Podcast appearances and mentions of Sarah Harmer

For more than 35 years, Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer has used her voice to make award-winning, critically acclaimed music — but that's not all. She's also been a vocal advocate for important environmental and humanitarian causes, both in this country and abroad. At the Juno Awards in Vancouver earlier this year, Sarah was honoured with the Humanitarian Award, and now she's receiving a key to the city for her hometown of Burlington, Ont. In this career-spanning conversation with Tom Power, Sarah talks about her early days making music with The Saddletramps and Weeping Tile, going solo, and why she's so passionate about protecting the land she grew up on. If you enjoy this conversation, check out Tom's chat with The Weather Station.

This week, jD welcomes Terri from Nova Scotia, a die-hard fan of The Hip who never got to see the band live. Tragic, right? But she's made up for it with an epic deep dive into The Tragically Hip's music, lyrics, and legacy. From dissecting Gord Downie's songwriting genius to tracking down TTH-adjacent artists like Sarah Harmer and City and Colour, Terri's passion is next level.But wait, there's more!

This week, jD welcomes Terri from Nova Scotia, a die-hard fan of The Hip who never got to see the band live. Tragic, right? But she's made up for it with an epic deep dive into The Tragically Hip's music, lyrics, and legacy. From dissecting Gord Downie's songwriting genius to tracking down TTH-adjacent artists like Sarah Harmer and City and Colour, Terri's passion is next level.But wait, there's more!

Writer and writing guru Chelene Knight talks about her book Safekeeping: A Writer's Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love; CBC Sports producer David Giddens recommends four of his favourite sports reads; what makes Dangerous Memory an “inspiring road map” for Juno-winner Sarah Harmer; and from seasonal berries to quantum physics Nathan Maharaj has your reading covered on this episode of The Next Chapter.Books discussed on this week's show include:Safekeeping: A Writer's Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love by Chelene KnightThe Conscious Creative by Kelly SmallBreathing the Page by Betsy WarlandDangerous Memory by Charlie AngusWorld's Fastest Man by Mary OrmsbyIce in Their Veins by Ian KennedyThe Beautiful Dream by Atiba Hutchinson and Dan RobsonAbove the Noise by DeMar DeRozenThe Serviceberry by Robin Wall KimmererThe Power Broker by Robert A. CaroQuantum Physics Made Me Do It by Jeremie Harris

"Whatever I'm painting, I feel like there's music that finds its way in". — Stewart JonesFor artist, musician, and educator Stewart Jones, music is an integral part of his visual art practice. He's a self-proclaimed "uber fan" of the bands he loves. Not only are many of his works inspired by songs, but his drawings and paintings have also graced album covers and enhanced videos by some of Canada's most beloved musical artists, such as The Tragically Hip, Sarah Harmer, Cuff the Duke, K-os, Justin Rutledge, and The Sadies. Learn more about Stew at stewartjones.caMusic in this episode:"Vultures" - Annelise Noronha (In The Headlights, 2020)"Cold Snap" - Weeping Tile (Cold Snap, 1995)"Rearview" - Rheostatics (Here Come The Wolves, 2019)"The City" - Sarah Harmer (Oh Little Fire, 2010)"Tell Her What I Said" - The Sadies (Darker Circles, 2010)"Montreal (Live)" - The Tragically Hip (Saskadelphia - EP, 2021)"Jack of Diamonds" - Justin Rutledge (The Early Widows, 2010)"Left and Leaving" - The Weakerthans (Left and Leaving, 2000)Support the showPlease help us keep the pod rocking and rolling with a donation. Any amount helps! MUSIC BUDDY IS:Jane Gowan (host, producer, editor) ; Tim Vesely (co-producer)The show's theme song, "Human Stuff," is written by Jane Gowan and Tim Vesely, and performed by Jane and Tim, with additional vocals by Steve Wright and Connie Kostiuk STAY IN TOUCH Email: jane@musicbuddy.caInstagram: @musicbuddypodcastFacebook: @musicbuddypodcastBluesky: @musicbuddy.bsky.socialTikTok: @musicbuddypodThis podcast is brought to you by Morning Run Productions.

Friends. Countryfolk. Lend me your auditory holes  (Good thing I never performed Shakespeare). Yahoo for being back in the pod saddle and I had a chance to chat with a very special mystical magical human being and music maker named Miranda Journey  (who I'm playing shows with this coming weekend Dec 13 at Meow That's Hot on Bank Street in Ottawa and on Sat Dec 14 at the fab Free Times Cafe in Toronto - tickets at graven dot ca). Miranda Journey is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, and performer. Her style blends the likes of indie rock, psychedelic, dream pop, and folk genres to create a colourful kaleidoscope of sound. Described as "New Retro", Miranda uses varied sonic techniques on stage and has performed alongside acts like Kathleen Edwards, Sarah Harmer, Julian Taylor, Elliott Brood and so many more. We talked all over the musical map and about our funny friendship and I'm sure you'll find some gems in this wildflower field of a convo we had.Catch me in a town near you as I round out my 2024 shows (playing alongside Miranda Journey) by visiting my website to see where I'm playing. If people can hate for no reason, I can love for no reason - and I love you. Thanks for stopping by Graventown. Yer always welcome here. As a full time independent artist, you can support me by joining my SUPER RAD subscription service at https://ko-fi.com/gravencanada

Toronto's indie rock sensation HotKid is back with a brand-new 4-track EP, "Downtown," set for release on October 4th, 2024 out on Fortune Stellar Records. The EP features both full-band and acoustic versions of the title track, as well as two additional guitar-driven songs, “Naked” and “All Time,” capturing the band's signature sound and versatility. The full-band tracks were recorded live off the floor at the National Music Centre's Studio Bell in Calgary, AB, using the renowned Trident console. This legendary piece of equipment has been instrumental in creating classic records by artists like David Bowie, Elton John, Queen, Rush, and Metallica. The historic studio environment, combined with exceptional acoustics and state-of-the-art gear, provided the perfect setting to capture the energy and vibrant performance. The session was engineered by Eric Cinnamon, ensuring that the recordings preserved the authentic, live feel of the band's sound. The acoustic version of "Downtown" was recorded live at the House of Miracles in Cambridge, ON, featuring Shiloh Harrison on guitar and vocals and Andrew DeVillers on baritone acoustic and vocals. Engineered and mixed by Andy Magoffin, who has worked with acclaimed artists like Great Lake Swimmers, Constantines, Attack in Black, and Feist, this stripped-down rendition highlights the emotive core and lyrical depth of the song. The Downtown EP also includes contributions from Jesse Bellon on guitar, Andrew DeVillers on bass, and Mike McKeever on drums. The EP was mixed by Shiloh Harrison and mastered by Noah Mintz at the Lacquer Channel in Toronto, ON. Mintz, known for his work with Broken Social Scene, The Tragically Hip, Sarah Harmer, and Daniel Caesar, added his signature polish to the recordings, giving the tracks a professional and cohesive finish. D I S C O V E R Website: https://hotkid.ca/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilovehotkid/?hl=enSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZLnCbFfrcCvcVobllDeLH This episode is brought to you byGo to BETTERHELP.com/apologue for confidential online counselling.use the code word Apologue for a 7 day free trial Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop

We take sleep for granted until we begin waking up multiple times through the night, as is the case for many women as they enter the menopause life stage. When I'm coaching women on how to support their menopause symptoms, I always start with managing their sleep. In this interview with Sarah Harmer, we dive into the importance of sleep, the sleep cycle, and how to get more quality sleep. If you have been struggling with sleep disturbances and insomnia, then this is the episode for YOU.In this episode, we discuss:- the importance and relevance of sleep for health - the relationship between sleep, cardiovascular health, mental health and weight gain- the 5 things that happen to us while sleeping- the relationship between insomnia, sleep challenges and menopause- how to get more sleepConnect with SARAH HARMERRESOURCESSexy Ageing Fitness APPMenopause Workshops My Menopause Memoir (book)Download your FREE Menopause Symptom Tracker HERE SEXY AGEING WEBSITEMY RECOMMENDATIONSPROTEIN (15% off)CREATINE MONOHYDRATE (15% off)CONNECT WITH ME Instagram TikTok The Sexy Ageing Facebook Community

There is no band that has explained Canada to Canadians like the Tragically Hip. No Dress Rehearsal is a four part docuseries charting the life of the band the defined a country. Directed by Mike Downie, brother of the bands late frontman Gord; this series has behind the scenes footage, interviews with the band and famous supports such as Will Arnett, Dan Aykroyd, Jay Baruchel, Sarah Harmer, Geddy Lee, George Stroumboulopoulos, The Trailer Park Boys ,Justin Trudeau the current Prime Minister of Canada and many more. It had its premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) September 5th and will stream on Prime Video September 20th 2024. The Tragically Hip (1984-2018) are Gord Downie (1964-2017), Rob Baker, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair   Talk to us goose www.howdyoulikethatmovie.com Twitter

By the face… que diría aquel. Excepto los escoceses Lighships, todos los demás son grupos o solistas norteamericanos. Objetivo : canciones preciosas pop-pop-pop. Voces deliciosas nunca gritonas que nos acarician el alma. CLO PROMO MILEMARKERDISCO 0 PERNICE BROTHERS Discover A Lovelier You (7)DISCO 1 TOMMY KEENE Astronomy (12)DISCO 2 JENNY LEWIS The New You (7)DISCO 3 SARAH HARMER Pendulums (1)CLO LUCAS EXPLORANDO + SEP MARTÍN X (TWITTER)DISCO 4 DUCKTAILS Headbanging I The Mirror (2)DISCO 5 REAL ESTATE Darling (1)DISCO 6 MARTIN COURTNEY Northern Highway (5) CUÑA BUSCAS SAMUSTINA+ INDI PODCAST LUCASDISCO 7 NEKO CASE People Got A Lotta Nerve (3)DISCO 8 JASON FALKNER My Lucky Day (4)DISCO 9 FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE Hackensack (4)DISCO 10 LIGHSHIPS Sweetness In Her Speak (3)PRES. LÍA ALCANDADISCO 11 MANDY MOORE Extraordinary (1)DISCO 12 THE WEEPIES Antarctica (7)DISCO 13 TELEVISION Days (ESCA)DISCO 14 AIMEE MANN Charmer (from her album Charmer) (ESCA)Escuchar audio

Dr. Jada Watson returns to The Table Women to chat all about women in radio, including: How Jada found her passion for women in radio and later turned that into a career The evolution of her path and the history of radio charts How radio charts even work! Beyoncé, Country Music Radio, and backlash (or not?) The power of having data to back up what we experience The cost of having access to the facts We're still going backwards for female representation in radio, what's up? Tomato-gate and it's impact History of Country Music and how we ended up here There are only ever 3 women “succeeding” at a time - wtf?! Barbie, women in pop music, politics, country music - weird connections! So how do we fix it? Jada's own experiences with being targeted in retaliation for her work Seeing how being armed with information uplifts the next generations And more! Jada's website and other links: www.SongData.ca   Jada Watson, “‘Diversi'tea': Spilling the Data on Inclusive Programming.” Presented at Country Radio Seminar, 1 March 2024.   Jan Diehm and Jada Watson, “They Won't Play a Lady-O on Country Radio: Examining Back-to-Back Plays by Gender, Race, and Sexual Orientation.” The Pudding, 22 May 2023.   Jada Watson, “Redlining in Country Music 2.0: Representation in the Country Music Industry in 2021 and 2022.” SongData Reports; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 17 March 2023.   NOTES: Corb Lund: https://www.corblund.com/ Sarah Harmer: https://sarahharmer.com/ Loretta Lynn: https://lorettalynn.com/ Kitty Wells: https://www.kittywells.com/ Mickey Guyton: https://www.mickeyguyton.com/ Maren Morris: https://www.marenmorris.com/ Beyoncé: https://www.beyonce.com/ Beverly Keel chapter in A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/A/A-Boy-Named-Sue Lainey Wilson: https://www.laineywilson.com/home?page=1 Women In Music: https://www.womeninmusic.org/get-involved Tomato-Gate (Keith Hill): https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/06/18/tomato-gate-galvanizes-women-country/28936501/ Jingoism: https://www.britannica.com/topic/jingoism The Chicks: https://thechicks.com/ Robyn Ottolini: https://www.robynottolini.com/ Priscilla Block: https://www.priscillablock.com/ Jada's Toronto Star Article: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/jason-aldean-s-try-that-is-now-no-1-on-the-charts-that-s-a/article_d88b19c8-5cd3-51b9-af43-fc75f98a5fab.html Emily Yahr: “Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs and the Complicated Response to ‘Fast Car'.” Sara Ahmed “Living a Feminist Life”: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11g9836 We Belmont: https://www.instagram.com/webelmont/ Rissi Palmer: https://rissipalmermusic.com/ Black Opry: https://www.blackopry.com/ Sasha: https://www.iamsacha.com/ Julie Williams: https://www.thisisjuliewilliams.com/about Roberta Lea: https://www.iamrobertalea.com/ Joy Oladokun: https://www.joyoladokun.com/ Emma White: https://emmawhite.com/ Kelsea Ballerini: https://www.kelseaballerini.com/Cowboys-Cry-Too Carly Pearce: https://www.carlypearce.com/#/ Allison Russell: https://allisonrussellmusic.com/ Carter Faith: https://www.carterfaith.com/   P.S. We discuss the initial reaction to Beyoncé releasing "Cowboy Carter" including the backlash, or what seemed to be backlash, from Country Music Radio. Sarah and Jada discussed videos online regarding radio stations claiming they won't play the record. We went back and were able to find content on the initial incident discussed, but we're still looking for videos describing other incidents. If you know of any information regarding people/stations being against playing "Cowboy Carter" please reach out and send them our way, we'd love to have them and share them with Jada!   

Algunas por nuevas o actuales, otras por caprichos del destino y otras por inercia. De las primeras con Local Natives, Iraina Mancini, Jon Muq o Graham Nash. Las últimas, sí por inercia hacia el rocanrol americana con Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Joe Wlash, Orleans, Linda Ronstadt, Sarah Harmer, John Cougar Mellencamp o Eleni Mandell. Y Kacey Musgraves o Michael Scott Boudreaux simplemente perche mi piacce.CLO PROMO MILEMARKERDISCO 1 JON MUQ One You Love (2)DISCO 2 LOCAL NATIVES Alpharetta (1)DISCO 3 IRAINA MANCINI What You Doin’ (8)CLO LUCAS EXPLORANDO + SEP MARTÍN X (TWITTER)DISCO 4 LINDA RONSTADT Tumbling Dice (Cara 1 Corte 2)DISCO 5 JOE WALSH I Can Play That Rock & Roll (Cara 1 Corte 1)DISCO 6 ORLEANS Let the Be Music (5) CUÑA BUSCAS SAMUSTINA+ INDI PODCAST ANADISCO 7 TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS You And I Will Meet Again (10)DISCO 8 ELENI MANDELL I’m Lucky (4)DISCO 9 MICHAEL SCOTT BOUDREAUX Louisiana Rain (1)DISCO 10 NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE Winterlong (3)PRES. LÍA ALCANDADISCO 11 GRAHAM NASH A Better Life (2)DISCO 12 JOHN COUGAR Sugar Marie (8)DISCO 13 SARAH HARMER Late Bloomer (ESCA)DISCO 14 KACEY MUSGRAVES & Troye Sivan Gliterry (ESCA)Escuchar audio

This week the gang gets together to discuss the rest of Inroduce Yerself.Transcript:Track 1:[0:00] Hey, it's Justin. You know and love us on the Discovering Downey podcast, right? So come hang out with us in person for the finale. Join us for Long Slice Brewing presents a celebration of Gord Downey at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Craig is coming from Vancouver, Kirk is coming from LA, I'm driving from Vermont, and JD's like walking down the street or wherever he lives in Toronto. Tickets are available now on our website at discovererndowney.com, and when you get your tickets, that means you can come Come hang out with us and our very special guest, Patrick Downey, and you can bid on some incredibly cool silent auction items, all while jamming along with tragically hip cover band The Almost Hip, and most importantly, helping us raise money for the Gord Downey Fund for Brain Cancer Research. Crack open a long slice, put on some Gord tunes, take a journey with us on discovering Downey, and then crack open another long slice on July 19th and hang out with us in the six. I always wanted to sound cool and say that. For more information, follow us on all the socials and visit DiscoveringDowny.com. Christmas Day for Edgar. My dad always used to say just after the presents, well, it's as far away now as it will ever be. I'm thinking about that as the stewardess cracks the public address system. For those sitting in economy, there's no music for you today.Track 1:[1:21] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents. Discovering Downey.Track 2:[1:31] Hey, it's JD 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 local acrobats that wowed 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 really listened to these solo records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends, Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans of the hip in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week, we're going to get together and listen to one of Gord's records, working 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 the back half well plus two songs from the front half of introduce yourself justin my friend how are you doing on this gray fucking oh is it gray there toronto oh oh it's terrible all day maybe because i was wearing sunglasses wait a minute.Track 4:[2:55] It is it was the opposite of that here in in beautiful vermont today it's it was a beautiful day i I think it's going to be great for the rest of the week, though. So whatever you're getting today, we'll get tomorrow.Track 1:[3:05] Oh, that's weather with Justin. We'll be back with Craig and Traffic. Remember, news on the fives.Track 2:[3:12] Where in the world is Kirk from Fuckachino? How's it going, man?Track 5:[3:22] I am in Washington, D.C. Right now for work in a hotel room. so having some technical difficulties so my apologies but things are good and uh excited to continue the conversation greg.Track 2:[3:41] What say you things.Track 3:[3:44] Are going well a little uh a little tired after a night out uh watching the sadies last night so they played a small venue downtown and got to see the boys rock out and um yeah it was it was a pretty awesome show a big banner of Dallas in the background and yeah, some touching moments, but mostly they, they just rocked.Track 2:[4:03] I haven't been to a live show in a little while now.Track 4:[4:06] Super cool.Track 2:[4:12] All right, fellas, before we get into the music, I want to talk to you about an email that I got from an organization called Lake Fever Wilderness Company. Basically, the gist of this email is that the Lake Fever Wilderness Company has submitted all the paperwork required to City Hall to get At Riverdale Park East, here in Toronto, mere footsteps from my home, renamed Gord Downie Park. I saw an article on BlogTO, and then they also gave us a couple other links to stories. But I'm hoping that our little podcast here, that people who listen to it will hear this, and you know we can build some awareness around this somehow anything you want to say about this or comment about this are you jealous and ate in your town yes.Track 4:[5:17] That sounds like a great cause and um for what it's worth i love the song lake fever so.Track 2:[5:25] Right Right?Track 4:[5:26] Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's a, that's whatever we can do to help, man. That sounds great.Track 5:[5:31] Sounds very cool.Track 3:[5:32] I'm jealous. We, who do we get? Brian Adams Avenue.Track 2:[5:39] Probably already have it. Don't you?Track 3:[5:41] I don't know. I don't know. Maybe in England.Track 2:[5:45] Really? There's not a. Right mind-blowing to me one of the top songs of all time in terms of played, everything i do i do for you right, yeah but this is not a brian adams podcast this is a podcast called discovering downy and let's pick it up where we left off last time that puts us on side two of the first record With the very candid, my first self.Track 5:[6:47] I mean, just explains it like I remember it. And yeah. could feel all of those crazy, stupid emotions and, uh, could just totally wrap my head around and embrace, you know, the message that he was writing, you know, a piano forward tune again. You know, I think we talked about that the last one, uh, I love the vocal and the background that starts coming in uh you know echoing essentially the line um and then the last line is just classic so yeah uh it's a it's a brilliant tune in my assessment.Track 3:[7:28] Yeah, what I liked about it is that it really instantly just takes you to a place in your own life, whether the story is one you connect with or not, it takes you back to, you know, when you were in your teens or whatever. And that's what I appreciated about this song. Another thing before the echoing vocal you're talking about there's i just noticed today for the first time very very faintly in the opposite channel is something that sounds like a, a meowing cat i think it's a person but it's almost this little it's so subtle it's almost like one of those hearing tests you get where there's a little beep and you're like did i hear that but i listened a second time and there's something that comes in about 30 seconds before for the more noticeable vocal on the other side so i.Track 4:[8:19] Did not on that view yeah i listened to it today too actually and.Track 3:[8:24] Um i.Track 4:[8:26] Mean this this girl sounds cool as hell you know like he says in the song six years older so it's definitely you know she's his girlfriend but he may not be her boyfriend from what i'm picking up on you know like and and i certainly related to the you.Track 3:[8:41] Told me off and could she be responsible for uh hooking gourd on reading because he wanted to be like her.Track 4:[8:50] Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah interesting thought yeah yeah yeah i don't know again like i did feel a little awkward listening to this song let's.Track 2:[9:02] Move to the next track on the record you're ashore.Track 3:[9:05] Well this is probably the song i have the least to say about it's maybe the least memorable for me I think probably it's the type of song that if it's about you it's probably a maybe a bit of an inside joke or I'm not really sure what the you know what it's about who it's about, I appreciated the gentleness in his voice. I was glad that it was the length that it was because it was not my favorite. What did you guys think?Track 5:[9:38] I loved it me too i uh i i uh i mean it's the shortest song on the album it's a minute 30 you know the lyrics are simple it's you know essentially you're sure you're sure repeated and a few little straight lines but the brilliant in the very beginning is you know he's strumming and then it's the let flow it down i believe is what he says and uh yeah it's um Um, I think especially amongst this body of work amongst this album, like, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of piano, there's a lot of synths, there's even some beats and things of that nature. And it was kind of nice to just get a little short acoustic ditty in my opinion. But, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a sucker for that. That's, uh, just like, just like back in the eighties, right? Every metal band had its little ballad. so uh i i love the ballads so.Track 4:[10:38] Yeah i don't know who it's about but it's an earworm i find myself humming the tune uh quite often and there's only a few words in the song so it's not like, you know like you said craig the lyrics aren't nothing about it is really memorable but it is it does get into your brain and it's an easy little like you could just walk through the the park and just sing that all day. But yeah, I mean, it's a minute 30 and that's about right.Track 2:[11:07] Yeah, that's about right. It's interesting you say that you couldn't determine who that's about, because I, so far, have really sucked at that game, listening to the first record. So, as we go into the second record, Gord lobs a softball at me, and even I know that this next track, Love Over Money, is about the fucking Tragically Hip.Track 4:[11:37] Damn right it is.Track 2:[11:39] Yeah who wants to go first here kirk.Track 5:[11:42] Yeah i'll go first um yeah i i you know uh i would say jd i've had a similar you know a similar experience in in trying i have little parentheses in my notes of who i think the note might be or the song might be too and i you know i can't even get specifics i just write like brother you know question mark things of that nature so this one was obvious what i loved about it as well and and i think i might have mentioned it on on the last of the first the first album it's such a pop it's like a synth pop tune is what i have and this is gonna sound weird but for whatever reason when i hear the song i think of that snl skit where you've You've got like Jimmy Fallon and they're all playing like they're doing that little, you know, they do the little dance.Track 2:[12:36] Oh, right, right, right.Track 5:[12:37] You know, when I heard this song, I, by the second time, I just, I couldn't get that shit out of my brain. So, but just beautiful lyrics talking about the band. So direct and so loving and so to the point. To me, an absolute, brilliant Gord Downie song. I mean, you know, just wonderful, wonderful song.Track 3:[13:06] The moment he said the line, we played to no one, and then no one plus one, I knew it was about the hip. Because I remember in 1996, a band I played in, we went across Canada two times that year, self-booked tours. And we ended up in Thunder Bay on one of the tours.Track 3:[13:24] And we played in a tiny club called crocs and rolls which is sort of like a legendary club in in thunder bay a guy named frank lefredo was the booker there who was kind of like a legend, in uh in music across canada and anyway frank um the first night we we played and we didn't draw much of a crowd and he said you know don't worry guys the you know first time the tragedy hit played here they played to to no one and then they played a second night and they got a couple more and the next night and you know they played i think three nights in a row on an early tour, and so that made us feel a little better and he and he um he felt bad about the the draw so when we came back um he found us a gig at another venue um for the for the drive back so that's the the memory that that comes up for me um and also the other thing the queen's jubilee uh so the reference to the um to the playing to the the deafening the husband of the queen um that would be that that show which i looked up and uh and yeah they played poets and interesting enough in that version of poets he changes the lyrics he censors himself a little bit i noticed so for the queen he he He changed bare-breasted to bare-chested, and there was one other change I can't recall.Track 4:[14:44] Yeah, it was a great performance. I remember seeing that. I wish that I had looked it up just to bring the memory of it back, but that line stuck out to me. I remember seeing that performance.Track 3:[14:57] And he used the laminar flow line as well in that version of Poets.Track 4:[15:01] Oh, that I didn't remember.Track 2:[15:04] Wow.Track 3:[15:05] Which ended up in Coke Machine Glow on Every Irrelevance.Track 4:[15:11] Yeah. Obviously, the bond between those five guys is unbreakable, and this song is funny, too. I laughed at this song the first time that I heard it and heard the lyrics. We missed death and marriage and a birth. I did notice the words hotel worth, which is kind of a preview to an upcoming thing. There's a song that actually got a lot of airplay here locally a few years ago. But yeah, yep, it did. Yep, it was on the radio two or three times a day for a couple months here.Track 3:[15:47] The love over money line um made me also think about the way that they split their royalties and i'm not sure if if it was like a 20 all the way around that would be my guess but but often the the lyricist will take 50 and then the people who wrote the music take the other 50 so you know maybe it's not that simple but the fact that all five of them were as far as i know listed on all all the all the credits sort of um you know over their career that's something that drives so many bands apart is that fight over you know well i wrote this i wrote this and like even in the band i spoke about a while ago like we had some really crazy discussions around royalties and who should get what and you know in my mind i've always been a equal share guy i don't care if you're the drummer if you're you know you wrote your part that's just you know then again i've not not like i'm making a ton of a ton of money in music or anything but but um it was nice to to see them stick together so long and the same five guys like what other band can you think of that released that many albums with the same lineup it's got to be a very very.Track 2:[17:02] Very short list.Track 3:[17:03] Like there may be some three pieces i mean but a five piece band think of all the potential for conflict and for you know one guy leaving it like no one there's some sleuthing.Track 2:[17:17] Some sonic sleuthing for you listeners out there send us an email at discovering downy at gmail.com with bands that have a lineup up that was consistent with at least 15 records released? Are there any? Is there a database that you could just plug that into and get it from?Track 3:[17:40] No idea. I mean, Aerosmith would be close, but they had that lineup change in the mid-career.Track 2:[17:49] Right.Track 3:[17:51] For one album anyways.Track 2:[17:53] Joe Perry left, right? Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.Track 3:[17:55] Yeah.Track 2:[17:57] Yeah, yeah. Okay, so the next track is You, Me, and the Bees. Do I go two for two here when I say this is an ode to the Boston Bruins? Yeah. And its ability to connect with your family, particularly in this case to Gord's brother, Patrick.Track 3:[21:03] That sounds about right to me.Track 2:[21:04] Take us away.Track 3:[21:06] Took me right to my childhood as well. And a good friend of mine, so my friend Blair and I, we played a game called hall hockey. Hockey's in my parents basement with you know those fisher price um bowling sets we take take one of the pins and a ball and we would just hit the ball back and forth and if you hit the wall you score and we had this ongoing game every time he came over and we would you know do the play by play and we were both oilers fans so you weren't allowed to be the oilers you had to choose another team and i'll never forget the quebec nordique if you were the nordique and you you know you'd be Stastny and then you pass over to to you know Michelle Goulet and as soon as Michelle Goulet, got the puck you know you're getting a shot in the balls every single time I don't know what it was but and um yeah and then Blair became a little bigger than me and started winning every single game and then we yeah we aged out of that game but anyways that's where it took me yeah what What about you guys?Track 4:[22:06] Oh man, this was me and my old man playing pond hockey. Yeah, I loved the song and I loved I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. And you know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton and you know, it's, I don't know, like Like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time. This song is that relationship. And, you know, and as a Habs fan, I freaking hate the Bruins, but I get it. You know, I totally get it. And, yeah, this is just a really cool song about your brother. You know, it's fun.Track 5:[22:57] Yeah, I loved the song. And I loved, I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. You know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton. And, you know, it's, I don't know, like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time, you know, and the song is that.Track 4:[23:30] I, um, I really liked how Gord's voice was very staccato and this, um, he was really kind of a minimalist with, you know, he didn't drag any of the, any of the, the lines out the Bruins. You know, like just very on the beat and kind of not screwing around. Or maybe this is screwing around for him, I guess. But, you know, he turned the word Bruins into Bruins, just one syllable. And I don't know, it felt like a different approach lyrically or sonically, I guess.Track 3:[24:02] Yeah, that phrasing really matched the style of the song too. That sort of, like the percussion that Kirk was talking about. It just, yeah, had that staccato feel.Track 5:[24:11] The phrasing, thanks for bringing that up, Craig. I had just recently watched the Juno Award tribute, Dallas Green and Sarah Harmer and Kevin Hearn, I believe it was, and I believe it was the Junos. And gore you guys both talked mentioned like the way he phrases like the way he takes his lyrics and will you know enunciate them to fit into the line it is like no one else right and then when you watch this tribute and you see her singing introduce yourself and trying to you know keep the cadence that that that gourd has i guess that's a good way to describe it there's a uh, a unique cadence to it so i i was blown away by that if you guys haven't seen it you you must watch it and then when they go into bob cajun and the harmonies are just incredible but like goosebumps you know it's so incredible and then especially when she comes in with that harmony But to hear her do the phrasing was wonderful as well, because that has to be difficult.Track 2:[25:25] Yeah, it's what we love about him, right? His ability to twist and turn and put round pegs into square holes or square pegs into round holes probably is more difficult, in fact. Snowflake has a haunting piano line that works well with Gord's almost pastime. What do you think of Snowflakes.Track 5:[25:46] Kirk? Yeah, Melancholy was my note. Again, the piano is used heavily throughout this whole album, but on this song in particular. My guess at who it is to is just a girlfriend is all I wrote. Um but uh the the other note that i wrote was the the woman leaned in to say goodbye but i don't remember his name and uh just the um where is gourd going with that you know i i uh i i wondered i wrote that down as a note so um but just again uh fully emotional song.Track 3:[26:34] Yeah i wondered if that was almost like a reference to maybe his fading memory yeah the oh yeah i was a bit puzzled by that too craig yeah it was a very eerie song and i really loved it i love the um the jangling sounds gave it like a really eerie feeling like you're in a i don't know like a haunted ballroom of some ancient house like i just picture this as a movie when I'm listening to it the the, vocal delivery makes me wonder if it was one of the later tracks that he he did and i really love the chorus and the the reverb they put on like just like in a natural there is a ton of reverb, like way too much reverb but it works really well it's so powerful when they do it on this album not something i would normally like um yeah his voice is is gorgeous in the song um a lot of feeling to the piano playing as well by by kevin um yeah and again i had a note about phrasing when he says my name and when he says goodbye it's kind of rushed and it made me wonder if it was just a lack of time just you know doing it in one take and not worrying too much about yeah about how it came off um but again that's what we love about you too yeah yeah.Track 5:[27:58] You i mean craig you sing when you play takes a lot of energy um so that's that's one thing that i wondered throughout this this album in particular when like if you just say you're looking at it on your phone and you're listening and you bring up the lyrics and you're you're you're questioning some of the enunciations i guess of some of the words but it's that's gourd and that's uh you know Him making it work for that particular song. And sometimes different than what the lyrics are written as. I don't know if that's just typo type stuff or if that's on purpose. this.Track 4:[28:37] So I actually, I don't know, my, my thought on this was that maybe this was, um, something that he was remembering from his childhood and maybe, um, with a, an older sibling or, a relative or somebody, you know, that he knew well. And, um, the thing that stood out to me.Track 4:[29:00] More was the, his recollection of the lake and, um, of the house and describing everything about the scene and that this woman is somebody, an acquaintance of whoever he's walking down the road with, and they're going to see her. Um, cause there's the line, she told me to go explore the quiet rooms. Uh, it like, so this is all right, kid, go check out the house. We got stuff to talk about you know um and i actually um somehow connected this to the you know affluent woman in the video for it's a good life if you don't weaken um my my head kind of went to that music video and i don't don't know why or where that happened but um it just felt to me like it that type of house and that type of, of meeting. And, you know, and then at the end of that video, Gord leans down and whisper something into her ear and, and then, then they walk out. I don't, I don't really know why that's where I went, but, um, it's sort of a mishmash of two different things. Yeah.Track 4:[30:13] So like there's the song that we'll get to called the lake. When I first heard that, I thought that was about the lake, But now I think this song might be about the lake. I don't know.Track 5:[30:23] Just the fact that when he writes his lyrics, like, yeah, he, it's inspired by something, but it may even have a different meaning than what it was inspired by for him. And I don't think he really intends for the listening audience to do anything other than interpret it for their own selves or application. So, um, you know, I, you just, I never got the feeling like he'd be offended by that.Track 2:[30:49] Yeah, I can't agree with you more. Again, that's one of these great things about this performer that we all love. We can get behind that. The next song is called A Better End, and it makes me sad. Lonesome for Gord, I suppose. How does it make you feel, Justin?Track 4:[31:17] Yeah, the same. I mean, it sounds a lot like the Man Machine Poem album. There's some melancholy in a lot of those songs. And this album came together in a different context, but it's musically a lot similar to or very similar to a lot of the songs on there. And there are connections with the lyrics, the line, for treasure or worse. That's in, is that in Man? or machine, one of the others. You know, where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed, that line crushes me every time I hear it.Track 2:[32:00] Repeat it?Track 4:[32:02] Where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed. And, you know, there's an end to that sentence, right? There's a finality in that one. And I don't know. I don't know who it's about. The song is called A Better End, but he says bitter. Um you know and that only at the very end of the song does it say the better end um so maybe there's some letting go you know i i i don't know yeah.Track 5:[32:37] I i uh i have a description written as dark melancholy but then my final note was a plea and that to me as i think you had mentioned, Craig, you know, maybe it was to a family member. And I kind of felt like it was to all family members and all of his like close friends, like, this is the letter, like, this is it. And so I just wrote a plea, question mark. And the beat, I think we talked about this before, you know it's it had the clock feeling to me throughout um and then like you had mentioned justin uh you know you you the title's a better end the the lyric that he uses is stay to the bitter end but it stayed in the bitter end and uh uh just uh, He's put out so much energy at this point, you know, because it is when they've recorded this, you know, it's 20, 2017. They've done the they've done the. The tours, he's done the secret path stuff like he knows what's coming, he knows the bitter end and he gave everything he could. And this is like his like, hey, somebody give me some energy for, you know, here for a better end.Track 3:[34:04] Yeah, I wondered if this was a close family member maybe saying to stay with me until the bitter end. Really, yeah, this was an emotional song, but it's also the type of song that's going to keep bringing me back to this album. I love this song. i found that again another powerful chorus with that big reverb sound and the way he belts out songs like this and snowflake and uh in the choruses is a real strength of this album nancy and yeah just a very powerful um i i had a note i would be interested to hear a heavy version of the song like a full band version um yeah but yeah haunting piano it gave me um secret path vibes it felt very much like musically could have been on secret path he.Track 4:[35:02] He hits a lot of different spots um um in his range too he sings very deeply and then he sings very high um there's There's a lot of, you know, he's probably in three octaves or maybe four during the song. Probably three.Track 2:[35:22] Yeah. So when I hear this song, I think of it, I think of an LP, like an old LP, like a 72, you know, RPM record. And I picture it being played on my grandparents' couch-sized hi-fi. It just sounds, it sounds old. It sounds authentic.Track 5:[35:50] Authentic it sounds like a needle you know the indie rock on the vinyl right it.Track 2:[35:56] Sounds like which sorry.Track 5:[35:57] It sounds like the needle on the vinyl it's just yeah it's you you and then you got that the dining you know the the dining room or whatever recording that's going on in the background and then and then it just sounds like they have the actual, you know the the needle and the vinyl that that that that static sound going it's it's brilliant it's a little soft guitar it's it's a sweet song it really is it's a sweet song yeah.Track 3:[36:28] And the way he sings it too it's almost like a bit of a like a shaky vocal like a bit of a warble to his voice which maybe it was actually maybe they added an effect to make to give it that vinyl quality to it. But I think maybe it's just his, I think it's just his performance. And when I say shaky, I mean, in a deliberate way, I talked last week about how I can't think of any singer who has as many qualities to his voice as Gord and he does it better than anyone. Yeah. Yeah.Track 2:[37:09] But then it did go away. You know, sort of, right? Yeah.Track 3:[37:17] When he wanted it to, yeah. He just gained so much control over his voice. He had power from early on, but then he developed different subtleties. And when he gets into an album like Secret Path, and he's singing sort of in character, he can just go into all these different places depending on the emotion of the song. And another note about Nancy is, first of all, I'm guessing it's about a sister. I didn't actually look up the names of his sisters, but that's just my guess. I liked how it talked about the beginning, the middle, and the end. And Gord forever being the storyteller. He's always thinking in terms of story. Just a little nugget I picked up. And the conversation at the beginning too when they're just starting to hit record he's talking about his cuff link.Track 4:[38:16] It's a good one.Track 2:[38:17] It is. It's really good. And I think on first listen, it would have been bottom third for me. And now it's firmly somewhere in the middle third. Like, it has a crack top third for me. But, you know, it's moved up for sure.Track 4:[38:36] Yeah.Track 3:[38:37] I feel like this album gets better as it goes on. I actually prefer the second half.Track 5:[38:42] That's fair.Track 3:[38:43] Um i think at first i really enjoyed the first half more maybe because i was really preparing for that first half um for our pod but i i love the the second half yeah i.Track 4:[38:57] Actually very much agree with that i think for me it starts to really get good at you're ashore and like i said it's it's a kind of a forgettable song but the the tone sort of changes isn't that wild yeah well.Track 2:[39:11] We are at the last song of the first side the remarkably upbeat think my about us.Track 5:[41:21] This is brilliant. This song is brilliant for me from the first listen to the critical listens in the middle to listening again just recently before this. And just the way it made me feel, the swagger it had, the message it had, um that just incredible descending piano line um it it was uh it it it's up there for me it's really really really up there i love love this tune i.Track 3:[42:03] Agree this is a masterful song really it's just it comes at a place on the album.Track 3:[42:11] Where you really need something that's a little, kind of cute is the word i'll use and you've got that little piano melody that almost just sounds like a finger exercise you would do if you're learning how to play piano and some really cool sounds on the synth or maybe it's a theremin but i'm pretty sure it's a synth, and i also had a note that the the drums enter in an interesting way the bass and drums come in and just maybe a spot you're not quite ready for and yeah just just like a playful song that i really enjoy just super catchy i i wish the world could hear this music like i wish more people, would give this a chance because it should be words were i mean maybe this is my thesis for the end of this whole thing but gourd's work should be appreciated like like josh even said like they're both up they're both equal they're both amazing yeah.Track 4:[43:09] I had the word super catchy exactly the same in my in my notes and i really don't have a lot of other notes about this song but i i can't stop listening to it i know that um it's a yeah it's a it's a and you're right craig it came at the right time um in the sequencing um it was needed in this spot.Track 3:[43:31] It's a little heavy before that.Track 2:[43:32] Right?Track 3:[43:33] Yeah, and it's going to get heavy again. Yep, that's right. Really heavy.Track 2:[43:37] I learned a really valuable... I gained access to some valuable experience today, when I was preparing for this recording, because it's the first time that I've flipped the record over, and had to tackle the final five songs that we ever get to hear from Gord Downie, or so we thought at the time. You know, like, we didn't know there was going to be posthumous releases.Track 5:[44:17] Right.Track 2:[44:19] We knew he wrote this right before he passed, So either way, you know, it's fucking heavy. Craig, when you think of The Road, do you think of that as heavy?Track 5:[44:35] Yes.Track 3:[44:36] Wow, The Road, this song destroys me. Again, there's a bit of a theme on the album in a few songs about The Road, about missing out on life events. Yes. On, you know, the sacrifice. Of you know being a touring musician um you know a dream that i had when i was young and it didn't work out and you know i'm you know thankful for the life i have um and you know i'm sure gourd was as well but man like it had to be there had to be some really tough times being out away from your family all the time and missing things and um anyways this song is so good and the um the thing i want to say about this is when the drums come in there's no hi-hat it's just sort of kick and snare and that space really sets the the mood for this song um you know along with you know the piano of course um and there's one line i want to point out the machines are somewhat suitable now um you know is that is that the hospital machines is it is it a reference to man machine poem um i'm not sure but but this song like.Track 3:[46:06] Depresses me almost as much as the the book the road which destroyed me when i was um a young parent uh you know or not you know i wasn't young but my my son was young and if you you know um cormac mccarthy's the road it is absolutely devastating it is the a book that took me well i've never gotten over it really and the movie as well i watched the movie and it took me about six months to watch the movie i had to watch it like a little bit at a time when i was in the right headspace and it just it is if you haven't read it's maybe don't but it's incredible um but this this yeah if you name something the road it's probably going to destroy me well.Track 4:[46:51] So I had a bit of an awakening about three years ago when in May of 2021, my wife had something that she had to do at work late at night or 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, whatever. And she couldn't be home to make dinner. And it was like a Tuesday or something. I don't know. And she messaged me during the day and said, you need to be home and make Evelyn dinner tonight. night. Evelyn's our daughter. And at the time she was, uh, almost four and I got home and I realized, holy shit, I've never made dinner for my daughter before. Um, I was working 80 hours a week and I was missing everything. And my wife had an Instagram account for our daughter. And that was the only way that I was keeping up. I lived in the same house, but I wasn't in the same family. You know what I mean? And yeah, the song brings all that back and made a big life change that very night. I sent a long message to my boss and said, we got to talk tomorrow, but I'm going to get it all out right now. Cause if I didn't say it now, I'm not going to say it. And I told him I'm done at the end of the year. I've I'll stick with you for my commitment through this year, but but I'd put 10 years into my job and missed everything in that 10 years. And, um.Track 4:[48:16] Give Gord another three decades on top of that. Um, I don't know who the song's about and I guess it doesn't matter, but, um, but obviously it matters, but, um, yeah, I, I really identified with the missing everything and even going back to the song about, um, uh, what is it? Love over money, um, about the band, you know, we missed funerals and births and all this stuff. And yeah, that's me. I've been there, man. I've, I still, to some degree, I'm there a little bit, but, um, yeah, I missed my daughter's first four years of her life.Track 5:[48:54] Everyone knows in this group here, I'm on the road all the time. I'm talking to you from a hotel room in, in Washington, DC. And, um, and so, I mean, Justin, I think this is actually a letter to the road and a letter to everyone that he's been on the road with, including his wife, his part, you know, his, his kids, his bandmates. It's, it's that, you know, that's that life you choose, you know, whether it's a traveling musician, whether it's a a traveling salesman, whether it's a, you know, a producer. Um, and, and, and it's, uh, it's tough, but when you're not on the road, if you are a road person, it's your, your, you know, jittery, you're nervous, but how do you, how do you give to your family and to yourself and to your job and to your art? And, uh, he wouldn't have been able to do that without the road. So but you know it's a blessing and a curse um i we mentioned this about another song here and this one i wrote was also a song that could have been on secret path was the note for me.Track 4:[50:17] Yeah yeah but musically yeah again.Track 5:[50:19] We there's not enough hours in the day right lads to uh just talk about the amazing insight and that we have it here you know to listen to to watch to read to just just beautiful.Track 4:[50:36] Well there's there's that point where you know you're you're young and and full of energy and you've got these huge goals and then you start to achieve them and then at the same time you have this other life going on behind the scenes that has always played second fiddle to that and then you realize at some point you're too deep into the pursuit to stop now but that this other life that was didn't even exist when you started uh has now taken the spot you know is number one on your on your pecking order and how the hell do you make that change without destroying everything that you've created you know yep.Track 5:[51:14] Oh you are the bird.Track 2:[51:18] Yeah it's uh it's a slow and lovely song right what do you think about it kirk to.Track 5:[51:28] Me this this was uh uh, uh, just a letter. It seemed like a letter to a sibling, right? You, you became the bird you, uh, and then it just, it made sense. And, uh, um, um.Track 5:[51:44] I, it, it starts getting heavy after a while, right? When you, when we break, I mean, we talked about it with the last week when we talked about the first one and how emotional it was and, you know, here we are, you know, however many songs in and you just, you stop. And like you said, you know, JD, it was like, these are the last five tunes and it's, it's, it's almost hard to embrace, um, and think about without just getting, you know, overwhelmed. I, I think it is, I think largely because of the love we have for, uh, you know, what, what, what Gord Downie has done solo and with the hip and, and in jazz as a human. So, um, but, uh, yeah, just, uh, you know, Another note was, again, I think I mentioned it earlier, just lyrics that are written different than what is being sung. And I didn't know if that was on purpose. I think I mentioned that. And I didn't know if it was something Gord was trying to do on purpose. Or it's probably nothing. It's probably just what was written and what was sung.Track 5:[53:04] You know, he probably had it written down as such and just like we do when you have a script in front of you, your brain has already chosen what the next word is going to be. So, anyway.Track 4:[53:15] I noticed that this shared a lot of similarities with Spoon from the first half where he talks about help being the only reason why we're here. You help others and the child in the song Spoon is, I guess, tasked with the same thing. I don't know if task is the right word, but this is a common thread throughout the album. And this lyrically shares a lot with that song.Track 3:[53:48] Yeah. I agree, Justin. That was my real only, my only real note on this song was that, that, you know, it's the only reason we're here. And that seems to be like, yeah, like if I had to break down this album into one message, that would be, I mean, other than like a goodbye and, uh, you know, uh, a lot, you know, a love letter to his close ones. Um, that is like the, yeah, the summation of this album. I also thought probably about A Child, the song, and also there's the line about he was the bird, he passed it down, you want to help people out. So, you know, he's referencing not only the person he's talking to, but someone, maybe another family member, a grandfather or someone who's passed down that quality that, he respects.Track 4:[54:35] There's one of my mentors. I kind of think of him as a father figure. His name is John Adams and he was a very bottom level race car driver around these parts. And, he and my father were about the same age and they were friends. And I started hanging out with John when I was 13 or 14 years old, trying to learn how to work on race cars. And there was one night he went off, he got pushed off the racetrack and he's, you know, this massive six foot six, 300 pound guy. And he comes barreling out of the car and climbs up to the top of the racetrack and gives a, gives the driver that, that wronged him the double bird. So he became the bird man that night. Um, that was his, that was his nickname. And so everybody calls him bird. And, you know, I thought, wouldn't that be silly if he passed his nickname down to me somehow, how you know because he doesn't all of his all of his kids are girls and i'm kind of like his sort of son um i don't think that's going to happen but i i know the song isn't made to laugh, but i laughed thinking about that that's.Track 2:[55:42] A nice memory though yeah.Track 4:[55:44] He's still with us he's still with us flipping people off all the time, yeah i.Track 5:[55:51] Love that the lake.Track 2:[58:56] Yeah, this one's a fucking tearjerker to me. So proceed with caution on this one. Justin?Track 4:[59:04] Yeah. I kind of mentioned it before that I thought that this song was about Lake Ontario, which has been such a constant theme throughout Gord's entire career with the hip and with the solo stuff. And there's so many references to the lake. Um but this song is not about the lake this song is is about his daughter willow i mean that's right at the end of the song uh i realized today you are lake ontario the love of my life you are willow and then he does this fantastic call and answer thing with his own you know backup vocals um saying willow over and over again and it's like wow this one this one is something um it's a it's a beautiful song um it's just gorgeous um and yes he does describe the lake or a lake um but all these same qualities could be about your child and man it's uh it's a crusher very.Track 5:[1:00:09] Astute observation mr justin that's uh i i think spot on um and as you mentioned you know it's obviously and and to compare the two is is that there's no disservice in that he loves them both dearly so um i loved how the keys on this made it feel like you were on the lake like you listen to the.Track 4:[1:00:37] Song and you feel like.Track 5:[1:00:39] You're floating in you know in a boat a canoe whatever on the lake and you hear the lake in that song. Um, absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing.Track 4:[1:00:55] You know, I, I grew up on the water. Um, Lake Champlain is, they call it the sixth great lake. Um, and that's, I can see it out the window. Um, and my family had a camp on a little lake, uh, Hall's lake. And my wife grew up on a lake in Ohio, Guilford lake. And we go there They're three, four, five times a year. We're headed there next week. And she also came to Vermont working at a summer camp for, I think, seven summers on Lake Fairley, which is a gorgeous resort area. And so on first hearing this song, The Lake, and probably the first 10 times I heard it, I was like, man, I can see it. And then I picked up on the willow thing after, you know, 11th on my 11th listen, I guess. And I was like, Oh no, it's just something completely different. But if it is just about the lake, Oof, that's just as devastating and lovely.Track 3:[1:01:57] Yeah, I also grew up near a lake. Our house in Peachland, which my parents still live in, overlooks Okanagan Lake, which is a very large lake. And yeah, it just brings back memories. And it is maybe my favorite spot on earth. Right across the lake from where we live is a small island. There's no roads. There's no power. There's no development on the other side of the lake. And it's just a place that we would boat to when I was a kid and try to get over there every summer. And it's just, you know, this song takes me there. And also, you know, with the mention of his daughter at the end and, you know, the, you're the love of my life and it, yeah, it's just a beautiful song.Track 2:[1:02:46] It's gorgeous. Kirk?Track 5:[1:02:49] Again, we've said it already. you know these last five songs are they're crushers it's like it it was really hard to listen to them in succession like i really needed to stop you know this these last two far far away and blurred i you know my my my space that i left for what is supposed to be my guess of who it is who the song is to the letters to, is blank. And it is blank because to me it could be anyone. Maybe it was obvious to one of you guys, but I really felt like it was almost like a letter to everyone.Track 5:[1:03:34] We smile. All that we've been through, up and down for sure, onwards and upwards, up close, far away, and blurred. Um, the tempo changes in this song are amazing. It goes into a, a swing almost during the chorus. Um, and, uh, I, I, again, just the instrumentation and the, the combination of what, you know, uh, you know, obviously not just, um, Gordon, Kevin, but, you know, the others that contributed as well. So just add, I think, to each one of these letters, as it were, you know, as they started out. What'd you think about Far Away and Blurred, Craig?Track 3:[1:04:25] I really love this song. Another strong song on the second half of this album. And I almost wondered if maybe it could be another touring song, or maybe he's talking about traveling with his family. Great melody. And I agree with what you said, Kirk, when it changes tempo halfway through the song, and the drums come in with that slow beat, and the echo the the vocals are echoing and i i found that part very powerful and it's like, again i just can't, get over the the brilliance of his work it is like so emotional um and there's this like guitar pattern going on that's really really cool in the background as well and yeah and justin you yeah.Track 4:[1:05:20] I i guess i'm echoing what you guys have said um it's just a if i mean it's a little bit upbeat um for a hot minute there and again comes at a at a place where you need it um Um, yeah, it's, it's lovely. It's how it's a guy who's frigging dying, um, and telling everybody how much he loves them and that he always has, whether, whether you're in view or not. Right. Um, yeah, the.Track 5:[1:05:53] Passion in his voice in the vocal, um, is just so palpable. And so it just, I mean, wrenching, but almost in a, just again, another reminder of just how amazing, how amazing every part and ounce of the art that comes out of this guy is just incredible, incredible.Track 3:[1:06:23] Yeah, JD, did you have anything to add for this one?Track 2:[1:06:26] I don't know if I could get anything out right now if I tried. it's.Track 3:[1:06:30] A tough one I.Track 2:[1:06:32] Think you know his voice in the verses I've got written down that it's playful and painful at the same time, and you know it builds the chorus is obviously as powerful a gourd voice as we've heard in almost any song on this record, We'll get more of that in later records that we'll discuss in future episodes, but yeah, it's a great song, but it's the second-to-last song, and the North is a really powerful way to end. A callback to Secret Path and The Bridge. But overall, it's an interesting tracking decision. It can't be a coincidence. Right, Justin?Track 4:[1:11:07] No, of course it's not. It's a reminder. It's like he spent a good portion of that final show in Kingston reminding everybody to pay attention and to keep paying attention. And that's exactly what this song is. is it's it's uh yeah i did secret path but keep going forward keep talking about it keep moving keep changing um keep trying to figure this out um you know i don't know if we i don't think we've said this on air but when we first started talking about this album there i i mentioned to you guys in our in our group chat that i thought this was some of the songs on this album were like a stream of consciousness and i think i know that there's the video of of them recording this song and i know that it's not a stream of consciousness but i think when he was writing this song, what he wrote down is whatever came to his head first and i'm going to find a song to to put it to and i got to get this message out i don't care if it's rhymes or makes sense musically or what This has to be said again and again and again and again. And good on him, you know. Yeah.Track 3:[1:12:22] Yeah. So he makes the reference to, um, you know, a place West of, of James Bay, which would be Ottawa, Piscat, which of course the hip have, have the song about. And, um, I, I, I'm wondering if this song is either about or to Joseph Boyden, the author who, at the same time secret path was released, released a book called when Jack, um, I didn't mention him on the secret path episode only because there is some controversy you can look it up if you're interested but calling his um his roots into you know question um you know people questioning that he may not be in fact indigenous so you know that's definitely something you can kind of look into yourself but um joseph boyden is famous for a book called three day road and And just an interesting little thing that I came across about a week ago was a story related to this. So this story, Three Day Road, is about from just, I haven't read the book, but I've read a different story about a sniper in World War I named Francis Paganagabo. And he was nicknamed Peggy. And he has more kills than any sniper in North America.Track 3:[1:13:44] And his story is relatively unknown. And it's a really fascinating story. And anyways, I was reading a short story about that last week and then made this discovery about the connection to Joseph Boyden. Anyways, I highly encourage you to check out a story called Peggy. There's actually a podcast too by CBC called This Place. which is 150 years of Canadian history told by indigenous voices. And the episode on Peggy is incredible.Track 5:[1:14:19] The line Canada, we should have never called Canada. Um, I thought was pretty bold as well to put out there as you guys all had been mentioning, you know, obviously when he had addressed the crowd, you know, at several of the shows and, and several of his interviews. So I think that's, uh, bold, but expected. So I, I, uh, I think we all appreciate that. He would, would, go out there to this level.Track 3:[1:14:51] Yeah there's definitely a call back to that that statement in the last show that he made to the prime minister and i always um really admired that and, i always wondered what it would be like if an american artist did the same thing, you know like a high profile of bruce springsteen or someone went out and said something like that just the absolute division that would that would ensue um yeah yeah oh.Track 5:[1:15:18] Yeah I was going to say the dick and chicks are a good example.Track 3:[1:15:22] Of it.Track 4:[1:15:22] Happening.Track 5:[1:15:23] So but yeah.Track 4:[1:15:27] Or the opposite of that lady antebellum who's then sued the person that they stole their name from well fellas.Track 2:[1:15:36] It's time to ask the question will you be keeping this record in your rotation.Track 4:[1:15:44] I'm going to say not all the time And it's got nothing to do with the music. It's the subject. It's the heaviness of it. It's I don't want to, I don't want to be down. Um, there are some songs on this, on this record that are frigging awesome. They're all, they're all very good, but you know, there's some songs that certainly fit into the hip like catalog.Track 2:[1:16:07] Sure. And you can add them to your mixtape, right?Track 4:[1:16:10] Exactly. And that's probably how I'll consume them. Um, but this is going to be something that I listened to once every couple of years, maybe.Track 5:[1:16:19] Yeah, it's a commitment. I was just going to say it's a commitment. So I would answer very similarly to what Justin said. Even for this particular purpose of this podcast, it was heavy listening every time, every time you went through it. And so definitely some tunes I want to keep hearing regularly, but it's not something that I would. All i have on regular rotation like like i would would some of the others that that have definitely been fantastic in my opinion i.Track 3:[1:16:58] Agree with you guys i i definitely will come back to this album, um considering i gave it you know it took me six and a half years just to give it a first listen i'm definitely not going to wait that long um but i think i'll just have to be in the right frame of mind to put it on but i absolutely will i really do love it in fact coming up with an mvp track for this is definitely the hardest decision i've had to make i was hoping we were going to do one last week and one this week but so i'm it's going to be a last uh last second decision i was.Track 4:[1:17:31] Hoping jd would forget the question this time.Track 2:[1:17:33] I've got it written down so i don't forget my My memory is so piss poor.Track 3:[1:17:39] Right in on your hand.Track 2:[1:17:40] I call it a format sheet, but for real, it's cheating. Craig, we're going to stick with you. And we're going to go to MVP track.Track 3:[1:17:48] I want to know what they say first. So to clarify, is this my absolute favorite track or is this the track that I want to put onto a mixtape?Track 2:[1:18:00] It can be, that can be your interpretation. It can, it's the most valuable player. It's the, you know.Track 3:[1:18:07] So I had so many I mean my first instinct was a natural but I think I'm going to have to go with Snowflake it's.Track 2:[1:18:17] So good it.Track 3:[1:18:18] Is such a powerful song to me and I love the chorus I love the way again that big reverb sound and it's just a really gorgeous song and takes me you know visually takes me somewhere.Track 2:[1:18:36] We could definitely overuse the word gorgeous on this record because there's so much gorgeosity on it, you know?Track 4:[1:18:45] Nice.Track 5:[1:18:46] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:48] Right?Track 5:[1:18:49] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:50] Kirk.Track 5:[1:18:51] Yeah. MVP? Thinking about us, man.Track 3:[1:18:54] Good call.Track 5:[1:18:55] That tune, just thinking about us. It's thinking about us. That's all I need to say.Track 2:[1:19:01] You didn't have to hesitate at all. Wow.Track 5:[1:19:04] No.Track 2:[1:19:06] Justin, how are you going to react to the question? Craig was very concerned and didn't want to say anything. Kirk was very resolute and just put a flag in her. And Justin, where are you on this one? I'm giving you some time to think, so it's not really fair.Track 4:[1:19:25] Well, I don't need time to think. I just don't have an answer. I've been thinking about this since the first listen because I knew that this was coming. Um i will i i do have an answer um but i'll tell you the pics that i had wolf's home because it makes me think of my dad bedtime because of just the connection with my daughter and when this song or when this record came out um i love introduce yourself for the reasons that we talked about it's it's a great song about your buddy and and you know get me out of another jam please you know There was some interview that Gord did that he told Billy Ray. He goes, something happened with a guitar. And he goes, I will literally blow you if you fix this. I love Spoon, that song Spoon, because I really like the band. But I also like the story of going to the show with a kid. um but i'm gonna go with love over money because that's why we're all here in the first place yeah right good job justin yeah thank.Track 2:[1:20:37] You what bow you put in it love.Track 4:[1:20:39] It yeah yeah.Track 2:[1:20:42] And that brings us to the end of Introduce Yourself. Just a, you know, what a, I'm going to use the word again, what a gorgeous piece of work. And so memorable and so thoughtful. And, you know, this is the last stuff he recorded. It's really, really quite heavy. And we're sorry if we brought you down a little bit with these last two episodes, um but trust us we're celebrating this music we're not mourning we are celebrating and.Track 3:[1:21:23] Jd i want to thank you one more time for bringing me on board for this project because this is the album that i told you right from the start has been sitting on my shelf and i needed i wanted to listen to it. It's been staring at me for years and I just couldn't do it. And I think maybe just having, you know, you guys along with the ride makes it, you know, easier to do.Track 2:[1:21:50] Thank you very much. Thank you for doing it.Track 4:[1:21:53] Yeah. I a hundred percent. Thank you. I, I didn't know about any other records, um, um that gourd had done um but i knew about this one and i was choosing to not listen to it you know i i wanted nothing to do with it um and i gotta be honest with you i'm glad it's over i'm glad it's behind us um i listened to this this album in its entirety probably 25 to 30 times um it's.Track 2:[1:22:22] A lot yeah.Track 4:[1:22:23] It's a lot and the last week or so um leading up to recording this i stopped listening completely um i had to stop it was just killing me and i started listening to um some of the older hip stuff and i started listening to some sadie stuff and i listened to conquering sun quite a bit um but i had to get away from the heaviness and go back to being a fan, because this was a hard one.Track 2:[1:22:57] Completely agree well on behalf of uh craig and justin and kirk it's me jd and we're saying goodbye for another week we'll be back we've just got a couple episodes left fellas we've got away is mine and we've got luster parfait and then we've got the finale and i'm getting excited about yeah.Track 4:[1:23:21] Hell yeah oh yeah yeah and you know it's gonna.Track 2:[1:23:26] Be a good time.Track 4:[1:23:27] I got it you know we got to give a shout out to our our social media following you guys are really starting to step up and kick ass lately and it's really re-energized all of us a lot um we're our group chat has been on fire the last several days as we record this because we're just like did you see this one did you see the message there did you see the email oh my god you know it's yeah we're obsessing over the rankings and it's it's great it's fun it's a lot of fun well.Track 5:[1:23:52] So it was so crazy too to get some like some you know some of the official accounts of these people that we were talking about are.Track 4:[1:24:01] Right are.Track 5:[1:24:02] Sharing some of the you know the links and stuff to some of these episodes and and uh we're getting just some great amazing comments you know through the right you guys mentioned social media you know instagram facebook and uh just i don't think any of us had that on our bingo cards when we woke up in the morning, you know?Track 2:[1:24:22] I didn't.Track 4:[1:24:27] Right. And the Sadies messaged you back today, Craig. That's cool.Track 2:[1:24:33] Holy shit.Track 4:[1:24:34] And JD's putting in the legwork tenfold over what we're doing.Track 2:[1:24:38] Stop.Track 4:[1:24:39] He's listening. He's throwing everything together and doing interviews and making all this happen. I mean, I don't know if any of us are getting rich off this.Track 2:[1:24:48] Oh, not fucking me.Track 4:[1:24:50] You know, JD is certainly reaping the benefits of, I think a lot of people are appreciating what you're doing and I know we are.Track 5:[1:24:57] Yeah, absolutely.Track 2:[1:24:59] It's a group effort, guys. It's a group effort, man. All right, folks. Pick up your shit.Track 1:[1:25:07] Thanks for listening to Discovering Downey. To find out more about the show and its host, visit DiscoveringDowney.com. You can email us at discoveringdowney at gmail.com. And hey, we're social. Check us out.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week the gang gets together to discuss the rest of Inroduce Yerself.Transcript:Track 1:[0:00] Hey, it's Justin. You know and love us on the Discovering Downey podcast, right? So come hang out with us in person for the finale. Join us for Long Slice Brewing presents a celebration of Gord Downey at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Craig is coming from Vancouver, Kirk is coming from LA, I'm driving from Vermont, and JD's like walking down the street or wherever he lives in Toronto. Tickets are available now on our website at discovererndowney.com, and when you get your tickets, that means you can come Come hang out with us and our very special guest, Patrick Downey, and you can bid on some incredibly cool silent auction items, all while jamming along with tragically hip cover band The Almost Hip, and most importantly, helping us raise money for the Gord Downey Fund for Brain Cancer Research. Crack open a long slice, put on some Gord tunes, take a journey with us on discovering Downey, and then crack open another long slice on July 19th and hang out with us in the six. I always wanted to sound cool and say that. For more information, follow us on all the socials and visit DiscoveringDowny.com. Christmas Day for Edgar. My dad always used to say just after the presents, well, it's as far away now as it will ever be. I'm thinking about that as the stewardess cracks the public address system. For those sitting in economy, there's no music for you today.Track 1:[1:21] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents. Discovering Downey.Track 2:[1:31] Hey, it's JD 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 local acrobats that wowed 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 really listened to these solo records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends, Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans of the hip in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week, we're going to get together and listen to one of Gord's records, working 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 the back half well plus two songs from the front half of introduce yourself justin my friend how are you doing on this gray fucking oh is it gray there toronto oh oh it's terrible all day maybe because i was wearing sunglasses wait a minute.Track 4:[2:55] It is it was the opposite of that here in in beautiful vermont today it's it was a beautiful day i I think it's going to be great for the rest of the week, though. So whatever you're getting today, we'll get tomorrow.Track 1:[3:05] Oh, that's weather with Justin. We'll be back with Craig and Traffic. Remember, news on the fives.Track 2:[3:12] Where in the world is Kirk from Fuckachino? How's it going, man?Track 5:[3:22] I am in Washington, D.C. Right now for work in a hotel room. so having some technical difficulties so my apologies but things are good and uh excited to continue the conversation greg.Track 2:[3:41] What say you things.Track 3:[3:44] Are going well a little uh a little tired after a night out uh watching the sadies last night so they played a small venue downtown and got to see the boys rock out and um yeah it was it was a pretty awesome show a big banner of Dallas in the background and yeah, some touching moments, but mostly they, they just rocked.Track 2:[4:03] I haven't been to a live show in a little while now.Track 4:[4:06] Super cool.Track 2:[4:12] All right, fellas, before we get into the music, I want to talk to you about an email that I got from an organization called Lake Fever Wilderness Company. Basically, the gist of this email is that the Lake Fever Wilderness Company has submitted all the paperwork required to City Hall to get At Riverdale Park East, here in Toronto, mere footsteps from my home, renamed Gord Downie Park. I saw an article on BlogTO, and then they also gave us a couple other links to stories. But I'm hoping that our little podcast here, that people who listen to it will hear this, and you know we can build some awareness around this somehow anything you want to say about this or comment about this are you jealous and ate in your town yes.Track 4:[5:17] That sounds like a great cause and um for what it's worth i love the song lake fever so.Track 2:[5:25] Right Right?Track 4:[5:26] Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's a, that's whatever we can do to help, man. That sounds great.Track 5:[5:31] Sounds very cool.Track 3:[5:32] I'm jealous. We, who do we get? Brian Adams Avenue.Track 2:[5:39] Probably already have it. Don't you?Track 3:[5:41] I don't know. I don't know. Maybe in England.Track 2:[5:45] Really? There's not a. Right mind-blowing to me one of the top songs of all time in terms of played, everything i do i do for you right, yeah but this is not a brian adams podcast this is a podcast called discovering downy and let's pick it up where we left off last time that puts us on side two of the first record With the very candid, my first self.Track 5:[6:47] I mean, just explains it like I remember it. And yeah. could feel all of those crazy, stupid emotions and, uh, could just totally wrap my head around and embrace, you know, the message that he was writing, you know, a piano forward tune again. You know, I think we talked about that the last one, uh, I love the vocal and the background that starts coming in uh you know echoing essentially the line um and then the last line is just classic so yeah uh it's a it's a brilliant tune in my assessment.Track 3:[7:28] Yeah, what I liked about it is that it really instantly just takes you to a place in your own life, whether the story is one you connect with or not, it takes you back to, you know, when you were in your teens or whatever. And that's what I appreciated about this song. Another thing before the echoing vocal you're talking about there's i just noticed today for the first time very very faintly in the opposite channel is something that sounds like a, a meowing cat i think it's a person but it's almost this little it's so subtle it's almost like one of those hearing tests you get where there's a little beep and you're like did i hear that but i listened a second time and there's something that comes in about 30 seconds before for the more noticeable vocal on the other side so i.Track 4:[8:19] Did not on that view yeah i listened to it today too actually and.Track 3:[8:24] Um i.Track 4:[8:26] Mean this this girl sounds cool as hell you know like he says in the song six years older so it's definitely you know she's his girlfriend but he may not be her boyfriend from what i'm picking up on you know like and and i certainly related to the you.Track 3:[8:41] Told me off and could she be responsible for uh hooking gourd on reading because he wanted to be like her.Track 4:[8:50] Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah interesting thought yeah yeah yeah i don't know again like i did feel a little awkward listening to this song let's.Track 2:[9:02] Move to the next track on the record you're ashore.Track 3:[9:05] Well this is probably the song i have the least to say about it's maybe the least memorable for me I think probably it's the type of song that if it's about you it's probably a maybe a bit of an inside joke or I'm not really sure what the you know what it's about who it's about, I appreciated the gentleness in his voice. I was glad that it was the length that it was because it was not my favorite. What did you guys think?Track 5:[9:38] I loved it me too i uh i i uh i mean it's the shortest song on the album it's a minute 30 you know the lyrics are simple it's you know essentially you're sure you're sure repeated and a few little straight lines but the brilliant in the very beginning is you know he's strumming and then it's the let flow it down i believe is what he says and uh yeah it's um Um, I think especially amongst this body of work amongst this album, like, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of piano, there's a lot of synths, there's even some beats and things of that nature. And it was kind of nice to just get a little short acoustic ditty in my opinion. But, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a sucker for that. That's, uh, just like, just like back in the eighties, right? Every metal band had its little ballad. so uh i i love the ballads so.Track 4:[10:38] Yeah i don't know who it's about but it's an earworm i find myself humming the tune uh quite often and there's only a few words in the song so it's not like, you know like you said craig the lyrics aren't nothing about it is really memorable but it is it does get into your brain and it's an easy little like you could just walk through the the park and just sing that all day. But yeah, I mean, it's a minute 30 and that's about right.Track 2:[11:07] Yeah, that's about right. It's interesting you say that you couldn't determine who that's about, because I, so far, have really sucked at that game, listening to the first record. So, as we go into the second record, Gord lobs a softball at me, and even I know that this next track, Love Over Money, is about the fucking Tragically Hip.Track 4:[11:37] Damn right it is.Track 2:[11:39] Yeah who wants to go first here kirk.Track 5:[11:42] Yeah i'll go first um yeah i i you know uh i would say jd i've had a similar you know a similar experience in in trying i have little parentheses in my notes of who i think the note might be or the song might be too and i you know i can't even get specifics i just write like brother you know question mark things of that nature so this one was obvious what i loved about it as well and and i think i might have mentioned it on on the last of the first the first album it's such a pop it's like a synth pop tune is what i have and this is gonna sound weird but for whatever reason when i hear the song i think of that snl skit where you've You've got like Jimmy Fallon and they're all playing like they're doing that little, you know, they do the little dance.Track 2:[12:36] Oh, right, right, right.Track 5:[12:37] You know, when I heard this song, I, by the second time, I just, I couldn't get that shit out of my brain. So, but just beautiful lyrics talking about the band. So direct and so loving and so to the point. To me, an absolute, brilliant Gord Downie song. I mean, you know, just wonderful, wonderful song.Track 3:[13:06] The moment he said the line, we played to no one, and then no one plus one, I knew it was about the hip. Because I remember in 1996, a band I played in, we went across Canada two times that year, self-booked tours. And we ended up in Thunder Bay on one of the tours.Track 3:[13:24] And we played in a tiny club called crocs and rolls which is sort of like a legendary club in in thunder bay a guy named frank lefredo was the booker there who was kind of like a legend, in uh in music across canada and anyway frank um the first night we we played and we didn't draw much of a crowd and he said you know don't worry guys the you know first time the tragedy hit played here they played to to no one and then they played a second night and they got a couple more and the next night and you know they played i think three nights in a row on an early tour, and so that made us feel a little better and he and he um he felt bad about the the draw so when we came back um he found us a gig at another venue um for the for the drive back so that's the the memory that that comes up for me um and also the other thing the queen's jubilee uh so the reference to the um to the playing to the the deafening the husband of the queen um that would be that that show which i looked up and uh and yeah they played poets and interesting enough in that version of poets he changes the lyrics he censors himself a little bit i noticed so for the queen he he He changed bare-breasted to bare-chested, and there was one other change I can't recall.Track 4:[14:44] Yeah, it was a great performance. I remember seeing that. I wish that I had looked it up just to bring the memory of it back, but that line stuck out to me. I remember seeing that performance.Track 3:[14:57] And he used the laminar flow line as well in that version of Poets.Track 4:[15:01] Oh, that I didn't remember.Track 2:[15:04] Wow.Track 3:[15:05] Which ended up in Coke Machine Glow on Every Irrelevance.Track 4:[15:11] Yeah. Obviously, the bond between those five guys is unbreakable, and this song is funny, too. I laughed at this song the first time that I heard it and heard the lyrics. We missed death and marriage and a birth. I did notice the words hotel worth, which is kind of a preview to an upcoming thing. There's a song that actually got a lot of airplay here locally a few years ago. But yeah, yep, it did. Yep, it was on the radio two or three times a day for a couple months here.Track 3:[15:47] The love over money line um made me also think about the way that they split their royalties and i'm not sure if if it was like a 20 all the way around that would be my guess but but often the the lyricist will take 50 and then the people who wrote the music take the other 50 so you know maybe it's not that simple but the fact that all five of them were as far as i know listed on all all the all the credits sort of um you know over their career that's something that drives so many bands apart is that fight over you know well i wrote this i wrote this and like even in the band i spoke about a while ago like we had some really crazy discussions around royalties and who should get what and you know in my mind i've always been a equal share guy i don't care if you're the drummer if you're you know you wrote your part that's just you know then again i've not not like i'm making a ton of a ton of money in music or anything but but um it was nice to to see them stick together so long and the same five guys like what other band can you think of that released that many albums with the same lineup it's got to be a very very.Track 2:[17:02] Very short list.Track 3:[17:03] Like there may be some three pieces i mean but a five piece band think of all the potential for conflict and for you know one guy leaving it like no one there's some sleuthing.Track 2:[17:17] Some sonic sleuthing for you listeners out there send us an email at discovering downy at gmail.com with bands that have a lineup up that was consistent with at least 15 records released? Are there any? Is there a database that you could just plug that into and get it from?Track 3:[17:40] No idea. I mean, Aerosmith would be close, but they had that lineup change in the mid-career.Track 2:[17:49] Right.Track 3:[17:51] For one album anyways.Track 2:[17:53] Joe Perry left, right? Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.Track 3:[17:55] Yeah.Track 2:[17:57] Yeah, yeah. Okay, so the next track is You, Me, and the Bees. Do I go two for two here when I say this is an ode to the Boston Bruins? Yeah. And its ability to connect with your family, particularly in this case to Gord's brother, Patrick.Track 3:[21:03] That sounds about right to me.Track 2:[21:04] Take us away.Track 3:[21:06] Took me right to my childhood as well. And a good friend of mine, so my friend Blair and I, we played a game called hall hockey. Hockey's in my parents basement with you know those fisher price um bowling sets we take take one of the pins and a ball and we would just hit the ball back and forth and if you hit the wall you score and we had this ongoing game every time he came over and we would you know do the play by play and we were both oilers fans so you weren't allowed to be the oilers you had to choose another team and i'll never forget the quebec nordique if you were the nordique and you you know you'd be Stastny and then you pass over to to you know Michelle Goulet and as soon as Michelle Goulet, got the puck you know you're getting a shot in the balls every single time I don't know what it was but and um yeah and then Blair became a little bigger than me and started winning every single game and then we yeah we aged out of that game but anyways that's where it took me yeah what What about you guys?Track 4:[22:06] Oh man, this was me and my old man playing pond hockey. Yeah, I loved the song and I loved I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. And you know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton and you know, it's, I don't know, like Like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time. This song is that relationship. And, you know, and as a Habs fan, I freaking hate the Bruins, but I get it. You know, I totally get it. And, yeah, this is just a really cool song about your brother. You know, it's fun.Track 5:[22:57] Yeah, I loved the song. And I loved, I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. You know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton. And, you know, it's, I don't know, like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time, you know, and the song is that.Track 4:[23:30] I, um, I really liked how Gord's voice was very staccato and this, um, he was really kind of a minimalist with, you know, he didn't drag any of the, any of the, the lines out the Bruins. You know, like just very on the beat and kind of not screwing around. Or maybe this is screwing around for him, I guess. But, you know, he turned the word Bruins into Bruins, just one syllable. And I don't know, it felt like a different approach lyrically or sonically, I guess.Track 3:[24:02] Yeah, that phrasing really matched the style of the song too. That sort of, like the percussion that Kirk was talking about. It just, yeah, had that staccato feel.Track 5:[24:11] The phrasing, thanks for bringing that up, Craig. I had just recently watched the Juno Award tribute, Dallas Green and Sarah Harmer and Kevin Hearn, I believe it was, and I believe it was the Junos. And gore you guys both talked mentioned like the way he phrases like the way he takes his lyrics and will you know enunciate them to fit into the line it is like no one else right and then when you watch this tribute and you see her singing introduce yourself and trying to you know keep the cadence that that that gourd has i guess that's a good way to describe it there's a uh, a unique cadence to it so i i was blown away by that if you guys haven't seen it you you must watch it and then when they go into bob cajun and the harmonies are just incredible but like goosebumps you know it's so incredible and then especially when she comes in with that harmony But to hear her do the phrasing was wonderful as well, because that has to be difficult.Track 2:[25:25] Yeah, it's what we love about him, right? His ability to twist and turn and put round pegs into square holes or square pegs into round holes probably is more difficult, in fact. Snowflake has a haunting piano line that works well with Gord's almost pastime. What do you think of Snowflakes.Track 5:[25:46] Kirk? Yeah, Melancholy was my note. Again, the piano is used heavily throughout this whole album, but on this song in particular. My guess at who it is to is just a girlfriend is all I wrote. Um but uh the the other note that i wrote was the the woman leaned in to say goodbye but i don't remember his name and uh just the um where is gourd going with that you know i i uh i i wondered i wrote that down as a note so um but just again uh fully emotional song.Track 3:[26:34] Yeah i wondered if that was almost like a reference to maybe his fading memory yeah the oh yeah i was a bit puzzled by that too craig yeah it was a very eerie song and i really loved it i love the um the jangling sounds gave it like a really eerie feeling like you're in a i don't know like a haunted ballroom of some ancient house like i just picture this as a movie when I'm listening to it the the, vocal delivery makes me wonder if it was one of the later tracks that he he did and i really love the chorus and the the reverb they put on like just like in a natural there is a ton of reverb, like way too much reverb but it works really well it's so powerful when they do it on this album not something i would normally like um yeah his voice is is gorgeous in the song um a lot of feeling to the piano playing as well by by kevin um yeah and again i had a note about phrasing when he says my name and when he says goodbye it's kind of rushed and it made me wonder if it was just a lack of time just you know doing it in one take and not worrying too much about yeah about how it came off um but again that's what we love about you too yeah yeah.Track 5:[27:58] You i mean craig you sing when you play takes a lot of energy um so that's that's one thing that i wondered throughout this this album in particular when like if you just say you're looking at it on your phone and you're listening and you bring up the lyrics and you're you're you're questioning some of the enunciations i guess of some of the words but it's that's gourd and that's uh you know Him making it work for that particular song. And sometimes different than what the lyrics are written as. I don't know if that's just typo type stuff or if that's on purpose. this.Track 4:[28:37] So I actually, I don't know, my, my thought on this was that maybe this was, um, something that he was remembering from his childhood and maybe, um, with a, an older sibling or, a relative or somebody, you know, that he knew well. And, um, the thing that stood out to me.Track 4:[29:00] More was the, his recollection of the lake and, um, of the house and describing everything about the scene and that this woman is somebody, an acquaintance of whoever he's walking down the road with, and they're going to see her. Um, cause there's the line, she told me to go explore the quiet rooms. Uh, it like, so this is all right, kid, go check out the house. We got stuff to talk about you know um and i actually um somehow connected this to the you know affluent woman in the video for it's a good life if you don't weaken um my my head kind of went to that music video and i don't don't know why or where that happened but um it just felt to me like it that type of house and that type of, of meeting. And, you know, and then at the end of that video, Gord leans down and whisper something into her ear and, and then, then they walk out. I don't, I don't really know why that's where I went, but, um, it's sort of a mishmash of two different things. Yeah.Track 4:[30:13] So like there's the song that we'll get to called the lake. When I first heard that, I thought that was about the lake, But now I think this song might be about the lake. I don't know.Track 5:[30:23] Just the fact that when he writes his lyrics, like, yeah, he, it's inspired by something, but it may even have a different meaning than what it was inspired by for him. And I don't think he really intends for the listening audience to do anything other than interpret it for their own selves or application. So, um, you know, I, you just, I never got the feeling like he'd be offended by that.Track 2:[30:49] Yeah, I can't agree with you more. Again, that's one of these great things about this performer that we all love. We can get behind that. The next song is called A Better End, and it makes me sad. Lonesome for Gord, I suppose. How does it make you feel, Justin?Track 4:[31:17] Yeah, the same. I mean, it sounds a lot like the Man Machine Poem album. There's some melancholy in a lot of those songs. And this album came together in a different context, but it's musically a lot similar to or very similar to a lot of the songs on there. And there are connections with the lyrics, the line, for treasure or worse. That's in, is that in Man? or machine, one of the others. You know, where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed, that line crushes me every time I hear it.Track 2:[32:00] Repeat it?Track 4:[32:02] Where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed. And, you know, there's an end to that sentence, right? There's a finality in that one. And I don't know. I don't know who it's about. The song is called A Better End, but he says bitter. Um you know and that only at the very end of the song does it say the better end um so maybe there's some letting go you know i i i don't know yeah.Track 5:[32:37] I i uh i have a description written as dark melancholy but then my final note was a plea and that to me as i think you had mentioned, Craig, you know, maybe it was to a family member. And I kind of felt like it was to all family members and all of his like close friends, like, this is the letter, like, this is it. And so I just wrote a plea, question mark. And the beat, I think we talked about this before, you know it's it had the clock feeling to me throughout um and then like you had mentioned justin uh you know you you the title's a better end the the lyric that he uses is stay to the bitter end but it stayed in the bitter end and uh uh just uh, He's put out so much energy at this point, you know, because it is when they've recorded this, you know, it's 20, 2017. They've done the they've done the. The tours, he's done the secret path stuff like he knows what's coming, he knows the bitter end and he gave everything he could. And this is like his like, hey, somebody give me some energy for, you know, here for a better end.Track 3:[34:04] Yeah, I wondered if this was a close family member maybe saying to stay with me until the bitter end. Really, yeah, this was an emotional song, but it's also the type of song that's going to keep bringing me back to this album. I love this song. i found that again another powerful chorus with that big reverb sound and the way he belts out songs like this and snowflake and uh in the choruses is a real strength of this album nancy and yeah just a very powerful um i i had a note i would be interested to hear a heavy version of the song like a full band version um yeah but yeah haunting piano it gave me um secret path vibes it felt very much like musically could have been on secret path he.Track 4:[35:02] He hits a lot of different spots um um in his range too he sings very deeply and then he sings very high um there's There's a lot of, you know, he's probably in three octaves or maybe four during the song. Probably three.Track 2:[35:22] Yeah. So when I hear this song, I think of it, I think of an LP, like an old LP, like a 72, you know, RPM record. And I picture it being played on my grandparents' couch-sized hi-fi. It just sounds, it sounds old. It sounds authentic.Track 5:[35:50] Authentic it sounds like a needle you know the indie rock on the vinyl right it.Track 2:[35:56] Sounds like which sorry.Track 5:[35:57] It sounds like the needle on the vinyl it's just yeah it's you you and then you got that the dining you know the the dining room or whatever recording that's going on in the background and then and then it just sounds like they have the actual, you know the the needle and the vinyl that that that that static sound going it's it's brilliant it's a little soft guitar it's it's a sweet song it really is it's a sweet song yeah.Track 3:[36:28] And the way he sings it too it's almost like a bit of a like a shaky vocal like a bit of a warble to his voice which maybe it was actually maybe they added an effect to make to give it that vinyl quality to it. But I think maybe it's just his, I think it's just his performance. And when I say shaky, I mean, in a deliberate way, I talked last week about how I can't think of any singer who has as many qualities to his voice as Gord and he does it better than anyone. Yeah. Yeah.Track 2:[37:09] But then it did go away. You know, sort of, right? Yeah.Track 3:[37:17] When he wanted it to, yeah. He just gained so much control over his voice. He had power from early on, but then he developed different subtleties. And when he gets into an album like Secret Path, and he's singing sort of in character, he can just go into all these different places depending on the emotion of the song. And another note about Nancy is, first of all, I'm guessing it's about a sister. I didn't actually look up the names of his sisters, but that's just my guess. I liked how it talked about the beginning, the middle, and the end. And Gord forever being the storyteller. He's always thinking in terms of story. Just a little nugget I picked up. And the conversation at the beginning too when they're just starting to hit record he's talking about his cuff link.Track 4:[38:16] It's a good one.Track 2:[38:17] It is. It's really good. And I think on first listen, it would have been bottom third for me. And now it's firmly somewhere in the middle third. Like, it has a crack top third for me. But, you know, it's moved up for sure.Track 4:[38:36] Yeah.Track 3:[38:37] I feel like this album gets better as it goes on. I actually prefer the second half.Track 5:[38:42] That's fair.Track 3:[38:43] Um i think at first i really enjoyed the first half more maybe because i was really preparing for that first half um for our pod but i i love the the second half yeah i.Track 4:[38:57] Actually very much agree with that i think for me it starts to really get good at you're ashore and like i said it's it's a kind of a forgettable song but the the tone sort of changes isn't that wild yeah well.Track 2:[39:11] We are at the last song of the first side the remarkably upbeat think my about us.Track 5:[41:21] This is brilliant. This song is brilliant for me from the first listen to the critical listens in the middle to listening again just recently before this. And just the way it made me feel, the swagger it had, the message it had, um that just incredible descending piano line um it it was uh it it it's up there for me it's really really really up there i love love this tune i.Track 3:[42:03] Agree this is a masterful song really it's just it comes at a place on the album.Track 3:[42:11] Where you really need something that's a little, kind of cute is the word i'll use and you've got that little piano melody that almost just sounds like a finger exercise you would do if you're learning how to play piano and some really cool sounds on the synth or maybe it's a theremin but i'm pretty sure it's a synth, and i also had a note that the the drums enter in an interesting way the bass and drums come in and just maybe a spot you're not quite ready for and yeah just just like a playful song that i really enjoy just super catchy i i wish the world could hear this music like i wish more people, would give this a chance because it should be words were i mean maybe this is my thesis for the end of this whole thing but gourd's work should be appreciated like like josh even said like they're both up they're both equal they're both amazing yeah.Track 4:[43:09] I had the word super catchy exactly the same in my in my notes and i really don't have a lot of other notes about this song but i i can't stop listening to it i know that um it's a yeah it's a it's a and you're right craig it came at the right time um in the sequencing um it was needed in this spot.Track 3:[43:31] It's a little heavy before that.Track 2:[43:32] Right?Track 3:[43:33] Yeah, and it's going to get heavy again. Yep, that's right. Really heavy.Track 2:[43:37] I learned a really valuable... I gained access to some valuable experience today, when I was preparing for this recording, because it's the first time that I've flipped the record over, and had to tackle the final five songs that we ever get to hear from Gord Downie, or so we thought at the time. You know, like, we didn't know there was going to be posthumous releases.Track 5:[44:17] Right.Track 2:[44:19] We knew he wrote this right before he passed, So either way, you know, it's fucking heavy. Craig, when you think of The Road, do you think of that as heavy?Track 5:[44:35] Yes.Track 3:[44:36] Wow, The Road, this song destroys me. Again, there's a bit of a theme on the album in a few songs about The Road, about missing out on life events. Yes. On, you know, the sacrifice. Of you know being a touring musician um you know a dream that i had when i was young and it didn't work out and you know i'm you know thankful for the life i have um and you know i'm sure gourd was as well but man like it had to be there had to be some really tough times being out away from your family all the time and missing things and um anyways this song is so good and the um the thing i want to say about this is when the drums come in there's no hi-hat it's just sort of kick and snare and that space really sets the the mood for this song um you know along with you know the piano of course um and there's one line i want to point out the machines are somewhat suitable now um you know is that is that the hospital machines is it is it a reference to man machine poem um i'm not sure but but this song like.Track 3:[46:06] Depresses me almost as much as the the book the road which destroyed me when i was um a young parent uh you know or not you know i wasn't young but my my son was young and if you you know um cormac mccarthy's the road it is absolutely devastating it is the a book that took me well i've never gotten over it really and the movie as well i watched the movie and it took me about six months to watch the movie i had to watch it like a little bit at a time when i was in the right headspace and it just it is if you haven't read it's maybe don't but it's incredible um but this this yeah if you name something the road it's probably going to destroy me well.Track 4:[46:51] So I had a bit of an awakening about three years ago when in May of 2021, my wife had something that she had to do at work late at night or 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, whatever. And she couldn't be home to make dinner. And it was like a Tuesday or something. I don't know. And she messaged me during the day and said, you need to be home and make Evelyn dinner tonight. night. Evelyn's our daughter. And at the time she was, uh, almost four and I got home and I realized, holy shit, I've never made dinner for my daughter before. Um, I was working 80 hours a week and I was missing everything. And my wife had an Instagram account for our daughter. And that was the only way that I was keeping up. I lived in the same house, but I wasn't in the same family. You know what I mean? And yeah, the song brings all that back and made a big life change that very night. I sent a long message to my boss and said, we got to talk tomorrow, but I'm going to get it all out right now. Cause if I didn't say it now, I'm not going to say it. And I told him I'm done at the end of the year. I've I'll stick with you for my commitment through this year, but but I'd put 10 years into my job and missed everything in that 10 years. And, um.Track 4:[48:16] Give Gord another three decades on top of that. Um, I don't know who the song's about and I guess it doesn't matter, but, um, but obviously it matters, but, um, yeah, I, I really identified with the missing everything and even going back to the song about, um, uh, what is it? Love over money, um, about the band, you know, we missed funerals and births and all this stuff. And yeah, that's me. I've been there, man. I've, I still, to some degree, I'm there a little bit, but, um, yeah, I missed my daughter's first four years of her life.Track 5:[48:54] Everyone knows in this group here, I'm on the road all the time. I'm talking to you from a hotel room in, in Washington, DC. And, um, and so, I mean, Justin, I think this is actually a letter to the road and a letter to everyone that he's been on the road with, including his wife, his part, you know, his, his kids, his bandmates. It's, it's that, you know, that's that life you choose, you know, whether it's a traveling musician, whether it's a a traveling salesman, whether it's a, you know, a producer. Um, and, and, and it's, uh, it's tough, but when you're not on the road, if you are a road person, it's your, your, you know, jittery, you're nervous, but how do you, how do you give to your family and to yourself and to your job and to your art? And, uh, he wouldn't have been able to do that without the road. So but you know it's a blessing and a curse um i we mentioned this about another song here and this one i wrote was also a song that could have been on secret path was the note for me.Track 4:[50:17] Yeah yeah but musically yeah again.Track 5:[50:19] We there's not enough hours in the day right lads to uh just talk about the amazing insight and that we have it here you know to listen to to watch to read to just just beautiful.Track 4:[50:36] Well there's there's that point where you know you're you're young and and full of energy and you've got these huge goals and then you start to achieve them and then at the same time you have this other life going on behind the scenes that has always played second fiddle to that and then you realize at some point you're too deep into the pursuit to stop now but that this other life that was didn't even exist when you started uh has now taken the spot you know is number one on your on your pecking order and how the hell do you make that change without destroying everything that you've created you know yep.Track 5:[51:14] Oh you are the bird.Track 2:[51:18] Yeah it's uh it's a slow and lovely song right what do you think about it kirk to.Track 5:[51:28] Me this this was uh uh, uh, just a letter. It seemed like a letter to a sibling, right? You, you became the bird you, uh, and then it just, it made sense. And, uh, um, um.Track 5:[51:44] I, it, it starts getting heavy after a while, right? When you, when we break, I mean, we talked about it with the last week when we talked about the first one and how emotional it was and, you know, here we are, you know, however many songs in and you just, you stop. And like you said, you know, JD, it was like, these are the last five tunes and it's, it's, it's almost hard to embrace, um, and think about without just getting, you know, overwhelmed. I, I think it is, I think largely because of the love we have for, uh, you know, what, what, what Gord Downie has done solo and with the hip and, and in jazz as a human. So, um, but, uh, yeah, just, uh, you know, Another note was, again, I think I mentioned it earlier, just lyrics that are written different than what is being sung. And I didn't know if that was on purpose. I think I mentioned that. And I didn't know if it was something Gord was trying to do on purpose. Or it's probably nothing. It's probably just what was written and what was sung.Track 5:[53:04] You know, he probably had it written down as such and just like we do when you have a script in front of you, your brain has already chosen what the next word is going to be. So, anyway.Track 4:[53:15] I noticed that this shared a lot of similarities with Spoon from the first half where he talks about help being the only reason why we're here. You help others and the child in the song Spoon is, I guess, tasked with the same thing. I don't know if task is the right word, but this is a common thread throughout the album. And this lyrically shares a lot with that song.Track 3:[53:48] Yeah. I agree, Justin. That was my real only, my only real note on this song was that, that, you know, it's the only reason we're here. And that seems to be like, yeah, like if I had to break down this album into one message, that would be, I mean, other than like a goodbye and, uh, you know, uh, a lot, you know, a love letter to his close ones. Um, that is like the, yeah, the summation of this album. I also thought probably about A Child, the song, and also there's the line about he was the bird, he passed it down, you want to help people out. So, you know, he's referencing not only the person he's talking to, but someone, maybe another family member, a grandfather or someone who's passed down that quality that, he respects.Track 4:[54:35] There's one of my mentors. I kind of think of him as a father figure. His name is John Adams and he was a very bottom level race car driver around these parts. And, he and my father were about the same age and they were friends. And I started hanging out with John when I was 13 or 14 years old, trying to learn how to work on race cars. And there was one night he went off, he got pushed off the racetrack and he's, you know, this massive six foot six, 300 pound guy. And he comes barreling out of the car and climbs up to the top of the racetrack and gives a, gives the driver that, that wronged him the double bird. So he became the bird man that night. Um, that was his, that was his nickname. And so everybody calls him bird. And, you know, I thought, wouldn't that be silly if he passed his nickname down to me somehow, how you know because he doesn't all of his all of his kids are girls and i'm kind of like his sort of son um i don't think that's going to happen but i i know the song isn't made to laugh, but i laughed thinking about that that's.Track 2:[55:42] A nice memory though yeah.Track 4:[55:44] He's still with us he's still with us flipping people off all the time, yeah i.Track 5:[55:51] Love that the lake.Track 2:[58:56] Yeah, this one's a fucking tearjerker to me. So proceed with caution on this one. Justin?Track 4:[59:04] Yeah. I kind of mentioned it before that I thought that this song was about Lake Ontario, which has been such a constant theme throughout Gord's entire career with the hip and with the solo stuff. And there's so many references to the lake. Um but this song is not about the lake this song is is about his daughter willow i mean that's right at the end of the song uh i realized today you are lake ontario the love of my life you are willow and then he does this fantastic call and answer thing with his own you know backup vocals um saying willow over and over again and it's like wow this one this one is something um it's a it's a beautiful song um it's just gorgeous um and yes he does describe the lake or a lake um but all these same qualities could be about your child and man it's uh it's a crusher very.Track 5:[1:00:09] Astute observation mr justin that's uh i i think spot on um and as you mentioned you know it's obviously and and to compare the two is is that there's no disservice in that he loves them both dearly so um i loved how the keys on this made it feel like you were on the lake like you listen to the.Track 4:[1:00:37] Song and you feel like.Track 5:[1:00:39] You're floating in you know in a boat a canoe whatever on the lake and you hear the lake in that song. Um, absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing.Track 4:[1:00:55] You know, I, I grew up on the water. Um, Lake Champlain is, they call it the sixth great lake. Um, and that's, I can see it out the window. Um, and my family had a camp on a little lake, uh, Hall's lake. And my wife grew up on a lake in Ohio, Guilford lake. And we go there They're three, four, five times a year. We're headed there next week. And she also came to Vermont working at a summer camp for, I think, seven summers on Lake Fairley, which is a gorgeous resort area. And so on first hearing this song, The Lake, and probably the first 10 times I heard it, I was like, man, I can see it. And then I picked up on the willow thing after, you know, 11th on my 11th listen, I guess. And I was like, Oh no, it's just something completely different. But if it is just about the lake, Oof, that's just as devastating and lovely.Track 3:[1:01:57] Yeah, I also grew up near a lake. Our house in Peachland, which my parents still live in, overlooks Okanagan Lake, which is a very large lake. And yeah, it just brings back memories. And it is maybe my favorite spot on earth. Right across the lake from where we live is a small island. There's no roads. There's no power. There's no development on the other side of the lake. And it's just a place that we would boat to when I was a kid and try to get over there every summer. And it's just, you know, this song takes me there. And also, you know, with the mention of his daughter at the end and, you know, the, you're the love of my life and it, yeah, it's just a beautiful song.Track 2:[1:02:46] It's gorgeous. Kirk?Track 5:[1:02:49] Again, we've said it already. you know these last five songs are they're crushers it's like it it was really hard to listen to them in succession like i really needed to stop you know this these last two far far away and blurred i you know my my my space that i left for what is supposed to be my guess of who it is who the song is to the letters to, is blank. And it is blank because to me it could be anyone. Maybe it was obvious to one of you guys, but I really felt like it was almost like a letter to everyone.Track 5:[1:03:34] We smile. All that we've been through, up and down for sure, onwards and upwards, up close, far away, and blurred. Um, the tempo changes in this song are amazing. It goes into a, a swing almost during the chorus. Um, and, uh, I, I, again, just the instrumentation and the, the combination of what, you know, uh, you know, obviously not just, um, Gordon, Kevin, but, you know, the others that contributed as well. So just add, I think, to each one of these letters, as it were, you know, as they started out. What'd you think about Far Away and Blurred, Craig?Track 3:[1:04:25] I really love this song. Another strong song on the second half of this album. And I almost wondered if maybe it could be another touring song, or maybe he's talking about traveling with his family. Great melody. And I agree with what you said, Kirk, when it changes tempo halfway through the song, and the drums come in with that slow beat, and the echo the the vocals are echoing and i i found that part very powerful and it's like, again i just can't, get over the the brilliance of his work it is like so emotional um and there's this like guitar pattern going on that's really really cool in the background as well and yeah and justin you yeah.Track 4:[1:05:20] I i guess i'm echoing what you guys have said um it's just a if i mean it's a little bit upbeat um for a hot minute there and again comes at a at a place where you need it um Um, yeah, it's, it's lovely. It's how it's a guy who's frigging dying, um, and telling everybody how much he loves them and that he always has, whether, whether you're in view or not. Right. Um, yeah, the.Track 5:[1:05:53] Passion in his voice in the vocal, um, is just so palpable. And so it just, I mean, wrenching, but almost in a, just again, another reminder of just how amazing, how amazing every part and ounce of the art that comes out of this guy is just incredible, incredible.Track 3:[1:06:23] Yeah, JD, did you have anything to add for this one?Track 2:[1:06:26] I don't know if I could get anything out right now if I tried. it's.Track 3:[1:06:30] A tough one I.Track 2:[1:06:32] Think you know his voice in the verses I've got written down that it's playful and painful at the same time, and you know it builds the chorus is obviously as powerful a gourd voice as we've heard in almost any song on this record, We'll get more of that in later records that we'll discuss in future episodes, but yeah, it's a great song, but it's the second-to-last song, and the North is a really powerful way to end. A callback to Secret Path and The Bridge. But overall, it's an interesting tracking decision. It can't be a coincidence. Right, Justin?Track 4:[1:11:07] No, of course it's not. It's a reminder. It's like he spent a good portion of that final show in Kingston reminding everybody to pay attention and to keep paying attention. And that's exactly what this song is. is it's it's uh yeah i did secret path but keep going forward keep talking about it keep moving keep changing um keep trying to figure this out um you know i don't know if we i don't think we've said this on air but when we first started talking about this album there i i mentioned to you guys in our in our group chat that i thought this was some of the songs on this album were like a stream of consciousness and i think i know that there's the video of of them recording this song and i know that it's not a stream of consciousness but i think when he was writing this song, what he wrote down is whatever came to his head first and i'm going to find a song to to put it to and i got to get this message out i don't care if it's rhymes or makes sense musically or what This has to be said again and again and again and again. And good on him, you know. Yeah.Track 3:[1:12:22] Yeah. So he makes the reference to, um, you know, a place West of, of James Bay, which would be Ottawa, Piscat, which of course the hip have, have the song about. And, um, I, I, I'm wondering if this song is either about or to Joseph Boyden, the author who, at the same time secret path was released, released a book called when Jack, um, I didn't mention him on the secret path episode only because there is some controversy you can look it up if you're interested but calling his um his roots into you know question um you know people questioning that he may not be in fact indigenous so you know that's definitely something you can kind of look into yourself but um joseph boyden is famous for a book called three day road and And just an interesting little thing that I came across about a week ago was a story related to this. So this story, Three Day Road, is about from just, I haven't read the book, but I've read a different story about a sniper in World War I named Francis Paganagabo. And he was nicknamed Peggy. And he has more kills than any sniper in North America.Track 3:[1:13:44] And his story is relatively unknown. And it's a really fascinating story. And anyways, I was reading a short story about that last week and then made this discovery about the connection to Joseph Boyden. Anyways, I highly encourage you to check out a story called Peggy. There's actually a podcast too by CBC called This Place. which is 150 years of Canadian history told by indigenous voices. And the episode on Peggy is incredible.Track 5:[1:14:19] The line Canada, we should have never called Canada. Um, I thought was pretty bold as well to put out there as you guys all had been mentioning, you know, obviously when he had addressed the crowd, you know, at several of the shows and, and several of his interviews. So I think that's, uh, bold, but expected. So I, I, uh, I think we all appreciate that. He would, would, go out there to this level.Track 3:[1:14:51] Yeah there's definitely a call back to that that statement in the last show that he made to the prime minister and i always um really admired that and, i always wondered what it would be like if an american artist did the same thing, you know like a high profile of bruce springsteen or someone went out and said something like that just the absolute division that would that would ensue um yeah yeah oh.Track 5:[1:15:18] Yeah I was going to say the dick and chicks are a good example.Track 3:[1:15:22] Of it.Track 4:[1:15:22] Happening.Track 5:[1:15:23] So but yeah.Track 4:[1:15:27] Or the opposite of that lady antebellum who's then sued the person that they stole their name from well fellas.Track 2:[1:15:36] It's time to ask the question will you be keeping this record in your rotation.Track 4:[1:15:44] I'm going to say not all the time And it's got nothing to do with the music. It's the subject. It's the heaviness of it. It's I don't want to, I don't want to be down. Um, there are some songs on this, on this record that are frigging awesome. They're all, they're all very good, but you know, there's some songs that certainly fit into the hip like catalog.Track 2:[1:16:07] Sure. And you can add them to your mixtape, right?Track 4:[1:16:10] Exactly. And that's probably how I'll consume them. Um, but this is going to be something that I listened to once every couple of years, maybe.Track 5:[1:16:19] Yeah, it's a commitment. I was just going to say it's a commitment. So I would answer very similarly to what Justin said. Even for this particular purpose of this podcast, it was heavy listening every time, every time you went through it. And so definitely some tunes I want to keep hearing regularly, but it's not something that I would. All i have on regular rotation like like i would would some of the others that that have definitely been fantastic in my opinion i.Track 3:[1:16:58] Agree with you guys i i definitely will come back to this album, um considering i gave it you know it took me six and a half years just to give it a first listen i'm definitely not going to wait that long um but i think i'll just have to be in the right frame of mind to put it on but i absolutely will i really do love it in fact coming up with an mvp track for this is definitely the hardest decision i've had to make i was hoping we were going to do one last week and one this week but so i'm it's going to be a last uh last second decision i was.Track 4:[1:17:31] Hoping jd would forget the question this time.Track 2:[1:17:33] I've got it written down so i don't forget my My memory is so piss poor.Track 3:[1:17:39] Right in on your hand.Track 2:[1:17:40] I call it a format sheet, but for real, it's cheating. Craig, we're going to stick with you. And we're going to go to MVP track.Track 3:[1:17:48] I want to know what they say first. So to clarify, is this my absolute favorite track or is this the track that I want to put onto a mixtape?Track 2:[1:18:00] It can be, that can be your interpretation. It can, it's the most valuable player. It's the, you know.Track 3:[1:18:07] So I had so many I mean my first instinct was a natural but I think I'm going to have to go with Snowflake it's.Track 2:[1:18:17] So good it.Track 3:[1:18:18] Is such a powerful song to me and I love the chorus I love the way again that big reverb sound and it's just a really gorgeous song and takes me you know visually takes me somewhere.Track 2:[1:18:36] We could definitely overuse the word gorgeous on this record because there's so much gorgeosity on it, you know?Track 4:[1:18:45] Nice.Track 5:[1:18:46] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:48] Right?Track 5:[1:18:49] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:50] Kirk.Track 5:[1:18:51] Yeah. MVP? Thinking about us, man.Track 3:[1:18:54] Good call.Track 5:[1:18:55] That tune, just thinking about us. It's thinking about us. That's all I need to say.Track 2:[1:19:01] You didn't have to hesitate at all. Wow.Track 5:[1:19:04] No.Track 2:[1:19:06] Justin, how are you going to react to the question? Craig was very concerned and didn't want to say anything. Kirk was very resolute and just put a flag in her. And Justin, where are you on this one? I'm giving you some time to think, so it's not really fair.Track 4:[1:19:25] Well, I don't need time to think. I just don't have an answer. I've been thinking about this since the first listen because I knew that this was coming. Um i will i i do have an answer um but i'll tell you the pics that i had wolf's home because it makes me think of my dad bedtime because of just the connection with my daughter and when this song or when this record came out um i love introduce yourself for the reasons that we talked about it's it's a great song about your buddy and and you know get me out of another jam please you know There was some interview that Gord did that he told Billy Ray. He goes, something happened with a guitar. And he goes, I will literally blow you if you fix this. I love Spoon, that song Spoon, because I really like the band. But I also like the story of going to the show with a kid. um but i'm gonna go with love over money because that's why we're all here in the first place yeah right good job justin yeah thank.Track 2:[1:20:37] You what bow you put in it love.Track 4:[1:20:39] It yeah yeah.Track 2:[1:20:42] And that brings us to the end of Introduce Yourself. Just a, you know, what a, I'm going to use the word again, what a gorgeous piece of work. And so memorable and so thoughtful. And, you know, this is the last stuff he recorded. It's really, really quite heavy. And we're sorry if we brought you down a little bit with these last two episodes, um but trust us we're celebrating this music we're not mourning we are celebrating and.Track 3:[1:21:23] Jd i want to thank you one more time for bringing me on board for this project because this is the album that i told you right from the start has been sitting on my shelf and i needed i wanted to listen to it. It's been staring at me for years and I just couldn't do it. And I think maybe just having, you know, you guys along with the ride makes it, you know, easier to do.Track 2:[1:21:50] Thank you very much. Thank you for doing it.Track 4:[1:21:53] Yeah. I a hundred percent. Thank you. I, I didn't know about any other records, um, um that gourd had done um but i knew about this one and i was choosing to not listen to it you know i i wanted nothing to do with it um and i gotta be honest with you i'm glad it's over i'm glad it's behind us um i listened to this this album in its entirety probably 25 to 30 times um it's.Track 2:[1:22:22] A lot yeah.Track 4:[1:22:23] It's a lot and the last week or so um leading up to recording this i stopped listening completely um i had to stop it was just killing me and i started listening to um some of the older hip stuff and i started listening to some sadie stuff and i listened to conquering sun quite a bit um but i had to get away from the heaviness and go back to being a fan, because this was a hard one.Track 2:[1:22:57] Completely agree well on behalf of uh craig and justin and kirk it's me jd and we're saying goodbye for another week we'll be back we've just got a couple episodes left fellas we've got away is mine and we've got luster parfait and then we've got the finale and i'm getting excited about yeah.Track 4:[1:23:21] Hell yeah oh yeah yeah and you know it's gonna.Track 2:[1:23:26] Be a good time.Track 4:[1:23:27] I got it you know we got to give a shout out to our our social media following you guys are really starting to step up and kick ass lately and it's really re-energized all of us a lot um we're our group chat has been on fire the last several days as we record this because we're just like did you see this one did you see the message there did you see the email oh my god you know it's yeah we're obsessing over the rankings and it's it's great it's fun it's a lot of fun well.Track 5:[1:23:52] So it was so crazy too to get some like some you know some of the official accounts of these people that we were talking about are.Track 4:[1:24:01] Right are.Track 5:[1:24:02] Sharing some of the you know the links and stuff to some of these episodes and and uh we're getting just some great amazing comments you know through the right you guys mentioned social media you know instagram facebook and uh just i don't think any of us had that on our bingo cards when we woke up in the morning, you know?Track 2:[1:24:22] I didn't.Track 4:[1:24:27] Right. And the Sadies messaged you back today, Craig. That's cool.Track 2:[1:24:33] Holy shit.Track 4:[1:24:34] And JD's putting in the legwork tenfold over what we're doing.Track 2:[1:24:38] Stop.Track 4:[1:24:39] He's listening. He's throwing everything together and doing interviews and making all this happen. I mean, I don't know if any of us are getting rich off this.Track 2:[1:24:48] Oh, not fucking me.Track 4:[1:24:50] You know, JD is certainly reaping the benefits of, I think a lot of people are appreciating what you're doing and I know we are.Track 5:[1:24:57] Yeah, absolutely.Track 2:[1:24:59] It's a group effort, guys. It's a group effort, man. All right, folks. Pick up your shit.Track 1:[1:25:07] Thanks for listening to Discovering Downey. To find out more about the show and its host, visit DiscoveringDowney.com. You can email us at discoveringdowney at gmail.com. And hey, we're social. Check us out.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's Canada Day, up Canada way! This week on the show we're celebrating our nation's birthday as well as spinning tracks from artists playing Summerfolk 49, music from artists who played way back at Summerfolk 36, and music from artists you can catch performing in and around our area all summer long. It's all here! Featuring tracks by Suzie Vinnick, The Arrogant Worms, David Francey, Treasa Levasseur, Sarah Harmer, The 24th Street Wailers, Ron Hynes, The Fretless, Paige Warner, The Grand Slambovians, Stompin Tom Connors, Trent Severn, and Jesse Whiteley!

