I'm bored at work, here's a run down of my fav to least fav hip albums.
1. Phantom Power
The Hip at the their very best, a stunning album - for once the production is perfect, all but one track (The Rules) are amazing. Poets and Vapour Trails are great rock songs, Bobcayeon is breathtaking and 'Escape' and 'Penguin' maybe the greatest ending to any album ever.
I couldn't agree more. Phantom Power will always be my favorite Hip album for many reasons. Favorite songs: Save the Planet (one of the most underrated rockers in their catalogue), Membership, Thompson Girl, Escape is at Hand, Emperor Penguin, Vapour Trails, Chagrin Falls...hell, the entire album is amazing. I even like The Rules. The rest of my list looks something like this:
2. Day for Night
Phantom Power may be my favorite, but Day for Night is the Hip's masterpiece. Personally I think it's the best album released by anybody from the 90s. Yeah, that's right. I said it. This was when the band really stretched out their artistic legs and the results are f**king mind-blowing. Nautical Disaster might be the greatest song ever written by anybody.
3. Road Apples
The Hip at their blues-rock best. The album was recorded in New Orleans, and you can hear the culture seeping it's way into the music, particularly the swampy, southern twang of Long Time Running, Twist My Arm, Fight, Bring it All Back, and Born in the Water.
4. World Container
The best thing they've done in years. The band sounds refreshed, reborn, rejuvenated...whatever you wanna call it. It's got everything you'd want in a Hip record: brilliant lyrics, ass kicking balls-to-the-wall rockers (Lonely End of the Rink, The Kids Don't Get It, The Drop-Off), catchy sing-a-long anthems (Yer Not the Ocean, In View, Luv(sic), Family Band, Last Night I Dreamed), and gorgeous ballads (Fly, Pretend, World Container). It's also Gord Downie's best vocal performance ever in a studio setting. It gives me chills every time. I remember being really worried about the Bob Rock thing, but I was very surprised by how amazing the album sounds. It's probably the best production on a Hip record since Phantom Power. It's also cool to hear the band paying tribute to some of their musical influences, most notably the Police-like guitar echo on Lonely End of the Rink, and the obvious Clash influence on The Kids Don't Get It.
5. Trouble at the Henhouse
Sure it's got some filler that would've sounded better on a b-sides album (Butts Wigglin, Coconut Cream), but the rest of the disc is pretty damn stellar. The one-two-three punch of Gift Shop, Springtime in Vienna, and Ahead by a Century is arguably the best opening three songs on any Hip album.
6. In Between Evolution
The sound of a band getting back to their roots. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. Favorite tracks: Gus, Nashville, You're Everywhere, Makeshift, Mean Streak, One Night in Copenhagen, Are We Family, Josephine. And last but not least: The Heart of the Melt = 2 minutes and 37 seconds of guitar-shredding rock n' roll bliss. Easily one of the most ass-kicking rock tunes I've heard in years. Robby really lets loose on that song.
7. In Violet Light
Criminally underrated album. Great songs, killer lyrics, and the first album where Gord really gets to explore his range as a singer. Those high notes he hits on "Leave" are incredible. Oh, and The Dire Wolf is easily one of the coolest songs they've ever recorded.
8. Fully Completely
This album would be ranked much higher if it weren't for Chris Tsangerides' lousy production. A prime example of an incredible album ruined by a shitty producer. Oh Pigeon Camera, you deserved so much better. Johnny's drums have that unfortunate plastic-spork-hitting-mashed-potatoes sound that I absolutely hate. Imagine how amazing this album would have sounded if they had recorded it with somebody like Adam Kasper or Brandan O'Brien.
9. Up to Here
A true Canadian rock n' roll classic, and one of the best debut albums ever. It's also one of the albums that helped usher in a new era for Canadian rock and played a key role in driving a stake through the heart of shitty mid-80s Canuck bands like Glass Tiger and Loverboy. I'll admit I hardly ever listen to it anymore, but every once in a while I'll dust it off and give it a spin, and I'm reminded of why I became a fan of this band in the first place. Quite simply, they kicked more ass than just about any band out there at the time. A great album.
10. Music@Work
Definitely the most inconsistent album in the Hip's catalogue. There's some fantastic stuff on here (My Music at Work, Tiger the Lion, Lake Fever, The Bastard, Toronto #4, The Bear), but unfortunately the album as a whole just doesn't do it for me. But it's still the Hip, and even a mediocre Hip song is better than 99% of the crap you hear on the radio these days. I still like the album. It's just not my favorite.
11. The Tragically Hip (also known as "The EP", "Self-Titled" or "The Blue Album")
Small Town Bringdown and Killing Time are great songs, but other than that it's pretty forgettable. Although I do have a soft spot for "I'm a Werewolf, Baby".
