pete? That's what I was going to say. 0:09:21 - Speaker 1No, it's totally yeah, because here's a couple things Like I see what you're saying, but I'm also looking at this from 1996, number one, number two it's on MCA, which at the time MCA was a really large record company. Okay, so you know, you've got, you've got the record company's influence of. oh, i don't think this track should be on there, whatever They take it off. You know they wanted this to be a sellable record that they were going to put out number one. I'm not defending it, i'm just saying I'm just trying to get in the mind of the methodology of what, why these decisions were made. And on top of it, i think nowadays bands will put out a live record and it'll be like you know, because, for example, new Orleans is sinking. You know, nowadays that would be New Orleans is sinking. Parenthetical China girl slash, don't worry, they met me or something. You know they'll throw that shit in, whereas back in the day, when you had a packaged live record, that shit was a no. No, you know, i didn't see it a lot that I remember Either way. Dude, this fuck all music, dude. I think that's the narrative we need to stick with, because they don't know what the fuck is going on. 0:10:38 - Speaker 5It. Just this record blew me away. Yeah, I would say. I would just add that my my only thought behind their low review score is because they didn't get all the show, Maybe they went to it and they saw it and they wanted to hear it all again. Yeah, exactly, or maybe they didn't, i don't know, but it's just the review is written It was a bad way. 0:11:01 - Speaker 3Kindly like it's. so it's such a nice review, really, until the word abrasive comes out and then which is weird And then it ends with like a nice, like they're redeemed, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and then it's like 2.5. It's like this person is a hard grader man. That's all I'm going to say. 0:11:20 - Speaker 1But I don't, i don't buy that. Oh, i mean, i see what you're saying, tim, again about the record. You know. But look at, you know, a lot of live records aren't even a whole concert, let alone you're going to put a whole concert. So if a band plays for you know, three hours or plays a three hour set, like the Stones, and they put out a live record, they're not going to do that. Led Zeppelin's How the West is One great live record. It's probably. You know, if you look at the back and the liner notes, it's recorded in Madison Square Garden, it's recorded at the Long Beach Arena. It's recorded different places. It's not one concert. They kind of just took the best takes. 0:11:57 - Speaker 3I do like they used just the Kobo Hall performance because a lot of bands do that for live. They do like two or three nights and they record and they pick the best stuff. 0:12:08 - Speaker 5The actual album is about 83% of the show, so you you miss the whole. Encore There is some. There is some missing there The entire encore you missed. 0:12:17 - Speaker 3So what you do get the end of the record is the Weirothal, which is the last song they played. But whatever we missing, it goes Grace to fully completely springtime in Vienna. Trust my arm gift shop ahead by a century. The luxury 700 foot ceiling is not on there. 0:12:33 - Speaker 2Courage. 0:12:34 - Speaker 3That sucks, is courage on there. 0:12:36 - Speaker 5Daredevil is not. Daredevil is not Daredevil is not. 0:12:40 - Speaker 3Flamenco is not Scape is at hand for the traveling man is not, which is crazy because that's on the next record. So they were showcasing Wow, yeah, yeah, if anyone's got this. 0:12:52 - Speaker 5No, i'm thinking, don't wake, daddy. 0:12:55 - Speaker 3Yeah, please send an email to Tim at getting hip to the hipcom. He's a completist. I need it. Oh little bones man That would have been fucking rad. 0:13:06 - Speaker 5Yeah, ender with me locked in the trunk of a car would have been the ominous Ender. But then you got little bones, so new, the very end. I mean we got you another recording. You get 82, like I said, 83% of the whole entire show, which is killer. And you know, honestly, a positive there is it gives people access to the hip live who may own like one album, and then they pick up a CD with a bunch of live shit and they're like, oh man, why haven't we seen this band play yet? You know, so that could be part of it. It's a little bit of a teaser without an encore or a second encore. I mean I don't know, though That's all the same time. I've, i've recorded shows and I've sent friends just the encore, just kind of piss them off, but sometimes like from a recording. Sometimes for me, listening to the encore, like the last three, four songs, you're like fuck, yeah, that probably was an amazing show. I get it And you know this recording without hearing the, on course I pretty much get it too, but just specifically, i talk about the show. 0:14:10 - Speaker 3Yeah, well, this is what I want to. I want to sort of level off with the audience. You know how we're going to approach this Yeah. And you know, you came up with the idea of approaching it like it's a real concert, like let's give, give it a concert review. My curiosity starts to go from there. What do you look for in a live concert without referencing this record? What, what are? or, if you want to reference this record, what do you look for when you go to a show like that makes it a great show. 0:14:40 - Speaker 5Yeah, well, oftentimes it's the crowd. Man, if it's a rock and roll band, if it's a band with energy, you know there's. There's a electronic duo that we love, that we've seen play a handful of times. That really gets their crowd going like it. Just, oftentimes it's the crowd. You know, at the beginning of this album, as I listened to it, i thought, okay, probably not, because I didn't research it much. You know, i was excited to hear a live album But I thought, you know, it's probably not. The stadium sounds big, though definitely arena feeling and crowd sounds pretty hyped. They weren't. They weren't screaming like a bunch of fucking going crazy, drunk ass Canadians. They were hyped But it wasn't. To me it didn't feel like a home show. Well Tim, the ABV in the back blue is not that high Just well, sure, sure, sure, sure, Sure, sure, but you know, but when I did research it I was like, oh, i was like, oh, detroit, okay, detroit shows must have been really fun Because you know, you're in the US, you're in the USA. Whether or not is highly regarded in Detroit is like there is their home away from home. So the crowd for me was either way like hitting the mark that the crowd was pumped in the just right off the bat I had wondered about you know, because I'm nerdy that way like how it was recorded And I thought about the time and the era and what people were using to record stuff. So I did a little bit of research on that note, just to see, like what the heck or see if there are any notes about how they recorded this thing, because back then it was like dat recorders or radar recorders. I mean it was like the kind of the evolution beginning evolution of digital audio recording which people could then just pump out on the scene or mini discs around. 0:16:28 - Speaker 3At that point I forget when I had, i had a. 0:16:30 - Speaker 5Yeah that was, that was the yeah, those things were cool. Yeah, that was around the same time. You could yeah, you could plug those straight into a sound board and get like CD quality. So I was curious about that as a taper person, you know, just to hear how it went down, because it overall you know whether it was on my home sonosystem or my basement PSS premium sound system or on my my home headphones, my Bose headphones, like it sounds fucking good Like whoever. Whoever posted this did a great job. 0:17:06 - Speaker 3What did you think, pete, in terms of your rubric for measuring a live show? 0:17:13 - Speaker 1It's a it's a weird question because you know, and Tim comes from a place of recording a million shows in his history On me. I look, i gotta kind of look at it back. We gotta kind of look at this backwards because, number one, we worn out the show. You know, if we judge it by the crowd, i think, but by anybody's standards, you know, the show that Peter Frampton played at the Fillmore West for Frampton Comes Alive was was a banger on the show. But if you know anything about that record they dubbed in the audience of the crowd. Do you know? do you know that, right, tim? 0:17:47 - Speaker 5Boo. 0:17:47 - Speaker 1I say that Boo, i mean it's, it's, it's. the American Idol effect is of of making things seem like they're popular when they're not. 0:17:57 - Speaker 5Now I have a. It's the fucking laugh track, you know it's a laugh track. 0:18:02 - Speaker 1So I have a weird take on this. This record made me, gave me a weird take on this band as a whole that I'm really looking forward to show you guys. But just to your question, jd, before I get ahead of myself. I think the the show you can. You can hear how good the show was from the band and what the energy that the bands convey, what Gord Downey's saying and how he's interacting with the crowd, cause you never know with the crowd again. The Frampton record but based on what you're hearing from the band, it was a fucking rager. Yeah, whoever was at this show you know, kiss my ass, i wish I, i wish I was there, i mean, you weren't there. 0:18:49 - Speaker 3She was an email. JD at getting hip to the hipcom. 0:18:52 - Speaker 5Hey, jd, question for you. 0:18:53 - Speaker 3Call her Go ahead Yeah. 0:18:55 - Speaker 5Yeah, jd, you know. So after I did research this show a bit, i came upon the reason why it's named what it's named. Do you want to share that? And yeah, so it sounded like in the early days the hip had a sax player. 0:19:15 - Speaker 3David's. 0:19:15 - Speaker 5Manning, that's right, am I right? 0:19:17 - Speaker 3Yeah, talked about him in the first episode. 0:19:20 - Speaker 5So that that kind of rocks, yeah, yeah, I forgot all about that. I forgot all about that, obviously, and and I thought, oh my God, and I just I just kind of sat there and wondered about everything I've listened to and how there has been no sax player. And there could have been a sax player, you know, and there's, and it recalled to mind some bands that I love that have horn players that you know really feels like part of the soul of that band with this horn player. So can you imagine, like recordings up to this date, having this sax player? that's like you know, i don't know, would he have been the equivalent of I don't know the guy's name, the guy that plays um Phil or violin for Dave Matthews, you know, wouldn't have been this overwhelming presence, so that that first of all. 0:20:08 - Speaker 3First of all, dave Matthews, barf Barf. 0:20:12 - Speaker 5Oh, i know right, the best, the best story about Dave Matthews Segway is the story about his tour bus in Chicago. Do you guys know this story? 0:20:22 - Speaker 1Oh yeah, the the, yeah, the shit. 0:20:24 - Speaker 5Yeah, So he's he's. 0:20:25 - Speaker 1I thought you were going to say Clarence Clemens of uh, yeah, that's where I thought it was No, Yeah, Dave Matthews tour bus. 0:20:32 - Speaker 5You know they're whoever's on the bus, but they're driving in Chicago across an abridge and they're uh, they're black water tank, which is all the poo, poo and wee wee supposedly broke open and burst onto a bunch of tourists on a on a boat platform, boat going down the river on a scene. 0:20:50 - Speaker 3Oh my God. 0:20:51 - Speaker 5So Dave Matthews has actually shit on fans, so that's, that was pretty fun. Anyway, back to this. 0:21:00 - Speaker 3Hey, today's all about live music. 0:21:02 - Speaker 1Metaphorically and and sonically. 0:21:05 - Speaker 5I I last week I turned down the opportunity to co-host that Dave Matthews podcast. Um, so so this fellow uh, uh, uh, dave, dave is manning It was at a crossroads with staying in the band or not and was given to ultimate him by his girlfriend, who I wonder if he's even still with her doubt it. And, um, she, she noted that that the hip lives between us, to him, to Davis. So she was like you know, the band lives in between us in bed, the band is in between us. You got to pick, you got to pick one of us, pick the band or pick me And he's supposedly chose her, and this was spray painted on the wall of I don't remember some building I don't know in in whatever Queens Yeah, in Kingston, and, uh, you know when, it was lived between us. So I think the actual record is lived between us, but everybody calls it live between us because it's live. 0:22:06 - Speaker 3That's why I've all got it live between us. But yeah, i knew that, but I knew that story. But I still call it live between us. I don't yeah What man. if you've got to take on that Pete, do you? 0:22:15 - Speaker 1But isn't that a? isn't that a dick move, dude, like I mean? it's a I got to. How do you for the band in their current form to name it? 0:22:24 - Speaker 5that is like I think it's awesome. 0:22:28 - Speaker 1I think it's awesome too, but God. 0:22:29 - Speaker 5Here's the code It says. There, in an alley that now stands beside a tattoo parlor, he painted a huge mural featuring a weeping eye and a shooting star, which is hard to decipher. In the art He painted the hip live between us in large letters across the wall and an apparent reference to he and his lover. In the end, davis chose his girl, left the band and continues to be an active musician to this day. The mural stood until the summer of 2005, when it was painted over by local business owners. His artwork was used as the CD art, which is fucking hilarious and perfect for the hips 97 live release. The disc, in clever turn of phrase, was called live between us. 0:23:12 - Speaker 3That's very cool. 0:23:13 - Speaker 5Perfect. It's just perfect. I love it. That right there just made me love the whole thing. It was like great story, Great story. 0:23:21 - Speaker 3So let's start at the start. With the opener is Grace to a good opener. Hello. 0:23:55 - Speaker 2This is for the real statics. We're all richer for having seen them tonight. All right, i got a son, came up shocked with the lines. Today was the day that I was already behind Steal the drink. Our brothers and sisters, our young all-ter체 Note Uhl are here at the site. Come on, blir gladzis. I can hear a singing. I'm turned off from No, they don't know no more. That's why I'm here, for I kept them downtown, but I'm ready for you. I went well into Dona Nace and Brace to leave. I'm a little bit alone. I was, so I'm a little bit. I can't hear you. Can't you fucking hear that man? Can't you fucking hear that? Can't you hear what I heard? Look out, jesus Christ, big fuckin' bear. The secret rules of engagement Are hard to endorse When the appearance of comfort Meets the appearance of force, when I can guarantee They've been a knock on the door, i can't hear you. I'm turned off from here. I'm turned off from the door. That's why I'm here, for I kept them downtown, but I'm ready for you. I went to scale and it's my strength. Yes to you. I didn't give a fuck. Where the hell did you get an inch? I never fought for a thing. I never fought for anything. I got a palace wage gone to do. I'm like so many of you. I see around me Nothing to live or die for, no limits in tune. Help, help, no, no. I was growing up in town. I was growing up in town And I was gonna pick up my friends And I know you'll come to some kind of dead end. Oh, but I can swear there's a bear. I can swear there's a place where all is A bit to be manned And you can never be a piece of cake. And then there's everyone Around you smiling and everyone Around you styling. You got nothing to worry about. And then you got nothing to worry about. You got nothing to worry about. You got nothing to worry about. 0:29:31 - Speaker 1So fucking Lulie, absolutely, i mean. 0:29:34 - Speaker 5Perfect. 0:29:35 - Speaker 1It's just the way they come into it. I pictured like I don't know if they had played arenas this big before I know they toured. They sounded so tight, they couldn't fuck up if they tried, you know. And this band just sounded so good. Yeah, what was this? How far was this show off of their SNL release? SNL appearance. 0:30:12 - Speaker 3Oh well, snl was March of 95 and this was November of 96. 0:30:22 - Speaker 1Yeah, i mean, they knew then that this was a banger of a tune. But just What a way to ease in, to get everybody to get the water warm in the bathtub. Man. 0:30:36 - Speaker 3Did you dip your toes in the bath there, timmy? 0:30:40 - Speaker 5I did, i did, and it's good. The jets came on right away, so in the tub. So, yeah, i loved his phrase. Sun came up and shot through the blinds. Today was a day And I was already behind. You know, like I First of all, great line, great, just random thing. And it was also like I don't know. I love that phrase Cause to me it was like Sun came up and shot through the blinds. Today was a day And I was already behind. You know, and this is this to me, is a line that says it's kind of okay, you know, it's okay to be behind. You know, i don't know, i just you could read this line in so many ways. You can read it as like You're fucked, or you can read it as fuck it, and I love that about it. So, you know, there's there's just the grace to as a starter. You know, the first time I heard it as a starter live was that 99, woodstock, woodstock, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the first time I heard that was like okay, this is what gets the crowd going, this is, this is the shot in the arm energizer, and you know this, this is it for for this show as well. And to try, i love he has. Gord has one of his now iconic Woo. Yes, this is like, yes, the crowd is psyched, we're psyched. You know, that's to me going back to the crowd, kind of making the show. There you go, he screams. He's got like he does this droll, this guttural scream. You know, come from downtown. You know it's just, i just love it. I love it yeah, i love it when singers kind of stray and do something a little bit different Than the recordings and just get fucking into it, and that's that's how this started, for sure. 0:32:35 - Speaker 3And it carries on into a song that I don't recall how you felt about it on the fully, completely record, but to me this live version is so like, almost like psychedelic-y and like maybe it's because I've been listening to it high, i don't know but there's something really awesome about the live version It just unlocks live. I'm curious if you agree about certain songs, in this case, fully, completely Getting unlocked in a live version. 0:33:17 - Speaker 1The perfect word you use is unlocked. I couldn't think of a better word to use, because I don't know if they make them anymore. They used to be these 12-cylinder Mercedes-Benz two-door coupes. Do you remember those, Timmy run around. 0:33:35 - Speaker 5Yeah, yeah, they came with like an extra, extra gas tax on the They're ridiculous. 0:33:40 - Speaker 1Who needs this 12-cylinder? 0:33:46 - Speaker 5It was like a luxury gas tax in California that was added. 0:33:49 - Speaker 1That's how I feel about this song. 0:33:52 - Speaker 5And. 0:33:52 - Speaker 1I actually remember, because I remember thinking about it too. Jd, this was a song that I didn't say. I didn't like it but it wasn't my favorite on the record. I remember specifically because it was the title track And this was like again, a nice Mercedes, i would say a Ferrari, but whatever, whatever, your nice car is that you like sitting in your driveway and being like that's really cool, that's really pretty to look at. Okay, then you get in your fucking Honda, your fucking shitty beater, and you drive to work, but the live record gives you the keys to open it up and to fucking take it for a spin And it was, oh my God, yeah, exactly Like I really enjoyed this tune. It made me like and respect this tune for what it is And yeah, i mean think of all the reasons why. But again, you know I'll say that for a couple of other tunes. But I loved it, kim. What? 0:34:52 - Speaker 5do you think, man, i related to it quite a bit. You know I loved his singing, ranting poetry, whatever. At the beginning He's talking about being in love with the old rule being raised by TV. I mean, that's me, you know, that's my childhood. But I will add the end of this, which I couldn't find any reference on. Maybe someone else can find it. But towards the end of this I think is the first time he starts singing lyrics from other bands at the show And I didn't find this noted. So he, towards the end, he starts singing. Please take me there. He sings there's a light that never goes out. These are lyrics from the fucking Smiths from the 80s And I have a feeling, you know, i'd really just wish I could know what the band was listening to from early through later, like what they were really jiving with. You know what they listened to on the bus and what their influences were. If they were carrying around CD player, fucking Walkman, whatever. You know what they were jamming to cause. There's more see early, more see lyrics here. I might be wrong, It might just be a coincidence, but when I heard that the first time I was like fuck. 0:36:12 - Speaker 1Well, we know what Tim was listening to, please. 0:36:16 - Speaker 5One of my first. Honestly, that's one of my. My second tape was the Smiths Queen is Dead. 0:36:22 - Speaker 1Same here. 0:36:24 - Speaker 5That was it. So, yeah, i felt like this took it bigger. I hear the song in this order at this show. It took it a level bigger and louder and took it a level more aggressive. It was like Pete, you know the V12, you drive your shitty Honda, but you get in a car. it's a V12. It's like a jet boat, you know. and this I felt, i felt fully, completely, really dug in and kept us accelerating. I love your old ways, i love your old world ways is what he sings towards the end And I just that's so romantic to me. That's like pulling on my heartstrings because, you know, I'm a Gen Xer. There's so many times in my life where I want to throw my iPhone across a room. Yeah. 0:37:11 - Speaker 1Yeah, the torque it gave us, i thought one of the. I thought the crazy part about springtime in Vienna was and if I remember correctly, he introduces it And I don't know if the crowd goes nuts for it. But I'm just thinking to myself like the minute this song starts. I'd fucking lose all my shit if I'm in the car. 0:37:35 - Speaker 5Yeah, yeah, losing my shit. 0:37:37 - Speaker 1And the fact that he introduces it is almost like, kind of like, is he doing it because it's a light record? And there's maybe people that are gonna buy this record and not be looking at the back of the CD when they when it's on, i mean I don't know because, whatever, but this song, i mean just when it goes on the fucking chorus, it's just it's madness too. 0:38:02 - Speaker 5It's Yeah, you love this song. 0:38:04 - Speaker 1You hate to be loved, right? Yeah, i love this song and I just feel like if I I can hear the band having so much fun playing this song, you can hear it. 0:38:17 - Speaker 5Yeah, you can, you can. You can hear it a lot of times throughout this whole performance. Yeah, you can hear the amount of fun, i think, through the bass that's happening. You know there's some really the bass guitar so many times to me is like fuck, these guys were into it, you know. And springtime in Vienna, just like that. I felt like that was the point in the show, where you're like either chugging down your second beer or you're lighting up another spliff or whatever. Like this is like serious momentum. twist my arm, which was next, you know That to me felt I don't know that's that to me for this position of this show. This is like where you were dancing, Like this is super fun, like it felt danceable. You know, it's like I'm not standing still at this show. That was my comment for that one. 0:39:14 - Speaker 1I got some weird takes, i mean and these aren't necessarily related to this particular songs And the first thing I want to say is that I feel like like when I was young, jd, my dad used to tell me when I was playing in a band, you need to play with dynamics, right. And when you're young and you're just fucking want to turn your amp up louder than the guy next to you, you don't know what the fuck dynamics are. And it's ironically. You know, i don't have to give away my age, but I'm up there And I still I'm trying to play with people who don't know what the fuck dynamics are. Some people get it, some people never get it. It's just the ability to listen to one another, to play to the band, not to just play your instrument right, and this you can just tell. This band is weathered by the road. They have amazing dynamics to start songs like well, springtime in Vienna gift shop, especially a head by a century which builds. So just do this, do what is. Isn't it the most streamed song of the band period? Yeah, yeah. 0:40:31 - Speaker 5Head by a century. 0:40:32 - Speaker 1Yeah, head by a century, which is funny because race two on this record has more streams on this live record than head by a century. 0:40:45 - Speaker 3Oh really. 0:40:46 - Speaker 1Yeah. 0:40:48 - Speaker 3Oh wow, well, maybe it's not that, i'm not sure What. We should look that up, you know. 0:40:55 - Speaker 1You know me, though, but yeah, I think they know what they're doing on stage clearly. 0:41:03 - Speaker 5Yeah, you don't want a drummer or a guitarist or a fucking keyboardist. I'll talk a little, reference the doors there for two seconds. You don't want another musician in your band getting in the way. You know, like I actually, who is it, i'll recall. But anyways, i heard someone once say yeah, i just can't have a drummer who gets in the way. You know, you don't want somebody just cranking themselves too often And I think that's kind of what you're saying. Pete, this show, you know it. just it gets this momentum going to where you might all of a sudden realize oh shit, we're already in song five or this is already the sixth song. Like, i feel like their shows have this build up. I would assume now, after hearing this one, that their shows kind of have this build up and then they start carrying people. you know, before you, yeah, before you realize it, you're like, oh, my God, you know, it's probably halfway over or something, i don't know. It's like a century when it, yeah by century, when it started on this recording, that kind of felt like a mile marker with Gordon, his goofy start, when he's doing his one liners and making sense and not making sense at all, like that. that was kind of like the check in to to like yeah, catharsis one Yeah. That all about right, right. That to me was like let's see how into it the crowd is. You know, maybe we'll make somebody fall over with these statements, i don't know. But that, but there's a moment in a head by a century on this recording that I've kind of been waiting for to hear these guys live, do And that's like a right around the three minute marker. So they just start riffing a little bit more. They dig, they dig a little bit deeper. They reached that, you know, five fifth speed of the V12 Mercedes and they're finally on the stretch of freeway where they can let it go a little bit. And that's that's what happens with with this song. I've been waiting, waiting to hear that. So that was, that was good, that was good for me. 0:43:10 - Speaker 3Gift shop I wanted to ask you guys about, because gift shop to me feels like grace two, in the sense that it's like an opener Like. It feels like an opener to me. So I'm just curious about where it gets put. Like you've you've talked about this car metaphor you know you get grace two to open the show, then fully, completely, which sort of like you know, gets you, gets you sort of high, and then springtime in Vienna to get you jumping up and down And then twist my arm is like an old classic at this point. So you're like wow, like, like Tim said, you're dancing, And then gift shop sort of resets everything. 0:43:52 - Speaker 2You know what I mean. The rest of the world becomes a gift shop. So you're like wow, like Tim said, you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said, you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said you're dancing. You're like wow, like Tim said, you're dancing. I don't know what to believe. Sometimes I even forget. And if it's a lie, a terrorist may be saying A beautiful love, a dangerous time, we get to feel a smile. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I'm high up above. I don't know what to believe. 0:47:43 - Speaker 5I wish I knew what to believe. I knew what to believe. Close the window. You'll hear the sound of death. Run, run, run, run run. 0:48:38 - Speaker 1I feel like gift shops an opener too. Absolutely. If you want to use the car analogy, that's cool, but if we're powering a big amplifier with a car battery, it's like it's got some juice, it's got some sound. It's really pushing. You're waking up the neighbors and you hook up a second car battery. Now all the tubes are really lit up. Gift shops. It's just like Grace II and that it's another opener. It's the nitrous oxide on the engine. It just puts the show forward even faster and harder. 0:49:28 - Speaker 5I agree with that. I think it's not my favorite song simply because it's. I feel like it's. I don't know we're up to bat against a pitcher. You know you're going to get it on. It's an easy one, the chorus is easy, it's sing-alongable. I think gift shop could be an opener of the show, but I feel like it fits here well, because it's like dude, we've had the basses loaded twice. We're going to have the basses loaded twice. Let's just fucking keep bringing them in. And that's gift shop for me for sure. 0:50:02 - Speaker 3A lot of the baseball. 0:50:04 - Speaker 5Yeah, that was for you, buddy. 0:50:06 - Speaker 3Basses loaded twice. So the basses were loaded with Grace II, fully completed in springtime in Canada, and then gift shop ahead by a century and the luxury which is. This is a cool thing. If you're exploring Hiptim, you to Hiptim and you want to explore, there's a website called HIPBASE H-I-P-B-A-S-Ecom And it's got like every lot. It's like setlistfm, except for it. It's got super detailed statistics Like so, for example, the luxury this was only the 19th time that it played the luxury live. That's interesting. Yeah, it's like it's an older song at this point, but they've only played it 19 times. They only ended up playing it 65 times in total in their career. 0:51:01 - Speaker 1I feel like it's a good. It brings it down a little bit. It it, it. It mellows it out. You know, i mean being as that ahead by a century was such a popular song, like the crowd was going I mean they were going to eat shit right. When that song started, as it was This kind of like you know, take some away from the edge for a little bit. It's a really cool song, super cool bass groove. I love that. Yeah, one thing that really showcases Tim Is that on your guys' end, That's on my end. 0:51:38 - Speaker 3I think, yeah, that's JD, i come from downtown. 0:51:42 - Speaker 1One thing that Tim mentioned about drummer not getting in your way. It's crazy Again because, like my thoughts on this record are more broad and as opposed to individual songs, but I felt like like Gord Downey for the longest time and listening to the records and listening to it at this point has been the draw, and not in a bad way, but I'm saying it in the context of what Tim said the guy who's in everybody's way And I don't mean that in a bad way because he's such a fucking talent, absolutely And this was the first time where I was actually and I feel kind of like a fucking douchebag, because when it comes to the whole entire band I mean the entire band you really hear like whoa, these motherfuckers are good musicians, these guys are Yeah. And that's really hard to come through on a record because you don't know when what's recorded, how it's cut together. 0:52:42 - Speaker 5Yep. 0:52:42 - Speaker 1All that. When you hear it live you're like, okay, this is the way it sounded there And everybody sounds so good. So it's, you don't hear and I don't mean that again at this respect of Gord Downey getting in anybody's way, but like he's so good It's sort of hard to not Have that guy overshadowed. Yeah, yeah, the band, but live you don't get that vibe at all. On the records I sort of do. The records are really smooth, this far sort of, but on the fucking live performance holy shit. 0:53:16 - Speaker 3Yeah, and that's. It's funny because that was one of the questions I literally just wrote down. I was going to ask you guys if the band, if you feel differently about the band now that you've heard them play live, and you just answered that exact question, do you get what I'm saying now about being sort of an improv troupe? 0:53:35 - Speaker 5Yes. 0:53:36 - Speaker 3Because Gord will sort of carry on and do his own thing and they still have to end a song And they don't know if he's like how far he's going. Or sometimes they'll just end a song and go into, go right into something else And he's still sort of like finishing a thought or explaining an idea or whatever. 0:53:59 - Speaker 1The musicians clearly all listen to each other enough to know when to where things are going, You know. 0:54:07 - Speaker 3Yeah, And they're just as in charge as he is in a sense. 0:54:12 - Speaker 5I have to wonder what that would have been like if Davis was playing sax and all this, you know might not have been. It would have been different. Could you imagine just having a horn blowing in here and there? Yeah, like I said, having horns and bands and having a fit. but oh it may have been, I don't know I think like in excess. 0:54:34 - Speaker 3You know, they were good with the sax, yeah, but yeah, it would have been different for sure. 0:54:38 - Speaker 5Last night we were listening to this band that I loved, loved, from Boston, called Morphine. If anyone hasn't listened to Morphine, you got to check them out. They're no longer, but they were a three piece and saxophone, bass player and drummer, and that was it. It's one of the perfect examples of a unique rock and roll band where saxophone fits in and leads and doesn't take over, because it was such a unique trifecta of you know of a band. But you know, i just I think where was I going to go with this? I think, yeah, i think it would have been so different. I just circled back to the luxury. I commented on this before. It's noted on the internet, of course, but I would love, jd, for you to to play the end, maybe, of the luxury of this one and then blend in, come as you are from Nirvana, cause dude, it's the same. I mean they, they, the band was listening to Nirvana. It's just the same guitar, the same bass. It's pretty fucking cool, and I've noticed that the first time I listened to the luxury, and it's completely evident in here as well. 0:55:57 - Speaker 3But the luxury came out in 91. How much art came out in 92? 0:56:03 - Speaker 5Well, they heard it, i swear. I mean it's timing or not? 0:56:09 - Speaker 3Or Nirvana heard it. 0:56:11 - Speaker 5Yeah, nirvana heard it, who knows? 0:56:12 - Speaker 1Yeah. 0:56:13 - Speaker 5But anyways, courage, So courage. I love courage. It couldn't come at a worse time. 0:56:47 - Speaker 2Where something more familiar, quickly something familiar. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Sleep, watch so fast, asleep in a motel that has a lay of hope And piss on out of your background And piss on three eyes around your face. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Can't change your words, it doesn't matter. Can't remember, it doesn't matter. Can't change my words. Time. It's pretty snowy in here. Snow is so merciless for old country. There's no sample explanation for anything important Any of us do and yet a human tragedies, obsession or necessity of living with the consequences of depression and depression. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Can't change your words, it doesn't matter. Can't change my words, it doesn't matter. Can't change my words. Can't change my words. Can't change my words. I'm a child of the church, god. Snow is so merciless for old country. There's a spite of everything that's happening. It's a spite of love. Can't change my words, don't you worry, i'm a child of the church, god. I'm a child of the church, god. Snow is so merciless for old country. 1:00:57 - Speaker 5Can't change my words. Can't change my words. I don't know. There's something about this song that it's positive. It's. You know, it's something I can't turn off when I hear it, Like I got to go through the whole song. I got to sing the chorus One of the coolest parts. The bridge, Yeah, yeah, it's good. One of the coolest parts of this live recording for me, of this song, Courage, is you can hear the crowd singing a little bit Like Gord stops. When Gord stops singing, the crowd carries the lyrics for him. There's a brief moment of that, which I just adore when bands do that, when the crowd is so into it that they just stop singing. But I have the question. I don't know, This is a question. Towards the end of this he starts to talk about Montreal and the snow and poor old Montreal, You know, and I guess that's a reveal on a song in the future about Montreal or something. 1:02:15 - Speaker 3Is that true? Actually, a song from the past. 1:02:18 - Speaker 5Oh, oh, oh oh. 1:02:20 - Speaker 3It was a song that was written for Road Apples. Oh, that's right. It never came to light until much later on, but they always played it. They always sort of kept it in the back pocket and would pull it out and play it occasionally, and there's a live recording of it that just came out in a box set. That is a really good live recording. I also have the demo. I have the demo from Road Apples Ooh, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. So, yeah, it's a great song and it's fucking ooh, it's a tough one. It's about the young man who shot and murdered 14 young women at a school in Montreal, and it happened in late 80s and it's recognized annually as a result. 1:03:10 - Speaker 5Oh, yeah, So I just pulled that up. It's the massacre at Montreal's Polytechnic School, which was fueled by misogyny, horrifying memory of a bygone era. Damn Fuck. 1:03:27 - Speaker 3Yeah, so the song Montreal is about that. 1:03:33 - Speaker 5Got it. There's our heavy sort of segue in there to get us to New Orleans and Sinking. So New Orleans and Sinking for me. I don't know about you, pete, but man, this was fun. On this recording This is like crowd goes berserk. The guitar has this big start, the drums are big. It feels like we've reached top speed perhaps of the show. It oddly slows down about. There's a I don't know if you caught this, pete there's this tempo, little chug, slug, like it slowed down for just a little bit there. Like it really caught my attention that the band kind of went a tiny bit out of sync and I think that was with the drums. But man, this one I think the crowd was just, for lack of a better term banging their heads and just going along and, you know, felt so awesome The fucking David Bowie references at the end talking about where's my little China girl, all that you know that was China girl was like forever stethled to my brain because of MTV as a youngster. You know that was just such a memorable video for me Made me an instant David Bowie fan. It's just I just. New Orleans and Sinking. It might have been, might have been one of my. We're gonna get into it one of my top songs here. 1:05:25 - Speaker 2Silly way down this sidewalk in jail. My memory is muddy. What's this riff that I'm in? You gonna need to sink it, man. And I don't wanna say that I'm a child, i'm a throne. I'm going home, can't do this now. I'm a party, he said. You know yourself. Shut your big mouth. Gotta do what you feel is real. Got no pictures false gods. Got no shivers in these. My fingers she won't open when I'm thinking about those. Yeah, i'm a child, i'm a throne. I'm going home, can't do this now. I'm a party, he said. You know yourself. Shut your big mouth. Gotta do what you feel is real. I'm a child, i'm a throne. I'm going home, can't do this now. I'm a party, he said. You know yourself. Shut your big mouth. Gotta do what you feel is real With my ginocent girl. Wake up in the morning. Where's my ginocent girl? She's too tired, she's too small. Baby, just shut your mouth, she says. She says, yeah, don't worry, baby, everything will turn out alright. There's a light bulb hanging on a wire, sucking up the sun doesn't stoop to fire. Taking out the highlights of the scenery, saw some little clouds and looked a little like this In the river, my feet back up on the banks looked up to the Lord above, said hey, hey, hey, banks. Sometimes I feel so good I've got to scream. He says Georgie, baby, i know exactly what's the change He says. He says I swear to God. He says hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. My memory is funny. What's his clever man of man? he won't need to sink in that, i don't want to sell Trout. 