Buckle in because this is a personal album we're discussing on today's episode of Discovering Downie. A mere 10 days following Gord's death fans were gifted the posthumous diary, Introduce Yerself. Craig, Justin, and Kirk have little experience with this record. Things get raw!Thanks for clicking.Follow us on social media @gorddowniepodTranscript: Track 6:[0:00] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. Long Slice Brewery presents a live event celebration of Gord Downie July 19th at The Rec Room in Toronto. Join the hosts of the podcast Discovering Downie as they record their finale with special guest Patrick Downie. A silent auction with items from the hip and many others will take place along with live entertainment from the almost hip. All proceeds will benefit the Gord Downie Fund for brain cancer research. For more information and tickets, please visit discoveringdowney.com. How it all works. Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downey.Track 1:[1:15] Hey, it's JD here. 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. 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 downy with me jd as their host every week we get together and listen to one of gourd's records 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 fucking song this week we're dealing with the challenging introduce Introduce yourself. Craig, how are you doing this week, my friend?Track 2:[2:20] I'm doing well.Track 1:[2:21] That's good to hear.Track 2:[2:22] Can't complain.Track 1:[2:23] Gigging?Track 2:[2:24] Yeah, I had a big show on the weekend and it was sold out and we had played about 30 tunes and it was a great time.Track 1:[2:32] Oh man, I wish I had a teleport device. Yeah. So I could go to your gigs. You too, Kirk. How are you doing, man?Track 4:[2:40] I'm doing well. Thank you. Yeah. Had a gig last week and got some travel coming up. So just been kind of finishing up on some graduation things with the kids. And, you know, like I said, some work stuff, obviously spending lots of time with this, this little project we got going on, but yeah, doing well.Track 1:[2:59] It's a lot. It's a lot, but it's been a lot of fun so far. And part of the fun is Mr. Justin St. Louis. How are you doing, sir?Track 3:[3:08] I'm good, dude. It's hardcore, hardcore here in this house right now, but things are good, man. Things are good.Track 1:[3:16] Well, that's great. Just off the top, I want to say that we're starting to get some items rolling in for the silent auction for the fundraising event that we're hosting in July. We've got the PWHL Toronto franchise has given us a really cool donation that we'll be sharing online in the days and weeks to come. We also got a donation from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tragically Hip themselves have donated something. We've got a great restaurant, Mighty Bird, that is donating. And there's lots of other stuff as well, like lots of great artwork and shit. So get your tickets.Track 4:[3:56] Hey, we have some beers too, right?Track 1:[3:58] We do have some beers. Yeah, Podcast Pilsner. It's got our logo on the can.Track 3:[4:03] Let's go.Track 1:[4:04] That right? Yeah. And it should be a decent price. It's made by our title sponsor, Long Slice, of course. So go to discoveringdowney.com and click on fundraising tickets. Bob's your uncle. So there's that.Track 4:[4:17] Bob's your uncle. Love it. I love it. That's like six one way, half a dozen the other. I tell that to anyone that's under 40 and they look at me like, what are you talking about? Like, just figure it out. ticks one way, half a dozen the other. That's very confusing.Track 1:[4:35] Yeah. It is.Track 3:[4:39] Every time I hear Bob's your uncle, I think of 101 Dalmatians. When the bad guys break in and steal the pups from the nanny, he says, well, be out faster than you can say Bob's your uncle. And that was the first time I ever heard it. Anyway.Track 1:[4:54] I found out it's not an American phrase. It's a Canadian and UK phrase. So I told a bunch of people this and they were like, I've never heard of this in my life.Track 3:[5:03] What do you mean? No. Yeah. Right.Track 1:[5:06] All right, time to get a bit heavy here, because on October 17th, 2017, we said goodbye to the man who walks among the stars. This was truly one of the more emotional days in my nearly 50 years on this plane. Only losing family and close friends has ever cut as deeply as sending Gord off to the abyss. Less than two weeks later though on october 27th 2017, gourd released a posthumous effort called introduce yourself, where do you start with this one in my mind there are elements from each of the previous five albums on display here i hear secret path on coco chanel number five to name one off the top of my head the sparse production handled deftly by kevin drew gourd's partner in creating this double record. I have to imagine the production and limited instrumentation could have been a result of Gord's condition at the time of recording. However, as sick as he was, he persevered through two sessions in putting this album together.Track 1:[6:15] The liner notes indicate that Gord took on the bulk of the guitar work while handling vocals, some synth, and a bit of percussion to boot. Mr. Drew handled piano, bass, organs, keyboard, and percussion. This album does also feature some great guest performers, notably Dave Hamelin, with some work on the drums, as well as synth, and finally, on Nancy, he plays a frickin' B-3. David Billy Ray Koster offered some additional drum work and background vocals, while Patrick Downey contributed background vocals and percussion on Safe is Dead. Jillian Weiss also added vocals to that track. Lastly, engineer and bathhouse resident Niles Spencer has his fingerprints on several songs, playing keys, creating beats, samples, and a Morse code sound on the 19th track, The Road. From the get-go, this album has been scoured by fans to try and determine who each song is about. You see, this album has a premise. Each of the 23 songs is about someone from Gord's life. This is clearly the most personal record Gord, or the hip for that matter, has ever released. I'm going to leave you with one more date that is significant to me with regards to Introduce Yourself. May 30th, 2024.Track 1:[7:35] This was the day I peeled the cellophane off my copy of the vinyl and finally listened to the album in its entirety. Prior to that Thursday in May, I just didn't have the stamina or emotional wherewithal to make a dent in what I now know is a celebration of the music, the man, and the legend, Gord Downie. Justin, what are your initial thoughts on this one?Track 3:[8:00] I could not handle this album when it came out. I tried it and I had to abort after five songs maybe. And I'll tell you, and maybe I should save it for the song, but there was one, this all happened when, when my daughter was a newborn, there was, there's one song that just wrecks me and, uh, still does. Um, there's several that do, but one particular, and I just had to put it away until this, this project came around. So, you know, I sat on it for seven years. I had tried it and I wasn't ready.Track 1:[8:31] Me too, man. Me too. I'm either going to apologize for this project or be thanked for this project to find out what Justin's thoughts were on some of these songs. Kirk, I want to hear from you.Track 4:[8:44] Yeah. Well, for me, this came after us doing Secret Path, and that was such an emotional...Track 4:[8:56] Couple of weeks. I mean, it really was because we'd already become so close to Gord before we even started this project. Then when we started this project, you just became intimately familiar and then secret path happens and you're just, and I needed a break. I needed a break from, I'll say Gord Downie solo and I needed to fall in love with the hip again. I think I got that record store day hip album and i put that on and then i just went on a journey and just kind of fell in love with the hip again but i took a long break to prepare myself for this and there's no amount to break or anything that could really prepare you for it and every listen no matter what the device was whether it was on my record whether it was in the car whether it was out walking the dog. It was just obviously beautiful when you think about these letters and that he had the opportunity to do it, but also just so extremely heartbreaking at the same time, right? And then one final thing for me, my wife and I had also just recently watched the new documentary that came out on Jim Henson, right? And we're big Muppets fans. And of course they had a little bit on, you know, on Craig and I's favorite Emmett Otter.Track 4:[10:20] But yeah, it's just real quick, you know, but the point I wanted to make was.Track 4:[10:27] The Muppets, Sesame Street, everything that Jim Henson created, right? And he passed when he was 53. And Gord passed when he's 53. And I'm 53.Track 4:[10:39] And I'll be honest with you, gents, I have been on this. I'm 53. And these two gentlemen created this body of artwork that has been so incredibly moving for so many people for so many generations. And it just really stopped me in my tracks and went, wow, I'm 53. If I went right now, what would my story be and what impact would I have? And how thankful, even though it was, and I say this because I'm 53, that we lost those two gentlemen so young. Thank goodness we have this to go back and listen and watch and read and discuss and record podcasts. And I'm just so thankful. So sorry, a very long-winded answer, but I needed to share that with you because I think all of us are gonna have these emotional moments throughout this recording today. And just thinking about like, if I had a chance to write letters to everyone before I went, like, I don't know that I could do that. So um so that every listen has just been that thought wow can you imagine you had to write a letter to all the people that you know you cared for just.Track 1:[12:02] Take a moment brother we appreciate you man hell yeah best 53 year old on this podcast by by a country mile i.Track 4:[12:13] Will i will accept that sorry i'll accept that thank you as i cry thank you all right.Track 1:[12:22] Craig no i always i always start my questions with like for some reason i'm like mclaughlin of the mclaughlin group uh i don't know if you remember that sketch on snl but i feel like what justin you know and it's like this episode is a lot more stark and i don't want to be like scaring the shit out of you as i'm asking you a question but craig i want i'm curious about your experience now yeah.Track 2:[12:51] Well really quickly just before we um get into that uh kirk um not sure if you knew this this will probably just make things worse but um jim henson at his funeral they actually used a song from emmett otter as the um as the song that played during his um ceremony so yeah So you know how much it meant to him? Yeah.Track 3:[13:11] He also wrote his own goodbye letter and just stored it away.Track 2:[13:15] Oh, wow.Track 3:[13:15] In case of emergency, right? Yeah.Track 2:[13:19] It's crazy. Yeah. So, J.D., much like yourself –, I bought this album when it came out, and it remained unopened. And I actually remember watching a video that was like a promotional video that came out around the time the album was released. And it was a black and white. I put it on for about 30 seconds, and I just, I had to turn it off. And I actually just, for the first time since then, watched it last night. And it made sense why it hit me that hard it was the north the very last song which we'll get to at the very very end of i guess next week's podcast and that is a heavy tune and gourd was, not looking his best during the recording of that and it was just sort of like a rehearsal take they were showing it was just heartbreaking to watch and it was such a sad song i didn't know what it was about at the time, but I just knew I could not listen to this album. And yeah, so when this podcast opportunity came up, that was my first thought was like, I've had, I've been waiting to crack this open and I was looking for the opportunity to, you know, the right time. And that time is here. And to build off what Kirk was saying, like this, this album is a gift.Track 3:[14:46] Yeah.Track 2:[14:49] To his loved ones who were the subjects of the songs, to his bandmates, to his fans. And it's beautiful. The fact that he got this out there, like Kirk said so well, how many people get, number one, the opportunity to do something like this, and number two, can bring themselves to write those hard words.Track 1:[15:15] Absolutely. Yeah.Track 2:[15:16] Yeah.Track 6:[15:17] And, and when you consider the condition that he was in when he recorded these things, it's absolutely mind blowing for heaven's sake.Track 1:[15:26] This isn't somebody who was fully operational. And there's songs that are just so well thought out and gorgeous and, and so gored, you know?Track 3:[15:38] Well, and he wrote it in two stages too. And, you know, I would say that the second stage was probably in worse condition, right?Track 1:[15:47] You're likely right.Track 3:[15:49] He was gone six months after, you know, wild.Track 4:[15:55] One thing, because this is a blanket statement for all of it, is in any of the, you know, quick research that you do, like most of these songs were recorded in one to two takes. You know, for multiple reasons, one, they didn't have the time and neither did he or the energy. And so when you, you know, when you thought about when I went through and listened to every song and just went like, you got this amount of time, you're going to do this. And, you know, and they end up, I mean, one to two takes on some of these albums, just some of these songs. Sorry.Track 3:[16:34] And that's all they needed to.Track 1:[16:37] Yeah, I think that rawness really adds another layer to the context in a certain way, doesn't it? Because it is raw emotionally, and then it's raw musically as well.Track 4:[16:48] Yeah, very much so, but still incredible. Like on a majority of those songs, you wouldn't know. I mean, the one thing I read, and I would agree, is it's a piano forward album. There's very much a piano keys. There's some great guitar lines, but, um, so that helps obviously from a production standpoint in, in getting your, your tone tonality and, but I also think that it just really added to the, the, the emotion that the points, I'm sorry, I'm, no.Track 3:[17:30] But you're right.Track 4:[17:31] It's just incredible that they were able to get some of this production down in the manner that they did. And as a whole, going back to 53, I could hear so many decades in the songs, in the musicality that he was trying to experience. There's literal 80s synth pop songs on this. There's ballads. And there's all of these. You know, for me, I reflected born in the seventies, you know, really experienced that music eighties, nineties, two thousands. And then obviously the stuff you were influenced before that. And that instrumentation, in my opinion, came through in a lot of these songs. And again, one in two takes blows me away. Yeah.Track 1:[18:18] Yeah. Yeah. Drew, Kevin drew deserves, uh, a heap of, uh, of credit for pulling this together. And Niles Spencer was the engineer on the project. So hopefully later this summer, you guys get to meet Niles and we get to look around the bathhouse. That would be tremendous.Track 2:[18:40] Yeah. That would be amazing.Track 3:[18:41] Yeah.Track 1:[18:42] So we'll see what we can do there. Should we get into this song by song?Track 2:[18:45] Yeah.Track 3:[18:45] Let's do it.Track 1:[18:46] Okay. Craig, we're going to start with you in first person.Track 2:[18:51] So i decided early on when i started listening to this album i i felt like i didn't want to dig too deeply into what you know who each song was about right but some are just so obvious so first person you know it's a song to his mother you know the first person that you know he sees the first person to bring him to life just a really great song to start the album with very emotional um, Yeah. And I don't know, I didn't look up if his mother is still alive or was alive when this was released. So, you know, at the end he's saying goodbye.Track 3:[19:30] He addressed her in the final Kingston concert.Track 2:[19:34] Okay.Track 3:[19:34] Yeah. And she was there for that. I mean, they were only a year apart, so I don't know this, but I would assume she was still alive at that point. And I don't know if she's now or not.Track 2:[19:44] Yeah just the you know again the chance to say goodbye to his mom and yeah it's not really, how things are supposed to go i guess but um not at all yeah and that yeah the last thing i'll say is just there's that you know the vocalizations after the word goodbye i talked about them last week on secret path but there's these like raw just emotional you know screams and like emotes that he makes um in in the secret path concert and on the album and on this album as well that you know just that i don't know guttural just raw human emotion that it's really cool, what'd you guys think yeah.Track 1:[20:25] We saw a lot of that on the final tour for sure that raw guttural emotion.Track 2:[20:29] And uh.Track 1:[20:31] It's mirrored on this record absolutely crystallized uh on vinyl and cd cassette i don't know if it's on cassette justin um where do you stand on first person.Track 3:[20:43] Can't add a whole lot more but there's one thing that is very consistent in this song and the second song and it's that quarter note bass drum heartbeat boom boom boom boom to the whole thing and it's, not by accident for sure yeah yeah.Track 2:[21:01] And that was a feature of secret path to a lot of other songs without heartbeat.Track 4:[21:06] And a clock too is what I heard. Yes. I heard it as an underlying heartbeat, but it was also- click it was also time moving yeah oh that's good yeah it it really hit me in.Track 4:[21:22] Fact i think it was last night on one of the one of the tunes i don't remember exactly which one it was but it was fitting and it was very much a clock and a heartbeat again love love the opportunity that we had the chance to to to listen to this and to listen to those thoughts you know that was one One of the things I was thinking of, and we can say this about all of them is sometimes it's hard to really express your feelings at any moment, face-to-face writing it down, you know, after the fact. And so often it's after the fact, you know, this entire album, but of course this song right away, acknowledging his mom, but just that I'm going to go through and I'm going to give everyone that I've been in touch with or that I've loved, you know, I'm going to express some feelings to them. And a lot of the times those things sometimes people feel might be appropriate to be private, but for me, I love that Gord was very open about those feelings and emotions. So just incredible. Absolutely incredible.Track 1:[22:28] Incredible yeah i couldn't agree with you more it's so heartbreaking and i don't know whether we should have put a trigger warning at the top of this episode uh as we did with secret path this is some heavy shit so let's move on to wolf's home, All I want is you, All I want is you.Track 3:[26:05] And the heartbeat, you know, it really just, that's the other half, right? This is a decidedly more upbeat tune. It's really catchy. It's kind of fun. And it really, you know, the track that follows this is heavy too, but it does set the tone for kind of the rest of the album. The context of this whole thing, like we talked about over and over, is heavy, but the songs are kind of fun, you know? And Wolf's home is, all right, kids, stop the nonsense and the bullshit. Dad's home. Everybody cut it out. There's two lines that really stuck out to me. One was, I don't do what I hate, which is a spin on I do what I hate from Man, from the Man Machine poem album, which is the first track on that. And then at the very end is, all I want is you. you know and you know all the all the references to to edgar downey throughout the the hips catalog and and everything that gore did and you know lonely end of the rank and all those things it's um yeah i just these first two songs really kind of wrap your arms around the entire album with with what you're going to get out of this and um it's nice that it was his parents that, were the the opening numbers you know it was really a touching couple of tracks there.Track 4:[27:25] Yeah absolutely it's a tribute really it is and a tribute to obviously what an upbringing to, be able to you know have this individual that again has left us with such amazing art but yeah mom and dad right off the the bat i don't know if you guys noticed this or not and i think craig was trying to show it i have lucky enough to have the vinyl of this but on all the it's all handwritten the lyrics that are in here but in each one i'm fairly certain it's the who the song's about but it's it's covered up and it's a different color and it's on every single song in both you know close the first and the second album craig.Track 3:[28:04] You referenced that black and white video and in that video the only bits of color are where they overlay they kind of superimpose gray uh, gourd's handwriting in red and blue and he's got that four color pen that he's always using on.Track 4:[28:20] All the interviews. Yep.Track 3:[28:21] And I also was super happy to figure out that he's a lefty in that video because they show him making a note. And I'm like, all right.Track 4:[28:30] Right on, left-handers.Track 2:[28:31] My daughter is going to love that. Yeah, so this song, Wolf's Home, again, yeah, definitely about his father. And it's such a catchy song. The melody in the chorus, the ascending melody and the way the timbre of his voice just, changes as he's going up to those high notes and just such a nice quality like, he's such a versatile vocalist i don't think he gets enough credit for the just the different voices he uses on on different styles of tracks.Track 3:[29:03] There was something that i read a few years ago about how gourd just stayed in the pocket with the hip and i'm like what the frig are you talking about like the guy will go until he doesn't have a voice on the low end and then he blows it out on the top, Mariah Carey style. Like, it's unbelievable, his range.Track 1:[29:21] Ha ha ha ha ha ha.Track 2:[29:23] Some interest interesting percussion sounds almost like on on the two and four there's some kind of a where the snare would be there's some kind of i don't know what it is almost sounds like toy drums or something or just something random in the studio they were hitting but, but yeah i have nothing really more to add just just a great song.Track 4:[29:40] Yeah and i'll pick up on bedtime the next one which is to one of the kids i'm not sure if it's specific or if it's just to his children in general or you know again just going through that the theme that we've been talking about is knowing you know and it really doesn't matter who it's to that does add to obviously the level of seriousness but for me it was I think Craig mentioned this as well it's like yeah there was something you could pick out right away but it really didn't matter at some points again just breaking down that these were the very personal letters that were going out and doing it in a manner of he gets to add the instrumentation to it and as as we've talked about on several of the different albums and different tunes then again this one is more of the piano ford as they had mentioned the emotion that can be evoked from from that backing music to it and and knowing looking at very few i think there was only like four or five of these tunes that were solely gourd so you had some of the other you know drew that was involved, and niles and some of the other that helped i think a little bit with some of the i mean i don't know what their breakdown was if they were more instrumentation if they were more the uh um the lyric side of it but but just uh again i think a masterpiece put considering everything and having kids we all went through this or i went through this with all my kids.Track 4:[31:06] Multiple times in a different manner and and but how important that was and how with each of my kids, I have those memories of that connection, right? And that was a way that you could help your spouse was putting the help and putting the kids to bed. So it evokes some, some, very direct and deep memories and then saddens you when you know that these are memories that his children are going to read and hopefully appreciate.Track 1:[31:36] Oh, I can't imagine. I can't imagine. I just can't imagine.Track 2:[31:41] Yeah. Definitely brought back memories for me of, of those early years with kids and the, the struggle of bedtime and just the, the passage of time, you know, the way that those nights would just seem to last forever. And you were just, Then you wake up the next day and do it all over again. And then yet the years just start flying by. And that's what struck me during this song is that just the passage of time and how strange the days are so long and the years are so short. So, Justin, what do you think?Track 3:[32:18] Like I said, this album was released, Gord Died, and this album was released when my daughter was four months old. and we still have her gray rocking chair upstairs that, um, why would I would rock her to sleep in? And when this album came out, I think I listened on the first day, this song came on as I was rocking her to sleep and I bawled like a frigging toddler. And, uh you know the the line um as if from a bomb backing up like whoa and the floor with the creaks of time and we're living in this old apartment above a barn you know that's you can't breathe without the floor creaking and then you get to the door and she wakes up like are you really like leaving like what do you get back here you know and like so this song i it totally destroyed me and as I'm trying to get her calm I'm losing it and so I had this is this was it I heard three songs on this album and I stopped for seven years until we started this project I do love this song very much but man did it hit home and I was already raw from from having lost Gord you know my musical hero ten days before and then shit this happens come on yeah.Track 4:[33:40] I wanted to speak about JD when you were talking in the intro. When Gord passed, it was as deep as any friend or family member that I can recall. I mean, it was a deep fetal position kind of cry. And especially having seen and just a break, we've already talked about it before in a prior episode, but on the long time running when on the last tour, when he would kiss everyone on the lips before they went out on stage, you just were overwhelmed by the amount of love this one individual had. And that, you know, to this day, it's still permeates in this discussion. So amazing.Track 1:[34:29] Well, let's stick with you, Kirk. Let's talk a bit about introduce yourself.Track 4:[34:33] Introduce yourself. Well, title track to the album. I'm sorry. I got to get this out of the way. I need to know so much more, or I need to visit the Danforth because some of my favorite songs always mentioned the Danforth. And I just have to imagine it's some beautiful place near Toronto because it's in like old apartment from bare naked lady, which is a song that I love. Several other Canadian bands mentioned the Danforth. So that was the thing that snuck that stuck out right because everything had been so emotional i needed some sort of brevity and so when i got to danforth the line danforth so i need to ask jd give me info on the danforth so the danforth is the.Track 1:[35:18] Other side of bluer street the eastbound corridor of the street we call bluer street in midtown yeah it's not down it's the roof of downtown is bluer street and it cuts across the Bloor Viaduct, the Prince Edward Viaduct, which has the luminous veil on it that we spoke.Track 2:[35:36] Of in another episode.Track 1:[35:38] Then the Danforth was traditionally Greek town. It had oodles of Greek restaurants. There was lots of Greek variety stores and that sort of thing. And in the early nineties, it became a very popular place to start a family. You buy a house pretty reasonably. Now it's, you know, just as it's, as is want to happen. And it's pushing further and further and further East because the original Danforth area is now, you know, like $3 million homes, $4 million homes. Uh, and then there's some areas that there are way more than that. And I'd be glad to take you on a mini tour when I'm here because that's where I live. You know, maybe a soda pop at my local. We'll see.Track 3:[36:23] Yeah. Love it. Let's do that.Track 4:[36:25] Yeah. So that was my, that was my takeaway on this, this particular one. And again, that just overwhelmed my thought process was needing to know more about the Danforth. So I appreciate you helping, helping me with that. So, yeah.Track 2:[36:41] So this song was, um, was written about Billy Ray, Billy Ray Koster, the longtime hip roadie. And so, um, it's really just a thank you. And at the end of the song, just, you know, I thank you for your help. Help. Such a simple line, but such a beautiful goodbye to this lifelong friend who, from what I remember reading years ago, is that Billy Ray just as a young man or someone in his late teens just wrote the hip saying, I want a job, I'll do anything, and just worked his way up. And he really became almost like a member of the band by the end. And just the story of of this song is hilarious. Like it's a, it's a emotional song, but it's also so funny. Like the, you know, the not it isn't, it isn't because, you know, maybe some of the reason he, he, you know, the story being that he needs to write, introduce yourself on his hand to show to Billy Ray. So he'll introduce himself to the driver of the car that he, that Gord should know the name of, but has forgotten. So, you know, was that because of, you know, the cancer maybe? And I think I know what Justin's going to talk about here. What was your first thought?Track 3:[37:56] I can picture them in the back of a car or the cab or whatever. And Gord's like, oh shit, you know, like, what do I do here? Yeah. I mean, there's not much more that I could peel back on this, but I do remember in the interim of deciding to put the album down when it came out. And now I do remember watching the live performance that Sarah Harmer, Kevin Hearn, right, did it. And it was awesome. It was really, really, really good. And I was like, oh, okay, that's, and I had no idea what it was about at that time. So I was like, oh, this is a really sweet song.Track 2:[38:29] The Junos.Track 3:[38:30] Obviously emotional, but, um, you know, hearing the, hearing the lyrics, I was like, Oh, okay. And I've referenced it a few times here, the interview, the sit down with Peter Mansbridge and yeah. And he's like, well, I've got your name here, so I don't call you Doug or whatever, you know? Um, yeah. So, uh, yeah.Track 1:[38:57] Right.Track 2:[38:59] That's what I was going for. Yeah.Track 4:[39:02] Hey, I got to say with Billy Ray, because most of the shows that I saw were in small clubs, he was just as much a member of the band as anyone else for all of my crew. We almost enjoyed seeing him more, right? He always had that kind of crooked cowboy hat. And he always had like either a roll of duct tape or a wrench or there was art, you know, there was always something that says I'm the tech guy like reminded you of Tom Hanks when he did that Saturday Night Live skit when he was a roadie for Aerosmith or whatever, but he was so much he was the flavor of it. It was like he had to come out and put the mic stand back up because Gord knocked it down, you know. And then I love the fact as well that on this album, as well as I think the last or a couple of the others, he plays drums on a few of them. So how fantastic is that from Craig, as you mentioned, like a letter, just this, hey, I want to do something for you. And then he becomes this lifelong friend. And now he's part of, you know, part of introduce yourself in the title track song and, uh, just such a character.Track 3:[40:11] So it also, uh, it reminded me of the roadie by tenacious D. Sebastian bringing this, you know, 55 year old groupie into the dressing room.Track 4:[40:23] Love it.Track 3:[40:25] Love it.Track 4:[40:25] Love it. Love it.Track 2:[40:28] As someone who is terrible with names, definitely made, made me laugh. And if I ever get a tattoo, maybe that's what it'll have to be. Cause man, I'm in my job. It's not the best quality.Track 3:[40:39] It's a good story though.Track 1:[40:41] Coco Chanel five. That's what I think, yeah.Track 3:[43:49] So this, I mean, it's got to be about Laura, right? And yeah, and the thing that made me doubt that was that there's a song later in the album about his first girlfriend. So maybe he's singing about all of them. But the thing that drove it home for me was the line when I was recording in Memphis, which is the Up To Here album. That would put the timeline about right. I, I feel awkward listening to the song, the song and the one about the girlfriend. Like I shouldn't, I shouldn't be in this room right now, you know? Yeah.Track 2:[44:20] That, that, that was my thing off the top was like, I didn't want to dive too deep into who these songs are about, but sometimes it's, yeah, that this, that's what I thought about this one. And, but you know, Gord put this out in the world, so we, it is okay for us to do this. It is, is um yeah.Track 4:[44:37] And i agree that it definitely could have been on secret path like it has very much that same feel musically right instrumentation musically that was very much and there was even a moment on this particular song where it it was an mvp for for me for a while oh interesting yeah i just i think because again secret path was so impactful and for me after like the great build buildup from Coke machine glow, you know, just that amazing buildup and you hit secret path and you're just, it was hard to go on. So it was, I, you know, I was glad to hear something to kind of wake me up out of that funk. So, uh, but just a great song, but yes, difficult to listen to at times that the line was very uncomfortable for me. It really was. It's so good.Track 3:[45:27] Don't even say it.Track 4:[45:28] I'm not, but it's very uncomfortable for me. And that's That's probably the reason why I didn't end up as my MVP. I'll be honest.Track 1:[45:38] Just a little too inside baseball, Gord. Let's go with Ricky, please. And we'll start with Craig this time.Track 2:[45:47] This is a song I don't have a lot of notes about. It's just a nice upbeat song that was needed at this point. And it's nice and short. Gave me, I've said this a number of times on this pod, but Ben Folds kind of vibes you know and I have no idea who Ricky is I really didn't look at the lyrics too closely in this one so.Track 1:[46:13] Okay. Anybody else got anything?Track 3:[46:15] So I had asked in the group chat if this was about Patrick, his brother Patrick. And I know that You, Me, and the Bees is about him too, but I was thinking Ricky might be a nickname for Patrick. But the reason why I asked that was one of the lines is, you got me to the only door I've got. And Gord references the door in interviews and at the end of his life. And I know that Patrick was very close to him and was kind of his caretaker at the end. Um, so that's where I was thinking that maybe this is maybe Patrick got two songs. I don't know. I really don't know, but it's obviously somebody who's been very close with him forever and, you know, dating back before the illness, of course, too. But yeah, I don't know who it's about, but that was my initial thought. And I, I don't know. I have no idea, but it is a very fun listen.Track 1:[47:06] Well, if you out there listening, no, send us an email, discovering downy at gmail.com. we'd love to hear from you kirk what do you got.Track 4:[47:15] This one it gets a little more upbeat and so the clock is going a little faster i i agree with you justin that there definitely has a a feel to this sounds like a brother at least from that that standpoint i love i love the instrumentation the repetitiveness the i i i did that was something that i have in my memory as far as a note for this so this.Track 3:[47:40] Song and and a few others sound like a marriage between now for plan a and man machine poem like they could be hip songs 100 from those two.Track 4:[47:49] Great agreed i would wild okay.Track 1:[47:51] I gotta think about this in a different way safe is dead is our next track and i think we'll start with justin this time yeah.Track 3:[48:01] So i guess i'm gonna say it again this sounds like it could be from Not For Plan A or Man Machine Poem. And I don't know... It's probably more like man-machine poem, I think, but I couldn't even tell you who this is about. But, you know, it's certainly previewing death or reliving somebody else's. I don't know. But the dark preview, who'd miss this fear, a damn silence, exiles meet. And then the dark brochure, full dark soon, and then the rise of a scarred moon. So, like, I wonder if the brochure is a literal brochure. Like, here's what to expect in your next year and a half with glioblastoma, you know? Like, good luck, read this, and you've got information.Track 1:[48:42] God.Track 4:[48:43] That's, I mean, honestly, that's very much the way I took it. Safe is dead. Like, there's no good information on here. So it was stark to me, even in the music. And then if you read in some of the liner notes, this was one of the only ones with some backing vocals, and I think Patrick was one of them. And I think Billy Ray was another one. I have to look that up. But so interesting when you think about who was involved in this song. And then, again, just that premise or thought, like whether it's a pamphlet or like his doctor saying, hey, this is what's up. So you're just like safe as dead. Yeah. That was my uh.Track 2:[49:31] Yeah justin you mentioned man machine poem and i have a note right here that says remind the vocals remind me of insarnia from that album and musically i was really drawn to this song it reminds me so much of a band called future islands and specifically there's a song called fall from grace on the singles album which was the album that broke them and i heard that.Track 3:[49:56] Song today on the drive home.Track 2:[49:57] Really yeah.Track 3:[49:58] It's funny it.Track 2:[49:59] Is so similar yeah and i love i love that's my one of my very favorite songs by future islands so this one really stuck with me just the the drum beat the repetitive notes in the piano if it was future islands it would be more of a synth sound but it's a very similar idea just this repetitive groove that just goes for the entire song the nice echoing at the end the vocals that you mentioned and the way the beat drops out there's like a single hand clap to end the song it's one of my favorites i think on the album tremendous and sorry and last thing what wait what like what such a gourd thing to say what what wait what like just awkward and but not from him when he says it it's just when you when.Track 4:[50:49] You hear it for the first time it doesn't sound like he's saying that i had a completely different phrase.Track 2:[50:54] In my brain.Track 4:[50:55] You know when you hear something you're rocket man burning up his when you hear that that's what i heard was.Track 2:[51:01] Something completely.Track 4:[51:02] Different until i read it and i.Track 2:[51:03] Went excuse me while i kiss this guy wait.Track 4:[51:05] What what yeah exactly there's a bathroom on the right on the right.Track 2:[51:10] Do we.Track 3:[51:15] Have to pay rights fees for these now jay no.Track 1:[51:17] No we're fine we're fine we got big podcast lawyers yeah well we go upbeat again with the next song uh in a celebratory sort of way kirk what do you think is spoon.Track 4:[54:10] I'm just going to ask this question up front. In the band Spoon, we had had some discussions about them on our exchange, and I didn't look deep enough. Are they a Canadian band? They're not, no. No? But popular up there, obviously, and is that who he's referring to when you go down to the bottom?Track 1:[54:32] It definitely is that band. in terms of popularity middling you know they're not a superstar band by any stretch but they sell you know they sell they sell records similar to what they are in the u.s they're still sort of underground you know to a lot of people even though they've had at least three breakout albums great indie band yes but.Track 3:[54:52] They're only an indie band you know they're.Track 1:[54:53] Not mainstream yeah.Track 2:[54:56] Yeah relating to the story i just told actually it was driving me nuts i i knew i had a ticket to spoon but i have no memory of the concert and it was just driving me nuts i actually pulled up my concert tickets yesterday and went through them all until i finally finally figured out what it was was that i just mentioned future islands they were playing a show at stanley park in downtown vancouver the you know the park and um spoon was headlining future islands was opening so i went for future islands they sold out of beer like in the opening band they may and not Not that I was there for beer, but the timing worked out perfectly though, because I actually had a second concert ticket that same night to see War on Drugs in downtown Vancouver. So we had to like run down the street, catch a bus down to downtown Vancouver and made it to the Vogue to see War on Drugs. This is, I don't know, nine years ago, I think. And so I missed Spoon. So I didn't even get to see five songs.Track 4:[55:54] You missed Spoon. I was going to ask if you had both. No. Okay. You missed Spoon.Track 3:[55:58] I haven't seen them, but I love them. And in particular, the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga that is referenced on here. You don't even have to know that it's Spoon to know Don't You Ever or The Underdog or Cherry Bomb from that album. I know that if you heard them, you would recognize them instantly. They're radio hits. But Spoon's a freaking great band. And I'm jealous of the five-year-old kid who's in this song, which has got to be his youngest son, right? I would imagine.Track 1:[56:27] Well, he talks about recording in Maui with Bob.Track 3:[56:29] In Maui with Bob, yeah.Track 1:[56:31] So that would be what? That would be 2011?Track 2:[56:34] I think so.Track 3:[56:35] That would be the luster part of it, wouldn't it?Track 1:[56:37] That's what I've, that's what I've thought.Track 2:[56:38] I assume it's talking about either We Are The Same or World Container because he talks about we. He says we as in the band, like we were recording with Bob. Job so yeah and Maui is a place that um you know it's it's it's the destination for people in in Vancouver for vacation it's you know five hours away and so I've been there multiple times and so when he when I first heard the song and he starts dropping you know Haleakala the volcano Baby Beach is a place where when my son was just just a baby we took him to Baby Beach which is a a place where there's a like a natural barrier i believe it's natural there's no waves so you can actually take your toddler into the water they can just kind of play around in six inches of water and it goes out for for many meters and and i have these distinct memories and a great set of photos of my son on that beach talks about anthony's which is a little restaurant up in the in paella I believe, which is on the, if you're taking the road to Hana, very famous drive around the east side of the island, which I recommend to anyone who goes there. Brought back all these memories of my trips out there. And he even talks about his, I think his leg was broken or something. And one of my early trips to Maui, I was there on crutches. I had a hockey injury.Track 2:[58:03] So I had to cancel a bunch of my plans for that trip. And my son was very young. I think it was seven, eight months. And I remember the first day just taking the stroller for a walk and I'd go, you know, to the cinnamon roll place. And then I'd go back to the condo. And then the next day I'd go a bit further by the end. Within a week, I was walking for hours every morning. Like, you know, with the time change, I was up at 5.30 a.m. And taking him for just the longest walk. And just such a great memory. And I was fully healed by the end of that trip. That's great.Track 3:[58:35] There is the opening lines I just wanted to mention. You're transcendent. You taught me so many things. You taught me that help is all we to this dumb planet bring. What a nice compliment to give somebody.Track 2:[58:45] Right? And don't read the Apple Music translation because it says hell instead of help.Track 3:[58:51] That would change the song.Track 2:[58:52] You know, I've noticed on some of my listens.Track 4:[58:56] I'll look up a lyric because you can look on Spotify or whatever. And what you're hearing or what he's saying does not correlate with what the lyrics are so i noticed that on a few tunes i didn't write the specific ones down but uh that's interesting that you know it it translates it however it wants so i'm like he didn't just say what.Track 3:[59:17] It's for what it's worth i've had good luck on the website genius um when i when i can't find yeah and there's usually some notes some reference notes but they'll also capitalize words like like the album, the liner notes would have, as opposed to if you're listening to Spotify or YouTube or something that just doesn't take, you know, have that nuance. Right. Um, and I can add a lot of meaning.Track 2:[59:43] Yeah, and Kirk, you asked about Spoon being Canadian. While they're not, the band Deer Hunter, who Gord mentions in the song as the opener, they are from out east, I believe, Montreal maybe?Track 1:[59:55] Do you know, JD? I think it's in Quebec. Yeah, I think so.Track 3:[59:59] I think they are.Track 2:[1:00:00] I feel like I've seen them.Track 4:[1:00:01] Are they still active? Because I feel like I've just seen them recently, like opening up for Barenaked Ladies, which would make sense if they're Canadian.Track 3:[1:00:08] They have, they have a little bit of a following around where I live. Um, I haven't, I haven't seen them and I don't know much about them, but I know that the local station out of Albany, New York mentions deer hunter often. So yeah, there's still, I think there's still around.Track 4:[1:00:23] And I feel like I just saw them with bare naked ladies and, uh, what's the band that does closing time? Semi Sonic.Track 1:[1:00:30] Yeah.Track 4:[1:00:31] They were on the same, same bell.Track 1:[1:00:33] I went on a scavenger hunt in setlist.fm trying to find a show in Toronto that Deer Hunter opened for Spoon, and I couldn't track it down. That would definitely help us with the date in terms of figuring it out. I'm pretty sure they even say the venue in the song, don't they? In the lyric?Track 4:[1:00:58] Deer Hunter opened the show. The headliner was introduced. We did our best. We'd have to go soon. We got a t-shirt and we cut five tunes. Just enough to say that the first show for us, too, was Spoon. So anything else on Spoon?Track 3:[1:01:15] I listened to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga several times because of this song. Yeah.Track 1:[1:01:24] Next up, Craig, is A Natural.Track 2:[1:01:29] Yeah, this song is the... Okay, so I'm in Seattle. This is... What year was this album? 2017? And this would have been, I'm guessing, a couple of weeks after gourd passed and i was in a 10 days i was in a clothing store or something i think a vintage clothing store in seattle and my wife was shopping and i was just sort of hanging out and i heard this song i was it was kind of like lightly in the background i couldn't i wasn't paying attention to who it was but they always play great music in seattle on in these types of stories i find and then the chorus came on and that powerful voice of his with all that reverb and it hit me like like a ton of bricks like i was like yeah it was like gourd from beyond the grave um and i was just i was in the u.s i was i was just it was amazing and i remember thinking like what is this is this like a hip song that i somehow don't know is this a you know some other artist where he just sings the chorus and i you know tracked it down when i got home and realized it was on the album that i had unopened um and so this was one song that i did listen to over the years, yeah what'd you guys think of this one.Track 4:[1:02:54] Just this was one of those that was the kind of the synth pop you know feel behind it which i loved again because again correlating back to the ages is like, gord probably had an affinity for the 80s and certain aspects of it in certain songs and whether you like it or not you're still influenced by it because you get that kind of that's again the the keyboard the synth sent the type music there but yeah again as craig mentioned the um powerfulness in the voice during the chorus is it creates goosebumps it just fills you up and and again makes you thankful that you have a variety of different you know opportunities to listen to the voice you know whether it's a solo stuff for the hip and so you were you just you were thankful for it and just the imagery in this song you know just sitting there and it's soaking and wet you know bathing suit with a bb gun and just kind of iron you know you you've experienced that or you've seen it and so you just felt connected to the song right away but it was so intense and then just the song the course itself is just a praise you are a natural if you say that about someone they're just you know they're beyond special so very much a song that made an impression, especially with his vocal abilities, as we've all mentioned and commented on how phenomenal it is and how varied, which I think Craig mentioned as well, or Justin as well.Track 3:[1:04:23] I wondered if this was about his sister or one of his daughters. I don't know why, but just the scene, the way that it's set, it seems like he's singing about a female.Track 4:[1:04:35] I would not disagree with that.Track 3:[1:04:36] Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. Well, and I was thinking that as they were kids, he's telling this story from his own childhood. Yeah. Don't know.Track 2:[1:04:47] That was my first thought too, but yeah, it could be. I feel like it is probably a child with one of his children.Track 3:[1:04:53] It also sounds a lot like a couple of songs in Secret Path.Track 2:[1:04:57] Yeah. The way he sings at the end though, I am the lucky one. That made me think I think maybe it was him as a father saying that line. And also to add to the 80s vibe, the bass, it really takes a lead in this song, very much like a Peter Hook style New Order.Track 4:[1:05:17] Yeah, great observation, Greg. I don't disagree with that at all.Track 1:[1:05:22] Well, let's wrap things up for this week with faith, faith. And we'll start with you, Mr. St. Louis.Track 3:[1:05:31] This one got me. Jesus, about the dog. I mean, I assume it's a dog. What else would be getting scratched under the chin? But, oh, my gosh, my puppy is just, well, the puppy is two years old. But, you know, I mean, what's nicer than the love that you get from your dog? and um very.Track 1:[1:05:54] Little in this world.Track 3:[1:05:55] Faith yeah but i mean just this song too is crushing take this take the dog out of it this is this is a masterpiece of a song and you can get emotional without lyrics with a song it's pretty damn amazing um so a couple of a couple of weeks ago, my mentor ken squire and you can google him he he's the one that got nascar on tv he's he's from around the way here and i worked for him for 20 years and he kind of took me up under his wing as the annoying kid who wouldn't stop asking for a job you know he's he's a legendary figure in the world of motorsport around the world so he he passed back in november and a few weeks ago they had his memorial service at his racetrack here in Vermont. And the most poignant part of the whole thing was they read a poem called The Sweetness of Dogs. This song brought me back to that moment where I welled up at his service and how the person and the dog are sitting under the moonlight. The person looks up at the moon and thinks, what could be more beautiful? And And the dog looks up to the person and thinks the same thing. And I'm just like, whoa. And the song just drains me. Yeah. Yeah. Ferguson, Ferguson's going to get this song the rest of his life.Track 4:[1:07:22] Yeah. It's, uh, it's, it's overwhelming. The, the passion that you feel when he screams the faith, faith, your faith, your faith, your faith. I think it's the Y-E-R, touching the nose every morning, one, two, three times, dark unwavering eyes. And if you have an animal, you know, especially if you have a dog for me, you know, I have my, my little guy, Andy, and we take our walks every day. And I do a lot of my gourd listening when I'm on a walk with my dog, you know, and it's, The dog has an attitude, and it's a great personality. And yeah, there's a love there that I think he captures, obviously, amazingly in the lyrics there.Track 2:[1:08:15] Yeah, I just have a note about the piano playing. So Kevin Drew on the piano, as we learned on the Secret Path album, he plays with a lot of feeling. And he's definitely got like a style to his playing. And I love how at the end he goes up the octave. And it's just, there's a lot of emotion in his playing, which really matches the lyrics. Now, unlike you guys, I'm not a pet person. I'm allergic to dogs. So it's not really my fault. Um so i've never had a dog i did have a cat growing up and i i do have a really great story but i'm gonna i'm gonna save it for when we have more time it feels.Track 4:[1:08:54] Like loving emmett otter craig that's what it feels like.Track 2:[1:08:57] Okay that's what it feels.Track 1:[1:08:59] Like well fellas uh it's been an absolute, pleasure to listen to your thoughts on the first half sort of i know it's not divisible the way the records are, but that's what we're going to cover this week. Let's bid adieu to our listeners and encourage you out there to shoot us an email, discoverydowney at gmail.com if you're enjoying what you're here. We'd love for you to join our community on Facebook, and of course we want to see you on July 19th at the Rec Room here in toronto tickets are available now at discovering downy.com.Track 4:[1:09:47] That's going to be a fun night i.Track 1:[1:09:51] Think so right.Track 4:[1:09:52] Really fun and do.Track 2:[1:09:55] People know like we've never actually met no i don't i guess i guess they.Track 1:[1:09:59] Wouldn't know that yeah.Track 2:[1:10:00] I mean i've i've met jd and kirk i guess in person very briefly yes uh kirk um a couple times and justin yeah yeah not not yet i haven't met you yet but But yeah.Track 4:[1:10:09] It'll be the first time for all four of us. Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:12] But we're all going to see each other on the night.Track 2:[1:10:15] It's going to be awesome.Track 3:[1:10:16] Yeah. Actually, we're going to see each other on the 18th too, aren't we?Track 2:[1:10:20] Road trip.Track 3:[1:10:21] Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:21] Yeah. Yeah. If you're out there and you're.Track 4:[1:10:24] We got to go to the.Track 1:[1:10:25] If you're out there, we got to see the dance tonight and you feel like meeting up with four dudes and you want to give us a tragically hip tour. That's a perfect opportunity. You guys are discovering Downey at gmail.com email. We would love that we would love nothing more than that so we'll have a film crew with us we can shoot some cool stuff and it'll be a lot of fun, pick up your shit.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Buckle in because this is a personal album we're discussing on today's episode of Discovering Downie. A mere 10 days following Gord's death fans were gifted the posthumous diary, Introduce Yerself. Craig, Justin, and Kirk have little experience with this record. Things get raw!Thanks for clicking.Follow us on social media @gorddowniepodTranscript: Track 6:[0:00] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. Long Slice Brewery presents a live event celebration of Gord Downie July 19th at The Rec Room in Toronto. Join the hosts of the podcast Discovering Downie as they record their finale with special guest Patrick Downie. A silent auction with items from the hip and many others will take place along with live entertainment from the almost hip. All proceeds will benefit the Gord Downie Fund for brain cancer research. For more information and tickets, please visit discoveringdowney.com. How it all works. Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downey.Track 1:[1:15] Hey, it's JD here. 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. 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 downy with me jd as their host every week we get together and listen to one of gourd's records 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 fucking song this week we're dealing with the challenging introduce Introduce yourself. Craig, how are you doing this week, my friend?Track 2:[2:20] I'm doing well.Track 1:[2:21] That's good to hear.Track 2:[2:22] Can't complain.Track 1:[2:23] Gigging?Track 2:[2:24] Yeah, I had a big show on the weekend and it was sold out and we had played about 30 tunes and it was a great time.Track 1:[2:32] Oh man, I wish I had a teleport device. Yeah. So I could go to your gigs. You too, Kirk. How are you doing, man?Track 4:[2:40] I'm doing well. Thank you. Yeah. Had a gig last week and got some travel coming up. So just been kind of finishing up on some graduation things with the kids. And, you know, like I said, some work stuff, obviously spending lots of time with this, this little project we got going on, but yeah, doing well.Track 1:[2:59] It's a lot. It's a lot, but it's been a lot of fun so far. And part of the fun is Mr. Justin St. Louis. How are you doing, sir?Track 3:[3:08] I'm good, dude. It's hardcore, hardcore here in this house right now, but things are good, man. Things are good.Track 1:[3:16] Well, that's great. Just off the top, I want to say that we're starting to get some items rolling in for the silent auction for the fundraising event that we're hosting in July. We've got the PWHL Toronto franchise has given us a really cool donation that we'll be sharing online in the days and weeks to come. We also got a donation from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tragically Hip themselves have donated something. We've got a great restaurant, Mighty Bird, that is donating. And there's lots of other stuff as well, like lots of great artwork and shit. So get your tickets.Track 4:[3:56] Hey, we have some beers too, right?Track 1:[3:58] We do have some beers. Yeah, Podcast Pilsner. It's got our logo on the can.Track 3:[4:03] Let's go.Track 1:[4:04] That right? Yeah. And it should be a decent price. It's made by our title sponsor, Long Slice, of course. So go to discoveringdowney.com and click on fundraising tickets. Bob's your uncle. So there's that.Track 4:[4:17] Bob's your uncle. Love it. I love it. That's like six one way, half a dozen the other. I tell that to anyone that's under 40 and they look at me like, what are you talking about? Like, just figure it out. ticks one way, half a dozen the other. That's very confusing.Track 1:[4:35] Yeah. It is.Track 3:[4:39] Every time I hear Bob's your uncle, I think of 101 Dalmatians. When the bad guys break in and steal the pups from the nanny, he says, well, be out faster than you can say Bob's your uncle. And that was the first time I ever heard it. Anyway.Track 1:[4:54] I found out it's not an American phrase. It's a Canadian and UK phrase. So I told a bunch of people this and they were like, I've never heard of this in my life.Track 3:[5:03] What do you mean? No. Yeah. Right.Track 1:[5:06] All right, time to get a bit heavy here, because on October 17th, 2017, we said goodbye to the man who walks among the stars. This was truly one of the more emotional days in my nearly 50 years on this plane. Only losing family and close friends has ever cut as deeply as sending Gord off to the abyss. Less than two weeks later though on october 27th 2017, gourd released a posthumous effort called introduce yourself, where do you start with this one in my mind there are elements from each of the previous five albums on display here i hear secret path on coco chanel number five to name one off the top of my head the sparse production handled deftly by kevin drew gourd's partner in creating this double record. I have to imagine the production and limited instrumentation could have been a result of Gord's condition at the time of recording. However, as sick as he was, he persevered through two sessions in putting this album together.Track 1:[6:15] The liner notes indicate that Gord took on the bulk of the guitar work while handling vocals, some synth, and a bit of percussion to boot. Mr. Drew handled piano, bass, organs, keyboard, and percussion. This album does also feature some great guest performers, notably Dave Hamelin, with some work on the drums, as well as synth, and finally, on Nancy, he plays a frickin' B-3. David Billy Ray Koster offered some additional drum work and background vocals, while Patrick Downey contributed background vocals and percussion on Safe is Dead. Jillian Weiss also added vocals to that track. Lastly, engineer and bathhouse resident Niles Spencer has his fingerprints on several songs, playing keys, creating beats, samples, and a Morse code sound on the 19th track, The Road. From the get-go, this album has been scoured by fans to try and determine who each song is about. You see, this album has a premise. Each of the 23 songs is about someone from Gord's life. This is clearly the most personal record Gord, or the hip for that matter, has ever released. I'm going to leave you with one more date that is significant to me with regards to Introduce Yourself. May 30th, 2024.Track 1:[7:35] This was the day I peeled the cellophane off my copy of the vinyl and finally listened to the album in its entirety. Prior to that Thursday in May, I just didn't have the stamina or emotional wherewithal to make a dent in what I now know is a celebration of the music, the man, and the legend, Gord Downie. Justin, what are your initial thoughts on this one?Track 3:[8:00] I could not handle this album when it came out. I tried it and I had to abort after five songs maybe. And I'll tell you, and maybe I should save it for the song, but there was one, this all happened when, when my daughter was a newborn, there was, there's one song that just wrecks me and, uh, still does. Um, there's several that do, but one particular, and I just had to put it away until this, this project came around. So, you know, I sat on it for seven years. I had tried it and I wasn't ready.Track 1:[8:31] Me too, man. Me too. I'm either going to apologize for this project or be thanked for this project to find out what Justin's thoughts were on some of these songs. Kirk, I want to hear from you.Track 4:[8:44] Yeah. Well, for me, this came after us doing Secret Path, and that was such an emotional...Track 4:[8:56] Couple of weeks. I mean, it really was because we'd already become so close to Gord before we even started this project. Then when we started this project, you just became intimately familiar and then secret path happens and you're just, and I needed a break. I needed a break from, I'll say Gord Downie solo and I needed to fall in love with the hip again. I think I got that record store day hip album and i put that on and then i just went on a journey and just kind of fell in love with the hip again but i took a long break to prepare myself for this and there's no amount to break or anything that could really prepare you for it and every listen no matter what the device was whether it was on my record whether it was in the car whether it was out walking the dog. It was just obviously beautiful when you think about these letters and that he had the opportunity to do it, but also just so extremely heartbreaking at the same time, right? And then one final thing for me, my wife and I had also just recently watched the new documentary that came out on Jim Henson, right? And we're big Muppets fans. And of course they had a little bit on, you know, on Craig and I's favorite Emmett Otter.Track 4:[10:20] But yeah, it's just real quick, you know, but the point I wanted to make was.Track 4:[10:27] The Muppets, Sesame Street, everything that Jim Henson created, right? And he passed when he was 53. And Gord passed when he's 53. And I'm 53.Track 4:[10:39] And I'll be honest with you, gents, I have been on this. I'm 53. And these two gentlemen created this body of artwork that has been so incredibly moving for so many people for so many generations. And it just really stopped me in my tracks and went, wow, I'm 53. If I went right now, what would my story be and what impact would I have? And how thankful, even though it was, and I say this because I'm 53, that we lost those two gentlemen so young. Thank goodness we have this to go back and listen and watch and read and discuss and record podcasts. And I'm just so thankful. So sorry, a very long-winded answer, but I needed to share that with you because I think all of us are gonna have these emotional moments throughout this recording today. And just thinking about like, if I had a chance to write letters to everyone before I went, like, I don't know that I could do that. So um so that every listen has just been that thought wow can you imagine you had to write a letter to all the people that you know you cared for just.Track 1:[12:02] Take a moment brother we appreciate you man hell yeah best 53 year old on this podcast by by a country mile i.Track 4:[12:13] Will i will accept that sorry i'll accept that thank you as i cry thank you all right.Track 1:[12:22] Craig no i always i always start my questions with like for some reason i'm like mclaughlin of the mclaughlin group uh i don't know if you remember that sketch on snl but i feel like what justin you know and it's like this episode is a lot more stark and i don't want to be like scaring the shit out of you as i'm asking you a question but craig i want i'm curious about your experience now yeah.Track 2:[12:51] Well really quickly just before we um get into that uh kirk um not sure if you knew this this will probably just make things worse but um jim henson at his funeral they actually used a song from emmett otter as the um as the song that played during his um ceremony so yeah So you know how much it meant to him? Yeah.Track 3:[13:11] He also wrote his own goodbye letter and just stored it away.Track 2:[13:15] Oh, wow.Track 3:[13:15] In case of emergency, right? Yeah.Track 2:[13:19] It's crazy. Yeah. So, J.D., much like yourself –, I bought this album when it came out, and it remained unopened. And I actually remember watching a video that was like a promotional video that came out around the time the album was released. And it was a black and white. I put it on for about 30 seconds, and I just, I had to turn it off. And I actually just, for the first time since then, watched it last night. And it made sense why it hit me that hard it was the north the very last song which we'll get to at the very very end of i guess next week's podcast and that is a heavy tune and gourd was, not looking his best during the recording of that and it was just sort of like a rehearsal take they were showing it was just heartbreaking to watch and it was such a sad song i didn't know what it was about at the time, but I just knew I could not listen to this album. And yeah, so when this podcast opportunity came up, that was my first thought was like, I've had, I've been waiting to crack this open and I was looking for the opportunity to, you know, the right time. And that time is here. And to build off what Kirk was saying, like this, this album is a gift.Track 3:[14:46] Yeah.Track 2:[14:49] To his loved ones who were the subjects of the songs, to his bandmates, to his fans. And it's beautiful. The fact that he got this out there, like Kirk said so well, how many people get, number one, the opportunity to do something like this, and number two, can bring themselves to write those hard words.Track 1:[15:15] Absolutely. Yeah.Track 2:[15:16] Yeah.Track 6:[15:17] And, and when you consider the condition that he was in when he recorded these things, it's absolutely mind blowing for heaven's sake.Track 1:[15:26] This isn't somebody who was fully operational. And there's songs that are just so well thought out and gorgeous and, and so gored, you know?Track 3:[15:38] Well, and he wrote it in two stages too. And, you know, I would say that the second stage was probably in worse condition, right?Track 1:[15:47] You're likely right.Track 3:[15:49] He was gone six months after, you know, wild.Track 4:[15:55] One thing, because this is a blanket statement for all of it, is in any of the, you know, quick research that you do, like most of these songs were recorded in one to two takes. You know, for multiple reasons, one, they didn't have the time and neither did he or the energy. And so when you, you know, when you thought about when I went through and listened to every song and just went like, you got this amount of time, you're going to do this. And, you know, and they end up, I mean, one to two takes on some of these albums, just some of these songs. Sorry.Track 3:[16:34] And that's all they needed to.Track 1:[16:37] Yeah, I think that rawness really adds another layer to the context in a certain way, doesn't it? Because it is raw emotionally, and then it's raw musically as well.Track 4:[16:48] Yeah, very much so, but still incredible. Like on a majority of those songs, you wouldn't know. I mean, the one thing I read, and I would agree, is it's a piano forward album. There's very much a piano keys. There's some great guitar lines, but, um, so that helps obviously from a production standpoint in, in getting your, your tone tonality and, but I also think that it just really added to the, the, the emotion that the points, I'm sorry, I'm, no.Track 3:[17:30] But you're right.Track 4:[17:31] It's just incredible that they were able to get some of this production down in the manner that they did. And as a whole, going back to 53, I could hear so many decades in the songs, in the musicality that he was trying to experience. There's literal 80s synth pop songs on this. There's ballads. And there's all of these. You know, for me, I reflected born in the seventies, you know, really experienced that music eighties, nineties, two thousands. And then obviously the stuff you were influenced before that. And that instrumentation, in my opinion, came through in a lot of these songs. And again, one in two takes blows me away. Yeah.Track 1:[18:18] Yeah. Yeah. Drew, Kevin drew deserves, uh, a heap of, uh, of credit for pulling this together. And Niles Spencer was the engineer on the project. So hopefully later this summer, you guys get to meet Niles and we get to look around the bathhouse. That would be tremendous.Track 2:[18:40] Yeah. That would be amazing.Track 3:[18:41] Yeah.Track 1:[18:42] So we'll see what we can do there. Should we get into this song by song?Track 2:[18:45] Yeah.Track 3:[18:45] Let's do it.Track 1:[18:46] Okay. Craig, we're going to start with you in first person.Track 2:[18:51] So i decided early on when i started listening to this album i i felt like i didn't want to dig too deeply into what you know who each song was about right but some are just so obvious so first person you know it's a song to his mother you know the first person that you know he sees the first person to bring him to life just a really great song to start the album with very emotional um, Yeah. And I don't know, I didn't look up if his mother is still alive or was alive when this was released. So, you know, at the end he's saying goodbye.Track 3:[19:30] He addressed her in the final Kingston concert.Track 2:[19:34] Okay.Track 3:[19:34] Yeah. And she was there for that. I mean, they were only a year apart, so I don't know this, but I would assume she was still alive at that point. And I don't know if she's now or not.Track 2:[19:44] Yeah just the you know again the chance to say goodbye to his mom and yeah it's not really, how things are supposed to go i guess but um not at all yeah and that yeah the last thing i'll say is just there's that you know the vocalizations after the word goodbye i talked about them last week on secret path but there's these like raw just emotional you know screams and like emotes that he makes um in in the secret path concert and on the album and on this album as well that you know just that i don't know guttural just raw human emotion that it's really cool, what'd you guys think yeah.Track 1:[20:25] We saw a lot of that on the final tour for sure that raw guttural emotion.Track 2:[20:29] And uh.Track 1:[20:31] It's mirrored on this record absolutely crystallized uh on vinyl and cd cassette i don't know if it's on cassette justin um where do you stand on first person.Track 3:[20:43] Can't add a whole lot more but there's one thing that is very consistent in this song and the second song and it's that quarter note bass drum heartbeat boom boom boom boom to the whole thing and it's, not by accident for sure yeah yeah.Track 2:[21:01] And that was a feature of secret path to a lot of other songs without heartbeat.Track 4:[21:06] And a clock too is what I heard. Yes. I heard it as an underlying heartbeat, but it was also- click it was also time moving yeah oh that's good yeah it it really hit me in.Track 4:[21:22] Fact i think it was last night on one of the one of the tunes i don't remember exactly which one it was but it was fitting and it was very much a clock and a heartbeat again love love the opportunity that we had the chance to to to listen to this and to listen to those thoughts you know that was one One of the things I was thinking of, and we can say this about all of them is sometimes it's hard to really express your feelings at any moment, face-to-face writing it down, you know, after the fact. And so often it's after the fact, you know, this entire album, but of course this song right away, acknowledging his mom, but just that I'm going to go through and I'm going to give everyone that I've been in touch with or that I've loved, you know, I'm going to express some feelings to them. And a lot of the times those things sometimes people feel might be appropriate to be private, but for me, I love that Gord was very open about those feelings and emotions. So just incredible. Absolutely incredible.Track 1:[22:28] Incredible yeah i couldn't agree with you more it's so heartbreaking and i don't know whether we should have put a trigger warning at the top of this episode uh as we did with secret path this is some heavy shit so let's move on to wolf's home, All I want is you, All I want is you.Track 3:[26:05] And the heartbeat, you know, it really just, that's the other half, right? This is a decidedly more upbeat tune. It's really catchy. It's kind of fun. And it really, you know, the track that follows this is heavy too, but it does set the tone for kind of the rest of the album. The context of this whole thing, like we talked about over and over, is heavy, but the songs are kind of fun, you know? And Wolf's home is, all right, kids, stop the nonsense and the bullshit. Dad's home. Everybody cut it out. There's two lines that really stuck out to me. One was, I don't do what I hate, which is a spin on I do what I hate from Man, from the Man Machine poem album, which is the first track on that. And then at the very end is, all I want is you. you know and you know all the all the references to to edgar downey throughout the the hips catalog and and everything that gore did and you know lonely end of the rank and all those things it's um yeah i just these first two songs really kind of wrap your arms around the entire album with with what you're going to get out of this and um it's nice that it was his parents that, were the the opening numbers you know it was really a touching couple of tracks there.Track 4:[27:25] Yeah absolutely it's a tribute really it is and a tribute to obviously what an upbringing to, be able to you know have this individual that again has left us with such amazing art but yeah mom and dad right off the the bat i don't know if you guys noticed this or not and i think craig was trying to show it i have lucky enough to have the vinyl of this but on all the it's all handwritten the lyrics that are in here but in each one i'm fairly certain it's the who the song's about but it's it's covered up and it's a different color and it's on every single song in both you know close the first and the second album craig.Track 3:[28:04] You referenced that black and white video and in that video the only bits of color are where they overlay they kind of superimpose gray uh, gourd's handwriting in red and blue and he's got that four color pen that he's always using on.Track 4:[28:20] All the interviews. Yep.Track 3:[28:21] And I also was super happy to figure out that he's a lefty in that video because they show him making a note. And I'm like, all right.Track 4:[28:30] Right on, left-handers.Track 2:[28:31] My daughter is going to love that. Yeah, so this song, Wolf's Home, again, yeah, definitely about his father. And it's such a catchy song. The melody in the chorus, the ascending melody and the way the timbre of his voice just, changes as he's going up to those high notes and just such a nice quality like, he's such a versatile vocalist i don't think he gets enough credit for the just the different voices he uses on on different styles of tracks.Track 3:[29:03] There was something that i read a few years ago about how gourd just stayed in the pocket with the hip and i'm like what the frig are you talking about like the guy will go until he doesn't have a voice on the low end and then he blows it out on the top, Mariah Carey style. Like, it's unbelievable, his range.Track 1:[29:21] Ha ha ha ha ha ha.Track 2:[29:23] Some interest interesting percussion sounds almost like on on the two and four there's some kind of a where the snare would be there's some kind of i don't know what it is almost sounds like toy drums or something or just something random in the studio they were hitting but, but yeah i have nothing really more to add just just a great song.Track 4:[29:40] Yeah and i'll pick up on bedtime the next one which is to one of the kids i'm not sure if it's specific or if it's just to his children in general or you know again just going through that the theme that we've been talking about is knowing you know and it really doesn't matter who it's to that does add to obviously the level of seriousness but for me it was I think Craig mentioned this as well it's like yeah there was something you could pick out right away but it really didn't matter at some points again just breaking down that these were the very personal letters that were going out and doing it in a manner of he gets to add the instrumentation to it and as as we've talked about on several of the different albums and different tunes then again this one is more of the piano ford as they had mentioned the emotion that can be evoked from from that backing music to it and and knowing looking at very few i think there was only like four or five of these tunes that were solely gourd so you had some of the other you know drew that was involved, and niles and some of the other that helped i think a little bit with some of the i mean i don't know what their breakdown was if they were more instrumentation if they were more the uh um the lyric side of it but but just uh again i think a masterpiece put considering everything and having kids we all went through this or i went through this with all my kids.Track 4:[31:06] Multiple times in a different manner and and but how important that was and how with each of my kids, I have those memories of that connection, right? And that was a way that you could help your spouse was putting the help and putting the kids to bed. So it evokes some, some, very direct and deep memories and then saddens you when you know that these are memories that his children are going to read and hopefully appreciate.Track 1:[31:36] Oh, I can't imagine. I can't imagine. I just can't imagine.Track 2:[31:41] Yeah. Definitely brought back memories for me of, of those early years with kids and the, the struggle of bedtime and just the, the passage of time, you know, the way that those nights would just seem to last forever. And you were just, Then you wake up the next day and do it all over again. And then yet the years just start flying by. And that's what struck me during this song is that just the passage of time and how strange the days are so long and the years are so short. So, Justin, what do you think?Track 3:[32:18] Like I said, this album was released, Gord Died, and this album was released when my daughter was four months old. and we still have her gray rocking chair upstairs that, um, why would I would rock her to sleep in? And when this album came out, I think I listened on the first day, this song came on as I was rocking her to sleep and I bawled like a frigging toddler. And, uh you know the the line um as if from a bomb backing up like whoa and the floor with the creaks of time and we're living in this old apartment above a barn you know that's you can't breathe without the floor creaking and then you get to the door and she wakes up like are you really like leaving like what do you get back here you know and like so this song i it totally destroyed me and as I'm trying to get her calm I'm losing it and so I had this is this was it I heard three songs on this album and I stopped for seven years until we started this project I do love this song very much but man did it hit home and I was already raw from from having lost Gord you know my musical hero ten days before and then shit this happens come on yeah.Track 4:[33:40] I wanted to speak about JD when you were talking in the intro. When Gord passed, it was as deep as any friend or family member that I can recall. I mean, it was a deep fetal position kind of cry. And especially having seen and just a break, we've already talked about it before in a prior episode, but on the long time running when on the last tour, when he would kiss everyone on the lips before they went out on stage, you just were overwhelmed by the amount of love this one individual had. And that, you know, to this day, it's still permeates in this discussion. So amazing.Track 1:[34:29] Well, let's stick with you, Kirk. Let's talk a bit about introduce yourself.Track 4:[34:33] Introduce yourself. Well, title track to the album. I'm sorry. I got to get this out of the way. I need to know so much more, or I need to visit the Danforth because some of my favorite songs always mentioned the Danforth. And I just have to imagine it's some beautiful place near Toronto because it's in like old apartment from bare naked lady, which is a song that I love. Several other Canadian bands mentioned the Danforth. So that was the thing that snuck that stuck out right because everything had been so emotional i needed some sort of brevity and so when i got to danforth the line danforth so i need to ask jd give me info on the danforth so the danforth is the.Track 1:[35:18] Other side of bluer street the eastbound corridor of the street we call bluer street in midtown yeah it's not down it's the roof of downtown is bluer street and it cuts across the Bloor Viaduct, the Prince Edward Viaduct, which has the luminous veil on it that we spoke.Track 2:[35:36] Of in another episode.Track 1:[35:38] Then the Danforth was traditionally Greek town. It had oodles of Greek restaurants. There was lots of Greek variety stores and that sort of thing. And in the early nineties, it became a very popular place to start a family. You buy a house pretty reasonably. Now it's, you know, just as it's, as is want to happen. And it's pushing further and further and further East because the original Danforth area is now, you know, like $3 million homes, $4 million homes. Uh, and then there's some areas that there are way more than that. And I'd be glad to take you on a mini tour when I'm here because that's where I live. You know, maybe a soda pop at my local. We'll see.Track 3:[36:23] Yeah. Love it. Let's do that.Track 4:[36:25] Yeah. So that was my, that was my takeaway on this, this particular one. And again, that just overwhelmed my thought process was needing to know more about the Danforth. So I appreciate you helping, helping me with that. So, yeah.Track 2:[36:41] So this song was, um, was written about Billy Ray, Billy Ray Koster, the longtime hip roadie. And so, um, it's really just a thank you. And at the end of the song, just, you know, I thank you for your help. Help. Such a simple line, but such a beautiful goodbye to this lifelong friend who, from what I remember reading years ago, is that Billy Ray just as a young man or someone in his late teens just wrote the hip saying, I want a job, I'll do anything, and just worked his way up. And he really became almost like a member of the band by the end. And just the story of of this song is hilarious. Like it's a, it's a emotional song, but it's also so funny. Like the, you know, the not it isn't, it isn't because, you know, maybe some of the reason he, he, you know, the story being that he needs to write, introduce yourself on his hand to show to Billy Ray. So he'll introduce himself to the driver of the car that he, that Gord should know the name of, but has forgotten. So, you know, was that because of, you know, the cancer maybe? And I think I know what Justin's going to talk about here. What was your first thought?Track 3:[37:56] I can picture them in the back of a car or the cab or whatever. And Gord's like, oh shit, you know, like, what do I do here? Yeah. I mean, there's not much more that I could peel back on this, but I do remember in the interim of deciding to put the album down when it came out. And now I do remember watching the live performance that Sarah Harmer, Kevin Hearn, right, did it. And it was awesome. It was really, really, really good. And I was like, oh, okay, that's, and I had no idea what it was about at that time. So I was like, oh, this is a really sweet song.Track 2:[38:29] The Junos.Track 3:[38:30] Obviously emotional, but, um, you know, hearing the, hearing the lyrics, I was like, Oh, okay. And I've referenced it a few times here, the interview, the sit down with Peter Mansbridge and yeah. And he's like, well, I've got your name here, so I don't call you Doug or whatever, you know? Um, yeah. So, uh, yeah.Track 1:[38:57] Right.Track 2:[38:59] That's what I was going for. Yeah.Track 4:[39:02] Hey, I got to say with Billy Ray, because most of the shows that I saw were in small clubs, he was just as much a member of the band as anyone else for all of my crew. We almost enjoyed seeing him more, right? He always had that kind of crooked cowboy hat. And he always had like either a roll of duct tape or a wrench or there was art, you know, there was always something that says I'm the tech guy like reminded you of Tom Hanks when he did that Saturday Night Live skit when he was a roadie for Aerosmith or whatever, but he was so much he was the flavor of it. It was like he had to come out and put the mic stand back up because Gord knocked it down, you know. And then I love the fact as well that on this album, as well as I think the last or a couple of the others, he plays drums on a few of them. So how fantastic is that from Craig, as you mentioned, like a letter, just this, hey, I want to do something for you. And then he becomes this lifelong friend. And now he's part of, you know, part of introduce yourself in the title track song and, uh, just such a character.Track 3:[40:11] So it also, uh, it reminded me of the roadie by tenacious D. Sebastian bringing this, you know, 55 year old groupie into the dressing room.Track 4:[40:23] Love it.Track 3:[40:25] Love it.Track 4:[40:25] Love it. Love it.Track 2:[40:28] As someone who is terrible with names, definitely made, made me laugh. And if I ever get a tattoo, maybe that's what it'll have to be. Cause man, I'm in my job. It's not the best quality.Track 3:[40:39] It's a good story though.Track 1:[40:41] Coco Chanel five. That's what I think, yeah.Track 3:[43:49] So this, I mean, it's got to be about Laura, right? And yeah, and the thing that made me doubt that was that there's a song later in the album about his first girlfriend. So maybe he's singing about all of them. But the thing that drove it home for me was the line when I was recording in Memphis, which is the Up To Here album. That would put the timeline about right. I, I feel awkward listening to the song, the song and the one about the girlfriend. Like I shouldn't, I shouldn't be in this room right now, you know? Yeah.Track 2:[44:20] That, that, that was my thing off the top was like, I didn't want to dive too deep into who these songs are about, but sometimes it's, yeah, that this, that's what I thought about this one. And, but you know, Gord put this out in the world, so we, it is okay for us to do this. It is, is um yeah.Track 4:[44:37] And i agree that it definitely could have been on secret path like it has very much that same feel musically right instrumentation musically that was very much and there was even a moment on this particular song where it it was an mvp for for me for a while oh interesting yeah i just i think because again secret path was so impactful and for me after like the great build buildup from Coke machine glow, you know, just that amazing buildup and you hit secret path and you're just, it was hard to go on. So it was, I, you know, I was glad to hear something to kind of wake me up out of that funk. So, uh, but just a great song, but yes, difficult to listen to at times that the line was very uncomfortable for me. It really was. It's so good.Track 3:[45:27] Don't even say it.Track 4:[45:28] I'm not, but it's very uncomfortable for me. And that's That's probably the reason why I didn't end up as my MVP. I'll be honest.Track 1:[45:38] Just a little too inside baseball, Gord. Let's go with Ricky, please. And we'll start with Craig this time.Track 2:[45:47] This is a song I don't have a lot of notes about. It's just a nice upbeat song that was needed at this point. And it's nice and short. Gave me, I've said this a number of times on this pod, but Ben Folds kind of vibes you know and I have no idea who Ricky is I really didn't look at the lyrics too closely in this one so.Track 1:[46:13] Okay. Anybody else got anything?Track 3:[46:15] So I had asked in the group chat if this was about Patrick, his brother Patrick. And I know that You, Me, and the Bees is about him too, but I was thinking Ricky might be a nickname for Patrick. But the reason why I asked that was one of the lines is, you got me to the only door I've got. And Gord references the door in interviews and at the end of his life. And I know that Patrick was very close to him and was kind of his caretaker at the end. Um, so that's where I was thinking that maybe this is maybe Patrick got two songs. I don't know. I really don't know, but it's obviously somebody who's been very close with him forever and, you know, dating back before the illness, of course, too. But yeah, I don't know who it's about, but that was my initial thought. And I, I don't know. I have no idea, but it is a very fun listen.Track 1:[47:06] Well, if you out there listening, no, send us an email, discovering downy at gmail.com. we'd love to hear from you kirk what do you got.Track 4:[47:15] This one it gets a little more upbeat and so the clock is going a little faster i i agree with you justin that there definitely has a a feel to this sounds like a brother at least from that that standpoint i love i love the instrumentation the repetitiveness the i i i did that was something that i have in my memory as far as a note for this so this.Track 3:[47:40] Song and and a few others sound like a marriage between now for plan a and man machine poem like they could be hip songs 100 from those two.Track 4:[47:49] Great agreed i would wild okay.Track 1:[47:51] I gotta think about this in a different way safe is dead is our next track and i think we'll start with justin this time yeah.Track 3:[48:01] So i guess i'm gonna say it again this sounds like it could be from Not For Plan A or Man Machine Poem. And I don't know... It's probably more like man-machine poem, I think, but I couldn't even tell you who this is about. But, you know, it's certainly previewing death or reliving somebody else's. I don't know. But the dark preview, who'd miss this fear, a damn silence, exiles meet. And then the dark brochure, full dark soon, and then the rise of a scarred moon. So, like, I wonder if the brochure is a literal brochure. Like, here's what to expect in your next year and a half with glioblastoma, you know? Like, good luck, read this, and you've got information.Track 1:[48:42] God.Track 4:[48:43] That's, I mean, honestly, that's very much the way I took it. Safe is dead. Like, there's no good information on here. So it was stark to me, even in the music. And then if you read in some of the liner notes, this was one of the only ones with some backing vocals, and I think Patrick was one of them. And I think Billy Ray was another one. I have to look that up. But so interesting when you think about who was involved in this song. And then, again, just that premise or thought, like whether it's a pamphlet or like his doctor saying, hey, this is what's up. So you're just like safe as dead. Yeah. That was my uh.Track 2:[49:31] Yeah justin you mentioned man machine poem and i have a note right here that says remind the vocals remind me of insarnia from that album and musically i was really drawn to this song it reminds me so much of a band called future islands and specifically there's a song called fall from grace on the singles album which was the album that broke them and i heard that.Track 3:[49:56] Song today on the drive home.Track 2:[49:57] Really yeah.Track 3:[49:58] It's funny it.Track 2:[49:59] Is so similar yeah and i love i love that's my one of my very favorite songs by future islands so this one really stuck with me just the the drum beat the repetitive notes in the piano if it was future islands it would be more of a synth sound but it's a very similar idea just this repetitive groove that just goes for the entire song the nice echoing at the end the vocals that you mentioned and the way the beat drops out there's like a single hand clap to end the song it's one of my favorites i think on the album tremendous and sorry and last thing what wait what like what such a gourd thing to say what what wait what like just awkward and but not from him when he says it it's just when you when.Track 4:[50:49] You hear it for the first time it doesn't sound like he's saying that i had a completely different phrase.Track 2:[50:54] In my brain.Track 4:[50:55] You know when you hear something you're rocket man burning up his when you hear that that's what i heard was.Track 2:[51:01] Something completely.Track 4:[51:02] Different until i read it and i.Track 2:[51:03] Went excuse me while i kiss this guy wait.Track 4:[51:05] What what yeah exactly there's a bathroom on the right on the right.Track 2:[51:10] Do we.Track 3:[51:15] Have to pay rights fees for these now jay no.Track 1:[51:17] No we're fine we're fine we got big podcast lawyers yeah well we go upbeat again with the next song uh in a celebratory sort of way kirk what do you think is spoon.Track 4:[54:10] I'm just going to ask this question up front. In the band Spoon, we had had some discussions about them on our exchange, and I didn't look deep enough. Are they a Canadian band? They're not, no. No? But popular up there, obviously, and is that who he's referring to when you go down to the bottom?Track 1:[54:32] It definitely is that band. in terms of popularity middling you know they're not a superstar band by any stretch but they sell you know they sell they sell records similar to what they are in the u.s they're still sort of underground you know to a lot of people even though they've had at least three breakout albums great indie band yes but.Track 3:[54:52] They're only an indie band you know they're.Track 1:[54:53] Not mainstream yeah.Track 2:[54:56] Yeah relating to the story i just told actually it was driving me nuts i i knew i had a ticket to spoon but i have no memory of the concert and it was just driving me nuts i actually pulled up my concert tickets yesterday and went through them all until i finally finally figured out what it was was that i just mentioned future islands they were playing a show at stanley park in downtown vancouver the you know the park and um spoon was headlining future islands was opening so i went for future islands they sold out of beer like in the opening band they may and not Not that I was there for beer, but the timing worked out perfectly though, because I actually had a second concert ticket that same night to see War on Drugs in downtown Vancouver. So we had to like run down the street, catch a bus down to downtown Vancouver and made it to the Vogue to see War on Drugs. This is, I don't know, nine years ago, I think. And so I missed Spoon. So I didn't even get to see five songs.Track 4:[55:54] You missed Spoon. I was going to ask if you had both. No. Okay. You missed Spoon.Track 3:[55:58] I haven't seen them, but I love them. And in particular, the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga that is referenced on here. You don't even have to know that it's Spoon to know Don't You Ever or The Underdog or Cherry Bomb from that album. I know that if you heard them, you would recognize them instantly. They're radio hits. But Spoon's a freaking great band. And I'm jealous of the five-year-old kid who's in this song, which has got to be his youngest son, right? I would imagine.Track 1:[56:27] Well, he talks about recording in Maui with Bob.Track 3:[56:29] In Maui with Bob, yeah.Track 1:[56:31] So that would be what? That would be 2011?Track 2:[56:34] I think so.Track 3:[56:35] That would be the luster part of it, wouldn't it?Track 1:[56:37] That's what I've, that's what I've thought.Track 2:[56:38] I assume it's talking about either We Are The Same or World Container because he talks about we. He says we as in the band, like we were recording with Bob. Job so yeah and Maui is a place that um you know it's it's it's the destination for people in in Vancouver for vacation it's you know five hours away and so I've been there multiple times and so when he when I first heard the song and he starts dropping you know Haleakala the volcano Baby Beach is a place where when my son was just just a baby we took him to Baby Beach which is a a place where there's a like a natural barrier i believe it's natural there's no waves so you can actually take your toddler into the water they can just kind of play around in six inches of water and it goes out for for many meters and and i have these distinct memories and a great set of photos of my son on that beach talks about anthony's which is a little restaurant up in the in paella I believe, which is on the, if you're taking the road to Hana, very famous drive around the east side of the island, which I recommend to anyone who goes there. Brought back all these memories of my trips out there. And he even talks about his, I think his leg was broken or something. And one of my early trips to Maui, I was there on crutches. I had a hockey injury.Track 2:[58:03] So I had to cancel a bunch of my plans for that trip. And my son was very young. I think it was seven, eight months. And I remember the first day just taking the stroller for a walk and I'd go, you know, to the cinnamon roll place. And then I'd go back to the condo. And then the next day I'd go a bit further by the end. Within a week, I was walking for hours every morning. Like, you know, with the time change, I was up at 5.30 a.m. And taking him for just the longest walk. And just such a great memory. And I was fully healed by the end of that trip. That's great.Track 3:[58:35] There is the opening lines I just wanted to mention. You're transcendent. You taught me so many things. You taught me that help is all we to this dumb planet bring. What a nice compliment to give somebody.Track 2:[58:45] Right? And don't read the Apple Music translation because it says hell instead of help.Track 3:[58:51] That would change the song.Track 2:[58:52] You know, I've noticed on some of my listens.Track 4:[58:56] I'll look up a lyric because you can look on Spotify or whatever. And what you're hearing or what he's saying does not correlate with what the lyrics are so i noticed that on a few tunes i didn't write the specific ones down but uh that's interesting that you know it it translates it however it wants so i'm like he didn't just say what.Track 3:[59:17] It's for what it's worth i've had good luck on the website genius um when i when i can't find yeah and there's usually some notes some reference notes but they'll also capitalize words like like the album, the liner notes would have, as opposed to if you're listening to Spotify or YouTube or something that just doesn't take, you know, have that nuance. Right. Um, and I can add a lot of meaning.Track 2:[59:43] Yeah, and Kirk, you asked about Spoon being Canadian. While they're not, the band Deer Hunter, who Gord mentions in the song as the opener, they are from out east, I believe, Montreal maybe?Track 1:[59:55] Do you know, JD? I think it's in Quebec. Yeah, I think so.Track 3:[59:59] I think they are.Track 2:[1:00:00] I feel like I've seen them.Track 4:[1:00:01] Are they still active? Because I feel like I've just seen them recently, like opening up for Barenaked Ladies, which would make sense if they're Canadian.Track 3:[1:00:08] They have, they have a little bit of a following around where I live. Um, I haven't, I haven't seen them and I don't know much about them, but I know that the local station out of Albany, New York mentions deer hunter often. So yeah, there's still, I think there's still around.Track 4:[1:00:23] And I feel like I just saw them with bare naked ladies and, uh, what's the band that does closing time? Semi Sonic.Track 1:[1:00:30] Yeah.Track 4:[1:00:31] They were on the same, same bell.Track 1:[1:00:33] I went on a scavenger hunt in setlist.fm trying to find a show in Toronto that Deer Hunter opened for Spoon, and I couldn't track it down. That would definitely help us with the date in terms of figuring it out. I'm pretty sure they even say the venue in the song, don't they? In the lyric?Track 4:[1:00:58] Deer Hunter opened the show. The headliner was introduced. We did our best. We'd have to go soon. We got a t-shirt and we cut five tunes. Just enough to say that the first show for us, too, was Spoon. So anything else on Spoon?Track 3:[1:01:15] I listened to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga several times because of this song. Yeah.Track 1:[1:01:24] Next up, Craig, is A Natural.Track 2:[1:01:29] Yeah, this song is the... Okay, so I'm in Seattle. This is... What year was this album? 2017? And this would have been, I'm guessing, a couple of weeks after gourd passed and i was in a 10 days i was in a clothing store or something i think a vintage clothing store in seattle and my wife was shopping and i was just sort of hanging out and i heard this song i was it was kind of like lightly in the background i couldn't i wasn't paying attention to who it was but they always play great music in seattle on in these types of stories i find and then the chorus came on and that powerful voice of his with all that reverb and it hit me like like a ton of bricks like i was like yeah it was like gourd from beyond the grave um and i was just i was in the u.s i was i was just it was amazing and i remember thinking like what is this is this like a hip song that i somehow don't know is this a you know some other artist where he just sings the chorus and i you know tracked it down when i got home and realized it was on the album that i had unopened um and so this was one song that i did listen to over the years, yeah what'd you guys think of this one.Track 4:[1:02:54] Just this was one of those that was the kind of the synth pop you know feel behind it which i loved again because again correlating back to the ages is like, gord probably had an affinity for the 80s and certain aspects of it in certain songs and whether you like it or not you're still influenced by it because you get that kind of that's again the the keyboard the synth sent the type music there but yeah again as craig mentioned the um powerfulness in the voice during the chorus is it creates goosebumps it just fills you up and and again makes you thankful that you have a variety of different you know opportunities to listen to the voice you know whether it's a solo stuff for the hip and so you were you just you were thankful for it and just the imagery in this song you know just sitting there and it's soaking and wet you know bathing suit with a bb gun and just kind of iron you know you you've experienced that or you've seen it and so you just felt connected to the song right away but it was so intense and then just the song the course itself is just a praise you are a natural if you say that about someone they're just you know they're beyond special so very much a song that made an impression, especially with his vocal abilities, as we've all mentioned and commented on how phenomenal it is and how varied, which I think Craig mentioned as well, or Justin as well.Track 3:[1:04:23] I wondered if this was about his sister or one of his daughters. I don't know why, but just the scene, the way that it's set, it seems like he's singing about a female.Track 4:[1:04:35] I would not disagree with that.Track 3:[1:04:36] Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. Well, and I was thinking that as they were kids, he's telling this story from his own childhood. Yeah. Don't know.Track 2:[1:04:47] That was my first thought too, but yeah, it could be. I feel like it is probably a child with one of his children.Track 3:[1:04:53] It also sounds a lot like a couple of songs in Secret Path.Track 2:[1:04:57] Yeah. The way he sings at the end though, I am the lucky one. That made me think I think maybe it was him as a father saying that line. And also to add to the 80s vibe, the bass, it really takes a lead in this song, very much like a Peter Hook style New Order.Track 4:[1:05:17] Yeah, great observation, Greg. I don't disagree with that at all.Track 1:[1:05:22] Well, let's wrap things up for this week with faith, faith. And we'll start with you, Mr. St. Louis.Track 3:[1:05:31] This one got me. Jesus, about the dog. I mean, I assume it's a dog. What else would be getting scratched under the chin? But, oh, my gosh, my puppy is just, well, the puppy is two years old. But, you know, I mean, what's nicer than the love that you get from your dog? and um very.Track 1:[1:05:54] Little in this world.Track 3:[1:05:55] Faith yeah but i mean just this song too is crushing take this take the dog out of it this is this is a masterpiece of a song and you can get emotional without lyrics with a song it's pretty damn amazing um so a couple of a couple of weeks ago, my mentor ken squire and you can google him he he's the one that got nascar on tv he's he's from around the way here and i worked for him for 20 years and he kind of took me up under his wing as the annoying kid who wouldn't stop asking for a job you know he's he's a legendary figure in the world of motorsport around the world so he he passed back in november and a few weeks ago they had his memorial service at his racetrack here in Vermont. And the most poignant part of the whole thing was they read a poem called The Sweetness of Dogs. This song brought me back to that moment where I welled up at his service and how the person and the dog are sitting under the moonlight. The person looks up at the moon and thinks, what could be more beautiful? And And the dog looks up to the person and thinks the same thing. And I'm just like, whoa. And the song just drains me. Yeah. Yeah. Ferguson, Ferguson's going to get this song the rest of his life.Track 4:[1:07:22] Yeah. It's, uh, it's, it's overwhelming. The, the passion that you feel when he screams the faith, faith, your faith, your faith, your faith. I think it's the Y-E-R, touching the nose every morning, one, two, three times, dark unwavering eyes. And if you have an animal, you know, especially if you have a dog for me, you know, I have my, my little guy, Andy, and we take our walks every day. And I do a lot of my gourd listening when I'm on a walk with my dog, you know, and it's, The dog has an attitude, and it's a great personality. And yeah, there's a love there that I think he captures, obviously, amazingly in the lyrics there.Track 2:[1:08:15] Yeah, I just have a note about the piano playing. So Kevin Drew on the piano, as we learned on the Secret Path album, he plays with a lot of feeling. And he's definitely got like a style to his playing. And I love how at the end he goes up the octave. And it's just, there's a lot of emotion in his playing, which really matches the lyrics. Now, unlike you guys, I'm not a pet person. I'm allergic to dogs. So it's not really my fault. Um so i've never had a dog i did have a cat growing up and i i do have a really great story but i'm gonna i'm gonna save it for when we have more time it feels.Track 4:[1:08:54] Like loving emmett otter craig that's what it feels like.Track 2:[1:08:57] Okay that's what it feels.Track 1:[1:08:59] Like well fellas uh it's been an absolute, pleasure to listen to your thoughts on the first half sort of i know it's not divisible the way the records are, but that's what we're going to cover this week. Let's bid adieu to our listeners and encourage you out there to shoot us an email, discoverydowney at gmail.com if you're enjoying what you're here. We'd love for you to join our community on Facebook, and of course we want to see you on July 19th at the Rec Room here in toronto tickets are available now at discovering downy.com.Track 4:[1:09:47] That's going to be a fun night i.Track 1:[1:09:51] Think so right.Track 4:[1:09:52] Really fun and do.Track 2:[1:09:55] People know like we've never actually met no i don't i guess i guess they.Track 1:[1:09:59] Wouldn't know that yeah.Track 2:[1:10:00] I mean i've i've met jd and kirk i guess in person very briefly yes uh kirk um a couple times and justin yeah yeah not not yet i haven't met you yet but But yeah.Track 4:[1:10:09] It'll be the first time for all four of us. Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:12] But we're all going to see each other on the night.Track 2:[1:10:15] It's going to be awesome.Track 3:[1:10:16] Yeah. Actually, we're going to see each other on the 18th too, aren't we?Track 2:[1:10:20] Road trip.Track 3:[1:10:21] Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:21] Yeah. Yeah. If you're out there and you're.Track 4:[1:10:24] We got to go to the.Track 1:[1:10:25] If you're out there, we got to see the dance tonight and you feel like meeting up with four dudes and you want to give us a tragically hip tour. That's a perfect opportunity. You guys are discovering Downey at gmail.com email. We would love that we would love nothing more than that so we'll have a film crew with us we can shoot some cool stuff and it'll be a lot of fun, 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