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
I think alot of fans feel the tracks that didn't made the final cut (Ultra Mundane, Problem Bears & Forest Edge) are infact better than some of the songs that did make it onto the album. I certainly would swap Ultra Mundane and Forest Edge in for Are You Ready? (worst Hip album starter by some way) and Throwing Off Glass. That'd probably move In Violet Light from 5th to 4th place for me.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Setlist- Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, TX, March 15th:
Ocean
NOIS
Drop Off
Good Life
In View
Bobcaygeon
Fly
Poets
World Container
Fiddler's
Springtime
Meridian
Dire Wolf
Kids
Locked
Sherpa
Blow
Rink
Tush (ZZ Top cover. "Dallas, TX, Hollywood! I ain't asking for much...)
Family Band
Bones
Next show- tonight at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin. Man, I wish I had the money to follow them on this tour. Perhpas I'll be able to catch them on the next leg in the fall.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Rink
NOIS
Ocean
Boots
Drop Off
ABAC
In View
Gift Shop
Gems
World Container
Puttin Down
Meridian
Bobcaygeon
Kids
Spring
Wheat
Luv(sic)
Blow
Grace
Substitute (The Who)
Family
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Article from today's Toronto Star about the Hip's appearance at South By Southwest. Enjoy!
"Canada's Rock Titans Crash the Hipster party"
Ben Rayner
Toronto Star
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Gord Downie is wary.
Unnecessarily so, I might add. The Tragically Hip front man has, in this writer’s very limited experience, always come across as a thoroughly decent, thoughtful cat and a most un-rock-star-like rock star – not to mention the sort of bona fide music fan who doesn’t just name-check Eric’s Trip in his tunes when it’s cool to do so, but who seeks out that band’s Julie Doiron as his own bassist years later when it’s time to do his own solo thing. He’s in the presence of a fan on this sunny Austin afternoon, although I’m not sure that he believes it.
There’s been some behind-the-scenes fretting on the record-label front that the Star only wants to talk to Downie and the Hip at the South by Southwest festival — where the beloved Kingston quintet played venerable downtown concert hall Antone’s last night to 1,200 or so reverent fans — so it can rehash the 15-year-old tale of how the Hip’s “conquering rock heroes” status at home has never translated abroad.
Downie is quick, too, to bring up the fact that I’d recently mentioned his band in the same sentence as Our Lady Peace in a Canadian Music Week piece about changing times in the domestic music industry; even though the connection wasn’t made disparagingly, I instantly feel guilty. I get the sense he thinks I’m coming at him from some loaded, “indier-than-thou” perspective that would negate the Hip’s crucial, bricklaying role in giving Canada a homegrown music scene of which it can be proud. A national scene that ranks among the most admired and envied on air at SXSW 2007, if we’re to believe the smoke being blown up our country’s collective arse by innumerable insiders and outside observers here in Austin.
“Any rock ’n’ roller worth his salt would want none of any of that,” says Downie. “To be honest, I think affiliation is anathema — if you’re a rock `n’ roller, you’re a lone wolf.”
So, no, the Hip isn’t part of the Arcade Fire/Broken Social Scene/Metric/etc. mafia And unlike fellow elder-statesmen-in-Austin Sloan — who seem to be playing every hour on the hour this weekend (“Ripley’s has been notified,” guitarist Chris Murphy quipped yesterday — the Tragically Hip feels slightly removed from the Golden Dogs, the Hylozoists, Inward Eye and the countless other Canadian indie acts vying for attention down here, because the band has enjoyed such a long run at the forefront of our national consciousness.
And while the fact that several consecutive U.S. labels have consistently failed to turn a band with such glaringly obvious popular appeal above the 49th parallel into even a minor sensation in the States has become an overstated part of Canadian popular mythology, it’s still a baffling fact. The Tragically Hip might be a “major-label” band in Canada, but the Hip is the sole “industry” force pushing its new disc, World Container — released in the States just a week and a half ago — south of the border.
“We’re essentially an indie act down here. We’re goin’ it alone, so it makes total sense for us to be here,” says Downie, eager to point out that the band has no complaints about the way it has been handled for years by Universal Music in Canada. “Within the Universal deal, we’ve always felt like an independent act. We’ve never been told what to do. We’ve used their resources to our own design.”
In any case, it’s weird that the Hip, like Sloan, is on a level playing field with pretty much every other act at SXSW. It also makes you appreciate what we take for granted in Canada when you see Sloan or the Hip play a relatively intimate club show in Texas — not because of the loudmouthed Canadians who turn out in droves to wave the flag and, I’m sure, irritate the hell out their favourite bands, but because the non-Canadian fans there are people who’ve clearly sought the bands out through sheer love of their music. The tunes have reached them honestly, free of hype and radio/video saturation.