1:10:36 - Speaker 3Trout, trout, trout. 1:11:31 - Speaker 1Trout, trout, trout. 1:12:21 - Speaker 3Trout, trout, trout. 1:12:46 - Speaker 1Trout Trout. 1:13:00 - Speaker 5Trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout. 1:14:13 - Speaker 3Trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout, trout. 1:15:25 - Speaker 5Trout Trout, trout Trout. 1:16:12 - Speaker 3Trout Trout. 1:16:21 - Speaker 1Trout Trout, trout Trout. 1:16:56 - Speaker 3Trout Trout. 1:17:13 - Speaker 4Trout Trout. Questions or concerns, email us at JD at GettingHipToTheHipcom. We'd love to hear from you. 1:18:16 - Speaker 3Hey, it's JD here. 1:18:18 - Speaker 5Hey, it's Tim. 1:18:19 - Speaker 3And Pete Fellows, i'm really excited that you're flying to Toronto on Friday, september 1st for our big party GettingHipToTheHip an evening for the Downey Wain Jack fund. We just need to sell some tickets. How are we going to do that? 1:18:33 - Speaker 5Go to our website GettingHipToTheHipcom and you'll find a link to get tickets to our event at the rec room in Toronto. 1:18:40 - Speaker 1Early burn tickets are 35 bucks. If you go to GettingHipToTheHipcom and click on the bonus fee, you get 10% off, which means tickets are 31.50 right now. If you were to join the bonus fee and buy tickets, you'd literally have to be stupid not to do that. Definitely join us on September 1st. I'll be at the bar putting out the vibe JD. where are you going to be at? 1:19:00 - Speaker 3I'm going to be watching 50 Mission perform some tragically hip songs and I'm really excited for you guys to see them. 1:19:06 - Speaker 5Yeah, and we have a silent auction which we've garnered some great prizes so far. It's amazing what people are donating. Some hip fans are really coming forward with some great donations And again, all proceeds are going to the Downey Wain Jack fund. 1:19:18 - Speaker 3And the Long Slice beer will be flowing because Long Slice is stepped up and they are our title sponsor for the event. How cool is that. 1:19:27 - Speaker 1I cannot wait to drink some delicious beer and also watch the comedy of Pete and I too, because that guy is a side splitter, that's for sure. September 1st, live Toronto, Be there, B-square, gettinghiptothehipcom, Click on the bonus feed at 10% off the tickets and we'll see you there. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Get ready for a deep dive into the Tragically Hip's iconic 1992 album Fully Completely with hosts JD, Pete, and Tim as we explore the evolution of the band's sound, the polished production, and how it aimed for mainstream success. Share in our personal listening experiences and how this album resonated with us in different ways, from car rides to gym sessions.Join our lively conversation as we analyze standout tracks and Gord Downie's lyrical brilliance, including the catchy chorus of "Courage for Hugh MacLennan" and the various definitions of courage presented throughout the song. Discover the numerous Canadian references sprinkled across the album that give it a distinct cultural flavour, as well as discussing the impact of these songs on a personal level.Whether you're a longtime fan of the Tragically Hip or just discovering their music, this engaging and insightful episode is a must-listen. Don't miss our in-depth discussion of Fully Completely, as we explore the band's attempt to make their sound more mainstream, the slick production of the album, and the car and computer time that really made this album come alive. Tune in now and become a part of our musical journey!Transcript0:00:01 - Speaker 1When I think back to the fall of 92, everything was coming up JD. I was dating a real-life girl who also liked the hip. I was elected class president with my friend Tim under the efficiently executed two is better than one campaign, and I got a new hip record. While I love student government, the main thing the election provided me was an office in the high school for the student council, which acted as my locker and my rehearsal space for jamming the new hip album with my buddies Kirby and Dean. There was rarely a day that passed that someone wouldn't stop by for a version of pigeon camera locked in the trunk of a car, or courage. It was great fun and an experience I'll definitely never forget. Fully completely is what I call the last record of the early era, where the hip sound is more or less matured and they're writing an embarrassing number of stone-cold classics. The idea that the production keeps getting tighter and more precise sounding is worth noting as well. Working with the late Chris Tegeritas, the boys locked in on the task at hand, even if it wasn't their favorite recording experience, and they delivered MCA, an album brimming with singles and sing-along courses. This was a band that knew its groove and walked with a comfortable stride inside of it. Simply put, fully, completely is a rock and roll record at its finest Bar none. I'm actually feeling really excited for Pete Tim on this one. Their first experience outside of this project would have likely involved listening to this record as some kind of jumping off point, but that's not how we chose to do this. This is one album and episode, one chance to make an impression. Will this record stand up to the scrutiny that our protagonist will most certainly have for anything this anticipated? Let's find out. On this episode of Getting Hip to the Hip. Long-sliced brewery presents Getting Hip to the Hip. Hey, it's Jay Dee here, and welcome to Getting Hip to the Hip, a weekly podcast about the tragically hip and getting to hear their music for the first time through the ears of my friends, pete and Tim, who are here with me as always Pete from Malaga, making his way to us via LA this week, and, of course, Tim from Portland. Being from Portland, as it were, i'm excited, frankly, from a logistics standpoint, that we only had to deal with two time zones this week. That makes my job a lot easier, but I'm curious how are you fuckers doing? 0:02:51 - Speaker 3Doing great, doing good. It's well. It's, you know, december in Portland and we have a freeze happening, so we're hunkered down. It's a good day to be podcasting. 0:03:03 - Speaker 1Sounds good. 0:03:05 - Speaker 4It's snowing there, i take it. 0:03:06 - Speaker 3Almost. 0:03:07 - Speaker 4Okay. 0:03:08 - Speaker 3Almost. 0:03:09 - Speaker 4I'm dragging ass, man. I woke up around quarter to four this morning. I've gotten about four hours of sleep in the last. I want to say 36 hours. Yeah, so the jet lags hit me hard. Nine hour time difference sucks, but it is what it is for the hip anything. 0:03:33 - Speaker 1Holiday travel, man Everything. 0:03:36 - Speaker 4Fully and completely for the hip. 0:03:38 - Speaker 1Well, that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about the October 6th 1992 release produced by Chris Sanjiris. It's a 46 minute long CD at this point because that's where still around but it was a CD. It included singles, six singles, and it was rated 4.5 out of 5 by all music. So that's a great score and there's some good background information there. But I'm curious if you want to just get right into it and tell me how you experience the album. 0:04:14 - Speaker 3I like the evolution. This really helped me with where the albums have gone thus far, just having fully, completely be be where it's at in our, in our process, definitely. 0:04:31 - Speaker 4I mean, i agree with Tim the evolution I love. I clearly see this going somewhere. It's strange. I think I don't want to put the car before the horse but you do it, don't? 0:04:44 - Speaker 1you put that car as a horse. 0:04:45 - Speaker 4No, but I feel like this record may be the dark horse If we're going to stick with the equestrian analogies in that of the four records was the fourth one. We've fourth one. Yeah, i feel like this is my least favorite, although I do have some great notes on it. But there's so many album songs, artists over the years I've disliked at first and they end up being my favorites Interesting. Oh. Yeah, i've talked with you about a few things like that before, jd, but yeah, i feel like this might be the one. This might be the one. So, we'll see. 0:05:28 - Speaker 3You know, conversely, for me this one, like right out the gate, was the winner of what we've listened to so far And I went into the mindset of okay 1992, what was happening in my life when I got a new album and it usually was going straight in the car, you know, straight from the record store in the car. So I just had this one mostly in the car all week. I listened to it at the gym a little bit, but it was mostly car time didn't take notes until recently on any of it and just kind of jammed out to it. There's, you know, as expected, there's definitely some I like more than others, but of course I was, i was digging it. 0:06:11 - Speaker 1This to me was the band really trying to go over the top in terms of landing mainstream appeal. To me, that's what this record is always This record is. This record is that sound that they've been working on the last two records, that that bar sound. You know that that really tight and nifty blues, bass guitar sound, and this is just a really well produced version of that really slick. It's a slick sounding album and they haven't sounded slick up until this point. So to me, i've always thought of it as a record that was was trying to shoot for them, shoot for the moon. So I'm real surprised to hear you know Pete's analysis off the bat. Did you listen to in your car? because I do know that you have a premium audio sound system. 0:07:10 - Speaker 4I mentioned that and you've experienced it. I did listen to in my car and there were, there were tracks that really stood out that I really did like I don't want to say I didn't like this record, but there were tracks that really stood out and, like I said, i'm really glad I didn't listen to it on the plane, because associating this record with you know, a 12-hour flight after you've been at the airport for seven hours because they delayed your flight, would have, just you know, i probably just wouldn't have shown up today. I would have just texted you guys and said you're on your own, you know. So yeah, but it's. I mean computer time and car time was what was, what did it for me, this one. 0:07:52 - Speaker 1Alright. Well, do we want to get into the songs? Let's do it Alright. The first song is called Courage for Hugh MacLennan. 0:07:58 - Speaker 4I am Okay, bring up notes. So obviously I'm. I'm doing research on Hugh MacLennan and who he was because I want to know what the history of that is. The chorus is just catchy as fuck. It is just it, just it, just I don't know. It feels like there's a change of tempo, but it's not. But the lyrics just make it so sweet. The squeaky backup vocals that you said were going to eventually make their way in there. It would be the staple of, i believe, the bass player. 0:08:38 - Speaker 1The rhythm guitarist, rhythm guitar player. Yeah, all along. 0:08:42 - Speaker 4Those are all over this record. And then, kind of looking at the lyrics, which I did a lot more lyrical analysis for this record than others His Gord's definition of courage as opposed to MacLennan's definition was something that I really haven't pieced together yet, but I dug it. I yeah, i'll talk about more because I think this record is thematic in that sense because there's just a lot of Canadian references. Obviously There are, oh a ton. What about you, tim? 0:09:16 - Speaker 3Yeah, I was excited right out of the gate. Playing this song in the car I thought, okay, song number one for this album. If you know I'm a fan, starting at the beginning of this band or just really even coming into this album. This first song is a great first track of an album. The tempo is good, you know it's, it's singable parts. you know it's just a good, simple rocking tune and just as far as. Yeah, i had no idea who Hugh McLennan is or was. You know that looked him up and definitely feel like I need to read at least one of his books. So probably get a suggestion from you, mr JD. But you know it's this song about consequences and facing the light or the dark. You know it's just, it's a great, a great kickoff for the album. I loved it. 0:10:13 - Speaker 1This to me has one of Gord Downey's absolute best turns of turns of phrase or lyrical works of art. You know, it's a feat of strength, almost what he does with the text of McLennan's work. It shouldn't be as effective as it is, but it is. It works so well and all he does is read the lyric into the melody. The lyrics are there's no simple explanation for anything important any of us do. And, yeah, the human tragedy consists in the necessity of living with the consequence under pressure, under pressure. But the way he phrases it and the way he the music in the background is building up, it's so powerful and so such a great bridge. And then, you're right, it goes up up against that banger of a chorus to outro the song. Really fucking strong, strong work. This is a karaoke staple of mine as well, so perfect, yeah you mentioned the phrasing. 0:11:22 - Speaker 4It's funny because I thought the same thing and I think I put in. It's ironic. I'm showing this. People can at home can't see it, but this is just sitting on a thing and I'm thinking about it because of amazing it's a copy of Life magazine with Sinatra on the front yeah, sorry, sinatra. So I think people like Sinatra, i definitely think other musicians from the 90s, but this puts him, this record put him lyrically in that category for great phrasing. Not many people. People can put lyrics to songs and it sounds cool and they can sing harmonies and melodies. But when you can phrase a song like you just said so well, it just makes the song so fucking cool, brings out the lyrics in the melody so much better yeah, i agree. 0:12:12 - Speaker 1so next up we go to a real interesting song. this is something that Gord would carry with him, especially in his later years, and that is like the crisis in Canada's north crisis with our Indigenous people, and this song takes a look at that. It's called Looking for a Place to Happen. 0:12:38 - Speaker 3I thought this one started off running, you know, felt really catchy, without knowing what the lyrics were or background or anything. It just starts off really well. But eventually I realized, okay, this is something about taking away or taking what's not yours. You know I hear guilt and sorrow in here. It's just full of emotion. So as I looked into it I realized what it was basically about It. Even I don't know it got me when I got to the end of the song I heard Gord kind of singing through the outro Like it doesn't it carries on into me. That resembled like something around the fact that the invasion just is continuing on. You know, the taking away is continuing on, the pain isn't going to end. You know this, this and I think he he harkens that so well in this song for what the content is It? just it kind of it kind of floored me. It felt like a lot. And you know their songs I'm experiencing over the course of this catalog is you know some of them? I feel like, oh, this must be fun in a bar. You know people buy. I love the song and some songs are like fuck me. You know this is heavy stuff that we all still need to deal with and think about and realize, and just such a, such an impactful band. 0:14:20 - Speaker 1Yeah, and as they got bigger, they, you know, they, they took that to heart. you know that they had that, they carried some clout and they used that, and you know to, to a really good degree. 0:14:33 - Speaker 3Well, even even some of their. You know, some of the lyrics and some of the storytelling is just very North American based. It's, you know, often very much Canada for sure, specifically. But it did, and also, you know, at times made me again think about what the fuck? why didn't they resonate more in the USA? because I identify with a ton of it. There's so much there, i think that crosses over. 0:14:58 - Speaker 1Yeah, borders. How did you feel about looking for a place to have a beat? 0:15:02 - Speaker 4It's funny because the the what I said before about this record being thematic and and very, very Canada, kind of picking up where Tim left off. In my research of the first song and my research of who Hugh MacLennan was, I remember his wife saying to him, because I think his first couple of books were like flops, like you need to write about what you know, write about Canada. And that book, the third book or whatever book, the his book that he finally wrote about Canada and what he knew, ended up being really, really successful. And I feel like the hip kind of played around with that. This first, their first few times out, their first two or three records, but this one is just all Canada And it's just it's Canada threw up on this record, And in a good way, Jacques Cartier is mentioned. Jacques Cartier is mentioned in there. So, yeah, i think it's. It's cool because for and Tim, maybe you can speak to this because as Americans, we get a, we get. We have this polite maple syrup, like I said, but LeBat blue version of who Canadians are and what Canada is free healthcare, marijuana, everything's great north of the border on the roof of the US. But I think only probably in the last six or seven years has it really entered the American consciousness of the plight of indigenous folks. And in Canada, in the north, i don't think it's something that, tim. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm just ignorant, but I feel like it's not something that's been talked about, at least in the mainstream for Americans until recently. 0:17:00 - Speaker 3I think you're right. I think you're right. We've we've definitely have talked about it more USA, regionally specific. 0:17:06 - Speaker 4But, but to know it was that this was being. 0:17:09 - Speaker 3This was in mainstream rock music in 1992 is cool, right, exactly, yeah, yeah, we weren't necessarily singing about that in 1992. 0:17:20 - Speaker 1Yeah, No, certainly we weren't here either other than other than through this. Yeah, and a lot of people. you know, for everybody that does like dive deep into the lyrics and and and wants to analyze you know what it all means that there is an equally large or maybe bigger cohort that is just wants to fucking dance to some music. you know, like they just want to rock out And they get to do that with our next song at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin. 0:17:51 - Speaker 3Ready Mark. 0:18:08 - Speaker 5Roll it And take my life with my hands Where the great planes begin, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, driving down a part of our road, we stand in a shoulder high. The road is crusted Of wind and dust. At the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, let alone the dead chapter, car and train hauntings. A generation's almost done with any of these great planes. King crashes with the wind and The greatest planes along the line of old road, car and train out of Mali outskirts. The world is so very cruel, but I've done the best thing. At the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, and remember. I remember above and low, and I remember a thing about, it seems to me I don't ever, ever say no to everything I know. I don't ever, ever say no to everything I know. I don't ever say no to everything I know. If I don't walk on the road, i've seen a promise. Maybe I'll need some place. I don't want to be a dead man. I'm a dead man, i have to transport. I can't say I'm on this sleep. I've borrowed the keys. I've been listening to some songs and the tracks. I don't want to be a low on the shoulder. I've been listening to some songs and the tracks. I don't want to be a low on the shoulder. At the hundredth meridian. At the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin. At the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian. At the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin. When the planes begin, oh, Love this one. 0:21:05 - Speaker 3All things backups. Can we do karaoke with this one? 0:21:09 - Speaker 1This became a lot. Yeah, i would do karaoke this. This became a life staple, for sure as well. 0:21:13 - Speaker 3I'm sure, yeah, garbage red sheep, garbage red trees, whispers of disease driving down a corduroy road. I had to look up corduroy road. I was like what the hell is that? So that was a really interesting Find right there. What is it? What is it? references. You know Laying down logs along waterways so you can keep on your journey. You're basically walking down logged paths. So, yeah, that's that's what a corduroy road is. 0:21:44 - Speaker 4Pretty cool, no idea, no idea, i Dude this, this tune, i would probably say I probably say this tune is my favorite on the record. I think The the like the, the borderline wrap, that um, that that gordon He's doing, and it um just Fucking amazing. The the the guitar, wah, um is is nasty, um, i It fits though, right, it's, oh Yeah, totally more than more than past songs I've heard No absolutely the realizing the again Going back every song, i think there's a, there's a reference, a historical reference, that the hundredth murdering was the, the separation of the united states through between spain and france and later between the us and spain, after the louis excuse me, louisiana purchased from um france and then from uh, and then with the united states of mexico, like that historical reference of it. But this song is just, it's a fucking Banger. It is a banger, right, it is a banger, absolutely, absolutely. And there's, there's, by the way, um, um, this song Has that line you mentioned it, tim garbage bag trees. I think that is in the song before looking for a place to happen that same, there's another reference to garbage bag trees, and so jd, or anybody, give me a line on that garbage bag trees. 0:23:24 - Speaker 1I wish I had one to me. It just, it just reminds me of one of those old derelict areas where you see, like debris caught in the, the fences, you know that's been blown around, wind strewn. I picture, you know, like a garbage bag tree to be a plastic bag that is fastened itself into the tree And, uh, it just looks, you know, more depressing by seeing it but I don't know that's. That's just my thinking. If you've got an angle on this, send me an email. Jd at getting hip to the hip calm. 0:23:59 - Speaker 4Put to be, to put that in two songs in a row on a record got me something. 0:24:04 - Speaker 1Yeah, agreed. How about you, tim? What did you think of this one? Oh, i guess you already. You spoke first, didn't you? 0:24:11 - Speaker 3Yeah, i mean I dug it. I I thought, uh, overall I I felt the anger in here. There's so much self expression which you know they're definitely feeling. so many songs, um, i, i love the refer, the reference or the declaration of have right cooter, you're seeing it, my funeral, you know that's in just going back and listening to some Rai kooder songs, i mean there's a lot of influence there for the band and it's I dug it. It's a great song, great tune. 0:24:42 - Speaker 1Now, did you recognize that lyric from anything? No so the live version of highway girl He. He says that at one point He says get mr Rai kooder to sing my eulogy, all right, fun. And then boom, it shows up in this song, like two years later, like it was just a, it was just a throwaway phrase in a, in a story, in the middle of a song, and then it becomes, you know, this end of this epic rant, uh, end of this epic rap, rather, that he sort of does this, this rap piece. Yeah, i think it's fucking cool. They started using this song to jam out songs in the middle of as well, and then it would. It would always lead up to that, that part, that that bridge part. Now, all three of these songs that we've talked about so far Are singles. Courage was the third single, at the hundredth meridian was the fourth single, and looking for a place to happen was the fifth single. Well, so they're. The records got legs. I mean, they really tried to leg this one out and and see if anything would stick. The next song is our first album cut of the Of the fully, fully, completely record, and it's an interesting one as well, title wise. What the hell is the pigeon camera, pete? 0:26:04 - Speaker 4So it's um, i had to look this one up too. Um, i guess back in the day 1909, there was a scientist or an inventor who Who thought that strapping cameras with time delays on them to pigeons would be a great idea, and so They kind of took off for a little bit. I would love to see actual Photographs. I that's something I I didn't. 0:26:33 - Speaker 1Sit. The birds took or of the birds that the birds took. 0:26:36 - Speaker 4There's a lot of pictures of the birds with the camera strapped to them but that the birds took, um, they were going to do it for you know, military purposes, for reconnaissance, but then planes Came and they started being able to mount cameras on planes, so it kind of, you know, went by the wayside. But, um, yeah, this song I liked it. Um, it didn't do A ton for me, but the guitar solo was very redeeming. It, it, it, i this is going to sound really strange because it's well, obviously so many years left kind of very sublime feel the band, sublime from that guitar solo, the tone That the guitar that was being played or the notes that were being played. It just sounded like it was uh, it was a. It was a Soul taken from the band sublime, but I liked it. It worked. It was really cool. Well, you got Yeah whoo-foo fight. 0:27:35 - Speaker 3I did not go to sublime and That band just just makes me. It makes me cringe. I just Hear it and it's changed the station as fast as possible because I only ever hear it. When I'm in southern california driving around listening to the radio, some stations are playing that band, like I swear, every 17 minutes. Oh yeah, oh terrible. 0:27:57 - Speaker 4Anyway, it's against the law to play that at a bar in long Beach. Yeah, it's against the law. 0:28:03 - Speaker 3It should be. It should be. Yeah, they should sell the. Anyways, uh, pigeon camera, i, you know it's. I think it's a good Slot four slowdown It's. There's this kind of calm, serene guitar riffing in there. Um, it's. I guess there's a lot of references when you look up actual pigeon cameras and kind of dive deeper into that. As you touched on Pete, i did find, you know, as you said, pictures of pigeons with the cameras strapped on them and Kind of thought about what, what, what is that? and you know, carry, the carrying of information, the passing of secrets. You know the, the, i don't know. It just seemed like a wartime era thing. I wasn't really sure why This song was in there, conceptually, lyrically, everything you know there was. It was a head scratcher. But the coolest thing about it was finding out about fucking pigeon cameras, simply like I'm glad the songs there, because, dude, you got to look up pictures that they took. There's a few online And they're fucking incredible. Like there's portions of wings Surrounding a landscape, you know it's, it kind of worked, but who the hell knows, like when you got, when you develop this film and you're printing these old black and whites and seeing all this abstract shit, like You know it's. It's so bizarre and weird. Let's write a song about this Very fascinating thing, guys, like did you know that these pigeons to carry and take cameras or take pictures? Like what the fuck? why not write a song about it? 0:29:54 - Speaker 1So weird, yeah, fun song we go to another album track, and this is one called lion eyes. 0:30:01 - Speaker 3So this one in the car was Fun and so sing along. You know, it's like simple, easy to get along with. It's a rock song, it's a good jam, like I imagine people just belting this out at live shows, maybe even almost annoyingly. If you're ever go to shows and you hear people singing like a little too much, yeah, sure, bands love it when it happens and they can, yeah, i just this is just could be one of those songs. The the parts about When he sings From the cleftab low variant. You know these, these film references are really kind of that. That was all this added Kind of mysteriousness to me. the cold wind blowing over your private parts. I'm like, is that you know? I, i was really trying to driving around listen to this over and over Because it's so listenable. I'm trying to decipher, you know, heads or tails of it and couldn't, couldn't get much, but overall It's an easy song to consume. Yeah, storytelling wise, i wasn't so sure, but overall it was like man, this is a jammy, easy one for sure. 0:31:18 - Speaker 4It's funny you say that, tim, because it's for me, storytelling wise. I found it way more interesting. I mean, i like the tune, i Like the turnaround after the chorus on the bridges, wildly out of place, like I just It, just it. It shut my brain off for this song. I was like, oh cool, i'm into this bridge comes. I'm like what the fuck is this? Is this like the same band I'm listening to, but the the references to tableau we've on which I had to look up. I was like a nativity scene even. More or less, i would assume. And then the other one, romana, clef, oclef, all these French references in there seemed really cool. Like this is again Because I think musically I liked the other ones. They stuck to me much quicker. I did a lot more digging in the lyrics for this one. I really liked. I really liked All the lyrical references Reveal more as the songs go on. 0:32:27 - Speaker 1Yeah, it's pretty loaded, it's really loaded Yeah okay, so we go next to a pretty menacing song, and especially menacing when you consider this one was a single and And it's fucking tremendous. 0:33:15 - Speaker 5Some. The truck's gone. The wind overlanded a real rainbow, like a new much star, when you could see everything but a logical factor. But ten bucks in just to get the tank chopped Oh, dang it. I found a place to stop and infrared it. It's a truth. We had a place where the copters won't spot it And I destroyed the man. I never even thought I'd forgotten. However, every day I'm dumping my body. If they better for us, they don't understand. If they better for me, they don't understand. Oh, dang it. I found a place to stop and infrared it. It's a truth. We got a place where the copters won't spot it And I destroyed the man. I never even thought I'd forgotten. However, every day I'm dumping my body. If they better for us, they don't understand. If they better for us, they don't understand. If they better for me, they don't understand. Let me out. 0:36:43 - Speaker 4Let me out, let me out. 0:37:28 - Speaker 1Let me out. 0:37:53 - Speaker 4I just love it. The second solo is just like towards the end. It's so awesome and I'm gonna pull a tim from Portland right now. The fucking fade kills me. Like it's so fucking cool man. The guitar solo is so awesome. I'm just like just fucking end it, guys. And they fade it and I'm just like you motherfuckers I never noticed it before you said it's him and then I start listening to songs like these. Or I'm just eating up the guitar solo at the end, like it's fucking mac and cheese And they just take the plate away from me. Dude, it's like eating a mac and cheese. There's some on the plate and the waiter just comes by and fucking takes it and says Sorry, here's the check. 0:38:51 - Speaker 3I hate to say it, but these fade outs make me pissed on a couple of levels. I mean the song Courage. The very first time I heard it in the car it fades out. It's an okay fade out, though, but as I heard it fading out in the car, i cranked the volume all the way. So now get the last, as I wanted to finish the song, you know, and the other part of it that pisses me off, it makes me frustrated, is never having heard them play live. I mean, they didn't fade out songs live. So it's like I wish I could hear the song live and hear how they ended or see what happens. So that's, you know, that's a don't want to spend so much time on that, but yeah, i feel that this song is. It's so heavy, it's pretty gnarly. The lyrics are crazy, you know, the storytelling is very sinister, dark, dumping the body. Be better for us if you don't understand. And then you know, after diving into this one further, i read about the story about Caroline Case, which, judy, i'm sure you know, this Toronto mother of three whose car was found overturned and wrecked and the bodies didn't show up. And there's this whole story that ties in with the song. That's just amazing. It's just such a dark song. It's cool. I mean I appreciate the level of storytelling and kind of malice and all of those things with us. 0:40:38 - Speaker 1Yeah, it's really fascinating that they can go to these dark places. You know, the last couple records have been have been chock full. This one so far is a more lively, less dour sort of record, but we get our first taste of it here and, yeah, maybe it is better for us if we don't understand. 0:41:01 - Speaker 3Yeah, agreed, it's just dark on many levels, you know. But again, when I read the story about Caroline Case and that whole tragedy and mystery, it's like fuck, what Amazing bits of information to call together to create a song about. Pretty cool. 0:41:24 - Speaker 1They've all gone and will go too. 0:41:27 - Speaker 3I thought maybe this was about like the difficulties of being on the road and traveling and playing gigs, setting up, tearing down. You got this massive country to drive across zigzag. You know it's kind of a. To me it was kind of a filler song with a long ending. You know it has like a 30 second ending, which is a little unusual, so I didn't listen to this one. A whole lot, a whole lot of extra times. 0:42:00 - Speaker 1How about you Pete? 0:42:01 - Speaker 4I'm in a second-day emotion Smokey And I say the opening guitar lyric was interesting, although very 80s, 90s. You know they, somebody in that band loves John Cola from Huey Lewis in the news because that guitar tone is just, it keeps showing up, it just keeps showing up. I think I don't know that Alanis ever listened to much Huey Maybe she was a hip fan, but I a lot of her music too, that I listened to that. Those, what are they? it's like a univive or something that he's using on the guitar, just keeps showing up And it just sounds a little dated. Because I feel like back when people were using those effects, they didn't have anything cool to play on the guitar, they just had a cool effect. So like playing anything was like, hey, be impressed because I've got this amazing effect. I'm not playing shit on the guitar, but it's a cool effect, right? Right, guys, you know so. But yeah, the song all in all doesn't do a ton for me. So what about you, jd? I don't know. 0:43:19 - Speaker 1Well, i think it's fascinating that this is the first mention of production really that has been brought up. I mean, you've mentioned guitar tone a couple times. but yeah, it's a slick, it's a slickly produced record. This guy who produced it produces a lot of like metal And if you know about the production of metal, oftentimes it's got a real clean well, real clean and focused kind of sound, very precise, and I think we get a bit of that on this. I'd almost love to hear what this record would have sounded like with Don Smith producing it, who produced the last two. But we get a taste of that when we go into the next record and they start to self-produce and they start to. it's almost like this record. they go as far as they've ever went production wise, and then they go completely the opposite direction, you know, for the next swath of records, and go sort of back to basics. 0:44:30 - Speaker 4Feels formulae And that, like, like I heard on the first couple couple records, like I felt them like really trying to go into the space of of being obscure and trying their own shit. And then maybe the record label was like All right, guys, enough, your crap, we're going to get a fucking big time producer. And then he's gonna you guys are going to be staws. you know, like I don't know what the fuck they were thinking. I feel like this is kind of that, although it's a good record. But yeah, i hear you JD. 0:45:02 - Speaker 1You know, for many fans this is their favorite record, so it's it's. It's tough. It's tough to be objective about it. It's not my favorite record. I've got another one that's my favorite And we'll get into that soon, but I hear that I I could. 0:45:18 - Speaker 3You know it resembles a following an athlete who goes amateur to pro. Yeah, this, this felt like this album. You know I don't want to get into it as if we're ending, but I agree with that JD. 0:45:31 - Speaker 1Well, the next next track we get is the titular fully, completely. 0:45:37 - Speaker 3As a title track, accidentally listened to the song first, instead of the first track, you know, searched the album and this thing came up. And I was getting ready to drive, to sit in way and then realize it was the title track and I was not, i wasn't 100% sold, i wasn't a kind of questioned certain things about it as a title track. Or I heard, like Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam in there, you know there's just it's this kind of never ending guitar riffing. If you listen to it really closely, there's a right channel tambourine happening. There's a total afterthought production thing. It's like, hey, let's just add in some tambourine, like it's there If you really listened closely and it's it's. That made me like the song more because it added this kind of fun element to it. But I I thought it was not the strongest for a title track. I thought it was just okay. 0:46:38 - Speaker 1This is our first title track we've ever got as well Right. Yeah, can I? 0:46:44 - Speaker 4ask you, JD, was this a single? 0:46:46 - Speaker 1This was. This was the last single on the record. 0:46:49 - Speaker 4Okay, because I I have the same Tim. You mentioned something about the tambourine. I think that's so funny, because I I felt the same way, of course, about the tambourine, but also the, a lot of the guitar licks. I feel like if the song was just raw, maybe, maybe, maybe Gord Downey stepped on the gas a little bit harder with the, with the vocals, it would have been a totally different sounding song, but I think it was recorded. And then afterward producers like Hey you, you guitar guy, come in here, throw some more licks down here. What do you want me to play? Just do something. 0:47:26 - Speaker 3Yeah, and it's like Hey, who's your friend over there in the corner? Can you play tambourine? Come on over here. 0:47:32 - Speaker 4You know, but like I, i yeah, i feel the same way. I couldn't like super get into it, but I thought the guitar solo at the end was a huge, was really like the slide all again, all the licks. In the beginning, like I didn't dig that, but the solo at the end was really big payoff And I could see how this song at a show. Jd, maybe I'm wrong, but I could see them taking this at a show and just fucking do a 15 minute version of it. 0:48:01 - Speaker 1That's what I was going to say. I was going to say this song was one that wasn't my favorite for a long time And then it grew on me And now I would say it's like a top three on this record for me. Live It just slayed Yeah. 0:48:15 - Speaker 3Just slayed Again, where I had the same sentiment, pete, where I just wished I could have heard this type of song live version, because you hear certain things when it's recorded and you wonder, like, why was it produced this way, or why was this thrown in, or why this or why that? And you know that there is a more raw version of this out there And it's like you got to get through the, the, the meal that's prepared for the pictured menu item, when you walk in the restaurant and you think, okay, that's, that's supposedly what I'm going to get, and then the live version is like nah, here's your fucking mess of a meal. It's going to taste the same way, but this is actually what it looks like. That's, that's, that's what I thought about this song. 0:49:02 - Speaker 4Tim, i couldn't, i would not to take it a step further, but I'm going to take this stuff further. It's like getting through a shitty Thanksgiving dinner because you want to go out drinking later And then and then, after you've been out drinking to like three or four in the morning, then you hit up Taco Bell or whatever it is, and that's where the that's where the real joy of eating comes in. And that late night meal is the fucking live version. It's 100%. We're at where I die on this one. 0:49:30 - Speaker 1All right. Next up, we go to 50 mission cap. 0:49:59 - Speaker 5The barilco disappeared that summer. He was on a fishing trip, the last goal he ever scored. They didn't win another 1962. I stole this from a car. I worked it in. I worked it in to look like that. It's my fifth mission. And I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in to look like that. The barilco disappeared that summer. He was on a fishing trip, the last goal he ever scored. They didn't win another 1962. I stole this from a car. I worked it in. I worked it in to look like that. It's my fifth mission. It's my fifth mission. It's my fifth mission. 