This week the gang gets together to discuss the rest of Inroduce Yerself. Transcript: Track 1:[0:00] Hey, it's Justin. You know and love us on the Discovering Downey podcast, right? So come hang out with us in person for the finale. Join us for Long Slice Brewing presents a celebration of Gord Downey at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Craig is coming from Vancouver, Kirk is coming from LA, I'm driving from Vermont, and JD's like walking down the street or wherever he lives in Toronto. Tickets are available now on our website at discovererndowney.com, and when you get your tickets, that means you can come Come hang out with us and our very special guest, Patrick Downey, and you can bid on some incredibly cool silent auction items, all while jamming along with tragically hip cover band The Almost Hip, and most importantly, helping us raise money for the Gord Downey Fund for Brain Cancer Research. Crack open a long slice, put on some Gord tunes, take a journey with us on discovering Downey, and then crack open another long slice on July 19th and hang out with us in the six. I always wanted to sound cool and say that. For more information, follow us on all the socials and visit DiscoveringDowny.com. Christmas Day for Edgar. My dad always used to say just after the presents, well, it's as far away now as it will ever be. I'm thinking about that as the stewardess cracks the public address system. For those sitting in economy, there's no music for you today.Track 1:[1:21] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents. Discovering Downey.Track 2:[1:31] Hey, it's JD 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 local acrobats that wowed 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 really listened to these solo records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends, Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans of the hip in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week, we're going to get together and listen to one of Gord's records, working 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 the back half well plus two songs from the front half of introduce yourself justin my friend how are you doing on this gray fucking oh is it gray there toronto oh oh it's terrible all day maybe because i was wearing sunglasses wait a minute.Track 4:[2:55] It is it was the opposite of that here in in beautiful vermont today it's it was a beautiful day i I think it's going to be great for the rest of the week, though. So whatever you're getting today, we'll get tomorrow.Track 1:[3:05] Oh, that's weather with Justin. We'll be back with Craig and Traffic. Remember, news on the fives.Track 2:[3:12] Where in the world is Kirk from Fuckachino? How's it going, man?Track 5:[3:22] I am in Washington, D.C. Right now for work in a hotel room. so having some technical difficulties so my apologies but things are good and uh excited to continue the conversation greg.Track 2:[3:41] What say you things.Track 3:[3:44] Are going well a little uh a little tired after a night out uh watching the sadies last night so they played a small venue downtown and got to see the boys rock out and um yeah it was it was a pretty awesome show a big banner of Dallas in the background and yeah, some touching moments, but mostly they, they just rocked.Track 2:[4:03] I haven't been to a live show in a little while now.Track 4:[4:06] Super cool.Track 2:[4:12] All right, fellas, before we get into the music, I want to talk to you about an email that I got from an organization called Lake Fever Wilderness Company. Basically, the gist of this email is that the Lake Fever Wilderness Company has submitted all the paperwork required to City Hall to get At Riverdale Park East, here in Toronto, mere footsteps from my home, renamed Gord Downie Park. I saw an article on BlogTO, and then they also gave us a couple other links to stories. But I'm hoping that our little podcast here, that people who listen to it will hear this, and you know we can build some awareness around this somehow anything you want to say about this or comment about this are you jealous and ate in your town yes.Track 4:[5:17] That sounds like a great cause and um for what it's worth i love the song lake fever so.Track 2:[5:25] Right Right?Track 4:[5:26] Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's a, that's whatever we can do to help, man. That sounds great.Track 5:[5:31] Sounds very cool.Track 3:[5:32] I'm jealous. We, who do we get? Brian Adams Avenue.Track 2:[5:39] Probably already have it. Don't you?Track 3:[5:41] I don't know. I don't know. Maybe in England.Track 2:[5:45] Really? There's not a. Right mind-blowing to me one of the top songs of all time in terms of played, everything i do i do for you right, yeah but this is not a brian adams podcast this is a podcast called discovering downy and let's pick it up where we left off last time that puts us on side two of the first record With the very candid, my first self.Track 5:[6:47] I mean, just explains it like I remember it. And yeah. could feel all of those crazy, stupid emotions and, uh, could just totally wrap my head around and embrace, you know, the message that he was writing, you know, a piano forward tune again. You know, I think we talked about that the last one, uh, I love the vocal and the background that starts coming in uh you know echoing essentially the line um and then the last line is just classic so yeah uh it's a it's a brilliant tune in my assessment.Track 3:[7:28] Yeah, what I liked about it is that it really instantly just takes you to a place in your own life, whether the story is one you connect with or not, it takes you back to, you know, when you were in your teens or whatever. And that's what I appreciated about this song. Another thing before the echoing vocal you're talking about there's i just noticed today for the first time very very faintly in the opposite channel is something that sounds like a, a meowing cat i think it's a person but it's almost this little it's so subtle it's almost like one of those hearing tests you get where there's a little beep and you're like did i hear that but i listened a second time and there's something that comes in about 30 seconds before for the more noticeable vocal on the other side so i.Track 4:[8:19] Did not on that view yeah i listened to it today too actually and.Track 3:[8:24] Um i.Track 4:[8:26] Mean this this girl sounds cool as hell you know like he says in the song six years older so it's definitely you know she's his girlfriend but he may not be her boyfriend from what i'm picking up on you know like and and i certainly related to the you.Track 3:[8:41] Told me off and could she be responsible for uh hooking gourd on reading because he wanted to be like her.Track 4:[8:50] Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah interesting thought yeah yeah yeah i don't know again like i did feel a little awkward listening to this song let's.Track 2:[9:02] Move to the next track on the record you're ashore.Track 3:[9:05] Well this is probably the song i have the least to say about it's maybe the least memorable for me I think probably it's the type of song that if it's about you it's probably a maybe a bit of an inside joke or I'm not really sure what the you know what it's about who it's about, I appreciated the gentleness in his voice. I was glad that it was the length that it was because it was not my favorite. What did you guys think?Track 5:[9:38] I loved it me too i uh i i uh i mean it's the shortest song on the album it's a minute 30 you know the lyrics are simple it's you know essentially you're sure you're sure repeated and a few little straight lines but the brilliant in the very beginning is you know he's strumming and then it's the let flow it down i believe is what he says and uh yeah it's um Um, I think especially amongst this body of work amongst this album, like, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of piano, there's a lot of synths, there's even some beats and things of that nature. And it was kind of nice to just get a little short acoustic ditty in my opinion. But, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a sucker for that. That's, uh, just like, just like back in the eighties, right? Every metal band had its little ballad. so uh i i love the ballads so.Track 4:[10:38] Yeah i don't know who it's about but it's an earworm i find myself humming the tune uh quite often and there's only a few words in the song so it's not like, you know like you said craig the lyrics aren't nothing about it is really memorable but it is it does get into your brain and it's an easy little like you could just walk through the the park and just sing that all day. But yeah, I mean, it's a minute 30 and that's about right.Track 2:[11:07] Yeah, that's about right. It's interesting you say that you couldn't determine who that's about, because I, so far, have really sucked at that game, listening to the first record. So, as we go into the second record, Gord lobs a softball at me, and even I know that this next track, Love Over Money, is about the fucking Tragically Hip.Track 4:[11:37] Damn right it is.Track 2:[11:39] Yeah who wants to go first here kirk.Track 5:[11:42] Yeah i'll go first um yeah i i you know uh i would say jd i've had a similar you know a similar experience in in trying i have little parentheses in my notes of who i think the note might be or the song might be too and i you know i can't even get specifics i just write like brother you know question mark things of that nature so this one was obvious what i loved about it as well and and i think i might have mentioned it on on the last of the first the first album it's such a pop it's like a synth pop tune is what i have and this is gonna sound weird but for whatever reason when i hear the song i think of that snl skit where you've You've got like Jimmy Fallon and they're all playing like they're doing that little, you know, they do the little dance.Track 2:[12:36] Oh, right, right, right.Track 5:[12:37] You know, when I heard this song, I, by the second time, I just, I couldn't get that shit out of my brain. So, but just beautiful lyrics talking about the band. So direct and so loving and so to the point. To me, an absolute, brilliant Gord Downie song. I mean, you know, just wonderful, wonderful song.Track 3:[13:06] The moment he said the line, we played to no one, and then no one plus one, I knew it was about the hip. Because I remember in 1996, a band I played in, we went across Canada two times that year, self-booked tours. And we ended up in Thunder Bay on one of the tours.Track 3:[13:24] And we played in a tiny club called crocs and rolls which is sort of like a legendary club in in thunder bay a guy named frank lefredo was the booker there who was kind of like a legend, in uh in music across canada and anyway frank um the first night we we played and we didn't draw much of a crowd and he said you know don't worry guys the you know first time the tragedy hit played here they played to to no one and then they played a second night and they got a couple more and the next night and you know they played i think three nights in a row on an early tour, and so that made us feel a little better and he and he um he felt bad about the the draw so when we came back um he found us a gig at another venue um for the for the drive back so that's the the memory that that comes up for me um and also the other thing the queen's jubilee uh so the reference to the um to the playing to the the deafening the husband of the queen um that would be that that show which i looked up and uh and yeah they played poets and interesting enough in that version of poets he changes the lyrics he censors himself a little bit i noticed so for the queen he he He changed bare-breasted to bare-chested, and there was one other change I can't recall.Track 4:[14:44] Yeah, it was a great performance. I remember seeing that. I wish that I had looked it up just to bring the memory of it back, but that line stuck out to me. I remember seeing that performance.Track 3:[14:57] And he used the laminar flow line as well in that version of Poets.Track 4:[15:01] Oh, that I didn't remember.Track 2:[15:04] Wow.Track 3:[15:05] Which ended up in Coke Machine Glow on Every Irrelevance.Track 4:[15:11] Yeah. Obviously, the bond between those five guys is unbreakable, and this song is funny, too. I laughed at this song the first time that I heard it and heard the lyrics. We missed death and marriage and a birth. I did notice the words hotel worth, which is kind of a preview to an upcoming thing. There's a song that actually got a lot of airplay here locally a few years ago. But yeah, yep, it did. Yep, it was on the radio two or three times a day for a couple months here.Track 3:[15:47] The love over money line um made me also think about the way that they split their royalties and i'm not sure if if it was like a 20 all the way around that would be my guess but but often the the lyricist will take 50 and then the people who wrote the music take the other 50 so you know maybe it's not that simple but the fact that all five of them were as far as i know listed on all all the all the credits sort of um you know over their career that's something that drives so many bands apart is that fight over you know well i wrote this i wrote this and like even in the band i spoke about a while ago like we had some really crazy discussions around royalties and who should get what and you know in my mind i've always been a equal share guy i don't care if you're the drummer if you're you know you wrote your part that's just you know then again i've not not like i'm making a ton of a ton of money in music or anything but but um it was nice to to see them stick together so long and the same five guys like what other band can you think of that released that many albums with the same lineup it's got to be a very very.Track 2:[17:02] Very short list.Track 3:[17:03] Like there may be some three pieces i mean but a five piece band think of all the potential for conflict and for you know one guy leaving it like no one there's some sleuthing.Track 2:[17:17] Some sonic sleuthing for you listeners out there send us an email at discovering downy at gmail.com with bands that have a lineup up that was consistent with at least 15 records released? Are there any? Is there a database that you could just plug that into and get it from?Track 3:[17:40] No idea. I mean, Aerosmith would be close, but they had that lineup change in the mid-career.Track 2:[17:49] Right.Track 3:[17:51] For one album anyways.Track 2:[17:53] Joe Perry left, right? Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.Track 3:[17:55] Yeah.Track 2:[17:57] Yeah, yeah. Okay, so the next track is You, Me, and the Bees. Do I go two for two here when I say this is an ode to the Boston Bruins? Yeah. And its ability to connect with your family, particularly in this case to Gord's brother, Patrick.Track 3:[21:03] That sounds about right to me.Track 2:[21:04] Take us away.Track 3:[21:06] Took me right to my childhood as well. And a good friend of mine, so my friend Blair and I, we played a game called hall hockey. Hockey's in my parents basement with you know those fisher price um bowling sets we take take one of the pins and a ball and we would just hit the ball back and forth and if you hit the wall you score and we had this ongoing game every time he came over and we would you know do the play by play and we were both oilers fans so you weren't allowed to be the oilers you had to choose another team and i'll never forget the quebec nordique if you were the nordique and you you know you'd be Stastny and then you pass over to to you know Michelle Goulet and as soon as Michelle Goulet, got the puck you know you're getting a shot in the balls every single time I don't know what it was but and um yeah and then Blair became a little bigger than me and started winning every single game and then we yeah we aged out of that game but anyways that's where it took me yeah what What about you guys?Track 4:[22:06] Oh man, this was me and my old man playing pond hockey. Yeah, I loved the song and I loved I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. And you know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton and you know, it's, I don't know, like Like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time. This song is that relationship. And, you know, and as a Habs fan, I freaking hate the Bruins, but I get it. You know, I totally get it. And, yeah, this is just a really cool song about your brother. You know, it's fun.Track 5:[22:57] Yeah, I loved the song. And I loved, I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. You know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton. And, you know, it's, I don't know, like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time, you know, and the song is that.Track 4:[23:30] I, um, I really liked how Gord's voice was very staccato and this, um, he was really kind of a minimalist with, you know, he didn't drag any of the, any of the, the lines out the Bruins. You know, like just very on the beat and kind of not screwing around. Or maybe this is screwing around for him, I guess. But, you know, he turned the word Bruins into Bruins, just one syllable. And I don't know, it felt like a different approach lyrically or sonically, I guess.Track 3:[24:02] Yeah, that phrasing really matched the style of the song too. That sort of, like the percussion that Kirk was talking about. It just, yeah, had that staccato feel.Track 5:[24:11] The phrasing, thanks for bringing that up, Craig. I had just recently watched the Juno Award tribute, Dallas Green and Sarah Harmer and Kevin Hearn, I believe it was, and I believe it was the Junos. And gore you guys both talked mentioned like the way he phrases like the way he takes his lyrics and will you know enunciate them to fit into the line it is like no one else right and then when you watch this tribute and you see her singing introduce yourself and trying to you know keep the cadence that that that gourd has i guess that's a good way to describe it there's a uh, a unique cadence to it so i i was blown away by that if you guys haven't seen it you you must watch it and then when they go into bob cajun and the harmonies are just incredible but like goosebumps you know it's so incredible and then especially when she comes in with that harmony But to hear her do the phrasing was wonderful as well, because that has to be difficult.Track 2:[25:25] Yeah, it's what we love about him, right? His ability to twist and turn and put round pegs into square holes or square pegs into round holes probably is more difficult, in fact. Snowflake has a haunting piano line that works well with Gord's almost pastime. What do you think of Snowflakes.Track 5:[25:46] Kirk? Yeah, Melancholy was my note. Again, the piano is used heavily throughout this whole album, but on this song in particular. My guess at who it is to is just a girlfriend is all I wrote. Um but uh the the other note that i wrote was the the woman leaned in to say goodbye but i don't remember his name and uh just the um where is gourd going with that you know i i uh i i wondered i wrote that down as a note so um but just again uh fully emotional song.Track 3:[26:34] Yeah i wondered if that was almost like a reference to maybe his fading memory yeah the oh yeah i was a bit puzzled by that too craig yeah it was a very eerie song and i really loved it i love the um the jangling sounds gave it like a really eerie feeling like you're in a i don't know like a haunted ballroom of some ancient house like i just picture this as a movie when I'm listening to it the the, vocal delivery makes me wonder if it was one of the later tracks that he he did and i really love the chorus and the the reverb they put on like just like in a natural there is a ton of reverb, like way too much reverb but it works really well it's so powerful when they do it on this album not something i would normally like um yeah his voice is is gorgeous in the song um a lot of feeling to the piano playing as well by by kevin um yeah and again i had a note about phrasing when he says my name and when he says goodbye it's kind of rushed and it made me wonder if it was just a lack of time just you know doing it in one take and not worrying too much about yeah about how it came off um but again that's what we love about you too yeah yeah.Track 5:[27:58] You i mean craig you sing when you play takes a lot of energy um so that's that's one thing that i wondered throughout this this album in particular when like if you just say you're looking at it on your phone and you're listening and you bring up the lyrics and you're you're you're questioning some of the enunciations i guess of some of the words but it's that's gourd and that's uh you know Him making it work for that particular song. And sometimes different than what the lyrics are written as. I don't know if that's just typo type stuff or if that's on purpose. this.Track 4:[28:37] So I actually, I don't know, my, my thought on this was that maybe this was, um, something that he was remembering from his childhood and maybe, um, with a, an older sibling or, a relative or somebody, you know, that he knew well. And, um, the thing that stood out to me.Track 4:[29:00] More was the, his recollection of the lake and, um, of the house and describing everything about the scene and that this woman is somebody, an acquaintance of whoever he's walking down the road with, and they're going to see her. Um, cause there's the line, she told me to go explore the quiet rooms. Uh, it like, so this is all right, kid, go check out the house. We got stuff to talk about you know um and i actually um somehow connected this to the you know affluent woman in the video for it's a good life if you don't weaken um my my head kind of went to that music video and i don't don't know why or where that happened but um it just felt to me like it that type of house and that type of, of meeting. And, you know, and then at the end of that video, Gord leans down and whisper something into her ear and, and then, then they walk out. I don't, I don't really know why that's where I went, but, um, it's sort of a mishmash of two different things. Yeah.Track 4:[30:13] So like there's the song that we'll get to called the lake. When I first heard that, I thought that was about the lake, But now I think this song might be about the lake. I don't know.Track 5:[30:23] Just the fact that when he writes his lyrics, like, yeah, he, it's inspired by something, but it may even have a different meaning than what it was inspired by for him. And I don't think he really intends for the listening audience to do anything other than interpret it for their own selves or application. So, um, you know, I, you just, I never got the feeling like he'd be offended by that.Track 2:[30:49] Yeah, I can't agree with you more. Again, that's one of these great things about this performer that we all love. We can get behind that. The next song is called A Better End, and it makes me sad. Lonesome for Gord, I suppose. How does it make you feel, Justin?Track 4:[31:17] Yeah, the same. I mean, it sounds a lot like the Man Machine Poem album. There's some melancholy in a lot of those songs. And this album came together in a different context, but it's musically a lot similar to or very similar to a lot of the songs on there. And there are connections with the lyrics, the line, for treasure or worse. That's in, is that in Man? or machine, one of the others. You know, where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed, that line crushes me every time I hear it.Track 2:[32:00] Repeat it?Track 4:[32:02] Where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed. And, you know, there's an end to that sentence, right? There's a finality in that one. And I don't know. I don't know who it's about. The song is called A Better End, but he says bitter. Um you know and that only at the very end of the song does it say the better end um so maybe there's some letting go you know i i i don't know yeah.Track 5:[32:37] I i uh i have a description written as dark melancholy but then my final note was a plea and that to me as i think you had mentioned, Craig, you know, maybe it was to a family member. And I kind of felt like it was to all family members and all of his like close friends, like, this is the letter, like, this is it. And so I just wrote a plea, question mark. And the beat, I think we talked about this before, you know it's it had the clock feeling to me throughout um and then like you had mentioned justin uh you know you you the title's a better end the the lyric that he uses is stay to the bitter end but it stayed in the bitter end and uh uh just uh, He's put out so much energy at this point, you know, because it is when they've recorded this, you know, it's 20, 2017. They've done the they've done the. The tours, he's done the secret path stuff like he knows what's coming, he knows the bitter end and he gave everything he could. And this is like his like, hey, somebody give me some energy for, you know, here for a better end.Track 3:[34:04] Yeah, I wondered if this was a close family member maybe saying to stay with me until the bitter end. Really, yeah, this was an emotional song, but it's also the type of song that's going to keep bringing me back to this album. I love this song. i found that again another powerful chorus with that big reverb sound and the way he belts out songs like this and snowflake and uh in the choruses is a real strength of this album nancy and yeah just a very powerful um i i had a note i would be interested to hear a heavy version of the song like a full band version um yeah but yeah haunting piano it gave me um secret path vibes it felt very much like musically could have been on secret path he.Track 4:[35:02] He hits a lot of different spots um um in his range too he sings very deeply and then he sings very high um there's There's a lot of, you know, he's probably in three octaves or maybe four during the song. Probably three.Track 2:[35:22] Yeah. So when I hear this song, I think of it, I think of an LP, like an old LP, like a 72, you know, RPM record. And I picture it being played on my grandparents' couch-sized hi-fi. It just sounds, it sounds old. It sounds authentic.Track 5:[35:50] Authentic it sounds like a needle you know the indie rock on the vinyl right it.Track 2:[35:56] Sounds like which sorry.Track 5:[35:57] It sounds like the needle on the vinyl it's just yeah it's you you and then you got that the dining you know the the dining room or whatever recording that's going on in the background and then and then it just sounds like they have the actual, you know the the needle and the vinyl that that that that static sound going it's it's brilliant it's a little soft guitar it's it's a sweet song it really is it's a sweet song yeah.Track 3:[36:28] And the way he sings it too it's almost like a bit of a like a shaky vocal like a bit of a warble to his voice which maybe it was actually maybe they added an effect to make to give it that vinyl quality to it. But I think maybe it's just his, I think it's just his performance. And when I say shaky, I mean, in a deliberate way, I talked last week about how I can't think of any singer who has as many qualities to his voice as Gord and he does it better than anyone. Yeah. Yeah.Track 2:[37:09] But then it did go away. You know, sort of, right? Yeah.Track 3:[37:17] When he wanted it to, yeah. He just gained so much control over his voice. He had power from early on, but then he developed different subtleties. And when he gets into an album like Secret Path, and he's singing sort of in character, he can just go into all these different places depending on the emotion of the song. And another note about Nancy is, first of all, I'm guessing it's about a sister. I didn't actually look up the names of his sisters, but that's just my guess. I liked how it talked about the beginning, the middle, and the end. And Gord forever being the storyteller. He's always thinking in terms of story. Just a little nugget I picked up. And the conversation at the beginning too when they're just starting to hit record he's talking about his cuff link.Track 4:[38:16] It's a good one.Track 2:[38:17] It is. It's really good. And I think on first listen, it would have been bottom third for me. And now it's firmly somewhere in the middle third. Like, it has a crack top third for me. But, you know, it's moved up for sure.Track 4:[38:36] Yeah.Track 3:[38:37] I feel like this album gets better as it goes on. I actually prefer the second half.Track 5:[38:42] That's fair.Track 3:[38:43] Um i think at first i really enjoyed the first half more maybe because i was really preparing for that first half um for our pod but i i love the the second half yeah i.Track 4:[38:57] Actually very much agree with that i think for me it starts to really get good at you're ashore and like i said it's it's a kind of a forgettable song but the the tone sort of changes isn't that wild yeah well.Track 2:[39:11] We are at the last song of the first side the remarkably upbeat think my about us.Track 5:[41:21] This is brilliant. This song is brilliant for me from the first listen to the critical listens in the middle to listening again just recently before this. And just the way it made me feel, the swagger it had, the message it had, um that just incredible descending piano line um it it was uh it it it's up there for me it's really really really up there i love love this tune i.Track 3:[42:03] Agree this is a masterful song really it's just it comes at a place on the album.Track 3:[42:11] Where you really need something that's a little, kind of cute is the word i'll use and you've got that little piano melody that almost just sounds like a finger exercise you would do if you're learning how to play piano and some really cool sounds on the synth or maybe it's a theremin but i'm pretty sure it's a synth, and i also had a note that the the drums enter in an interesting way the bass and drums come in and just maybe a spot you're not quite ready for and yeah just just like a playful song that i really enjoy just super catchy i i wish the world could hear this music like i wish more people, would give this a chance because it should be words were i mean maybe this is my thesis for the end of this whole thing but gourd's work should be appreciated like like josh even said like they're both up they're both equal they're both amazing yeah.Track 4:[43:09] I had the word super catchy exactly the same in my in my notes and i really don't have a lot of other notes about this song but i i can't stop listening to it i know that um it's a yeah it's a it's a and you're right craig it came at the right time um in the sequencing um it was needed in this spot.Track 3:[43:31] It's a little heavy before that.Track 2:[43:32] Right?Track 3:[43:33] Yeah, and it's going to get heavy again. Yep, that's right. Really heavy.Track 2:[43:37] I learned a really valuable... I gained access to some valuable experience today, when I was preparing for this recording, because it's the first time that I've flipped the record over, and had to tackle the final five songs that we ever get to hear from Gord Downie, or so we thought at the time. You know, like, we didn't know there was going to be posthumous releases.Track 5:[44:17] Right.Track 2:[44:19] We knew he wrote this right before he passed, So either way, you know, it's fucking heavy. Craig, when you think of The Road, do you think of that as heavy?Track 5:[44:35] Yes.Track 3:[44:36] Wow, The Road, this song destroys me. Again, there's a bit of a theme on the album in a few songs about The Road, about missing out on life events. Yes. On, you know, the sacrifice. Of you know being a touring musician um you know a dream that i had when i was young and it didn't work out and you know i'm you know thankful for the life i have um and you know i'm sure gourd was as well but man like it had to be there had to be some really tough times being out away from your family all the time and missing things and um anyways this song is so good and the um the thing i want to say about this is when the drums come in there's no hi-hat it's just sort of kick and snare and that space really sets the the mood for this song um you know along with you know the piano of course um and there's one line i want to point out the machines are somewhat suitable now um you know is that is that the hospital machines is it is it a reference to man machine poem um i'm not sure but but this song like.Track 3:[46:06] Depresses me almost as much as the the book the road which destroyed me when i was um a young parent uh you know or not you know i wasn't young but my my son was young and if you you know um cormac mccarthy's the road it is absolutely devastating it is the a book that took me well i've never gotten over it really and the movie as well i watched the movie and it took me about six months to watch the movie i had to watch it like a little bit at a time when i was in the right headspace and it just it is if you haven't read it's maybe don't but it's incredible um but this this yeah if you name something the road it's probably going to destroy me well.Track 4:[46:51] So I had a bit of an awakening about three years ago when in May of 2021, my wife had something that she had to do at work late at night or 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, whatever. And she couldn't be home to make dinner. And it was like a Tuesday or something. I don't know. And she messaged me during the day and said, you need to be home and make Evelyn dinner tonight. night. Evelyn's our daughter. And at the time she was, uh, almost four and I got home and I realized, holy shit, I've never made dinner for my daughter before. Um, I was working 80 hours a week and I was missing everything. And my wife had an Instagram account for our daughter. And that was the only way that I was keeping up. I lived in the same house, but I wasn't in the same family. You know what I mean? And yeah, the song brings all that back and made a big life change that very night. I sent a long message to my boss and said, we got to talk tomorrow, but I'm going to get it all out right now. Cause if I didn't say it now, I'm not going to say it. And I told him I'm done at the end of the year. I've I'll stick with you for my commitment through this year, but but I'd put 10 years into my job and missed everything in that 10 years. And, um.Track 4:[48:16] Give Gord another three decades on top of that. Um, I don't know who the song's about and I guess it doesn't matter, but, um, but obviously it matters, but, um, yeah, I, I really identified with the missing everything and even going back to the song about, um, uh, what is it? Love over money, um, about the band, you know, we missed funerals and births and all this stuff. And yeah, that's me. I've been there, man. I've, I still, to some degree, I'm there a little bit, but, um, yeah, I missed my daughter's first four years of her life.Track 5:[48:54] Everyone knows in this group here, I'm on the road all the time. I'm talking to you from a hotel room in, in Washington, DC. And, um, and so, I mean, Justin, I think this is actually a letter to the road and a letter to everyone that he's been on the road with, including his wife, his part, you know, his, his kids, his bandmates. It's, it's that, you know, that's that life you choose, you know, whether it's a traveling musician, whether it's a a traveling salesman, whether it's a, you know, a producer. Um, and, and, and it's, uh, it's tough, but when you're not on the road, if you are a road person, it's your, your, you know, jittery, you're nervous, but how do you, how do you give to your family and to yourself and to your job and to your art? And, uh, he wouldn't have been able to do that without the road. So but you know it's a blessing and a curse um i we mentioned this about another song here and this one i wrote was also a song that could have been on secret path was the note for me.Track 4:[50:17] Yeah yeah but musically yeah again.Track 5:[50:19] We there's not enough hours in the day right lads to uh just talk about the amazing insight and that we have it here you know to listen to to watch to read to just just beautiful.Track 4:[50:36] Well there's there's that point where you know you're you're young and and full of energy and you've got these huge goals and then you start to achieve them and then at the same time you have this other life going on behind the scenes that has always played second fiddle to that and then you realize at some point you're too deep into the pursuit to stop now but that this other life that was didn't even exist when you started uh has now taken the spot you know is number one on your on your pecking order and how the hell do you make that change without destroying everything that you've created you know yep.Track 5:[51:14] Oh you are the bird.Track 2:[51:18] Yeah it's uh it's a slow and lovely song right what do you think about it kirk to.Track 5:[51:28] Me this this was uh uh, uh, just a letter. It seemed like a letter to a sibling, right? You, you became the bird you, uh, and then it just, it made sense. And, uh, um, um.Track 5:[51:44] I, it, it starts getting heavy after a while, right? When you, when we break, I mean, we talked about it with the last week when we talked about the first one and how emotional it was and, you know, here we are, you know, however many songs in and you just, you stop. And like you said, you know, JD, it was like, these are the last five tunes and it's, it's, it's almost hard to embrace, um, and think about without just getting, you know, overwhelmed. I, I think it is, I think largely because of the love we have for, uh, you know, what, what, what Gord Downie has done solo and with the hip and, and in jazz as a human. So, um, but, uh, yeah, just, uh, you know, Another note was, again, I think I mentioned it earlier, just lyrics that are written different than what is being sung. And I didn't know if that was on purpose. I think I mentioned that. And I didn't know if it was something Gord was trying to do on purpose. Or it's probably nothing. It's probably just what was written and what was sung.Track 5:[53:04] You know, he probably had it written down as such and just like we do when you have a script in front of you, your brain has already chosen what the next word is going to be. So, anyway.Track 4:[53:15] I noticed that this shared a lot of similarities with Spoon from the first half where he talks about help being the only reason why we're here. You help others and the child in the song Spoon is, I guess, tasked with the same thing. I don't know if task is the right word, but this is a common thread throughout the album. And this lyrically shares a lot with that song.Track 3:[53:48] Yeah. I agree, Justin. That was my real only, my only real note on this song was that, that, you know, it's the only reason we're here. And that seems to be like, yeah, like if I had to break down this album into one message, that would be, I mean, other than like a goodbye and, uh, you know, uh, a lot, you know, a love letter to his close ones. Um, that is like the, yeah, the summation of this album. I also thought probably about A Child, the song, and also there's the line about he was the bird, he passed it down, you want to help people out. So, you know, he's referencing not only the person he's talking to, but someone, maybe another family member, a grandfather or someone who's passed down that quality that, he respects.Track 4:[54:35] There's one of my mentors. I kind of think of him as a father figure. His name is John Adams and he was a very bottom level race car driver around these parts. And, he and my father were about the same age and they were friends. And I started hanging out with John when I was 13 or 14 years old, trying to learn how to work on race cars. And there was one night he went off, he got pushed off the racetrack and he's, you know, this massive six foot six, 300 pound guy. And he comes barreling out of the car and climbs up to the top of the racetrack and gives a, gives the driver that, that wronged him the double bird. So he became the bird man that night. Um, that was his, that was his nickname. And so everybody calls him bird. And, you know, I thought, wouldn't that be silly if he passed his nickname down to me somehow, how you know because he doesn't all of his all of his kids are girls and i'm kind of like his sort of son um i don't think that's going to happen but i i know the song isn't made to laugh, but i laughed thinking about that that's.Track 2:[55:42] A nice memory though yeah.Track 4:[55:44] He's still with us he's still with us flipping people off all the time, yeah i.Track 5:[55:51] Love that the lake.Track 2:[58:56] Yeah, this one's a fucking tearjerker to me. So proceed with caution on this one. Justin?Track 4:[59:04] Yeah. I kind of mentioned it before that I thought that this song was about Lake Ontario, which has been such a constant theme throughout Gord's entire career with the hip and with the solo stuff. And there's so many references to the lake. Um but this song is not about the lake this song is is about his daughter willow i mean that's right at the end of the song uh i realized today you are lake ontario the love of my life you are willow and then he does this fantastic call and answer thing with his own you know backup vocals um saying willow over and over again and it's like wow this one this one is something um it's a it's a beautiful song um it's just gorgeous um and yes he does describe the lake or a lake um but all these same qualities could be about your child and man it's uh it's a crusher very.Track 5:[1:00:09] Astute observation mr justin that's uh i i think spot on um and as you mentioned you know it's obviously and and to compare the two is is that there's no disservice in that he loves them both dearly so um i loved how the keys on this made it feel like you were on the lake like you listen to the.Track 4:[1:00:37] Song and you feel like.Track 5:[1:00:39] You're floating in you know in a boat a canoe whatever on the lake and you hear the lake in that song. Um, absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing.Track 4:[1:00:55] You know, I, I grew up on the water. Um, Lake Champlain is, they call it the sixth great lake. Um, and that's, I can see it out the window. Um, and my family had a camp on a little lake, uh, Hall's lake. And my wife grew up on a lake in Ohio, Guilford lake. And we go there They're three, four, five times a year. We're headed there next week. And she also came to Vermont working at a summer camp for, I think, seven summers on Lake Fairley, which is a gorgeous resort area. And so on first hearing this song, The Lake, and probably the first 10 times I heard it, I was like, man, I can see it. And then I picked up on the willow thing after, you know, 11th on my 11th listen, I guess. And I was like, Oh no, it's just something completely different. But if it is just about the lake, Oof, that's just as devastating and lovely.Track 3:[1:01:57] Yeah, I also grew up near a lake. Our house in Peachland, which my parents still live in, overlooks Okanagan Lake, which is a very large lake. And yeah, it just brings back memories. And it is maybe my favorite spot on earth. Right across the lake from where we live is a small island. There's no roads. There's no power. There's no development on the other side of the lake. And it's just a place that we would boat to when I was a kid and try to get over there every summer. And it's just, you know, this song takes me there. And also, you know, with the mention of his daughter at the end and, you know, the, you're the love of my life and it, yeah, it's just a beautiful song.Track 2:[1:02:46] It's gorgeous. Kirk?Track 5:[1:02:49] Again, we've said it already. you know these last five songs are they're crushers it's like it it was really hard to listen to them in succession like i really needed to stop you know this these last two far far away and blurred i you know my my my space that i left for what is supposed to be my guess of who it is who the song is to the letters to, is blank. And it is blank because to me it could be anyone. Maybe it was obvious to one of you guys, but I really felt like it was almost like a letter to everyone.Track 5:[1:03:34] We smile. All that we've been through, up and down for sure, onwards and upwards, up close, far away, and blurred. Um, the tempo changes in this song are amazing. It goes into a, a swing almost during the chorus. Um, and, uh, I, I, again, just the instrumentation and the, the combination of what, you know, uh, you know, obviously not just, um, Gordon, Kevin, but, you know, the others that contributed as well. So just add, I think, to each one of these letters, as it were, you know, as they started out. What'd you think about Far Away and Blurred, Craig?Track 3:[1:04:25] I really love this song. Another strong song on the second half of this album. And I almost wondered if maybe it could be another touring song, or maybe he's talking about traveling with his family. Great melody. And I agree with what you said, Kirk, when it changes tempo halfway through the song, and the drums come in with that slow beat, and the echo the the vocals are echoing and i i found that part very powerful and it's like, again i just can't, get over the the brilliance of his work it is like so emotional um and there's this like guitar pattern going on that's really really cool in the background as well and yeah and justin you yeah.Track 4:[1:05:20] I i guess i'm echoing what you guys have said um it's just a if i mean it's a little bit upbeat um for a hot minute there and again comes at a at a place where you need it um Um, yeah, it's, it's lovely. It's how it's a guy who's frigging dying, um, and telling everybody how much he loves them and that he always has, whether, whether you're in view or not. Right. Um, yeah, the.Track 5:[1:05:53] Passion in his voice in the vocal, um, is just so palpable. And so it just, I mean, wrenching, but almost in a, just again, another reminder of just how amazing, how amazing every part and ounce of the art that comes out of this guy is just incredible, incredible.Track 3:[1:06:23] Yeah, JD, did you have anything to add for this one?Track 2:[1:06:26] I don't know if I could get anything out right now if I tried. it's.Track 3:[1:06:30] A tough one I.Track 2:[1:06:32] Think you know his voice in the verses I've got written down that it's playful and painful at the same time, and you know it builds the chorus is obviously as powerful a gourd voice as we've heard in almost any song on this record, We'll get more of that in later records that we'll discuss in future episodes, but yeah, it's a great song, but it's the second-to-last song, and the North is a really powerful way to end. A callback to Secret Path and The Bridge. But overall, it's an interesting tracking decision. It can't be a coincidence. Right, Justin?Track 4:[1:11:07] No, of course it's not. It's a reminder. It's like he spent a good portion of that final show in Kingston reminding everybody to pay attention and to keep paying attention. And that's exactly what this song is. is it's it's uh yeah i did secret path but keep going forward keep talking about it keep moving keep changing um keep trying to figure this out um you know i don't know if we i don't think we've said this on air but when we first started talking about this album there i i mentioned to you guys in our in our group chat that i thought this was some of the songs on this album were like a stream of consciousness and i think i know that there's the video of of them recording this song and i know that it's not a stream of consciousness but i think when he was writing this song, what he wrote down is whatever came to his head first and i'm going to find a song to to put it to and i got to get this message out i don't care if it's rhymes or makes sense musically or what This has to be said again and again and again and again. And good on him, you know. Yeah.Track 3:[1:12:22] Yeah. So he makes the reference to, um, you know, a place West of, of James Bay, which would be Ottawa, Piscat, which of course the hip have, have the song about. And, um, I, I, I'm wondering if this song is either about or to Joseph Boyden, the author who, at the same time secret path was released, released a book called when Jack, um, I didn't mention him on the secret path episode only because there is some controversy you can look it up if you're interested but calling his um his roots into you know question um you know people questioning that he may not be in fact indigenous so you know that's definitely something you can kind of look into yourself but um joseph boyden is famous for a book called three day road and And just an interesting little thing that I came across about a week ago was a story related to this. So this story, Three Day Road, is about from just, I haven't read the book, but I've read a different story about a sniper in World War I named Francis Paganagabo. And he was nicknamed Peggy. And he has more kills than any sniper in North America.Track 3:[1:13:44] And his story is relatively unknown. And it's a really fascinating story. And anyways, I was reading a short story about that last week and then made this discovery about the connection to Joseph Boyden. Anyways, I highly encourage you to check out a story called Peggy. There's actually a podcast too by CBC called This Place. which is 150 years of Canadian history told by indigenous voices. And the episode on Peggy is incredible.Track 5:[1:14:19] The line Canada, we should have never called Canada. Um, I thought was pretty bold as well to put out there as you guys all had been mentioning, you know, obviously when he had addressed the crowd, you know, at several of the shows and, and several of his interviews. So I think that's, uh, bold, but expected. So I, I, uh, I think we all appreciate that. He would, would, go out there to this level.Track 3:[1:14:51] Yeah there's definitely a call back to that that statement in the last show that he made to the prime minister and i always um really admired that and, i always wondered what it would be like if an american artist did the same thing, you know like a high profile of bruce springsteen or someone went out and said something like that just the absolute division that would that would ensue um yeah yeah oh.Track 5:[1:15:18] Yeah I was going to say the dick and chicks are a good example.Track 3:[1:15:22] Of it.Track 4:[1:15:22] Happening.Track 5:[1:15:23] So but yeah.Track 4:[1:15:27] Or the opposite of that lady antebellum who's then sued the person that they stole their name from well fellas.Track 2:[1:15:36] It's time to ask the question will you be keeping this record in your rotation.Track 4:[1:15:44] I'm going to say not all the time And it's got nothing to do with the music. It's the subject. It's the heaviness of it. It's I don't want to, I don't want to be down. Um, there are some songs on this, on this record that are frigging awesome. They're all, they're all very good, but you know, there's some songs that certainly fit into the hip like catalog.Track 2:[1:16:07] Sure. And you can add them to your mixtape, right?Track 4:[1:16:10] Exactly. And that's probably how I'll consume them. Um, but this is going to be something that I listened to once every couple of years, maybe.Track 5:[1:16:19] Yeah, it's a commitment. I was just going to say it's a commitment. So I would answer very similarly to what Justin said. Even for this particular purpose of this podcast, it was heavy listening every time, every time you went through it. And so definitely some tunes I want to keep hearing regularly, but it's not something that I would. All i have on regular rotation like like i would would some of the others that that have definitely been fantastic in my opinion i.Track 3:[1:16:58] Agree with you guys i i definitely will come back to this album, um considering i gave it you know it took me six and a half years just to give it a first listen i'm definitely not going to wait that long um but i think i'll just have to be in the right frame of mind to put it on but i absolutely will i really do love it in fact coming up with an mvp track for this is definitely the hardest decision i've had to make i was hoping we were going to do one last week and one this week but so i'm it's going to be a last uh last second decision i was.Track 4:[1:17:31] Hoping jd would forget the question this time.Track 2:[1:17:33] I've got it written down so i don't forget my My memory is so piss poor.Track 3:[1:17:39] Right in on your hand.Track 2:[1:17:40] I call it a format sheet, but for real, it's cheating. Craig, we're going to stick with you. And we're going to go to MVP track.Track 3:[1:17:48] I want to know what they say first. So to clarify, is this my absolute favorite track or is this the track that I want to put onto a mixtape?Track 2:[1:18:00] It can be, that can be your interpretation. It can, it's the most valuable player. It's the, you know.Track 3:[1:18:07] So I had so many I mean my first instinct was a natural but I think I'm going to have to go with Snowflake it's.Track 2:[1:18:17] So good it.Track 3:[1:18:18] Is such a powerful song to me and I love the chorus I love the way again that big reverb sound and it's just a really gorgeous song and takes me you know visually takes me somewhere.Track 2:[1:18:36] We could definitely overuse the word gorgeous on this record because there's so much gorgeosity on it, you know?Track 4:[1:18:45] Nice.Track 5:[1:18:46] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:48] Right?Track 5:[1:18:49] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:50] Kirk.Track 5:[1:18:51] Yeah. MVP? Thinking about us, man.Track 3:[1:18:54] Good call.Track 5:[1:18:55] That tune, just thinking about us. It's thinking about us. That's all I need to say.Track 2:[1:19:01] You didn't have to hesitate at all. Wow.Track 5:[1:19:04] No.Track 2:[1:19:06] Justin, how are you going to react to the question? Craig was very concerned and didn't want to say anything. Kirk was very resolute and just put a flag in her. And Justin, where are you on this one? I'm giving you some time to think, so it's not really fair.Track 4:[1:19:25] Well, I don't need time to think. I just don't have an answer. I've been thinking about this since the first listen because I knew that this was coming. Um i will i i do have an answer um but i'll tell you the pics that i had wolf's home because it makes me think of my dad bedtime because of just the connection with my daughter and when this song or when this record came out um i love introduce yourself for the reasons that we talked about it's it's a great song about your buddy and and you know get me out of another jam please you know There was some interview that Gord did that he told Billy Ray. He goes, something happened with a guitar. And he goes, I will literally blow you if you fix this. I love Spoon, that song Spoon, because I really like the band. But I also like the story of going to the show with a kid. um but i'm gonna go with love over money because that's why we're all here in the first place yeah right good job justin yeah thank.Track 2:[1:20:37] You what bow you put in it love.Track 4:[1:20:39] It yeah yeah.Track 2:[1:20:42] And that brings us to the end of Introduce Yourself. Just a, you know, what a, I'm going to use the word again, what a gorgeous piece of work. And so memorable and so thoughtful. And, you know, this is the last stuff he recorded. It's really, really quite heavy. And we're sorry if we brought you down a little bit with these last two episodes, um but trust us we're celebrating this music we're not mourning we are celebrating and.Track 3:[1:21:23] Jd i want to thank you one more time for bringing me on board for this project because this is the album that i told you right from the start has been sitting on my shelf and i needed i wanted to listen to it. It's been staring at me for years and I just couldn't do it. And I think maybe just having, you know, you guys along with the ride makes it, you know, easier to do.Track 2:[1:21:50] Thank you very much. Thank you for doing it.Track 4:[1:21:53] Yeah. I a hundred percent. Thank you. I, I didn't know about any other records, um, um that gourd had done um but i knew about this one and i was choosing to not listen to it you know i i wanted nothing to do with it um and i gotta be honest with you i'm glad it's over i'm glad it's behind us um i listened to this this album in its entirety probably 25 to 30 times um it's.Track 2:[1:22:22] A lot yeah.Track 4:[1:22:23] It's a lot and the last week or so um leading up to recording this i stopped listening completely um i had to stop it was just killing me and i started listening to um some of the older hip stuff and i started listening to some sadie stuff and i listened to conquering sun quite a bit um but i had to get away from the heaviness and go back to being a fan, because this was a hard one.Track 2:[1:22:57] Completely agree well on behalf of uh craig and justin and kirk it's me jd and we're saying goodbye for another week we'll be back we've just got a couple episodes left fellas we've got away is mine and we've got luster parfait and then we've got the finale and i'm getting excited about yeah.Track 4:[1:23:21] Hell yeah oh yeah yeah and you know it's gonna.Track 2:[1:23:26] Be a good time.Track 4:[1:23:27] I got it you know we got to give a shout out to our our social media following you guys are really starting to step up and kick ass lately and it's really re-energized all of us a lot um we're our group chat has been on fire the last several days as we record this because we're just like did you see this one did you see the message there did you see the email oh my god you know it's yeah we're obsessing over the rankings and it's it's great it's fun it's a lot of fun well.Track 5:[1:23:52] So it was so crazy too to get some like some you know some of the official accounts of these people that we were talking about are.Track 4:[1:24:01] Right are.Track 5:[1:24:02] Sharing some of the you know the links and stuff to some of these episodes and and uh we're getting just some great amazing comments you know through the right you guys mentioned social media you know instagram facebook and uh just i don't think any of us had that on our bingo cards when we woke up in the morning, you know?Track 2:[1:24:22] I didn't.Track 4:[1:24:27] Right. And the Sadies messaged you back today, Craig. That's cool.Track 2:[1:24:33] Holy shit.Track 4:[1:24:34] And JD's putting in the legwork tenfold over what we're doing.Track 2:[1:24:38] Stop.Track 4:[1:24:39] He's listening. He's throwing everything together and doing interviews and making all this happen. I mean, I don't know if any of us are getting rich off this.Track 2:[1:24:48] Oh, not fucking me.Track 4:[1:24:50] You know, JD is certainly reaping the benefits of, I think a lot of people are appreciating what you're doing and I know we are.Track 5:[1:24:57] Yeah, absolutely.Track 2:[1:24:59] It's a group effort, guys. It's a group effort, man. All right, folks. Pick up your shit.Track 1:[1:25:07] Thanks for listening to Discovering Downey. To find out more about the show and its host, visit DiscoveringDowney.com. You can email us at discoveringdowney at gmail.com. And hey, we're social. Check us out.