“Not to be immodest, (1992’s) Fully Completely just went diamond,” says Downie. “I’m proud of that. I don’t usually care about those things, but I was really proud of that because it took so long. It means people are still plugging into it and buying it over time. That’s our career, and it’s really uncharted .....
“There are certain places where we arrive to a bit of acclaim, if certainly not to screaming girls at JFK (airport). At this point, we’ve had not one shred of national-profile-enhancing anything. We’ve played on Saturday Night Live and got not even a Rolling Stone review. Nothing. Which I’m not lamenting, really, but it gives you an idea of how we’ve been doing it, which is 50 people at a time — literally. We played in Dallas last night to 1,000 people, but I can distinctly remember playing Dallas to 45.”
World Container’s lead single, “In View,” has won enough enthusiasm that Downie is cautiously optimistic that things are once again happening in the U.S..
“We haven’t had that one song,” says Downie. “I think Randy Bachman said that about us once. My tight-lipped response to a radio interviewer in New York once who told me `Randy Bachman says the reason you’re not big down here is you never wrote a hit’ was — after I thought `F--- you, Randy Bachman’ under my breath — that he’s probably right. I’m not saying we’ve done that now, but when I hear `In View’ down here, I think that song is the thing that’s sort of opening the door a little bit. Not our sparkling personalities, not our Canadian-ness, not any quirk or the fact that Paul (guitarist Paul Langlois) has 25 cats.”
It’d be great if they tasted just a shred of the adulation they’ve had at home, in the U.S., England, anywhere. But what would top that would be neither the Canadian press nor the Tragically Hip having to worry about the Tragically Hip’s fortunes anywhere but Canada — because we like them and, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that the band sells records to anyone but its fans.
It would be nice, too, to tell Gord Downie you’re gonna go see his band and not get a disbelieving brush-off.
“What? You’re not going to the Stooges like everybody else?”
“No, I haven’t seen you guys in a club in a long time. I actually really wanna come tonight.”
“Well, even if you don’t, Ben, thanks for doing this.”
Damn you, Tragically Hip. Believe it when we say we love you.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Where did everybody go? It's been pretty lonely in here over the last few days. Anyways, for anybody who's interested, a couple of new shows were just added to the U.S. tour:
05/01/07:
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Safehaven
On-sale: April 2nd
Tickets: $65 GA, $100 VIP
Tickets will be available at all Big Daddy’s Liquor Stores and at DMS Broadcasting (2nd Floor, Mirco Centre). Stay tuned to thehip.com for options to purchase tickets online.
05/15/07: Madison: Barrymore Theatre
Age: all ages
Venue is wheelchair accessible
Tickets: $25
On-sale: March 24 @ 10am
Tickets available at The Exclusive Co. (State St. & High Pt.), Strictly Discs, Star Liquor, Sugar Shack, Green Earth (Middleton), The Barrymore, online at barrymorelive.com or charge by phone at (608) 241-8633.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
I'm sure they will. According to the band, this current U.S. tour is only the first leg. I wouldn't be surprised if they're touring down there again later this summer or fall.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
I'm sure they will. According to the band, this current U.S. tour is only the first leg. I wouldn't be surprised if they're touring down there again later this summer or fall.
I'll go to every show that my job doesn't interfere with lol
would be TOTAL blasphemy if the hip didn't continually play Calgary
Agreed. It's a good thing they're playing here during Stampede:
The Tragically Hip
July 15, 2007
Saddledome
On-sale: March 17th @ 10am
Age: All Ages
Tickets: $79.50, $62.20 and $45.00
Tickets available at all Ticketmaster locations and http://www.ticketmaster.ca
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
wow didn't realize it was during stampede!... are you gonna go?
I'd love to go, but $79.50 is way too steep for me right now, so unfortunately I'm gonna have to skip this one. A buddy of mine works in the industry, and I asked him yesterday why the price is so high for this show, and he told me that because it's during Stampede the price automatically goes up for any band or show that comes through town during those 10 days. I also found out that the ticket price also inlcudes your admission into the park.
I've decided I'm gonna wait and go see them during the 2nd leg of the U.S. tour...probably Spokane or Seattle.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Rink
New Orleans
In View
ABAC
Last Night
Chagrin
Courage
Luv(sic)
Long Time
Pretend
Lionized
Meridian
Bobc
Kids
Fireworks
Scared
Ocean
Bones
Grace
Train Kept A' Rollin'
Family Band
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
My favourite concert would have to be the Another Road Side Attraction tour in 1995 in High River Alberta, outdoors, thousands of people camping and hanging out and tons of great bands sharing the weekend with them. Mud baths and beer gardens everywhere!!
ive seen them about 6 x. great band...
