This sucks - spotify will see a huge jump in Hip play today I'm sure.
I can't remember the year - 1997 maybe? - the Hip played two nights to a sold out Saddledome - I was an usher in section 215/216 rocking out with the rest of the crowd. No rules in my section those night - I was a fan not an employee.
Locked in the Trunk of car - still one of my favourite songs.
Morning broke out the back side of a truck stop
End of a line, a real rainbow likening luck stop
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Wow...this is terrible news, I'm shocked. One of my favourite musicians/lyricists/poets ever, the guy is amazing. He's way too young for this. I just wish him and his family the best through this.
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A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
This sucks - spotify will see a huge jump in Hip play today I'm sure.
I can't remember the year - 1997 maybe? - the Hip played two nights to a sold out Saddledome - I was an usher in section 215/216 rocking out with the rest of the crowd. No rules in my section those night - I was a fan not an employee.
Locked in the Trunk of car - still one of my favourite songs.
Morning broke out the back side of a truck stop
End of a line, a real rainbow likening luck stop
I think that was the '96 tour. Amazing show.
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The Hip really provided me with the soundtrack of my life from about grade 9 to early adulthood. I will admit to have taken them a little for granted in recent years, every time I revisit their catalogue, it is always enjoyable.
To me, they are so much more than their radio hits. Gord Downie is a tremendous songwriter, both in the Hip and his solo projects over the years. I have always admired and respected his ability to weave Canadiana into his lyrics, which I think is one of the reasons so many of us can relate so well to the songs he has written.
Hopefully he is able to fight this off for as long as possible, especially for the sake of his family. He's got 4 kids (although I'm not sure of their ages). I can't even imagine.
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The Hip really provided me with the soundtrack of my life from about grade 9 to early adulthood. I will admit to have taken them a little for granted in recent years, every time I revisit their catalogue, it is always enjoyable.
To me, they are so much more than their radio hits. Gord Downie is a tremendous songwriter, both in the Hip and his solo projects over the years. I have always admired and respected his ability to weave Canadiana into his lyrics, which I think is one of the reasons so many of us can relate so well to the songs he has written.
Hopefully he is able to fight this off for as long as possible, especially for the sake of his family. He's got 4 kids (although I'm not sure of their ages). I can't even imagine.
Pretty much describes my relationship with the Hip to a T.
+1 if you owned this shirt from the Trouble at the Henhouse tour.
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Pretty much describes my relationship with the Hip to a T.
+1 if you owned this shirt from the Trouble at the Henhouse tour.
I was always partial to black shirts, so I do still have my black Henhouse shirt with the red-orange album art on it. Might have to bust that bad boy out in honour. If it still fits!
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To me, they are so much more than their radio hits. Gord Downie is a tremendous songwriter, both in the Hip and his solo projects over the years.
Agreed, and his solo stuff is overlooked.
Coke Machine Glow. Amazing album, one of my all time favorites. I'm so gutted to hear this news today.
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A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
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This is very tough news to digest this morning. We all have a time and place for the inevitable, sadly for Gord that time is on the horizon. Ive been a loyal fan for many many years- I think Ive seen about 14 shows and every time they stroll to the stage it is like having a beer with an old friend.
I was part of the generation that crowned them the Kings of Canadiana and their presence on the Canadian scene will always be iconic. We have not lost our band/friends/icons yet. So perhaps today we should all reach for the catalogue of songs that have told the stories of our youth and let them fill the air once again. I am sadden by the news but I choose to look toward the summer with a teenage giddiness of seeing the band once more time.
I will be there - for Gord.
I can confirm that Surferguy is the biggest Hip fan I know.
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In an interview after his wife's battle with breast cancer
"Poetry is meant to be a place to be ample and grateful to those nearest and dearest to our hearts".
Hard to watch this after today's news.
Terrible, terrible news. Glioblastoma took one of my mom's best friends a few years ago. She wasn't supposed to live for longer than a few months and made it over 3 years. It was not a good road.
Gord made it cool to be weird, to be Canadian, to be a poet. In my mind, anyways. Not sure if one gets well from terminal brain cancer, especially after what I witnessed with my "auntie". Unsure what to say other than I hope he stays around long enough to feel the love from his fans on this last tour, and that he doesn't suffer.
You've given a lot to everyone in your work. Thank you.
Here's my favourite weird little piece that I've seen of Gord's.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Biff
If the NHL ever needs an enema, Edmonton is where they'll insert it.
The Hip is definitely a "before my time" kind of band but I always connected some pretty heavy nostalgia to them. My dad loved them and I can't hear a single one of their hits without thinking of some pretty good road trips in his truck.
Since then, they've always kind of been a bit of a guilty pleasure in a way. I don't know anyone in my peer group that are really all that into The Hip, but not one person complains when I throw it on.
Their new stuff is just great. It's always sad when someone passes and their time had passed long before but Downie isn't like that. When he goes, he'll still be in the midst of contributing great music to the world. Really sad to hear the end is soon.
Gordon Lightfoot might be the only performer who can touch the Hip for a "yup, that's Canadian" vibe. This announcement is tough, because Gord Downie isn't just a great singer, but a piece of Canadiana. And while I haven't cared too much for their recent stuff, there are very few bands out there who put out four incredible albums back to back to back to back the way they did in the early 1990s.
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Sadly, it's only when news like this hits that I think about going and educating myself on their music and history. I'm pretty deep into music but I can't even recall a Tragically Hip song off the top of my head and know pretty much nothing about them.
They weren't on my radar, were not a style I liked (despite the fact that I've probably heard them a ton on Canadian radio without knowing it) and they existed in a space and time of music that I completely skipped over in my youth.
Sadly, it's only when news like this hits that I think about going and educating myself on their music and history. I'm pretty deep into music but I can't even recall a Tragically Hip song off the top of my head and know pretty much nothing about them.
They weren't on my radar, were not a style I liked (despite the fact that I've probably heard them a ton on Canadian radio without knowing it) and they existed in a space and time of music that I completely skipped over in my youth.
enjoy your descent into a fantastic catalogue.
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Shameless self promotion
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I wore that this weekend during pickup (in Arkansas) just for some fun. Safe to say it will get a few more trips around the ice.
Some of the saddest news I've ever woken up to. Can't even count the number of times I've seen the hip. Portland, New York, Boston, Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton...and some other cities I'm forgetting at this time (oh yeah Spokane is another).
The Hip like many Canadian near my age have been a huge part of my life. I really hope I can manage to get to a show this summer.
What a fantastic talent. I was really looking forward to seeing what the group and Gord himself would produce for years to come. The last album (Now for Plan A) I thought contained some of the best emotionally honest songwriting I'd ever heard (with his wife going through breast cancer treatment).
Last edited by ernie; 05-24-2016 at 11:44 AM.
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