Buckle in because this is a personal album we're discussing on today's episode of Discovering Downie. A mere 10 days following Gord's death fans were gifted the posthumous diary, Introduce Yerself. Craig, Justin, and Kirk have little experience with this record. Things get raw!Thanks for clicking.Follow us on social media @gorddowniepodTranscript: Track 6:[0:00] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. Long Slice Brewery presents a live event celebration of Gord Downie July 19th at The Rec Room in Toronto. Join the hosts of the podcast Discovering Downie as they record their finale with special guest Patrick Downie. A silent auction with items from the hip and many others will take place along with live entertainment from the almost hip. All proceeds will benefit the Gord Downie Fund for brain cancer research. For more information and tickets, please visit discoveringdowney.com. How it all works. Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downey.Track 1:[1:15] Hey, it's JD here. 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. 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 downy with me jd as their host every week we get together and listen to one of gourd's records 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 fucking song this week we're dealing with the challenging introduce Introduce yourself. Craig, how are you doing this week, my friend?Track 2:[2:20] I'm doing well.Track 1:[2:21] That's good to hear.Track 2:[2:22] Can't complain.Track 1:[2:23] Gigging?Track 2:[2:24] Yeah, I had a big show on the weekend and it was sold out and we had played about 30 tunes and it was a great time.Track 1:[2:32] Oh man, I wish I had a teleport device. Yeah. So I could go to your gigs. You too, Kirk. How are you doing, man?Track 4:[2:40] I'm doing well. Thank you. Yeah. Had a gig last week and got some travel coming up. So just been kind of finishing up on some graduation things with the kids. And, you know, like I said, some work stuff, obviously spending lots of time with this, this little project we got going on, but yeah, doing well.Track 1:[2:59] It's a lot. It's a lot, but it's been a lot of fun so far. And part of the fun is Mr. Justin St. Louis. How are you doing, sir?Track 3:[3:08] I'm good, dude. It's hardcore, hardcore here in this house right now, but things are good, man. Things are good.Track 1:[3:16] Well, that's great. Just off the top, I want to say that we're starting to get some items rolling in for the silent auction for the fundraising event that we're hosting in July. We've got the PWHL Toronto franchise has given us a really cool donation that we'll be sharing online in the days and weeks to come. We also got a donation from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tragically Hip themselves have donated something. We've got a great restaurant, Mighty Bird, that is donating. And there's lots of other stuff as well, like lots of great artwork and shit. So get your tickets.Track 4:[3:56] Hey, we have some beers too, right?Track 1:[3:58] We do have some beers. Yeah, Podcast Pilsner. It's got our logo on the can.Track 3:[4:03] Let's go.Track 1:[4:04] That right? Yeah. And it should be a decent price. It's made by our title sponsor, Long Slice, of course. So go to discoveringdowney.com and click on fundraising tickets. Bob's your uncle. So there's that.Track 4:[4:17] Bob's your uncle. Love it. I love it. That's like six one way, half a dozen the other. I tell that to anyone that's under 40 and they look at me like, what are you talking about? Like, just figure it out. ticks one way, half a dozen the other. That's very confusing.Track 1:[4:35] Yeah. It is.Track 3:[4:39] Every time I hear Bob's your uncle, I think of 101 Dalmatians. When the bad guys break in and steal the pups from the nanny, he says, well, be out faster than you can say Bob's your uncle. And that was the first time I ever heard it. Anyway.Track 1:[4:54] I found out it's not an American phrase. It's a Canadian and UK phrase. So I told a bunch of people this and they were like, I've never heard of this in my life.Track 3:[5:03] What do you mean? No. Yeah. Right.Track 1:[5:06] All right, time to get a bit heavy here, because on October 17th, 2017, we said goodbye to the man who walks among the stars. This was truly one of the more emotional days in my nearly 50 years on this plane. Only losing family and close friends has ever cut as deeply as sending Gord off to the abyss. Less than two weeks later though on october 27th 2017, gourd released a posthumous effort called introduce yourself, where do you start with this one in my mind there are elements from each of the previous five albums on display here i hear secret path on coco chanel number five to name one off the top of my head the sparse production handled deftly by kevin drew gourd's partner in creating this double record. I have to imagine the production and limited instrumentation could have been a result of Gord's condition at the time of recording. However, as sick as he was, he persevered through two sessions in putting this album together.Track 1:[6:15] The liner notes indicate that Gord took on the bulk of the guitar work while handling vocals, some synth, and a bit of percussion to boot. Mr. Drew handled piano, bass, organs, keyboard, and percussion. This album does also feature some great guest performers, notably Dave Hamelin, with some work on the drums, as well as synth, and finally, on Nancy, he plays a frickin' B-3. David Billy Ray Koster offered some additional drum work and background vocals, while Patrick Downey contributed background vocals and percussion on Safe is Dead. Jillian Weiss also added vocals to that track. Lastly, engineer and bathhouse resident Niles Spencer has his fingerprints on several songs, playing keys, creating beats, samples, and a Morse code sound on the 19th track, The Road. From the get-go, this album has been scoured by fans to try and determine who each song is about. You see, this album has a premise. Each of the 23 songs is about someone from Gord's life. This is clearly the most personal record Gord, or the hip for that matter, has ever released. I'm going to leave you with one more date that is significant to me with regards to Introduce Yourself. May 30th, 2024.Track 1:[7:35] This was the day I peeled the cellophane off my copy of the vinyl and finally listened to the album in its entirety. Prior to that Thursday in May, I just didn't have the stamina or emotional wherewithal to make a dent in what I now know is a celebration of the music, the man, and the legend, Gord Downie. Justin, what are your initial thoughts on this one?Track 3:[8:00] I could not handle this album when it came out. I tried it and I had to abort after five songs maybe. And I'll tell you, and maybe I should save it for the song, but there was one, this all happened when, when my daughter was a newborn, there was, there's one song that just wrecks me and, uh, still does. Um, there's several that do, but one particular, and I just had to put it away until this, this project came around. So, you know, I sat on it for seven years. I had tried it and I wasn't ready.Track 1:[8:31] Me too, man. Me too. I'm either going to apologize for this project or be thanked for this project to find out what Justin's thoughts were on some of these songs. Kirk, I want to hear from you.Track 4:[8:44] Yeah. Well, for me, this came after us doing Secret Path, and that was such an emotional...Track 4:[8:56] Couple of weeks. I mean, it really was because we'd already become so close to Gord before we even started this project. Then when we started this project, you just became intimately familiar and then secret path happens and you're just, and I needed a break. I needed a break from, I'll say Gord Downie solo and I needed to fall in love with the hip again. I think I got that record store day hip album and i put that on and then i just went on a journey and just kind of fell in love with the hip again but i took a long break to prepare myself for this and there's no amount to break or anything that could really prepare you for it and every listen no matter what the device was whether it was on my record whether it was in the car whether it was out walking the dog. It was just obviously beautiful when you think about these letters and that he had the opportunity to do it, but also just so extremely heartbreaking at the same time, right? And then one final thing for me, my wife and I had also just recently watched the new documentary that came out on Jim Henson, right? And we're big Muppets fans. And of course they had a little bit on, you know, on Craig and I's favorite Emmett Otter.Track 4:[10:20] But yeah, it's just real quick, you know, but the point I wanted to make was.Track 4:[10:27] The Muppets, Sesame Street, everything that Jim Henson created, right? And he passed when he was 53. And Gord passed when he's 53. And I'm 53.Track 4:[10:39] And I'll be honest with you, gents, I have been on this. I'm 53. And these two gentlemen created this body of artwork that has been so incredibly moving for so many people for so many generations. And it just really stopped me in my tracks and went, wow, I'm 53. If I went right now, what would my story be and what impact would I have? And how thankful, even though it was, and I say this because I'm 53, that we lost those two gentlemen so young. Thank goodness we have this to go back and listen and watch and read and discuss and record podcasts. And I'm just so thankful. So sorry, a very long-winded answer, but I needed to share that with you because I think all of us are gonna have these emotional moments throughout this recording today. And just thinking about like, if I had a chance to write letters to everyone before I went, like, I don't know that I could do that. So um so that every listen has just been that thought wow can you imagine you had to write a letter to all the people that you know you cared for just.Track 1:[12:02] Take a moment brother we appreciate you man hell yeah best 53 year old on this podcast by by a country mile i.Track 4:[12:13] Will i will accept that sorry i'll accept that thank you as i cry thank you all right.Track 1:[12:22] Craig no i always i always start my questions with like for some reason i'm like mclaughlin of the mclaughlin group uh i don't know if you remember that sketch on snl but i feel like what justin you know and it's like this episode is a lot more stark and i don't want to be like scaring the shit out of you as i'm asking you a question but craig i want i'm curious about your experience now yeah.Track 2:[12:51] Well really quickly just before we um get into that uh kirk um not sure if you knew this this will probably just make things worse but um jim henson at his funeral they actually used a song from emmett otter as the um as the song that played during his um ceremony so yeah So you know how much it meant to him? Yeah.Track 3:[13:11] He also wrote his own goodbye letter and just stored it away.Track 2:[13:15] Oh, wow.Track 3:[13:15] In case of emergency, right? Yeah.Track 2:[13:19] It's crazy. Yeah. So, J.D., much like yourself –, I bought this album when it came out, and it remained unopened. And I actually remember watching a video that was like a promotional video that came out around the time the album was released. And it was a black and white. I put it on for about 30 seconds, and I just, I had to turn it off. And I actually just, for the first time since then, watched it last night. And it made sense why it hit me that hard it was the north the very last song which we'll get to at the very very end of i guess next week's podcast and that is a heavy tune and gourd was, not looking his best during the recording of that and it was just sort of like a rehearsal take they were showing it was just heartbreaking to watch and it was such a sad song i didn't know what it was about at the time, but I just knew I could not listen to this album. And yeah, so when this podcast opportunity came up, that was my first thought was like, I've had, I've been waiting to crack this open and I was looking for the opportunity to, you know, the right time. And that time is here. And to build off what Kirk was saying, like this, this album is a gift.Track 3:[14:46] Yeah.Track 2:[14:49] To his loved ones who were the subjects of the songs, to his bandmates, to his fans. And it's beautiful. The fact that he got this out there, like Kirk said so well, how many people get, number one, the opportunity to do something like this, and number two, can bring themselves to write those hard words.Track 1:[15:15] Absolutely. Yeah.Track 2:[15:16] Yeah.Track 6:[15:17] And, and when you consider the condition that he was in when he recorded these things, it's absolutely mind blowing for heaven's sake.Track 1:[15:26] This isn't somebody who was fully operational. And there's songs that are just so well thought out and gorgeous and, and so gored, you know?Track 3:[15:38] Well, and he wrote it in two stages too. And, you know, I would say that the second stage was probably in worse condition, right?Track 1:[15:47] You're likely right.Track 3:[15:49] He was gone six months after, you know, wild.Track 4:[15:55] One thing, because this is a blanket statement for all of it, is in any of the, you know, quick research that you do, like most of these songs were recorded in one to two takes. You know, for multiple reasons, one, they didn't have the time and neither did he or the energy. And so when you, you know, when you thought about when I went through and listened to every song and just went like, you got this amount of time, you're going to do this. And, you know, and they end up, I mean, one to two takes on some of these albums, just some of these songs. Sorry.Track 3:[16:34] And that's all they needed to.Track 1:[16:37] Yeah, I think that rawness really adds another layer to the context in a certain way, doesn't it? Because it is raw emotionally, and then it's raw musically as well.Track 4:[16:48] Yeah, very much so, but still incredible. Like on a majority of those songs, you wouldn't know. I mean, the one thing I read, and I would agree, is it's a piano forward album. There's very much a piano keys. There's some great guitar lines, but, um, so that helps obviously from a production standpoint in, in getting your, your tone tonality and, but I also think that it just really added to the, the, the emotion that the points, I'm sorry, I'm, no.Track 3:[17:30] But you're right.Track 4:[17:31] It's just incredible that they were able to get some of this production down in the manner that they did. And as a whole, going back to 53, I could hear so many decades in the songs, in the musicality that he was trying to experience. There's literal 80s synth pop songs on this. There's ballads. And there's all of these. You know, for me, I reflected born in the seventies, you know, really experienced that music eighties, nineties, two thousands. And then obviously the stuff you were influenced before that. And that instrumentation, in my opinion, came through in a lot of these songs. And again, one in two takes blows me away. Yeah.Track 1:[18:18] Yeah. Yeah. Drew, Kevin drew deserves, uh, a heap of, uh, of credit for pulling this together. And Niles Spencer was the engineer on the project. So hopefully later this summer, you guys get to meet Niles and we get to look around the bathhouse. That would be tremendous.Track 2:[18:40] Yeah. That would be amazing.Track 3:[18:41] Yeah.Track 1:[18:42] So we'll see what we can do there. Should we get into this song by song?Track 2:[18:45] Yeah.Track 3:[18:45] Let's do it.Track 1:[18:46] Okay. Craig, we're going to start with you in first person.Track 2:[18:51] So i decided early on when i started listening to this album i i felt like i didn't want to dig too deeply into what you know who each song was about right but some are just so obvious so first person you know it's a song to his mother you know the first person that you know he sees the first person to bring him to life just a really great song to start the album with very emotional um, Yeah. And I don't know, I didn't look up if his mother is still alive or was alive when this was released. So, you know, at the end he's saying goodbye.Track 3:[19:30] He addressed her in the final Kingston concert.Track 2:[19:34] Okay.Track 3:[19:34] Yeah. And she was there for that. I mean, they were only a year apart, so I don't know this, but I would assume she was still alive at that point. And I don't know if she's now or not.Track 2:[19:44] Yeah just the you know again the chance to say goodbye to his mom and yeah it's not really, how things are supposed to go i guess but um not at all yeah and that yeah the last thing i'll say is just there's that you know the vocalizations after the word goodbye i talked about them last week on secret path but there's these like raw just emotional you know screams and like emotes that he makes um in in the secret path concert and on the album and on this album as well that you know just that i don't know guttural just raw human emotion that it's really cool, what'd you guys think yeah.Track 1:[20:25] We saw a lot of that on the final tour for sure that raw guttural emotion.Track 2:[20:29] And uh.Track 1:[20:31] It's mirrored on this record absolutely crystallized uh on vinyl and cd cassette i don't know if it's on cassette justin um where do you stand on first person.Track 3:[20:43] Can't add a whole lot more but there's one thing that is very consistent in this song and the second song and it's that quarter note bass drum heartbeat boom boom boom boom to the whole thing and it's, not by accident for sure yeah yeah.Track 2:[21:01] And that was a feature of secret path to a lot of other songs without heartbeat.Track 4:[21:06] And a clock too is what I heard. Yes. I heard it as an underlying heartbeat, but it was also- click it was also time moving yeah oh that's good yeah it it really hit me in.Track 4:[21:22] Fact i think it was last night on one of the one of the tunes i don't remember exactly which one it was but it was fitting and it was very much a clock and a heartbeat again love love the opportunity that we had the chance to to to listen to this and to listen to those thoughts you know that was one One of the things I was thinking of, and we can say this about all of them is sometimes it's hard to really express your feelings at any moment, face-to-face writing it down, you know, after the fact. And so often it's after the fact, you know, this entire album, but of course this song right away, acknowledging his mom, but just that I'm going to go through and I'm going to give everyone that I've been in touch with or that I've loved, you know, I'm going to express some feelings to them. And a lot of the times those things sometimes people feel might be appropriate to be private, but for me, I love that Gord was very open about those feelings and emotions. So just incredible. Absolutely incredible.Track 1:[22:28] Incredible yeah i couldn't agree with you more it's so heartbreaking and i don't know whether we should have put a trigger warning at the top of this episode uh as we did with secret path this is some heavy shit so let's move on to wolf's home, All I want is you, All I want is you.Track 3:[26:05] And the heartbeat, you know, it really just, that's the other half, right? This is a decidedly more upbeat tune. It's really catchy. It's kind of fun. And it really, you know, the track that follows this is heavy too, but it does set the tone for kind of the rest of the album. The context of this whole thing, like we talked about over and over, is heavy, but the songs are kind of fun, you know? And Wolf's home is, all right, kids, stop the nonsense and the bullshit. Dad's home. Everybody cut it out. There's two lines that really stuck out to me. One was, I don't do what I hate, which is a spin on I do what I hate from Man, from the Man Machine poem album, which is the first track on that. And then at the very end is, all I want is you. you know and you know all the all the references to to edgar downey throughout the the hips catalog and and everything that gore did and you know lonely end of the rank and all those things it's um yeah i just these first two songs really kind of wrap your arms around the entire album with with what you're going to get out of this and um it's nice that it was his parents that, were the the opening numbers you know it was really a touching couple of tracks there.Track 4:[27:25] Yeah absolutely it's a tribute really it is and a tribute to obviously what an upbringing to, be able to you know have this individual that again has left us with such amazing art but yeah mom and dad right off the the bat i don't know if you guys noticed this or not and i think craig was trying to show it i have lucky enough to have the vinyl of this but on all the it's all handwritten the lyrics that are in here but in each one i'm fairly certain it's the who the song's about but it's it's covered up and it's a different color and it's on every single song in both you know close the first and the second album craig.Track 3:[28:04] You referenced that black and white video and in that video the only bits of color are where they overlay they kind of superimpose gray uh, gourd's handwriting in red and blue and he's got that four color pen that he's always using on.Track 4:[28:20] All the interviews. Yep.Track 3:[28:21] And I also was super happy to figure out that he's a lefty in that video because they show him making a note. And I'm like, all right.Track 4:[28:30] Right on, left-handers.Track 2:[28:31] My daughter is going to love that. Yeah, so this song, Wolf's Home, again, yeah, definitely about his father. And it's such a catchy song. The melody in the chorus, the ascending melody and the way the timbre of his voice just, changes as he's going up to those high notes and just such a nice quality like, he's such a versatile vocalist i don't think he gets enough credit for the just the different voices he uses on on different styles of tracks.Track 3:[29:03] There was something that i read a few years ago about how gourd just stayed in the pocket with the hip and i'm like what the frig are you talking about like the guy will go until he doesn't have a voice on the low end and then he blows it out on the top, Mariah Carey style. Like, it's unbelievable, his range.Track 1:[29:21] Ha ha ha ha ha ha.Track 2:[29:23] Some interest interesting percussion sounds almost like on on the two and four there's some kind of a where the snare would be there's some kind of i don't know what it is almost sounds like toy drums or something or just something random in the studio they were hitting but, but yeah i have nothing really more to add just just a great song.Track 4:[29:40] Yeah and i'll pick up on bedtime the next one which is to one of the kids i'm not sure if it's specific or if it's just to his children in general or you know again just going through that the theme that we've been talking about is knowing you know and it really doesn't matter who it's to that does add to obviously the level of seriousness but for me it was I think Craig mentioned this as well it's like yeah there was something you could pick out right away but it really didn't matter at some points again just breaking down that these were the very personal letters that were going out and doing it in a manner of he gets to add the instrumentation to it and as as we've talked about on several of the different albums and different tunes then again this one is more of the piano ford as they had mentioned the emotion that can be evoked from from that backing music to it and and knowing looking at very few i think there was only like four or five of these tunes that were solely gourd so you had some of the other you know drew that was involved, and niles and some of the other that helped i think a little bit with some of the i mean i don't know what their breakdown was if they were more instrumentation if they were more the uh um the lyric side of it but but just uh again i think a masterpiece put considering everything and having kids we all went through this or i went through this with all my kids.Track 4:[31:06] Multiple times in a different manner and and but how important that was and how with each of my kids, I have those memories of that connection, right? And that was a way that you could help your spouse was putting the help and putting the kids to bed. So it evokes some, some, very direct and deep memories and then saddens you when you know that these are memories that his children are going to read and hopefully appreciate.Track 1:[31:36] Oh, I can't imagine. I can't imagine. I just can't imagine.Track 2:[31:41] Yeah. Definitely brought back memories for me of, of those early years with kids and the, the struggle of bedtime and just the, the passage of time, you know, the way that those nights would just seem to last forever. And you were just, Then you wake up the next day and do it all over again. And then yet the years just start flying by. And that's what struck me during this song is that just the passage of time and how strange the days are so long and the years are so short. So, Justin, what do you think?Track 3:[32:18] Like I said, this album was released, Gord Died, and this album was released when my daughter was four months old. and we still have her gray rocking chair upstairs that, um, why would I would rock her to sleep in? And when this album came out, I think I listened on the first day, this song came on as I was rocking her to sleep and I bawled like a frigging toddler. And, uh you know the the line um as if from a bomb backing up like whoa and the floor with the creaks of time and we're living in this old apartment above a barn you know that's you can't breathe without the floor creaking and then you get to the door and she wakes up like are you really like leaving like what do you get back here you know and like so this song i it totally destroyed me and as I'm trying to get her calm I'm losing it and so I had this is this was it I heard three songs on this album and I stopped for seven years until we started this project I do love this song very much but man did it hit home and I was already raw from from having lost Gord you know my musical hero ten days before and then shit this happens come on yeah.Track 4:[33:40] I wanted to speak about JD when you were talking in the intro. When Gord passed, it was as deep as any friend or family member that I can recall. I mean, it was a deep fetal position kind of cry. And especially having seen and just a break, we've already talked about it before in a prior episode, but on the long time running when on the last tour, when he would kiss everyone on the lips before they went out on stage, you just were overwhelmed by the amount of love this one individual had. And that, you know, to this day, it's still permeates in this discussion. So amazing.Track 1:[34:29] Well, let's stick with you, Kirk. Let's talk a bit about introduce yourself.Track 4:[34:33] Introduce yourself. Well, title track to the album. I'm sorry. I got to get this out of the way. I need to know so much more, or I need to visit the Danforth because some of my favorite songs always mentioned the Danforth. And I just have to imagine it's some beautiful place near Toronto because it's in like old apartment from bare naked lady, which is a song that I love. Several other Canadian bands mentioned the Danforth. So that was the thing that snuck that stuck out right because everything had been so emotional i needed some sort of brevity and so when i got to danforth the line danforth so i need to ask jd give me info on the danforth so the danforth is the.Track 1:[35:18] Other side of bluer street the eastbound corridor of the street we call bluer street in midtown yeah it's not down it's the roof of downtown is bluer street and it cuts across the Bloor Viaduct, the Prince Edward Viaduct, which has the luminous veil on it that we spoke.Track 2:[35:36] Of in another episode.Track 1:[35:38] Then the Danforth was traditionally Greek town. It had oodles of Greek restaurants. There was lots of Greek variety stores and that sort of thing. And in the early nineties, it became a very popular place to start a family. You buy a house pretty reasonably. Now it's, you know, just as it's, as is want to happen. And it's pushing further and further and further East because the original Danforth area is now, you know, like $3 million homes, $4 million homes. Uh, and then there's some areas that there are way more than that. And I'd be glad to take you on a mini tour when I'm here because that's where I live. You know, maybe a soda pop at my local. We'll see.Track 3:[36:23] Yeah. Love it. Let's do that.Track 4:[36:25] Yeah. So that was my, that was my takeaway on this, this particular one. And again, that just overwhelmed my thought process was needing to know more about the Danforth. So I appreciate you helping, helping me with that. So, yeah.Track 2:[36:41] So this song was, um, was written about Billy Ray, Billy Ray Koster, the longtime hip roadie. And so, um, it's really just a thank you. And at the end of the song, just, you know, I thank you for your help. Help. Such a simple line, but such a beautiful goodbye to this lifelong friend who, from what I remember reading years ago, is that Billy Ray just as a young man or someone in his late teens just wrote the hip saying, I want a job, I'll do anything, and just worked his way up. And he really became almost like a member of the band by the end. And just the story of of this song is hilarious. Like it's a, it's a emotional song, but it's also so funny. Like the, you know, the not it isn't, it isn't because, you know, maybe some of the reason he, he, you know, the story being that he needs to write, introduce yourself on his hand to show to Billy Ray. So he'll introduce himself to the driver of the car that he, that Gord should know the name of, but has forgotten. So, you know, was that because of, you know, the cancer maybe? And I think I know what Justin's going to talk about here. What was your first thought?Track 3:[37:56] I can picture them in the back of a car or the cab or whatever. And Gord's like, oh shit, you know, like, what do I do here? Yeah. I mean, there's not much more that I could peel back on this, but I do remember in the interim of deciding to put the album down when it came out. And now I do remember watching the live performance that Sarah Harmer, Kevin Hearn, right, did it. And it was awesome. It was really, really, really good. And I was like, oh, okay, that's, and I had no idea what it was about at that time. So I was like, oh, this is a really sweet song.Track 2:[38:29] The Junos.Track 3:[38:30] Obviously emotional, but, um, you know, hearing the, hearing the lyrics, I was like, Oh, okay. And I've referenced it a few times here, the interview, the sit down with Peter Mansbridge and yeah. And he's like, well, I've got your name here, so I don't call you Doug or whatever, you know? Um, yeah. So, uh, yeah.Track 1:[38:57] Right.Track 2:[38:59] That's what I was going for. Yeah.Track 4:[39:02] Hey, I got to say with Billy Ray, because most of the shows that I saw were in small clubs, he was just as much a member of the band as anyone else for all of my crew. We almost enjoyed seeing him more, right? He always had that kind of crooked cowboy hat. And he always had like either a roll of duct tape or a wrench or there was art, you know, there was always something that says I'm the tech guy like reminded you of Tom Hanks when he did that Saturday Night Live skit when he was a roadie for Aerosmith or whatever, but he was so much he was the flavor of it. It was like he had to come out and put the mic stand back up because Gord knocked it down, you know. And then I love the fact as well that on this album, as well as I think the last or a couple of the others, he plays drums on a few of them. So how fantastic is that from Craig, as you mentioned, like a letter, just this, hey, I want to do something for you. And then he becomes this lifelong friend. And now he's part of, you know, part of introduce yourself in the title track song and, uh, just such a character.Track 3:[40:11] So it also, uh, it reminded me of the roadie by tenacious D. Sebastian bringing this, you know, 55 year old groupie into the dressing room.Track 4:[40:23] Love it.Track 3:[40:25] Love it.Track 4:[40:25] Love it. Love it.Track 2:[40:28] As someone who is terrible with names, definitely made, made me laugh. And if I ever get a tattoo, maybe that's what it'll have to be. Cause man, I'm in my job. It's not the best quality.Track 3:[40:39] It's a good story though.Track 1:[40:41] Coco Chanel five. That's what I think, yeah.Track 3:[43:49] So this, I mean, it's got to be about Laura, right? And yeah, and the thing that made me doubt that was that there's a song later in the album about his first girlfriend. So maybe he's singing about all of them. But the thing that drove it home for me was the line when I was recording in Memphis, which is the Up To Here album. That would put the timeline about right. I, I feel awkward listening to the song, the song and the one about the girlfriend. Like I shouldn't, I shouldn't be in this room right now, you know? Yeah.Track 2:[44:20] That, that, that was my thing off the top was like, I didn't want to dive too deep into who these songs are about, but sometimes it's, yeah, that this, that's what I thought about this one. And, but you know, Gord put this out in the world, so we, it is okay for us to do this. It is, is um yeah.Track 4:[44:37] And i agree that it definitely could have been on secret path like it has very much that same feel musically right instrumentation musically that was very much and there was even a moment on this particular song where it it was an mvp for for me for a while oh interesting yeah i just i think because again secret path was so impactful and for me after like the great build buildup from Coke machine glow, you know, just that amazing buildup and you hit secret path and you're just, it was hard to go on. So it was, I, you know, I was glad to hear something to kind of wake me up out of that funk. So, uh, but just a great song, but yes, difficult to listen to at times that the line was very uncomfortable for me. It really was. It's so good.Track 3:[45:27] Don't even say it.Track 4:[45:28] I'm not, but it's very uncomfortable for me. And that's That's probably the reason why I didn't end up as my MVP. I'll be honest.Track 1:[45:38] Just a little too inside baseball, Gord. Let's go with Ricky, please. And we'll start with Craig this time.Track 2:[45:47] This is a song I don't have a lot of notes about. It's just a nice upbeat song that was needed at this point. And it's nice and short. Gave me, I've said this a number of times on this pod, but Ben Folds kind of vibes you know and I have no idea who Ricky is I really didn't look at the lyrics too closely in this one so.Track 1:[46:13] Okay. Anybody else got anything?Track 3:[46:15] So I had asked in the group chat if this was about Patrick, his brother Patrick. And I know that You, Me, and the Bees is about him too, but I was thinking Ricky might be a nickname for Patrick. But the reason why I asked that was one of the lines is, you got me to the only door I've got. And Gord references the door in interviews and at the end of his life. And I know that Patrick was very close to him and was kind of his caretaker at the end. Um, so that's where I was thinking that maybe this is maybe Patrick got two songs. I don't know. I really don't know, but it's obviously somebody who's been very close with him forever and, you know, dating back before the illness, of course, too. But yeah, I don't know who it's about, but that was my initial thought. And I, I don't know. I have no idea, but it is a very fun listen.Track 1:[47:06] Well, if you out there listening, no, send us an email, discovering downy at gmail.com. we'd love to hear from you kirk what do you got.Track 4:[47:15] This one it gets a little more upbeat and so the clock is going a little faster i i agree with you justin that there definitely has a a feel to this sounds like a brother at least from that that standpoint i love i love the instrumentation the repetitiveness the i i i did that was something that i have in my memory as far as a note for this so this.Track 3:[47:40] Song and and a few others sound like a marriage between now for plan a and man machine poem like they could be hip songs 100 from those two.Track 4:[47:49] Great agreed i would wild okay.Track 1:[47:51] I gotta think about this in a different way safe is dead is our next track and i think we'll start with justin this time yeah.Track 3:[48:01] So i guess i'm gonna say it again this sounds like it could be from Not For Plan A or Man Machine Poem. And I don't know... It's probably more like man-machine poem, I think, but I couldn't even tell you who this is about. But, you know, it's certainly previewing death or reliving somebody else's. I don't know. But the dark preview, who'd miss this fear, a damn silence, exiles meet. And then the dark brochure, full dark soon, and then the rise of a scarred moon. So, like, I wonder if the brochure is a literal brochure. Like, here's what to expect in your next year and a half with glioblastoma, you know? Like, good luck, read this, and you've got information.Track 1:[48:42] God.Track 4:[48:43] That's, I mean, honestly, that's very much the way I took it. Safe is dead. Like, there's no good information on here. So it was stark to me, even in the music. And then if you read in some of the liner notes, this was one of the only ones with some backing vocals, and I think Patrick was one of them. And I think Billy Ray was another one. I have to look that up. But so interesting when you think about who was involved in this song. And then, again, just that premise or thought, like whether it's a pamphlet or like his doctor saying, hey, this is what's up. So you're just like safe as dead. Yeah. That was my uh.Track 2:[49:31] Yeah justin you mentioned man machine poem and i have a note right here that says remind the vocals remind me of insarnia from that album and musically i was really drawn to this song it reminds me so much of a band called future islands and specifically there's a song called fall from grace on the singles album which was the album that broke them and i heard that.Track 3:[49:56] Song today on the drive home.Track 2:[49:57] Really yeah.Track 3:[49:58] It's funny it.Track 2:[49:59] Is so similar yeah and i love i love that's my one of my very favorite songs by future islands so this one really stuck with me just the the drum beat the repetitive notes in the piano if it was future islands it would be more of a synth sound but it's a very similar idea just this repetitive groove that just goes for the entire song the nice echoing at the end the vocals that you mentioned and the way the beat drops out there's like a single hand clap to end the song it's one of my favorites i think on the album tremendous and sorry and last thing what wait what like what such a gourd thing to say what what wait what like just awkward and but not from him when he says it it's just when you when.Track 4:[50:49] You hear it for the first time it doesn't sound like he's saying that i had a completely different phrase.Track 2:[50:54] In my brain.Track 4:[50:55] You know when you hear something you're rocket man burning up his when you hear that that's what i heard was.Track 2:[51:01] Something completely.Track 4:[51:02] Different until i read it and i.Track 2:[51:03] Went excuse me while i kiss this guy wait.Track 4:[51:05] What what yeah exactly there's a bathroom on the right on the right.Track 2:[51:10] Do we.Track 3:[51:15] Have to pay rights fees for these now jay no.Track 1:[51:17] No we're fine we're fine we got big podcast lawyers yeah well we go upbeat again with the next song uh in a celebratory sort of way kirk what do you think is spoon.Track 4:[54:10] I'm just going to ask this question up front. In the band Spoon, we had had some discussions about them on our exchange, and I didn't look deep enough. Are they a Canadian band? They're not, no. No? But popular up there, obviously, and is that who he's referring to when you go down to the bottom?Track 1:[54:32] It definitely is that band. in terms of popularity middling you know they're not a superstar band by any stretch but they sell you know they sell they sell records similar to what they are in the u.s they're still sort of underground you know to a lot of people even though they've had at least three breakout albums great indie band yes but.Track 3:[54:52] They're only an indie band you know they're.Track 1:[54:53] Not mainstream yeah.Track 2:[54:56] Yeah relating to the story i just told actually it was driving me nuts i i knew i had a ticket to spoon but i have no memory of the concert and it was just driving me nuts i actually pulled up my concert tickets yesterday and went through them all until i finally finally figured out what it was was that i just mentioned future islands they were playing a show at stanley park in downtown vancouver the you know the park and um spoon was headlining future islands was opening so i went for future islands they sold out of beer like in the opening band they may and not Not that I was there for beer, but the timing worked out perfectly though, because I actually had a second concert ticket that same night to see War on Drugs in downtown Vancouver. So we had to like run down the street, catch a bus down to downtown Vancouver and made it to the Vogue to see War on Drugs. This is, I don't know, nine years ago, I think. And so I missed Spoon. So I didn't even get to see five songs.Track 4:[55:54] You missed Spoon. I was going to ask if you had both. No. Okay. You missed Spoon.Track 3:[55:58] I haven't seen them, but I love them. And in particular, the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga that is referenced on here. You don't even have to know that it's Spoon to know Don't You Ever or The Underdog or Cherry Bomb from that album. I know that if you heard them, you would recognize them instantly. They're radio hits. But Spoon's a freaking great band. And I'm jealous of the five-year-old kid who's in this song, which has got to be his youngest son, right? I would imagine.Track 1:[56:27] Well, he talks about recording in Maui with Bob.Track 3:[56:29] In Maui with Bob, yeah.Track 1:[56:31] So that would be what? That would be 2011?Track 2:[56:34] I think so.Track 3:[56:35] That would be the luster part of it, wouldn't it?Track 1:[56:37] That's what I've, that's what I've thought.Track 2:[56:38] I assume it's talking about either We Are The Same or World Container because he talks about we. He says we as in the band, like we were recording with Bob. Job so yeah and Maui is a place that um you know it's it's it's the destination for people in in Vancouver for vacation it's you know five hours away and so I've been there multiple times and so when he when I first heard the song and he starts dropping you know Haleakala the volcano Baby Beach is a place where when my son was just just a baby we took him to Baby Beach which is a a place where there's a like a natural barrier i believe it's natural there's no waves so you can actually take your toddler into the water they can just kind of play around in six inches of water and it goes out for for many meters and and i have these distinct memories and a great set of photos of my son on that beach talks about anthony's which is a little restaurant up in the in paella I believe, which is on the, if you're taking the road to Hana, very famous drive around the east side of the island, which I recommend to anyone who goes there. Brought back all these memories of my trips out there. And he even talks about his, I think his leg was broken or something. And one of my early trips to Maui, I was there on crutches. I had a hockey injury.Track 2:[58:03] So I had to cancel a bunch of my plans for that trip. And my son was very young. I think it was seven, eight months. And I remember the first day just taking the stroller for a walk and I'd go, you know, to the cinnamon roll place. And then I'd go back to the condo. And then the next day I'd go a bit further by the end. Within a week, I was walking for hours every morning. Like, you know, with the time change, I was up at 5.30 a.m. And taking him for just the longest walk. And just such a great memory. And I was fully healed by the end of that trip. That's great.Track 3:[58:35] There is the opening lines I just wanted to mention. You're transcendent. You taught me so many things. You taught me that help is all we to this dumb planet bring. What a nice compliment to give somebody.Track 2:[58:45] Right? And don't read the Apple Music translation because it says hell instead of help.Track 3:[58:51] That would change the song.Track 2:[58:52] You know, I've noticed on some of my listens.Track 4:[58:56] I'll look up a lyric because you can look on Spotify or whatever. And what you're hearing or what he's saying does not correlate with what the lyrics are so i noticed that on a few tunes i didn't write the specific ones down but uh that's interesting that you know it it translates it however it wants so i'm like he didn't just say what.Track 3:[59:17] It's for what it's worth i've had good luck on the website genius um when i when i can't find yeah and there's usually some notes some reference notes but they'll also capitalize words like like the album, the liner notes would have, as opposed to if you're listening to Spotify or YouTube or something that just doesn't take, you know, have that nuance. Right. Um, and I can add a lot of meaning.Track 2:[59:43] Yeah, and Kirk, you asked about Spoon being Canadian. While they're not, the band Deer Hunter, who Gord mentions in the song as the opener, they are from out east, I believe, Montreal maybe?Track 1:[59:55] Do you know, JD? I think it's in Quebec. Yeah, I think so.Track 3:[59:59] I think they are.Track 2:[1:00:00] I feel like I've seen them.Track 4:[1:00:01] Are they still active? Because I feel like I've just seen them recently, like opening up for Barenaked Ladies, which would make sense if they're Canadian.Track 3:[1:00:08] They have, they have a little bit of a following around where I live. Um, I haven't, I haven't seen them and I don't know much about them, but I know that the local station out of Albany, New York mentions deer hunter often. So yeah, there's still, I think there's still around.Track 4:[1:00:23] And I feel like I just saw them with bare naked ladies and, uh, what's the band that does closing time? Semi Sonic.Track 1:[1:00:30] Yeah.Track 4:[1:00:31] They were on the same, same bell.Track 1:[1:00:33] I went on a scavenger hunt in setlist.fm trying to find a show in Toronto that Deer Hunter opened for Spoon, and I couldn't track it down. That would definitely help us with the date in terms of figuring it out. I'm pretty sure they even say the venue in the song, don't they? In the lyric?Track 4:[1:00:58] Deer Hunter opened the show. The headliner was introduced. We did our best. We'd have to go soon. We got a t-shirt and we cut five tunes. Just enough to say that the first show for us, too, was Spoon. So anything else on Spoon?Track 3:[1:01:15] I listened to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga several times because of this song. Yeah.Track 1:[1:01:24] Next up, Craig, is A Natural.Track 2:[1:01:29] Yeah, this song is the... Okay, so I'm in Seattle. This is... What year was this album? 2017? And this would have been, I'm guessing, a couple of weeks after gourd passed and i was in a 10 days i was in a clothing store or something i think a vintage clothing store in seattle and my wife was shopping and i was just sort of hanging out and i heard this song i was it was kind of like lightly in the background i couldn't i wasn't paying attention to who it was but they always play great music in seattle on in these types of stories i find and then the chorus came on and that powerful voice of his with all that reverb and it hit me like like a ton of bricks like i was like yeah it was like gourd from beyond the grave um and i was just i was in the u.s i was i was just it was amazing and i remember thinking like what is this is this like a hip song that i somehow don't know is this a you know some other artist where he just sings the chorus and i you know tracked it down when i got home and realized it was on the album that i had unopened um and so this was one song that i did listen to over the years, yeah what'd you guys think of this one.Track 4:[1:02:54] Just this was one of those that was the kind of the synth pop you know feel behind it which i loved again because again correlating back to the ages is like, gord probably had an affinity for the 80s and certain aspects of it in certain songs and whether you like it or not you're still influenced by it because you get that kind of that's again the the keyboard the synth sent the type music there but yeah again as craig mentioned the um powerfulness in the voice during the chorus is it creates goosebumps it just fills you up and and again makes you thankful that you have a variety of different you know opportunities to listen to the voice you know whether it's a solo stuff for the hip and so you were you just you were thankful for it and just the imagery in this song you know just sitting there and it's soaking and wet you know bathing suit with a bb gun and just kind of iron you know you you've experienced that or you've seen it and so you just felt connected to the song right away but it was so intense and then just the song the course itself is just a praise you are a natural if you say that about someone they're just you know they're beyond special so very much a song that made an impression, especially with his vocal abilities, as we've all mentioned and commented on how phenomenal it is and how varied, which I think Craig mentioned as well, or Justin as well.Track 3:[1:04:23] I wondered if this was about his sister or one of his daughters. I don't know why, but just the scene, the way that it's set, it seems like he's singing about a female.Track 4:[1:04:35] I would not disagree with that.Track 3:[1:04:36] Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. Well, and I was thinking that as they were kids, he's telling this story from his own childhood. Yeah. Don't know.Track 2:[1:04:47] That was my first thought too, but yeah, it could be. I feel like it is probably a child with one of his children.Track 3:[1:04:53] It also sounds a lot like a couple of songs in Secret Path.Track 2:[1:04:57] Yeah. The way he sings at the end though, I am the lucky one. That made me think I think maybe it was him as a father saying that line. And also to add to the 80s vibe, the bass, it really takes a lead in this song, very much like a Peter Hook style New Order.Track 4:[1:05:17] Yeah, great observation, Greg. I don't disagree with that at all.Track 1:[1:05:22] Well, let's wrap things up for this week with faith, faith. And we'll start with you, Mr. St. Louis.Track 3:[1:05:31] This one got me. Jesus, about the dog. I mean, I assume it's a dog. What else would be getting scratched under the chin? But, oh, my gosh, my puppy is just, well, the puppy is two years old. But, you know, I mean, what's nicer than the love that you get from your dog? and um very.Track 1:[1:05:54] Little in this world.Track 3:[1:05:55] Faith yeah but i mean just this song too is crushing take this take the dog out of it this is this is a masterpiece of a song and you can get emotional without lyrics with a song it's pretty damn amazing um so a couple of a couple of weeks ago, my mentor ken squire and you can google him he he's the one that got nascar on tv he's he's from around the way here and i worked for him for 20 years and he kind of took me up under his wing as the annoying kid who wouldn't stop asking for a job you know he's he's a legendary figure in the world of motorsport around the world so he he passed back in november and a few weeks ago they had his memorial service at his racetrack here in Vermont. And the most poignant part of the whole thing was they read a poem called The Sweetness of Dogs. This song brought me back to that moment where I welled up at his service and how the person and the dog are sitting under the moonlight. The person looks up at the moon and thinks, what could be more beautiful? And And the dog looks up to the person and thinks the same thing. And I'm just like, whoa. And the song just drains me. Yeah. Yeah. Ferguson, Ferguson's going to get this song the rest of his life.Track 4:[1:07:22] Yeah. It's, uh, it's, it's overwhelming. The, the passion that you feel when he screams the faith, faith, your faith, your faith, your faith. I think it's the Y-E-R, touching the nose every morning, one, two, three times, dark unwavering eyes. And if you have an animal, you know, especially if you have a dog for me, you know, I have my, my little guy, Andy, and we take our walks every day. And I do a lot of my gourd listening when I'm on a walk with my dog, you know, and it's, The dog has an attitude, and it's a great personality. And yeah, there's a love there that I think he captures, obviously, amazingly in the lyrics there.Track 2:[1:08:15] Yeah, I just have a note about the piano playing. So Kevin Drew on the piano, as we learned on the Secret Path album, he plays with a lot of feeling. And he's definitely got like a style to his playing. And I love how at the end he goes up the octave. And it's just, there's a lot of emotion in his playing, which really matches the lyrics. Now, unlike you guys, I'm not a pet person. I'm allergic to dogs. So it's not really my fault. Um so i've never had a dog i did have a cat growing up and i i do have a really great story but i'm gonna i'm gonna save it for when we have more time it feels.Track 4:[1:08:54] Like loving emmett otter craig that's what it feels like.Track 2:[1:08:57] Okay that's what it feels.Track 1:[1:08:59] Like well fellas uh it's been an absolute, pleasure to listen to your thoughts on the first half sort of i know it's not divisible the way the records are, but that's what we're going to cover this week. Let's bid adieu to our listeners and encourage you out there to shoot us an email, discoverydowney at gmail.com if you're enjoying what you're here. We'd love for you to join our community on Facebook, and of course we want to see you on July 19th at the Rec Room here in toronto tickets are available now at discovering downy.com.Track 4:[1:09:47] That's going to be a fun night i.Track 1:[1:09:51] Think so right.Track 4:[1:09:52] Really fun and do.Track 2:[1:09:55] People know like we've never actually met no i don't i guess i guess they.Track 1:[1:09:59] Wouldn't know that yeah.Track 2:[1:10:00] I mean i've i've met jd and kirk i guess in person very briefly yes uh kirk um a couple times and justin yeah yeah not not yet i haven't met you yet but But yeah.Track 4:[1:10:09] It'll be the first time for all four of us. Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:12] But we're all going to see each other on the night.Track 2:[1:10:15] It's going to be awesome.Track 3:[1:10:16] Yeah. Actually, we're going to see each other on the 18th too, aren't we?Track 2:[1:10:20] Road trip.Track 3:[1:10:21] Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:21] Yeah. Yeah. If you're out there and you're.Track 4:[1:10:24] We got to go to the.Track 1:[1:10:25] If you're out there, we got to see the dance tonight and you feel like meeting up with four dudes and you want to give us a tragically hip tour. That's a perfect opportunity. You guys are discovering Downey at gmail.com email. We would love that we would love nothing more than that so we'll have a film crew with us we can shoot some cool stuff and it'll be a lot of fun, pick up your shit.