The Lonely End of the Rink
Little Bones
Gift Shop
The Dire Wolf
Family Band
Ahead by a Century
In View
Locked in the Trunk of a Car
Flamenco
World Container
Fireworks
At The Hundredth Meridian
Long Time Running
The Kids Don't Get It
Poets
Bobcaygeon
Yer Not The Ocean
New Orleans is Sinking/Nautical Disaster
Don't Wake Daddy
Lust for Life
Blow at High Dough
"Your light's reflected now,... reflected from afar...
We were but stones,... your light made us stars"
The Lonely End of the Rink
Little Bones
Gift Shop
The Dire Wolf
Family Band
Ahead by a Century
In View
Locked in the Trunk of a Car
Flamenco
World Container
Fireworks
At The Hundredth Meridian
Long Time Running
The Kids Don't Get It
Poets
Bobcaygeon
Yer Not The Ocean
New Orleans is Sinking/Nautical Disaster
My favourite concert would have to be the Another Road Side Attraction tour in 1995 in High River Alberta, outdoors, thousands of people camping and hanging out and tons of great bands sharing the weekend with them. Mud baths and beer gardens everywhere!!
ive seen them about 6 x. great band...
I was at that show! If I remember correctly, it was:
The Hip
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers
Blues Traveler
Spirit of the West
Matthew Sweet
Rheostatics
Eric's Trip
The Inbreds
The weather wasn't cooperating that day, and I specifically remember it poured rain during Spirit of the West and Blues Traveler, which made for a big muddy mess. Ahh, good times!
I'd say this calls for a "best Hip shows you've ever seen" conversation. I've been to plenty of memorable Hip shows over the years, but there are 4 that really stand out above the others:
1) Sasquatch Festival, 2006.
The craziest hail storm I've ever witnessed interrupted Neko Case's set and sent thousands of people into a panic as everybody scrambled to find shelter. It was nuts. After the storm cleared and the stage crew shovelled all the snow off the stage, the Hip went on and blew everybody's minds with a short, but incredibly powerful 8-song set. They've never been better. The best part was how Gord brilliantly peppered his rants with comments about the crazy weather:
"I thought the skies would only open up partially. I thought they'd only give us a sample. I didn't think it'd be fully...completely! I wasn't ready!"
The girl standing beside me had never heard of them before, and seemed really surprised when I told her how long they'd been around and how many records they had. After their set she asked me which albums she should buy, and then she made a b-line for the merch tent, lol. It was great.
2) High Sierra Festival, 1998, San Francisco.
My girlfriend and I took advantage of a killer seat sale at Air Canada and flew to San Fran for the weekend. Luckily I timed the trip to coincide with the Hip's touring schedule. The show was set up in a really beautiful spot beside this little lake on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, near a small town called Novato. It featured a handfull of local San Francisco bands with the Hip as headliners. By the time the boys went on, there were maybe 500 or 600 people there, and we parked ourselves right in front of Paul. Not only was it my first time seeing the Hip south of the border, but it was also the first time I had experienced them in such a small setting. It felt like we were at someone's backyard berbecue. Earlier in the day we were walking around the grounds and ended up running into Robby and Gord Sinclair. We chatted with them for a few minutes, and I asked them if they could play "Membership". Gord said "I'll see what I can do for ya,", and sure enough, they busted out "Membership" about halfway through the set. They really are the nicest guys in rock.
3) Another Roadside Attraction, Calgary, 1993.
This gig still stands as one of the single greatest rock shows I've ever witnessed. The Hip, Midnight Oil, and Daniel Lanois were the big standouts for me that day. The Oils were fucking brilliant, and I remember thinking it would be impossible for anybody to top their performance. Boy, was I wrong. The Hip went on and pretty much kicked everybody's ass. It was obvious who's show it was. Gord was VERY animated on this night, probably the craziest I've ever seen him.
4) Somerville Theatre, Boston, 2002.
The band played a 3-night stand in Beantown on this tour. My buddy and I drove down from Ottawa and went to all three shows, and we were treated to plenty of great moments over the three days. During the first night the lights went out in the theatre, forcing the band to play a couple of songs using only a roadie's flashlight aimed at the stage. Funny stuff. My favorite moment was Gord completely blanking on the lyrics to "Pigeon Camera" and asking the folks in the front row for help: "Anybody know the next line? I need some help here....I'm not fuckin' kidding."