0:53:45 - Speaker 3It's my fifth mission. I worked it in. 0:53:54 - Speaker 5I worked it in. I worked it in, i worked it in. 0:54:07 - Speaker 3I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. 0:54:42 - Speaker 1I worked it in. I worked it in, i worked it in. 0:54:58 - Speaker 3I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in I worked it in. 0:55:17 - Speaker 1Basically, just put a melody to this hockey card, sentence or paragraph rather, and boom, there's the verse. You know it's crazy, like I've seen the card before. And then you get this brilliant anthemic chorus 50 mission cap. But even it is a little deeper than just a brainless chorus because it's a 50 mission cap. And then the next lyric is I worked it in, i worked it in to look like that. So is the protagonist here somebody that really truly is wearing their 50 mission cap, like with pride? or are they trying to sneak by, you know, to make somebody think that they've been in their 50 missions? I don't know like, but I fucking love thinking about it. How about you, Pete? 0:56:08 - Speaker 4Okay, so the lyrics certainly seemed like he was reading from something Clearly. yeah, that's what it was, and I don't know if that's a if. when he said JD, you mentioned like I made you think that or something. What was that You said a second ago about the lyrics? 0:56:27 - Speaker 1like Oh, I worked it in to look like that. 0:56:30 - Speaker 4I worked it in to look like that. Like maybe he's referencing people who you know. unfortunately there are those people who, who would wear a 50 mission cap and never, you know, completed a mission in their entire lives. you know those, those fakes. But the song wise is just, it's an amazing song Looking at who Bill Barilko was And ironically, his body wasn't found until the years that Leafs won the cup next. 0:57:04 - Speaker 1They found his body, and then the Leafs won it. 0:57:07 - Speaker 4It's almost like he was cursing it right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's yeah. Sorry, that's what I meant to say, sorry, no, no, no, it's so cool And I took a deep dive into this. You mentioned all the other stuff already about the amazing chorus. I love the squeaky back of vocals made an appearance again. The guitar lyric, or the guitar after the chorus, does this thing where it goes up and down by half steps and it's just so. It doesn't sound like it fits the song, but if it's the song perfectly, and Tim said this is clearly a hip song, because it is And it again might be my favorite on the record, but other stuff, that it's a staple at the home games when the Leafs are warming up, and also, what else did they say about it? Oh, that in the like the private lounge. I'm not a big hockey fan because I grew up in Southern California. You are Tim? No, i'm Tim Brown. Yeah, yeah, no, yeah, it just, it's just hard. But even though we had Wayne Gretzky, but that there's a, there's a handwritten lyrics signed by Gord Downey in the players lounge, it where the players hang out, and that Bill Barolko. Anyway, and when the when the hip would play the Canada Airlines Arena or whatever, they would leave up on Bill Barolko's jersey his number. 0:58:50 - Speaker 1Yeah, they were tired. 0:58:53 - Speaker 4But that was the only one they left up, like kind of when they, you know, change the arena for the hip show. From what I read, i don't know, but it was really cool just for that particular reference. It's what a song, fucking awesome song. 0:59:09 - Speaker 3Loved it. Loved it And it made me think about also, you know, kind of tying in with sports and war, like seeing your favorite team do so well and also knowing that they have fallen, or have you seeing them fall? There's just, there's a tone here that's like defeated but also like quit while you're ahead. I don't know. It's kind of a bit of a surrender thing. It's a great tune. I enjoyed it. 0:59:39 - Speaker 1Well, it's followed on the record by yet another tragically hip ballad slow song that you probably don't want to slow dance to once you find out what it's about, and that's weakings. 0:59:53 - Speaker 4You want to take it to him. 0:59:55 - Speaker 3I mean, it's a hell of a mood song, right? I think there's some banjo in there. Is that what I hear? Some? banjo Doe bro. Doe bro, some doe bro plucking. I maybe gave it three listens and, as not being a diehard hip fan, it's one of those placements in the album where I get it and get why it's there, but also just I move on. It's. There's a couple. There's some good lines in there. Can't be fond of living in the past, you're not going to last. It's like someone getting caught or being in the middle or guilty or jail time or yeah, it didn't, didn't move me. Oh Tim, oh Tim. It's probably Pete's favorite. 1:00:52 - Speaker 4I couldn't disagree with you more. I wouldn't say it's my favorite. I will say this song and this band continues to amaze me with its ability to just be super heavy and then go into these little acoustic tunes that they throw. I call this. You know, this is like when they're in the studio. They're like okay, this is going to be the acoustic song, but it reminded me of how great I felt when I listened to Fiddler's Green on Road Apples. 1:01:22 - Speaker 3I thought of the same. I thought of the same. 1:01:24 - Speaker 4Yep, had that vibe, yep, the intro with the sound effects and the animals and the birds, the bluegrass vibe. There's a line in there that I love is so good. I can't remember the first part. The second part is hung with pictures of our parents, prime ministers, as just such a fucking cool line, and I did some a little bit of research on what was going on with the reference of. You know they were watching the Held, their Breath or Whispers, and the CBC News, that's right About a guy named David Millard who was served like 21 years for a crime eating committee. You got it. It was like you know. There's a lot of that in the US justice system too. 1:02:19 - Speaker 1Oh, right Yeah. 1:02:20 - Speaker 4It just was such a cool fuck Like what. I don't know if the guy's still alive. I don't know if you heard the song when it came out, but what a fucking. 1:02:29 - Speaker 1Yeah, i mean coincidence, i think, is the word you're looking for. So this record comes out in 92 and in 91, millard and his people are granted the ability for a clearing of his name And it was 20 years that he was in prison for a rape that, a rape and murder that had occurred in 1969. So basically, the guy is born in 51. His almost his entire life is around this, this tragedy. Right And Gord took, you know, a simple acoustic guitar line and turned it into an epic story of the beginning of the exoneration of David Millard. 1:03:29 - Speaker 3So I hear the reasons why and I understand, i get it. I guess there's just for me, okay. I guess for me experiencing an album and thinking it as like a book, and you're going through the chapters and you know some, some chapters, you're like, oh man, i love where the character development is going And then all of a sudden you experience this, this downfall, this, this unfortunate event. You know, and it's the wild ride And I'm trying to. I honestly thought, okay, honestly thought Pete probably loves this song, fiddler screen, etc. Everything you said. You know why. Why is it that this is triggering for me personally, in the cadence of an album, to hear something like this and be like, come on, you guys, let's just get to more good jam and stuff. I don't know, maybe it's the time of year, maybe it's winter, maybe it's the holidays, which I like have a love hate for. This is just. This is just one of those tracks that I was waiting for in the album. It's like, okay, here we go. Who's this song about? That was fucking kind of real. What did he not do? 1:04:44 - Speaker 5What did he not? 1:04:45 - Speaker 3do? to go to jail? God damn it. Fucking injustices in the world, All these things. It's like fucking, another fucking ballad about God damn it. You know just, it's just like this emotional roller coaster. It's like, okay, what else we got, What are we moving into next? You know that's in the hip albums. To get to this type of song, I'm always like, okay, there's only a couple left. Where are these guys going to take me? 1:05:15 - Speaker 1And where do they take you next? 1:05:19 - Speaker 3Where with all? so where with all you know, you jump and straight into some jammy chords. The scene's pretty calm, i thought for kind of the guitar progression. The, the baseline, really hit me as like 80s metal, rat motley crew, maybe G&R. 1:05:43 - Speaker 4I. 1:05:46 - Speaker 3This song, JD the producer what you said. His name? Christiane Arias. 1:05:51 - Speaker 1Yeah, right, it's a Greek last name. 1:05:53 - Speaker 3He can ever say eat all over this one, i Guarantee it. You know so it's. I thought you know there's some single, maybe some single potential here, but wasn't really sure. It's fucking short. I Read up on it a little bit with the Richard Dawson controversy and references towards Nixon and Those kinds of things, but this song overall and the band was like fine, you can have it. We're making it less than three minutes long, interesting track. 1:06:30 - Speaker 4Yeah, i said the same. I mean I had the same. I'm feeling about it, the private thing that I that stood out most because the guitar was just so prominent. It's easy to say the guitar was awesome and heavy and all that, but I really like the drums, really dug the drums in this one. I thought the drums drove it. I was interested in the Nixon reference because I didn't really know what the song was about. I did a little bit of digging and, tim, i don't know your, your thoughts around Nixon. It's crazy because My dad liked Nixon, like he was very sad when Nixon died And I know a lot of people who hated him. And then I, you know, when I grew up and kind of learned about who he was, i was like if not really That great of a guy, especially when all the tapes came out on everything. But Yeah, it's funny too, because if it is about Nixon, i'm like where does where do Canadians? That's like. You know, what do I think about a former Canadian Prime Minister? I don't think I can Name a former Canadian Prime Minister before Trudeau. If you had a gun in my head, jd, i'm sorry. 1:07:49 - Speaker 1We're used to it up here on the roof. Yeah, man, it's, but I am getting a little concerned about all the guns to the head references. That's like your fourth in terms of the podcast. Just Just you know. Checking you out, just make it sure everything is all groovy over here. 1:08:13 - Speaker 4Yeah, so, so, that's, that's what I got. 1:08:16 - Speaker 1Okay, so that brings us to the last song on the record, and that is El Dorado. 1:08:44 - Speaker 5El Dorado, when It's a man's size 10 times. Look in here. It's all hard work. What's that smell? Smells like coffee. It smells like coffee. If you regret it, please say something Like I know, jesus, the evil makes me calm and I know it makes me calm and I'm a loving. Ring a brother in love and ring A brother in love and ring a brother in love and ring It's a man's size 10 times. It's a man's size, elder of all. I don't know what it is. You can't take it. You can't take it. Where we going. What's that taking? I tell some men shed a hood and makes me sexy. Where we going makes me sexy. I'm a loving. Ring a brother in love and ring A brother in love and ring a brother in love and ring It's a man's size inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside. 1:13:16 - Speaker 4Wow, you know what? I was always because my buddy had a Ford Ranchero, Which was the Ford version of the Opium, And he had a champagne colored Ford That he sold to some guy in Denmark. It was a 76 or 74 and he sold it And I'll never forgive him for it because it was the coolest fucking car And it just smelled like gasoline and it was loud And it handled like a fucking tank And it was just Oh yeah, mine didn't have power steering. 1:13:49 - Speaker 1Oh no, none of that Dude. 1:13:51 - Speaker 3My uncle, chris, had a light blue Ranchero I don't know early 70s And it was so large for two doors and seating maybe for two and a half people It was the biggest vehicle. When I was 16, he had me drive it from his house to my folks house And I remember scared to death that I was just going to hit a parked car Because I felt like I was driving a car that was two cars wide. It was so gigantic. But fast forward, i guess maybe My grandparents owned Eldorados. They had two specifically. I remember A Block 4 door and a White 2 door. They had like a Coop early 80s Eldorado And those were. I mean they were like Rolls Royce's to us As kids. We thought they were, we were riding around in limos, you know these were like the nicest cars. So I totally get the car reference, 100%. The 2 door one that my grandparents had. I was in the back seat trying to get to the front seat, dropping my grandmother off somewhere, and she closed the door on my leg And I thought I'd never walk again, i mean those cars were just behemoth. I was like I was like 7, maybe 7 years old, But the reference is here just to get into the song, and less about cars, you know, But World War I in Canada, basically coming over to serve the motherland And fight Germany, it's just, that's all just so heavy. You know the line Berlin makes me sexy, making me sexy. That one tripped me up a little bit, You know. I was like okay, are they implying This kind of glorification of war? you know, are we now, is Canada now I say we as a full Canadian are we now in this kind of limelight Because we came across the pond to fight, you know, And we're going through Berlin And we're seeing the separation there And we're hanging out at where is it? Where the US had their base in Berlin, Oh gosh. 1:16:07 - Speaker 5It's um. 1:16:09 - Speaker 4I don't know, were you born in Canada too? No, oh. 1:16:15 - Speaker 3What was it called? 1:16:18 - Speaker 1His pick Canadian accent, doesn't it? Come on, tell me voted guys. I'd have to edit that out. 1:16:25 - Speaker 4Hey now, hey now. 1:16:27 - Speaker 3But anyways, like the Berlin making me sexy part Just makes me think like maybe Berlin was the shiny object Kind of around that time. And it's this beautiful song. There's this amazing bass, there's these big fat toms going on with the drums. You know, i imagine that was just at their recording room to kind of reel those in. I thought it was a good closer for the album. 1:16:59 - Speaker 1Yeah, I do too. Pete, where are you with this one? 1:17:02 - Speaker 4I well, definitely we need to continue our conversation in a later date About Alderados and Rancheros, but I dug it. I really liked it. Probably my favorite part about it was the second verse. There's some really cool like sharp guitar licks in there And the lyrics are really syncopated. The where, when he, when he's I can't remember the, i can't quote the lyrics specifically, but the syncopated lyrics are really cool. Again goes back to him being I'm sure it'll just get better like a fine wine Out. What a great phrasing lyricist. He is a singer, but I didn't. I was a little confused about the Berlin makes me sexy to Tim And I dug in some like forums and I just thought the funniest thing was And, by the way, i know we apologize to the listeners and I won't do that anymore But I really want to apologize to the band because I love this band, like I love this band, and I hope that if anybody ever hears even a fucking sentence of this podcast from that band, that I have the utmost fucking respect and admiration for them because they're fucking cool. But that being said, somebody said this song was written under the influence of little bat blue and Jack Daniels And I just was fucking rolling in my chair. Hilarious but cool. Good tune to end the record, yeah for sure. 1:18:41 - Speaker 3I got the Berlin reference around Berlin making me sexy. Maybe that had to do with, like checkpoint Charlie, right That's. I don't know. I was not really. 1:18:53 - Speaker 4Wasn't Charlie Vietnam. 1:18:55 - Speaker 1No, no. Charlie in Vietnam referred to what the Americans called their enemy on the Vietnamese side. They called them Charlie. No, it's the crossing point between East and West. 1:19:11 - Speaker 3Yeah, it's the crossing point between East and West Berlin Shows my World War II. It still exists. 1:19:16 - Speaker 1It still exists my Hey, pete, your World War II knowledge isn't that bad. You just don't pay attention to sequels. I don't watch that. You read about World War I and you were like, yeah, man, i don't need to read the sequel. 1:19:29 - Speaker 4Seriously and everybody's paying attention to the possibility of World War III right now, and I was just like guys, i don't care, this is stupid, it's all about WWI. Anything they make after that sucks. 1:19:46 - Speaker 1It's all computers now. You haven't seen a war until you've seen a horse full of wagon in beautiful black and white Double speed. 1:19:58 - Speaker 4This podcast took a really dark turn. I love it. 1:20:01 - Speaker 1So I have a question for you. This is their third full length record, But this one came out like less than a year after Road Apples. Road Apples was 91 and this is 92. 1:20:21 - Speaker 3Which was unusual for them, right. 1:20:23 - Speaker 1It's unusual for any band like at this point, but like, certainly, if you were going to do that, you think you'd do it in your first and second record, not your second and third. You know that's. It's just interesting to me that they were able to come up with 12, like, like, pretty great fucking songs and put them to wax, you know, so short of time after Road Apples. I just wonder if. 1:20:48 - Speaker 3Why the hustle I? 1:20:49 - Speaker 1don't know, i don't know, was it? 1:20:52 - Speaker 3a. Was it a kind of a I hate to say it, but like a cash grab to get them to next size venues on tour, because man traveling across that country to only hit like 200 to 1,000 or 1,200 fans and then to go to like 3,000 to up to 5,000 fans per show. That's that's a hurry go. What were they doing back then? 1:21:18 - Speaker 1They played Maple Leaf Gardens on this tour and then they opened their Canada Center on this tour, which is the where the Leafs play and the Raptors play, and then they started a summer festival. They did a summer festival across Canada and maybe a couple cities in the States called another roadside attraction And that's where I first got to see them on my 19th birthday, july 24th 1993, in Markham Fairgrounds. I I got to see them live for the first time And it was almost like out of a storybook, because I got so incredibly drunk and high and I passed out during the band that went on before them and slept, slept basically the whole time on the ground, and then woke up magically when the, when the hip went on and I was fine. 1:22:15 - Speaker 3Oh, i would love to go back to that moment, the three of us with JD right now, that would be so fun man. JD come on, bro, it's time, wake up, yeah. 1:22:26 - Speaker 4I don't know if you, i don't know if you asked your question, jd, but I was going to comment on what you said Because I feel kind of the same thing. I don't know if it was a cash cash grab either, tim, but I feel like this was the push where the record label finally said look you, fuckers, we've, we've put a lot of money into you. You're going to make a hit, and they brought in this big swing and dick of a producer And we're going to fall through the roof, so to speak, and being as. That never really happened. Maybe that's where, you know, we lead into their fifth record, which will be next week, to to kind of start exploring their own, you know, being more themselves instead of living for you know what they, what they think they should be commercially. 1:23:21 - Speaker 3Yeah, i think so, maybe, maybe. I mean, this was an era where bands were not getting paid enough but making a living off of selling albums, selling CDs. Yeah, you know, i mean we're. We're years away from MP3.com kicking off. Yeah, that's right. And so anyone anyone in the biz back then who saw this band doing well and saw fans at shows across Canada going bunkers and knowing that people were doing the tour or doing all the West Coast shows or doing all the East Coast shows, you know, like any, any band manager would have been like let's knock out another album I know this one's going to kick ass. Let's get this metal producer in to you know, organize everything and let's keep keep it all going. And I guess this is the album that made them realize they could do it on their own, which is fucking amazing, because a lot of bands in the 90s would not even step out, no way. 1:24:31 - Speaker 1Yeah, we're going to find a market shift in the sound and tonality of of this band starting with the next record, day for Night. If you've got anything you want to say to wrap up this record. 1:24:46 - Speaker 3I just wish I had my grandparents El Dorado, out front with some hip on the eight track. Did they ever make eight track tapes? Oh man, wouldn't that be cool? I'll just, i'll just fantasize about that with what JD passed out in the back and P all hyper in the front seat. That's, that's. That's, that's my, that's where I'm going to leave it. 1:25:09 - Speaker 4Same here, man, same here. I wish we wish we had a wish we were driving around in the champagne colored Ford Ranchero with a, with a 24 pack of the bat blue on the on the floorboard. 1:25:24 - Speaker 3Love and the smell of fuel. 1:25:26 - Speaker 1Yeah, All right, as we do every episode of the show, we are asking each of you, fellas, to choose your MVP track for the record. Fully, completely, tim, let's start with you. You, son of a gun. 1:25:46 - Speaker 3Yes, So my favorite song off this album was definitely El Dorado. You know, went back and listen to it a little bit more And there's even some. there's some Michael Steip feels in there, just literally. 1:25:57 - Speaker 4I can't wait, man. 1:25:58 - Speaker 3Just with with the way Gord sings, you know they're so. They're so much from the nineties going on on these albums. It actually makes me miss the nineties. I often think of the eighties as being just so spectacular, but the nineties were for music. It was so good to, and this, this is just one of those songs that maybe you also want to listen to. Just a bunch of other stuff. So I'm going with El Dorado. 1:26:23 - Speaker 1Cool. What do you? what's going to be your playlist song there, pete? 1:26:33 - Speaker 4The hundred meridian hands down, the phrasing in it, the historical content of it, how I'm aware that that line physical line, not lyrical line, the importance of that and how it will eventually play into other hip references in the future too. It's just, it's fucking cool man, It's going on those for sure. 1:27:03 - Speaker 1Awesome. I can't wait to hear these lists as they as they grow in stature. All right, that's what I have for you this week. So there's that. Hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did. See you next week, fellas, pick up your shit. 1:27:24 - Speaker 2Thanks for listening to Getting Hip to the Hip. Please subscribe, share rate and review the show at GettingHiptotheHipcom. Find us on Twitter and Instagram at Getting Hip Pod And join our Facebook group at Facebookcom. Slash groups slash fully and completely. Questions or concerns. Email us at JD at GettingHiptotheHipcom. We'd love to hear from you. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Get ready for a deep dive into the Tragically Hip's iconic 1992 album Fully Completely with hosts JD, Pete, and Tim as we explore the evolution of the band's sound, the polished production, and how it aimed for mainstream success. Share in our personal listening experiences and how this album resonated with us in different ways, from car rides to gym sessions.Join our lively conversation as we analyze standout tracks and Gord Downie's lyrical brilliance, including the catchy chorus of "Courage for Hugh MacLennan" and the various definitions of courage presented throughout the song. Discover the numerous Canadian references sprinkled across the album that give it a distinct cultural flavour, as well as discussing the impact of these songs on a personal level.Whether you're a longtime fan of the Tragically Hip or just discovering their music, this engaging and insightful episode is a must-listen. Don't miss our in-depth discussion of Fully Completely, as we explore the band's attempt to make their sound more mainstream, the slick production of the album, and the car and computer time that really made this album come alive. Tune in now and become a part of our musical journey!Transcript0:00:01 - Speaker 1When I think back to the fall of 92, everything was coming up JD. I was dating a real-life girl who also liked the hip. I was elected class president with my friend Tim under the efficiently executed two is better than one campaign, and I got a new hip record. While I love student government, the main thing the election provided me was an office in the high school for the student council, which acted as my locker and my rehearsal space for jamming the new hip album with my buddies Kirby and Dean. There was rarely a day that passed that someone wouldn't stop by for a version of pigeon camera locked in the trunk of a car, or courage. It was great fun and an experience I'll definitely never forget. Fully completely is what I call the last record of the early era, where the hip sound is more or less matured and they're writing an embarrassing number of stone-cold classics. The idea that the production keeps getting tighter and more precise sounding is worth noting as well. Working with the late Chris Tegeritas, the boys locked in on the task at hand, even if it wasn't their favorite recording experience, and they delivered MCA, an album brimming with singles and sing-along courses. This was a band that knew its groove and walked with a comfortable stride inside of it. Simply put, fully, completely is a rock and roll record at its finest Bar none. I'm actually feeling really excited for Pete Tim on this one. Their first experience outside of this project would have likely involved listening to this record as some kind of jumping off point, but that's not how we chose to do this. This is one album and episode, one chance to make an impression. Will this record stand up to the scrutiny that our protagonist will most certainly have for anything this anticipated? Let's find out. On this episode of Getting Hip to the Hip. Long-sliced brewery presents Getting Hip to the Hip. Hey, it's Jay Dee here, and welcome to Getting Hip to the Hip, a weekly podcast about the tragically hip and getting to hear their music for the first time through the ears of my friends, pete and Tim, who are here with me as always Pete from Malaga, making his way to us via LA this week, and, of course, Tim from Portland. Being from Portland, as it were, i'm excited, frankly, from a logistics standpoint, that we only had to deal with two time zones this week. That makes my job a lot easier, but I'm curious how are you fuckers doing? 0:02:51 - Speaker 3Doing great, doing good. It's well. It's, you know, december in Portland and we have a freeze happening, so we're hunkered down. It's a good day to be podcasting. 0:03:03 - Speaker 1Sounds good. 0:03:05 - Speaker 4It's snowing there, i take it. 0:03:06 - Speaker 3Almost. 0:03:07 - Speaker 4Okay. 0:03:08 - Speaker 3Almost. 0:03:09 - Speaker 4I'm dragging ass, man. I woke up around quarter to four this morning. I've gotten about four hours of sleep in the last. I want to say 36 hours. Yeah, so the jet lags hit me hard. Nine hour time difference sucks, but it is what it is for the hip anything. 0:03:33 - Speaker 1Holiday travel, man Everything. 0:03:36 - Speaker 4Fully and completely for the hip. 0:03:38 - Speaker 1Well, that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about the October 6th 1992 release produced by Chris Sanjiris. It's a 46 minute long CD at this point because that's where still around but it was a CD. It included singles, six singles, and it was rated 4.5 out of 5 by all music. So that's a great score and there's some good background information there. But I'm curious if you want to just get right into it and tell me how you experience the album. 0:04:14 - Speaker 3I like the evolution. This really helped me with where the albums have gone thus far, just having fully, completely be be where it's at in our, in our process, definitely. 0:04:31 - Speaker 4I mean, i agree with Tim the evolution I love. I clearly see this going somewhere. It's strange. I think I don't want to put the car before the horse but you do it, don't? 0:04:44 - Speaker 1you put that car as a horse. 0:04:45 - Speaker 4No, but I feel like this record may be the dark horse If we're going to stick with the equestrian analogies in that of the four records was the fourth one. We've fourth one. Yeah, i feel like this is my least favorite, although I do have some great notes on it. But there's so many album songs, artists over the years I've disliked at first and they end up being my favorites Interesting. Oh. Yeah, i've talked with you about a few things like that before, jd, but yeah, i feel like this might be the one. This might be the one. So, we'll see. 0:05:28 - Speaker 3You know, conversely, for me this one, like right out the gate, was the winner of what we've listened to so far And I went into the mindset of okay 1992, what was happening in my life when I got a new album and it usually was going straight in the car, you know, straight from the record store in the car. So I just had this one mostly in the car all week. I listened to it at the gym a little bit, but it was mostly car time didn't take notes until recently on any of it and just kind of jammed out to it. There's, you know, as expected, there's definitely some I like more than others, but of course I was, i was digging it. 0:06:11 - Speaker 1This to me was the band really trying to go over the top in terms of landing mainstream appeal. To me, that's what this record is always This record is. This record is that sound that they've been working on the last two records, that that bar sound. You know that that really tight and nifty blues, bass guitar sound, and this is just a really well produced version of that really slick. It's a slick sounding album and they haven't sounded slick up until this point. So to me, i've always thought of it as a record that was was trying to shoot for them, shoot for the moon. So I'm real surprised to hear you know Pete's analysis off the bat. Did you listen to in your car? because I do know that you have a premium audio sound system. 0:07:10 - Speaker 4I mentioned that and you've experienced it. I did listen to in my car and there were, there were tracks that really stood out that I really did like I don't want to say I didn't like this record, but there were tracks that really stood out and, like I said, i'm really glad I didn't listen to it on the plane, because associating this record with you know, a 12-hour flight after you've been at the airport for seven hours because they delayed your flight, would have, just you know, i probably just wouldn't have shown up today. I would have just texted you guys and said you're on your own, you know. So yeah, but it's. I mean computer time and car time was what was, what did it for me, this one. 0:07:52 - Speaker 1Alright. Well, do we want to get into the songs? Let's do it Alright. The first song is called Courage for Hugh MacLennan. 0:07:58 - Speaker 4I am Okay, bring up notes. So obviously I'm. I'm doing research on Hugh MacLennan and who he was because I want to know what the history of that is. The chorus is just catchy as fuck. It is just it, just it, just I don't know. It feels like there's a change of tempo, but it's not. But the lyrics just make it so sweet. The squeaky backup vocals that you said were going to eventually make their way in there. It would be the staple of, i believe, the bass player. 0:08:38 - Speaker 1The rhythm guitarist, rhythm guitar player. Yeah, all along. 0:08:42 - Speaker 4Those are all over this record. And then, kind of looking at the lyrics, which I did a lot more lyrical analysis for this record than others His Gord's definition of courage as opposed to MacLennan's definition was something that I really haven't pieced together yet, but I dug it. I yeah, i'll talk about more because I think this record is thematic in that sense because there's just a lot of Canadian references. Obviously There are, oh a ton. What about you, tim? 0:09:16 - Speaker 3Yeah, I was excited right out of the gate. Playing this song in the car I thought, okay, song number one for this album. If you know I'm a fan, starting at the beginning of this band or just really even coming into this album. This first song is a great first track of an album. The tempo is good, you know it's, it's singable parts. you know it's just a good, simple rocking tune and just as far as. Yeah, i had no idea who Hugh McLennan is or was. You know that looked him up and definitely feel like I need to read at least one of his books. So probably get a suggestion from you, mr JD. But you know it's this song about consequences and facing the light or the dark. You know it's just, it's a great, a great kickoff for the album. I loved it. 0:10:13 - Speaker 1This to me has one of Gord Downey's absolute best turns of turns of phrase or lyrical works of art. You know, it's a feat of strength, almost what he does with the text of McLennan's work. It shouldn't be as effective as it is, but it is. It works so well and all he does is read the lyric into the melody. The lyrics are there's no simple explanation for anything important any of us do. And, yeah, the human tragedy consists in the necessity of living with the consequence under pressure, under pressure. But the way he phrases it and the way he the music in the background is building up, it's so powerful and so such a great bridge. And then, you're right, it goes up up against that banger of a chorus to outro the song. Really fucking strong, strong work. This is a karaoke staple of mine as well, so perfect, yeah you mentioned the phrasing. 0:11:22 - Speaker 4It's funny because I thought the same thing and I think I put in. It's ironic. I'm showing this. People can at home can't see it, but this is just sitting on a thing and I'm thinking about it because of amazing it's a copy of Life magazine with Sinatra on the front yeah, sorry, sinatra. So I think people like Sinatra, i definitely think other musicians from the 90s, but this puts him, this record put him lyrically in that category for great phrasing. Not many people. People can put lyrics to songs and it sounds cool and they can sing harmonies and melodies. But when you can phrase a song like you just said so well, it just makes the song so fucking cool, brings out the lyrics in the melody so much better yeah, i agree. 0:12:12 - Speaker 1so next up we go to a real interesting song. this is something that Gord would carry with him, especially in his later years, and that is like the crisis in Canada's north crisis with our Indigenous people, and this song takes a look at that. It's called Looking for a Place to Happen. 0:12:38 - Speaker 3I thought this one started off running, you know, felt really catchy, without knowing what the lyrics were or background or anything. It just starts off really well. But eventually I realized, okay, this is something about taking away or taking what's not yours. You know I hear guilt and sorrow in here. It's just full of emotion. So as I looked into it I realized what it was basically about It. Even I don't know it got me when I got to the end of the song I heard Gord kind of singing through the outro Like it doesn't it carries on into me. That resembled like something around the fact that the invasion just is continuing on. You know, the taking away is continuing on, the pain isn't going to end. You know this, this and I think he he harkens that so well in this song for what the content is It? just it kind of it kind of floored me. It felt like a lot. And you know their songs I'm experiencing over the course of this catalog is you know some of them? I feel like, oh, this must be fun in a bar. You know people buy. I love the song and some songs are like fuck me. You know this is heavy stuff that we all still need to deal with and think about and realize, and just such a, such an impactful band. 0:14:20 - Speaker 1Yeah, and as they got bigger, they, you know, they, they took that to heart. you know that they had that, they carried some clout and they used that, and you know to, to a really good degree. 0:14:33 - Speaker 3Well, even even some of their. You know, some of the lyrics and some of the storytelling is just very North American based. It's, you know, often very much Canada for sure, specifically. But it did, and also, you know, at times made me again think about what the fuck? why didn't they resonate more in the USA? because I identify with a ton of it. There's so much there, i think that crosses over. 0:14:58 - Speaker 1Yeah, borders. How did you feel about looking for a place to have a beat? 0:15:02 - Speaker 4It's funny because the the what I said before about this record being thematic and and very, very Canada, kind of picking up where Tim left off. In my research of the first song and my research of who Hugh MacLennan was, I remember his wife saying to him, because I think his first couple of books were like flops, like you need to write about what you know, write about Canada. And that book, the third book or whatever book, the his book that he finally wrote about Canada and what he knew, ended up being really, really successful. And I feel like the hip kind of played around with that. This first, their first few times out, their first two or three records, but this one is just all Canada And it's just it's Canada threw up on this record, And in a good way, Jacques Cartier is mentioned. Jacques Cartier is mentioned in there. So, yeah, i think it's. It's cool because for and Tim, maybe you can speak to this because as Americans, we get a, we get. We have this polite maple syrup, like I said, but LeBat blue version of who Canadians are and what Canada is free healthcare, marijuana, everything's great north of the border on the roof of the US. But I think only probably in the last six or seven years has it really entered the American consciousness of the plight of indigenous folks. And in Canada, in the north, i don't think it's something that, tim. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm just ignorant, but I feel like it's not something that's been talked about, at least in the mainstream for Americans until recently. 0:17:00 - Speaker 3I think you're right. I think you're right. We've we've definitely have talked about it more USA, regionally specific. 0:17:06 - Speaker 4But, but to know it was that this was being. 0:17:09 - Speaker 3This was in mainstream rock music in 1992 is cool, right, exactly, yeah, yeah, we weren't necessarily singing about that in 1992. 