Canciones de ayer y, sobre todo, de hoy que podrían salvarnos en cualquier momento. Nuevas grabaciones de St. Vincent, Andrew Bird, Graham Nash, Crystal Fighters, Katie Pruitt o Jon Muq, otro fichaje de Easy Eye Sound, es decir de Dan Auerbach que no acaba de descubrirnos talentos maravillosos. DISCO 1 ANDREW BIRD TRIO Caravan (2)  DISCO 2 CRYSTAL FIGHTERS End Of Suffering (6) DISCO 3 MADISON CUNNINGHAM Anywhere (3) DISCO 4 SARAH HARMER Silver Road (5) DISCO 5 JON MUQ Love, Love, Love (6) DISCO 6 SARAH JAROSZ Runaway Train (3) DISCO 7 GRAHAM NASH Buddy’s Back (10) DISCO 8 JOANA SERRAT A Dream That Can Last (9) DISCO 9 ST. VINCENT So Many Planets (9) DISCO 10 KATIE PRUITT Leading Actress (4) DISCO 11 DAVID WILCOX Hold It Up To The Light (14) DISCO 12 JAMES YUILL This Sweet Love (1) DISCO 13 JONATHAN RICHMAN Springtime In New York (2) DISCO 14 JESSICA PRATT World On a String (ESCA)Escuchar audio

Welcome to Discovering Downie. I'll be your host, jD as we listen in on the experiences and analysis from three huge fans of The Hip who have a blind spot for Gord's solo works. Meet Craig, Justin, and Kirk as they part in this epic 11-part podcast.We kick the show off by starting at the start with Coke Machine Glow part 1.Transcript:Track 2:[1:26] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy.Track 3:[1:34] Hey, it's JD here, and I'm joined by my pals Craig, Justin, and Kirk from Chino. While our love for the hip unites us, Gord's solo ventures remain uncharted territory for our trio.Track 3:[1:47] Hence, I've gathered this team of enthusiasts to delve into the musical repertoire of the enigmatic frontman of the tragically hip, the late gourd downey so come along with us on this exploration as we navigate through his albums one by one in chronological order embarking on our quest of discovering downey we've assembled quite the motley crew here to talk uh to talk about gourd's oeuvre and we're excited to do that we're going to do this all summer long so buckle up fellas how are you doing not too bad living the a dream amazing excited excited to go on this jaunt with you you gents for sure yeah it should be pretty fun i agree i agree completely i i am i am from a hip starved uh area of the world which you know i guess most of the u.s unfortunately was hip starved for a long time but specifically down here uh in the la market i got to see some amazing shows in really small places but like to, to like find a hip album in a record store or, you know, like anything that comes close to hip preference for me, I just like, I get all giddy. So when we, you know, we connected to talk with other hip fans, um, was pretty exciting, but then just to learn more about Gord, um, yeah, this is, this is going to be quite the adventure, my friends, quite the adventure.Track 3:[3:17] Yeah, I think so. What do you think, Craig?Track 3:[3:20] Yeah, I've been sitting in this room, my office slash music room, with a couple of unopened Gord CDs that I have collected over the years and just looking for the right moment, I guess. And along came that moment, and thanks to you, JD, to make this happen and to bring me on board. Ah, but I am but one hand on the rudder. The other three hands you see belong to Kirk, Justin, and Craig. Egg so there's that justin tell us about your experience with the hip so uh the u.s is hip starved for the most part but uh growing up in vermont we are just quebec junior and uh we get a lot of uh tv and radio stations uh down here in the greater burlington area so i i grew up with hip on the radio and um i didn't really know anything about him but in high school i discovered phantom power on my own.Track 3:[4:19] And, uh, that was it. I've been hopelessly blissfully lost ever since. And, um, my dad was kind of a hip fan, but you know, I think he was from like the old, you know, the, the hip crowd that they were trying to get rid of in the nineties, you know? And, uh, and so when I, when I came along, it was music at work and, you know, kind of the newer stuff that, that the old man probably wouldn't have liked too much, but, um, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I got to see three hip shows and I was at the show in Ottawa two nights before the finale, uh, which was really amazing. Um, I got to see him in a basketball gym in Burlington and I got to see him in a bar in Albany, New York. And, uh, I feel like I got the, a pretty good sample size. Uh, I love them. I love them. Yeah. How about you, Craig? You have a unique role in this trio as well with your Tragically Hip experience. Share some of that with us.Track 3:[5:19] Um, yeah, I've, I've been a big hip fan way back going to probably grade eight when I, when I first heard, I think New Orleans on the radio and, uh, you know, I liked it and I, um, I didn't buy the album right away. I was into heavier stuff at the time. I was a big GNR fan and I was kind of a metal guy. And, uh, then I heard 38 years old and funnily enough, I thought it was, um, uh, Tracy Chapman at first, when I first heard the voice, the vibrato and, you know, it's just on faintly in the background. And then I kind of turned it up and this is a good tune. And then, you know, they, they announced it was the hip. And so I went out and got the CD. I think I maybe ordered on Columbia house through my, uh, through my parents or, you know, five CDs for, for a penny or whatever. And, uh, 12 here in the U S yeah.Track 3:[6:09] And yeah, I've been a huge hip fan ever since. And, and, um, yeah, I've been to, I think maybe 15, 16 concerts and, um, yeah, about a year ago, year and a half ago, I started playing in a hip tribute and it's just been a blast to sharing the music with, you know, the fans who don't get to see them anymore. And, you know, I wish I could, I wish they were still around and I could quit my job as a hip tribute guitar player, but unfortunately they're not playing anymore. I wonder if there's a Tracy Chapman angle, I wonder if we can get Luke Combs to cover some hip stuff and get them on the mainstream radio. you. It's a great idea. It's actually not. I don't think I want to hear that. No, but definitely giving them the credit they deserve. And man, Craig, like I seriously got goosebumps when you'd mentioned Tracy Chapman, like, you know, if you guys saw the Grammys, you know, that was performed and Tracy just sounded amazing. And, uh, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. And, and yeah, I think you hit that spot on that. I haven't looked it up, But I'm guessing if you look up the release date of Fast Car and up to here, I'm going to guess they're within a year. Yeah, that's probably very true.Track 3:[7:27] So let's start at the start here with Coke Machine Glow. Kirk, any nuggets that you gleaned from production notes, anything like that, that you gathered on your fact-finding mission? Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I, I actually did because I'm a musician as well and, and, and do appreciate, uh, what goes into making an album. Um, uh, there, there was some pretty good information out there and, you know, especially knowing the hips catalog and, you know, they've had, they've had some different experiences from different producers and engineers and, and different recording experiences. And, um, so, you know, of course you're going, well, I'm going to get a lot of that. And, and then boom, you get hit right upside the head with, you know, But in the research that I did, I mean, they basically just, you know, had a couple, I think they had a kick mic and an overhead mic and just kind of a room mic. They played everything acoustic because they wanted to hear Gord's vocals.Track 3:[8:30] They were in, I believe, in the studio that is no longer there. It was like a loft in Toronto that was owned by a couple of musicians that were a part of, you know, the band that was there and part of the recording team. Um and obviously getting all their you know getting all their schedules together and and you know various musicians from from various different bands within the area and uh and they just wanted this to be uh just kind of that raw essence right that it you know for us as hit fans at least for me like that's where i fell in love is like whether you listen to the music or see them live, like the energy that comes out of every song is, is palpable on so many different levels. And, and, you know, I think those that, that have had the experience to enjoy their music and especially live, like there's such an energy to it and whether it's, uh.Track 3:[9:29] You know, whether it's one of their upbeat, you know, just rocking tunes or, or, you know, a simple acoustic there, they really know how to capture the emotion. And this album, Coke Machine Glow, I mean, yeah, wow. I mean, it was, again, it just felt like maybe one mic in the room and they just were circled around each other and they went for it. And one of the other notes that I heard that I thought was pretty surprising is they got a lot out of what was actually recorded and it sounded a lot bigger than what took place. I can get that. You could get a small little eight-inch speaker and, uh, put a mic on it and it could sound like you've got, you know, four Marshall, you know, full stacks grinding in front of you. So, you know, there's definitely some magic that can happen in the studio, but, um, uh, yeah, I, I think, uh, you know, I do a lot of stuff in theater and we always talk about how the set or the lights or the sound can become a character. And I think for me, the production elements of Coke Machine Glow became a part of the album.Track 3:[10:37] It had to be done that way, in my opinion, to be able to capture the energy that it did. Yeah it's very sparse sounding production wise like obviously there's songs and we'll get into them really rich and really lush and uh you know have a lot going on but predominantly this record like you said is pretty sparse craig i wonder what you learned um in your research about the album proper.Track 3:[11:09] Well, I went into this with a different approach where I purposely didn't look at any info for the first couple of weeks. And then I actually planned on recording this without having looked it up, but I decided I couldn't not. And the reason I had to look at the liner notes is because I was hearing all these voices that I recognized from Canadian bands. And what I was really thinking about was um what was can con and and the uh you know all the if you don't know the the story of can con basically it's the canadian content rules that um you know radio stations in canada have to play a certain amount of you know canadian written produced um music and the variety of musicians playing on this album we've got you know sky diggers we've got eric's trip we've got the hip We've got Dinner Is Ruined, who wasn't a band I had heard of out West, but looked them up today and quite interesting. And just this all-star cast of musicians from all these really cool indie bands. And that's what really struck me. Yeah, I couldn't put it better. An all-star group. And I should have mentioned, I guess, The Odds, of course, with Stephen Drake. He was so heavily involved with engineering and playing bass on it. And, and, uh, that was the voice that actually I was referencing. And I'll talk about that on the track when it comes up. Oh, cool. Okay.Track 3:[12:36] Justin, I'm wondering for you what the title means to you. What does it evoke? Um, I kind of, my brain goes to the golden rim motor in right. And late at night in a hotel, just kind of looking out the window and there's that freaking coke machine that's probably buzzing and nothing's cold in it and there's that glow lighting up a couple of cars outside the hotel room um it seems like a pretty good time to write an album or a book of poetry yeah just in my my mind went the same place yeah the lofty pines motel the the golden rim motor in.Track 3:[13:19] Yeah. There's a couple other hotels mentioned on this record as well. There's the Phoenix. Um, I'm trying to think, is there another one? Hmm. There's a poem, uh, in the book, Minneapolis hotel room. Oh, wow. Yeah. So definitely a road record, huh? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And the other thing I think that, um, I didn't know going into this, that it was so closely connected to the phantom power album with a lot of songs that now with the re-release of phantom power we're we're seeing alternate versions of you know mystery and some of these other songs which is really really neat to discover at the same time yeah i agree with that i i delved pretty deeply into the the poetry book and it was amazing how many references to hip songs especially of that era um but even dating back to the early nineties with some live shows and how long this material had incubated. I bought, I don't know which album, but it came with a recording of a concert in 94. And there are several references that made their way into the poetry or into the lyrics of some of the songs.Track 3:[14:31] It's not on the music album, but it's in the, I think it's the first poem in the book was was bumblebee what is now bumblebee as the bonus track from phantom power right um the usa today bit was in this concert in 94 and it took you know years for that to come out and and there are other references from that show that are that are in coke machine globe of the album and the book it's it's really interesting how long it took for all this stuff to, surface. You have to imagine though, that as, as a writer, you know, you're going to go into recording an album and, and, you know, Gord being primary, you know, after a time writer, you can end up with some stuff that just doesn't make it. And, you know, it's hard to let go of stuff. You know, if you've, if you've done any type of creation, I don't care if it's video creation or writing or poetry or songs or whatever, like it's hard to just let that stuff go. Cause it's, It's whether you're telling a story about yourself or something you experienced or, you know, you want to get it out there, especially if you're a creative person. So I imagine Gord had, you know, and you read all the time and you hear on the interviews and he carries around a notebook and is basically writing every day.Track 3:[15:47] So uh but it is it is amazing and especially being a hip fan to see you know i noticed that as well when i was listening to some of the bonus stuff like hey wait that's a hit song why is that on here yeah you know and then you got to go back and you got to find the album that it's on because i was like justin i i wasn't introduced until the hip you know until i think 2000 uh with a canadian friend that i worked with and then i actually took a trip up to vancouver and it was like there's hip everywhere and i was like this is what's this all about how come i don't know about these you know this this band so yeah you know that i i really kind of came into play during that time and and beyond so of course i love the stuff that that came before it but for me there's something about being a part of what gets released when you're you know i'm i'm buying the albums or cds as they're coming out and then i'm seeing the tour so you know of course that heavy content with with, with those particular albums. So yeah, I have to imagine a lot of that, uh, came back in, into this particular one. And I mean, how long was the band together before this came out? 12 years, something. Almost, almost 15 or 20, maybe.Track 3:[16:57] Yeah, well, yeah, from the very beginning, but since the recording stuff started, so, you know. 87, the first one came out in 87. Yeah. This, to me, it felt like a release valve for everything that Gord couldn't or wouldn't put on Hips. It wasn't polished, you know what I mean?Track 3:[17:18] And he had all, I mean, there's a hundred pages of poetry and all these songs that are, you know, objectively strange.Track 3:[17:27] Um, and I, I think it just stuff that he knew wouldn't fly on a hip album that he had carried with him for years. And like I said, that show in 94 that he was work workshopping this stuff and it didn't make the cut with the band. So let's use it up now. Now, I'm very curious, as we get into the songs, to hear what you guys are thinking about some of these songs in their objective strangeness, as you put it, Justin. Or, you know, are some of them hip-adjacent? Are there any on here that you think, you know, the band could have put together? Obviously, other than the last track, which they did, and we can compare and contrast that when we get there. But are we ready to go into this record track by track? Let's do it. All right, we start with Star Painters. Who wants to kick this one off?Track 3:[18:29] Well, I'll take it. Yeah, Star Painters to me was like a palate cleanser. This was like Gord saying, this is not a hip album. And right off the bat, it's, it's a little strange. Uh, you got the accordion and, um, you know, the almost like a spoken word type thing. And yeah, it's just very obviously not the hip. So the first line, um, is, uh, ended up in music at work with freak turbulence. The myth is neither here nor there. So there are definitely, you know, there's some continuity there. And I think those two albums came out the same year. Didn't they? 2000. Coke Machine Glow was 2001 Okay well But Very close Very close They were likely recorded Right around the same time Yeah Yeah.Track 3:[19:19] There are themes that do persist for sure. But yes, this is not a hip song to be clear. I agree. And Craig, yeah, I think you hit it right on the head. You know, Gord was like, hey, come along for the ride, but this is going to be something different.Track 3:[19:40] And I really appreciate it. I mean, and I've heard that this song actually turned people away, right? Right. Like they didn't want to give it any more of a listen because of it. And, you know, I can say, yeah, I can say that, you know, for me again, I'm hip starved. So I'm actually really surprised at myself that I didn't dive in at the time and that that it really took this project to, you know, get me to start paying attention. Attention and at first it was difficult you know obviously this song but the entire album was like you're like you wanted a little more hip but then you had to understand you know what he needed to get out this song honestly for me is is one of my favorites off of the album and i'll tell you why it's the line the star painters are taking over now the scaffolding is in place your anesthesiologist tonight is washing up and on her way like i heard that and i just stopped and smoking your joint.Track 3:[20:50] Packing it up yeah getting the next one it it it it's it's it's gordon it's it's it's the, this is this song this album is not going to be for the faint of heart and uh and you know strap in like you said buckle up so i i had never heard anything by the dinner is ruined but you know trying to dive into to see what these guys are about the avant-garde and very strange ambient sounds and there's uh accordion and all kinds of weird stuff and that's very much dinner is ruined i i did listen to them um during this process and with that in mind on On the rest of the album, they feel pretty restrained compared to what they would normally have written or put out. But I think on this first one, they're just kind of like, to hell with this. We're going to do what we're doing. Yeah, sequencing is so important. You know, when you make a record, there's no accident that this song is first, like Greg said. You know, that sort of palate cleanser, introducing what the concept of this record is going to be. And you're right like if you came here expecting fully completely part two you know you're barking up the wrong fucking tree so there's that yeah vancouver divorce.Track 3:[26:08] Yeah, definitely a departure from the first track from Star Painters, right? This is a, I mean, almost written for radio hit. It's so easy to listen to and it's so addicting. The thing that really struck me, and it took me a couple of listens to hear it, but the bass is just one note over and over like a heartbeat, just a rhythm. And it's just the same note for 20, 25 seconds. And then, you know, it, it moves on from there, but, um, it was really, it was lovely. Um, but I, uh, one of the things that, that started to strike me and I don't know if it was Vancouver divorce or, or something else, but I think there's two schools of thought about this album. And again, this is a common theme with Gord Downie is it's either a little bit about Adolf Hitler or it's really a lot a bit about Adolf Hitler.Track 3:[27:13] There are so many ties to World War II throughout this album and the book and everything that Gord kind of does. Um, and I, I, I tried not to think about that going into all this, but it does, it does kind of get there, um, pretty quickly. I think, I don't know. I don't know if Vancouver has anything to do with the song or it's just, it fits well, you know, like the way that he explained writing Bob Cajun, it just, it rhymes. Right that's the town we're using you know i know in one of the live clips i saw before this song he said something about you know if if this couple can't make it in in paradise which in this case paradise is vancouver um debatable debatable maybe but um he um yeah then then i guess they can't make it anywhere yeah and i i didn't get any world war ii from it but i i didn't dive into lyrics quite as heavily i'm more of a music guy the lyrics are the last thing i digest when i listen to music so it takes me multiple listens um i don't typically read lyrics i like them to sort of hit me you know over the years um yeah did you guys get the uh the hortons reference.Track 3:[28:27] That one made me chuckle so the thing that i that i picked up on the hortons thing is he says sitting here at the hortons so you know this is important nobody sits at a tim hortons well they used to it used to be it used to be like a bar yeah oh yeah and it had lots of tables and chairs Yeah. And that's, that's far different from our experience with, with any Hortons chain down here. Yeah. Well, the thing that I think is interesting is that syllabically he could have said Tim Hortons, but instead he says the Hortons. The Hortons. I wonder if that's like to avoid the.Track 3:[28:57] Commercialism of saying Tim Hortons or like, it's just an interesting choice when it's the same number of syllables. Yeah. And I also think just, um, a lot of times Gord will choose a word that is almost unrhymable on purpose. And I think this is one of those cases Hortons. So it must be important and important. Yeah. It's, it's just, I love that. I love that. How about you, Kirk?Track 3:[29:21] What do you think? From a music standpoint? Cause like Craig, I, I, I do, do i i enjoy both and and and i'll end up reading lyrics as i go and and in this particular thing it was hard not to read uh a lyrics just to understand the connection as you're listening but this is one of those songs as well when when you think about it here you know how they recorded like holy crap how did they get that big of a sound out of what you you know at least in the the research that i did was very minimalist type of recording you know this kind of a squarish box and and and not really acoustically treated and you know in in you know you know in in the heart of toronto and all kinds of other stuff going on like i heard as well like they were being evicted and so they only had a certain time schedule to be able to get this recorded and then you hear the story about how like they're having a party downstairs and they're throwing couches around and gourd shows up and in his cowboy hat and goes uh hey would you guys mind you know being quiet for a little bit i'm i've tried to record i just can't imagine you're in that room and gourd down he walks in and says hey i'm recording tracks upstairs i think he was with kevin hearn from uh.Track 3:[30:36] You know uh bare naked ladies and and and uh and then they go back up and they record but just the fullness of this, this album. Um, and to me, I, you know, that's the thing I wanted to mention. Uh, uh, I believe it was this tune when you hear the keys, I don't know that Kevin got a credit on it, but I know he recorded a couple of tunes here. And so for me, I'm actually a pretty big BNL fan and I've seen them 20 times, something like that. But Kevin Hearns keys was very kind of prevalent. Um, and even if it wasn't him, you could, you could definitely hear the influence of it. So the powerfulness of this song is, is, is palpable for sure. Yeah. Yeah, looking it up, I think it was, sorry, it was, yeah, Jose Contreras played the organ on this tune. So he's the leader of By Divine Right, which is another very cool Canadian band that I remember listening to. I had their first album. But yeah, Kevin Hearn is definitely all over this album. Them yeah i gotta say as well from a lyrics perspective my money there's a phrase in this song that belongs on the podium along with you know it could have been the willow nelson could have been the wine you know taking advice from a prost or taking a compliment from a prostitute the line which by the way i play that song every night for my daughter at bedtime and my wife still Still haven't caught on yet.Track 3:[32:00] That's a good line. What the hell is this? You said it's art. Just fucking mirror it. Mirror. Yeah. Like you hang up your hat when you write a line like that. You just, you're done for the day. Put your briefcase together and you walk out the door, punch out, you know, that's a fucking great lyric. So I think, I think if, if I may, the, the person being divorced is an artist in this story. Right. right? And there are many references to art. There's the line, when the stampede's an optical course, when ancient train has hit old transient horse. And ancient train and old transient horse were capitalized. And I said, what the hell is that? So I deep dove that. And it is in reference to horse and train, which is a Canadian painting, which is based on a poem written by a South African anti-apartheid poet with the line and against a regiment. I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armored train, which is just spectacular imagery.Track 3:[33:03] But again, tying in the art theme to the first line is such classic Gord Downie writing. Jesus Christ. Yeah. You've just blown my mind. Blown my mind. Like for real. This is track two. So get me. Yeah. Yeah. And I have to say too, the noise guitar at the end by I'm assuming Dale Morningstar is just amazing. I have a thing for loud, screechy feedback guitars. It just puts me in this state of zen for some reason. Like if you know the song Drown by Smashing Pumpkins, there's like four minutes of feedback at the end. And to me, that is so relaxing.Track 3:[33:45] I have that same thing written down, Craig. I have excellent screeching guitar going into and continuing through the third verse and out. One of the other things I have written down, though, I just want to share with you guys quickly. This is just sort of funny. When he says he's sitting at the Tim Hortons, or he's sitting at the Hortons, I know that's not true because on two occasions, I was walking down the Danforth and saw him sitting in the front bench of Timothy's Coffee, coffee, which is like a, like a Starbucks adjacent brand that doesn't exist anymore, but it used to. And it was minutes from his house. I didn't know where his house was, nor did I stalk him, but I knew it was in the area, like minutes away. And he would just sit there and he was sitting there with a, with a fucking notebook the one time and another time he was on a Mac book. But to me, it was, you know, one of those cool moments that I was like, I live in the same neighborhood. It's Gord Downie. This is so cool.Track 3:[34:41] Man, I wish that the Tim Hortons here in the States had a place to sit because mostly you just find them at a rest stop on the highway or you go in and you order a donut and you leave kind of establishment. No Hortons down here in California. I have to travel. Thankfully, I get to travel a lot for work. And if I see a Hortons, it's like, it's immediate picture and text to my family because we did a road trip and, you know, we went through Detroit and we went through Niagara and went through Toronto. And so my family fell in love with Tim Hortons. So is there a sponsor, right? JD? Oh yeah. The big sponsor. I'm eating Timbits right now.Track 3:[35:22] Mmm. Delicious Timbits. Thanks Tim Hortons. Um next up is uh sf song and to me this is like observational songwriting 101 to me i can just picture him under the covers of his hotel room with a pillow over his head trying to drown out the sound of this chambermaid tap tap tapping and knock knock knocking on the door it sounds as though and then him walking through the lobby and out into the front area of the phoenix hotel and he just describes everything he sees now i'm sure there's more to it than that but to me that's just beautiful.Track 3:[36:03] Yeah. Yeah. For me, one of my first shows was actually in San Francisco at the Fillmore West. And, um, you know, there's been some, you know, or so I've, so I've researched, there's been some pretty classic, uh, um, shows that have happened there. And, you know, I, I had a pretty, pretty amazing experience as well. I was with, with the Canadian friend that had, um, you know, introduced me to them and, and, uh, uh, but you, when I heard that song at first, I just immediately thought, you know, I'm like, hmm, I wonder if he was writing the song when he was there, when I saw him in 2000. And, uh, you know, whether he is or not, that's what I'm going to go, go to, go to bed with and stick to. I also noticed and really appreciated, um, uh, the breathing in the beginning of the song. Um, and then the reference towards the end, uh, about it, uh, uh, I miss my lung, Bob.Track 3:[37:04] That we talked about and, and, and, and then remembering the ads, remembering the ads that were going around at the time on the sides of buses and on, um, on, on billboards and, uh, you know, growing up in, in, in Southern California and, and, uh, seeing smoking ads. And then all of a sudden smoking ads start going away. And then you see the ad of, I miss my lung, Bob, or Bob, I miss my lung. I like to paraphrase. Yeah. I, uh, that's one of the lyrics I had to look up. I had no clue that was an actual thing. So that was pretty neat to, to come across those posters. I remember them from when I was a kid, of course, I'm East Coast, so it's not like they were around here, but I do remember seeing it on the news or something like that, the campaign.Track 3:[37:52] The other thing that struck me was Chambermaid and the references to Chambermaid, which are a continuation of Phantom Power, right? With vapor trails and escape as a hand. Right. Right. I also picked up on the click, click, click. You mentioned J.D. Off the top and those sounds. And he later on experimented with those types of things like drip, drip, drip and We Want to Be It and the chick, chick, chick of the matches in Seven Matches.Track 3:[38:24] Oh, wow. Yeah, it's just a little thing I picked up on. And also, I have a note here about just the low register, like just him singing in that beautiful low voice. And he, on this album, covers so many different subtleties in the way he uses his voice. Like a song like Coming Up Canada Geese, all of a sudden he's just a totally different singer, singing very um yeah almost like an indie indie rock singer yeah totally get that um you know also i think there's many examples of him singing in alter egos on on this record really expanding his repertoire you know as it were right like we start to hear him singing like this on the post phantom power records uh on occasion and um it's not startling because we're sort of used to it should we move on to trick rider only if you want me to cry right like this okay so this song says it's it's dedicated to c it's i believe it's his daughter I don't know. On the album that comes along with the new release, his daughter, I'm blanking on the name, starts with a C, reads this poem.Track 3:[39:53] So I'm guessing she was the girl on the horse.Track 3:[39:56] So I can't remember the name, Claire maybe or Chloe or I forget. Makes complete sense.Track 3:[40:04] I don't know this, so I'll ask it. How many kids does Gord have and are they spread out in age quite a bit? I don't know the second part of the question, but I know he's got four. There's Lou and Willow, who both played on his former partner's record, played keyboard and drums, respectively. And then there's Willow, who is an artist, like painter and jewelry artist, and she's very talented. She did the away as mind cover as well I did know that I think I think I asked that question because at the end you know of Gordon's life he did that interview with Peter Mansbridge, and talked about his son and got very emotional and his son was young he referenced his age and said he was quite young and this was 2016 or 17 whenever the interview was, and which would have been 15 years after this album came out.Track 3:[41:03] So, that's where my head went with how many, how old, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. I was going to make mention when I was doing a little bit of research, there was a, uh, uh, you know, a fan video, uh, when, when I guess they toured this album and I believe they were actually in, uh, it might've been in Vancouver when they're playing it, but he was, you know, having an exchange with, with someone in the audience about, you know, uh, your nightlights on going to bed. And uh i think the fan might have been thinking that the song was about something else and and he referenced that right back to her very quickly in kind of a snide mark saying i don't think it means what you think it means about going to bed and and uh that stuck out to me it was you know one that he had no problems interacting with the fan and and kind of correcting them on on their interpretation uh of the song but it the song is is is beautiful and in so many different ways and you know all of us being fathers and and and having you know those experiences and and then obviously having the emotional tie-in with with gordon and what he's done with the band you know in the tragically hip and and and then with his solo stuff and and uh it it's it's gorgeous it's beautiful whatever adjective you can come up with that that uh you know brings that feeling to you.Track 3:[42:31] As a father in those moments when you're just you can't even can't even process i did this i had a hand in this and this human is is going to grow out into the world and And I'm a better human because of it. And to be able to, you know, put that, um, you know, in lyrics and in a song, uh, again, just adds to the, uh, adds to the amazement, uh, that that gentleman was able to give us.Track 3:[43:04] Yeah. And the vocal performance by both Gord and, uh, Julie Dwaran is, is so full that they have such control of their voices. Pitch perfect, emotional, just such a song. Her soft awe in the background puts this song over the top. It wouldn't be the song without her contribution to it. That's no disrespect to Gord, but the song isn't the same without Julie Dwaran. And I thought that my favorite father-daughter song was Thrown Off Glass from In Violet Light, But this one, my daughter is the one jumping off shit. She is trick riding 24 hours a day and I'm like, oh my God, kill me. Yeah. So I looked it up. It is Claire Downey who reads the poem on the new edition. So I'm guessing that's who C could be. Got to be.Track 3:[44:05] The song is way too personal for it not to be. is is julie did i understand that she's she did some stuff with the hip as well yeah, yeah she sang um in some live shows with them and i think was part of some tribute stuff at the end too i may be wrong um i know i know kate fenner was um on one tour as a backup music Music at work. But I feel like, I'm pretty sure I've read, yeah, that Julie was on, doing some backups on one of the albums. I could be wrong. Yeah, I remember that too. I feel like, maybe now for Plan A, possibly. That sounds right. I know, although I know... Oh, yeah. Oh, that's her name. Yeah.Track 3:[44:52] Also from Kingston. There's another woman who does now for planning the title track. Yeah, Sarah Harmer. She's the vocal on... Anyways, that's a different album, different band. Different podcast. Different podcast, yeah. Oh, and I have to... Last thing about Trick Rider for me is that slide guitar that just doesn't quite hit the note. I just love it. It's kind of that quarter tone or something. It reminds me of, if you know the Faith No More cover of Easy, right before the solo when Mike Patton goes up to the, ew, and almost like purposely is in between notes. I just think it's so neat. I was going to say both vocally and musically with a variety of instruments throughout several songs, obviously this one as well, is there's just that, it's not quite there, but it's also, it adds again to that character of the song. I heard something or read something about one of the musicians, I believe the guitar player that, that was part of this, like he hit a note and he, he would just beat the shit out of it until it became the note that was right for the song, whether it started off right or not, he, it, it was going to become that.Track 3:[46:03] And, and I love that thought or that prospect, right? We get so, we get so caught up in, Oh, everything's got to be perfect. I got to tune my guitar up exactly right. I've got to have the mic place perfectly. And I've got to have, you know this tonality and and sometimes it's just good to just just let it go and let that emotion come through more so than you know the technical note of itself yeah yeah there's no such thing as a wrong note if it's you know played with with with confidence and intention and yeah yeah so next we go to a song that i think could totally be a hip jam to me this song he's singing It's the first song on the record where he's singing in a tone in a register that we recognize.Track 3:[49:09] So Craig, you said it, um, this is punk rock and Gord loved punk rock, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, but it's old guy punk rock. Like it's, it's, this is guys who are not punk rockers anymore trying to, to do punk or at least the story, right.Track 3:[49:26] Um, within the song. And, and I'm not saying that about the musicians that played the song. I'm saying that about the story Gord tells here that, you know, they're, they're, they're buying weed from each other in a cornfield, right? In the dark you know um like i can picture my old man and his uncles or and his brothers my uncles just you know hiding from the cops at age 50 55 years old just feeling like be cool man shut up uh i love this song yeah great song i i gotta say i'll take the bullet guys here's my first criticism even though as much as i love um how they recorded it my goodness gracious i needed the drummer to use some sticks and not brushes like i needed to feel that those drums coming through in this song and and to make it punk rock like it was like they they you know hey let's find the jazz drummer to do the punk song um and not that it didn't serve it well and it's a in fact probably what i would have liked was that drum track with the brushes and another drum track on.Track 3:[50:35] Top of it with sticks and then also maybe adding the mics to get more of the tonality of the drums but again now that's just the music guy and me going i wanted to hear that i needed to hear that snap i needed to hear that crack i needed to hear the pop right sorry gonna use a uh a breakfast cereal reference but um i i i i wanted that for this song still love it it's It's funny because it opens on snare hits. Right.Track 3:[51:08] Yeah. But if I'm not mistaken and I'll, I'll completely eat my words, I believe they use brushes throughout Craig. Do you, did you go that deep or what did you think? I didn't, but I know for me, I definitely noticed that it, it, it felt like it should be heavier but i think that's part of what gave the song character was those heavy guitars that almost sounded like they were played at a low volume in a room jamming and i i thought it just gave it a unique character and and i have to say though my favorite part is actually at the end when when all of a sudden i actually picked up a guitar today just to see what was going on with this and and they go up from you know they're playing and you know you're one four five e e b and a and then um they go right up they just go up to that f and i know the first time i heard it it's just just so striking it just sounds so out of place and then after you've heard the song a couple times just so perfect such a such a great dissonance and.Track 3:[52:05] Really really um almost like a two you know 2000s indie rock feel almost like an arcade fire kind of three years before arcade fire was doing it kind of thing so wow it felt like a one take demo to me and they said fuck it it's good like run it i like that we'll do it live yeah me too do it we'll do it keep it but kirk yeah i think um it would be really interesting to see what the hip would have done with with that song like a fully polished yeah you know but but i felt the same about the next song chandler um you're listening to it again today in fact and again was like man with some different instrumentation you know change changing the tempo a bit on this is this is absolutely the uh potentially a hip song uh for me you know uh and uh yeah hard hard not to uh go into you know as he speaks about letting the opening the window inviting the vampires in and if i'm not mistaken this this song did pretty well was it a single.Track 3:[53:15] I don't think any of the solo stuff did particularly well. It was sort of under the radar, especially after this record came out. This record was highly anticipated, but I think early on the word got out that it wasn't hip, and so there were a lot of hip people that jumped up. A lot of people stayed on board, don't get me wrong. but um there was a good cohort that sort of veered away and it's interesting that the sum of the parts you know um the hip are it just goes to show you how magical they are as a as a fivesome because you take one component away you know and it's just not the same like gort sinclair's solo record is dynamite so are you know paul's three records they're really really good but they're not the hip yeah you know so i'm just and i think this is where i got it from i'm just you know looking looking up on spotify and if you go to gordonie this song has the most downloads of all the solo stuff oh okay so that that makes a lot of sense yeah i know there's a there's definitely a video for this yeah yeah but i i don't recall ever hearing.Track 3:[54:31] This song anything from this album on the radio i i had i did hear some later songs um but definitely not that you know that i heard so this is where hitler comes in big time um the.Track 3:[54:47] Hitler had a very odd sleeping pattern. He stayed up very late and would go to bed at like 6, 6.30 in the morning and then get up at noon and just spend his whole day working out maps and plans and this is where the advancement is and all this stuff. And there are so many, if you read between the lines references about the night of a thousand missteps, the loss that made him dogged, or it could have been the doggedness that caused the loss in the first place.Track 3:[55:18] And Chancellor, I mean, that was Hitler's position, you know? Wow. Marching armies in the night, smiling strangers riding by on bikes. That would be, you know, when the allies come into Paris or something, you know? Children's smoking, which there was a huge anti-smoking campaign in Germany during World War II, sloganeers. And he mentions in one of the first lines, invite the vampire in, open the windows before we go to bed to get the coldest air in the room, which is just before the sun comes up. And then at the end, talking about a few things that vampires don't like, all the things referenced between the vampire references are Hitler-ish things. So I don't know it that's that's where my head went and then um before you are wow i know that but but damn it i'm following gordon's path you know and he like i said he references justin you're taking us into dark places my friend and the word chancellor for me it was like hmm and then i started to kind of read into it and i was like yikes and by the way guys spoiler alert this won't be the last time i talk about hitler during this thing not that i love him let's put that out there but there are There are some real references to the war throughout this album. Yeah, that's really interesting.Track 3:[56:41] My mind went a completely different direction. I was thinking like a chancellor of a university. And again, I didn't read the lyrics. I didn't dig that deeply in. But it was funny because my daughter really likes this song. We kept playing in the car and I was explaining what a chancellor of a university was. And she said, oh, I thought it was like Chancellor Palpatine. Wow. and it turns out she was she was the right one yeah i guess she was she was closer than i was yeah wow look at that cross my read is so completely vastly different again my read is like bittersweet and romantic uh the chorus yeah i couldn't be a chancellor without you on my mind if i wasn't if i wasn't obsessed with you or thinking about you all the time time. Um, you know, who knows what I could have become. And on the, and in the video, isn't he riding around? He's on the swan boats. It's just, it does not make me. Swans. Yeah. Yeah. He does not make me, uh, feel like, like, uh, like he's referenced, referencing world war two, but that's fascinating. I can't wait to hear it again now.Track 3:[57:49] But at the end of that video, if you watch the full video at the very end, he's, it's revealed that he is the guy working the dock at the, at the swan boats and he takes off his coat and underneath it is a uniform that says guy. And he's the one taking the coins or the tokens or whatever for the people to ride the swan boats. So it's kind of like, uh.Track 3:[58:13] You know, when Hitler was a struggling artist before he became this global force and kind of took control, you know, he was romanticizing the idea of, of being chancellor of Germany. Wow yeah wow and i don't know wow reference to it or yes it's dark man because and again think of think of uh the song scared every hip show you go to everybody's everybody's slow dancing that's not a slow dance it's like we talked about in the other podcast it's like yeah that's the hips trick right or it's gorge yeah yeah 38 years old same thing long running same thing fiddler's green you know and and on and on and on these slow slow songs are are yeah miserable yeah and i have to say good yeah yeah yeah yeah and and the the vocal phrasing that the gourd uses on this just that, laid back where he just sort of hesitates on certain words i just just love it he's so unique that way. I think that's what separates him as a singer, is that phrasing.Track 3:[59:22] Oh, yeah. This is a really hard album to sing. And you guys are musicians and you play guitar and other instruments. I've always been a singer. And I cannot keep up with Gord on this album. I just can't. Like the chorus of this song, like, I'm discovering uses for you. But the way he throws uses for you together, it's like, it's almost like one overlaps the other. And it's like, that's impossible. And then on the more quaint side, I love that he rhymes pajamas by mispronouncing in a gourd-like way windows to rhyme with pajamas, right? Instead of windows. Oh, so great. By the way, that uses line, again, going back to Hitler's underlings, you know, doing experiments on twins and stuff like that. Like, this is, I think this is a dark one. I'm going to listen to it again tonight. And I can't wait to hear it. No.Track 3:[1:00:19] I hope I'm wrong. I think you're right. No, we know he likes the Second World War.Track 3:[1:00:26] And, you know, we've heard references to, you know, Nazis moving works of art or Russians moving works of art, you know, to stave off the Nazi army. And really quick, sorry, really quick shout out for the piano player. I'm guessing it was um hern but but man that piano is is really nice improvised piano solo yeah yeah it's a very sweet sounding song yeah bait and switch man yeah he got us the never ending present i was listening and and if you're a you know canadian of my age you knew right away who was singing backup so that was Stephen Drake because my mind went right to Wendy under the stars and um and you know right back to my you know my first car and being you know 16 years old and listening to the radio and and hearing the odds for the first time and and yeah just an unmistakable voice the harmonies are very distinct you know distinctly the odds and distinctly The one thing that I picked up was he mentioned his shoes were polished, which as we learned in the longtime running doc that he polished his shoes before every show.Track 3:[1:01:46] So I think he's talking about himself and it's kind of an introspective – I mean, he says I in every song, but I think this one might actually be about himself personally.Track 3:[1:02:00] I picture him standing on Broadview Avenue waiting for the streetcar. He says bus, but in my head it's a streetcar. And all the rest of the lyrics are the stuff that happens until the bus crashes the hill. Him dropping money inside the little money grabber on a bus. There's talk of that um but what i really what i really love about this song is how ahead of his time he is because this is like living in the present like being in the moment is so important and i've learned like through my mental wellness journey like how important it is to live in the moment and the idea that the moment can be never ending if you come about it with the right frame in my mind is so refreshing to hear. Amen. And of course they named the, um, uh, Michael Barclay wrote the book with using the title of the song.Track 3:[1:03:05] Sorry, I'm going to take a little detour off of this that I just have to bring up being, being the, uh, for the South American and someone that, uh, uh, you know, again, was always starving for hip. I've loved in this journey, discovering other Canadian bands. You guys were mentioning the odds. And, you know, I did the research a little bit on the dinner's ruined. And of course, you know, of the real statics from, you know, grace too. And we're all richer for having heard them. And, um, uh, I'm, I'm very excited, you know, during this to be able to take a dive into that music that I never got. Right. Cause I like Justin, you were lucky because you get a lot of that music, uh, in the Northeast.Track 3:[1:03:49] Um, no, no, no, we only get the hip and rush. Rush. There's no Canadian music except for the hip and Rush. I will say that. And Alanis, of course. but to do as a you know as a musician and and and being a big fan of many canadian bands you know rush is up there for me bare naked ladies is up there for me um obviously the tragic the hip is up there for me um but these other bands uh blue rodeo that has i think a little bit of a a um you know it did well here in the states um of course alanis and some of the others you know i want to I know more about the, uh, the ones that didn't get, uh, similar, similar stories to the tragically happened. And I'm really excited about taking that journey as well. And I love that, you know, that's one of the things that I've heard about in different, uh, uh, reading and, and interviews is Gord was such a proponent of getting, I mean, music out there, but, but specifically, obviously Canadian music and, and giving, you know, these, these not as well-known bands an opportunity.Track 3:[1:04:56] So, um, sorry, I just needed to take that little side journey there and, and, and share that with you guys. I'm with you. I'm with you a hundred percent. Just going off what you were saying, yeah, apparently Gord would actually stand side stage and watch a lot of these bands. Like he would just stay there for the whole set. And all these bands, you know, Eric's Trip and The Odds, they were all change of heart. They all played with the hip.Track 3:[1:05:23] And for me, it's been fun because I've been doing the same thing. I was listening to The Odds last night and I couldn't believe how many hit songs they had. You know they're a band i enjoyed but never really really got into i think i've seen them live a couple times but man they had their pop song they were yeah that's exactly it they were they're you know pop writing you know machines but yeah i'm excited i'm excited about the journey for sure and and especially getting connected with you guys and having the experience you know know, uh, um, uh, being from Canada and, and, and really experiencing that not only on the radio, but, but live as well, that, uh, that's going to be a great journey. Cause isn't it great when you go to see, you know, you go to see one of your favorite bands and the opener shows up, you never heard of them. And, and all of a sudden they become, you know, one of your favorites and you're, you're falling around and, you know, and then it's always hard if they do make it, you're kind of like, man, that was my band, but I liked it when they were small, you know, I want them to be big, but not that big. I, that's, I mean, I mentioned it with, with the hip, you know, like all my experiences and I got to see them, I don't know, seven, seven, eight times, something like that.Track 3:[1:06:36] Like the biggest venue I saw them in was, was probably 1200 people. And, um, you know, the Troubadour, I got to see them in and, and, and up in San Francisco, the Fillmore's, you know, it's, it's over a thousand, uh, might be closer to actually, I'm not sure. I'll have to look that up. But the thing that I loved about it is, you know, I'm a hockey guy. And I think I mentioned the story to, to you, JD, like we're close to the ducks and the Kings and, and most hockey teams are, you know, 50 plus percent, if not close to 70% Canadians. And so I'd go to a show, I'd be in Hollywood and I'd look over and be like, Oh, Hey, look, there's Luke Robitaille or, you know, Oh, there's Chris Pronger. There's, you know, Scott Niedermeyer, you know, I'm hanging it out and oh oh hey paul korea how's it going you like the hip too you know and um what an experience and then canadian actors as well i got to meet dan akroyd at at the house of blues hollywood and he introduced the hip on stage and then you know he's rat so uh you know for me it's so weird um when you talk of this band they were a club band to me you know i i've seen what they've done and where they've played. And so anyway, I I'm, I'm taking us off the, the album, but just wanted to share that with, with you gents. No, that's cool.Track 3:[1:08:04] So now we take a hard, right. And, um, we get the track, the soundscape, uh, nothing but heartache in your social life.Track 3:[1:11:14] Did you say a hard right or a hard Reich? Because again, the Hitler.Track 3:[1:11:20] I'm serious. So again, this goes back to the poetry and there's a poem called Toiletten in the book and it is about Hitler's, I'm not even inferring this, this is about Hitler's podium at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg and it now has signs pointing tourists to the toilet. Um, and the, uh, similarities between that poem and this song or spoken word, whatever, um, it's a hundred percent about that. And Gord even stumbles on a lyric that they, that they leave in the song, um, when the podium sprouting weeds and he stumbles on rendered ridiculous by the time. So the podium is this massive concrete structure that when you see film of Hitler speaking to 150,000, 200,000 Germans during wartime, that's where this is. But it's still there, and it's sprouting weeds, and the podium and its purpose have been rendered ridiculous by the times. When are you thinking of disappearing? I mean, when are you falling off the map when the unknown that you're fearing is in the clearing? That's totally about surrendering in the war and the allied forces moving across the field to wipe out the Nazis.Track 3:[1:12:46] When you're getting king-size satisfaction in the turnstiles of the night from all the shaky pill transactions, if that's not Jewish prisoners going to a concentration camp running down the train tracks in the middle of the night. I don't know what it is. It's, again, a very dark thing, and I think it leads to Hitler's suicide. That's when are you thinking of disappearing? Yeah.Track 3:[1:13:16] And it is interesting to note that the asterisk that comes with the title in the lyrics, it says Dale Morningstar provided echoing screams at the end of the song. It doesn't just say backing vocals or call and answer. It's echoing screams. I was wondering who was calling back and forth with them. They kind of sound like, even though the topic sounds quite serious, they're having some fun with it. At the end kind of yelling back and forth with each other and um and also of note um adam agoyan the filmmaker plays plays uh the classical guitar on this track and and one other track and so he's uh i think i read that that maybe this song was sort of based off some some things he brought in, came into the studio one day and they they sort of riffed off what he was doing and put this sort of spoken word. I also got, I don't know if you guys got this, but I almost got like an M&M vibe, like just like attitude wise. And of course I believe this would have been before M&M anyways, but, but just that, that sort of attitude and way he was rattling off these lines.Track 3:[1:14:29] Yeah, I get it. Absolutely. So the other me, you know, I was trying to get my, my head out of World War II with this, and it was easy to see in 2024 that Gord predicted the future of social media, right? This is before Facebook and MySpace and all this stuff, but this is 100% in line with everybody's mental health problems stemming from not having enough likes on their posts, right? This could absolutely be interpreted 20 plus years later in that way, if you were to look at it from that angle. Yeah, I...Track 3:[1:15:13] Obviously still like absorbing everything in the referencing that you're speaking of, uh, Hitler and world war two and, and how, you know, JD and Craig were like, didn't necessarily get that right away. I, I definitely, you know, heard the references. I, I knew of the references from some of the hip tunes. Um and uh and then just seeing this whole journey that he's taking with just coming out there with a solo album in the first place and then you hear about how um and again it's it's you know i don't know the exact i haven't spoken with the other members but some of the solo stuff really caused a bit of a rift within the band and then if you start thinking about the product of the hip you You know, this is where a big portion of their fan base starts turning away.Track 3:[1:16:04] And I wonder if that tension came through in some of the music. For me and you, Justin, we discovered them during this time. And like most bands, you don't become close to them. And, you know, I'll take a few exceptions. You know, Led Zeppelin. I wasn't there when the albums came out. But the band meant a lot to me later in life. But nothing like, I'll give an example of other bands, Rush and Barenaked Ladies. I went to those shows when those albums came out, same thing with The Hip, as it relates to 2000 and beyond. And so my reference point is there. Um, and then Gord goes off and decides to, to do this solo work. And, um, and not only does he does the solo work, but he starts taking that poetry side in the book that comes out along with it. He starts throwing in spoken word and we could spend a lot of time with the discussion about poetry versus spoken word versus lyrics versus, um, uh, you know, the, the, the written prose and, and, and where it all comes together and the different attitudes towards it. Um, but I, I'm, I'm honestly kind of shaking inside just thinking about the, the ability that, that Gord has to take a historical perspective.Track 3:[1:17:23] Area and put it into a spoken word and or song. But then in the same breath, depending on how you come at it, you get something completely different. If you don't know those references specifically, you're going to find something from a meaningful standpoint. So sorry. I mean, you really got me goosebumps in there, Justin. Well, I think that if I had never read lyrics from the hip, I would never have approached it from this angle.Track 3:[1:17:51] But it's kind of hard to not look at some of that stuff. He did an interview in the early 90s with some TV, whatever, and they said, what are your songs about? And he said, all of our songs are about war. And I remember seeing that on YouTube about 10 or a dozen years ago and thinking, oh, okay. Now, whether he was speaking Speaking of literal war or a relationship or conflict within the band or whatever, family, something, but there's a struggle or something that needs to be resolved in each one of these songs. And so I've, for better or worse, looked at a lot of hip stuff from that point forward, whatever year it was, as is Gord talking about literal war here. And that's just where I picked up on. Was he a history-type major? Did he have family that maybe participated in the war? There is a short poem in the book that is about his grandfather serving in World War II.Track 3:[1:18:56] Yeah, I could see that. Both my grandparents served in World War II, and I was a history major, and so I can see where that tie comes from.Track 3:[1:19:08] I hope we can move past the war stuff soon. Thanks justin yeah anything else from you craig well yeah i know i have nothing to add other than i love the little bait like bass kind of jazz odyssey thing that steven drake goes off on at the end if you if you notice the last like five seconds he just does this little improvised producer as well noodle it's pretty right bass player yes yes yeah engineering okay engineer anyways yeah Yeah, engineer. Well, that's what we got for you for this first episode. We're going to take a break and recuperate and recalibrate and take some electrolytes and we'll be back. Now, pick up your shit.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to Discovering Downie. I'll be your host, jD as we listen in on the experiences and analysis from three huge fans of The Hip who have a blind spot for Gord's solo works. Meet Craig, Justin, and Kirk as they part in this epic 11-part podcast.We kick the show off by starting at the start with Coke Machine Glow part 1.Transcript:Track 2:[1:26] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy.Track 3:[1:34] Hey, it's JD here, and I'm joined by my pals Craig, Justin, and Kirk from Chino. While our love for the hip unites us, Gord's solo ventures remain uncharted territory for our trio.Track 3:[1:47] Hence, I've gathered this team of enthusiasts to delve into the musical repertoire of the enigmatic frontman of the tragically hip, the late gourd downey so come along with us on this exploration as we navigate through his albums one by one in chronological order embarking on our quest of discovering downey we've assembled quite the motley crew here to talk uh to talk about gourd's oeuvre and we're excited to do that we're going to do this all summer long so buckle up fellas how are you doing not too bad living the a dream amazing excited excited to go on this jaunt with you you gents for sure yeah it should be pretty fun i agree i agree completely i i am i am from a hip starved uh area of the world which you know i guess most of the u.s unfortunately was hip starved for a long time but specifically down here uh in the la market i got to see some amazing shows in really small places but like to, to like find a hip album in a record store or, you know, like anything that comes close to hip preference for me, I just like, I get all giddy. So when we, you know, we connected to talk with other hip fans, um, was pretty exciting, but then just to learn more about Gord, um, yeah, this is, this is going to be quite the adventure, my friends, quite the adventure.Track 3:[3:17] Yeah, I think so. What do you think, Craig?Track 3:[3:20] Yeah, I've been sitting in this room, my office slash music room, with a couple of unopened Gord CDs that I have collected over the years and just looking for the right moment, I guess. And along came that moment, and thanks to you, JD, to make this happen and to bring me on board. Ah, but I am but one hand on the rudder. The other three hands you see belong to Kirk, Justin, and Craig. Egg so there's that justin tell us about your experience with the hip so uh the u.s is hip starved for the most part but uh growing up in vermont we are just quebec junior and uh we get a lot of uh tv and radio stations uh down here in the greater burlington area so i i grew up with hip on the radio and um i didn't really know anything about him but in high school i discovered phantom power on my own.Track 3:[4:19] And, uh, that was it. I've been hopelessly blissfully lost ever since. And, um, my dad was kind of a hip fan, but you know, I think he was from like the old, you know, the, the hip crowd that they were trying to get rid of in the nineties, you know? And, uh, and so when I, when I came along, it was music at work and, you know, kind of the newer stuff that, that the old man probably wouldn't have liked too much, but, um, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I got to see three hip shows and I was at the show in Ottawa two nights before the finale, uh, which was really amazing. Um, I got to see him in a basketball gym in Burlington and I got to see him in a bar in Albany, New York. And, uh, I feel like I got the, a pretty good sample size. Uh, I love them. I love them. Yeah. How about you, Craig? You have a unique role in this trio as well with your Tragically Hip experience. Share some of that with us.Track 3:[5:19] Um, yeah, I've, I've been a big hip fan way back going to probably grade eight when I, when I first heard, I think New Orleans on the radio and, uh, you know, I liked it and I, um, I didn't buy the album right away. I was into heavier stuff at the time. I was a big GNR fan and I was kind of a metal guy. And, uh, then I heard 38 years old and funnily enough, I thought it was, um, uh, Tracy Chapman at first, when I first heard the voice, the vibrato and, you know, it's just on faintly in the background. And then I kind of turned it up and this is a good tune. And then, you know, they, they announced it was the hip. And so I went out and got the CD. I think I maybe ordered on Columbia house through my, uh, through my parents or, you know, five CDs for, for a penny or whatever. And, uh, 12 here in the U S yeah.Track 3:[6:09] And yeah, I've been a huge hip fan ever since. And, and, um, yeah, I've been to, I think maybe 15, 16 concerts and, um, yeah, about a year ago, year and a half ago, I started playing in a hip tribute and it's just been a blast to sharing the music with, you know, the fans who don't get to see them anymore. And, you know, I wish I could, I wish they were still around and I could quit my job as a hip tribute guitar player, but unfortunately they're not playing anymore. I wonder if there's a Tracy Chapman angle, I wonder if we can get Luke Combs to cover some hip stuff and get them on the mainstream radio. you. It's a great idea. It's actually not. I don't think I want to hear that. No, but definitely giving them the credit they deserve. And man, Craig, like I seriously got goosebumps when you'd mentioned Tracy Chapman, like, you know, if you guys saw the Grammys, you know, that was performed and Tracy just sounded amazing. And, uh, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. And, and yeah, I think you hit that spot on that. I haven't looked it up, But I'm guessing if you look up the release date of Fast Car and up to here, I'm going to guess they're within a year. Yeah, that's probably very true.Track 3:[7:27] So let's start at the start here with Coke Machine Glow. Kirk, any nuggets that you gleaned from production notes, anything like that, that you gathered on your fact-finding mission? Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I, I actually did because I'm a musician as well and, and, and do appreciate, uh, what goes into making an album. Um, uh, there, there was some pretty good information out there and, you know, especially knowing the hips catalog and, you know, they've had, they've had some different experiences from different producers and engineers and, and different recording experiences. And, um, so, you know, of course you're going, well, I'm going to get a lot of that. And, and then boom, you get hit right upside the head with, you know, But in the research that I did, I mean, they basically just, you know, had a couple, I think they had a kick mic and an overhead mic and just kind of a room mic. They played everything acoustic because they wanted to hear Gord's vocals.Track 3:[8:30] They were in, I believe, in the studio that is no longer there. It was like a loft in Toronto that was owned by a couple of musicians that were a part of, you know, the band that was there and part of the recording team. Um and obviously getting all their you know getting all their schedules together and and you know various musicians from from various different bands within the area and uh and they just wanted this to be uh just kind of that raw essence right that it you know for us as hit fans at least for me like that's where i fell in love is like whether you listen to the music or see them live, like the energy that comes out of every song is, is palpable on so many different levels. And, and, you know, I think those that, that have had the experience to enjoy their music and especially live, like there's such an energy to it and whether it's, uh.Track 3:[9:29] You know, whether it's one of their upbeat, you know, just rocking tunes or, or, you know, a simple acoustic there, they really know how to capture the emotion. And this album, Coke Machine Glow, I mean, yeah, wow. I mean, it was, again, it just felt like maybe one mic in the room and they just were circled around each other and they went for it. And one of the other notes that I heard that I thought was pretty surprising is they got a lot out of what was actually recorded and it sounded a lot bigger than what took place. I can get that. You could get a small little eight-inch speaker and, uh, put a mic on it and it could sound like you've got, you know, four Marshall, you know, full stacks grinding in front of you. So, you know, there's definitely some magic that can happen in the studio, but, um, uh, yeah, I, I think, uh, you know, I do a lot of stuff in theater and we always talk about how the set or the lights or the sound can become a character. And I think for me, the production elements of Coke Machine Glow became a part of the album.Track 3:[10:37] It had to be done that way, in my opinion, to be able to capture the energy that it did. Yeah it's very sparse sounding production wise like obviously there's songs and we'll get into them really rich and really lush and uh you know have a lot going on but predominantly this record like you said is pretty sparse craig i wonder what you learned um in your research about the album proper.Track 3:[11:09] Well, I went into this with a different approach where I purposely didn't look at any info for the first couple of weeks. And then I actually planned on recording this without having looked it up, but I decided I couldn't not. And the reason I had to look at the liner notes is because I was hearing all these voices that I recognized from Canadian bands. And what I was really thinking about was um what was can con and and the uh you know all the if you don't know the the story of can con basically it's the canadian content rules that um you know radio stations in canada have to play a certain amount of you know canadian written produced um music and the variety of musicians playing on this album we've got you know sky diggers we've got eric's trip we've got the hip We've got Dinner Is Ruined, who wasn't a band I had heard of out West, but looked them up today and quite interesting. And just this all-star cast of musicians from all these really cool indie bands. And that's what really struck me. Yeah, I couldn't put it better. An all-star group. And I should have mentioned, I guess, The Odds, of course, with Stephen Drake. He was so heavily involved with engineering and playing bass on it. And, and, uh, that was the voice that actually I was referencing. And I'll talk about that on the track when it comes up. Oh, cool. Okay.Track 3:[12:36] Justin, I'm wondering for you what the title means to you. What does it evoke? Um, I kind of, my brain goes to the golden rim motor in right. And late at night in a hotel, just kind of looking out the window and there's that freaking coke machine that's probably buzzing and nothing's cold in it and there's that glow lighting up a couple of cars outside the hotel room um it seems like a pretty good time to write an album or a book of poetry yeah just in my my mind went the same place yeah the lofty pines motel the the golden rim motor in.Track 3:[13:19] Yeah. There's a couple other hotels mentioned on this record as well. There's the Phoenix. Um, I'm trying to think, is there another one? Hmm. There's a poem, uh, in the book, Minneapolis hotel room. Oh, wow. Yeah. So definitely a road record, huh? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And the other thing I think that, um, I didn't know going into this, that it was so closely connected to the phantom power album with a lot of songs that now with the re-release of phantom power we're we're seeing alternate versions of you know mystery and some of these other songs which is really really neat to discover at the same time yeah i agree with that i i delved pretty deeply into the the poetry book and it was amazing how many references to hip songs especially of that era um but even dating back to the early nineties with some live shows and how long this material had incubated. I bought, I don't know which album, but it came with a recording of a concert in 94. And there are several references that made their way into the poetry or into the lyrics of some of the songs.Track 3:[14:31] It's not on the music album, but it's in the, I think it's the first poem in the book was was bumblebee what is now bumblebee as the bonus track from phantom power right um the usa today bit was in this concert in 94 and it took you know years for that to come out and and there are other references from that show that are that are in coke machine globe of the album and the book it's it's really interesting how long it took for all this stuff to, surface. You have to imagine though, that as, as a writer, you know, you're going to go into recording an album and, and, you know, Gord being primary, you know, after a time writer, you can end up with some stuff that just doesn't make it. And, you know, it's hard to let go of stuff. You know, if you've, if you've done any type of creation, I don't care if it's video creation or writing or poetry or songs or whatever, like it's hard to just let that stuff go. Cause it's, It's whether you're telling a story about yourself or something you experienced or, you know, you want to get it out there, especially if you're a creative person. So I imagine Gord had, you know, and you read all the time and you hear on the interviews and he carries around a notebook and is basically writing every day.Track 3:[15:47] So uh but it is it is amazing and especially being a hip fan to see you know i noticed that as well when i was listening to some of the bonus stuff like hey wait that's a hit song why is that on here yeah you know and then you got to go back and you got to find the album that it's on because i was like justin i i wasn't introduced until the hip you know until i think 2000 uh with a canadian friend that i worked with and then i actually took a trip up to vancouver and it was like there's hip everywhere and i was like this is what's this all about how come i don't know about these you know this this band so yeah you know that i i really kind of came into play during that time and and beyond so of course i love the stuff that that came before it but for me there's something about being a part of what gets released when you're you know i'm i'm buying the albums or cds as they're coming out and then i'm seeing the tour so you know of course that heavy content with with, with those particular albums. So yeah, I have to imagine a lot of that, uh, came back in, into this particular one. And I mean, how long was the band together before this came out? 12 years, something. Almost, almost 15 or 20, maybe.Track 3:[16:57] Yeah, well, yeah, from the very beginning, but since the recording stuff started, so, you know. 87, the first one came out in 87. Yeah. This, to me, it felt like a release valve for everything that Gord couldn't or wouldn't put on Hips. It wasn't polished, you know what I mean?Track 3:[17:18] And he had all, I mean, there's a hundred pages of poetry and all these songs that are, you know, objectively strange.Track 3:[17:27] Um, and I, I think it just stuff that he knew wouldn't fly on a hip album that he had carried with him for years. And like I said, that show in 94 that he was work workshopping this stuff and it didn't make the cut with the band. So let's use it up now. Now, I'm very curious, as we get into the songs, to hear what you guys are thinking about some of these songs in their objective strangeness, as you put it, Justin. Or, you know, are some of them hip-adjacent? Are there any on here that you think, you know, the band could have put together? Obviously, other than the last track, which they did, and we can compare and contrast that when we get there. But are we ready to go into this record track by track? Let's do it. All right, we start with Star Painters. Who wants to kick this one off?Track 3:[18:29] Well, I'll take it. Yeah, Star Painters to me was like a palate cleanser. This was like Gord saying, this is not a hip album. And right off the bat, it's, it's a little strange. Uh, you got the accordion and, um, you know, the almost like a spoken word type thing. And yeah, it's just very obviously not the hip. So the first line, um, is, uh, ended up in music at work with freak turbulence. The myth is neither here nor there. So there are definitely, you know, there's some continuity there. And I think those two albums came out the same year. Didn't they? 2000. Coke Machine Glow was 2001 Okay well But Very close Very close They were likely recorded Right around the same time Yeah Yeah.Track 3:[19:19] There are themes that do persist for sure. But yes, this is not a hip song to be clear. I agree. And Craig, yeah, I think you hit it right on the head. You know, Gord was like, hey, come along for the ride, but this is going to be something different.Track 3:[19:40] And I really appreciate it. I mean, and I've heard that this song actually turned people away, right? Right. Like they didn't want to give it any more of a listen because of it. And, you know, I can say, yeah, I can say that, you know, for me again, I'm hip starved. So I'm actually really surprised at myself that I didn't dive in at the time and that that it really took this project to, you know, get me to start paying attention. Attention and at first it was difficult you know obviously this song but the entire album was like you're like you wanted a little more hip but then you had to understand you know what he needed to get out this song honestly for me is is one of my favorites off of the album and i'll tell you why it's the line the star painters are taking over now the scaffolding is in place your anesthesiologist tonight is washing up and on her way like i heard that and i just stopped and smoking your joint.Track 3:[20:50] Packing it up yeah getting the next one it it it it's it's it's gordon it's it's it's the, this is this song this album is not going to be for the faint of heart and uh and you know strap in like you said buckle up so i i had never heard anything by the dinner is ruined but you know trying to dive into to see what these guys are about the avant-garde and very strange ambient sounds and there's uh accordion and all kinds of weird stuff and that's very much dinner is ruined i i did listen to them um during this process and with that in mind on On the rest of the album, they feel pretty restrained compared to what they would normally have written or put out. But I think on this first one, they're just kind of like, to hell with this. We're going to do what we're doing. Yeah, sequencing is so important. You know, when you make a record, there's no accident that this song is first, like Greg said. You know, that sort of palate cleanser, introducing what the concept of this record is going to be. And you're right like if you came here expecting fully completely part two you know you're barking up the wrong fucking tree so there's that yeah vancouver divorce.Track 3:[26:08] Yeah, definitely a departure from the first track from Star Painters, right? This is a, I mean, almost written for radio hit. It's so easy to listen to and it's so addicting. The thing that really struck me, and it took me a couple of listens to hear it, but the bass is just one note over and over like a heartbeat, just a rhythm. And it's just the same note for 20, 25 seconds. And then, you know, it, it moves on from there, but, um, it was really, it was lovely. Um, but I, uh, one of the things that, that started to strike me and I don't know if it was Vancouver divorce or, or something else, but I think there's two schools of thought about this album. And again, this is a common theme with Gord Downie is it's either a little bit about Adolf Hitler or it's really a lot a bit about Adolf Hitler.Track 3:[27:13] There are so many ties to World War II throughout this album and the book and everything that Gord kind of does. Um, and I, I, I tried not to think about that going into all this, but it does, it does kind of get there, um, pretty quickly. I think, I don't know. I don't know if Vancouver has anything to do with the song or it's just, it fits well, you know, like the way that he explained writing Bob Cajun, it just, it rhymes. Right that's the town we're using you know i know in one of the live clips i saw before this song he said something about you know if if this couple can't make it in in paradise which in this case paradise is vancouver um debatable debatable maybe but um he um yeah then then i guess they can't make it anywhere yeah and i i didn't get any world war ii from it but i i didn't dive into lyrics quite as heavily i'm more of a music guy the lyrics are the last thing i digest when i listen to music so it takes me multiple listens um i don't typically read lyrics i like them to sort of hit me you know over the years um yeah did you guys get the uh the hortons reference.Track 3:[28:27] That one made me chuckle so the thing that i that i picked up on the hortons thing is he says sitting here at the hortons so you know this is important nobody sits at a tim hortons well they used to it used to be it used to be like a bar yeah oh yeah and it had lots of tables and chairs Yeah. And that's, that's far different from our experience with, with any Hortons chain down here. Yeah. Well, the thing that I think is interesting is that syllabically he could have said Tim Hortons, but instead he says the Hortons. The Hortons. I wonder if that's like to avoid the.Track 3:[28:57] Commercialism of saying Tim Hortons or like, it's just an interesting choice when it's the same number of syllables. Yeah. And I also think just, um, a lot of times Gord will choose a word that is almost unrhymable on purpose. And I think this is one of those cases Hortons. So it must be important and important. Yeah. It's, it's just, I love that. I love that. How about you, Kirk?Track 3:[29:21] What do you think? From a music standpoint? Cause like Craig, I, I, I do, do i i enjoy both and and and i'll end up reading lyrics as i go and and in this particular thing it was hard not to read uh a lyrics just to understand the connection as you're listening but this is one of those songs as well when when you think about it here you know how they recorded like holy crap how did they get that big of a sound out of what you you know at least in the the research that i did was very minimalist type of recording you know this kind of a squarish box and and and not really acoustically treated and you know in in you know you know in in the heart of toronto and all kinds of other stuff going on like i heard as well like they were being evicted and so they only had a certain time schedule to be able to get this recorded and then you hear the story about how like they're having a party downstairs and they're throwing couches around and gourd shows up and in his cowboy hat and goes uh hey would you guys mind you know being quiet for a little bit i'm i've tried to record i just can't imagine you're in that room and gourd down he walks in and says hey i'm recording tracks upstairs i think he was with kevin hearn from uh.Track 3:[30:36] You know uh bare naked ladies and and and uh and then they go back up and they record but just the fullness of this, this album. Um, and to me, I, you know, that's the thing I wanted to mention. Uh, uh, I believe it was this tune when you hear the keys, I don't know that Kevin got a credit on it, but I know he recorded a couple of tunes here. And so for me, I'm actually a pretty big BNL fan and I've seen them 20 times, something like that. But Kevin Hearns keys was very kind of prevalent. Um, and even if it wasn't him, you could, you could definitely hear the influence of it. So the powerfulness of this song is, is, is palpable for sure. Yeah. Yeah, looking it up, I think it was, sorry, it was, yeah, Jose Contreras played the organ on this tune. So he's the leader of By Divine Right, which is another very cool Canadian band that I remember listening to. I had their first album. But yeah, Kevin Hearn is definitely all over this album. Them yeah i gotta say as well from a lyrics perspective my money there's a phrase in this song that belongs on the podium along with you know it could have been the willow nelson could have been the wine you know taking advice from a prost or taking a compliment from a prostitute the line which by the way i play that song every night for my daughter at bedtime and my wife still Still haven't caught on yet.Track 3:[32:00] That's a good line. What the hell is this? You said it's art. Just fucking mirror it. Mirror. Yeah. Like you hang up your hat when you write a line like that. You just, you're done for the day. Put your briefcase together and you walk out the door, punch out, you know, that's a fucking great lyric. So I think, I think if, if I may, the, the person being divorced is an artist in this story. Right. right? And there are many references to art. There's the line, when the stampede's an optical course, when ancient train has hit old transient horse. And ancient train and old transient horse were capitalized. And I said, what the hell is that? So I deep dove that. And it is in reference to horse and train, which is a Canadian painting, which is based on a poem written by a South African anti-apartheid poet with the line and against a regiment. I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armored train, which is just spectacular imagery.Track 3:[33:03] But again, tying in the art theme to the first line is such classic Gord Downie writing. Jesus Christ. Yeah. You've just blown my mind. Blown my mind. Like for real. This is track two. So get me. Yeah. Yeah. And I have to say too, the noise guitar at the end by I'm assuming Dale Morningstar is just amazing. I have a thing for loud, screechy feedback guitars. It just puts me in this state of zen for some reason. Like if you know the song Drown by Smashing Pumpkins, there's like four minutes of feedback at the end. And to me, that is so relaxing.Track 3:[33:45] I have that same thing written down, Craig. I have excellent screeching guitar going into and continuing through the third verse and out. One of the other things I have written down, though, I just want to share with you guys quickly. This is just sort of funny. When he says he's sitting at the Tim Hortons, or he's sitting at the Hortons, I know that's not true because on two occasions, I was walking down the Danforth and saw him sitting in the front bench of Timothy's Coffee, coffee, which is like a, like a Starbucks adjacent brand that doesn't exist anymore, but it used to. And it was minutes from his house. I didn't know where his house was, nor did I stalk him, but I knew it was in the area, like minutes away. And he would just sit there and he was sitting there with a, with a fucking notebook the one time and another time he was on a Mac book. But to me, it was, you know, one of those cool moments that I was like, I live in the same neighborhood. It's Gord Downie. This is so cool.Track 3:[34:41] Man, I wish that the Tim Hortons here in the States had a place to sit because mostly you just find them at a rest stop on the highway or you go in and you order a donut and you leave kind of establishment. No Hortons down here in California. I have to travel. Thankfully, I get to travel a lot for work. And if I see a Hortons, it's like, it's immediate picture and text to my family because we did a road trip and, you know, we went through Detroit and we went through Niagara and went through Toronto. And so my family fell in love with Tim Hortons. So is there a sponsor, right? JD? Oh yeah. The big sponsor. I'm eating Timbits right now.Track 3:[35:22] Mmm. Delicious Timbits. Thanks Tim Hortons. Um next up is uh sf song and to me this is like observational songwriting 101 to me i can just picture him under the covers of his hotel room with a pillow over his head trying to drown out the sound of this chambermaid tap tap tapping and knock knock knocking on the door it sounds as though and then him walking through the lobby and out into the front area of the phoenix hotel and he just describes everything he sees now i'm sure there's more to it than that but to me that's just beautiful.Track 3:[36:03] Yeah. Yeah. For me, one of my first shows was actually in San Francisco at the Fillmore West. And, um, you know, there's been some, you know, or so I've, so I've researched, there's been some pretty classic, uh, um, shows that have happened there. And, you know, I, I had a pretty, pretty amazing experience as well. I was with, with the Canadian friend that had, um, you know, introduced me to them and, and, uh, uh, but you, when I heard that song at first, I just immediately thought, you know, I'm like, hmm, I wonder if he was writing the song when he was there, when I saw him in 2000. And, uh, you know, whether he is or not, that's what I'm going to go, go to, go to bed with and stick to. I also noticed and really appreciated, um, uh, the breathing in the beginning of the song. Um, and then the reference towards the end, uh, about it, uh, uh, I miss my lung, Bob.Track 3:[37:04] That we talked about and, and, and, and then remembering the ads, remembering the ads that were going around at the time on the sides of buses and on, um, on, on billboards and, uh, you know, growing up in, in, in Southern California and, and, uh, seeing smoking ads. And then all of a sudden smoking ads start going away. And then you see the ad of, I miss my lung, Bob, or Bob, I miss my lung. I like to paraphrase. Yeah. I, uh, that's one of the lyrics I had to look up. I had no clue that was an actual thing. So that was pretty neat to, to come across those posters. I remember them from when I was a kid, of course, I'm East Coast, so it's not like they were around here, but I do remember seeing it on the news or something like that, the campaign.Track 3:[37:52] The other thing that struck me was Chambermaid and the references to Chambermaid, which are a continuation of Phantom Power, right? With vapor trails and escape as a hand. Right. Right. I also picked up on the click, click, click. You mentioned J.D. Off the top and those sounds. And he later on experimented with those types of things like drip, drip, drip and We Want to Be It and the chick, chick, chick of the matches in Seven Matches.Track 3:[38:24] Oh, wow. Yeah, it's just a little thing I picked up on. And also, I have a note here about just the low register, like just him singing in that beautiful low voice. And he, on this album, covers so many different subtleties in the way he uses his voice. Like a song like Coming Up Canada Geese, all of a sudden he's just a totally different singer, singing very um yeah almost like an indie indie rock singer yeah totally get that um you know also i think there's many examples of him singing in alter egos on on this record really expanding his repertoire you know as it were right like we start to hear him singing like this on the post phantom power records uh on occasion and um it's not startling because we're sort of used to it should we move on to trick rider only if you want me to cry right like this okay so this song says it's it's dedicated to c it's i believe it's his daughter I don't know. On the album that comes along with the new release, his daughter, I'm blanking on the name, starts with a C, reads this poem.Track 3:[39:53] So I'm guessing she was the girl on the horse.Track 3:[39:56] So I can't remember the name, Claire maybe or Chloe or I forget. Makes complete sense.Track 3:[40:04] I don't know this, so I'll ask it. How many kids does Gord have and are they spread out in age quite a bit? I don't know the second part of the question, but I know he's got four. There's Lou and Willow, who both played on his former partner's record, played keyboard and drums, respectively. And then there's Willow, who is an artist, like painter and jewelry artist, and she's very talented. She did the away as mind cover as well I did know that I think I think I asked that question because at the end you know of Gordon's life he did that interview with Peter Mansbridge, and talked about his son and got very emotional and his son was young he referenced his age and said he was quite young and this was 2016 or 17 whenever the interview was, and which would have been 15 years after this album came out.Track 3:[41:03] So, that's where my head went with how many, how old, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. I was going to make mention when I was doing a little bit of research, there was a, uh, uh, you know, a fan video, uh, when, when I guess they toured this album and I believe they were actually in, uh, it might've been in Vancouver when they're playing it, but he was, you know, having an exchange with, with someone in the audience about, you know, uh, your nightlights on going to bed. And uh i think the fan might have been thinking that the song was about something else and and he referenced that right back to her very quickly in kind of a snide mark saying i don't think it means what you think it means about going to bed and and uh that stuck out to me it was you know one that he had no problems interacting with the fan and and kind of correcting them on on their interpretation uh of the song but it the song is is is beautiful and in so many different ways and you know all of us being fathers and and and having you know those experiences and and then obviously having the emotional tie-in with with gordon and what he's done with the band you know in the tragically hip and and and then with his solo stuff and and uh it it's it's gorgeous it's beautiful whatever adjective you can come up with that that uh you know brings that feeling to you.Track 3:[42:31] As a father in those moments when you're just you can't even can't even process i did this i had a hand in this and this human is is going to grow out into the world and And I'm a better human because of it. And to be able to, you know, put that, um, you know, in lyrics and in a song, uh, again, just adds to the, uh, adds to the amazement, uh, that that gentleman was able to give us.Track 3:[43:04] Yeah. And the vocal performance by both Gord and, uh, Julie Dwaran is, is so full that they have such control of their voices. Pitch perfect, emotional, just such a song. Her soft awe in the background puts this song over the top. It wouldn't be the song without her contribution to it. That's no disrespect to Gord, but the song isn't the same without Julie Dwaran. And I thought that my favorite father-daughter song was Thrown Off Glass from In Violet Light, But this one, my daughter is the one jumping off shit. She is trick riding 24 hours a day and I'm like, oh my God, kill me. Yeah. So I looked it up. It is Claire Downey who reads the poem on the new edition. So I'm guessing that's who C could be. Got to be.Track 3:[44:05] The song is way too personal for it not to be. is is julie did i understand that she's she did some stuff with the hip as well yeah, yeah she sang um in some live shows with them and i think was part of some tribute stuff at the end too i may be wrong um i know i know kate fenner was um on one tour as a backup music Music at work. But I feel like, I'm pretty sure I've read, yeah, that Julie was on, doing some backups on one of the albums. I could be wrong. Yeah, I remember that too. I feel like, maybe now for Plan A, possibly. That sounds right. I know, although I know... Oh, yeah. Oh, that's her name. Yeah.Track 3:[44:52] Also from Kingston. There's another woman who does now for planning the title track. Yeah, Sarah Harmer. She's the vocal on... Anyways, that's a different album, different band. Different podcast. Different podcast, yeah. Oh, and I have to... Last thing about Trick Rider for me is that slide guitar that just doesn't quite hit the note. I just love it. It's kind of that quarter tone or something. It reminds me of, if you know the Faith No More cover of Easy, right before the solo when Mike Patton goes up to the, ew, and almost like purposely is in between notes. I just think it's so neat. I was going to say both vocally and musically with a variety of instruments throughout several songs, obviously this one as well, is there's just that, it's not quite there, but it's also, it adds again to that character of the song. I heard something or read something about one of the musicians, I believe the guitar player that, that was part of this, like he hit a note and he, he would just beat the shit out of it until it became the note that was right for the song, whether it started off right or not, he, it, it was going to become that.Track 3:[46:03] And, and I love that thought or that prospect, right? We get so, we get so caught up in, Oh, everything's got to be perfect. I got to tune my guitar up exactly right. I've got to have the mic place perfectly. And I've got to have, you know this tonality and and sometimes it's just good to just just let it go and let that emotion come through more so than you know the technical note of itself yeah yeah there's no such thing as a wrong note if it's you know played with with with confidence and intention and yeah yeah so next we go to a song that i think could totally be a hip jam to me this song he's singing It's the first song on the record where he's singing in a tone in a register that we recognize.Track 3:[49:09] So Craig, you said it, um, this is punk rock and Gord loved punk rock, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, but it's old guy punk rock. Like it's, it's, this is guys who are not punk rockers anymore trying to, to do punk or at least the story, right.Track 3:[49:26] Um, within the song. And, and I'm not saying that about the musicians that played the song. I'm saying that about the story Gord tells here that, you know, they're, they're, they're buying weed from each other in a cornfield, right? In the dark you know um like i can picture my old man and his uncles or and his brothers my uncles just you know hiding from the cops at age 50 55 years old just feeling like be cool man shut up uh i love this song yeah great song i i gotta say i'll take the bullet guys here's my first criticism even though as much as i love um how they recorded it my goodness gracious i needed the drummer to use some sticks and not brushes like i needed to feel that those drums coming through in this song and and to make it punk rock like it was like they they you know hey let's find the jazz drummer to do the punk song um and not that it didn't serve it well and it's a in fact probably what i would have liked was that drum track with the brushes and another drum track on.Track 3:[50:35] Top of it with sticks and then also maybe adding the mics to get more of the tonality of the drums but again now that's just the music guy and me going i wanted to hear that i needed to hear that snap i needed to hear that crack i needed to hear the pop right sorry gonna use a uh a breakfast cereal reference but um i i i i wanted that for this song still love it it's It's funny because it opens on snare hits. Right.Track 3:[51:08] Yeah. But if I'm not mistaken and I'll, I'll completely eat my words, I believe they use brushes throughout Craig. Do you, did you go that deep or what did you think? I didn't, but I know for me, I definitely noticed that it, it, it felt like it should be heavier but i think that's part of what gave the song character was those heavy guitars that almost sounded like they were played at a low volume in a room jamming and i i thought it just gave it a unique character and and i have to say though my favorite part is actually at the end when when all of a sudden i actually picked up a guitar today just to see what was going on with this and and they go up from you know they're playing and you know you're one four five e e b and a and then um they go right up they just go up to that f and i know the first time i heard it it's just just so striking it just sounds so out of place and then after you've heard the song a couple times just so perfect such a such a great dissonance and.Track 3:[52:05] Really really um almost like a two you know 2000s indie rock feel almost like an arcade fire kind of three years before arcade fire was doing it kind of thing so wow it felt like a one take demo to me and they said fuck it it's good like run it i like that we'll do it live yeah me too do it we'll do it keep it but kirk yeah i think um it would be really interesting to see what the hip would have done with with that song like a fully polished yeah you know but but i felt the same about the next song chandler um you're listening to it again today in fact and again was like man with some different instrumentation you know change changing the tempo a bit on this is this is absolutely the uh potentially a hip song uh for me you know uh and uh yeah hard hard not to uh go into you know as he speaks about letting the opening the window inviting the vampires in and if i'm not mistaken this this song did pretty well was it a single.Track 3:[53:15] I don't think any of the solo stuff did particularly well. It was sort of under the radar, especially after this record came out. This record was highly anticipated, but I think early on the word got out that it wasn't hip, and so there were a lot of hip people that jumped up. A lot of people stayed on board, don't get me wrong. but um there was a good cohort that sort of veered away and it's interesting that the sum of the parts you know um the hip are it just goes to show you how magical they are as a as a fivesome because you take one component away you know and it's just not the same like gort sinclair's solo record is dynamite so are you know paul's three records they're really really good but they're not the hip yeah you know so i'm just and i think this is where i got it from i'm just you know looking looking up on spotify and if you go to gordonie this song has the most downloads of all the solo stuff oh okay so that that makes a lot of sense yeah i know there's a there's definitely a video for this yeah yeah but i i don't recall ever hearing.Track 3:[54:31] This song anything from this album on the radio i i had i did hear some later songs um but definitely not that you know that i heard so this is where hitler comes in big time um the.Track 3:[54:47] Hitler had a very odd sleeping pattern. He stayed up very late and would go to bed at like 6, 6.30 in the morning and then get up at noon and just spend his whole day working out maps and plans and this is where the advancement is and all this stuff. And there are so many, if you read between the lines references about the night of a thousand missteps, the loss that made him dogged, or it could have been the doggedness that caused the loss in the first place.Track 3:[55:18] And Chancellor, I mean, that was Hitler's position, you know? Wow. Marching armies in the night, smiling strangers riding by on bikes. That would be, you know, when the allies come into Paris or something, you know? Children's smoking, which there was a huge anti-smoking campaign in Germany during World War II, sloganeers. And he mentions in one of the first lines, invite the vampire in, open the windows before we go to bed to get the coldest air in the room, which is just before the sun comes up. And then at the end, talking about a few things that vampires don't like, all the things referenced between the vampire references are Hitler-ish things. So I don't know it that's that's where my head went and then um before you are wow i know that but but damn it i'm following gordon's path you know and he like i said he references justin you're taking us into dark places my friend and the word chancellor for me it was like hmm and then i started to kind of read into it and i was like yikes and by the way guys spoiler alert this won't be the last time i talk about hitler during this thing not that i love him let's put that out there but there are There are some real references to the war throughout this album. Yeah, that's really interesting.Track 3:[56:41] My mind went a completely different direction. I was thinking like a chancellor of a university. And again, I didn't read the lyrics. I didn't dig that deeply in. But it was funny because my daughter really likes this song. We kept playing in the car and I was explaining what a chancellor of a university was. And she said, oh, I thought it was like Chancellor Palpatine. Wow. and it turns out she was she was the right one yeah i guess she was she was closer than i was yeah wow look at that cross my read is so completely vastly different again my read is like bittersweet and romantic uh the chorus yeah i couldn't be a chancellor without you on my mind if i wasn't if i wasn't obsessed with you or thinking about you all the time time. Um, you know, who knows what I could have become. And on the, and in the video, isn't he riding around? He's on the swan boats. It's just, it does not make me. Swans. Yeah. Yeah. He does not make me, uh, feel like, like, uh, like he's referenced, referencing world war two, but that's fascinating. I can't wait to hear it again now.Track 3:[57:49] But at the end of that video, if you watch the full video at the very end, he's, it's revealed that he is the guy working the dock at the, at the swan boats and he takes off his coat and underneath it is a uniform that says guy. And he's the one taking the coins or the tokens or whatever for the people to ride the swan boats. So it's kind of like, uh.Track 3:[58:13] You know, when Hitler was a struggling artist before he became this global force and kind of took control, you know, he was romanticizing the idea of, of being chancellor of Germany. Wow yeah wow and i don't know wow reference to it or yes it's dark man because and again think of think of uh the song scared every hip show you go to everybody's everybody's slow dancing that's not a slow dance it's like we talked about in the other podcast it's like yeah that's the hips trick right or it's gorge yeah yeah 38 years old same thing long running same thing fiddler's green you know and and on and on and on these slow slow songs are are yeah miserable yeah and i have to say good yeah yeah yeah yeah and and the the vocal phrasing that the gourd uses on this just that, laid back where he just sort of hesitates on certain words i just just love it he's so unique that way. I think that's what separates him as a singer, is that phrasing.Track 3:[59:22] Oh, yeah. This is a really hard album to sing. And you guys are musicians and you play guitar and other instruments. I've always been a singer. And I cannot keep up with Gord on this album. I just can't. Like the chorus of this song, like, I'm discovering uses for you. But the way he throws uses for you together, it's like, it's almost like one overlaps the other. And it's like, that's impossible. And then on the more quaint side, I love that he rhymes pajamas by mispronouncing in a gourd-like way windows to rhyme with pajamas, right? Instead of windows. Oh, so great. By the way, that uses line, again, going back to Hitler's underlings, you know, doing experiments on twins and stuff like that. Like, this is, I think this is a dark one. I'm going to listen to it again tonight. And I can't wait to hear it. No.Track 3:[1:00:19] I hope I'm wrong. I think you're right. No, we know he likes the Second World War.Track 3:[1:00:26] And, you know, we've heard references to, you know, Nazis moving works of art or Russians moving works of art, you know, to stave off the Nazi army. And really quick, sorry, really quick shout out for the piano player. I'm guessing it was um hern but but man that piano is is really nice improvised piano solo yeah yeah it's a very sweet sounding song yeah bait and switch man yeah he got us the never ending present i was listening and and if you're a you know canadian of my age you knew right away who was singing backup so that was Stephen Drake because my mind went right to Wendy under the stars and um and you know right back to my you know my first car and being you know 16 years old and listening to the radio and and hearing the odds for the first time and and yeah just an unmistakable voice the harmonies are very distinct you know distinctly the odds and distinctly The one thing that I picked up was he mentioned his shoes were polished, which as we learned in the longtime running doc that he polished his shoes before every show.Track 3:[1:01:46] So I think he's talking about himself and it's kind of an introspective – I mean, he says I in every song, but I think this one might actually be about himself personally.Track 3:[1:02:00] I picture him standing on Broadview Avenue waiting for the streetcar. He says bus, but in my head it's a streetcar. And all the rest of the lyrics are the stuff that happens until the bus crashes the hill. Him dropping money inside the little money grabber on a bus. There's talk of that um but what i really what i really love about this song is how ahead of his time he is because this is like living in the present like being in the moment is so important and i've learned like through my mental wellness journey like how important it is to live in the moment and the idea that the moment can be never ending if you come about it with the right frame in my mind is so refreshing to hear. Amen. And of course they named the, um, uh, Michael Barclay wrote the book with using the title of the song.Track 3:[1:03:05] Sorry, I'm going to take a little detour off of this that I just have to bring up being, being the, uh, for the South American and someone that, uh, uh, you know, again, was always starving for hip. I've loved in this journey, discovering other Canadian bands. You guys were mentioning the odds. And, you know, I did the research a little bit on the dinner's ruined. And of course, you know, of the real statics from, you know, grace too. And we're all richer for having heard them. And, um, uh, I'm, I'm very excited, you know, during this to be able to take a dive into that music that I never got. Right. Cause I like Justin, you were lucky because you get a lot of that music, uh, in the Northeast.Track 3:[1:03:49] Um, no, no, no, we only get the hip and rush. Rush. There's no Canadian music except for the hip and Rush. I will say that. And Alanis, of course. but to do as a you know as a musician and and and being a big fan of many canadian bands you know rush is up there for me bare naked ladies is up there for me um obviously the tragic the hip is up there for me um but these other bands uh blue rodeo that has i think a little bit of a a um you know it did well here in the states um of course alanis and some of the others you know i want to I know more about the, uh, the ones that didn't get, uh, similar, similar stories to the tragically happened. And I'm really excited about taking that journey as well. And I love that, you know, that's one of the things that I've heard about in different, uh, uh, reading and, and interviews is Gord was such a proponent of getting, I mean, music out there, but, but specifically, obviously Canadian music and, and giving, you know, these, these not as well-known bands an opportunity.Track 3:[1:04:56] So, um, sorry, I just needed to take that little side journey there and, and, and share that with you guys. I'm with you. I'm with you a hundred percent. Just going off what you were saying, yeah, apparently Gord would actually stand side stage and watch a lot of these bands. Like he would just stay there for the whole set. And all these bands, you know, Eric's Trip and The Odds, they were all change of heart. They all played with the hip.Track 3:[1:05:23] And for me, it's been fun because I've been doing the same thing. I was listening to The Odds last night and I couldn't believe how many hit songs they had. You know they're a band i enjoyed but never really really got into i think i've seen them live a couple times but man they had their pop song they were yeah that's exactly it they were they're you know pop writing you know machines but yeah i'm excited i'm excited about the journey for sure and and especially getting connected with you guys and having the experience you know know, uh, um, uh, being from Canada and, and, and really experiencing that not only on the radio, but, but live as well, that, uh, that's going to be a great journey. Cause isn't it great when you go to see, you know, you go to see one of your favorite bands and the opener shows up, you never heard of them. And, and all of a sudden they become, you know, one of your favorites and you're, you're falling around and, you know, and then it's always hard if they do make it, you're kind of like, man, that was my band, but I liked it when they were small, you know, I want them to be big, but not that big. I, that's, I mean, I mentioned it with, with the hip, you know, like all my experiences and I got to see them, I don't know, seven, seven, eight times, something like that.Track 3:[1:06:36] Like the biggest venue I saw them in was, was probably 1200 people. And, um, you know, the Troubadour, I got to see them in and, and, and up in San Francisco, the Fillmore's, you know, it's, it's over a thousand, uh, might be closer to actually, I'm not sure. I'll have to look that up. But the thing that I loved about it is, you know, I'm a hockey guy. And I think I mentioned the story to, to you, JD, like we're close to the ducks and the Kings and, and most hockey teams are, you know, 50 plus percent, if not close to 70% Canadians. And so I'd go to a show, I'd be in Hollywood and I'd look over and be like, Oh, Hey, look, there's Luke Robitaille or, you know, Oh, there's Chris Pronger. There's, you know, Scott Niedermeyer, you know, I'm hanging it out and oh oh hey paul korea how's it going you like the hip too you know and um what an experience and then canadian actors as well i got to meet dan akroyd at at the house of blues hollywood and he introduced the hip on stage and then you know he's rat so uh you know for me it's so weird um when you talk of this band they were a club band to me you know i i've seen what they've done and where they've played. And so anyway, I I'm, I'm taking us off the, the album, but just wanted to share that with, with you gents. No, that's cool.Track 3:[1:08:04] So now we take a hard, right. And, um, we get the track, the soundscape, uh, nothing but heartache in your social life.Track 3:[1:11:14] Did you say a hard right or a hard Reich? Because again, the Hitler.Track 3:[1:11:20] I'm serious. So again, this goes back to the poetry and there's a poem called Toiletten in the book and it is about Hitler's, I'm not even inferring this, this is about Hitler's podium at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg and it now has signs pointing tourists to the toilet. Um, and the, uh, similarities between that poem and this song or spoken word, whatever, um, it's a hundred percent about that. And Gord even stumbles on a lyric that they, that they leave in the song, um, when the podium sprouting weeds and he stumbles on rendered ridiculous by the time. So the podium is this massive concrete structure that when you see film of Hitler speaking to 150,000, 200,000 Germans during wartime, that's where this is. But it's still there, and it's sprouting weeds, and the podium and its purpose have been rendered ridiculous by the times. When are you thinking of disappearing? I mean, when are you falling off the map when the unknown that you're fearing is in the clearing? That's totally about surrendering in the war and the allied forces moving across the field to wipe out the Nazis.Track 3:[1:12:46] When you're getting king-size satisfaction in the turnstiles of the night from all the shaky pill transactions, if that's not Jewish prisoners going to a concentration camp running down the train tracks in the middle of the night. I don't know what it is. It's, again, a very dark thing, and I think it leads to Hitler's suicide. That's when are you thinking of disappearing? Yeah.Track 3:[1:13:16] And it is interesting to note that the asterisk that comes with the title in the lyrics, it says Dale Morningstar provided echoing screams at the end of the song. It doesn't just say backing vocals or call and answer. It's echoing screams. I was wondering who was calling back and forth with them. They kind of sound like, even though the topic sounds quite serious, they're having some fun with it. At the end kind of yelling back and forth with each other and um and also of note um adam agoyan the filmmaker plays plays uh the classical guitar on this track and and one other track and so he's uh i think i read that that maybe this song was sort of based off some some things he brought in, came into the studio one day and they they sort of riffed off what he was doing and put this sort of spoken word. I also got, I don't know if you guys got this, but I almost got like an M&M vibe, like just like attitude wise. And of course I believe this would have been before M&M anyways, but, but just that, that sort of attitude and way he was rattling off these lines.Track 3:[1:14:29] Yeah, I get it. Absolutely. So the other me, you know, I was trying to get my, my head out of World War II with this, and it was easy to see in 2024 that Gord predicted the future of social media, right? This is before Facebook and MySpace and all this stuff, but this is 100% in line with everybody's mental health problems stemming from not having enough likes on their posts, right? This could absolutely be interpreted 20 plus years later in that way, if you were to look at it from that angle. Yeah, I...Track 3:[1:15:13] Obviously still like absorbing everything in the referencing that you're speaking of, uh, Hitler and world war two and, and how, you know, JD and Craig were like, didn't necessarily get that right away. I, I definitely, you know, heard the references. I, I knew of the references from some of the hip tunes. Um and uh and then just seeing this whole journey that he's taking with just coming out there with a solo album in the first place and then you hear about how um and again it's it's you know i don't know the exact i haven't spoken with the other members but some of the solo stuff really caused a bit of a rift within the band and then if you start thinking about the product of the hip you You know, this is where a big portion of their fan base starts turning away.Track 3:[1:16:04] And I wonder if that tension came through in some of the music. For me and you, Justin, we discovered them during this time. And like most bands, you don't become close to them. And, you know, I'll take a few exceptions. You know, Led Zeppelin. I wasn't there when the albums came out. But the band meant a lot to me later in life. But nothing like, I'll give an example of other bands, Rush and Barenaked Ladies. I went to those shows when those albums came out, same thing with The Hip, as it relates to 2000 and beyond. And so my reference point is there. Um, and then Gord goes off and decides to, to do this solo work. And, um, and not only does he does the solo work, but he starts taking that poetry side in the book that comes out along with it. He starts throwing in spoken word and we could spend a lot of time with the discussion about poetry versus spoken word versus lyrics versus, um, uh, you know, the, the, the written prose and, and, and where it all comes together and the different attitudes towards it. Um, but I, I'm, I'm honestly kind of shaking inside just thinking about the, the ability that, that Gord has to take a historical perspective.Track 3:[1:17:23] Area and put it into a spoken word and or song. But then in the same breath, depending on how you come at it, you get something completely different. If you don't know those references specifically, you're going to find something from a meaningful standpoint. So sorry. I mean, you really got me goosebumps in there, Justin. Well, I think that if I had never read lyrics from the hip, I would never have approached it from this angle.Track 3:[1:17:51] But it's kind of hard to not look at some of that stuff. He did an interview in the early 90s with some TV, whatever, and they said, what are your songs about? And he said, all of our songs are about war. And I remember seeing that on YouTube about 10 or a dozen years ago and thinking, oh, okay. Now, whether he was speaking Speaking of literal war or a relationship or conflict within the band or whatever, family, something, but there's a struggle or something that needs to be resolved in each one of these songs. And so I've, for better or worse, looked at a lot of hip stuff from that point forward, whatever year it was, as is Gord talking about literal war here. And that's just where I picked up on. Was he a history-type major? Did he have family that maybe participated in the war? There is a short poem in the book that is about his grandfather serving in World War II.Track 3:[1:18:56] Yeah, I could see that. Both my grandparents served in World War II, and I was a history major, and so I can see where that tie comes from.Track 3:[1:19:08] I hope we can move past the war stuff soon. Thanks justin yeah anything else from you craig well yeah i know i have nothing to add other than i love the little bait like bass kind of jazz odyssey thing that steven drake goes off on at the end if you if you notice the last like five seconds he just does this little improvised producer as well noodle it's pretty right bass player yes yes yeah engineering okay engineer anyways yeah Yeah, engineer. Well, that's what we got for you for this first episode. We're going to take a break and recuperate and recalibrate and take some electrolytes and we'll be back. Now, 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