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Yer Not The Ocean
New Orleans Is Sinking
The Drop Off
Boots Or Hearts
In View
Ahead By A Century
Luv (sic)
Poets
Flamenco
World Container
Puttin' Down
At The Hundredth Meridian
Bobcaygeon
The Kids Don't Get It
Fully Completely
Scared
Family Band
Blow At High Dough
The Lonely End Of The Rink
Fire In The Hole
Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley)
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Here's the Elvis cover featuring Travis Good of The Sadies on guitar and background vocals. They totally screw up around the 2 minute mark, but they recover nicely, lol. Gord sounds like he's having a blast.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Comments
You missed the best part!
http://pearljam.dreamhosters.com/Images/Johnny_Fay_drumsticks-sm.jpg
Sue
I couldn't agree more. Phantom Power will always be my favorite Hip album for many reasons. Favorite songs: Save the Planet (one of the most underrated rockers in their catalogue), Membership, Thompson Girl, Escape is at Hand, Emperor Penguin, Vapour Trails, Chagrin Falls...hell, the entire album is amazing. I even like The Rules. The rest of my list looks something like this:
2. Day for Night
Phantom Power may be my favorite, but Day for Night is the Hip's masterpiece. Personally I think it's the best album released by anybody from the 90s. Yeah, that's right. I said it. This was when the band really stretched out their artistic legs and the results are f**king mind-blowing. Nautical Disaster might be the greatest song ever written by anybody.
3. Road Apples
The Hip at their blues-rock best. The album was recorded in New Orleans, and you can hear the culture seeping it's way into the music, particularly the swampy, southern twang of Long Time Running, Twist My Arm, Fight, Bring it All Back, and Born in the Water.
4. World Container
The best thing they've done in years. The band sounds refreshed, reborn, rejuvenated...whatever you wanna call it. It's got everything you'd want in a Hip record: brilliant lyrics, ass kicking balls-to-the-wall rockers (Lonely End of the Rink, The Kids Don't Get It, The Drop-Off), catchy sing-a-long anthems (Yer Not the Ocean, In View, Luv(sic), Family Band, Last Night I Dreamed), and gorgeous ballads (Fly, Pretend, World Container). It's also Gord Downie's best vocal performance ever in a studio setting. It gives me chills every time. I remember being really worried about the Bob Rock thing, but I was very surprised by how amazing the album sounds. It's probably the best production on a Hip record since Phantom Power. It's also cool to hear the band paying tribute to some of their musical influences, most notably the Police-like guitar echo on Lonely End of the Rink, and the obvious Clash influence on The Kids Don't Get It.
5. Trouble at the Henhouse
Sure it's got some filler that would've sounded better on a b-sides album (Butts Wigglin, Coconut Cream), but the rest of the disc is pretty damn stellar. The one-two-three punch of Gift Shop, Springtime in Vienna, and Ahead by a Century is arguably the best opening three songs on any Hip album.
6. In Between Evolution
The sound of a band getting back to their roots. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. Favorite tracks: Gus, Nashville, You're Everywhere, Makeshift, Mean Streak, One Night in Copenhagen, Are We Family, Josephine. And last but not least: The Heart of the Melt = 2 minutes and 37 seconds of guitar-shredding rock n' roll bliss. Easily one of the most ass-kicking rock tunes I've heard in years. Robby really lets loose on that song.
7. In Violet Light
Criminally underrated album. Great songs, killer lyrics, and the first album where Gord really gets to explore his range as a singer. Those high notes he hits on "Leave" are incredible. Oh, and The Dire Wolf is easily one of the coolest songs they've ever recorded.
8. Fully Completely
This album would be ranked much higher if it weren't for Chris Tsangerides' lousy production. A prime example of an incredible album ruined by a shitty producer. Oh Pigeon Camera, you deserved so much better. Johnny's drums have that unfortunate plastic-spork-hitting-mashed-potatoes sound that I absolutely hate. Imagine how amazing this album would have sounded if they had recorded it with somebody like Adam Kasper or Brandan O'Brien.
9. Up to Here
A true Canadian rock n' roll classic, and one of the best debut albums ever. It's also one of the albums that helped usher in a new era for Canadian rock and played a key role in driving a stake through the heart of shitty mid-80s Canuck bands like Glass Tiger and Loverboy. I'll admit I hardly ever listen to it anymore, but every once in a while I'll dust it off and give it a spin, and I'm reminded of why I became a fan of this band in the first place. Quite simply, they kicked more ass than just about any band out there at the time. A great album.
10. Music@Work
Definitely the most inconsistent album in the Hip's catalogue. There's some fantastic stuff on here (My Music at Work, Tiger the Lion, Lake Fever, The Bastard, Toronto #4, The Bear), but unfortunately the album as a whole just doesn't do it for me. But it's still the Hip, and even a mediocre Hip song is better than 99% of the crap you hear on the radio these days. I still like the album. It's just not my favorite.
11. The Tragically Hip (also known as "The EP", "Self-Titled" or "The Blue Album")
Small Town Bringdown and Killing Time are great songs, but other than that it's pretty forgettable. Although I do have a soft spot for "I'm a Werewolf, Baby".