0:17:20 - Speaker 1Yeah, No, certainly we weren't here either other than other than through this. Yeah, and a lot of people. you know, for everybody that does like dive deep into the lyrics and and and wants to analyze you know what it all means that there is an equally large or maybe bigger cohort that is just wants to fucking dance to some music. you know, like they just want to rock out And they get to do that with our next song at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin. 0:17:51 - Speaker 3Ready Mark. 0:18:08 - Speaker 5Roll it And take my life with my hands Where the great planes begin, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, driving down a part of our road, we stand in a shoulder high. The road is crusted Of wind and dust. At the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, let alone the dead chapter, car and train hauntings. A generation's almost done with any of these great planes. King crashes with the wind and The greatest planes along the line of old road, car and train out of Mali outskirts. The world is so very cruel, but I've done the best thing. At the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin, and remember. I remember above and low, and I remember a thing about, it seems to me I don't ever, ever say no to everything I know. I don't ever, ever say no to everything I know. I don't ever say no to everything I know. If I don't walk on the road, i've seen a promise. Maybe I'll need some place. I don't want to be a dead man. I'm a dead man, i have to transport. I can't say I'm on this sleep. I've borrowed the keys. I've been listening to some songs and the tracks. I don't want to be a low on the shoulder. I've been listening to some songs and the tracks. I don't want to be a low on the shoulder. At the hundredth meridian. At the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin. At the hundredth meridian, at the hundredth meridian. At the hundredth meridian, where the great planes begin. When the planes begin, oh, Love this one. 0:21:05 - Speaker 3All things backups. Can we do karaoke with this one? 0:21:09 - Speaker 1This became a lot. Yeah, i would do karaoke this. This became a life staple, for sure as well. 0:21:13 - Speaker 3I'm sure, yeah, garbage red sheep, garbage red trees, whispers of disease driving down a corduroy road. I had to look up corduroy road. I was like what the hell is that? So that was a really interesting Find right there. What is it? What is it? references. You know Laying down logs along waterways so you can keep on your journey. You're basically walking down logged paths. So, yeah, that's that's what a corduroy road is. 0:21:44 - Speaker 4Pretty cool, no idea, no idea, i Dude this, this tune, i would probably say I probably say this tune is my favorite on the record. I think The the like the, the borderline wrap, that um, that that gordon He's doing, and it um just Fucking amazing. The the the guitar, wah, um is is nasty, um, i It fits though, right, it's, oh Yeah, totally more than more than past songs I've heard No absolutely the realizing the again Going back every song, i think there's a, there's a reference, a historical reference, that the hundredth murdering was the, the separation of the united states through between spain and france and later between the us and spain, after the louis excuse me, louisiana purchased from um france and then from uh, and then with the united states of mexico, like that historical reference of it. But this song is just, it's a fucking Banger. It is a banger, right, it is a banger, absolutely, absolutely. And there's, there's, by the way, um, um, this song Has that line you mentioned it, tim garbage bag trees. I think that is in the song before looking for a place to happen that same, there's another reference to garbage bag trees, and so jd, or anybody, give me a line on that garbage bag trees. 0:23:24 - Speaker 1I wish I had one to me. It just, it just reminds me of one of those old derelict areas where you see, like debris caught in the, the fences, you know that's been blown around, wind strewn. I picture, you know, like a garbage bag tree to be a plastic bag that is fastened itself into the tree And, uh, it just looks, you know, more depressing by seeing it but I don't know that's. That's just my thinking. If you've got an angle on this, send me an email. Jd at getting hip to the hip calm. 0:23:59 - Speaker 4Put to be, to put that in two songs in a row on a record got me something. 0:24:04 - Speaker 1Yeah, agreed. How about you, tim? What did you think of this one? Oh, i guess you already. You spoke first, didn't you? 0:24:11 - Speaker 3Yeah, i mean I dug it. I I thought, uh, overall I I felt the anger in here. There's so much self expression which you know they're definitely feeling. so many songs, um, i, i love the refer, the reference or the declaration of have right cooter, you're seeing it, my funeral, you know that's in just going back and listening to some Rai kooder songs, i mean there's a lot of influence there for the band and it's I dug it. It's a great song, great tune. 0:24:42 - Speaker 1Now, did you recognize that lyric from anything? No so the live version of highway girl He. He says that at one point He says get mr Rai kooder to sing my eulogy, all right, fun. And then boom, it shows up in this song, like two years later, like it was just a, it was just a throwaway phrase in a, in a story, in the middle of a song, and then it becomes, you know, this end of this epic rant, uh, end of this epic rap, rather, that he sort of does this, this rap piece. Yeah, i think it's fucking cool. They started using this song to jam out songs in the middle of as well, and then it would. It would always lead up to that, that part, that that bridge part. Now, all three of these songs that we've talked about so far Are singles. Courage was the third single, at the hundredth meridian was the fourth single, and looking for a place to happen was the fifth single. Well, so they're. The records got legs. I mean, they really tried to leg this one out and and see if anything would stick. The next song is our first album cut of the Of the fully, fully, completely record, and it's an interesting one as well, title wise. What the hell is the pigeon camera, pete? 0:26:04 - Speaker 4So it's um, i had to look this one up too. Um, i guess back in the day 1909, there was a scientist or an inventor who Who thought that strapping cameras with time delays on them to pigeons would be a great idea, and so They kind of took off for a little bit. I would love to see actual Photographs. I that's something I I didn't. 0:26:33 - Speaker 1Sit. The birds took or of the birds that the birds took. 0:26:36 - Speaker 4There's a lot of pictures of the birds with the camera strapped to them but that the birds took, um, they were going to do it for you know, military purposes, for reconnaissance, but then planes Came and they started being able to mount cameras on planes, so it kind of, you know, went by the wayside. But, um, yeah, this song I liked it. Um, it didn't do A ton for me, but the guitar solo was very redeeming. It, it, it, i this is going to sound really strange because it's well, obviously so many years left kind of very sublime feel the band, sublime from that guitar solo, the tone That the guitar that was being played or the notes that were being played. It just sounded like it was uh, it was a. It was a Soul taken from the band sublime, but I liked it. It worked. It was really cool. Well, you got Yeah whoo-foo fight. 0:27:35 - Speaker 3I did not go to sublime and That band just just makes me. It makes me cringe. I just Hear it and it's changed the station as fast as possible because I only ever hear it. When I'm in southern california driving around listening to the radio, some stations are playing that band, like I swear, every 17 minutes. Oh yeah, oh terrible. 0:27:57 - Speaker 4Anyway, it's against the law to play that at a bar in long Beach. Yeah, it's against the law. 0:28:03 - Speaker 3It should be. It should be. Yeah, they should sell the. Anyways, uh, pigeon camera, i, you know it's. I think it's a good Slot four slowdown It's. There's this kind of calm, serene guitar riffing in there. Um, it's. I guess there's a lot of references when you look up actual pigeon cameras and kind of dive deeper into that. As you touched on Pete, i did find, you know, as you said, pictures of pigeons with the cameras strapped on them and Kind of thought about what, what, what is that? and you know, carry, the carrying of information, the passing of secrets. You know the, the, i don't know. It just seemed like a wartime era thing. I wasn't really sure why This song was in there, conceptually, lyrically, everything you know there was. It was a head scratcher. But the coolest thing about it was finding out about fucking pigeon cameras, simply like I'm glad the songs there, because, dude, you got to look up pictures that they took. There's a few online And they're fucking incredible. Like there's portions of wings Surrounding a landscape, you know it's, it kind of worked, but who the hell knows, like when you got, when you develop this film and you're printing these old black and whites and seeing all this abstract shit, like You know it's. It's so bizarre and weird. Let's write a song about this Very fascinating thing, guys, like did you know that these pigeons to carry and take cameras or take pictures? Like what the fuck? why not write a song about it? 0:29:54 - Speaker 1So weird, yeah, fun song we go to another album track, and this is one called lion eyes. 0:30:01 - Speaker 3So this one in the car was Fun and so sing along. You know, it's like simple, easy to get along with. It's a rock song, it's a good jam, like I imagine people just belting this out at live shows, maybe even almost annoyingly. If you're ever go to shows and you hear people singing like a little too much, yeah, sure, bands love it when it happens and they can, yeah, i just this is just could be one of those songs. The the parts about When he sings From the cleftab low variant. You know these, these film references are really kind of that. That was all this added Kind of mysteriousness to me. the cold wind blowing over your private parts. I'm like, is that you know? I, i was really trying to driving around listen to this over and over Because it's so listenable. I'm trying to decipher, you know, heads or tails of it and couldn't, couldn't get much, but overall It's an easy song to consume. Yeah, storytelling wise, i wasn't so sure, but overall it was like man, this is a jammy, easy one for sure. 0:31:18 - Speaker 4It's funny you say that, tim, because it's for me, storytelling wise. I found it way more interesting. I mean, i like the tune, i Like the turnaround after the chorus on the bridges, wildly out of place, like I just It, just it. It shut my brain off for this song. I was like, oh cool, i'm into this bridge comes. I'm like what the fuck is this? Is this like the same band I'm listening to, but the the references to tableau we've on which I had to look up. I was like a nativity scene even. More or less, i would assume. And then the other one, romana, clef, oclef, all these French references in there seemed really cool. Like this is again Because I think musically I liked the other ones. They stuck to me much quicker. I did a lot more digging in the lyrics for this one. I really liked. I really liked All the lyrical references Reveal more as the songs go on. 0:32:27 - Speaker 1Yeah, it's pretty loaded, it's really loaded Yeah okay, so we go next to a pretty menacing song, and especially menacing when you consider this one was a single and And it's fucking tremendous. 0:33:15 - Speaker 5Some. The truck's gone. The wind overlanded a real rainbow, like a new much star, when you could see everything but a logical factor. But ten bucks in just to get the tank chopped Oh, dang it. I found a place to stop and infrared it. It's a truth. We had a place where the copters won't spot it And I destroyed the man. I never even thought I'd forgotten. However, every day I'm dumping my body. If they better for us, they don't understand. If they better for me, they don't understand. Oh, dang it. I found a place to stop and infrared it. It's a truth. We got a place where the copters won't spot it And I destroyed the man. I never even thought I'd forgotten. However, every day I'm dumping my body. If they better for us, they don't understand. If they better for us, they don't understand. If they better for me, they don't understand. Let me out. 0:36:43 - Speaker 4Let me out, let me out. 0:37:28 - Speaker 1Let me out. 0:37:53 - Speaker 4I just love it. The second solo is just like towards the end. It's so awesome and I'm gonna pull a tim from Portland right now. The fucking fade kills me. Like it's so fucking cool man. The guitar solo is so awesome. I'm just like just fucking end it, guys. And they fade it and I'm just like you motherfuckers I never noticed it before you said it's him and then I start listening to songs like these. Or I'm just eating up the guitar solo at the end, like it's fucking mac and cheese And they just take the plate away from me. Dude, it's like eating a mac and cheese. There's some on the plate and the waiter just comes by and fucking takes it and says Sorry, here's the check. 0:38:51 - Speaker 3I hate to say it, but these fade outs make me pissed on a couple of levels. I mean the song Courage. The very first time I heard it in the car it fades out. It's an okay fade out, though, but as I heard it fading out in the car, i cranked the volume all the way. So now get the last, as I wanted to finish the song, you know, and the other part of it that pisses me off, it makes me frustrated, is never having heard them play live. I mean, they didn't fade out songs live. So it's like I wish I could hear the song live and hear how they ended or see what happens. So that's, you know, that's a don't want to spend so much time on that, but yeah, i feel that this song is. It's so heavy, it's pretty gnarly. The lyrics are crazy, you know, the storytelling is very sinister, dark, dumping the body. Be better for us if you don't understand. And then you know, after diving into this one further, i read about the story about Caroline Case, which, judy, i'm sure you know, this Toronto mother of three whose car was found overturned and wrecked and the bodies didn't show up. And there's this whole story that ties in with the song. That's just amazing. It's just such a dark song. It's cool. I mean I appreciate the level of storytelling and kind of malice and all of those things with us. 0:40:38 - Speaker 1Yeah, it's really fascinating that they can go to these dark places. You know, the last couple records have been have been chock full. This one so far is a more lively, less dour sort of record, but we get our first taste of it here and, yeah, maybe it is better for us if we don't understand. 0:41:01 - Speaker 3Yeah, agreed, it's just dark on many levels, you know. But again, when I read the story about Caroline Case and that whole tragedy and mystery, it's like fuck, what Amazing bits of information to call together to create a song about. Pretty cool. 0:41:24 - Speaker 1They've all gone and will go too. 0:41:27 - Speaker 3I thought maybe this was about like the difficulties of being on the road and traveling and playing gigs, setting up, tearing down. You got this massive country to drive across zigzag. You know it's kind of a. To me it was kind of a filler song with a long ending. You know it has like a 30 second ending, which is a little unusual, so I didn't listen to this one. A whole lot, a whole lot of extra times. 0:42:00 - Speaker 1How about you Pete? 0:42:01 - Speaker 4I'm in a second-day emotion Smokey And I say the opening guitar lyric was interesting, although very 80s, 90s. You know they, somebody in that band loves John Cola from Huey Lewis in the news because that guitar tone is just, it keeps showing up, it just keeps showing up. I think I don't know that Alanis ever listened to much Huey Maybe she was a hip fan, but I a lot of her music too, that I listened to that. Those, what are they? it's like a univive or something that he's using on the guitar, just keeps showing up And it just sounds a little dated. Because I feel like back when people were using those effects, they didn't have anything cool to play on the guitar, they just had a cool effect. So like playing anything was like, hey, be impressed because I've got this amazing effect. I'm not playing shit on the guitar, but it's a cool effect, right? Right, guys, you know so. But yeah, the song all in all doesn't do a ton for me. So what about you, jd? I don't know. 0:43:19 - Speaker 1Well, i think it's fascinating that this is the first mention of production really that has been brought up. I mean, you've mentioned guitar tone a couple times. but yeah, it's a slick, it's a slickly produced record. This guy who produced it produces a lot of like metal And if you know about the production of metal, oftentimes it's got a real clean well, real clean and focused kind of sound, very precise, and I think we get a bit of that on this. I'd almost love to hear what this record would have sounded like with Don Smith producing it, who produced the last two. But we get a taste of that when we go into the next record and they start to self-produce and they start to. it's almost like this record. they go as far as they've ever went production wise, and then they go completely the opposite direction, you know, for the next swath of records, and go sort of back to basics. 0:44:30 - Speaker 4Feels formulae And that, like, like I heard on the first couple couple records, like I felt them like really trying to go into the space of of being obscure and trying their own shit. And then maybe the record label was like All right, guys, enough, your crap, we're going to get a fucking big time producer. And then he's gonna you guys are going to be staws. you know, like I don't know what the fuck they were thinking. I feel like this is kind of that, although it's a good record. But yeah, i hear you JD. 0:45:02 - Speaker 1You know, for many fans this is their favorite record, so it's it's. It's tough. It's tough to be objective about it. It's not my favorite record. I've got another one that's my favorite And we'll get into that soon, but I hear that I I could. 0:45:18 - Speaker 3You know it resembles a following an athlete who goes amateur to pro. Yeah, this, this felt like this album. You know I don't want to get into it as if we're ending, but I agree with that JD. 0:45:31 - Speaker 1Well, the next next track we get is the titular fully, completely. 0:45:37 - Speaker 3As a title track, accidentally listened to the song first, instead of the first track, you know, searched the album and this thing came up. And I was getting ready to drive, to sit in way and then realize it was the title track and I was not, i wasn't 100% sold, i wasn't a kind of questioned certain things about it as a title track. Or I heard, like Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam in there, you know there's just it's this kind of never ending guitar riffing. If you listen to it really closely, there's a right channel tambourine happening. There's a total afterthought production thing. It's like, hey, let's just add in some tambourine, like it's there If you really listened closely and it's it's. That made me like the song more because it added this kind of fun element to it. But I I thought it was not the strongest for a title track. I thought it was just okay. 0:46:38 - Speaker 1This is our first title track we've ever got as well Right. Yeah, can I? 0:46:44 - Speaker 4ask you, JD, was this a single? 0:46:46 - Speaker 1This was. This was the last single on the record. 0:46:49 - Speaker 4Okay, because I I have the same Tim. You mentioned something about the tambourine. I think that's so funny, because I I felt the same way, of course, about the tambourine, but also the, a lot of the guitar licks. I feel like if the song was just raw, maybe, maybe, maybe Gord Downey stepped on the gas a little bit harder with the, with the vocals, it would have been a totally different sounding song, but I think it was recorded. And then afterward producers like Hey you, you guitar guy, come in here, throw some more licks down here. What do you want me to play? Just do something. 0:47:26 - Speaker 3Yeah, and it's like Hey, who's your friend over there in the corner? Can you play tambourine? Come on over here. 0:47:32 - Speaker 4You know, but like I, i yeah, i feel the same way. I couldn't like super get into it, but I thought the guitar solo at the end was a huge, was really like the slide all again, all the licks. In the beginning, like I didn't dig that, but the solo at the end was really big payoff And I could see how this song at a show. Jd, maybe I'm wrong, but I could see them taking this at a show and just fucking do a 15 minute version of it. 0:48:01 - Speaker 1That's what I was going to say. I was going to say this song was one that wasn't my favorite for a long time And then it grew on me And now I would say it's like a top three on this record for me. Live It just slayed Yeah. 0:48:15 - Speaker 3Just slayed Again, where I had the same sentiment, pete, where I just wished I could have heard this type of song live version, because you hear certain things when it's recorded and you wonder, like, why was it produced this way, or why was this thrown in, or why this or why that? And you know that there is a more raw version of this out there And it's like you got to get through the, the, the meal that's prepared for the pictured menu item, when you walk in the restaurant and you think, okay, that's, that's supposedly what I'm going to get, and then the live version is like nah, here's your fucking mess of a meal. It's going to taste the same way, but this is actually what it looks like. That's, that's, that's what I thought about this song. 0:49:02 - Speaker 4Tim, i couldn't, i would not to take it a step further, but I'm going to take this stuff further. It's like getting through a shitty Thanksgiving dinner because you want to go out drinking later And then and then, after you've been out drinking to like three or four in the morning, then you hit up Taco Bell or whatever it is, and that's where the that's where the real joy of eating comes in. And that late night meal is the fucking live version. It's 100%. We're at where I die on this one. 0:49:30 - Speaker 1All right. Next up, we go to 50 mission cap. 0:49:59 - Speaker 5The barilco disappeared that summer. He was on a fishing trip, the last goal he ever scored. They didn't win another 1962. I stole this from a car. I worked it in. I worked it in to look like that. It's my fifth mission. And I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in to look like that. The barilco disappeared that summer. He was on a fishing trip, the last goal he ever scored. They didn't win another 1962. I stole this from a car. I worked it in. I worked it in to look like that. It's my fifth mission. It's my fifth mission. It's my fifth mission. 0:53:45 - Speaker 3It's my fifth mission. I worked it in. 0:53:54 - Speaker 5I worked it in. I worked it in, i worked it in. 0:54:07 - Speaker 3I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. 0:54:42 - Speaker 1I worked it in. I worked it in, i worked it in. 0:54:58 - Speaker 3I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in. I worked it in I worked it in. 0:55:17 - Speaker 1Basically, just put a melody to this hockey card, sentence or paragraph rather, and boom, there's the verse. You know it's crazy, like I've seen the card before. And then you get this brilliant anthemic chorus 50 mission cap. But even it is a little deeper than just a brainless chorus because it's a 50 mission cap. And then the next lyric is I worked it in, i worked it in to look like that. So is the protagonist here somebody that really truly is wearing their 50 mission cap, like with pride? or are they trying to sneak by, you know, to make somebody think that they've been in their 50 missions? I don't know like, but I fucking love thinking about it. How about you, Pete? 0:56:08 - Speaker 4Okay, so the lyrics certainly seemed like he was reading from something Clearly. yeah, that's what it was, and I don't know if that's a if. when he said JD, you mentioned like I made you think that or something. What was that You said a second ago about the lyrics? 0:56:27 - Speaker 1like Oh, I worked it in to look like that. 0:56:30 - Speaker 4I worked it in to look like that. Like maybe he's referencing people who you know. unfortunately there are those people who, who would wear a 50 mission cap and never, you know, completed a mission in their entire lives. you know those, those fakes. But the song wise is just, it's an amazing song Looking at who Bill Barilko was And ironically, his body wasn't found until the years that Leafs won the cup next. 0:57:04 - Speaker 1They found his body, and then the Leafs won it. 0:57:07 - Speaker 4It's almost like he was cursing it right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's yeah. Sorry, that's what I meant to say, sorry, no, no, no, it's so cool And I took a deep dive into this. You mentioned all the other stuff already about the amazing chorus. I love the squeaky back of vocals made an appearance again. The guitar lyric, or the guitar after the chorus, does this thing where it goes up and down by half steps and it's just so. It doesn't sound like it fits the song, but if it's the song perfectly, and Tim said this is clearly a hip song, because it is And it again might be my favorite on the record, but other stuff, that it's a staple at the home games when the Leafs are warming up, and also, what else did they say about it? Oh, that in the like the private lounge. I'm not a big hockey fan because I grew up in Southern California. You are Tim? No, i'm Tim Brown. Yeah, yeah, no, yeah, it just, it's just hard. But even though we had Wayne Gretzky, but that there's a, there's a handwritten lyrics signed by Gord Downey in the players lounge, it where the players hang out, and that Bill Barolko. Anyway, and when the when the hip would play the Canada Airlines Arena or whatever, they would leave up on Bill Barolko's jersey his number. 0:58:50 - Speaker 1Yeah, they were tired. 0:58:53 - Speaker 4But that was the only one they left up, like kind of when they, you know, change the arena for the hip show. From what I read, i don't know, but it was really cool just for that particular reference. It's what a song, fucking awesome song. 0:59:09 - Speaker 3Loved it. Loved it And it made me think about also, you know, kind of tying in with sports and war, like seeing your favorite team do so well and also knowing that they have fallen, or have you seeing them fall? There's just, there's a tone here that's like defeated but also like quit while you're ahead. I don't know. It's kind of a bit of a surrender thing. It's a great tune. I enjoyed it. 0:59:39 - Speaker 1Well, it's followed on the record by yet another tragically hip ballad slow song that you probably don't want to slow dance to once you find out what it's about, and that's weakings. 0:59:53 - Speaker 4You want to take it to him. 0:59:55 - Speaker 3I mean, it's a hell of a mood song, right? I think there's some banjo in there. Is that what I hear? Some? banjo Doe bro. Doe bro, some doe bro plucking. I maybe gave it three listens and, as not being a diehard hip fan, it's one of those placements in the album where I get it and get why it's there, but also just I move on. It's. There's a couple. There's some good lines in there. Can't be fond of living in the past, you're not going to last. It's like someone getting caught or being in the middle or guilty or jail time or yeah, it didn't, didn't move me. Oh Tim, oh Tim. It's probably Pete's favorite. 1:00:52 - Speaker 4I couldn't disagree with you more. I wouldn't say it's my favorite. I will say this song and this band continues to amaze me with its ability to just be super heavy and then go into these little acoustic tunes that they throw. I call this. You know, this is like when they're in the studio. They're like okay, this is going to be the acoustic song, but it reminded me of how great I felt when I listened to Fiddler's Green on Road Apples. 1:01:22 - Speaker 3I thought of the same. I thought of the same. 1:01:24 - Speaker 4Yep, had that vibe, yep, the intro with the sound effects and the animals and the birds, the bluegrass vibe. There's a line in there that I love is so good. I can't remember the first part. The second part is hung with pictures of our parents, prime ministers, as just such a fucking cool line, and I did some a little bit of research on what was going on with the reference of. You know they were watching the Held, their Breath or Whispers, and the CBC News, that's right About a guy named David Millard who was served like 21 years for a crime eating committee. You got it. It was like you know. There's a lot of that in the US justice system too. 1:02:19 - Speaker 1Oh, right Yeah. 1:02:20 - Speaker 4It just was such a cool fuck Like what. I don't know if the guy's still alive. I don't know if you heard the song when it came out, but what a fucking. 1:02:29 - Speaker 1Yeah, i mean coincidence, i think, is the word you're looking for. So this record comes out in 92 and in 91, millard and his people are granted the ability for a clearing of his name And it was 20 years that he was in prison for a rape that, a rape and murder that had occurred in 1969. So basically, the guy is born in 51. His almost his entire life is around this, this tragedy. Right And Gord took, you know, a simple acoustic guitar line and turned it into an epic story of the beginning of the exoneration of David Millard. 1:03:29 - Speaker 3So I hear the reasons why and I understand, i get it. I guess there's just for me, okay. I guess for me experiencing an album and thinking it as like a book, and you're going through the chapters and you know some, some chapters, you're like, oh man, i love where the character development is going And then all of a sudden you experience this, this downfall, this, this unfortunate event. You know, and it's the wild ride And I'm trying to. I honestly thought, okay, honestly thought Pete probably loves this song, fiddler screen, etc. Everything you said. You know why. Why is it that this is triggering for me personally, in the cadence of an album, to hear something like this and be like, come on, you guys, let's just get to more good jam and stuff. I don't know, maybe it's the time of year, maybe it's winter, maybe it's the holidays, which I like have a love hate for. This is just. This is just one of those tracks that I was waiting for in the album. It's like, okay, here we go. Who's this song about? That was fucking kind of real. What did he not do? 1:04:44 - Speaker 5What did he not? 1:04:45 - Speaker 3do? to go to jail? God damn it. Fucking injustices in the world, All these things. It's like fucking, another fucking ballad about God damn it. You know just, it's just like this emotional roller coaster. It's like, okay, what else we got, What are we moving into next? You know that's in the hip albums. To get to this type of song, I'm always like, okay, there's only a couple left. Where are these guys going to take me? 1:05:15 - Speaker 1And where do they take you next? 1:05:19 - Speaker 3Where with all? so where with all you know, you jump and straight into some jammy chords. The scene's pretty calm, i thought for kind of the guitar progression. The, the baseline, really hit me as like 80s metal, rat motley crew, maybe G&R. 1:05:43 - Speaker 4I. 1:05:46 - Speaker 3This song, JD the producer what you said. His name? Christiane Arias. 1:05:51 - Speaker 1Yeah, right, it's a Greek last name. 1:05:53 - Speaker 3He can ever say eat all over this one, i Guarantee it. You know so it's. I thought you know there's some single, maybe some single potential here, but wasn't really sure. It's fucking short. I Read up on it a little bit with the Richard Dawson controversy and references towards Nixon and Those kinds of things, but this song overall and the band was like fine, you can have it. We're making it less than three minutes long, interesting track. 1:06:30 - Speaker 4Yeah, i said the same. I mean I had the same. I'm feeling about it, the private thing that I that stood out most because the guitar was just so prominent. It's easy to say the guitar was awesome and heavy and all that, but I really like the drums, really dug the drums in this one. I thought the drums drove it. I was interested in the Nixon reference because I didn't really know what the song was about. I did a little bit of digging and, tim, i don't know your, your thoughts around Nixon. It's crazy because My dad liked Nixon, like he was very sad when Nixon died And I know a lot of people who hated him. And then I, you know, when I grew up and kind of learned about who he was, i was like if not really That great of a guy, especially when all the tapes came out on everything. But Yeah, it's funny too, because if it is about Nixon, i'm like where does where do Canadians? That's like. You know, what do I think about a former Canadian Prime Minister? I don't think I can Name a former Canadian Prime Minister before Trudeau. If you had a gun in my head, jd, i'm sorry. 1:07:49 - Speaker 1We're used to it up here on the roof. Yeah, man, it's, but I am getting a little concerned about all the guns to the head references. That's like your fourth in terms of the podcast. Just Just you know. Checking you out, just make it sure everything is all groovy over here. 1:08:13 - Speaker 4Yeah, so, so, that's, that's what I got. 1:08:16 - Speaker 1Okay, so that brings us to the last song on the record, and that is El Dorado. 1:08:44 - Speaker 5El Dorado, when It's a man's size 10 times. Look in here. It's all hard work. What's that smell? Smells like coffee. It smells like coffee. If you regret it, please say something Like I know, jesus, the evil makes me calm and I know it makes me calm and I'm a loving. Ring a brother in love and ring A brother in love and ring a brother in love and ring It's a man's size 10 times. It's a man's size, elder of all. I don't know what it is. You can't take it. You can't take it. Where we going. What's that taking? I tell some men shed a hood and makes me sexy. Where we going makes me sexy. I'm a loving. Ring a brother in love and ring A brother in love and ring a brother in love and ring It's a man's size inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside, inside. 1:13:16 - Speaker 4Wow, you know what? I was always because my buddy had a Ford Ranchero, Which was the Ford version of the Opium, And he had a champagne colored Ford That he sold to some guy in Denmark. It was a 76 or 74 and he sold it And I'll never forgive him for it because it was the coolest fucking car And it just smelled like gasoline and it was loud And it handled like a fucking tank And it was just Oh yeah, mine didn't have power steering. 1:13:49 - Speaker 1Oh no, none of that Dude. 1:13:51 - Speaker 3My uncle, chris, had a light blue Ranchero I don't know early 70s And it was so large for two doors and seating maybe for two and a half people It was the biggest vehicle. When I was 16, he had me drive it from his house to my folks house And I remember scared to death that I was just going to hit a parked car Because I felt like I was driving a car that was two cars wide. It was so gigantic. But fast forward, i guess maybe My grandparents owned Eldorados. They had two specifically. I remember A Block 4 door and a White 2 door. They had like a Coop early 80s Eldorado And those were. I mean they were like Rolls Royce's to us As kids. We thought they were, we were riding around in limos, you know these were like the nicest cars. So I totally get the car reference, 100%. The 2 door one that my grandparents had. I was in the back seat trying to get to the front seat, dropping my grandmother off somewhere, and she closed the door on my leg And I thought I'd never walk again, i mean those cars were just behemoth. I was like I was like 7, maybe 7 years old, But the reference is here just to get into the song, and less about cars, you know, But World War I in Canada, basically coming over to serve the motherland And fight Germany, it's just, that's all just so heavy. You know the line Berlin makes me sexy, making me sexy. That one tripped me up a little bit, You know. I was like okay, are they implying This kind of glorification of war? you know, are we now, is Canada now I say we as a full Canadian are we now in this kind of limelight Because we came across the pond to fight, you know, And we're going through Berlin And we're seeing the separation there And we're hanging out at where is it? Where the US had their base in Berlin, Oh gosh. 1:16:07 - Speaker 5It's um. 1:16:09 - Speaker 4I don't know, were you born in Canada too? No, oh. 1:16:15 - Speaker 3What was it called? 1:16:18 - Speaker 1His pick Canadian accent, doesn't it? Come on, tell me voted guys. I'd have to edit that out. 1:16:25 - Speaker 4Hey now, hey now. 1:16:27 - Speaker 3But anyways, like the Berlin making me sexy part Just makes me think like maybe Berlin was the shiny object Kind of around that time. And it's this beautiful song. There's this amazing bass, there's these big fat toms going on with the drums. You know, i imagine that was just at their recording room to kind of reel those in. I thought it was a good closer for the album. 1:16:59 - Speaker 1Yeah, I do too. Pete, where are you with this one? 1:17:02 - Speaker 4I well, definitely we need to continue our conversation in a later date About Alderados and Rancheros, but I dug it. I really liked it. Probably my favorite part about it was the second verse. There's some really cool like sharp guitar licks in there And the lyrics are really syncopated. The where, when he, when he's I can't remember the, i can't quote the lyrics specifically, but the syncopated lyrics are really cool. Again goes back to him being I'm sure it'll just get better like a fine wine Out. What a great phrasing lyricist. He is a singer, but I didn't. I was a little confused about the Berlin makes me sexy to Tim And I dug in some like forums and I just thought the funniest thing was And, by the way, i know we apologize to the listeners and I won't do that anymore But I really want to apologize to the band because I love this band, like I love this band, and I hope that if anybody ever hears even a fucking sentence of this podcast from that band, that I have the utmost fucking respect and admiration for them because they're fucking cool. But that being said, somebody said this song was written under the influence of little bat blue and Jack Daniels And I just was fucking rolling in my chair. Hilarious but cool. Good tune to end the record, yeah for sure. 1:18:41 - Speaker 3I got the Berlin reference around Berlin making me sexy. Maybe that had to do with, like checkpoint Charlie, right That's. I don't know. I was not really. 1:18:53 - Speaker 4Wasn't Charlie Vietnam. 1:18:55 - Speaker 1No, no. Charlie in Vietnam referred to what the Americans called their enemy on the Vietnamese side. They called them Charlie. No, it's the crossing point between East and West. 1:19:11 - Speaker 3Yeah, it's the crossing point between East and West Berlin Shows my World War II. It still exists. 1:19:16 - Speaker 1It still exists my Hey, pete, your World War II knowledge isn't that bad. You just don't pay attention to sequels. I don't watch that. You read about World War I and you were like, yeah, man, i don't need to read the sequel. 1:19:29 - Speaker 4Seriously and everybody's paying attention to the possibility of World War III right now, and I was just like guys, i don't care, this is stupid, it's all about WWI. Anything they make after that sucks. 1:19:46 - Speaker 1It's all computers now. You haven't seen a war until you've seen a horse full of wagon in beautiful black and white Double speed. 1:19:58 - Speaker 4This podcast took a really dark turn. I love it. 1:20:01 - Speaker 1So I have a question for you. This is their third full length record, But this one came out like less than a year after Road Apples. Road Apples was 91 and this is 92. 1:20:21 - Speaker 3Which was unusual for them, right. 