Welcome to Discovering Downie. I'll be your host, jD as we listen in on the experiences and analysis from three huge fans of The Hip who have a blind spot for Gord's solo works. Meet Craig, Justin, and Kirk as they part in this epic 11-part podcast.We kick the show off by starting at the start with Coke Machine Glow part 1.Transcript:Track 2:[1:26] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy.Track 3:[1:34] Hey, it's JD here, and I'm joined by my pals Craig, Justin, and Kirk from Chino. While our love for the hip unites us, Gord's solo ventures remain uncharted territory for our trio.Track 3:[1:47] Hence, I've gathered this team of enthusiasts to delve into the musical repertoire of the enigmatic frontman of the tragically hip, the late gourd downey so come along with us on this exploration as we navigate through his albums one by one in chronological order embarking on our quest of discovering downey we've assembled quite the motley crew here to talk uh to talk about gourd's oeuvre and we're excited to do that we're going to do this all summer long so buckle up fellas how are you doing not too bad living the a dream amazing excited excited to go on this jaunt with you you gents for sure yeah it should be pretty fun i agree i agree completely i i am i am from a hip starved uh area of the world which you know i guess most of the u.s unfortunately was hip starved for a long time but specifically down here uh in the la market i got to see some amazing shows in really small places but like to, to like find a hip album in a record store or, you know, like anything that comes close to hip preference for me, I just like, I get all giddy. So when we, you know, we connected to talk with other hip fans, um, was pretty exciting, but then just to learn more about Gord, um, yeah, this is, this is going to be quite the adventure, my friends, quite the adventure.Track 3:[3:17] Yeah, I think so. What do you think, Craig?Track 3:[3:20] Yeah, I've been sitting in this room, my office slash music room, with a couple of unopened Gord CDs that I have collected over the years and just looking for the right moment, I guess. And along came that moment, and thanks to you, JD, to make this happen and to bring me on board. Ah, but I am but one hand on the rudder. The other three hands you see belong to Kirk, Justin, and Craig. Egg so there's that justin tell us about your experience with the hip so uh the u.s is hip starved for the most part but uh growing up in vermont we are just quebec junior and uh we get a lot of uh tv and radio stations uh down here in the greater burlington area so i i grew up with hip on the radio and um i didn't really know anything about him but in high school i discovered phantom power on my own.Track 3:[4:19] And, uh, that was it. I've been hopelessly blissfully lost ever since. And, um, my dad was kind of a hip fan, but you know, I think he was from like the old, you know, the, the hip crowd that they were trying to get rid of in the nineties, you know? And, uh, and so when I, when I came along, it was music at work and, you know, kind of the newer stuff that, that the old man probably wouldn't have liked too much, but, um, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I got to see three hip shows and I was at the show in Ottawa two nights before the finale, uh, which was really amazing. Um, I got to see him in a basketball gym in Burlington and I got to see him in a bar in Albany, New York. And, uh, I feel like I got the, a pretty good sample size. Uh, I love them. I love them. Yeah. How about you, Craig? You have a unique role in this trio as well with your Tragically Hip experience. Share some of that with us.Track 3:[5:19] Um, yeah, I've, I've been a big hip fan way back going to probably grade eight when I, when I first heard, I think New Orleans on the radio and, uh, you know, I liked it and I, um, I didn't buy the album right away. I was into heavier stuff at the time. I was a big GNR fan and I was kind of a metal guy. And, uh, then I heard 38 years old and funnily enough, I thought it was, um, uh, Tracy Chapman at first, when I first heard the voice, the vibrato and, you know, it's just on faintly in the background. And then I kind of turned it up and this is a good tune. And then, you know, they, they announced it was the hip. And so I went out and got the CD. I think I maybe ordered on Columbia house through my, uh, through my parents or, you know, five CDs for, for a penny or whatever. And, uh, 12 here in the U S yeah.Track 3:[6:09] And yeah, I've been a huge hip fan ever since. And, and, um, yeah, I've been to, I think maybe 15, 16 concerts and, um, yeah, about a year ago, year and a half ago, I started playing in a hip tribute and it's just been a blast to sharing the music with, you know, the fans who don't get to see them anymore. And, you know, I wish I could, I wish they were still around and I could quit my job as a hip tribute guitar player, but unfortunately they're not playing anymore. I wonder if there's a Tracy Chapman angle, I wonder if we can get Luke Combs to cover some hip stuff and get them on the mainstream radio. you. It's a great idea. It's actually not. I don't think I want to hear that. No, but definitely giving them the credit they deserve. And man, Craig, like I seriously got goosebumps when you'd mentioned Tracy Chapman, like, you know, if you guys saw the Grammys, you know, that was performed and Tracy just sounded amazing. And, uh, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. And, and yeah, I think you hit that spot on that. I haven't looked it up, But I'm guessing if you look up the release date of Fast Car and up to here, I'm going to guess they're within a year. Yeah, that's probably very true.Track 3:[7:27] So let's start at the start here with Coke Machine Glow. Kirk, any nuggets that you gleaned from production notes, anything like that, that you gathered on your fact-finding mission? Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I, I actually did because I'm a musician as well and, and, and do appreciate, uh, what goes into making an album. Um, uh, there, there was some pretty good information out there and, you know, especially knowing the hips catalog and, you know, they've had, they've had some different experiences from different producers and engineers and, and different recording experiences. And, um, so, you know, of course you're going, well, I'm going to get a lot of that. And, and then boom, you get hit right upside the head with, you know, But in the research that I did, I mean, they basically just, you know, had a couple, I think they had a kick mic and an overhead mic and just kind of a room mic. They played everything acoustic because they wanted to hear Gord's vocals.Track 3:[8:30] They were in, I believe, in the studio that is no longer there. It was like a loft in Toronto that was owned by a couple of musicians that were a part of, you know, the band that was there and part of the recording team. Um and obviously getting all their you know getting all their schedules together and and you know various musicians from from various different bands within the area and uh and they just wanted this to be uh just kind of that raw essence right that it you know for us as hit fans at least for me like that's where i fell in love is like whether you listen to the music or see them live, like the energy that comes out of every song is, is palpable on so many different levels. And, and, you know, I think those that, that have had the experience to enjoy their music and especially live, like there's such an energy to it and whether it's, uh.Track 3:[9:29] You know, whether it's one of their upbeat, you know, just rocking tunes or, or, you know, a simple acoustic there, they really know how to capture the emotion. And this album, Coke Machine Glow, I mean, yeah, wow. I mean, it was, again, it just felt like maybe one mic in the room and they just were circled around each other and they went for it. And one of the other notes that I heard that I thought was pretty surprising is they got a lot out of what was actually recorded and it sounded a lot bigger than what took place. I can get that. You could get a small little eight-inch speaker and, uh, put a mic on it and it could sound like you've got, you know, four Marshall, you know, full stacks grinding in front of you. So, you know, there's definitely some magic that can happen in the studio, but, um, uh, yeah, I, I think, uh, you know, I do a lot of stuff in theater and we always talk about how the set or the lights or the sound can become a character. And I think for me, the production elements of Coke Machine Glow became a part of the album.Track 3:[10:37] It had to be done that way, in my opinion, to be able to capture the energy that it did. Yeah it's very sparse sounding production wise like obviously there's songs and we'll get into them really rich and really lush and uh you know have a lot going on but predominantly this record like you said is pretty sparse craig i wonder what you learned um in your research about the album proper.Track 3:[11:09] Well, I went into this with a different approach where I purposely didn't look at any info for the first couple of weeks. And then I actually planned on recording this without having looked it up, but I decided I couldn't not. And the reason I had to look at the liner notes is because I was hearing all these voices that I recognized from Canadian bands. And what I was really thinking about was um what was can con and and the uh you know all the if you don't know the the story of can con basically it's the canadian content rules that um you know radio stations in canada have to play a certain amount of you know canadian written produced um music and the variety of musicians playing on this album we've got you know sky diggers we've got eric's trip we've got the hip We've got Dinner Is Ruined, who wasn't a band I had heard of out West, but looked them up today and quite interesting. And just this all-star cast of musicians from all these really cool indie bands. And that's what really struck me. Yeah, I couldn't put it better. An all-star group. And I should have mentioned, I guess, The Odds, of course, with Stephen Drake. He was so heavily involved with engineering and playing bass on it. And, and, uh, that was the voice that actually I was referencing. And I'll talk about that on the track when it comes up. Oh, cool. Okay.Track 3:[12:36] Justin, I'm wondering for you what the title means to you. What does it evoke? Um, I kind of, my brain goes to the golden rim motor in right. And late at night in a hotel, just kind of looking out the window and there's that freaking coke machine that's probably buzzing and nothing's cold in it and there's that glow lighting up a couple of cars outside the hotel room um it seems like a pretty good time to write an album or a book of poetry yeah just in my my mind went the same place yeah the lofty pines motel the the golden rim motor in.Track 3:[13:19] Yeah. There's a couple other hotels mentioned on this record as well. There's the Phoenix. Um, I'm trying to think, is there another one? Hmm. There's a poem, uh, in the book, Minneapolis hotel room. Oh, wow. Yeah. So definitely a road record, huh? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And the other thing I think that, um, I didn't know going into this, that it was so closely connected to the phantom power album with a lot of songs that now with the re-release of phantom power we're we're seeing alternate versions of you know mystery and some of these other songs which is really really neat to discover at the same time yeah i agree with that i i delved pretty deeply into the the poetry book and it was amazing how many references to hip songs especially of that era um but even dating back to the early nineties with some live shows and how long this material had incubated. I bought, I don't know which album, but it came with a recording of a concert in 94. And there are several references that made their way into the poetry or into the lyrics of some of the songs.Track 3:[14:31] It's not on the music album, but it's in the, I think it's the first poem in the book was was bumblebee what is now bumblebee as the bonus track from phantom power right um the usa today bit was in this concert in 94 and it took you know years for that to come out and and there are other references from that show that are that are in coke machine globe of the album and the book it's it's really interesting how long it took for all this stuff to, surface. You have to imagine though, that as, as a writer, you know, you're going to go into recording an album and, and, you know, Gord being primary, you know, after a time writer, you can end up with some stuff that just doesn't make it. And, you know, it's hard to let go of stuff. You know, if you've, if you've done any type of creation, I don't care if it's video creation or writing or poetry or songs or whatever, like it's hard to just let that stuff go. Cause it's, It's whether you're telling a story about yourself or something you experienced or, you know, you want to get it out there, especially if you're a creative person. So I imagine Gord had, you know, and you read all the time and you hear on the interviews and he carries around a notebook and is basically writing every day.Track 3:[15:47] So uh but it is it is amazing and especially being a hip fan to see you know i noticed that as well when i was listening to some of the bonus stuff like hey wait that's a hit song why is that on here yeah you know and then you got to go back and you got to find the album that it's on because i was like justin i i wasn't introduced until the hip you know until i think 2000 uh with a canadian friend that i worked with and then i actually took a trip up to vancouver and it was like there's hip everywhere and i was like this is what's this all about how come i don't know about these you know this this band so yeah you know that i i really kind of came into play during that time and and beyond so of course i love the stuff that that came before it but for me there's something about being a part of what gets released when you're you know i'm i'm buying the albums or cds as they're coming out and then i'm seeing the tour so you know of course that heavy content with with, with those particular albums. So yeah, I have to imagine a lot of that, uh, came back in, into this particular one. And I mean, how long was the band together before this came out? 12 years, something. Almost, almost 15 or 20, maybe.Track 3:[16:57] Yeah, well, yeah, from the very beginning, but since the recording stuff started, so, you know. 87, the first one came out in 87. Yeah. This, to me, it felt like a release valve for everything that Gord couldn't or wouldn't put on Hips. It wasn't polished, you know what I mean?Track 3:[17:18] And he had all, I mean, there's a hundred pages of poetry and all these songs that are, you know, objectively strange.Track 3:[17:27] Um, and I, I think it just stuff that he knew wouldn't fly on a hip album that he had carried with him for years. And like I said, that show in 94 that he was work workshopping this stuff and it didn't make the cut with the band. So let's use it up now. Now, I'm very curious, as we get into the songs, to hear what you guys are thinking about some of these songs in their objective strangeness, as you put it, Justin. Or, you know, are some of them hip-adjacent? Are there any on here that you think, you know, the band could have put together? Obviously, other than the last track, which they did, and we can compare and contrast that when we get there. But are we ready to go into this record track by track? Let's do it. All right, we start with Star Painters. Who wants to kick this one off?Track 3:[18:29] Well, I'll take it. Yeah, Star Painters to me was like a palate cleanser. This was like Gord saying, this is not a hip album. And right off the bat, it's, it's a little strange. Uh, you got the accordion and, um, you know, the almost like a spoken word type thing. And yeah, it's just very obviously not the hip. So the first line, um, is, uh, ended up in music at work with freak turbulence. The myth is neither here nor there. So there are definitely, you know, there's some continuity there. And I think those two albums came out the same year. Didn't they? 2000. Coke Machine Glow was 2001 Okay well But Very close Very close They were likely recorded Right around the same time Yeah Yeah.Track 3:[19:19] There are themes that do persist for sure. But yes, this is not a hip song to be clear. I agree. And Craig, yeah, I think you hit it right on the head. You know, Gord was like, hey, come along for the ride, but this is going to be something different.Track 3:[19:40] And I really appreciate it. I mean, and I've heard that this song actually turned people away, right? Right. Like they didn't want to give it any more of a listen because of it. And, you know, I can say, yeah, I can say that, you know, for me again, I'm hip starved. So I'm actually really surprised at myself that I didn't dive in at the time and that that it really took this project to, you know, get me to start paying attention. Attention and at first it was difficult you know obviously this song but the entire album was like you're like you wanted a little more hip but then you had to understand you know what he needed to get out this song honestly for me is is one of my favorites off of the album and i'll tell you why it's the line the star painters are taking over now the scaffolding is in place your anesthesiologist tonight is washing up and on her way like i heard that and i just stopped and smoking your joint.Track 3:[20:50] Packing it up yeah getting the next one it it it it's it's it's gordon it's it's it's the, this is this song this album is not going to be for the faint of heart and uh and you know strap in like you said buckle up so i i had never heard anything by the dinner is ruined but you know trying to dive into to see what these guys are about the avant-garde and very strange ambient sounds and there's uh accordion and all kinds of weird stuff and that's very much dinner is ruined i i did listen to them um during this process and with that in mind on On the rest of the album, they feel pretty restrained compared to what they would normally have written or put out. But I think on this first one, they're just kind of like, to hell with this. We're going to do what we're doing. Yeah, sequencing is so important. You know, when you make a record, there's no accident that this song is first, like Greg said. You know, that sort of palate cleanser, introducing what the concept of this record is going to be. And you're right like if you came here expecting fully completely part two you know you're barking up the wrong fucking tree so there's that yeah vancouver divorce.Track 3:[26:08] Yeah, definitely a departure from the first track from Star Painters, right? This is a, I mean, almost written for radio hit. It's so easy to listen to and it's so addicting. The thing that really struck me, and it took me a couple of listens to hear it, but the bass is just one note over and over like a heartbeat, just a rhythm. And it's just the same note for 20, 25 seconds. And then, you know, it, it moves on from there, but, um, it was really, it was lovely. Um, but I, uh, one of the things that, that started to strike me and I don't know if it was Vancouver divorce or, or something else, but I think there's two schools of thought about this album. And again, this is a common theme with Gord Downie is it's either a little bit about Adolf Hitler or it's really a lot a bit about Adolf Hitler.Track 3:[27:13] There are so many ties to World War II throughout this album and the book and everything that Gord kind of does. Um, and I, I, I tried not to think about that going into all this, but it does, it does kind of get there, um, pretty quickly. I think, I don't know. I don't know if Vancouver has anything to do with the song or it's just, it fits well, you know, like the way that he explained writing Bob Cajun, it just, it rhymes. Right that's the town we're using you know i know in one of the live clips i saw before this song he said something about you know if if this couple can't make it in in paradise which in this case paradise is vancouver um debatable debatable maybe but um he um yeah then then i guess they can't make it anywhere yeah and i i didn't get any world war ii from it but i i didn't dive into lyrics quite as heavily i'm more of a music guy the lyrics are the last thing i digest when i listen to music so it takes me multiple listens um i don't typically read lyrics i like them to sort of hit me you know over the years um yeah did you guys get the uh the hortons reference.Track 3:[28:27] That one made me chuckle so the thing that i that i picked up on the hortons thing is he says sitting here at the hortons so you know this is important nobody sits at a tim hortons well they used to it used to be it used to be like a bar yeah oh yeah and it had lots of tables and chairs Yeah. And that's, that's far different from our experience with, with any Hortons chain down here. Yeah. Well, the thing that I think is interesting is that syllabically he could have said Tim Hortons, but instead he says the Hortons. The Hortons. I wonder if that's like to avoid the.Track 3:[28:57] Commercialism of saying Tim Hortons or like, it's just an interesting choice when it's the same number of syllables. Yeah. And I also think just, um, a lot of times Gord will choose a word that is almost unrhymable on purpose. And I think this is one of those cases Hortons. So it must be important and important. Yeah. It's, it's just, I love that. I love that. How about you, Kirk?Track 3:[29:21] What do you think? From a music standpoint? Cause like Craig, I, I, I do, do i i enjoy both and and and i'll end up reading lyrics as i go and and in this particular thing it was hard not to read uh a lyrics just to understand the connection as you're listening but this is one of those songs as well when when you think about it here you know how they recorded like holy crap how did they get that big of a sound out of what you you know at least in the the research that i did was very minimalist type of recording you know this kind of a squarish box and and and not really acoustically treated and you know in in you know you know in in the heart of toronto and all kinds of other stuff going on like i heard as well like they were being evicted and so they only had a certain time schedule to be able to get this recorded and then you hear the story about how like they're having a party downstairs and they're throwing couches around and gourd shows up and in his cowboy hat and goes uh hey would you guys mind you know being quiet for a little bit i'm i've tried to record i just can't imagine you're in that room and gourd down he walks in and says hey i'm recording tracks upstairs i think he was with kevin hearn from uh.Track 3:[30:36] You know uh bare naked ladies and and and uh and then they go back up and they record but just the fullness of this, this album. Um, and to me, I, you know, that's the thing I wanted to mention. Uh, uh, I believe it was this tune when you hear the keys, I don't know that Kevin got a credit on it, but I know he recorded a couple of tunes here. And so for me, I'm actually a pretty big BNL fan and I've seen them 20 times, something like that. But Kevin Hearns keys was very kind of prevalent. Um, and even if it wasn't him, you could, you could definitely hear the influence of it. So the powerfulness of this song is, is, is palpable for sure. Yeah. Yeah, looking it up, I think it was, sorry, it was, yeah, Jose Contreras played the organ on this tune. So he's the leader of By Divine Right, which is another very cool Canadian band that I remember listening to. I had their first album. But yeah, Kevin Hearn is definitely all over this album. Them yeah i gotta say as well from a lyrics perspective my money there's a phrase in this song that belongs on the podium along with you know it could have been the willow nelson could have been the wine you know taking advice from a prost or taking a compliment from a prostitute the line which by the way i play that song every night for my daughter at bedtime and my wife still Still haven't caught on yet.Track 3:[32:00] That's a good line. What the hell is this? You said it's art. Just fucking mirror it. Mirror. Yeah. Like you hang up your hat when you write a line like that. You just, you're done for the day. Put your briefcase together and you walk out the door, punch out, you know, that's a fucking great lyric. So I think, I think if, if I may, the, the person being divorced is an artist in this story. Right. right? And there are many references to art. There's the line, when the stampede's an optical course, when ancient train has hit old transient horse. And ancient train and old transient horse were capitalized. And I said, what the hell is that? So I deep dove that. And it is in reference to horse and train, which is a Canadian painting, which is based on a poem written by a South African anti-apartheid poet with the line and against a regiment. I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armored train, which is just spectacular imagery.Track 3:[33:03] But again, tying in the art theme to the first line is such classic Gord Downie writing. Jesus Christ. Yeah. You've just blown my mind. Blown my mind. Like for real. This is track two. So get me. Yeah. Yeah. And I have to say too, the noise guitar at the end by I'm assuming Dale Morningstar is just amazing. I have a thing for loud, screechy feedback guitars. It just puts me in this state of zen for some reason. Like if you know the song Drown by Smashing Pumpkins, there's like four minutes of feedback at the end. And to me, that is so relaxing.Track 3:[33:45] I have that same thing written down, Craig. I have excellent screeching guitar going into and continuing through the third verse and out. One of the other things I have written down, though, I just want to share with you guys quickly. This is just sort of funny. When he says he's sitting at the Tim Hortons, or he's sitting at the Hortons, I know that's not true because on two occasions, I was walking down the Danforth and saw him sitting in the front bench of Timothy's Coffee, coffee, which is like a, like a Starbucks adjacent brand that doesn't exist anymore, but it used to. And it was minutes from his house. I didn't know where his house was, nor did I stalk him, but I knew it was in the area, like minutes away. And he would just sit there and he was sitting there with a, with a fucking notebook the one time and another time he was on a Mac book. But to me, it was, you know, one of those cool moments that I was like, I live in the same neighborhood. It's Gord Downie. This is so cool.Track 3:[34:41] Man, I wish that the Tim Hortons here in the States had a place to sit because mostly you just find them at a rest stop on the highway or you go in and you order a donut and you leave kind of establishment. No Hortons down here in California. I have to travel. Thankfully, I get to travel a lot for work. And if I see a Hortons, it's like, it's immediate picture and text to my family because we did a road trip and, you know, we went through Detroit and we went through Niagara and went through Toronto. And so my family fell in love with Tim Hortons. So is there a sponsor, right? JD? Oh yeah. The big sponsor. I'm eating Timbits right now.Track 3:[35:22] Mmm. Delicious Timbits. Thanks Tim Hortons. Um next up is uh sf song and to me this is like observational songwriting 101 to me i can just picture him under the covers of his hotel room with a pillow over his head trying to drown out the sound of this chambermaid tap tap tapping and knock knock knocking on the door it sounds as though and then him walking through the lobby and out into the front area of the phoenix hotel and he just describes everything he sees now i'm sure there's more to it than that but to me that's just beautiful.Track 3:[36:03] Yeah. Yeah. For me, one of my first shows was actually in San Francisco at the Fillmore West. And, um, you know, there's been some, you know, or so I've, so I've researched, there's been some pretty classic, uh, um, shows that have happened there. And, you know, I, I had a pretty, pretty amazing experience as well. I was with, with the Canadian friend that had, um, you know, introduced me to them and, and, uh, uh, but you, when I heard that song at first, I just immediately thought, you know, I'm like, hmm, I wonder if he was writing the song when he was there, when I saw him in 2000. And, uh, you know, whether he is or not, that's what I'm going to go, go to, go to bed with and stick to. I also noticed and really appreciated, um, uh, the breathing in the beginning of the song. Um, and then the reference towards the end, uh, about it, uh, uh, I miss my lung, Bob.Track 3:[37:04] That we talked about and, and, and, and then remembering the ads, remembering the ads that were going around at the time on the sides of buses and on, um, on, on billboards and, uh, you know, growing up in, in, in Southern California and, and, uh, seeing smoking ads. And then all of a sudden smoking ads start going away. And then you see the ad of, I miss my lung, Bob, or Bob, I miss my lung. I like to paraphrase. Yeah. I, uh, that's one of the lyrics I had to look up. I had no clue that was an actual thing. So that was pretty neat to, to come across those posters. I remember them from when I was a kid, of course, I'm East Coast, so it's not like they were around here, but I do remember seeing it on the news or something like that, the campaign.Track 3:[37:52] The other thing that struck me was Chambermaid and the references to Chambermaid, which are a continuation of Phantom Power, right? With vapor trails and escape as a hand. Right. Right. I also picked up on the click, click, click. You mentioned J.D. Off the top and those sounds. And he later on experimented with those types of things like drip, drip, drip and We Want to Be It and the chick, chick, chick of the matches in Seven Matches.Track 3:[38:24] Oh, wow. Yeah, it's just a little thing I picked up on. And also, I have a note here about just the low register, like just him singing in that beautiful low voice. And he, on this album, covers so many different subtleties in the way he uses his voice. Like a song like Coming Up Canada Geese, all of a sudden he's just a totally different singer, singing very um yeah almost like an indie indie rock singer yeah totally get that um you know also i think there's many examples of him singing in alter egos on on this record really expanding his repertoire you know as it were right like we start to hear him singing like this on the post phantom power records uh on occasion and um it's not startling because we're sort of used to it should we move on to trick rider only if you want me to cry right like this okay so this song says it's it's dedicated to c it's i believe it's his daughter I don't know. On the album that comes along with the new release, his daughter, I'm blanking on the name, starts with a C, reads this poem.Track 3:[39:53] So I'm guessing she was the girl on the horse.Track 3:[39:56] So I can't remember the name, Claire maybe or Chloe or I forget. Makes complete sense.Track 3:[40:04] I don't know this, so I'll ask it. How many kids does Gord have and are they spread out in age quite a bit? I don't know the second part of the question, but I know he's got four. There's Lou and Willow, who both played on his former partner's record, played keyboard and drums, respectively. And then there's Willow, who is an artist, like painter and jewelry artist, and she's very talented. She did the away as mind cover as well I did know that I think I think I asked that question because at the end you know of Gordon's life he did that interview with Peter Mansbridge, and talked about his son and got very emotional and his son was young he referenced his age and said he was quite young and this was 2016 or 17 whenever the interview was, and which would have been 15 years after this album came out.Track 3:[41:03] So, that's where my head went with how many, how old, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. I was going to make mention when I was doing a little bit of research, there was a, uh, uh, you know, a fan video, uh, when, when I guess they toured this album and I believe they were actually in, uh, it might've been in Vancouver when they're playing it, but he was, you know, having an exchange with, with someone in the audience about, you know, uh, your nightlights on going to bed. And uh i think the fan might have been thinking that the song was about something else and and he referenced that right back to her very quickly in kind of a snide mark saying i don't think it means what you think it means about going to bed and and uh that stuck out to me it was you know one that he had no problems interacting with the fan and and kind of correcting them on on their interpretation uh of the song but it the song is is is beautiful and in so many different ways and you know all of us being fathers and and and having you know those experiences and and then obviously having the emotional tie-in with with gordon and what he's done with the band you know in the tragically hip and and and then with his solo stuff and and uh it it's it's gorgeous it's beautiful whatever adjective you can come up with that that uh you know brings that feeling to you.Track 3:[42:31] As a father in those moments when you're just you can't even can't even process i did this i had a hand in this and this human is is going to grow out into the world and And I'm a better human because of it. And to be able to, you know, put that, um, you know, in lyrics and in a song, uh, again, just adds to the, uh, adds to the amazement, uh, that that gentleman was able to give us.Track 3:[43:04] Yeah. And the vocal performance by both Gord and, uh, Julie Dwaran is, is so full that they have such control of their voices. Pitch perfect, emotional, just such a song. Her soft awe in the background puts this song over the top. It wouldn't be the song without her contribution to it. That's no disrespect to Gord, but the song isn't the same without Julie Dwaran. And I thought that my favorite father-daughter song was Thrown Off Glass from In Violet Light, But this one, my daughter is the one jumping off shit. She is trick riding 24 hours a day and I'm like, oh my God, kill me. Yeah. So I looked it up. It is Claire Downey who reads the poem on the new edition. So I'm guessing that's who C could be. Got to be.Track 3:[44:05] The song is way too personal for it not to be. is is julie did i understand that she's she did some stuff with the hip as well yeah, yeah she sang um in some live shows with them and i think was part of some tribute stuff at the end too i may be wrong um i know i know kate fenner was um on one tour as a backup music Music at work. But I feel like, I'm pretty sure I've read, yeah, that Julie was on, doing some backups on one of the albums. I could be wrong. Yeah, I remember that too. I feel like, maybe now for Plan A, possibly. That sounds right. I know, although I know... Oh, yeah. Oh, that's her name. Yeah.Track 3:[44:52] Also from Kingston. There's another woman who does now for planning the title track. Yeah, Sarah Harmer. She's the vocal on... Anyways, that's a different album, different band. Different podcast. Different podcast, yeah. Oh, and I have to... Last thing about Trick Rider for me is that slide guitar that just doesn't quite hit the note. I just love it. It's kind of that quarter tone or something. It reminds me of, if you know the Faith No More cover of Easy, right before the solo when Mike Patton goes up to the, ew, and almost like purposely is in between notes. I just think it's so neat. I was going to say both vocally and musically with a variety of instruments throughout several songs, obviously this one as well, is there's just that, it's not quite there, but it's also, it adds again to that character of the song. I heard something or read something about one of the musicians, I believe the guitar player that, that was part of this, like he hit a note and he, he would just beat the shit out of it until it became the note that was right for the song, whether it started off right or not, he, it, it was going to become that.Track 3:[46:03] And, and I love that thought or that prospect, right? We get so, we get so caught up in, Oh, everything's got to be perfect. I got to tune my guitar up exactly right. I've got to have the mic place perfectly. And I've got to have, you know this tonality and and sometimes it's just good to just just let it go and let that emotion come through more so than you know the technical note of itself yeah yeah there's no such thing as a wrong note if it's you know played with with with confidence and intention and yeah yeah so next we go to a song that i think could totally be a hip jam to me this song he's singing It's the first song on the record where he's singing in a tone in a register that we recognize.Track 3:[49:09] So Craig, you said it, um, this is punk rock and Gord loved punk rock, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, but it's old guy punk rock. Like it's, it's, this is guys who are not punk rockers anymore trying to, to do punk or at least the story, right.Track 3:[49:26] Um, within the song. And, and I'm not saying that about the musicians that played the song. I'm saying that about the story Gord tells here that, you know, they're, they're, they're buying weed from each other in a cornfield, right? In the dark you know um like i can picture my old man and his uncles or and his brothers my uncles just you know hiding from the cops at age 50 55 years old just feeling like be cool man shut up uh i love this song yeah great song i i gotta say i'll take the bullet guys here's my first criticism even though as much as i love um how they recorded it my goodness gracious i needed the drummer to use some sticks and not brushes like i needed to feel that those drums coming through in this song and and to make it punk rock like it was like they they you know hey let's find the jazz drummer to do the punk song um and not that it didn't serve it well and it's a in fact probably what i would have liked was that drum track with the brushes and another drum track on.Track 3:[50:35] Top of it with sticks and then also maybe adding the mics to get more of the tonality of the drums but again now that's just the music guy and me going i wanted to hear that i needed to hear that snap i needed to hear that crack i needed to hear the pop right sorry gonna use a uh a breakfast cereal reference but um i i i i wanted that for this song still love it it's It's funny because it opens on snare hits. Right.Track 3:[51:08] Yeah. But if I'm not mistaken and I'll, I'll completely eat my words, I believe they use brushes throughout Craig. Do you, did you go that deep or what did you think? I didn't, but I know for me, I definitely noticed that it, it, it felt like it should be heavier but i think that's part of what gave the song character was those heavy guitars that almost sounded like they were played at a low volume in a room jamming and i i thought it just gave it a unique character and and i have to say though my favorite part is actually at the end when when all of a sudden i actually picked up a guitar today just to see what was going on with this and and they go up from you know they're playing and you know you're one four five e e b and a and then um they go right up they just go up to that f and i know the first time i heard it it's just just so striking it just sounds so out of place and then after you've heard the song a couple times just so perfect such a such a great dissonance and.Track 3:[52:05] Really really um almost like a two you know 2000s indie rock feel almost like an arcade fire kind of three years before arcade fire was doing it kind of thing so wow it felt like a one take demo to me and they said fuck it it's good like run it i like that we'll do it live yeah me too do it we'll do it keep it but kirk yeah i think um it would be really interesting to see what the hip would have done with with that song like a fully polished yeah you know but but i felt the same about the next song chandler um you're listening to it again today in fact and again was like man with some different instrumentation you know change changing the tempo a bit on this is this is absolutely the uh potentially a hip song uh for me you know uh and uh yeah hard hard not to uh go into you know as he speaks about letting the opening the window inviting the vampires in and if i'm not mistaken this this song did pretty well was it a single.Track 3:[53:15] I don't think any of the solo stuff did particularly well. It was sort of under the radar, especially after this record came out. This record was highly anticipated, but I think early on the word got out that it wasn't hip, and so there were a lot of hip people that jumped up. A lot of people stayed on board, don't get me wrong. but um there was a good cohort that sort of veered away and it's interesting that the sum of the parts you know um the hip are it just goes to show you how magical they are as a as a fivesome because you take one component away you know and it's just not the same like gort sinclair's solo record is dynamite so are you know paul's three records they're really really good but they're not the hip yeah you know so i'm just and i think this is where i got it from i'm just you know looking looking up on spotify and if you go to gordonie this song has the most downloads of all the solo stuff oh okay so that that makes a lot of sense yeah i know there's a there's definitely a video for this yeah yeah but i i don't recall ever hearing.Track 3:[54:31] This song anything from this album on the radio i i had i did hear some later songs um but definitely not that you know that i heard so this is where hitler comes in big time um the.Track 3:[54:47] Hitler had a very odd sleeping pattern. He stayed up very late and would go to bed at like 6, 6.30 in the morning and then get up at noon and just spend his whole day working out maps and plans and this is where the advancement is and all this stuff. And there are so many, if you read between the lines references about the night of a thousand missteps, the loss that made him dogged, or it could have been the doggedness that caused the loss in the first place.Track 3:[55:18] And Chancellor, I mean, that was Hitler's position, you know? Wow. Marching armies in the night, smiling strangers riding by on bikes. That would be, you know, when the allies come into Paris or something, you know? Children's smoking, which there was a huge anti-smoking campaign in Germany during World War II, sloganeers. And he mentions in one of the first lines, invite the vampire in, open the windows before we go to bed to get the coldest air in the room, which is just before the sun comes up. And then at the end, talking about a few things that vampires don't like, all the things referenced between the vampire references are Hitler-ish things. So I don't know it that's that's where my head went and then um before you are wow i know that but but damn it i'm following gordon's path you know and he like i said he references justin you're taking us into dark places my friend and the word chancellor for me it was like hmm and then i started to kind of read into it and i was like yikes and by the way guys spoiler alert this won't be the last time i talk about hitler during this thing not that i love him let's put that out there but there are There are some real references to the war throughout this album. Yeah, that's really interesting.Track 3:[56:41] My mind went a completely different direction. I was thinking like a chancellor of a university. And again, I didn't read the lyrics. I didn't dig that deeply in. But it was funny because my daughter really likes this song. We kept playing in the car and I was explaining what a chancellor of a university was. And she said, oh, I thought it was like Chancellor Palpatine. Wow. and it turns out she was she was the right one yeah i guess she was she was closer than i was yeah wow look at that cross my read is so completely vastly different again my read is like bittersweet and romantic uh the chorus yeah i couldn't be a chancellor without you on my mind if i wasn't if i wasn't obsessed with you or thinking about you all the time time. Um, you know, who knows what I could have become. And on the, and in the video, isn't he riding around? He's on the swan boats. It's just, it does not make me. Swans. Yeah. Yeah. He does not make me, uh, feel like, like, uh, like he's referenced, referencing world war two, but that's fascinating. I can't wait to hear it again now.Track 3:[57:49] But at the end of that video, if you watch the full video at the very end, he's, it's revealed that he is the guy working the dock at the, at the swan boats and he takes off his coat and underneath it is a uniform that says guy. And he's the one taking the coins or the tokens or whatever for the people to ride the swan boats. So it's kind of like, uh.Track 3:[58:13] You know, when Hitler was a struggling artist before he became this global force and kind of took control, you know, he was romanticizing the idea of, of being chancellor of Germany. Wow yeah wow and i don't know wow reference to it or yes it's dark man because and again think of think of uh the song scared every hip show you go to everybody's everybody's slow dancing that's not a slow dance it's like we talked about in the other podcast it's like yeah that's the hips trick right or it's gorge yeah yeah 38 years old same thing long running same thing fiddler's green you know and and on and on and on these slow slow songs are are yeah miserable yeah and i have to say good yeah yeah yeah yeah and and the the vocal phrasing that the gourd uses on this just that, laid back where he just sort of hesitates on certain words i just just love it he's so unique that way. I think that's what separates him as a singer, is that phrasing.Track 3:[59:22] Oh, yeah. This is a really hard album to sing. And you guys are musicians and you play guitar and other instruments. I've always been a singer. And I cannot keep up with Gord on this album. I just can't. Like the chorus of this song, like, I'm discovering uses for you. But the way he throws uses for you together, it's like, it's almost like one overlaps the other. And it's like, that's impossible. And then on the more quaint side, I love that he rhymes pajamas by mispronouncing in a gourd-like way windows to rhyme with pajamas, right? Instead of windows. Oh, so great. By the way, that uses line, again, going back to Hitler's underlings, you know, doing experiments on twins and stuff like that. Like, this is, I think this is a dark one. I'm going to listen to it again tonight. And I can't wait to hear it. No.Track 3:[1:00:19] I hope I'm wrong. I think you're right. No, we know he likes the Second World War.Track 3:[1:00:26] And, you know, we've heard references to, you know, Nazis moving works of art or Russians moving works of art, you know, to stave off the Nazi army. And really quick, sorry, really quick shout out for the piano player. I'm guessing it was um hern but but man that piano is is really nice improvised piano solo yeah yeah it's a very sweet sounding song yeah bait and switch man yeah he got us the never ending present i was listening and and if you're a you know canadian of my age you knew right away who was singing backup so that was Stephen Drake because my mind went right to Wendy under the stars and um and you know right back to my you know my first car and being you know 16 years old and listening to the radio and and hearing the odds for the first time and and yeah just an unmistakable voice the harmonies are very distinct you know distinctly the odds and distinctly The one thing that I picked up was he mentioned his shoes were polished, which as we learned in the longtime running doc that he polished his shoes before every show.Track 3:[1:01:46] So I think he's talking about himself and it's kind of an introspective – I mean, he says I in every song, but I think this one might actually be about himself personally.Track 3:[1:02:00] I picture him standing on Broadview Avenue waiting for the streetcar. He says bus, but in my head it's a streetcar. And all the rest of the lyrics are the stuff that happens until the bus crashes the hill. Him dropping money inside the little money grabber on a bus. There's talk of that um but what i really what i really love about this song is how ahead of his time he is because this is like living in the present like being in the moment is so important and i've learned like through my mental wellness journey like how important it is to live in the moment and the idea that the moment can be never ending if you come about it with the right frame in my mind is so refreshing to hear. Amen. And of course they named the, um, uh, Michael Barclay wrote the book with using the title of the song.Track 3:[1:03:05] Sorry, I'm going to take a little detour off of this that I just have to bring up being, being the, uh, for the South American and someone that, uh, uh, you know, again, was always starving for hip. I've loved in this journey, discovering other Canadian bands. You guys were mentioning the odds. And, you know, I did the research a little bit on the dinner's ruined. And of course, you know, of the real statics from, you know, grace too. And we're all richer for having heard them. And, um, uh, I'm, I'm very excited, you know, during this to be able to take a dive into that music that I never got. Right. Cause I like Justin, you were lucky because you get a lot of that music, uh, in the Northeast.Track 3:[1:03:49] Um, no, no, no, we only get the hip and rush. Rush. There's no Canadian music except for the hip and Rush. I will say that. And Alanis, of course. but to do as a you know as a musician and and and being a big fan of many canadian bands you know rush is up there for me bare naked ladies is up there for me um obviously the tragic the hip is up there for me um but these other bands uh blue rodeo that has i think a little bit of a a um you know it did well here in the states um of course alanis and some of the others you know i want to I know more about the, uh, the ones that didn't get, uh, similar, similar stories to the tragically happened. And I'm really excited about taking that journey as well. And I love that, you know, that's one of the things that I've heard about in different, uh, uh, reading and, and interviews is Gord was such a proponent of getting, I mean, music out there, but, but specifically, obviously Canadian music and, and giving, you know, these, these not as well-known bands an opportunity.Track 3:[1:04:56] So, um, sorry, I just needed to take that little side journey there and, and, and share that with you guys. I'm with you. I'm with you a hundred percent. Just going off what you were saying, yeah, apparently Gord would actually stand side stage and watch a lot of these bands. Like he would just stay there for the whole set. And all these bands, you know, Eric's Trip and The Odds, they were all change of heart. They all played with the hip.Track 3:[1:05:23] And for me, it's been fun because I've been doing the same thing. I was listening to The Odds last night and I couldn't believe how many hit songs they had. You know they're a band i enjoyed but never really really got into i think i've seen them live a couple times but man they had their pop song they were yeah that's exactly it they were they're you know pop writing you know machines but yeah i'm excited i'm excited about the journey for sure and and especially getting connected with you guys and having the experience you know know, uh, um, uh, being from Canada and, and, and really experiencing that not only on the radio, but, but live as well, that, uh, that's going to be a great journey. Cause isn't it great when you go to see, you know, you go to see one of your favorite bands and the opener shows up, you never heard of them. And, and all of a sudden they become, you know, one of your favorites and you're, you're falling around and, you know, and then it's always hard if they do make it, you're kind of like, man, that was my band, but I liked it when they were small, you know, I want them to be big, but not that big. I, that's, I mean, I mentioned it with, with the hip, you know, like all my experiences and I got to see them, I don't know, seven, seven, eight times, something like that.Track 3:[1:06:36] Like the biggest venue I saw them in was, was probably 1200 people. And, um, you know, the Troubadour, I got to see them in and, and, and up in San Francisco, the Fillmore's, you know, it's, it's over a thousand, uh, might be closer to actually, I'm not sure. I'll have to look that up. But the thing that I loved about it is, you know, I'm a hockey guy. And I think I mentioned the story to, to you, JD, like we're close to the ducks and the Kings and, and most hockey teams are, you know, 50 plus percent, if not close to 70% Canadians. And so I'd go to a show, I'd be in Hollywood and I'd look over and be like, Oh, Hey, look, there's Luke Robitaille or, you know, Oh, there's Chris Pronger. There's, you know, Scott Niedermeyer, you know, I'm hanging it out and oh oh hey paul korea how's it going you like the hip too you know and um what an experience and then canadian actors as well i got to meet dan akroyd at at the house of blues hollywood and he introduced the hip on stage and then you know he's rat so uh you know for me it's so weird um when you talk of this band they were a club band to me you know i i've seen what they've done and where they've played. And so anyway, I I'm, I'm taking us off the, the album, but just wanted to share that with, with you gents. No, that's cool.Track 3:[1:08:04] So now we take a hard, right. And, um, we get the track, the soundscape, uh, nothing but heartache in your social life.Track 3:[1:11:14] Did you say a hard right or a hard Reich? Because again, the Hitler.Track 3:[1:11:20] I'm serious. So again, this goes back to the poetry and there's a poem called Toiletten in the book and it is about Hitler's, I'm not even inferring this, this is about Hitler's podium at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg and it now has signs pointing tourists to the toilet. Um, and the, uh, similarities between that poem and this song or spoken word, whatever, um, it's a hundred percent about that. And Gord even stumbles on a lyric that they, that they leave in the song, um, when the podium sprouting weeds and he stumbles on rendered ridiculous by the time. So the podium is this massive concrete structure that when you see film of Hitler speaking to 150,000, 200,000 Germans during wartime, that's where this is. But it's still there, and it's sprouting weeds, and the podium and its purpose have been rendered ridiculous by the times. When are you thinking of disappearing? I mean, when are you falling off the map when the unknown that you're fearing is in the clearing? That's totally about surrendering in the war and the allied forces moving across the field to wipe out the Nazis.Track 3:[1:12:46] When you're getting king-size satisfaction in the turnstiles of the night from all the shaky pill transactions, if that's not Jewish prisoners going to a concentration camp running down the train tracks in the middle of the night. I don't know what it is. It's, again, a very dark thing, and I think it leads to Hitler's suicide. That's when are you thinking of disappearing? Yeah.Track 3:[1:13:16] And it is interesting to note that the asterisk that comes with the title in the lyrics, it says Dale Morningstar provided echoing screams at the end of the song. It doesn't just say backing vocals or call and answer. It's echoing screams. I was wondering who was calling back and forth with them. They kind of sound like, even though the topic sounds quite serious, they're having some fun with it. At the end kind of yelling back and forth with each other and um and also of note um adam agoyan the filmmaker plays plays uh the classical guitar on this track and and one other track and so he's uh i think i read that that maybe this song was sort of based off some some things he brought in, came into the studio one day and they they sort of riffed off what he was doing and put this sort of spoken word. I also got, I don't know if you guys got this, but I almost got like an M&M vibe, like just like attitude wise. And of course I believe this would have been before M&M anyways, but, but just that, that sort of attitude and way he was rattling off these lines.Track 3:[1:14:29] Yeah, I get it. Absolutely. So the other me, you know, I was trying to get my, my head out of World War II with this, and it was easy to see in 2024 that Gord predicted the future of social media, right? This is before Facebook and MySpace and all this stuff, but this is 100% in line with everybody's mental health problems stemming from not having enough likes on their posts, right? This could absolutely be interpreted 20 plus years later in that way, if you were to look at it from that angle. Yeah, I...Track 3:[1:15:13] Obviously still like absorbing everything in the referencing that you're speaking of, uh, Hitler and world war two and, and how, you know, JD and Craig were like, didn't necessarily get that right away. I, I definitely, you know, heard the references. I, I knew of the references from some of the hip tunes. Um and uh and then just seeing this whole journey that he's taking with just coming out there with a solo album in the first place and then you hear about how um and again it's it's you know i don't know the exact i haven't spoken with the other members but some of the solo stuff really caused a bit of a rift within the band and then if you start thinking about the product of the hip you You know, this is where a big portion of their fan base starts turning away.Track 3:[1:16:04] And I wonder if that tension came through in some of the music. For me and you, Justin, we discovered them during this time. And like most bands, you don't become close to them. And, you know, I'll take a few exceptions. You know, Led Zeppelin. I wasn't there when the albums came out. But the band meant a lot to me later in life. But nothing like, I'll give an example of other bands, Rush and Barenaked Ladies. I went to those shows when those albums came out, same thing with The Hip, as it relates to 2000 and beyond. And so my reference point is there. Um, and then Gord goes off and decides to, to do this solo work. And, um, and not only does he does the solo work, but he starts taking that poetry side in the book that comes out along with it. He starts throwing in spoken word and we could spend a lot of time with the discussion about poetry versus spoken word versus lyrics versus, um, uh, you know, the, the, the written prose and, and, and where it all comes together and the different attitudes towards it. Um, but I, I'm, I'm honestly kind of shaking inside just thinking about the, the ability that, that Gord has to take a historical perspective.Track 3:[1:17:23] Area and put it into a spoken word and or song. But then in the same breath, depending on how you come at it, you get something completely different. If you don't know those references specifically, you're going to find something from a meaningful standpoint. So sorry. I mean, you really got me goosebumps in there, Justin. Well, I think that if I had never read lyrics from the hip, I would never have approached it from this angle.Track 3:[1:17:51] But it's kind of hard to not look at some of that stuff. He did an interview in the early 90s with some TV, whatever, and they said, what are your songs about? And he said, all of our songs are about war. And I remember seeing that on YouTube about 10 or a dozen years ago and thinking, oh, okay. Now, whether he was speaking Speaking of literal war or a relationship or conflict within the band or whatever, family, something, but there's a struggle or something that needs to be resolved in each one of these songs. And so I've, for better or worse, looked at a lot of hip stuff from that point forward, whatever year it was, as is Gord talking about literal war here. And that's just where I picked up on. Was he a history-type major? Did he have family that maybe participated in the war? There is a short poem in the book that is about his grandfather serving in World War II.Track 3:[1:18:56] Yeah, I could see that. Both my grandparents served in World War II, and I was a history major, and so I can see where that tie comes from.Track 3:[1:19:08] I hope we can move past the war stuff soon. Thanks justin yeah anything else from you craig well yeah i know i have nothing to add other than i love the little bait like bass kind of jazz odyssey thing that steven drake goes off on at the end if you if you notice the last like five seconds he just does this little improvised producer as well noodle it's pretty right bass player yes yes yeah engineering okay engineer anyways yeah Yeah, engineer. Well, that's what we got for you for this first episode. We're going to take a break and recuperate and recalibrate and take some electrolytes and we'll be back. Now, pick up your shit.