-Tom Waits
I think alot of fans feel the tracks that didn't made the final cut (Ultra Mundane, Problem Bears & Forest Edge) are infact better than some of the songs that did make it onto the album. I certainly would swap Ultra Mundane and Forest Edge in for Are You Ready? (worst Hip album starter by some way) and Throwing Off Glass. That'd probably move In Violet Light from 5th to 4th place for me.
Rink
NOIS
Ocean
Gus
In View
ABAC
Last Night
Poets
World Container
Long Time
Daddy
100th meridian
Good Life
Luv(sic)
Locked
Bobcaygeon
Family Band
Fully
End of the World As We Know It (R.E.M.)
http://www.thehundredthmeridian.com/downloads/tth2007-03-13-Atlanta-EOTWAWKI.mp3
Kids
Verge
-Tom Waits
st. john's newfoundland, sept. 25/2005
Yes they most certainly do!
-Tom Waits
Ocean
NOIS
Drop Off
Good Life
In View
Bobcaygeon
Fly
Poets
World Container
Fiddler's
Springtime
Meridian
Dire Wolf
Kids
Locked
Sherpa
Blow
Rink
Tush (ZZ Top cover. "Dallas, TX, Hollywood! I ain't asking for much...)
Family Band
Bones
Next show- tonight at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin. Man, I wish I had the money to follow them on this tour. Perhpas I'll be able to catch them on the next leg in the fall.
-Tom Waits
Rink
NOIS
Ocean
Boots
Drop Off
ABAC
In View
Gift Shop
Gems
World Container
Puttin Down
Meridian
Bobcaygeon
Kids
Spring
Wheat
Luv(sic)
Blow
Grace
Substitute (The Who)
Family
-Tom Waits
"Canada's Rock Titans Crash the Hipster party"
Ben Rayner
Toronto Star
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Gord Downie is wary.
Unnecessarily so, I might add. The Tragically Hip front man has, in this writer’s very limited experience, always come across as a thoroughly decent, thoughtful cat and a most un-rock-star-like rock star – not to mention the sort of bona fide music fan who doesn’t just name-check Eric’s Trip in his tunes when it’s cool to do so, but who seeks out that band’s Julie Doiron as his own bassist years later when it’s time to do his own solo thing. He’s in the presence of a fan on this sunny Austin afternoon, although I’m not sure that he believes it.
There’s been some behind-the-scenes fretting on the record-label front that the Star only wants to talk to Downie and the Hip at the South by Southwest festival — where the beloved Kingston quintet played venerable downtown concert hall Antone’s last night to 1,200 or so reverent fans — so it can rehash the 15-year-old tale of how the Hip’s “conquering rock heroes” status at home has never translated abroad.
Downie is quick, too, to bring up the fact that I’d recently mentioned his band in the same sentence as Our Lady Peace in a Canadian Music Week piece about changing times in the domestic music industry; even though the connection wasn’t made disparagingly, I instantly feel guilty. I get the sense he thinks I’m coming at him from some loaded, “indier-than-thou” perspective that would negate the Hip’s crucial, bricklaying role in giving Canada a homegrown music scene of which it can be proud. A national scene that ranks among the most admired and envied on air at SXSW 2007, if we’re to believe the smoke being blown up our country’s collective arse by innumerable insiders and outside observers here in Austin.
“Any rock ’n’ roller worth his salt would want none of any of that,” says Downie. “To be honest, I think affiliation is anathema — if you’re a rock `n’ roller, you’re a lone wolf.”
So, no, the Hip isn’t part of the Arcade Fire/Broken Social Scene/Metric/etc. mafia And unlike fellow elder-statesmen-in-Austin Sloan — who seem to be playing every hour on the hour this weekend (“Ripley’s has been notified,” guitarist Chris Murphy quipped yesterday — the Tragically Hip feels slightly removed from the Golden Dogs, the Hylozoists, Inward Eye and the countless other Canadian indie acts vying for attention down here, because the band has enjoyed such a long run at the forefront of our national consciousness.
And while the fact that several consecutive U.S. labels have consistently failed to turn a band with such glaringly obvious popular appeal above the 49th parallel into even a minor sensation in the States has become an overstated part of Canadian popular mythology, it’s still a baffling fact. The Tragically Hip might be a “major-label” band in Canada, but the Hip is the sole “industry” force pushing its new disc, World Container — released in the States just a week and a half ago — south of the border.
“We’re essentially an indie act down here. We’re goin’ it alone, so it makes total sense for us to be here,” says Downie, eager to point out that the band has no complaints about the way it has been handled for years by Universal Music in Canada. “Within the Universal deal, we’ve always felt like an independent act. We’ve never been told what to do. We’ve used their resources to our own design.”