1:20:23 - Speaker 1It's unusual for any band like at this point, but like, certainly, if you were going to do that, you think you'd do it in your first and second record, not your second and third. You know that's. It's just interesting to me that they were able to come up with 12, like, like, pretty great fucking songs and put them to wax, you know, so short of time after Road Apples. I just wonder if. 1:20:48 - Speaker 3Why the hustle I? 1:20:49 - Speaker 1don't know, i don't know, was it? 1:20:52 - Speaker 3a. Was it a kind of a I hate to say it, but like a cash grab to get them to next size venues on tour, because man traveling across that country to only hit like 200 to 1,000 or 1,200 fans and then to go to like 3,000 to up to 5,000 fans per show. That's that's a hurry go. What were they doing back then? 1:21:18 - Speaker 1They played Maple Leaf Gardens on this tour and then they opened their Canada Center on this tour, which is the where the Leafs play and the Raptors play, and then they started a summer festival. They did a summer festival across Canada and maybe a couple cities in the States called another roadside attraction And that's where I first got to see them on my 19th birthday, july 24th 1993, in Markham Fairgrounds. I I got to see them live for the first time And it was almost like out of a storybook, because I got so incredibly drunk and high and I passed out during the band that went on before them and slept, slept basically the whole time on the ground, and then woke up magically when the, when the hip went on and I was fine. 1:22:15 - Speaker 3Oh, i would love to go back to that moment, the three of us with JD right now, that would be so fun man. JD come on, bro, it's time, wake up, yeah. 1:22:26 - Speaker 4I don't know if you, i don't know if you asked your question, jd, but I was going to comment on what you said Because I feel kind of the same thing. I don't know if it was a cash cash grab either, tim, but I feel like this was the push where the record label finally said look you, fuckers, we've, we've put a lot of money into you. You're going to make a hit, and they brought in this big swing and dick of a producer And we're going to fall through the roof, so to speak, and being as. That never really happened. Maybe that's where, you know, we lead into their fifth record, which will be next week, to to kind of start exploring their own, you know, being more themselves instead of living for you know what they, what they think they should be commercially. 1:23:21 - Speaker 3Yeah, i think so, maybe, maybe. I mean, this was an era where bands were not getting paid enough but making a living off of selling albums, selling CDs. Yeah, you know, i mean we're. We're years away from MP3.com kicking off. Yeah, that's right. And so anyone anyone in the biz back then who saw this band doing well and saw fans at shows across Canada going bunkers and knowing that people were doing the tour or doing all the West Coast shows or doing all the East Coast shows, you know, like any, any band manager would have been like let's knock out another album I know this one's going to kick ass. Let's get this metal producer in to you know, organize everything and let's keep keep it all going. And I guess this is the album that made them realize they could do it on their own, which is fucking amazing, because a lot of bands in the 90s would not even step out, no way. 1:24:31 - Speaker 1Yeah, we're going to find a market shift in the sound and tonality of of this band starting with the next record, day for Night. If you've got anything you want to say to wrap up this record. 1:24:46 - Speaker 3I just wish I had my grandparents El Dorado, out front with some hip on the eight track. Did they ever make eight track tapes? Oh man, wouldn't that be cool? I'll just, i'll just fantasize about that with what JD passed out in the back and P all hyper in the front seat. That's, that's. That's, that's my, that's where I'm going to leave it. 1:25:09 - Speaker 4Same here, man, same here. I wish we wish we had a wish we were driving around in the champagne colored Ford Ranchero with a, with a 24 pack of the bat blue on the on the floorboard. 1:25:24 - Speaker 3Love and the smell of fuel. 1:25:26 - Speaker 1Yeah, All right, as we do every episode of the show, we are asking each of you, fellas, to choose your MVP track for the record. Fully, completely, tim, let's start with you. You, son of a gun. 1:25:46 - Speaker 3Yes, So my favorite song off this album was definitely El Dorado. You know, went back and listen to it a little bit more And there's even some. there's some Michael Steip feels in there, just literally. 1:25:57 - Speaker 4I can't wait, man. 1:25:58 - Speaker 3Just with with the way Gord sings, you know they're so. They're so much from the nineties going on on these albums. It actually makes me miss the nineties. I often think of the eighties as being just so spectacular, but the nineties were for music. It was so good to, and this, this is just one of those songs that maybe you also want to listen to. Just a bunch of other stuff. So I'm going with El Dorado. 1:26:23 - Speaker 1Cool. What do you? what's going to be your playlist song there, pete? 1:26:33 - Speaker 4The hundred meridian hands down, the phrasing in it, the historical content of it, how I'm aware that that line physical line, not lyrical line, the importance of that and how it will eventually play into other hip references in the future too. It's just, it's fucking cool man, It's going on those for sure. 1:27:03 - Speaker 1Awesome. I can't wait to hear these lists as they as they grow in stature. All right, that's what I have for you this week. So there's that. Hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did. See you next week, fellas, pick up your shit. 1:27:24 - Speaker 2Thanks for listening to Getting Hip to the Hip. Please subscribe, share rate and review the show at GettingHiptotheHipcom. Find us on Twitter and Instagram at Getting Hip Pod And join our Facebook group at Facebookcom. Slash groups slash fully and completely. Questions or concerns. Email us at JD at GettingHiptotheHipcom. We'd love to hear from you. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Title: Straight outta Kingston!Keywords: Tragically Hip, Canadian rock, podcast, musical journey, storytelling, discography, live tracks, vinylIn this episode, join JD and friends Pete and Tim as they embark on a musical journey into the world of the Tragically Hip. As die-hard fans of the band, they discuss their experiences and thoughts on the music and storytelling of the Tragically Hip. From their early beginnings to their debut album and beyond, JD, Pete, and Tim break down the tracks, compare studio and live versions, and explore the unique sound and identity of this iconic Canadian rock band.https://ratethispodcast.com/ghtthChapters:(0:00:00) - Getting Hip to the Hip(0:07:46) - Musical Roots and Taste(0:17:52) - Canadian Rock Band Discussion(0:36:02) - Exploring the Tragically Hip's Debut AlbumJoin the discussion on Twitter and Instagram at @gettinghippot and join the Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/fullyandcompletely. Questions or concerns? Email JD at JD@gettinghiptothehip.com.Subscribe, rate, and review the show at gettinghiptothehip.com.The live music featured in this episode comes from:Dead Flowers - 1985 BathAll Canadian Surf Club - 1989 LondonTranscript0:00:00 - Speaker 1Hey, hip bands. it's JD here. Have you ever imagined what it would be like if you could listen to the tragically hip for the first time again? This is something I've spent a great deal of time considering. I can still remember my first experience with the band, While it was a while ago. I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was July of 1990, and I was working in a small town quick serve restaurant in Dairy Bar called Yeti's Arctic Safari. The new owner, Jeff, brought in a stereo system to replace the dinky radio that had entertained us with classic rock while we worked. He had a mix tape that featured a band he called The Trag. As the first notes rung out, something happened inside of me. The music resonated with my 13 year old self. I could feel a change coming over me that was more powerful than the puberty I was working my way through. It was hard rock, but it was different than the hard rock I was listening to at home. Instead of dripping with machismo and bravado, this music cut deeper to me. It featured lyrical twists and turns. the phrase that left me wanting more. Fortunately, I got to come of age with The Trag, the hip. Most of my experiences I discussed on the podcast fully and completely with my friend Greg, And while that podcast satisfied my desire to share my takes on one of Canada's greatest bands, it still didn't hit the mark of taking me back to that moment at Yeti's Or the longing I felt listening to Road Apples, the ahas I had with fully, completely, The coming of age I experienced with Day for Night, Or the simmering beauty of Trouble at the Hen House, And so on. That's where this podcast comes in. You see, my friends Pete and Tim have never heard of the hip before. It turns out there are a lot of people who have never heard of the band before. So for those of you that fall into this category, experience the music of the tragically hip along with Pete and Tim as we travel the discography and tackle the music and storytelling of our band, the Tragically Hip. If you're already at Die Hard, listen along and hear what they know, what they notice and how often they get it wrong. Every week we'll tackle a new record. So strap in and get ready to listen to the hip for the first time I'll get ["Tragically? 0:02:17 - Speaker 2Hip"] Long Slice Brewery presents Getting Hip to the Hip. 0:02:33 - Speaker 1Hey, it's JD here and welcome to Getting Hip to the Hip. I hope you are ready to rock and roll. I know my friends Pete and Tim are. Let me just take their muzzles off here and let them have at it. Fellas, before we go anywhere, tell me why you did this, Because it could turn out like incredibly sideways. I don't know where this is gonna go. I think that this is the greatest Canadian band of all time And I think they rank in the world stage as well, but you guys haven't heard of them. So, Tim, what do? 0:03:10 - Speaker 3you think, Thanks for having us, JD. I hope, I hope, I hope. I told my family what we were up to and my oldest son was like alright, do you like this band? If you listen to this band, are you gonna be able to do it? You know this is gonna be like a fucking marathon listening to all the albums. And I said I'm not really sure. You know there, this Canadian rock band from what I know. I remember living at the beach in San Diego and one of my neighbors had a tragically hip sticker on his truck and I always wondered like that's weird, a band popular enough to have stickers on a bumper of a truck. but I don't know who it is. So you know, there's not a lot of bands you know from the past 10 to 20 years who made it kind of big that I'd never, ever listened to any song from. So yeah, we're curious to see where this goes. And you know, of course I've listened to Rush, I've seen Rush play. you know there's all kinds of music out of Canada Arcade Fire, and you know more present. So let's see what the tragically hip is. We'll see if it's gonna be tragic or not. Oh, oh. 0:04:36 - Speaker 1Maybe it'll be super hip Ground. oh God, Oh, he doesn't stop. You wind this guy up and he just does not stop. Oh, finally, P Ground control to major P Yeah yeah. 0:04:51 - Speaker 4So I got into this. this was a court ordered thing for an offense that I've made one time. No, no, no, JD, you asked me to do this and you know I actually have heard of the tragically hip and it's funny because back in like I wanna say, the mid 2000s, like 2006, 2007, I was working at a bar. I knew a couple really good folks that used to come in there a lot. They were both Canadians Kurt and I can't remember the other girl's name And there were a couple and we used to talk about trailer park boys all the time, which they loved. They would always talk about tragically hip And it's kind of one of those things that, like, can't really force anything on people. You know, you gotta kind of just lead the horse to water and hopefully they drink. And then, more recently, in like 2018, 2019, I ran into somebody else and they were just like check out this song and download this out on Spotify And love it was my favorite album. You're gonna love if you like this and I'm just like it. just it wasn't organic And I'm hoping that this, you know, this adventure that we're all three embarking on will be. you know, it'll take, so to speak, because previous attempts had not done so, And I'm excited, though, but I know it's gonna be a big sandwich to take a bite out of, that's for sure. 0:06:29 - Speaker 3You know JD JD, if you would depend. you know some dude from Florida or I don't know. you know somewhere else in the US and asked me to do some other band, US based band or something. I don't, it's hard. my point is it's really hard to say no to a sweet Canadian guy. 0:06:49 - Speaker 1So yeah. 0:06:50 - Speaker 3So you know, it's like I said to my wife Amy, you know JD, who she had heard about but not meant to ask me to do this like multi week podcast about some band I don't know. And I'm a little concerned like what if? what if me and Pete were just like JD? we're gonna have to end the podcast early. We don't get it, you know, but I'm sure we all get it. 0:07:15 - Speaker 4What JD didn't tell you is that the original this was originally gonna be a Papa Roach podcast And we're gonna go through the through the discography of Papa Roach, but last minute he changed it to the end, so thank God, Yeah So where are you No? 0:07:34 - Speaker 1offense to. Papa Roach, Where are you guys hailing from at this point? I mean, I know, but if people are actually listening to this, that means that we completed the task. So that's one thing. Where do you come from And where do you come from musically? 0:07:53 - Speaker 4I live now. I live in Malia, Spain, which is in the south. For those of you who can pick Spain out on a map, it's the closest part to North Africa. but I come from Southern California, born and raised in the LA area, more specific the Long Beach and Downey area. Most of my life in Long Beach, though. Musically, help me out, man. 0:08:27 - Speaker 1I think you're both, like, big fans of music, like the full spectrum, and that's why I chose you, Like you know. 0:08:36 - Speaker 4I'm not, let's put it this way, I'm not a Steve Albini. I don't diss any type of music. Okay, Steve Albini fans out there, I just I let I like there are music that I will gravitate towards and listen to, which tends to be rock and roll, indie rock, Stuff like that. but yeah, I'm never gonna sit there and go. you know, I don't. I didn't like Kendrick Lamar's record. I don't think you should have got out of mother air. Fuck that. like whatever dude, to each his own man. Some people really like it, some people really like this and that. so even those who like poppy roach started bring it up twice. 0:09:15 - Speaker 3We know, we know, we know it. next, the vinyl. Yes, I've lived in Portland over 20 years, just over 20 years this year, But I hail from Southern California as well. So I'm kind of just like a West Coast, you West guy I guess, but lived overseas for a stint of time and hope to do it again because we Head over to Europe at least once a year. Musically, you know, I don't Play anything but air guitar really well, just kidding, kind of not mediocre I guess. and I've, I will listen to a lot, of, many, many genres of music. if you, if this was to not to be like some contemporary Country artists, I probably would have either killed you guys through the, the interwebs, or myself or all of us. That's about one of the genres I just can't do. but yeah, I Drew up, I guess you know, listening to FM radio and Making mixed tapes on cassette and yeah, baby, you know, like I, I could hear. I was telling my son this year that I could hear the first seconds of a song and have record Set up on my tape deck It just record off the radio. So you know, huge music fan from early age, like fifth, sixth grade. So been listening to music forever and a fan forever and at one point, like huge AD of you have lists and track things, Like I tried to start to try to formulate, formulate the shows I've been to in my life, the gigs, because I'm still a Often good goer. I'm still recuperating from the one I went to last Friday night, But, gee she, I've been to lots, of, lots of, lots of concerts. So I feel like I know you know music fairly well and can talk about it and no artists and some personally and, um, yeah, I'm excited to Give this rodeo a. you know, around the Around the corral, see what happens. 0:11:26 - Speaker 1Yeah, I think it's gonna be. I think it's gonna be fun and it's gonna be different. There are gonna be phases We're gonna listen to where you will like it more than others. I'm sure You know Pete the, the person that was telling you you got to listen to this. if this is your favorite record, You would like this. I can't even imagine saying that with the hips, because their uvra is like is all over the place. It starts out as real well, we'll get into it with the p, but it starts out It's, it's bar rock. It's you know, it's It's bluesy bar rock. They were disciples of, you know early Early garage and late 60s stones. You know that type of music. uh, I mean, they had a saxophone in the band, for god's sake, You know. so they were that type of band. Uh, the saxophone ultimately was gone by the time they started to record. That's uh, davis manning, um, but uh, Yeah, It's all over the map. It's all over the map. So why don't we kick into a live song right now and then we'll get talking about the record in in question here, which is the Tragically Hip EP. This is Dead Flowers by the Rolling Stones, covered by the Tragically Hip, with Davis Manning playing sax. Hope you like it. let's get into it. 0:13:20 - Speaker 5Talking to some rich folks that you knew And I hope you won't see me in my rated community. You know I could have been. Thank you, Send me Dead Flowers, by the way. You know, when you're sitting by in your own big black bag Making bets on Kentucky Dirt today, When I'm in my big skin room with a head on my head and a spoon, Another girl did jump in the way. Send me Dead Flowers, by the way. You know, when you're sitting by in your own big black bag Making bets on Kentucky Dirt today, Send me Dead Flowers, by the way. Take me down, let our sins and break me down. I know you think you're the queen of the underground. Send me Dead Flowers, by the way. Send me Dead Flowers, by the way. Send me Dead Flowers, by the way. 0:16:41 - Speaker 1Isn't that great, Yeah, Okay, before we get into the EP specifically, I just played you Dead Flowers and I sent you some other live tracks. Just want to get a sense of what you thought of that first group of songs and listening to this band play them live. 0:17:02 - Speaker 3I thought of so many different things as I first heard some of the songs. I mean, I instantly wondered about Gordon. Some of the songs were specific storytelling. I really wondered about his songwriting process, which I think is one of the most boring questions. I ask a band, But I immediately went to that His vibrato. Okay, that was like instantly, what is going on with this guy's voice and the way he sings? Is he trying to protect his vocal cords? I think some singers use vibrato when they're like on massive tours or something to exercise their voice or something. But you know, it sounded like a really good kind of bar rock and roll. to me That's what it sounded like. It sounded like I want to be in a club or in a bar with like a couple hundred people, You know, drinking not the bats Another great Canadian beer And just kind of rocking out. You could hear the fans loving the band. It sounded very 80s to me too, Very 80s. I mean it was like every song was its own book, if you will, Its own little story, and it just sounded like a reminder me of I don't know, Reminded me a little bit. His voice, reminded me a little bit of how Elvis sings, Reminded me a little bit of Freddie Mercury, But also a little bit sinister, like Glenn Danzig. 0:18:57 - Speaker 1I don't know if you guys know who he is. 0:18:58 - Speaker 3You know, it was just charismatic. He's a very charismatic guy. He's probably a lot of fun to hang out with Gordon. But yeah, it sounded very time specific to that era. 0:19:15 - Speaker 1Well, there's something about it that makes it more time. specific too, Pete. what did you think? 0:19:21 - Speaker 4Well, I gotta be honest with you, JD. I listened fully and completely to the actual EP, The live link that you sent me. The only one that I was able to hear was Highway Girl. 0:19:40 - Speaker 1Oh, and that's sort of cheating, because that came out in 91. So I'm sorry about that. 0:19:46 - Speaker 4No, no, not at all. I mean, I have my comments on the EP itself and kind of what I thought, But I don't want to jump the gun if you're not ready to hear that. 0:19:56 - Speaker 1But I got loads of thoughts, Cool. Well, that leads us to 1986 and them finding their way to a studio with Ken Greer. I'm not sure if you guys know who Ken Greer is. He's a Canadian as well. He was a producer, but he played in a band called Red Rider. If you're not familiar with Red Rider, check out the song Lunatic Fringe, Check out the song White Hot. Those are great songs and he was the guitarist in that band. but then he stepped away and started doing some production work. A friend of mine is the engineer on this record. I found that out years and years ago, but years after I had been a fan. I'm hoping to be able to talk to him for this podcast as well. It would be really cool to hear what he thought back in 86. This EP comes out in 87 on cassette prominently on cassette, but it does come out with a bonus song All Canadian Surf Club on the CD version. CDs were peaking through and they were making their way there. Three singles off this record Small Town, Bring Down Highway Girl and Last American Exit. I don't think that any of those songs are a surprise in terms of singles when you listen to the album in its entirety. This record isn't my favorite, but as a collection of songs it acts as sort of An amuse-bouche, as it were. What did you guys think of this record? This is your first time hearing it and first time talking about it. We'll start with you, Pete. 0:21:44 - Speaker 4I made a point of putting myself into multiple scenarios when I listened to it. I kept having this struggle because I remember you saying you said to me multiple times, and every Canadian who I've ever talked to about this band has said, oh, they started out as a bar band. I kind of got that in my head and I was like something I wanted to shed and not really pay attention to, because you don't really take a bar band seriously. You know what I mean A bar band is a bar band. But then I understood, the more I listened to it, kind of what you, What the Canadians, including yourself, JD, meant when you said that. And I got so much I mean I'll be honest with you The first track So the first time I listened to the record I went for a run And then I listened to it sitting at my desk and doing some work and then just kind of like alone, not doing anything, Not preoccupying myself with all this stuff. The first song, I was just like And you said that was a single, correct? 0:22:54 - Speaker 1Yeah, first single. 0:22:56 - Speaker 4It just. I mean, I was Every time wildly underwhelmed. It didn't hit me at all. Last American Exit it picked up a little bit and then Killing Time was just, I mean, that was a fucking bohemian. 0:23:50 - Speaker 5I got a kick when I walked down And I said I'd done my girl to tap To make my wounds with the sea dog sound A drink. I never wanted to, but it's for the never to take you back, My old man. I was all that bad. What you call compromise? I don't understand. What you call compromise. I don't understand. I walk away. I do you walk away? I walk away from a woman that comes down here on. She had done it wrong. I need your confidence even though you're mine When it gets right down to the killing time. I know your heart's bad, But it's all I've ever had. We can never lie on this righteous crime. I do you walk away. I do you walk away. I walk away from a woman that comes down here on. I know this time we walk away. you just can't walk away. I walk away from a woman that comes down here on. She had done it wrong. I do you walk away. you just can't walk away. I walk away from a woman that comes down here on. She had done it wrong. I need your confidence, even though you're mine, When it gets right down to the killing time. 0:27:50 - Speaker 4It just really really dug it. And what Tim said, too, is is it Rob Baker? 0:27:58 - Speaker 1Yeah, Rob. 0:27:59 - Speaker 4Baker. I can't remember what song was it, but I absolutely got some Huey Lewis vibes on his guitar tone. I mean it was super 80s, and not in a bad way. 0:28:12 - Speaker 1No, I hear you, It's very 80s, like production wise, Because it has no choice but to be. I mean, it was the 80s after all. 0:28:20 - Speaker 4But the weird thing about that is because I was hearing, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I was hearing some stuff in terms of like thinking about, okay, like I hear like some like the same sort of stuff you've heard going on in appetite, Because that was around the same time that that record came out. Appetite construction was what 86, 87. Yeah. But then what I really settled on was like there is a lot of like I hear a lot of that record in early Pearl Jam, early Alice in Chains. Yes, I mean his voice too, I think that record. you can see his voice progress into some amazing shit just by listening from song one to song seven or eight, whatever. 0:29:09 - Speaker 1Wow, Okay, We'll have to come back to that because that's really interesting. You can hear it right through the course of the record. 0:29:17 - Speaker 4Oh yeah. 0:29:18 - Speaker 1Tim, what were your initial thoughts? 0:29:21 - Speaker 3Eddie Vedder definitely came up for me because he has he'll get to this guttural I don't know what to call it this guttural vibrato thing where all of his syllables kind of run together and I feel like some of Gordon's singing goes the same way, but it really varies. Just going through the album, just first listening to it, I thought, okay, I kind of catch what this is. and Last American Exit kind of reeled me. back in small town, Bridgetown, was kind of like okay, that's interesting way to start The killing time in. Evelyn, you know, was like okay, who's this Evelyn gal? what is the story here? Like I wanted to know more conceptually what was going on in his head. That's kind of. I mean, I'm drawn to lyrics, you know, and at one point I was like, oh, maybe Evelyn's a cat, you know, I was feeling bad for her, I was worried about Evelyn, you know. but then Cemetery Side Road, so weird it's like let's throw this in there, you know. and so that got me kind of into not not deep rap at all, but you know, like I mentioned before, wanting to know about his process and hearing that they would play music and then he would basically put lyrics to music, and that kind of blew my mind too. not many bands do that. a lot of songwriters, you know, start with their prose or what have you. I don't know, I'm a werewolf baby. what? like kind of honestly did this come out around Halloween? like why, Why is that? Why is that in there? It's so weird. I think Highway Girl was the first song. like Pete was saying, Highway Girl is the first one I listened to and it was kind of a messed up sinister song. it's like where is this going? they're killing people, their cops are on the run, where we dump in the body like WTF is the tragically hip all about. But I will say All Canadian Surf Club. I've listened to that song the most times out of the world. 0:31:37 - Speaker 5There's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. goes over real big. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. It's a song for the summer. it's called the All Canadian Surf Club. 0:36:02 - Speaker 1Yeah, if this was a single song and I'm a werewolf baby, I don't know that I would have followed through on this band. 0:36:13 - Speaker 3It was really fun. but I'm like, okay, some of these songs are very specific to maybe parties people throw. I don't know, it's a wild mix. 0:36:26 - Speaker 1Yeah, yeah it is. And what's interesting is writing credit wise. the chief songwriter at this time is the bassist, Gord Sinclair, writing both songs and lyrics, or music and lyrics and melody. by and large, There's a few songs that are Gord Downey songs and he becomes. as time goes on, he becomes the chief lyricist. He's almost like a poet laureate of Canada, for heaven's sake. But on this one he's got Killin' Time. that he wrote and I'm a werewolf baby is on his docket, So is Highway Girl and so is nope. that's it for him. That's it for him. So I thought All Canadian Surf Club was him, but it was not. Pete, what did you think of All? 0:37:18 - Speaker 4Canadian Surf Club. At first it's really weird because I was like it's funny that you made the distinction about it being on the CD, Because I was like is this song belong in this record? Because it sounded that's the last song, correct? Yeah, it just sounded different, But I really liked it, Like All Canadian Surf Club. and then I started thinking about like is there a lot of surfing that goes on in Canada? And like started thinking like all the places in the world where people don't surf I would think Canada would definitely be on that list. 0:37:59 - Speaker 1Yeah, I don't know where, like there's, you know like little surfing, like little wave surfing, you know like Right. 0:38:07 - Speaker 5Or your water park. 0:38:08 - Speaker 1Yeah, but yeah, the water park, But yeah, not a great deal of surfing. Now, if you are listening to this and you're an avid surfer in Canada, then by all means reach out to us, JD, at getting hip to the hipcom and give us the old what's for there. 0:38:25 - Speaker 3Tofino is the place. I'll just say Tofino, that's tofino. 0:38:29 - Speaker 1Yeah, you know like that's. 0:38:30 - Speaker 3I mean it's on my list to go to someday. 0:38:33 - Speaker 1I'm being schooled here by the Pacific Northwestern. 0:38:38 - Speaker 3Yeah, well, I'm a West Coaster in general. There you go. 0:38:42 - Speaker 1So any themes or any themes or anything like that, throughout these songs um vibing you. I mean, this is, this is a band. you know they say you write your first record. you know, from the moment you start playing, This is what, this is what went down on wax as their, you know, as their first material. And then you enter, you know the sophomore slump or or whatever. but I can, I can assure you you know where we begin with. the next record up to here is, you know, not so much of a slump. but back to this record. Did you like the studio version of Highway Girl? Like, obviously, the live version is is riveting. What did you think of the studio version? 0:39:25 - Speaker 4I liked it. I liked it a lot because it would give you Highway Girl was the only one I had heard the live version of, But, um, I think I liked it a little bit more, but if I put myself in the context of like being at that show, yeah, yeah, I'd absolutely want to much rather see it live. Yeah, of course. 0:39:44 - Speaker 1Yeah, So these songs to me are written. it sounds, it sounds dumb, but this is, you know, a young band and they're not doing any trickery in the studio at all. These songs are written to be played right back on the road, you know, uh, leading the leading the charge of their, of their uh, of their gigs, so they can start to play less stones material and play more of their own material. You can hear that in theoh sorry, Oh no, no, go ahead, man No. 0:40:15 - Speaker 4I was just gonna say like there's some parts where you're just like I remember listening to it and being like dude. I mean I can Just what you said at the beginning, Tim. I could picture myself at a bar with like 100 or 150 people and hearing this band and like 80% of people in there, including the bar staff, singing along to it because it's just so catchy and, like you said, JD, it was like it was written to be played live. 0:40:46 - Speaker 1Yeah. 0:40:46 - Speaker 5You know, Yeah. 0:40:48 - Speaker 3And on the live version of Highway Girl. you know his storytelling. before they were even playing, the audience was eating up. I mean, you hear people laughing, you hear people cheering and I just imagined when they were on tour there was a lot, a lot of banter. I would just guess he's kind of a rambler, you know, connecting with the audience. But at the same time, like hearing that live version and hearing the audience and thinking about them being a bar band, like they really reminded me a lot of the Grateful Dead. Yeah, like I just just I don't know there's something very Bruce Springsteen about it. you know, upstate New York, Cleveland, Detroit kind of, but in all those regions, like the Grateful Dead was huge also and it's just this touring type of band that has a lot of followers. They're going to play like this mixed mash of hits, of songs that people love. you know there's they're going to be a little bit different every time. Just, I don't know there's something about them that didn't make me think jam band but made me think like, oh yeah, these guys definitely have. yeah, these guys definitely have. you know, in the 80s they probably had a couple hundred thousand like real fans by the end of the decade in Canada. Can you remind us where Canada is again? I forget. 0:42:16 - Speaker 1Canada lives on the roof of the USA and we intercept all airmail. 0:42:26 - Speaker 3Yeah, Highway Girl's a weird song, you know, I don't know just like. this whole album to me was kind of a pizza with the works. That's made me hungry but yeah. 0:42:36 - Speaker 5Yeah, I'll drink to that, Yeah. 0:42:38 - Speaker 1I like that. Well, any final thoughts on this record, or what you're looking for in the next record, or you know anything along those lines, Pete? 0:42:51 - Speaker 4You know, JD, you and I have obviously talked over time about the hip and I've talked a few other people, I think one of my co-workers, Barb, who's a big hip fan, and I. you know, I haven't really found a roadmap, It's just been this hodgepodge. It's like Tim said, you know it's been this pizza with the works, but I feel like I've digested this whole record, or I at least eaten it. I'm starting to digest it very well and I'm really excited for the next meal. I'm stoked to take the analogy step further, Like I'm genuinely excited for myself to listen, not for anybody else, if that makes sense. 0:43:42 - Speaker 1Oh, that's cool Yeah. 0:43:45 - Speaker 4Excited. 0:43:48 - Speaker 3I, you know, I really tried to refrain from any listening or research and tried to come up with what I knew about them beforehand and think about that. I guess I'm excited because it is a band from the 80s. I love 80s era music that I haven't really given a listen to. There are certain songs on this album that make me think okay, I can definitely hear some more from these guys, and there's some total headscratchers where I'm thinking what am I in store for? You know, I told my son about this whole exercise and his reaction was kind of like overwhelmed for me at the thought of focusing on one band, so much. And when I first listened to Small Town Bring Down, you know, in his presence we look at each other like oh no, What am I in for? Well, yeah, what is this band going to be like? I dig that song. No, I totally do. 0:44:56 - Speaker 1There's something about it that I grew up in a small town and something about that idea of you know not another small town, hometown, bring down Yeah sure It's generic, It was very storytelling also, though. 0:45:12 - Speaker 3but then, at last, American exit. when we got into listening to that, I was in the car, you know, driving from Detroit or wherever upstate New York, I don't know Coming into Canada, like I was kind of right there. It sounded kind of great. 0:48:59 - Speaker 5Yeah. 0:49:17 - Speaker 3And to know that this band… you know, played together first and then tried to play a handful of shows Till they, I guess, got their bearings and then recorded. I mean, that's what bands did in the 70s and 80s for sure. You know, it wasn't very often that somebody got together and somebody already had 20 songs and they went and recorded. You know, so it's, it's so. this is a pretty a special, you know way to Start up a group. So I'm curious to, I'm curious to hear where they go. I like, I like some of the songs, you know, Yeah well, it gets pretty, it gets. 0:50:02 - Speaker 1You know we're off on a journey. Let's put it that way. This will be. I do, like you know, to carry on the food analogy, I do like this you're in a new country and every day you're gonna get a new dish and it's it's gonna be spiced a little bit differently. Early on it's gonna be a little bit more rudimentary, But as we go on there's gonna be more nuance and you know deeper flavor profiles. and then there's context. you start to Listen to the songs differently because you start to understand the past and what this group has went through and when, ultimately, they played their last show in Kingston, Ontario, and You know almost a third of this country tuned in to watch that like it was like 11, over 11 million people watch. She's the last concert because they broadcast it on our national broadcaster, CBC. Wow, yeah, you know The they they've. they cover a great distance between that time and what you guys are listening to right now. 0:51:04 - Speaker 3So it'll be interesting to To hear from you on this journey as we continue on one other just little mysterious kind of wow fact that I read about them was having to do with Them being double booked with Nirvana in 94. Do you know about this? 0:51:24 - Speaker 1Yeah, they played. they played a show in Milwaukee. It was eight dollars a ticket and it was right to the hip and right. Anna Nirvana was actually opening for the hip. that not opening. it was a double bill, but you know, yeah and. The story from from all the books is that Gord went to go meet Or the band rather went to go meet Kurt and he was passed out on a pool table like he was. he was dead to the world, So they didn't end up getting to meet, but we'll hear an interesting Tribute to Mr Cobain in in a future song, for sure. 0:52:00 - Speaker 3Yeah, I'm intrigued. I'm intrigued, no more. 0:52:02 - Speaker 1Okay, before we say goodbye, we're gonna do one more thing. We are gonna pick an MVP track, One track that you'll take away, that you'll put on a playlist. we're gonna do a playlist for each of you and It'll have your takeaway track from each record, and then you know, when we're done this exercise, We can put those up on Spotify and Apple music. 0:52:23 - Speaker 4Well, for me, I'll do it for me while you're. while you're thumbing through it, Tim, for me, I think the track on this EP would the one that I would Would choose to be would be killing time. Yeah, okay, certainly, certainly, Certainly, to stand out for me might, if I had to pick. Well, you do be a crowd, so there you go. 0:52:52 - Speaker 1Where you at there, Timmy, Hmm, Hmm. 0:52:54 - Speaker 5Hmm. 0:52:55 - Speaker 1Oh, you're gonna predict it. 0:52:57 - Speaker 3I was kind of all over with this. I was no, that's hilarious, I know what you're gonna do too. I was kind of all over with this album. You know it was full of surprises for me. you know I already talked about Evelyn and You know it's like oh, poor Evelyn. whatever The werewolf I'm a werewolf baby Hilarious, like where is this fan going? like, this was a wild ride of an album for me. highway girl, I think was a first song you sent us JD, and That one has so many twists and turns and it just, I think, the most. My recollection, like maybe the most listens, was on that album from via Spotify, highway girl, But it closed out early, strong with me for all Canadian surf club. I think that's a fun sign. No, My. California homie right there. 0:53:51 - Speaker 1AP hadn't written down the whole time for those watching at home. 0:53:55 - Speaker 3That was a fun track. 0:53:57 - Speaker 1That's what, uh, we call the first episode. right there, boom done, theater the mind, we traveled straight out of Kingston. Thanks a lot, fellas. It means a lot. Thanks, JD. 0:54:07 - Speaker 3Can't wait. 0:54:07 - Speaker 1Thanks guys pick up your shit. 0:54:11 - Speaker 2Thanks for listening to getting hip to the hip. Please subscribe, share, rate and review the show at getting hip to the hipcom. Find us on Twitter and Instagram at getting hip pot And join our Facebook group at facebookcom slash groups slash fully and completely. Questions or concerns email us at JD. at getting hip to the hipcom. We'd love to hear from you. 0:54:52 - Speaker 1Do, Do, Do, Do, Do, Do, Do, Do Do. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