May 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Andy Kim's “Rock Me Gently,” a song absolutely nobody wanted to sign, produce, or play on the radio in the beginning, but here we are, being in top-rated shows, millions of spins around the world, and no stopping all these years later. The record was a massive hit in 1974, going all the way to Number 1 in the U.S. and Number 2 in the U.K. as part of its staggering four-month run on the charts. Even if you weren't alive back then to experience the song's inexorable pop pull, you've probably heard it since, on shows like Ray Donovan and Sex Education or commercials for the Jeep Liberty. And that's not even mentioning the 1989 cover by country artist Michelle Wright, nor the sample of “Rock Me Gently” that showed up in Mint Royale's “Take It Easy” 10 years later. Given its enduring appeal, one can easily forget that, at the time of “Rock Me Gently's” original release, Kim was already considered washed up in the music business. He was no longer the kid who had driven from his native Montreal to New York on a wing and a prayer to find work at the famous Brill building. The success that had followed included co-writing and singing on the Number 1 song of 1969, “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies, and shifting more than 1.5 million copies of his own take on the Phil Spector/Ronettes classic “Baby I Love You” the very same year. But by 1974, nobody wanted to know. Kim had to release “Rock Me Gently” on his own label, after turndowns from absolutely every producer and established record company he approached. In fact, it was a tough go at radio at first, but the writer who became his own producer of the song never believed in the word ‘no' to mean anything but another opportunity to create his own destiny. A variety of forces—including ever-shifting cultural currents and the death of his father—ensured that his career continued to have more than its share of ups and downs. And truth be told, it's never been in his nature to prioritize the spotlight of personal glory over the work anyway. But when you've touched so many people with your songs—your song in particular, the one with your name on it, that you put so much on the line to record and release—your fans won't let you fade into obscurity. At age 77, Kim finds himself in the enviable position of being hailed as an elder statesman of pop while enjoying a newfound relevance to contemporary audiences. “I Forgot To Mention,” his 2004 collaboration with one of those aforementioned fans, Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies, got him named the Best Solo Indie Artist of the Year during Canadian Music Week. That paved the way for “comeback albums” like 2010's Happen Again and 2015's It's Decided, the latter of which put Kim on the Arts & Crafts label with hip latter-day artists like Feist, Chilly Gonzales, The Stills and Stars, thanks to Kevin Drew, founder of Arts & Crafts, showcasing his admiration for the iconic artist's timeless music. This collaboration brings together two generations of Canadian music talent, bridging the gap between past and present in the indie music scene. Drew's decision reflects not only his business acumen but also his deep appreciation for Kim's enduring musical legacy. And every year, his Andy Kim Christmas Show raises big money – over $2.5 million so far - for Toronto charities, thanks in part to support from a roster of talents that's included Broken Social Scene, Metric, Maestro Fresh Wes, Sarah Harmer, Sam Roberts, Lights, Rush's Alex Lifeson, Finger Eleven and Ron Sexsmith. Kim's name now hangs in a veritable mansion's worth of hallowed halls, including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Billboard's Hit Parade Hall of Fame. He also has his own spot of Canada's Walk of Fame. And last year, he received the ultimate honor by being made an officer of the Order of Canada, for his irreplaceable contributions to the cultural landscape of his country. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/east-coast-dna/message

For episode 6 of Steel, we travel to Toronto to meet Christine Bougie. Christine is a guitarist and lap steel player who has shared the stage and studio with folks like Bahamas, Sarah Harmer, Amy Milan, the Queer Songbook Orchestra and Jeremy Dutcher. Christine just released 'Soft Start,' an album of gorgeous ambient music.  In our chat, Christine breaks down her musical journey, from learning to record as a teenager with the two cassette records, to how a few choice words from Bill Frisell inspired her to record her own music, how the lap steel became part of her life and how she used the steel to create lush textures on her ambient album. To learn more about Christine and find her music, check out the following links: - https://www.christinebougie.ca/ - https://christinebougie.bandcamp.com/ - https://www.instagram.com/christinebougie/?hl=en - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1SZin6f4Z3SLnRWp7Bhv4r?si=ab46bc4dc9934f05 - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvvtMAAyfWue8AScjx7r6kWBHED7GDDHL Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine here:  https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

Alex Gamble, a seasoned professional in the realm of audio production, has built a distinguished career as a versatile force, excelling as a Mixing Engineer, Dolby Atmos Mixer, Recording Engineer, and Producer. Guided by a commitment to dismantling technical barriers, Gamble's focus lies in creating atmospheres that empower artists to step beyond their comfort zones and actively participate in the production process. Beginning their journey at Union Sound Company, Gamble's career highlights include significant contributions to the award-winning "Antisocialites" by Alvvays, and collaborations with notable artists such as Fucked Up, Broken Social Scene, Arkells, Sarah Harmer, Tanika Charles, and Bruce Cockburn, spanning across labels like Universal Music Canada, Arts & Crafts, Sub Pop, Six Shooter, Royal Mountain, and Bonsound. Gamble's passion for challenging the status quo and fostering creativity has resulted in a rich tapestry of critically acclaimed recordings. Their relentless dedication to breaking down technical barriers and creating a conducive environment for artistic expression positions Alex Gamble as a driving force in the ever-evolving landscape of audio production. With an extensive portfolio of award-winning works and a commitment to pushing artistic boundaries, Gamble continues to shape the sonic landscapes of the industry. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: Taking the leap from a comfy day job to pursue music Making the most out of audio college Finding your own process The secret to capturing great vocals The important conversations you need to have with artists before starting a project Getting clear on your vision before you start recording Working with analog tape Committing to a sound Questions to ask yourself when recording any instrument Getting fat-sounding snares Tuning drums to the player's techniques How to get your drums in phase Adding drum samples Dolby Atmos mixing: What you need to know before getting into it Who is paying for Atmos mixes? To learn more about Alex Gamble, visit: https://www.audiogamble.com/ Get your copy of The Recording Mindset: A Step-By-Step Guide To Creating Pro Recordings From Your Home Studio by visiting: https://therecordingmindset.com For tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/ Looking for 1-on-1 feedback and training to help you create pro-quality mixes? Check out my new coaching program Amplitude and apply to join: https://masteryourmix.com/amplitude/ Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/ Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community To make sure that you don't miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android. Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!

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 

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 

Fishes of the pod pond; I have not been casting my pod-reel and for that, I apologize - but I've been extremely busy (like a buzzing pollenating bee in a hive of wild music/dad life activity) - so I hope you've been alright with the unannounced hiatus, but just like that - Graventown is back bbz. Today on the podcast, I was very lucky to snag a few golden minutes from a jewel of a human who is always shining and glimmering in many different musical directions; Craig Smith. Craig is a Collingwood, Ontario songwriter in the great folk rock band called Ontarians but he is also a sound engineer, producer, multi instrumentalist, father, renaissance man and just an all around swell fella. He and I became fast pals when he was the entertainment coordinator of a magical spot in Collingwood called Crow Bar and Variety. He had me back quite a few times to take that lovely stage with my band, and a friendship sparked. He and his partner Ariana Dalie are the main lynchpins and curators for a brand new festival called Four Winds Music Festival (in Durham, Ontario on the lovely Riverstone Eco Retreat grounds) and it's all happening July 14-16. I am playing at the festival with my full five alarm band along with some amazing superstar and up and comer acts like Sarah Harmer, Danny Michel, Elliott Brood, Julian Taylor, Queen M, Mountain Head, Jolie Smith, Alysha Brilla and so many more. We had one heck of a lovely chat. For more info about Four Winds, head to the website for tickets and showtimes and I truly am "stoke-level-zebra" to see any and all Graventowners there. Catch me in a town near you by visting my website to see where I'm playing. If people can hate for no reason, I can love for no reason - and I love you. Thanks for stopping by Graventown. Yer always welcome here. As a full time independent artist, you can support me by joining my SUPER RAD subscription service at https://ko-fi.com/gravencanada

In this episode we are speaking with Canadian singer, songwriter and performer, Theo Tams.  Theo has been playing music since his teens and releasing music for the past 15 years. He has three albums and three EP's to his credit along with a formidable collection of singles, and being the 6th season winner of Canadian Idol in 2008.  Theo has put together a body of work that's substantial and diverse and it speaks of an artist whose mission is growth and adventure. Theo lives in Toronto with his partner and their 11-year-old daughter explains that to understand where he's going, it's important to know where Tams has been until now. Born and raised in the small town of Coaldale in southern Alberta, Tams was raised in a strict Christian household, learning to sing in church (two services on Sundays), with a family that was steeped in music. He began writing poetry and prose pieces as a teenager, gradually moving towards songwriting influenced by the likes of Jewel, as well as confessional Canadian storytellers such as Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Sarah Harmer, and Sarah Slean. After a series of rock bottom moments, Theo says he took the plunge of “spontaneous sobriety” in 2020, declaring himself finished and embarking on therapy that made a world of difference in his healing, and in Tams' resolve.  In this episode we discuss: 1) Theo shares his story as a Canadian Idol winner, sharing his open and vulnerable story dealing with addiction and how he found his way to where he is today. 2) Theo shares so much on what it is like to be in the public eye, to deal with criticism and hate, how he continues to support the LGBTQ community, and how he has actively worked to build a community to surround and support others. Connect with Theo Website: https://theotamsmusic.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/theotamsmusic Email: theotamsofficial@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotamsmusic Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theotamsmusic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theotams/ Listen to Theo's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Voq6xq7exrhYKhCsSDl3N?si=888LZZ87SI6HqwskcApFQQ Connect with us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=84564864 Marsha Vanwynsberghe — Author, Speaker and Life Coach Marsha is the 6-time Bestselling Author of “When She Stopped Asking Why”.  She shares her lessons as a parent who dealt with teen substance abuse far past the level of normal experimentation. Through her programs, coaching and live events for women, Marsha is on a mission to teach you how to “Own Your Choices” in your own life.  She teaches women how to own their stories, lead themselves and pay it forward to others by creating businesses that serve, support and impact others

In this episode Rosalyn sits down with Ben Whiteley, a talented bassist and multi-instrumentalist from Toronto. Ben comes from a family of professional musicians and has an impressive career performing with renowned artists such as Basia Bulat, Julia Jacklin, and Sarah Harmer. He has also made appearances on NPR's Tiny Desk concerts and various international festivals. Ben dives into his musical journey, starting from his early experiences as a teenager in a rock band to his first paid gig at the Rivoli in Toronto. Ben shares how his father, Ken Whiteley, played a crucial role in his development as a musician and how performing with him helped him find his own path as a side player. They discuss the importance of being present on stage and the joy that comes from making music together. Ben shares valuable insights on embracing mistakes and finding the balance between precision and spontaneity in live performances. He also reflects on the role of entertainment in music and the responsibility of bringing joy and connection to the audience. The conversation takes an interesting turn as they explore Ben's additional roles as a tour manager for artists like Basia Bulat and the Weather Station. He explains how diversifying his responsibilities as a musician has helped him support artists in a more comprehensive way while navigating the challenges of touring. Join Rosalyn and Ben in this insightful episode as they uncover the intricacies of a musician's life and the various roles they play on and off the stage.____________________Ben Whiteley is a Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist. Born into a family of professional musicians, he developed his musical sensibilities at a young age. By 18, he was performing regularly with his father, Canadian roots artist and producer, Ken Whiteley. Since then, Ben has recorded and performed internationally with revered artists including Basia Bulat, Julia Jacklin, The Weather Station, Sarah Harmer, Hannah Georgas, Tim Baker, Fred Penner and Raffi. He has performed on multiple Juno award-winning and Polaris shortlist records and has preformed on NPR's Tiny Desk, Jools Holland, Jimmy Kimmel, Austin City Limits, KEXP, Q on CBC, and most major international folk and rock festivals.Follow Ben on Social Media: Instagram______________Presented by Folk Music OntarioHosted by Rosalyn DennettProduced by Kayla Nezon (Folk Music Ontario), Rosalyn Dennett (Folk Music Ontario), Tim Fraser + Tanya Fraser (Murdoch Entertainment)Recorded by Kayla Nezon, and Jordan Moore of The Pod CabinEdited by Jordan Moore of The Pod CabinTheme music “Amsterdam” by King CardiacArtwork by Jaymie KarnThe ReFolkUs Project is made possible through the generous support of the Department of Canadian Heritage