In any case, it’s weird that the Hip, like Sloan, is on a level playing field with pretty much every other act at SXSW. It also makes you appreciate what we take for granted in Canada when you see Sloan or the Hip play a relatively intimate club show in Texas — not because of the loudmouthed Canadians who turn out in droves to wave the flag and, I’m sure, irritate the hell out their favourite bands, but because the non-Canadian fans there are people who’ve clearly sought the bands out through sheer love of their music. The tunes have reached them honestly, free of hype and radio/video saturation.
“Not to be immodest, (1992’s) Fully Completely just went diamond,” says Downie. “I’m proud of that. I don’t usually care about those things, but I was really proud of that because it took so long. It means people are still plugging into it and buying it over time. That’s our career, and it’s really uncharted .....
“There are certain places where we arrive to a bit of acclaim, if certainly not to screaming girls at JFK (airport). At this point, we’ve had not one shred of national-profile-enhancing anything. We’ve played on Saturday Night Live and got not even a Rolling Stone review. Nothing. Which I’m not lamenting, really, but it gives you an idea of how we’ve been doing it, which is 50 people at a time — literally. We played in Dallas last night to 1,000 people, but I can distinctly remember playing Dallas to 45.”
World Container’s lead single, “In View,” has won enough enthusiasm that Downie is cautiously optimistic that things are once again happening in the U.S..
“We haven’t had that one song,” says Downie. “I think Randy Bachman said that about us once. My tight-lipped response to a radio interviewer in New York once who told me `Randy Bachman says the reason you’re not big down here is you never wrote a hit’ was — after I thought `F--- you, Randy Bachman’ under my breath — that he’s probably right. I’m not saying we’ve done that now, but when I hear `In View’ down here, I think that song is the thing that’s sort of opening the door a little bit. Not our sparkling personalities, not our Canadian-ness, not any quirk or the fact that Paul (guitarist Paul Langlois) has 25 cats.”
It’d be great if they tasted just a shred of the adulation they’ve had at home, in the U.S., England, anywhere. But what would top that would be neither the Canadian press nor the Tragically Hip having to worry about the Tragically Hip’s fortunes anywhere but Canada — because we like them and, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that the band sells records to anyone but its fans.
It would be nice, too, to tell Gord Downie you’re gonna go see his band and not get a disbelieving brush-off.
“What? You’re not going to the Stooges like everybody else?”
“No, I haven’t seen you guys in a club in a long time. I actually really wanna come tonight.”
“Well, even if you don’t, Ben, thanks for doing this.”
Damn you, Tragically Hip. Believe it when we say we love you.
-Tom Waits
05/01/07:
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Safehaven
On-sale: April 2nd
Tickets: $65 GA, $100 VIP
Tickets will be available at all Big Daddy’s Liquor Stores and at DMS Broadcasting (2nd Floor, Mirco Centre). Stay tuned to thehip.com for options to purchase tickets online.
05/15/07: Madison: Barrymore Theatre
Age: all ages
Venue is wheelchair accessible
Tickets: $25
On-sale: March 24 @ 10am
Tickets available at The Exclusive Co. (State St. & High Pt.), Strictly Discs, Star Liquor, Sugar Shack, Green Earth (Middleton), The Barrymore, online at barrymorelive.com or charge by phone at (608) 241-8633.
Also, check out the new video for "Yer Not the Ocean" here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxxvGB2I2vU
-Tom Waits
or pearl jam
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
I'm sure they will. According to the band, this current U.S. tour is only the first leg. I wouldn't be surprised if they're touring down there again later this summer or fall.
-Tom Waits
I'll go to every show that my job doesn't interfere with lol
I seen em twice in 3 or 4 months here back in I think 2002
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
uhhhhh this was for the modest mouse board sorry haha
would be TOTAL blasphemy if the hip didn't continually play Calgary
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
Agreed. It's a good thing they're playing here during Stampede:
The Tragically Hip
July 15, 2007
Saddledome
On-sale: March 17th @ 10am
Age: All Ages
Tickets: $79.50, $62.20 and $45.00
Tickets available at all Ticketmaster locations and http://www.ticketmaster.ca
-Tom Waits
wow didn't realize it was during stampede!... are you gonna go?
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
I'd love to go, but $79.50 is way too steep for me right now, so unfortunately I'm gonna have to skip this one. A buddy of mine works in the industry, and I asked him yesterday why the price is so high for this show, and he told me that because it's during Stampede the price automatically goes up for any band or show that comes through town during those 10 days. I also found out that the ticket price also inlcudes your admission into the park.
I've decided I'm gonna wait and go see them during the 2nd leg of the U.S. tour...probably Spokane or Seattle.