          This week, a relaxed and very interesting chat with The Tragically Hip circa 1991.  Gord Downie and the band are promoting their second album, “Road Apples”. They talk about working in New Orleans, road testing their new songs and how many chances a song gets in the studio before they toss it out. They also talk about the time they were booked into a hip hop club as well as the time they played an Alberta gig on the worst possible night – it was the day that Gretzy got traded to L.A.           Then, we have a 1980 chat with Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick.  This is a weirdly fun series of clips, as the band breaks down their history… going all the way back to the American Civil War???  And Rick talks about the wild success of “I Want You To Want Me” from their “Budokan” album.  This is a fun segment.           Bo Diddley was one of rock's pioneers. And in a couple of brief clip, Bo tells us about his previous career and then how he helped propel rock and rock to popularity. It's great to hear rock history from an artist who was there at the beginning!           And we finish off the show with a very entertaining chat with Nick Lowe. Nick talks about his history as an in-demand producer and how breaking the rules is so much easier when you don't know them in the first place. He also tells us about working with Dave Edmunds and Elvis Costello. And we also find out the funny story behind Nick's nickname, “Basher”.       Famous Lost Words is heard in 31 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, Newstalk 1290 London, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria, AM1150 Kelowna and 91x in Belleville. 

On this week's episode of the Rise and Run Podcast we welcome Chris and Jenn; our featured guests joining us for the entire episode. We begin with some quick training updates and then chat about how you might want to tackle the first back to back run weekend for those doing Goofy or Dopey Challenges with 4 miles on Saturday and 13 miles on Sunday. We also discuss some of the big announcements from the D23 Expo this past weekend and we give a rundown of some of the highlights! With Wine and Dine approaching fast we talk with Chris and Jen about training for half marathons. They discuss why they run this distance and the special goals they have pertaining to them. We also give some tips to someone running their first half marathon.In this week's Race Report Spotlights we have a twofer for you. We start in Amish Country where Bob and Greg ran the Bird in Hand Half Marathon where they met up with some fellow Rise and Runners. We then  head about 300 miles north where Jenn ran the Half Way St. Patrick's Day 5K in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Bob tells you how to  Join the Conversation by clicking on the Join the Conversation link in the show notes to leave a message.   Maybe your voice will be featured in a future podcast! The Rise and Run Podcast is supported by our audience. When you make a purchase through links on our site or social media channels, we may earn an affiliate commission. Join the Conversation Show LinksRise and Run Podcast Facebook PageRise and Run Podcast InstagramRise and Run Podcast ShopPassport to RunFluffy FizziesBird in Hand Half Marathon