In this special episode of the podcast jD, Pete, and Tim sit down with Gord Sinclair for a broad conversation about touring with the Hip, the future of Rock music, and his new record In Continental Divide. Stay tuned for the big announcement following this episode. If you know you know. RateThisPodcast.com/ghtthTranscript0:00:00 - Speaker 1Well, we're really, really thrilled that you could take some time with us today. This is a pretty exciting And this is my pleasure. 0:00:07 - Speaker 2I appreciate it I. 0:00:09 - Speaker 1Don't know if you know what the premise of our podcast is, but I want to give you a. Snip it so you get a. You get an understanding of who these two gentlemen that you're, that you're with, are sure. 0:00:21 - Speaker 3Maybe you should tell them at the end JD, let's get the Way. 0:00:28 - Speaker 1No way, no way, i'm sorry out. So I did a podcast called meeting Malcolm s and it was about pavement and I met these two guys in Europe last year Going to see pavement a bunch of times and we got talking about music And I really love the way they talk about music, the thoughtfulness and the way they understand it and so, naturally me being a very big, tragically hip fan your, your name came up and Them being from Southern California, one by way of Malaga, spain, and one by way of Portland, portland, oregon. Now They hadn't, they hadn't had much experience with you. So I thought, dreamt up this idea of the podcast taking them through your discography, one record at a time, so that The listeners can experience, can experience what it's like to hear your music for the first time. Again, cool. 0:01:27 - Speaker 3It's been. It's been a journey man, it's been really. 0:01:31 - Speaker 2What do you guys up to now like record-wise? is it still work in progress or we have just released up to here. 0:01:39 - Speaker 1So Okay. Here's a fun fact for you. Did you know that if you take your entire catalog and Release them, starting on May 2 4 weekend, and release one a week for the summer, it ends on Labor Day? 0:01:58 - Speaker 2Oh, no, I didn't know that you're your catalog. 0:02:01 - Speaker 1Your catalog is perfect for the summer man. 0:02:03 - Speaker 2Okay, great, well, that's, that is kind of appropriate. For sure We're, you know, sir It. We're unlike Southern California. We kind of lived for the for the three or four months where You can actually sit outside and play guitar with it, your fingers falling off, you know. 0:02:21 - Speaker 4That's, that's definitely me. in Portland, oregon, we had the the soggy a spring I could remember in my 22 years here. 0:02:28 - Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, that's a great town. We we played Portland a bunch, the Aladdin theater, remember that place. 0:02:36 - Speaker 4Yeah, it's an awesome theater. 0:02:37 - Speaker 2Yeah, it's great Yeah. 0:02:39 - Speaker 4Yeah, it was. It was a cool room. It was fun to play that. We'd love to have you back there with your your current gig. So it would be yeah well, it would be great. 0:02:48 - Speaker 2It would be great. Things have changed for the live music business. Unfortunately, Do it for the most true. 0:02:56 - Speaker 1Yeah, so for now, the tour, the tour that you're doing In Toronto and like Southern Ontario, yeah, is that? is that what we're expecting to see for now, or will there be more dates in the future? 0:03:10 - Speaker 2I mean it's still. It's still up in the air. I I'm certainly not averse to doing more dates, but we, you know, yeah, but, but we'll, but we'll wait and see. You know it's it's it's not an easy proposition. Taking the show on the road, i mean the expenses are kind of through the roof from, just in terms of putting the boys up. That's why we're staying pretty close to home. To start, not only on my band leader now, but I'm also a father. My, my youngest son, is Playing bass in the group and he's got a day job, so I got to get him back. It would be irresponsible for for me to have him run away to the circus like I did, you know. But what it needs to be seen, you know it remains to be seen. 0:04:03 - Speaker 1So how is that turn? turning around to your left or right and seeing your son, you know, in your familiar spot? 0:04:08 - Speaker 2It's, it's, it's, it's pretty great, i gotta say it's pretty great. He's a On his own. He is an amazing musician. All my, all my kids can play, but but he, this one's got a particular Ear and talent Guitar and piano or his principal instruments. He's not really a bass player But he can play just about anything. He's just one of these kids that can hear a melody on the radio or on record and sit down the piano and play it back to you. So, on that regard, it's really, really great to see him actually playing the. The flip side of it is as a He's a singer, songwriter in his own right and it's in the process of finishing a record that he did while he was at university, mcgill. And it's tough, you know, it's tough for young kids starting out today to get that, to get that leg up. You know that opportunity to that a group like ours had, you know where we, you know We were able to start playing gigs while we were in school, you know, and and kind of built it up from there very, very, very organically. We got better as we played more and and and as we played more, more people came and Then we got more gigs and it sort of snowballed from there and, like we like most, we started as a cover band And, crazily enough, like back in the 80s when we were playing, they didn't really want original artists in the clubs in Canada. So we would, you know, we would we were playing mostly kind of B sides of old stone songs and pre things and Kinks and stuff like that and then thrown in on, and so when we played at our song we said, oh that's, you know, that's from an old Damn record from from 1967, just absolutely bullshitting our way because there's some clubs that you had to write down your set list, make sure you weren't playing original material, bizarre. So. So now it's yeah, it's just a different scene. I'd love to see him working and playing, making it, taking a go at it. 0:06:18 - Speaker 4Yeah, i kind of feel like this day and age to Make it in a band and get on an actual tour That's further away than your closest region, it's like, it's almost like becoming a professional athlete. Yeah, you know, it's just like your chance. Yeah, getting that notoriety and getting embraced and carried through it, it's, it's just tougher. I have a close, close cousin of mine is in a band here in Portland and They're going at it so hard and you know they're lucky to get, i don't know, the six, six or eight West Coast swing. Yeah, and happy about it, but I tell you the cost for them and all that. Just like you said, it's, it's, it's, it's a tough, that's a tough go. 0:06:58 - Speaker 2Yeah, it's, it's. It's very much the same here. It's like anything, you know it, that You put a group together, you just, you get that, jones, you know, you do it for the love of it, and if you see a little glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, it's enough to keep you going. Right, the one gig leads to the next, the next, but, but, boy, if you get continued roadblocks thrown up against you, it's a little demoralizing. And certainly up in Canada the live music scene Was in a tough spot even before COVID, and COVID really, just, you know, cut the head off the vampire It was. It was just made it so, so difficult, particularly at the at the early stage gigs, like in most downtown cores They've been. You know, the small rooms where it would be your first gig when you came to Winnipeg, or your first gig when you came to London, ontario, those rooms don't exist anymore. Yeah, you know, in fact I was talking to my agent a little while ago and Again, it's been a while since I've been out to Western Canada But he was saying that there's not really a gig in Vancouver and Calgary, you know, you know, in a 500 seat capacity and that's, and that's tough when you're just coming through town for the first time. I mean it's tough is on a regional level. If you're a young band story or a colonial, let alone From Kingston, ontario, you know, which is a real shame. I mean, the great thing about being from Canada, you know I The biggest obstacle to touring in this country Is actually our greatest assets, the sheer size of the country. You know, once you, once you kind of break out of your region and play in the crap little clubs around your hometown, then you've got eight, ten, twelve hours in some cases driving in between The, the gigs and you learn really early and really really quickly How to play. You know an empty room on a Tuesday night and a shithole on a Wednesday night With the object of getting to a win, a peg, you know, for Friday and Saturday night and maybe selling some tickets. You either You either fall in love with the lifestyle and the guys in your group or the gals in your group is the case. Maybe you're you bust up before you get you out of our problem, yeah, ontario. And so you get a lot of hearty souls that are doing it and then in the meantime, during all the traveling, you just develop this rapport with your bandmates and if you're a composer at all, it's great. You have so much time sitting in the band or sitting hotel room. You, just you're right, shoot the shit and Become what you become. It's true for musicians, it's true for crew people in this country as well. You know, you look at any international group and their crews are populated by Canadians. Because they have that experience, you learn how to travel. You know, get along with people in a confined space of a Band or tour bus, and it's a real asset that we have. The, fortunately, is getting more and more difficult. 0:10:17 - Speaker 3It's a bummer, because I love you guys you guys own your, i mean, and I we know this. I know this because We've pretty much gone through the, the majority of the discography, at least for the hip, and You guys really honed your skills of those Tuesday, wednesday night shittles, yeah, that you're playing To get you know, you can either take those is like Oh man, there's, there's five people here. What do we do? Like let's, let's, let's, let's treat it like a really tight rehearsal. Yeah, you know, whatever, and it it shows, at least from my perspective, on those records, those early records, and like to you guys just peak and just, you know, coast at 35,000 feet, so to speak. But it's funny you mentioned about the touring scene because I live in Malaga, i grew up in Southern California but I live in Malaga, spain and I We had a record come out last year and we're getting ready to do a second record And it's in the city center. They don't want anything original, they want stones, beatles, you know, maybe a couple Zeppelin tunes thrown in. They don't, they don't want they, they want cover bands, that's all they want. 0:11:39 - Speaker 2Yeah yeah, it's, it's tough, it's, it's a funny time And in a lot of ways I think it's a kind of a dangerous time from a cultural perspective. I mean, i, i'm a Stones fan and I'm a Beatles fan and I'm Zeppelin fan, you know, got it second hand from older brothers and sisters, you know. But but I, honestly, you know, i honestly believe that every generation needs their own stones. They need their. They need, like I grew up on the clash, right, you know, and the jam and and that was I was able to define Myself away from older brothers and sisters because of the tunes that I was like. And then, you know, and I've been Quite honestly, i've been waiting around for the next Nirvana and honest believing in my heart that's somewhere in the world, in some mom and dad's basement, there is the next Nirvana, working it and learning how to do it. I just, i really honestly believe it. I mean, again, i we're very fortunate Over the course of our career, touring, you know, we have Mums and dads that are bringing their kids to the, to our shows, and now those kids are, you know, so great, right, stealing to the hip and stuff, which is awesome. But but I worry, we're For Canada anyway, where that next hip is actually gonna come from. You know, and it's again, i think it's a cultural thing and, and you know, into your point about the Learning how to play the empty rooms, i mean That's what allowed us to. We were back and forth across Canada a number of times before we got the opportunity to Make that left turn and British Columbia and start playing in the United States, and it was literally like starting over. So by that point we were playing like larger clubs and doing really, really well. And then You know, you go down to Seattle and you're back to, you know, 20 to 50 people and and It's actually it's really informed our career. You know, we learned really early on to play to each other, it totally, and and how to play on stage and we always had this mantra we learned to play The hockey rinks like they were clubs and we learned to play the clubs like they were hockey rinks. You know, and Cool, cool. 0:14:08 - Speaker 4I love it. 0:14:08 - Speaker 2And we were really. We were also really really fortunate that we would go to a region like the Pacific Northwest In the States and, you know, at the club live and you could look out and you could see familiar faces, the folks that were really into it, like maybe it actually bought the records and you can see them in the first couple rows and and It was the same when we started in Canada. So we would change up the set every night. You know, try to throw in as many different tunes and we wouldn't open with the same tune, we wouldn't close with the same tune and to make it look like we were Not even look like we were trying, we were really trying to entertain these folks. You know, and you guys are all music fans and there's nothing worse than you know, you catch an act and you catch the, the acclater and the tour and it's like Hello Cleveland on the teleprompter. You know yes, agreed, agreed 100% and it's kind of like If you avoid phoning it in, consciously avoid phoning it in, then you're not phoning it in and You're not thinking about your laundry or the fight you just had with your partner. While you're out on the road You're actually engaged with your fellow musicians and particularly with the crowd. And, yeah, it's important to me as a music fan, you know, i just think it's really when there's still groups out there, you know, at the rink level, that do that, you know. 0:15:29 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, to comment quickly about your, your wish for the new Nirvana, like I think it's happening in in these sub capsules, like these regional areas. You know, i, i, i hear about bands doing a West Coast tour and doing in small clubs, smallish clubs, but also doing house parties along the way. And When I first heard this one band, i followed when I first heard they were doing, you know, in between, let's say, san Francisco and Eugene, they're doing house parties in Arcada, california, or Eugene, you know, south of Eugene or in Ashland is like. So they're doing house parties, like people are showing up and getting shit-faced and rocking out and in. To me It was kind of brilliant. It was very old-school feeling like you know, i remember stuff like this happening in the 80s, but at the same time I'm like, Well, if that's a way to hustle and get more fans to support you know, your, your venue climb, then that's that's just amazing. So I think it's happening with, you know, some of these kind of post-punk, kind of yeah, yeah, art rock bands. You know it's, it's happening, but it's it's so, it's so capsule-based, yeah. 0:16:45 - Speaker 2Yeah. 0:16:46 - Speaker 4So to break out of that, it's pretty tough. 0:16:48 - Speaker 2Yeah, i mean that that's my understanding of it as well that the first show I've got is part of a festival in our hometown called Spring Reverb and we again, it's a very, very local promoter who who's, you know? God bless them there. They're all in on live performance and they're they're they're like the Don Quixote's of music in this particular region And they'll do whatever it takes and there's tons of groups on the bill That I haven't heard before. It's and it's an exciting, you know, and it's a. It's a really, really good thing. But I think for your average music consumer, my age, it's like No one's trying to Pitch new music to me in any way. You know which is a real kind of drag. I, i have the dough to buy the records, but I don't know which ones to buy. You know, and it's I Still it's a. It's a bit of a problem. 0:17:47 - Speaker 4I'd love to send you a list. I'm bugging these two guys all the time. Hey, you gotta. You know. I told these guys all the time Hey, please, listen to this. There's one band in particular. I told them three times listen to it. Just make me a playlist. Maybe I'll listen to it later. 0:18:02 - Speaker 2And it's cool. It's never been easier to produce a record, like again when I started. Recording was expensive and you had to have a deal to do it and Someone had to invest the money in it, which, again, was maybe part of the advantage that we had that we did have some resources behind us with our first, even with our first DP, private resources and but you know that that patronage system is, i mean, kind of goes back to the Mozart days where you know folks that had the resources were able to Have house concerts, just happened to be in Palaces, right, right, but right, it's a good thing. I mean. I think you know the kids will find a way. It's just, it's just how, how to take it to the next level. I mean we, when we first started touring the States You know it was still regional radio was a real big deal. It was just before Ronald Reagan and the clear channel days kind of ruined it so many ways where you And it's a real shame as a music fan and as an artist you know you could be stiffen in one market, but then you go to like Austin, texas, for us it's like holy crap, where did all these people come from? And then you find out that a local DJ's got an affection for the band and they're kind of, they're kind of paving the road for you in advance And it was such a great. It was a great time. It was a great time for music. 0:19:48 - Speaker 3It's about what's played to you, gord, because I mean I just want to you talk. You mentioned the Clear Channel thing, but it's about what you're exposed to. Like you said, the DJ, that it's got a, that's got a. You know, it's got an affinity for your band. I know, joke. I'm in California right now because I'm visiting family out here And I saw two of my best friends. One flew out from Texas, the other one lives out and he's got to play some Mexico but he works the train. And so we all met up and on separate occasions I told him about this podcast and we listened to, to some hip tunes and they're like who the fuck are these guys? And and like immediate fans. Strangely enough, and because we have the same like taste in music, the three of us we grew up we played in bands the others were five, but never, never were exposed to it. Yeah, Yeah. Never had it. 0:20:44 - Speaker 2Yeah, we would get that a lot over the course of our career. You know, we've always benefited from really passionate fans that that they would, they would get it, and just the old fashioned word of mouth thing, you know, we would come back through town like 18 months later and they, they would have brought all their friends and maybe got turned into some more corded music, but then they would see the band play live and it would all make sense Like live music is supposed to. It's just like, oh, i didn't even think of that song on the record, but when they play it it's like, ah, you know, that's my new favorite song. And then it grew just really, really organically. You know, we, we never really had the benefit in the United States of a single that was big enough to open up like a national type of market, but we, we, we maintained this ability to tour around this, the circumference of the country, you know, and, um, yeah, and you know, wherever they had a professional hockey team, we would do pretty good, you know, right? 0:21:56 - Speaker 4So And I will say, though, i read, i read, i read you know something about you guys playing the, the Fillmore in the nineties in San Francisco, and there was some comment. It was like, yeah, they always do, they always have a big crowd here because every Canadian in California comes to the show, you know. so it's, it's hard to, it was hard to get tickets because all the Canadians would show up. So, you know, i love, i love the story of how everything happened organically and you guys kind of started from playing small clubs and what have you, and cover songs and how it. that rise is just totally remarkable And it's, you know, it's obviously worthy of of sharing, which we're we're doing now. I I gotta fast forward and ask about this. this uh, air stream, though, and you guys recording and you tell us about that. So cool. We have our own fantasy in our minds right now. Well, it was really it was a. 0:22:54 - Speaker 2Again, it's a kind of a a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a. It's a COVID based reality that that I faced, sure, the group myself, we, we own a recording studio in in Bath, ontario. It's a residential studio. So, um, COVID, it was really super busy because you know, artists, musicians, could, you could test up and and you'd live there. You didn't have to go anywhere and and as long as our, our engineer, um, you know, was safe. It was, so I I couldn't get into it, you know, like I just couldn't. It was booked out and and, um, i had, uh, you know, i'd I'd put out a record called taxi dancers previously And it's one of those things like I had tunes left over from writing with the hip and stuff. She got years and years to do that and then. But COVID was great for me as a, as a songwriter. I was locked down in my home with my family and um, and I was writing and using the guitar and and and writing lyrics as my means of journalism journaling really And I wrote this record fairly quickly. My buddy James, who played with me a bunch, i produced a bunch of records for his band, uh, peterborough, called the Spades, and so we've just always had a really close relationship, And he is an engineer and producer in Peterborough, um, and had this great idea this summer, before COVID, and he bought up an Airstream trailer And he rigged it up so that he was able to strip down his gear from his studio space and transplant everything into the airstream and go completely mobile So he could record live shows and, you know, any sort of situational stuff which I thought was a genius idea. And then COVID hit and it kind of you know, it kind of went on the back burner and then we got talking and said, you know I got enough tunes for a record And you know he played with me on the first one and engineered, so we want to try to do it again. And so he literally recorded it in my house. We parked the airstream in the driveway and ran a snake underneath my garage door and plugged in And it was kind of great. I hoofed my family out and it was just. It was just James and Jeff Housechuck and I are a drummer And we kind of stripped things down. We learned all the songs as a three piece, you know, with me playing the bass and then and then tracked kind of pretty much live And Jeff and I would play together and put the bed tracks down to like a scratch guitar, scratch, vocal and kind of did it like that. It was really kind of wicked and and not only in office is recording is, you know. We learned the songs and we kind of had all the beds done in like three, four days. It was just bang bang bang, kind of like that It was. It was a lot of fun, like kind of old school recording. You know We trying to almost emulate it doing its 16 track. You know, really minimal overdubs and just to get that sound. You know we spent the majority of our time miking up the drum kit, you know, so that we could. You know the Jeff Housechuck the drummer is just a fantastic player, jazz guy, and he decided to slum it with us rock and rollers And he brought that, that complexity and the touch where you could actually hear the notes on the drums. 0:26:48 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah. 0:26:49 - Speaker 2I could hear it. That's great. We actually ran into him. Ironically, james and I were supporting the group classic Canadian story. but our very first show of the tour that we were doing supporting the troops got snowed out. We got to the bottom of George and Bay and the road was closed. It was drifted in. and so we drove back down to Toronto and went to this great club called the Rex Jazz Club And and Jeff was playing with this organ trio you know like real kind of like just fantastic player and had a couple beers with him after and said, hey, do you want to want to do this If I ever make another record? he said yeah, tommy, and the rest is kind of his. Yeah, it's wicked, yeah actually the phone. 0:27:34 - Speaker 3Yeah, Yeah, No, like, for example, the song over and over. I think it is Yeah. Yeah you can tell. I mean you can tell throughout the record, but like that one in particular. Like, however, because once you lay down your initial, you know your drums and bass, your guitar, your bones you start playing with arrangements. And that I was wondering, like thinking about your process, you know how you go about recording and once you get stuff down, but the way you explain the Airstream that had to have promoted like some level of like creativity, like where you see something you're like let's do this, let's try this, because you're not sitting in a traditional studio, yeah, you know, with four walls, yeah, and a window and like do you know what I'm saying? Does that? Yeah? 0:28:29 - Speaker 2no, 100% That's. That's exactly what we were able to do, you know, within the confines of the house, like I have a small home studio, i have an open house, so I got curtains everywhere to kind of allow, you know, for not only privacy but to kind of the dead and the sound and stuff. We had to be creative with what we were doing and trying to figure out where we're going to put drums and what we're going to do with bass. And it was literally because of the way Jeff played And my natural affinity for records that were done in the 70s that we wanted to, instead of getting the big, boomy Bob Rock kind of like we're going to play in the cabin, smash, smash, smash drum kit, we wanted to, like Jeff plays with jazz sticks, that's, you know it's with. Well, let's put them in this curtained off room where everything's totally dead and and do the do the Jeff Emmerich, you know and kind of play and play and play and move the mic and move the stand until we got the kit sounding perfectly. And then in the meantime, you know, we're rehearsing And James is playing with us, and then we, you know, we get tempos down and stuff and, and you know, do a scratch acoustic guitar and vocal. So we know the arrangement And then Jeff or James would go out into the air stream and we counted off and Jeff and I would play together, you know. And the bass amp is elsewhere in the house So there's no chance of it bleeding in, but we didn't have walls or rooms or anything like that. And again, it was the same process. Most of the bass is not DI, it's, it's. I've got an old, you know, portaflex B15 from 1965, the James Jamerson right And it was kind of like you stick the right mic in front of it And it sounds like, it sounds like Motown, you know, and and that's that's kind of the way we get it And obviously I knew the tunes real well And Jeff is just such a good enough player. That was like, oh, you know, you kind of get it in one or two takes and go out and listen to it. And then again is a cool thing that we go to the driveway, to the air stream, which was really our control room, and you listen to it all stripped away or it's just bass and drums And it's kind of like, oh, it's got even without a lyric and without a guitar or even a music Or even a melody. It's like, oh, this sounds pretty wicked. It's kind of the inverse of being a songwriter where I've always believed if you can sing a song around a campfire, and it can, and it can exist on that level and subsist on that level. And it's like, oh, okay, this is a decent song. And we kind of combined those two ethos and to make this record And it was again, it was just because of the circumstances of making it that you know, we all had to be tested up And we, you know, it was just the three of us and we were also living together and eating together and drinking beer together and playing pool pool table in one part of my house And it was great. It's like it's the band camp, you know it's the hardest way to kill time 0:31:49 - Speaker 1you know, sure, gord, i have a question from somebody on Twitter. We let them know that we were meeting with you And he said it's Craig Rogers from Twitter. And he said, curious if he curious of Gord finds himself writing on guitar or bass more often, or a mixture both with this album and when he wrote for the hip. His bass playing is very melodic, so does he have a chord progression in mind first and then works out a baseline, or does the bass melody come first? 0:32:17 - Speaker 2I primarily write on on guitar, for sure, you know, certainly with the hit, even the songs I would bring to the hip, i would have written riffs and started out on acoustic guitar, not all the time Like they were. on occasion I would try to do something on bass. Bass is kind of tough to sit around on your own. Keep yourself entertained. You know you can play along and stuff. But certainly like my main contributions writing with the hip because we had developed that cooperative songwriting style where you know no one in the group would bring a finished idea to the band. You know we would basically throw out a riff, be it a guitar riff, in some cases a bass riff, and we would start playing together And Gord would start putting a melody on top and a lyric on top And it was great that way. As the bass player you'd like oh here are all these holes all like add melody in here. Or in a lot of cases it was from the middle of songs while you were jamming or sound checks. You know we were always playing And but yeah, it was great fun. I miss making music with those guys big time because it was as a songwriter. It's different now, like you, never when you're, when I was in the hip, you never had to finish an idea And even if you had writers, if you were stuck with something, we would get together frequently And someone always had something new and fresh And that would, you know, cause a light bulb to come on And it would suggest a change that maybe the guy that brought the briefing hadn't thought of it Meanwhile, gord just being Gord, he would be riffing on top and his melody would suggest a change that he would make. And it was great. I loved being in that band And I miss it because it's like you know, like, yeah, you start, i still start the same way, i start with the riff, but man, it takes a lot longer, you know, to come up with complimentary parts and the lyrics and stuff. And again, i credit Gord. I really, you know, i tried to bring some heft to the lyrics that I was writing for this project and my previous one as well, cause he's, you know, he set a pretty high bar as a songwriter you know and can't really you can't really put out a solo record I've said this a few times, but it's absolutely true Like you can't write. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I've got love in my tummy, you know, and feel good about yourself with some of the lyrics that Gord has, Yeah. So yeah, the writing's a, it's a. It's a, it's a fun, it's a fun process. I'm not a sit down and write every day kind of guy. I don't do the Stephen King and lock myself in my studio for 2,500 words a day. You know, I kind of sit around and watch hockey playoffs or baseball playoffs and with the guitar in my lap and noodling all the while, and then you're like, oh, and The cascade begins from there. You know, kind of not really paying attention to either, and It's amazing if you're receptive to the idea, It'll come from somewhere. It's, it's great fun, It's great fun. 0:35:47 - Speaker 1Gordon, i'm so thrilled that you laid down in 2020, you laid down get back again. Yeah, so it was. So we have a like a proper studio version of that song, because I gotta tell you, that was one of the hip songs that I came to early on and in my young hip career, and I was like whoa, this is something that's not on the record. It's like this is like a bootleg, or this is so cool And I gotta I gotta wonder, though, how did it never end up on a record like that? It's such a phenomenal song. 0:36:17 - Speaker 2It's, it's a funny one. I mean that it was That's. It's an old song. I mean that was back from the day when we were we were kind of clubbing it, he just kind of in southeastern Ontario and and we were all learning how to write and we were Writing a little bit together. You know Gord Downey and I would and Paul were living together at a student house But yeah, and it it was kind of a mainstay when we would play live and it was in the running, you know for for up to here for sure as a song. But interestingly enough we We recorded a demo version of it. That was just dynamite. Like You know, the performance across the board is great, particularly by Gord, like he just sang the song beautifully. And it was one of those circumstances where the The, the guy that was helping us the demo, said, oh, that was really really great, one more time just like that and we'll run tape. And we're like, oh, what do you mean? you weren't running tape? and oh, tried it again and collectively we were so disappointed. You know that I don't know we never, we never seemed to Capture that vibe that we had on this unrecorded Demo. You know this is again, we were really young, we were still learning how to play in the studio where it sounded like us and Again it sounds old-fashioned and everything, but it was back in the day We recorded live like we would, you know, put the bass somewhere and you know, drums are in a booth and gorge in a booth And we were learning how to do it, but still get that feeling like with headphones on that, we know, you know It sounds like awesome. We're listening to each other Again and then, yeah, it just never. It just never made the cut. After that, i guess I mean there is a version of it somewhere, at least I thought we had reported it for up to here There is some kind of version of it somewhere. We're finding it Odd with. We've always been signed to Universal in various shapes or forms. We were signed to MCA back in the day. But the tracking down on old tapes, a little demo stuff And studio stuff, is proving very, very challenging from an archival point of view. Like stuff is You'd think it'd be, you know, t, hip or Or it would be alphabetized or the Dewey decimal system or something, but it seems pretty random and stuff is in different storage area Areas and our drummer John has just been. He's just been like a dog on a bone tracking down Material and just relentless trying to find stuff. We kind of process kind of started for us with Road apples and but we were still. We were only able to manage to find Two-thirds of the tapes. You'd think they'd all be somewhere together. You know, when we heard about that fire on the universal lot we hit the panic button like right. You know, wow is our? do you think some our stuff is in there? and then read the list in the paper and there was our name. You know, in between Mel Torme and the down Trop family singers, you know it's like oh crap, i hope we do, because that, that, because, to your point, that's exactly the kind of stuff that we were looking for. Turns out there were dupes and some of its backup in Canada. Definitely Yeah, it's a. 0:40:11 - Speaker 3I just I'd be remiss if I didn't ask a gear question What, what, what, what, what? what type of guitar do you do you like to sit in? Because when you're sitting watching a ball game and you're just noodling or you're just whatever like what's your go-to? 0:40:26 - Speaker 2I, honestly, i've got a. I've got a few favorites, in fact, like there's a song on this, this latest record called change your mind, i I bought a. I bought an old Martin D18, saw it. I bought it sight unseen because it's just always wandered one and down. I Picked it up and Literally pulled it out of the case and it became my main guitar for about a week and that was that that. I Written that song on it within Got probably a day or two, you know it. Just it felt right, sounded right. 0:41:08 - Speaker 1What's that? there's sort of like a dreamy stony sound on that song. 0:41:11 - Speaker 2Yeah, and I would credit the guitar. You know, i guess I I Have a lot of, i've got a lot of instruments laying around the house and I will, you know, i will, i'll trick myself and I'll keep one guitar With a capo on the second fret, you know, and thereby changing the key of the song. But you just, in certain cases, different chord shapes and different you know, composite chords, like you know, a D over G or whatever to sound different in a different key or it'll trigger something melodically and then that will Send it in a different direction. So I I kind of rotate them in and out. You know I I Got an old the first kind of cool guitar about was an old J 160, you know mid 50s old beaver of a guitar, and it's always out on a stand somewhere and I'll Pick it up and I'm playing. Right now I'm going out and playing this old, the ES 125, like a, like a hollow-bodied arched top, electric and And it's been laying around and it's just, you know It sounds kind of got a little more sound to it. Yeah, i just kind of believe in the magic of it. You know that it's just like oh, this, you know it's rules right and sounds right in the. The tones of these older instruments, to my ear anyway, are so nuanced that that each one has a different character and Suggests different things, you know, and some chords sound better on them than others. And yeah, it's so, so it's cool. I like I say, i trick myself and I mix it up. 0:42:50 - Speaker 3That's the per. That's the perfect answer. Had you said this is the guitar, that's trick Bs and me bulls it me right on that school Yeah my question was more what kind of beer we were you drinking where you were recording and the Not as young as I used to be, so I. 0:43:13 - Speaker 2There's always a case of the in this kicking around here, for sure, but I'm more of a light beer guy now. Unfortunately, i just I can't afford to Drink the loaf of bread like I used to when I was a young man. Live to tell it. 0:43:29 - Speaker 4I'm right there with you. Yeah, i'm right there with you, gord. 0:43:33 - Speaker 2Yeah, I'm pretty much a logger and a Guinness guy. 0:43:36 - Speaker 4Yeah, sorry. 0:43:49 - Speaker 1Well, I'd love to talk more about the. I'd love to talk more about the. The record sure. You gotta ask the video to man and we haven't touched. We haven't even touched on the video. 0:43:59 - Speaker 2Yeah, I'm glad you like it. I, i yeah, that's a friend of my, my youngest son's It's aspiring filmmaker and videographer and, obviously, videos on what there used to be. I'm like I'm a survivor of the MTV era where You just saw your recoupable account go up and up and up with your record company because you'd spend more money making videos And you would make the record. But it's. But he's a creative young guy having feral is his name and I I Was reading the newspaper And there was an article I can't think this one Facebook change just named in Metta, and Mr Zuckerberg had proclaimed that the future of the world, the future of reality, is going to be virtual reality. And They ran a little clip of the journalists were testing it out with the, with those goggles or that, whatever that is. I said, wow, this is the future of reality. The graphics are kind of shitty, you know, and and And I bounced it off heaven and I want to make this video about these tech guys that are kind of changing the way we interact with each other and getting rich in the process. And could we make a virtual reality kind of video for this song about kind of love in the VR world? and and man he ran with it. He was like I know exactly what you're talking about. 0:45:34 - Speaker 3And it's clear who everybody is. It's very clear who everybody is. 0:45:37 - Speaker 2He ran into a little problem with the record. Here it was, it was clear, still in the legal department And hit the panic button real quick. But we just, i think. 0:45:52 - Speaker 4You know, it's a good thing when that happens And it was fun. 0:45:55 - Speaker 2The song I think Google Guy has a bit of a sense of humor to it And yeah, i got when all that stuff was going on, when they were talking about how their algorithm there were purports to bring people together was actually the algorithm itself was based on making people butt heads, because there was more engagement when the conversation was contentious, as opposed to fluffy, puffy stuff. And that young woman, francis Hogan, really kind of went official with it. She kind of blew the whistle on these, these guys, and I thought right away to myself like oh, what would what would Joe Strummer do with a concept like this? You know, like you wouldn't know all have very much and try to call the guy out. And it was actually the last song I wrote for the record And it came real, real quick because I kind of got my dander up just a little bit. I'm not a social media guy. I understand how people do it. It's a great way to stay in touch with friends all over the world and stuff, and I get it. But God, imagine if you're Instagramming or Facebooking with your pals. But there was a artificial intelligence kind of trying to get you guys to fight about something you may have said to each other in high school and dragging that your relationship through them. 0:47:21 - Speaker 3I'm sure it's already there. 0:47:22 - Speaker 2Exactly, you know. I mean, i'm in a. I was in a band with my high school friends and, oh my God, we fought about crap that was 35 years old. You know, sometimes it was kind of anyway, yeah, so I yeah anyway, i glad you liked the video. It was fun to do. I'm going to do a follow up. He's one of them for call Yeah, but I don't know, i haven't seen it, yet I'm dying. He's okay. I'll be anxious to check that out. 0:47:56 - Speaker 4I enjoyed the video and the song and the song. Honestly it brought me. There's this kind of 80s feel to it, like it's it's interesting kind of the juxtaposition of I don't know had money for nothing Yeah yeah, and then what? Yeah, I'm not, i'm not sure, yeah it's. Yeah, it's reminded me of I don't know a couple of things, but anyways, the the video is great, and it was just I love the personification of the characters, and it's just. I just really related it. I was, i was in, i was in Italy recently. We were staying with family and I'm kind of a handy guy, so I was helping them do some stuff and I said, well, can you work and we get this? you know, we needed something in particular. My aunt there says, well, we could just order it on Amazon, and sure enough it was there the next day. And I'm like I mean Italy and Jeff, jeff, still knocking on the front door delivering, yeah yeah, it's not so I conveniently unbelievable. 0:48:57 - Speaker 2I totally understood. And obviously the pandemic Unbelievable fall for those companies because all the stores are closed, you know, but Massive. You know I'm from a small, small ish city. You know we got 150,000, 200,000 people here. You know, if the if you don't support your local hardware store owner, who may very well be your neighbor down the street, you know it's, it's kind of like the kind of the 100 mile Right Diet approach to living. You know where you live in a community and if you got a couple Extra bucks for things like I get it like people go to the big box stores to buy 10,000 rolls of toilet paper and junk like that. But but you know I go to the local record store and my local stereo shop and my local guitar store and we shop at a small little market And it's important, you know it's. It's important if, if the pandemic taught us anything, it was to kind of value community Because we would support each other more. And meanwhile, that's what I love to do. Devon's portrayal of the of. They call themselves founders. I understand the founders in the orbiting space station above, above the world, that slowly falling apart. And frankly, that's what I try to articulate in the, in the lyric of the songs, that we all know the reason, and the reason is really us. It's up to us, you know, to build community and to support community And and everyone wants to save a buck. I understand that stuff, but at what cost, you know. And what cost? Yeah, in many cases, like mm. Hmm, there's a lot of each cylinder vans all over North America as we speak, idling in people's driveways dropping off stuff that they ordered on Amazon last night, you know, and there's a cost to that, ever, you know. And that's what I was trying to articulate anyway, yeah, yeah. 0:51:21 - Speaker 4What I notice nowadays on, i mean, i'm in Portland, we're in the city, you know, downtown Portland is about three miles away, and what I notice is, when we don't have any deliveries, like, i'll just stop, i'm mostly home. I'll stop in the house and think, boy, it's actually been quiet today. You know it's. You have to wait for the white, the white noise to go away in order to I have a Kingston question for you. 0:51:45 - Speaker 1These gentlemen we are recording, we're doing a live finale for this podcast in Toronto on September 1st. So Pete is coming from Spain and Tim is coming from Portland and we're doing it at the rec room in Toronto. We're doing like a live podcast. There's going to be a standup comedian, There's going to be a hip tribute band, et cetera. But as part of their coming to Toronto, I've booked us a day in Kingston and I booked an Airbnb just yesterday. What are some? what are some hip, hip must see spots, Some you mentioned a record store earlier, a guitar store. What are some cool spots that we should go when we're? Yeah, I got to hit the store. 0:52:29 - Speaker 2You know what there's there's. so there's so many of it like this. First off, about Kingston. You know I'm born and bred and raised here. I went to university here and you know, like most young men, like Rob Baker and I, grew up across the street from each other And all through high school together and you know, gordon, Paul and I lived together in university And John was a little bit younger than us behind us, but all went to the same high school Parents, on to each other, and nonetheless, like most young men, we couldn't wait to shape the dust off this one horse town off our boots. You know, move on, or big city, and as it turned out, you know, our career took this home, over Europe and North America and traveling all the time And we kept coming back home And because it was home, you kind of learn to fall in love with where you're from By leaving it, you know, and you kind of realize, oh, there's no better place to come back to. And it still is a really, it's a really special place. Even even with the, the dearth of of live music venues and various cities and stuff, we still have five, six places in town that run live entertainment nightly. You know, and I think that's a big reason Kingston is as it is is produce so many great recording artists, you know Sarah Harmer, headstones and the Glorious Suns, and because they all came up the way I came up, you know, you kind of start playing in downtown Kingston and you play the bigger bar and the bigger bar after that. So there's, there's some great live music venues. The place I'm playing in town is called the, called the the Brune factory, which is kind of a multi multimedia approach to live. It's a film place, it's comedy, it's an office building for the local promoter during the day And it's, it's great. It's very DIY in town, you know it's. Also Kingston is an interesting place because it's a university town, a very large, very good university here. So we kind of punch above our weight for for restaurants and actually activities to do. We have a local symphony orchestra to symphony halls. You know it's just there's, it's a, it's a really special place And it's also it's right at the confluence of Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River. So it's where the Great Lakes kind of funnel all down and the area just east of us is the start of the Thousand Islands, which is again it's we kind of take it for granted. But you guys coming from out of town, you know it's worth jumping on a, on a boat, and you've never seen anything like it. It's, it's just absolutely spectacular, you know, and it's, yeah, it's just really, really cool. There's so many great rooms. You know, the club that we played our first gig was called the the toucan, but it still exists, you know, and it's still still there. It's not a great place to see music or play music, but it's still running live. It's pretty wicked. There's another place called the mansion. That that they're again. They're fighting the good fight. They're trying to bring acts in all the time and get people a place to play. You know, and it's in, it's kind of great. It's kind of a great place to be. I feel very comfortable here. You guys are like it. 0:56:15 - Speaker 3If people, if they have places to play there and there's places that they make available, i mean there's. there's no doubt that's why the city thrives. 0:56:25 - Speaker 2I really think so as well, because people, obviously they people get used to live music being a viable option. You know, that was something that we experienced as young musicians First time we went to Europe. You know, it was again like starting over. But we got to the Netherlands And it was like that was. It was the case of like, where are all these people come from? how do they? but it's because the the nature of the culture and it was back in the CD days, when they were Ridiculously expensive, you know. So you'd have to pony up whatever 30, 40 Gelder's they were called back then so people would literally would go see a band play live before they would pull me up for the record, which was perfect for a group like us, because you know they huh, there are all these Magnificently tall people standing there and all speaking English, hang them boards, every word, yeah, it was great. It's all like. That's all about the amazing thing. I am such a such a believer. It's just so important. 0:57:36 - Speaker 1I I totally feel the song sometimes. Yeah, did you write that? like thinking, live in mind, like, like that feels like a live song. 0:57:46 - Speaker 2Yeah, i Did it's, it's, It's for sure, it's. There's an anger to it for sure, and it's it's not the easiest thing when you're sitting by yourself in a pandemic to To write an uptempo song. But like I, like I was seeing earlier, i was using that experience, i would close the sliding doors of our family room and, and, like everybody, there were moments during when I was locked down or where I was Wasn't quite myself. You know I was feeling. You know, being locked down in the middle of the winter in Canada is You get some dark days for sure, not only Physically dark days, but but the mood kind of translates on you and that's that's really what that song's about. And and I Attempted to turn that frown upside down and kind of went back to the old punk rock me, and It's basically like a confessional more than anything, because it was true, sometimes I felt like I was losing my mind, you know, and and sometimes you know, weed, weeds legal up here and and and so maybe sometimes I'm they've, you know, smoked a bomber a little too early in the day, you know, or maybe a little Bailey's in my morning coffee just to take the edge off. Even quite confessional about that as well. Much sugar in, yeah. 0:59:23 - Speaker 3That's really cool of you sharing my songs with us Share. 0:59:28 - Speaker 1I mean, for me it's been. It's been 38 years of you sharing songs with me, so I really appreciate that and Love that you made time for us today, well. 0:59:39 - Speaker 2I appreciate that. I appreciate that I'm a music fan as well and I and I I Made music with guys I know really well, guys I love, you know, and and We always took it really, really seriously and we always never took whatever success we may have achieved, we never took that for granted, you know, and we knew it was because of the people that liked our music and that supported the group and we, you know, with the past, you know Gordon Lightfoot. It was also such a huge believer in live performance and the love and respect for his audience. you know We came up, you know, very much the same way, just like getting our getting in front of people and, you know, and thanking them. You know, and being truly grateful and trying to allow the music to reflect our growth as people and but our commitment to making really good music and you know I'm I Love it I'm still trying to do it on my own. You know, i'd give anything to have gourd still here and be working my, my normal day job, you know. But but In no small way he still is. You know, he wouldn't have wanted any of us to stop playing, you know, and to stop making music and Yeah, and so I'm kind of doing it to honor him, but it's also it's because it's the only thing I know how to do. I kind of They caught into my, it's my, my yearly cycle of like, oh I'm, you should be making a record soon. I think the song start pouring out. Anyway, i'd go on, but I appreciate you guys for doing this and listening as it is intently, as I Listen to music like that's the way I listen to it too, you know I turn it up. 1:01:31 - Speaker 3Yeah, pleasure's our pleasure We've. 1:01:34 - Speaker 4we've got great time, so thank you so much. 1:01:37 - Speaker 2I'll get a list of places to see in Kingston, and there's some that would be great. It's a pretty, it's a pretty special. It's a pretty special little town. You'll, you'll get the vibe right away. You know, september is a great time of year. Kids are just coming back to school and the and the sailors are still hanging around. It's a touristy town. So there's a. There's a good, it's a good vibe here. It's a nice place to visit. I can't wait. Yeah, i can't wait awesome, awesome. 1:02:02 - Speaker 1Well, thank you so much Thanks for a pleasure, guys. 1:02:06 - Speaker 2I really really appreciate your time. It's fun. 1:02:08 - Speaker 3Yeah, thank you boys. 1:02:10 - Speaker 2Okay, take care, we'll see you real soon. Yeah, thank you. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this special episode of the podcast jD, Pete, and Tim sit down with Gord Sinclair for a broad conversation about touring with the Hip, the future of Rock music, and his new record In Continental Divide. Stay tuned for the big announcement following this episode. If you know you know. RateThisPodcast.com/ghtthTranscript0:00:00 - Speaker 1Well, we're really, really thrilled that you could take some time with us today. This is a pretty exciting And this is my pleasure. 0:00:07 - Speaker 2I appreciate it I. 0:00:09 - Speaker 1Don't know if you know what the premise of our podcast is, but I want to give you a. Snip it so you get a. You get an understanding of who these two gentlemen that you're, that you're with, are sure. 0:00:21 - Speaker 3Maybe you should tell them at the end JD, let's get the Way. 0:00:28 - Speaker 1No way, no way, i'm sorry out. So I did a podcast called meeting Malcolm s and it was about pavement and I met these two guys in Europe last year Going to see pavement a bunch of times and we got talking about music And I really love the way they talk about music, the thoughtfulness and the way they understand it and so, naturally me being a very big, tragically hip fan your, your name came up and Them being from Southern California, one by way of Malaga, spain, and one by way of Portland, portland, oregon. Now They hadn't, they hadn't had much experience with you. So I thought, dreamt up this idea of the podcast taking them through your discography, one record at a time, so that The listeners can experience, can experience what it's like to hear your music for the first time. Again, cool. 0:01:27 - Speaker 3It's been. It's been a journey man, it's been really. 0:01:31 - Speaker 2What do you guys up to now like record-wise? is it still work in progress or we have just released up to here. 0:01:39 - Speaker 1So Okay. Here's a fun fact for you. Did you know that if you take your entire catalog and Release them, starting on May 2 4 weekend, and release one a week for the summer, it ends on Labor Day? 0:01:58 - Speaker 2Oh, no, I didn't know that you're your catalog. 0:02:01 - Speaker 1Your catalog is perfect for the summer man. 0:02:03 - Speaker 2Okay, great, well, that's, that is kind of appropriate. For sure We're, you know, sir It. We're unlike Southern California. We kind of lived for the for the three or four months where You can actually sit outside and play guitar with it, your fingers falling off, you know. 0:02:21 - Speaker 4That's, that's definitely me. in Portland, oregon, we had the the soggy a spring I could remember in my 22 years here. 0:02:28 - Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, that's a great town. We we played Portland a bunch, the Aladdin theater, remember that place. 0:02:36 - Speaker 4Yeah, it's an awesome theater. 0:02:37 - Speaker 2Yeah, it's great Yeah. 0:02:39 - Speaker 4Yeah, it was. It was a cool room. It was fun to play that. We'd love to have you back there with your your current gig. So it would be yeah well, it would be great. 0:02:48 - Speaker 2It would be great. Things have changed for the live music business. Unfortunately, Do it for the most true. 0:02:56 - Speaker 1Yeah, so for now, the tour, the tour that you're doing In Toronto and like Southern Ontario, yeah, is that? is that what we're expecting to see for now, or will there be more dates in the future? 0:03:10 - Speaker 2I mean it's still. It's still up in the air. I I'm certainly not averse to doing more dates, but we, you know, yeah, but, but we'll, but we'll wait and see. You know it's it's it's not an easy proposition. Taking the show on the road, i mean the expenses are kind of through the roof from, just in terms of putting the boys up. That's why we're staying pretty close to home. To start, not only on my band leader now, but I'm also a father. My, my youngest son, is Playing bass in the group and he's got a day job, so I got to get him back. It would be irresponsible for for me to have him run away to the circus like I did, you know. But what it needs to be seen, you know it remains to be seen. 0:04:03 - Speaker 1So how is that turn? turning around to your left or right and seeing your son, you know, in your familiar spot? 0:04:08 - Speaker 2It's, it's, it's, it's pretty great, i gotta say it's pretty great. He's a On his own. He is an amazing musician. All my, all my kids can play, but but he, this one's got a particular Ear and talent Guitar and piano or his principal instruments. He's not really a bass player But he can play just about anything. He's just one of these kids that can hear a melody on the radio or on record and sit down the piano and play it back to you. So, on that regard, it's really, really great to see him actually playing the. The flip side of it is as a He's a singer, songwriter in his own right and it's in the process of finishing a record that he did while he was at university, mcgill. And it's tough, you know, it's tough for young kids starting out today to get that, to get that leg up. You know that opportunity to that a group like ours had, you know where we, you know We were able to start playing gigs while we were in school, you know, and and kind of built it up from there very, very, very organically. We got better as we played more and and and as we played more, more people came and Then we got more gigs and it sort of snowballed from there and, like we like most, we started as a cover band And, crazily enough, like back in the 80s when we were playing, they didn't really want original artists in the clubs in Canada. So we would, you know, we would we were playing mostly kind of B sides of old stone songs and pre things and Kinks and stuff like that and then thrown in on, and so when we played at our song we said, oh that's, you know, that's from an old Damn record from from 1967, just absolutely bullshitting our way because there's some clubs that you had to write down your set list, make sure you weren't playing original material, bizarre. So. So now it's yeah, it's just a different scene. I'd love to see him working and playing, making it, taking a go at it. 0:06:18 - Speaker 4Yeah, i kind of feel like this day and age to Make it in a band and get on an actual tour That's further away than your closest region, it's like, it's almost like becoming a professional athlete. Yeah, you know, it's just like your chance. Yeah, getting that notoriety and getting embraced and carried through it, it's, it's just tougher. I have a close, close cousin of mine is in a band here in Portland and They're going at it so hard and you know they're lucky to get, i don't know, the six, six or eight West Coast swing. Yeah, and happy about it, but I tell you the cost for them and all that. Just like you said, it's, it's, it's, it's a tough, that's a tough go. 0:06:58 - Speaker 2Yeah, it's, it's. It's very much the same here. It's like anything, you know it, that You put a group together, you just, you get that, jones, you know, you do it for the love of it, and if you see a little glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, it's enough to keep you going. Right, the one gig leads to the next, the next, but, but, boy, if you get continued roadblocks thrown up against you, it's a little demoralizing. And certainly up in Canada the live music scene Was in a tough spot even before COVID, and COVID really, just, you know, cut the head off the vampire It was. It was just made it so, so difficult, particularly at the at the early stage gigs, like in most downtown cores They've been. You know, the small rooms where it would be your first gig when you came to Winnipeg, or your first gig when you came to London, ontario, those rooms don't exist anymore. Yeah, you know, in fact I was talking to my agent a little while ago and Again, it's been a while since I've been out to Western Canada But he was saying that there's not really a gig in Vancouver and Calgary, you know, you know, in a 500 seat capacity and that's, and that's tough when you're just coming through town for the first time. I mean it's tough is on a regional level. If you're a young band story or a colonial, let alone From Kingston, ontario, you know, which is a real shame. I mean, the great thing about being from Canada, you know I The biggest obstacle to touring in this country Is actually our greatest assets, the sheer size of the country. You know, once you, once you kind of break out of your region and play in the crap little clubs around your hometown, then you've got eight, ten, twelve hours in some cases driving in between The, the gigs and you learn really early and really really quickly How to play. You know an empty room on a Tuesday night and a shithole on a Wednesday night With the object of getting to a win, a peg, you know, for Friday and Saturday night and maybe selling some tickets. You either You either fall in love with the lifestyle and the guys in your group or the gals in your group is the case. Maybe you're you bust up before you get you out of our problem, yeah, ontario. And so you get a lot of hearty souls that are doing it and then in the meantime, during all the traveling, you just develop this rapport with your bandmates and if you're a composer at all, it's great. You have so much time sitting in the band or sitting hotel room. You, just you're right, shoot the shit and Become what you become. It's true for musicians, it's true for crew people in this country as well. You know, you look at any international group and their crews are populated by Canadians. Because they have that experience, you learn how to travel. You know, get along with people in a confined space of a Band or tour bus, and it's a real asset that we have. The, fortunately, is getting more and more difficult. 0:10:17 - Speaker 3It's a bummer, because I love you guys you guys own your, i mean, and I we know this. I know this because We've pretty much gone through the, the majority of the discography, at least for the hip, and You guys really honed your skills of those Tuesday, wednesday night shittles, yeah, that you're playing To get you know, you can either take those is like Oh man, there's, there's five people here. What do we do? Like let's, let's, let's, let's treat it like a really tight rehearsal. Yeah, you know, whatever, and it it shows, at least from my perspective, on those records, those early records, and like to you guys just peak and just, you know, coast at 35,000 feet, so to speak. But it's funny you mentioned about the touring scene because I live in Malaga, i grew up in Southern California but I live in Malaga, spain and I We had a record come out last year and we're getting ready to do a second record And it's in the city center. They don't want anything original, they want stones, beatles, you know, maybe a couple Zeppelin tunes thrown in. They don't, they don't want they, they want cover bands, that's all they want. 0:11:39 - Speaker 2Yeah yeah, it's, it's tough, it's, it's a funny time And in a lot of ways I think it's a kind of a dangerous time from a cultural perspective. I mean, i, i'm a Stones fan and I'm a Beatles fan and I'm Zeppelin fan, you know, got it second hand from older brothers and sisters, you know. But but I, honestly, you know, i honestly believe that every generation needs their own stones. They need their. They need, like I grew up on the clash, right, you know, and the jam and and that was I was able to define Myself away from older brothers and sisters because of the tunes that I was like. And then, you know, and I've been Quite honestly, i've been waiting around for the next Nirvana and honest believing in my heart that's somewhere in the world, in some mom and dad's basement, there is the next Nirvana, working it and learning how to do it. I just, i really honestly believe it. I mean, again, i we're very fortunate Over the course of our career, touring, you know, we have Mums and dads that are bringing their kids to the, to our shows, and now those kids are, you know, so great, right, stealing to the hip and stuff, which is awesome. But but I worry, we're For Canada anyway, where that next hip is actually gonna come from. You know, and it's again, i think it's a cultural thing and, and you know, into your point about the Learning how to play the empty rooms, i mean That's what allowed us to. We were back and forth across Canada a number of times before we got the opportunity to Make that left turn and British Columbia and start playing in the United States, and it was literally like starting over. So by that point we were playing like larger clubs and doing really, really well. And then You know, you go down to Seattle and you're back to, you know, 20 to 50 people and and It's actually it's really informed our career. You know, we learned really early on to play to each other, it totally, and and how to play on stage and we always had this mantra we learned to play The hockey rinks like they were clubs and we learned to play the clubs like they were hockey rinks. You know, and Cool, cool. 0:14:08 - Speaker 4I love it. 0:14:08 - Speaker 2And we were really. We were also really really fortunate that we would go to a region like the Pacific Northwest In the States and, you know, at the club live and you could look out and you could see familiar faces, the folks that were really into it, like maybe it actually bought the records and you can see them in the first couple rows and and It was the same when we started in Canada. So we would change up the set every night. You know, try to throw in as many different tunes and we wouldn't open with the same tune, we wouldn't close with the same tune and to make it look like we were Not even look like we were trying, we were really trying to entertain these folks. You know, and you guys are all music fans and there's nothing worse than you know, you catch an act and you catch the, the acclater and the tour and it's like Hello Cleveland on the teleprompter. You know yes, agreed, agreed 100% and it's kind of like If you avoid phoning it in, consciously avoid phoning it in, then you're not phoning it in and You're not thinking about your laundry or the fight you just had with your partner. While you're out on the road You're actually engaged with your fellow musicians and particularly with the crowd. And, yeah, it's important to me as a music fan, you know, i just think it's really when there's still groups out there, you know, at the rink level, that do that, you know. 0:15:29 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, to comment quickly about your, your wish for the new Nirvana, like I think it's happening in in these sub capsules, like these regional areas. You know, i, i, i hear about bands doing a West Coast tour and doing in small clubs, smallish clubs, but also doing house parties along the way. And When I first heard this one band, i followed when I first heard they were doing, you know, in between, let's say, san Francisco and Eugene, they're doing house parties in Arcada, california, or Eugene, you know, south of Eugene or in Ashland is like. So they're doing house parties, like people are showing up and getting shit-faced and rocking out and in. To me It was kind of brilliant. It was very old-school feeling like you know, i remember stuff like this happening in the 80s, but at the same time I'm like, Well, if that's a way to hustle and get more fans to support you know, your, your venue climb, then that's that's just amazing. So I think it's happening with, you know, some of these kind of post-punk, kind of yeah, yeah, art rock bands. You know it's, it's happening, but it's it's so, it's so capsule-based, yeah. 0:16:45 - Speaker 2Yeah. 0:16:46 - Speaker 4So to break out of that, it's pretty tough. 0:16:48 - Speaker 2Yeah, i mean that that's my understanding of it as well that the first show I've got is part of a festival in our hometown called Spring Reverb and we again, it's a very, very local promoter who who's, you know? God bless them there. They're all in on live performance and they're they're they're like the Don Quixote's of music in this particular region And they'll do whatever it takes and there's tons of groups on the bill That I haven't heard before. It's and it's an exciting, you know, and it's a. It's a really, really good thing. But I think for your average music consumer, my age, it's like No one's trying to Pitch new music to me in any way. You know which is a real kind of drag. I, i have the dough to buy the records, but I don't know which ones to buy. You know, and it's I Still it's a. It's a bit of a problem. 0:17:47 - Speaker 4I'd love to send you a list. I'm bugging these two guys all the time. Hey, you gotta. You know. I told these guys all the time Hey, please, listen to this. There's one band in particular. I told them three times listen to it. Just make me a playlist. Maybe I'll listen to it later. 0:18:02 - Speaker 2And it's cool. It's never been easier to produce a record, like again when I started. Recording was expensive and you had to have a deal to do it and Someone had to invest the money in it, which, again, was maybe part of the advantage that we had that we did have some resources behind us with our first, even with our first DP, private resources and but you know that that patronage system is, i mean, kind of goes back to the Mozart days where you know folks that had the resources were able to Have house concerts, just happened to be in Palaces, right, right, but right, it's a good thing. I mean. I think you know the kids will find a way. It's just, it's just how, how to take it to the next level. I mean we, when we first started touring the States You know it was still regional radio was a real big deal. It was just before Ronald Reagan and the clear channel days kind of ruined it so many ways where you And it's a real shame as a music fan and as an artist you know you could be stiffen in one market, but then you go to like Austin, texas, for us it's like holy crap, where did all these people come from? And then you find out that a local DJ's got an affection for the band and they're kind of, they're kind of paving the road for you in advance And it was such a great. It was a great time. It was a great time for music. 0:19:48 - Speaker 3It's about what's played to you, gord, because I mean I just want to you talk. You mentioned the Clear Channel thing, but it's about what you're exposed to. Like you said, the DJ, that it's got a, that's got a. You know, it's got an affinity for your band. I know, joke. I'm in California right now because I'm visiting family out here And I saw two of my best friends. One flew out from Texas, the other one lives out and he's got to play some Mexico but he works the train. And so we all met up and on separate occasions I told him about this podcast and we listened to, to some hip tunes and they're like who the fuck are these guys? And and like immediate fans. Strangely enough, and because we have the same like taste in music, the three of us we grew up we played in bands the others were five, but never, never were exposed to it. Yeah, Yeah. Never had it. 0:20:44 - Speaker 2Yeah, we would get that a lot over the course of our career. You know, we've always benefited from really passionate fans that that they would, they would get it, and just the old fashioned word of mouth thing, you know, we would come back through town like 18 months later and they, they would have brought all their friends and maybe got turned into some more corded music, but then they would see the band play live and it would all make sense Like live music is supposed to. It's just like, oh, i didn't even think of that song on the record, but when they play it it's like, ah, you know, that's my new favorite song. And then it grew just really, really organically. You know, we, we never really had the benefit in the United States of a single that was big enough to open up like a national type of market, but we, we, we maintained this ability to tour around this, the circumference of the country, you know, and, um, yeah, and you know, wherever they had a professional hockey team, we would do pretty good, you know, right? 0:21:56 - Speaker 4So And I will say, though, i read, i read, i read you know something about you guys playing the, the Fillmore in the nineties in San Francisco, and there was some comment. It was like, yeah, they always do, they always have a big crowd here because every Canadian in California comes to the show, you know. so it's, it's hard to, it was hard to get tickets because all the Canadians would show up. So, you know, i love, i love the story of how everything happened organically and you guys kind of started from playing small clubs and what have you, and cover songs and how it. that rise is just totally remarkable And it's, you know, it's obviously worthy of of sharing, which we're we're doing now. I I gotta fast forward and ask about this. this uh, air stream, though, and you guys recording and you tell us about that. So cool. We have our own fantasy in our minds right now. Well, it was really it was a. 0:22:54 - Speaker 2Again, it's a kind of a a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a. It's a COVID based reality that that I faced, sure, the group myself, we, we own a recording studio in in Bath, ontario. It's a residential studio. So, um, COVID, it was really super busy because you know, artists, musicians, could, you could test up and and you'd live there. You didn't have to go anywhere and and as long as our, our engineer, um, you know, was safe. It was, so I I couldn't get into it, you know, like I just couldn't. It was booked out and and, um, i had, uh, you know, i'd I'd put out a record called taxi dancers previously And it's one of those things like I had tunes left over from writing with the hip and stuff. She got years and years to do that and then. But COVID was great for me as a, as a songwriter. I was locked down in my home with my family and um, and I was writing and using the guitar and and and writing lyrics as my means of journalism journaling really And I wrote this record fairly quickly. My buddy James, who played with me a bunch, i produced a bunch of records for his band, uh, peterborough, called the Spades, and so we've just always had a really close relationship, And he is an engineer and producer in Peterborough, um, and had this great idea this summer, before COVID, and he bought up an Airstream trailer And he rigged it up so that he was able to strip down his gear from his studio space and transplant everything into the airstream and go completely mobile So he could record live shows and, you know, any sort of situational stuff which I thought was a genius idea. And then COVID hit and it kind of you know, it kind of went on the back burner and then we got talking and said, you know I got enough tunes for a record And you know he played with me on the first one and engineered, so we want to try to do it again. And so he literally recorded it in my house. We parked the airstream in the driveway and ran a snake underneath my garage door and plugged in And it was kind of great. I hoofed my family out and it was just. It was just James and Jeff Housechuck and I are a drummer And we kind of stripped things down. We learned all the songs as a three piece, you know, with me playing the bass and then and then tracked kind of pretty much live And Jeff and I would play together and put the bed tracks down to like a scratch guitar, scratch, vocal and kind of did it like that. It was really kind of wicked and and not only in office is recording is, you know. We learned the songs and we kind of had all the beds done in like three, four days. It was just bang bang bang, kind of like that It was. It was a lot of fun, like kind of old school recording. You know We trying to almost emulate it doing its 16 track. You know, really minimal overdubs and just to get that sound. You know we spent the majority of our time miking up the drum kit, you know, so that we could. You know the Jeff Housechuck the drummer is just a fantastic player, jazz guy, and he decided to slum it with us rock and rollers And he brought that, that complexity and the touch where you could actually hear the notes on the drums. 0:26:48 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah. 0:26:49 - Speaker 2I could hear it. That's great. We actually ran into him. Ironically, james and I were supporting the group classic Canadian story. but our very first show of the tour that we were doing supporting the troops got snowed out. We got to the bottom of George and Bay and the road was closed. It was drifted in. and so we drove back down to Toronto and went to this great club called the Rex Jazz Club And and Jeff was playing with this organ trio you know like real kind of like just fantastic player and had a couple beers with him after and said, hey, do you want to want to do this If I ever make another record? he said yeah, tommy, and the rest is kind of his. Yeah, it's wicked, yeah actually the phone. 0:27:34 - Speaker 3Yeah, Yeah, No, like, for example, the song over and over. I think it is Yeah. Yeah you can tell. I mean you can tell throughout the record, but like that one in particular. Like, however, because once you lay down your initial, you know your drums and bass, your guitar, your bones you start playing with arrangements. And that I was wondering, like thinking about your process, you know how you go about recording and once you get stuff down, but the way you explain the Airstream that had to have promoted like some level of like creativity, like where you see something you're like let's do this, let's try this, because you're not sitting in a traditional studio, yeah, you know, with four walls, yeah, and a window and like do you know what I'm saying? Does that? Yeah? 0:28:29 - Speaker 2no, 100% That's. That's exactly what we were able to do, you know, within the confines of the house, like I have a small home studio, i have an open house, so I got curtains everywhere to kind of allow, you know, for not only privacy but to kind of the dead and the sound and stuff. We had to be creative with what we were doing and trying to figure out where we're going to put drums and what we're going to do with bass. And it was literally because of the way Jeff played And my natural affinity for records that were done in the 70s that we wanted to, instead of getting the big, boomy Bob Rock kind of like we're going to play in the cabin, smash, smash, smash drum kit, we wanted to, like Jeff plays with jazz sticks, that's, you know it's with. Well, let's put them in this curtained off room where everything's totally dead and and do the do the Jeff Emmerich, you know and kind of play and play and play and move the mic and move the stand until we got the kit sounding perfectly. And then in the meantime, you know, we're rehearsing And James is playing with us, and then we, you know, we get tempos down and stuff and, and you know, do a scratch acoustic guitar and vocal. So we know the arrangement And then Jeff or James would go out into the air stream and we counted off and Jeff and I would play together, you know. And the bass amp is elsewhere in the house So there's no chance of it bleeding in, but we didn't have walls or rooms or anything like that. And again, it was the same process. Most of the bass is not DI, it's, it's. I've got an old, you know, portaflex B15 from 1965, the James Jamerson right And it was kind of like you stick the right mic in front of it And it sounds like, it sounds like Motown, you know, and and that's that's kind of the way we get it And obviously I knew the tunes real well And Jeff is just such a good enough player. That was like, oh, you know, you kind of get it in one or two takes and go out and listen to it. And then again is a cool thing that we go to the driveway, to the air stream, which was really our control room, and you listen to it all stripped away or it's just bass and drums And it's kind of like, oh, it's got even without a lyric and without a guitar or even a music Or even a melody. It's like, oh, this sounds pretty wicked. It's kind of the inverse of being a songwriter where I've always believed if you can sing a song around a campfire, and it can, and it can exist on that level and subsist on that level. And it's like, oh, okay, this is a decent song. And we kind of combined those two ethos and to make this record And it was again, it was just because of the circumstances of making it that you know, we all had to be tested up And we, you know, it was just the three of us and we were also living together and eating together and drinking beer together and playing pool pool table in one part of my house And it was great. It's like it's the band camp, you know it's the hardest way to kill time 0:31:49 - Speaker 1you know, sure, gord, i have a question from somebody on Twitter. We let them know that we were meeting with you And he said it's Craig Rogers from Twitter. And he said, curious if he curious of Gord finds himself writing on guitar or bass more often, or a mixture both with this album and when he wrote for the hip. His bass playing is very melodic, so does he have a chord progression in mind first and then works out a baseline, or does the bass melody come first? 0:32:17 - Speaker 2I primarily write on on guitar, for sure, you know, certainly with the hit, even the songs I would bring to the hip, i would have written riffs and started out on acoustic guitar, not all the time Like they were. on occasion I would try to do something on bass. Bass is kind of tough to sit around on your own. Keep yourself entertained. You know you can play along and stuff. But certainly like my main contributions writing with the hip because we had developed that cooperative songwriting style where you know no one in the group would bring a finished idea to the band. You know we would basically throw out a riff, be it a guitar riff, in some cases a bass riff, and we would start playing together And Gord would start putting a melody on top and a lyric on top And it was great that way. As the bass player you'd like oh here are all these holes all like add melody in here. Or in a lot of cases it was from the middle of songs while you were jamming or sound checks. You know we were always playing And but yeah, it was great fun. I miss making music with those guys big time because it was as a songwriter. It's different now, like you, never when you're, when I was in the hip, you never had to finish an idea And even if you had writers, if you were stuck with something, we would get together frequently And someone always had something new and fresh And that would, you know, cause a light bulb to come on And it would suggest a change that maybe the guy that brought the briefing hadn't thought of it Meanwhile, gord just being Gord, he would be riffing on top and his melody would suggest a change that he would make. And it was great. I loved being in that band And I miss it because it's like you know, like, yeah, you start, i still start the same way, i start with the riff, but man, it takes a lot longer, you know, to come up with complimentary parts and the lyrics and stuff. And again, i credit Gord. I really, you know, i tried to bring some heft to the lyrics that I was writing for this project and my previous one as well, cause he's, you know, he set a pretty high bar as a songwriter you know and can't really you can't really put out a solo record I've said this a few times, but it's absolutely true Like you can't write. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I've got love in my tummy, you know, and feel good about yourself with some of the lyrics that Gord has, Yeah. So yeah, the writing's a, it's a. It's a, it's a fun, it's a fun process. I'm not a sit down and write every day kind of guy. I don't do the Stephen King and lock myself in my studio for 2,500 words a day. You know, I kind of sit around and watch hockey playoffs or baseball playoffs and with the guitar in my lap and noodling all the while, and then you're like, oh, and The cascade begins from there. You know, kind of not really paying attention to either, and It's amazing if you're receptive to the idea, It'll come from somewhere. It's, it's great fun, It's great fun. 0:35:47 - Speaker 1Gordon, i'm so thrilled that you laid down in 2020, you laid down get back again. Yeah, so it was. So we have a like a proper studio version of that song, because I gotta tell you, that was one of the hip songs that I came to early on and in my young hip career, and I was like whoa, this is something that's not on the record. It's like this is like a bootleg, or this is so cool And I gotta I gotta wonder, though, how did it never end up on a record like that? It's such a phenomenal song. 0:36:17 - Speaker 2It's, it's a funny one. I mean that it was That's. It's an old song. I mean that was back from the day when we were we were kind of clubbing it, he just kind of in southeastern Ontario and and we were all learning how to write and we were Writing a little bit together. You know Gord Downey and I would and Paul were living together at a student house But yeah, and it it was kind of a mainstay when we would play live and it was in the running, you know for for up to here for sure as a song. But interestingly enough we We recorded a demo version of it. That was just dynamite. Like You know, the performance across the board is great, particularly by Gord, like he just sang the song beautifully. And it was one of those circumstances where the The, the guy that was helping us the demo, said, oh, that was really really great, one more time just like that and we'll run tape. And we're like, oh, what do you mean? you weren't running tape? and oh, tried it again and collectively we were so disappointed. You know that I don't know we never, we never seemed to Capture that vibe that we had on this unrecorded Demo. You know this is again, we were really young, we were still learning how to play in the studio where it sounded like us and Again it sounds old-fashioned and everything, but it was back in the day We recorded live like we would, you know, put the bass somewhere and you know, drums are in a booth and gorge in a booth And we were learning how to do it, but still get that feeling like with headphones on that, we know, you know It sounds like awesome. We're listening to each other Again and then, yeah, it just never. It just never made the cut. After that, i guess I mean there is a version of it somewhere, at least I thought we had reported it for up to here There is some kind of version of it somewhere. We're finding it Odd with. We've always been signed to Universal in various shapes or forms. We were signed to MCA back in the day. But the tracking down on old tapes, a little demo stuff And studio stuff, is proving very, very challenging from an archival point of view. Like stuff is You'd think it'd be, you know, t, hip or Or it would be alphabetized or the Dewey decimal system or something, but it seems pretty random and stuff is in different storage area Areas and our drummer John has just been. He's just been like a dog on a bone tracking down Material and just relentless trying to find stuff. We kind of process kind of started for us with Road apples and but we were still. We were only able to manage to find Two-thirds of the tapes. You'd think they'd all be somewhere together. You know, when we heard about that fire on the universal lot we hit the panic button like right. You know, wow is our? do you think some our stuff is in there? and then read the list in the paper and there was our name. You know, in between Mel Torme and the down Trop family singers, you know it's like oh crap, i hope we do, because that, that, because, to your point, that's exactly the kind of stuff that we were looking for. Turns out there were dupes and some of its backup in Canada. Definitely Yeah, it's a. 0:40:11 - Speaker 3I just I'd be remiss if I didn't ask a gear question What, what, what, what, what? what type of guitar do you do you like to sit in? Because when you're sitting watching a ball game and you're just noodling or you're just whatever like what's your go-to? 0:40:26 - Speaker 2I, honestly, i've got a. I've got a few favorites, in fact, like there's a song on this, this latest record called change your mind, i I bought a. I bought an old Martin D18, saw it. I bought it sight unseen because it's just always wandered one and down. I Picked it up and Literally pulled it out of the case and it became my main guitar for about a week and that was that that. I Written that song on it within Got probably a day or two, you know it. Just it felt right, sounded right. 0:41:08 - Speaker 1What's that? there's sort of like a dreamy stony sound on that song. 0:41:11 - Speaker 2Yeah, and I would credit the guitar. You know, i guess I I Have a lot of, i've got a lot of instruments laying around the house and I will, you know, i will, i'll trick myself and I'll keep one guitar With a capo on the second fret, you know, and thereby changing the key of the song. But you just, in certain cases, different chord shapes and different you know, composite chords, like you know, a D over G or whatever to sound different in a different key or it'll trigger something melodically and then that will Send it in a different direction. So I I kind of rotate them in and out. You know I I Got an old the first kind of cool guitar about was an old J 160, you know mid 50s old beaver of a guitar, and it's always out on a stand somewhere and I'll Pick it up and I'm playing. Right now I'm going out and playing this old, the ES 125, like a, like a hollow-bodied arched top, electric and And it's been laying around and it's just, you know It sounds kind of got a little more sound to it. Yeah, i just kind of believe in the magic of it. You know that it's just like oh, this, you know it's rules right and sounds right in the. The tones of these older instruments, to my ear anyway, are so nuanced that that each one has a different character and Suggests different things, you know, and some chords sound better on them than others. And yeah, it's so, so it's cool. I like I say, i trick myself and I mix it up. 0:42:50 - Speaker 3That's the per. That's the perfect answer. Had you said this is the guitar, that's trick Bs and me bulls it me right on that school Yeah my question was more what kind of beer we were you drinking where you were recording and the Not as young as I used to be, so I. 0:43:13 - Speaker 2There's always a case of the in this kicking around here, for sure, but I'm more of a light beer guy now. Unfortunately, i just I can't afford to Drink the loaf of bread like I used to when I was a young man. Live to tell it. 0:43:29 - Speaker 4I'm right there with you. Yeah, i'm right there with you, gord. 0:43:33 - Speaker 2Yeah, I'm pretty much a logger and a Guinness guy. 0:43:36 - Speaker 4Yeah, sorry. 0:43:49 - Speaker 1Well, I'd love to talk more about the. I'd love to talk more about the. The record sure. You gotta ask the video to man and we haven't touched. We haven't even touched on the video. 0:43:59 - Speaker 2Yeah, I'm glad you like it. I, i yeah, that's a friend of my, my youngest son's It's aspiring filmmaker and videographer and, obviously, videos on what there used to be. I'm like I'm a survivor of the MTV era where You just saw your recoupable account go up and up and up with your record company because you'd spend more money making videos And you would make the record. But it's. But he's a creative young guy having feral is his name and I I Was reading the newspaper And there was an article I can't think this one Facebook change just named in Metta, and Mr Zuckerberg had proclaimed that the future of the world, the future of reality, is going to be virtual reality. And They ran a little clip of the journalists were testing it out with the, with those goggles or that, whatever that is. I said, wow, this is the future of reality. The graphics are kind of shitty, you know, and and And I bounced it off heaven and I want to make this video about these tech guys that are kind of changing the way we interact with each other and getting rich in the process. And could we make a virtual reality kind of video for this song about kind of love in the VR world? and and man he ran with it. He was like I know exactly what you're talking about. 0:45:34 - Speaker 3And it's clear who everybody is. It's very clear who everybody is. 0:45:37 - Speaker 2He ran into a little problem with the record. Here it was, it was clear, still in the legal department And hit the panic button real quick. But we just, i think. 0:45:52 - Speaker 4You know, it's a good thing when that happens And it was fun. 0:45:55 - Speaker 2The song I think Google Guy has a bit of a sense of humor to it And yeah, i got when all that stuff was going on, when they were talking about how their algorithm there were purports to bring people together was actually the algorithm itself was based on making people butt heads, because there was more engagement when the conversation was contentious, as opposed to fluffy, puffy stuff. And that young woman, francis Hogan, really kind of went official with it. She kind of blew the whistle on these, these guys, and I thought right away to myself like oh, what would what would Joe Strummer do with a concept like this? You know, like you wouldn't know all have very much and try to call the guy out. And it was actually the last song I wrote for the record And it came real, real quick because I kind of got my dander up just a little bit. I'm not a social media guy. I understand how people do it. It's a great way to stay in touch with friends all over the world and stuff, and I get it. But God, imagine if you're Instagramming or Facebooking with your pals. But there was a artificial intelligence kind of trying to get you guys to fight about something you may have said to each other in high school and dragging that your relationship through them. 0:47:21 - Speaker 3I'm sure it's already there. 0:47:22 - Speaker 2Exactly, you know. I mean, i'm in a. I was in a band with my high school friends and, oh my God, we fought about crap that was 35 years old. You know, sometimes it was kind of anyway, yeah, so I yeah anyway, i glad you liked the video. It was fun to do. I'm going to do a follow up. He's one of them for call Yeah, but I don't know, i haven't seen it, yet I'm dying. He's okay. I'll be anxious to check that out. 0:47:56 - Speaker 4I enjoyed the video and the song and the song. Honestly it brought me. There's this kind of 80s feel to it, like it's it's interesting kind of the juxtaposition of I don't know had money for nothing Yeah yeah, and then what? Yeah, I'm not, i'm not sure, yeah it's. Yeah, it's reminded me of I don't know a couple of things, but anyways, the the video is great, and it was just I love the personification of the characters, and it's just. I just really related it. I was, i was in, i was in Italy recently. We were staying with family and I'm kind of a handy guy, so I was helping them do some stuff and I said, well, can you work and we get this? you know, we needed something in particular. My aunt there says, well, we could just order it on Amazon, and sure enough it was there the next day. And I'm like I mean Italy and Jeff, jeff, still knocking on the front door delivering, yeah yeah, it's not so I conveniently unbelievable. 0:48:57 - Speaker 2I totally understood. And obviously the pandemic Unbelievable fall for those companies because all the stores are closed, you know, but Massive. You know I'm from a small, small ish city. You know we got 150,000, 200,000 people here. You know, if the if you don't support your local hardware store owner, who may very well be your neighbor down the street, you know it's, it's kind of like the kind of the 100 mile Right Diet approach to living. You know where you live in a community and if you got a couple Extra bucks for things like I get it like people go to the big box stores to buy 10,000 rolls of toilet paper and junk like that. But but you know I go to the local record store and my local stereo shop and my local guitar store and we shop at a small little market And it's important, you know it's. It's important if, if the pandemic taught us anything, it was to kind of value community Because we would support each other more. And meanwhile, that's what I love to do. Devon's portrayal of the of. They call themselves founders. I understand the founders in the orbiting space station above, above the world, that slowly falling apart. And frankly, that's what I try to articulate in the, in the lyric of the songs, that we all know the reason, and the reason is really us. It's up to us, you know, to build community and to support community And and everyone wants to save a buck. I understand that stuff, but at what cost, you know. And what cost? Yeah, in many cases, like mm. Hmm, there's a lot of each cylinder vans all over North America as we speak, idling in people's driveways dropping off stuff that they ordered on Amazon last night, you know, and there's a cost to that, ever, you know. And that's what I was trying to articulate anyway, yeah, yeah. 0:51:21 - Speaker 4What I notice nowadays on, i mean, i'm in Portland, we're in the city, you know, downtown Portland is about three miles away, and what I notice is, when we don't have any deliveries, like, i'll just stop, i'm mostly home. I'll stop in the house and think, boy, it's actually been quiet today. You know it's. You have to wait for the white, the white noise to go away in order to I have a Kingston question for you. 0:51:45 - Speaker 1These gentlemen we are recording, we're doing a live finale for this podcast in Toronto on September 1st. So Pete is coming from Spain and Tim is coming from Portland and we're doing it at the rec room in Toronto. We're doing like a live podcast. There's going to be a standup comedian, There's going to be a hip tribute band, et cetera. But as part of their coming to Toronto, I've booked us a day in Kingston and I booked an Airbnb just yesterday. What are some? what are some hip, hip must see spots, Some you mentioned a record store earlier, a guitar store. What are some cool spots that we should go when we're? Yeah, I got to hit the store. 0:52:29 - Speaker 2You know what there's there's. so there's so many of it like this. First off, about Kingston. You know I'm born and bred and raised here. I went to university here and you know, like most young men, like Rob Baker and I, grew up across the street from each other And all through high school together and you know, gordon, Paul and I lived together in university And John was a little bit younger than us behind us, but all went to the same high school Parents, on to each other, and nonetheless, like most young men, we couldn't wait to shape the dust off this one horse town off our boots. You know, move on, or big city, and as it turned out, you know, our career took this home, over Europe and North America and traveling all the time And we kept coming back home And because it was home, you kind of learn to fall in love with where you're from By leaving it, you know, and you kind of realize, oh, there's no better place to come back to. And it still is a really, it's a really special place. Even even with the, the dearth of of live music venues and various cities and stuff, we still have five, six places in town that run live entertainment nightly. You know, and I think that's a big reason Kingston is as it is is produce so many great recording artists, you know Sarah Harmer, headstones and the Glorious Suns, and because they all came up the way I came up, you know, you kind of start playing in downtown Kingston and you play the bigger bar and the bigger bar after that. So there's, there's some great live music venues. The place I'm playing in town is called the, called the the Brune factory, which is kind of a multi multimedia approach to live. It's a film place, it's comedy, it's an office building for the local promoter during the day And it's, it's great. It's very DIY in town, you know it's. Also Kingston is an interesting place because it's a university town, a very large, very good university here. So we kind of punch above our weight for for restaurants and actually activities to do. We have a local symphony orchestra to symphony halls. You know it's just there's, it's a, it's a really special place And it's also it's right at the confluence of Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River. So it's where the Great Lakes kind of funnel all down and the area just east of us is the start of the Thousand Islands, which is again it's we kind of take it for granted. But you guys coming from out of town, you know it's worth jumping on a, on a boat, and you've never seen anything like it. It's, it's just absolutely spectacular, you know, and it's, yeah, it's just really, really cool. There's so many great rooms. You know, the club that we played our first gig was called the the toucan, but it still exists, you know, and it's still still there. It's not a great place to see music or play music, but it's still running live. It's pretty wicked. There's another place called the mansion. That that they're again. They're fighting the good fight. They're trying to bring acts in all the time and get people a place to play. You know, and it's in, it's kind of great. It's kind of a great place to be. I feel very comfortable here. You guys are like it. 0:56:15 - Speaker 3If people, if they have places to play there and there's places that they make available, i mean there's. there's no doubt that's why the city thrives. 0:56:25 - Speaker 2I really think so as well, because people, obviously they people get used to live music being a viable option. You know, that was something that we experienced as young musicians First time we went to Europe. You know, it was again like starting over. But we got to the Netherlands And it was like that was. It was the case of like, where are all these people come from? how do they? but it's because the the nature of the culture and it was back in the CD days, when they were Ridiculously expensive, you know. So you'd have to pony up whatever 30, 40 Gelder's they were called back then so people would literally would go see a band play live before they would pull me up for the record, which was perfect for a group like us, because you know they huh, there are all these Magnificently tall people standing there and all speaking English, hang them boards, every word, yeah, it was great. It's all like. That's all about the amazing thing. I am such a such a believer. It's just so important. 0:57:36 - Speaker 1I I totally feel the song sometimes. Yeah, did you write that? like thinking, live in mind, like, like that feels like a live song. 0:57:46 - Speaker 2Yeah, i Did it's, it's, It's for sure, it's. There's an anger to it for sure, and it's it's not the easiest thing when you're sitting by yourself in a pandemic to To write an uptempo song. But like I, like I was seeing earlier, i was using that experience, i would close the sliding doors of our family room and, and, like everybody, there were moments during when I was locked down or where I was Wasn't quite myself. You know I was feeling. You know, being locked down in the middle of the winter in Canada is You get some dark days for sure, not only Physically dark days, but but the mood kind of translates on you and that's that's really what that song's about. And and I Attempted to turn that frown upside down and kind of went back to the old punk rock me, and It's basically like a confessional more than anything, because it was true, sometimes I felt like I was losing my mind, you know, and and sometimes you know, weed, weeds legal up here and and and so maybe sometimes I'm they've, you know, smoked a bomber a little too early in the day, you know, or maybe a little Bailey's in my morning coffee just to take the edge off. Even quite confessional about that as well. Much sugar in, yeah. 0:59:23 - Speaker 3That's really cool of you sharing my songs with us Share. 0:59:28 - Speaker 1I mean, for me it's been. It's been 38 years of you sharing songs with me, so I really appreciate that and Love that you made time for us today, well. 0:59:39 - Speaker 2I appreciate that. I appreciate that I'm a music fan as well and I and I I Made music with guys I know really well, guys I love, you know, and and We always took it really, really seriously and we always never took whatever success we may have achieved, we never took that for granted, you know, and we knew it was because of the people that liked our music and that supported the group and we, you know, with the past, you know Gordon Lightfoot. It was also such a huge believer in live performance and the love and respect for his audience. you know We came up, you know, very much the same way, just like getting our getting in front of people and, you know, and thanking them. You know, and being truly grateful and trying to allow the music to reflect our growth as people and but our commitment to making really good music and you know I'm I Love it I'm still trying to do it on my own. You know, i'd give anything to have gourd still here and be working my, my normal day job, you know. But but In no small way he still is. You know, he wouldn't have wanted any of us to stop playing, you know, and to stop making music and Yeah, and so I'm kind of doing it to honor him, but it's also it's because it's the only thing I know how to do. I kind of They caught into my, it's my, my yearly cycle of like, oh I'm, you should be making a record soon. I think the song start pouring out. Anyway, i'd go on, but I appreciate you guys for doing this and listening as it is intently, as I Listen to music like that's the way I listen to it too, you know I turn it up. 1:01:31 - Speaker 3Yeah, pleasure's our pleasure We've. 1:01:34 - Speaker 4we've got great time, so thank you so much. 1:01:37 - Speaker 2I'll get a list of places to see in Kingston, and there's some that would be great. It's a pretty, it's a pretty special. It's a pretty special little town. You'll, you'll get the vibe right away. You know, september is a great time of year. Kids are just coming back to school and the and the sailors are still hanging around. It's a touristy town. So there's a. There's a good, it's a good vibe here. It's a nice place to visit. I can't wait. Yeah, i can't wait awesome, awesome. 1:02:02 - Speaker 1Well, thank you so much Thanks for a pleasure, guys. 1:02:06 - Speaker 2I really really appreciate your time. It's fun. 1:02:08 - Speaker 3Yeah, thank you boys. 1:02:10 - Speaker 2Okay, take care, we'll see you real soon. Yeah, thank you. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We analyze every missing person case from Washington and its surrounding states during Keyes pre-Alaska life. A small pool of just 27 compelling Keyes cases emerge; providing a refresh on previously discussed cases, dives into new ones, and a grim bottom line. This is just the jumping off point into the final fast-paced, dense, and surprising 9 episodes of the season.This episode was written, produced, and researched by Josh Hallmark.Research assistance by Ben Lamb.Resources:The Charley Project, NAMUS, The Spokesman-Review, KIRO-7, and KJZZ-14. Patreon producers: Alexa Horn, Amy Basil, Annette, Benjamin Cioppa-Fong, Casey Jensen-Richardson, Dana Keith, Dr. Jill Cooper, Drew Vipond, Hallie Reed, Jessica Alihodzic, Jillian Natale, John O'Leary, Kendall C, Kimberly K, Lauren F, Lindsay Kurtis, Lynnlie Tuschoff, Manolis Boukolus, Meggan Capps-Seawel, Mike Sherman, Nicole and Dennis Henry, Sara C, SC, Shannon Foster, Shelly Brewer, Tuesdi Woodworth, Zack Ignatowicz Warren, and Lydia Fiedler.Join the Patreon team and support the investigation: patreon.com/truecrimebsFor more info: truecrimebullshit.comMusic by:William Hellfire, Radical Face, Sergey Cheremisinov, The Bows, Mike Vignola, and Dan Mayo. Featured song: Washington by Sarah Harmer

Greg spoke to Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer about her involvement with fellow activists who spoke out against Bill 23 and it's impact on the environment.

Greg spoke to Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer about her involvement with fellow activists who spoke out against Bill 23 and it's impact on the environment.

We've got some great stuff for you on the show this week – some songs about hellos, some about goodbyes, and some songs just because! Catch it all here on Georgian Bay Roots Radio. Featuring tracks by Ennis, RPR, Sarah Harmer, The Sundown Drivers, Our Shotgun Wedding, Don Ross, Lisa Stethem, Sharon Lois and Bram, The Skydiggers, Big Little Lions, Tanglefoot, Ruth Moody and Wendi Hunter.

Kelly McMichael on her 2022 Polaris Music Prize-nominated debut album Waves, how she began playing music and her formal studies, the Guelph, Toronto, and St. John's music communities, working with Jake Nicoll and touring in Sarah Harmer's band, loving and learning from Land of Talk, touring again, future plans, and more. Supported by you on Patreon, Blackbyrd Myoozik, Pizza Trokadero, the Bookshelf, Planet Bean Coffee, and Grandad's Donuts. Support Y.E.S.S. and Black Women United YEG. Follow vish online.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE SUMMERFOLK SCHEDULE IS OUT! Yay! You can check it out right now at www.summerfolk.org and begin to map out your festival experience. You'll want to check it out early and make some plans and, as a heads up, you might have to be strategic...because as it's been for the last 46 years, there will be LOTS of amazing music happening at this year's festival. Tune in this week to catch music by Summerfolk alumni Sarah Harmer and Tim Harrison, and Summerfolk 47 artists Morgan X Barrie, Le Vent Du Nord, Mimi O'Bonsawin, David Newland, Briar Summers, RPR, Steve Poltz, Leela Gilday, The Mackenzie Blues Band, Danny Michel, and Camryn Ruthven!

Recorremos canciones del disco "Nick Of Time" de Bonnie Raitt, álbum del año en 1989 para los votantes de los Grammy y las escuchamos en otras voces y en la de ella misma. Recordamos a un gran disco de Ana Laan, Nicolette Larson o de Natalie Prass; escuchamos lo nuevo de Wallis Bird y de Lake Street Dive o tres canciones seguidas de artistas canadienses y otras tres de artistas australianos. DISCO 1 JAMES TAYLOR Instrumental II  DISCO 2 ANA LAAN Lime Lemon Pie  DISCO 3 NATALIE PRASS Short Court Style DISCO 4 WALLIS BIRD Pretty Lies DISCO 5 CRASH TEST DUMMIES MMM MMM MMM MMM DISCO 6 CRISSI COCHRANE And Still We Move  DISCO 7 SARAH HARMER Just Get Here DISCO 8 KENNY ROGERS I Can’t Make You Love Me DISCO 9 LAKE STREET DIVE Nick Of Time DISCO 10 BONNIE RAITT Have A Heart DISCO 11 NICOLETTE LARSON Fallen DISCO 12 COLIN HAY Beautiful World DISCO 13 DANNY GEORGE WILSON Fishing Line DISCO 14 XAVIER RUUD The Window BONUS TRACK JORGE DREXLER Cinturón blanco Escuchar audio

On this week's podcast, Canadian Musician Editor-in-Chief Mike Raine is joined by Kim Fry, one of the organizers behind Music Declares Emergency Canada (MDEC). It's the Canadian chapter of a global movement of people in the music industry working together “towards a carbon neutral future.” More than 200 artists have signed on in Canada, including Tegan & Sara, LAL, Sarah Harmer, Caribou, and members of Broken Social Scene and Tokyo Police Club. Kim, who has a background with Greenpeace and climate activism, is also the mother of Brighid Fry of the popular Canadian indie-folk group Housewife (formerly Moscow Apartment). Mike and Kim discuss MDE/MDEC's formation, it's approach to activism and making change, why and how artists should get involved with climate activism, even if they're not “perfect” environmentalists, and what specifically the music industry needs to change in order to be part of the solution of halting climate change. For more about Music Declares Emergency, go to www.musicdeclares.net.

This episode was recorded on May 1st, 2022 in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Sarah Harmer, Arlo McKinley, Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle, John Inghram, and Taylor Rae. Podcast support is provided by Digital Relativity. https://bit.ly/3wI8ylD

Please join us as we welcome Charissa into our studios to chat with Heart of Indie Radio Host- Eddie Davis (Captain Eddie) Two decades ago guitarist Colin Cripps helped a promising young Ottawa-area singer release her debut album. The album was Failer. The artist was Kathleen Edwards. Now while newcomer Charissa might not be asking for flowers anytime soon her debut EP, produced by Cripps, has a lot of the strengths and qualities Edwards had in spades starting out: an earnest-soaked earthy voice that should make for a long and successful road ahead. A perfect example is "People Like You" which, if you don't enjoy dear reader and listener, I've lost all respect for you already! The five-song effort opens with the blissfully delivered "Scars and All" that builds into a mid-tempo roots-pop nugget in the vein of Sarah Harmer's "Basement Apartment." Meanwhile the gentle heartfelt execution of "Starlit Sky" shines over its simple, barren framework, letting Charissa work her never-forced magic. Fans of Aimee Mann and Sheryl Crow would be wise to see out this EP as "The Last Time" is a confident piece of work minus any production gloss or theatrics. The only drawback might be it's just five songs with the title track wrapping up this stellar effort. I guess I'll have to hit repeat. Again and again! Love and Be Loved was released on March 25, 2022.

This time it's all about the concert calendar and our CAN'T MISS shows of the 2nd quarter of 2022. The concert calendar is overflowing right now with so many great shows and more are announced every day!On the show, we hop from venue to venue, and month to month playing music from and talking about so many upcoming shows.Hear music from these acts with upcoming shows:04/27/22 Disclosure/DJ Boring at Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland04/28/22 Sarah Harmer with special guest Kelly Hunt at Knuckleheads05/05/22 Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit at Uptown Theater05/07/22 Hovvdy/Molly Parden at The Bottleneck05/08/22 Bartees Strange with Car Seat Headrest at Grinders KC05/21/22 Kirsten Paludan and the Ringers/Marah McFadden at The Ship05/31/22 Phoebe Bridgers at Starlight06/03/22 Small Black at recordBar06/13/22 Purity Ring at The Granada06/15/22 Bon Iver/Bonny Light Horseman at Starlight06/17 and 06/18 MiD at Boulevardia 2022And we name-drop dozens and dozens more shows, acts, venues, and more. So many shows! The best way to keep up is to head to bridge909.org/events, check out the concert calendar, and make sure you're on the email list.We also give some love to ConductorWilliams and congratulate him on his Grammy and we give some love to the Jayhawks for what they pulled off last night. We also have a new opening bumper from JNabe, full of Kansas City love.

PODCAST EXCLUSIVE - Sarah Harmer - When I finished this interview, I walked into my kitchen and my wife Nina said, “how's my favourite songwriter doing?”.  I answered “I'm doing great, the interview went really well” to which she responded “I don't mean you, I mean Sarah Harmer!” Ha!! I should have known. We are giant fans of Sarah Harmer in our house. Have been for years. She's a Juno winner, a dedicated environmentalist, and a super down to earth, cool person to chat with. I really enjoyed this conversation. We got to talk about her albums, where she lives, our shared deep appreciation of nature and her upcoming tour! She's going all over the country in 2022. Check www.sarahharmer.com for details. 

We speak to Sarah Harmer, musician and environmental activist, about the power of arts in activism, and how patience can sometimes be as valuable as urgency in addressing climate emergency. Sarah Harmer is one of Canada's most acclaimed singer-songwriters, with a catalogue of work tethered to the nuances of the natural world. But what do you do when your own environment is threatened? In 2005, Sarah began campaigning to protect Mount Nemo, in southwest Ontario, from commercial exploitation - including playing a hiking tour along the Niagara Escarpment, which was later released as the Juno-award-winning film Escarpment Blues. This podcast is part of '400 Parts Per Million', an ecological arts project by Theatre in the Rough, supported by Arts Council England and the PH Holt Foundation. Find out more at http://400.earth

The Halifax indie-rock quartet No, It's Fine has released its second pandemic project—the first being a collection of covers that dropped in March—in the form of the full-length album I Promise. Mastermind Cailen Alcorn Pygott visits The Golden Palm to chat Cancon, words versus melody (and he uses a lot of words), and the influence of the Philadelphia scene on his band. Plus we hear two new tracks and hey did you hear Sarah Harmer is finally coming back to town?!

As we celebrate our season from 2000, we can't resist sharing this all-time classic eTown full episode, featuring musical guests Grammy Award winner Keb' Mo' and Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer. Plus, Nick interviews adventurer and writer Craig Childs. And our award winner is the founder and (at the time) director of a grassroots nonprofit bringing much needed clothing, food, blankets, medical supplies and more to Native Americans in South Dakota.

Voces secretas para que nos gusten los lunes. Descúbrelas. También canciones secretas. Las canadienses Sarah Harmer y Margaret Stowe. ¿Las conoces? Seguramente que a su paisano Destroyer, sí ¿Y a Abra Moore o David Wilcox o The Bell Brigade o Ellis Paul o Kelly Willis? He rescatado la primera gran época de 10.000 Maniacs con Natalie Merchant, a el último John Cougar antes de recuperar su apellido Mellencamp, a Kelly Willis con la producción de Chuck Prophet, y a ¡Carlos DeFrance! Sí, en solitario tras su etapa en Objetivo Birmania, grupo del que se está preparando un documental. DISCO 1 AMERICA Miniature +Tin Man (1+2 EN CONTINUO) DISCO 2 ABRA MOORE Sweet Chariot (1) DISCO 3 10000 MANIACS Back O' The Moon (5) DISCO 4 JOHN COUGAR This Time (4) DISCO 5 CARLOS DE FRANCE Agua (1) DISCO 6 KELLY WILLIS Take Me Down (1) DISCO 7 ELLIS PAUL Kiss The Sun (A Song For Pat Tillman) (2) DISCO 8 PABLO MORENO Imposible (ORDENADOR) DISCO 9 SARAH HARMER Silver Road (5) DISCO 10 DAVID WILCOX Eye Of The Hurricane (1) DISCO 11 MARGARET STOWE Amapola (8) DISCO 12 PHOEBE SNOW Share Your Love With Me (10) DISCO 13 DESTROYER Painter In Your Pocket (4) DISCO 14 THE BELL BRIGADE Sweet Louise (1) DISCO 15 LIVINGSTON TAYLOR Loving Be My New Horizon (10) Escuchar audio

This week we have two Canadian artists, both with very autumn vibes. 70s Canadian pop rock band Klaatu meet's 2000s indi singer song writer Sarah Harmer for a meeting of the minds. As always, a big thank you to Lesnna Osinki for the show's graphic, and Explosive Ear Candy for their song "All Together Now" which is the soundtrack to this podcast.