-Tom Waits
Rink
New Orleans
In View
ABAC
Last Night
Chagrin
Courage
Luv(sic)
Long Time
Pretend
Lionized
Meridian
Bobc
Kids
Fireworks
Scared
Ocean
Bones
Grace
Train Kept A' Rollin'
Family Band
-Tom Waits
My favourite concert would have to be the Another Road Side Attraction tour in 1995 in High River Alberta, outdoors, thousands of people camping and hanging out and tons of great bands sharing the weekend with them. Mud baths and beer gardens everywhere!!
ive seen them about 6 x. great band...
The Lonely End of the Rink
Little Bones
Gift Shop
The Dire Wolf
Family Band
Ahead by a Century
In View
Locked in the Trunk of a Car
Flamenco
World Container
Fireworks
At The Hundredth Meridian
Long Time Running
The Kids Don't Get It
Poets
Bobcaygeon
Yer Not The Ocean
New Orleans is Sinking/Nautical Disaster
Don't Wake Daddy
Lust for Life
Blow at High Dough
We were but stones,... your light made us stars"
I love that setlist!!
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
I was at that show! If I remember correctly, it was:
The Hip
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers
Blues Traveler
Spirit of the West
Matthew Sweet
Rheostatics
Eric's Trip
The Inbreds
The weather wasn't cooperating that day, and I specifically remember it poured rain during Spirit of the West and Blues Traveler, which made for a big muddy mess. Ahh, good times!
I'd say this calls for a "best Hip shows you've ever seen" conversation. I've been to plenty of memorable Hip shows over the years, but there are 4 that really stand out above the others:
1) Sasquatch Festival, 2006.
The craziest hail storm I've ever witnessed interrupted Neko Case's set and sent thousands of people into a panic as everybody scrambled to find shelter. It was nuts. After the storm cleared and the stage crew shovelled all the snow off the stage, the Hip went on and blew everybody's minds with a short, but incredibly powerful 8-song set. They've never been better. The best part was how Gord brilliantly peppered his rants with comments about the crazy weather:
"I thought the skies would only open up partially. I thought they'd only give us a sample. I didn't think it'd be fully...completely! I wasn't ready!"
The girl standing beside me had never heard of them before, and seemed really surprised when I told her how long they'd been around and how many records they had. After their set she asked me which albums she should buy, and then she made a b-line for the merch tent, lol. It was great.
2) High Sierra Festival, 1998, San Francisco.
My girlfriend and I took advantage of a killer seat sale at Air Canada and flew to San Fran for the weekend. Luckily I timed the trip to coincide with the Hip's touring schedule. The show was set up in a really beautiful spot beside this little lake on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, near a small town called Novato. It featured a handfull of local San Francisco bands with the Hip as headliners. By the time the boys went on, there were maybe 500 or 600 people there, and we parked ourselves right in front of Paul. Not only was it my first time seeing the Hip south of the border, but it was also the first time I had experienced them in such a small setting. It felt like we were at someone's backyard berbecue. Earlier in the day we were walking around the grounds and ended up running into Robby and Gord Sinclair. We chatted with them for a few minutes, and I asked them if they could play "Membership". Gord said "I'll see what I can do for ya,", and sure enough, they busted out "Membership" about halfway through the set. They really are the nicest guys in rock.
3) Another Roadside Attraction, Calgary, 1993.
This gig still stands as one of the single greatest rock shows I've ever witnessed. The Hip, Midnight Oil, and Daniel Lanois were the big standouts for me that day. The Oils were fucking brilliant, and I remember thinking it would be impossible for anybody to top their performance. Boy, was I wrong. The Hip went on and pretty much kicked everybody's ass. It was obvious who's show it was. Gord was VERY animated on this night, probably the craziest I've ever seen him.
4) Somerville Theatre, Boston, 2002.
The band played a 3-night stand in Beantown on this tour. My buddy and I drove down from Ottawa and went to all three shows, and we were treated to plenty of great moments over the three days. During the first night the lights went out in the theatre, forcing the band to play a couple of songs using only a roadie's flashlight aimed at the stage. Funny stuff. My favorite moment was Gord completely blanking on the lyrics to "Pigeon Camera" and asking the folks in the front row for help: "Anybody know the next line? I need some help here....I'm not fuckin' kidding."
-Tom Waits
Yer Not The Ocean
New Orleans Is Sinking
The Drop Off
Boots Or Hearts
In View
Ahead By A Century
Luv (sic)
Poets
Flamenco
World Container
Puttin' Down
At The Hundredth Meridian
Bobcaygeon
The Kids Don't Get It
Fully Completely
Scared
Family Band
Blow At High Dough
The Lonely End Of The Rink
Fire In The Hole
Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley)
-Tom Waits
http://www.thehundredthmeridian.com/downloads/tth2007-03-21-LasVegas-SuspiciousMinds.mp3
-Tom Waits