Follow us because we solve all the problems @RizzShow @RizzWow @MoonValjeanHere @Patrico1057 @ jeffburton1057 @KingScottRules http://www.1057thepoint.com/Rizz Book DJ DONUTS choosepatrico@gmail.com Check out Jeff's positive message clothing line BLINESTUFF.com Check out @FreeThe2SG and King Scott's http://TheBabyBee.com and Check out Moon's bands GREEK FIRE @GreekFire GOLDFINGER @GoldfingerMusic THE TEENAGE DIRTBAGS @TheTeenageDbags and www.moondropscbd.com

Our guest today is one Finley Martin. He enjoys every aspect of making music – from songwriting, to performing live, to engineering and production. He primarily plays bass and guitar, but he's been known to add other instruments (keys, drums, field recordings) when he's recording at home. Finley was born and raised in Prince Edward Island, Canada, but has been based in the DC area since 1998.In addition to his solo work, he's played with a number of area bands since then:Gist – 1999 to present (post-punk)The Chance – 2008 to 2010 (art rock)RagnaPOP! – 2014 to present (pop punk)Oppo – 2014 to present (indie rock)GrooveJet – 2015 to present (Latin, jazz, funk, RnB)These bands are representative of his broad musical tastes and interests. If you heard them in one night, you would journey through angular vs. melodic post-punk, art core, horn-heavy funk, latin jazz, uke-tinged pop punk and indie rock. Finley's solo work fuses these influences with Americana and folk stylings, often drawing on the Celtic storytelling and kitchen parties from his childhood. He creates reflective songs—at times quiet, acoustic, melody-driven ballads, but equally often heavier, driving barn burners, making use of the loop pedal to develop multi-layered soundscapes. His songs often explore issues that reflect life in the 21st century such as social inequality, gun violence, climate degradation, and technological encroachment.For our conversation today, we are going to be discussing The Tragically Hip's second studio album titled Road Apples, which was released back on February 15, 1991. It was their first album to reach #1 in Canada, and the album has been certified Diamond as well. Incidentally, earlier this year. Road Apples is receiving some deluxe treatment, to celebrate its 30th Anniversary. Enjoy the conversation!

Today Tim and Jeff talk NCAA Final Four and some proposed rule changes. Jeff makes excuses for North Carolina while Tim tries to fins a reason for a DUke loss. Golf and Racing and a bit of a rant on the Rooney Rule revision for 2022 in the NFL. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wmcj/support

On this week's show, we wrap up the merry month of Debts-cember (and the year in general) with... the most honorable of mentions the runners-up that fill our cup the best of the rest of 2021  All this & much, much less! Debts No Honest Man Can Pay is over 2 rock-solid hours of musical eclectica & other noodle stories. The show started in 2003 at WHFR-FM (Dearborn, MI), moved to WGWG-FM (Boiling Springs, NC) in 2006 & Plaza Midwood Community Radio (Charlotte, NC) in 2012, with a brief pit-stop at WLFM-FM (Appleton, WI) in 2004.

Band celebrates Road Apples 30th anniversary The Tragically Hip have released a special version of their sophomore album, Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe. The set was released digitally worldwide on November 5th with physical versions on 4 CD/Blu-ray Pure Audio and 5 LP/Blu-ray Pure Audio staggered for Friday, November 12th in Canada, Friday, November 19th in the US and Friday, November 26th for the rest of the world. The expansive deluxe editions are jam-packed with rare and previously unreleased and never heard before pieces of music chronicling the Road Apples era, including the original album remastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville. Bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay join us to discuss the projects and how they thought much of the vault songs were lost in the Universal Studios Lot fire from 2018. The pair relive many moments from the recording sessions, and share why a show at The Roxy in Los Angeles was included in the physical variations. Stick around after the interview for a discussion Buddy Iahn and Matt Bailey have about Branson and a special project Matt is involved with in the Branson community. Be sure to subscribe to The Music Universe Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. https://youtu.be/BSd1uj-HXro

According to the folks over at the BBC, The Tragically Hip are “the most Canadian band in the world”, and really, is there anyone who disagrees with that sentiment? The New York Times once defined them as “the band that has come closest to defining Canada's cultural identity.” We are talking Rock N Roll legends and I'm lucky enough to get the opportunity to sit down with the members of the band a little later this week. This upcoming October the 15th marks the 30th anniversary of the album Road Apples which took The Tragically Hip to number 1 in Canada and has since gone on to diamond certification. To look back on the massive success and the legacy that is The Tragically Hip the band members will actually be stopping by the Before They Were Famous studio a little later this week and we are going to be able to delve a whole lot deeper into the early years of the band leading up to the release of the album that really put them on the map. Make sure you are subscribed to the channel so you don't miss these epic interviews but for now, let's get into their Before They Were Famous.

“Even though it was the middle of summer, it was cold and wet,” Rob Baker remembers, “and after a full day in the studio, there was nothing to do but go back to where we were staying and watch the Olympics that were happening in Barcelona…and they were still talking about Canada and what happened with Ben Johnson four years earlier.” The Tragically Hip were in the UK, recording what would be their third full studio album at Battery Studios, a facility protected from the rest of the surrounding grimy north west London neighborhood of Willesden Green by a big metal gate…after recording the last two albums away from home—Up To Here was done in Memphis and Road Apples required to move to New Orleans—a trip to London had seemed like a good idea, a chance to get away from all the distractions back home in Kingston, Ontario. It may have been dreary on the outside, but the building itself was full of history…Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, The Cure, The Who and dozens more had all made classic albums here.  And when The Hip wrapped up the sessions for the album that would be called “Fully Completely,” they had an idea that they had created something extraordinary.  But what they didn't know is they were about to enter the imperial phase of their career, a time when almost everything went right…. The album would eventually sell a million copies in Canada alone…and here's how it happened. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello and welcome to NoodlesPodcast.com. This is Michael speaking because Noah is in Seattle probably climbing tall towers or something. Anywho, in this episode we talk about Michael leaving the show next week indefinitely, Ben treating the symptom of an issue rather than the cause, and Noah's upcoming trip. Bryan calls in to talk about his physique and we laugh at him. Then we play some games and talk about the delicacy that is a road apple. You can win money betting on road apples, we find out, then Ben puts all of his DogeCoin into road apple bets. And Noah may or may not win a game. Also Noah said something dirty and because I'm in charge right now, here's the link: https://clips.twitch.tv/RockyLongShingleGrammarKing-iKS9g3QQELzPhc-c Games This Week: “Do You Remember The Time?” and “FuNkY fOuRtH fRaDiTiOnS”

Hello and welcome to NoodlesPodcast.com. This is Michael speaking because Noah is in Seattle probably climbing tall towers or something. Anywho, in this episode we talk about Michael leaving theContinue readingEpisode 47: “Delicious, Scrumptious Road Apples”

On this episode of the podcast the guys pick out some of their favorite hip songs.  Cecil expresses his dislike of the band and the guys shoot the shit about one of Canada's hidden treasures.  love' em or hate' em you don't want to miss this episode!  Don't forget to email the podcast at picksandstickspodcast@gmail.com.Check out our companion playlists:Apple MusicSpotifyYouTube Music

It's part 2 of my in-person conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2021 so far. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon World HQ - Still with the fan noise - Kumar's bubbling under picks (aka "Bubblahs"): Lots of cool UK post-punk (Black Country, New Road; Squid; Yard Act; Sleaford Mods; TV Priest,; Dry Cleaning), The Hold Steady, Mdou Moctar, Guardian Singles,Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Teenage Fanclub, Iceage, McCartney, Ex-Hyena, Fridge Poetry, Glitterer, The Dirty Nil   - Breitling: We're living in Blade Runner/cyberpunk times - Regional lingo - Minor sax resurgence - Difference of opinions on The Weeknd - Breitling's #10: Stomp Talk Modstone with a collection of Chinese shoegaze - Kumar's #10: An EP of lost songs from The Tragically Hip's 1991 Road Apples sessions - Breitling's #9: Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders/London Symphony Orchestra with a cool collab - Kumar's #9: Shame's second release is full of fun, fiery post-punk - Breitling's #8: Fog Lake with a droning take on isolation - Kumar's #8: Striking collab between Ellen Kempner of Palehound and Melina Duterte of Jay Som - Breitling's #7: Palberta puts it all together - To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they welcome you, for the first time, to the Neutral Cider Hotel!But first, the guys congratulate the team at Cider-Review for their launch party, which brings to light something that was missing from the Hotel. A drink every time the guys make a reference throughout this section will surely see you right!Then it's onto this week's featured cider, Pearson's Dry, which the guys give their swift views on before it's on to the news. There's a lot to digest, with Sassy Cider making their way into Majestic, a few stray cats and some hopped juice, not so yum sounding flavoured cider, and some from across the pond, a collab of sound and cider brings Road Apples to life!This week's guest is the original Saviour of Cider, Simon Wright. From a small archway in East London to a bigger archway on the Bermondsey Beer Mile, Hawkes Cider quickly became a by-word for bold and contemporary branding, fresh, modern ciders and London's finest tap room. Attracting the attention of Brewdog back in 2018, he left the company last year to pursue ventures new, so let's see what's on the horizon. The guys chat about everything, from the open arms of the cider community, the nature of selling a business, the difference between the US and the UK and more. Then it's onto the speakpipe, featuring a message from Sam from Vessel Beer Shop in Plymouth, and it's all about the homebrew side of cider!Thank you for joining us at the show, and leave us a message at our Speakpipe and join us on our socials below!The Team:Gabe is a cider expert: The CiderologistGrant has two cider businesses: Re:Stalk and Aeble Cider ShopMartyn loves to write about cider: CiderShitThe Rest of The Team:Executive Producer/Editor: Scott RiggsMusic: Billy KennedyConnect:Instagram: NeutralCiderHotelFacebook: NeutralCiderHotelTwitter: NeutralCiderPodListen and share episodes on our website: https://www.neutralciderhotel.com/ Leave us a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/neutralciderhotel 

man oh man what a jam packed show! Please take a moment and leave a review there on your podcast app. Today we get in to our usual craft beer nonsense, the Tragically Hip's "Road Apples" album, the anniversary of Team Canada winning gold at the Salt Lake City Olympics Women's Hockey Tournament, the Buffalo Sabres falling apart and why it hasn't worked with Taylor Hall, Jack Eichel's future, Auston Matthews' chase for 50 goals in this shortened season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sidney Crosby's place in history as he hits a thousand games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the NHL's upcoming US tv deal and how ESPN could factor in and so much more. Give us a follow on social media @TallCanAudio

Hey Everybody, A few crazy events at work made it impossible for me to stay sane and get out a release last week. So with humble apologies I present to you Road Apples. The Hip's first number one album and yet another one chock full of classic tracks. The podcasts is available here on Anchor: and is also available on Apple Podcasts and Pocket Casts. If you have any comments please feel free to hit me up in @TNITPod on Twitter or at tnitpod@gmail.com. I will do everything in my power to get a mini-episode out for next Monday. Maybe my first mailbag or, more likely, 15 minutes of rambling discussion on what is on my mind at the moment. Thanks, Vince

To celebrate the Labour Day long weekend here is a mini-episode about live music that was not seen this summer, the YouTube rabbit hole I found to take the place of live music. So while you are having that last cold one as the sun sets on the strangest summer any of us have seen. Have a great Labour Day and see you next week for Road Apples. Listen all the way to the end to hear me lose my mind when a critical fact about The Hip escapes my recall.

Dude want's em to "bag it". We got no horse in this race, no problem with the A's. The kids love choppers!

Not the kind to be eaten. Many of these road apples are Amish style. What do they feed them horses?!!#$@!

I finally talked former Tragically Hip manager Jake Gold into coming to the studio to do a NSTS episode.  As you can imagine, he told some terrific stories - about how he came into contact with the Hip for the first time, what the Road Apples record was originally supposed to be called, the dark stories surrounding "Locked in the Trunk of a Car". But also the special reason why a Cat Stevens song made his list, and what he and Andy Frost thought of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". Don't miss this.        Gold's playlist: Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes The Tragically Hip - Locked in the Trunk of a Car Bob Marley - the Redemption Song Cat Stevens - Father and Son Genesis - Supper's Ready

Today Greg and Jamie explore The Tragically Hip's second full-length release, the 1991 album Road Apples. Follow the show on Twitter and Instagram @fullypodcast Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/fullyandcompletely/ and don't forget to share, rate and review the show at Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

“Even though it was the middle of summer, it was cold and wet,” Rob Baker remembers, “and after a full day in the studio, there was nothing to do but go back to where we were staying and watch the Olympics that were happening in Barcelona…and they were still talking about Canada and what happened with Ben Johnson four years earlier.” The Tragically Hip were in the UK, recording what would be their third full studio album at Battery Studios, a facility protected from the rest of the surrounding grimy north west London neighborhood of Willesden Green by a big metal gate…after recording the last two albums away from home—Up To Here was done in Memphis and Road Apples required to move to New Orleans—a trip to London had seemed like a good idea, a chance to get away from all the distractions back home in Kingston, Ontario. It may have been dreary on the outside, but the building itself was full of history…Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, The Cure, The Who and dozens more had all made classic albums here.  And when The Hip wrapped up the sessions for the album that would be called “Fully Completely,” they had an idea that they had created something extraordinary.  But what they didn’t know is they were about to enter the imperial phase of their career, a time when almost everything went right…. The album would eventually sell a million copies in Canada alone…and here’s how it happened.

The Long Road to Brewin' is underway, with Moose, Pete and Dewsbury heading off around the country. Following the first night in London, Moose and Dews shook the hangovers off and got together in studio 1 to discuss the previous night and their hopes for the week ahead. The podcast this week also features an old friend...

February 2016 Anniversaries: Recurring, Road Apples, Goat, Murder Ballads, Roots, The Score, Green Mind

James and John discuss eBay Finds: Newton lot, B&H Apple II+, and Lisa poster. They talk about the least desirable Macs, and news includes Mountain Lion, iOS 86, and CLOG. To see all of the show notes and join our website, visit us at RetroMacCast.

Introduction: In this podcast we take a look at some of our recent blog content.Gordon: Mike, you recently published a blog titled Web 2.0: RSS Explained. You did not actually describe RSS but referenced some online content that is just excellent. Can you fill us in?Here's a link to a great video created by CommonCraft - a consulting company focused on helping companies and organizations integrate online communities into their businesses.All organizations would be wise to adopt CommonCraft's core belief:    "that, in the future, organizations will rely on their community of customers to remain competitive".Amazon, YouTube and digg are great examples of businesses that not only value their community of users, but have built a business model around that community.In just under four minutes, the video provides a simple, easy to understand explanation of RSS - a technology that I and many other have become dependent on to get our news and information. The video also uses a a really clever presentation method - yet another alternative to the overused powerpoint slideshow.Mike: Gordon, you wrote an interesting blog on Proximity Marketing and the use of Bluetooth devices. Can you fill us in?Gordon: Most of us have a pretty good idea of what Bluetooth is but before I talk about proximity marketing maybe you could give us a quick primer on Bluetooth. Wikipedia defines it as follows:"Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs). Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices such as mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers, digital cameras, and video game consoles over a secure, globally unlicensed short-range radio frequency. The Bluetooth specifications are developed and licensed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group"."Bluetooth is a radio standard and communications protocol primarily designed for low power consumption, with a short range (power-class-dependent: 1 meter, 10 meters, 100 meters) based on low-cost transceiver microchips in each device"."Bluetooth lets these devices communicate with each other when they are in range. The devices use a radio communications system, so they do not have to be in line of sight of each other, and can even be in other rooms, as long as the received transmission is powerful enough".Simply put - short range, two-way and, up to this point for most of us in the United States, personal device to personal device communications. Many of us have Bluetooth capable cell phones and are using wireless earpieces for talking while driving or with our hands full. Most laptop PC's come with Bluetooth now and allow wireless attachment and sync with cell phones and other devices.Mike: Gordon, how is this technology being used in Proximity Marketing?In other parts of the world it's been a little different. Companies like BlooZone, are using Bluetooth applications to provide "location aware services" such as proximity marketing. BlueBlitz is another good example of one company that is developing some interesting Bluetooth applications. Here's a piece from their website:"With MagicBeamer you can transfer any information or advertisment to a mobile phone or PDA. It's even possible to sell products or create prize games! And all that 24/7, all year long and through walls and shopping windows"."The transfer of the data is done with Bluetooth(TM) technology. Your advantage: no transfer fees of any kind! It doesn't matter, whether you reach 100 or 100.000 customers. No matter what information you offer for download, the transmission is always free".So what you may say - no big deal - it's like sending a text message. Well sort of - some of the content may be that simple however, the key word for the retailer is free! Think in terms of a retailer in a mall and let's say this retailer has purchased one of these Magic Beamers and placed an ad on it. Everyone that comes within range with Bluetooth enabled on their phone, PDA, laptop, etc and with the device in "discoverable" mode will get a message asking if they want to receive an ad from the retailer. Everyone! The retailer does not need to know email addresses or phone numbers - the customer just has to be in range with Bluetooth in discoverable mode. And..... it does not cost a penny in transfer/data fees.Mike: Gordon, you recently blogged about something called Road Apples. Can you tell us a little bit about that?I had an interesting experience while traveling a couple of weeks ago. I was in DC for the day and walking through Regan National Airport to catch my flight back home. I have a tendency to look down at the ground when I'm walking - as a result I find a lot of stuff (sometimes even money!) Well, I found what looked like a brand new 1G USB thumb drive. I scooped it up, went to my gate and, not really thinking twice, turned on my notebook and popped the thumb drive in my machine. I caught myself and said wait a minute, pulled it out and ended up tossing it into a trashcan.On the flight back I got thinking about how careless I had been. I realized I could have picked up a Road Apple and am a little upset I tossed it because it would have been interesting to take a closer look. Here's how Wikipedia defines Road Apples:"A road apple is a real-world variation of a Trojan Horse that uses physical media and relies on the curiosity of the victim. The attacker leaves a malware infected floppy disc, CD ROM or USB key in a location sure to be found (bathroom, elevator, sidewalk), gives it a legitimate looking and curiosity piquing label - and simply waits.Example: Get corporate logo off target's web site, make a disk label using logo and write "Executive Salary Summary Q1 2007" on the front."Let's think about this a minute. Was it a plant? It could have been. Here's my logic - I'm in Regan National Airport in DC - this is the quickest airport to get in and out of and is frequented by Congressmen, Senators, staffers, etc. I've run into my Congressman Richie Neal on a few occasions at National - they all use this airport.A quick search on Amazon indicates I can buy 1G thumb drives for under $10 each and you can get through airport security with thumb drives without a problem - I think I've got 5 or 6 in my bag almost all of the time. Let's say a "social engineer" wants to do a little social engineering and decides to setup a bunch of drives with some malware that does something malicious. This person walks around and drops a drive on the floor every once in a while. For airport access these people would not even have to get through security which requires a ticket purchase - they could just scatter them around the baggage area.Now let's say a staffer picks one of these drives up or a contractor, etc - someone with access to secure government networks. They pick the thumb drive up, bring it to work and plug it into their work computer. Or maybe they plug the thing into their laptop with classified information on it when they get home. Doing so they may have bypassed millions of dollars of perimeter security, firewalls, etc and provided malicious people with content, access, control, etc, etc.We've all heard the stories about laptops being stolen with identification databases on them. Using a method like this computers don't have to be stolen any more. Transfer this same scenario to downtown Manhattan on a beautiful spring day like today or London or Tokyo.....I low-level formatted the drive and then wrote back a bit image I had as backup. I wish I had saved that thumb drive....Gordon: Mike you have some quick updates you wanted to share with us:Apple NewsMay 18th: FCC approves iphone - asked to hold pics and manual fro 45 daysMay 16th: Tech blog Engadget posted a rumor on iphone Mac os x - apple stock price drops, many sell short, 4 bill market value dropiphone release delayed from June until October and leopard OS from October until next yeariPhone and Apple's Leopard OS is on schedule for a June and October release respectivelyMay 13th - AT&T Wireless CEO Stan Sigman gives iphone to president of West Texas A&M University at commencement - Sigman is a 1970 WTAMU graduateMarch at CTIA - AT&T Chief Operations Officer Randall Stephenson showed off an iphone during his keynote speechJoost friends and family - lots of invites!Google universal search - includes YouTube results - puts yahoo and Microsoft further behindGmail - PowerPoint integration begins to roll out