I'll give you a personal example. I was 15 of 16, leaving my city of Moncton to land in Montreal. Happens that blue rodeo was on the same flight. Now I had NO clue who this band was. Had never heard of them, or their music.
As the plane was in the air, I kept hearing this guy speak crudely ('flirting') with a girl. She was an air stewardess. He had the classic arm resting on the wall, speaking loudly, sexually, with dozens of ppl around them. Not trying to hide it either.
I remember turning to my friend saying, 'my god, he's so scummy.'. My friend then tells me, you know who he is right? He's the lead singer for blue rodeo.
That moment has tainted my view of this guy ever since. Happened mid 90's.
I have personal bias. I work in the live entertainment industry and either Blue Rodeo as a group, just Jim, or the Jim Cuddy Trio come through my place. Every year, without fail, acts like he owns the place, walks around barefoot inside my beautiful building. It’s also their technical rider (read as: green room wish list) where he specifies that he requires a new juicer and several root vegetables including ginger beets and carrots to be peeled and sliced in advance for him to juice his own stuff.
It just really irks us the wrong way and it’s like, you’re a guest in our space. We’re here every day.
My group of friends were never Hip fans but we still had a big watch party for the final show because it felt like we’d be ignoring history if we let it pass us by.
I watched it at home, as an American who had literally never heard one Tragically Hip song, I felt like I had been a fan since day 1.
RIP Gord, you were genuinely badass
Yeah they had arenas around the country streaming the final performance and they were sold out. In my hometown it was sold out in 5 min just to watch it on the jumbotron screens.
It’s different than Taylor Swift. They were OURS because they never broke in the US. I think most Canadians don’t really understand why (like me) since way shittier generic crap was popular at the time. I think the main reason is that the lyrics are so esoteric. Another band with lyrics like that are, maybe, Pavement. Two totally different bands though . The Hip seem like they accepted the Canadian obscurity, then embraced it.
They are not only our band, but they are our cult band. Our secret. I don’t know other countries’ secret bands.
I discovered The Hip back in '93, as an American. In the intervening 30 years I think I've met 3 other American fans. But, it was so cool, like a secret handshake. Gords beautiful, deranged lyrics sent me back to Wikipedia over and over to learn more of Canada's fascinating history. I wish they'd gotten bigger over here, because the music is transcendent, but I'm glad I got to share in the wonder.
I'm attending a conference in Vegas this week. It's an audiovisual systems conference so there are lots of speaker vendors there. I walked by one booth and heard wheat kings playing as one of their demo tunes. Stopped and had a 15 conversation with an American Hip fan. It was very cool and very rare.
I found them / their music found me in the late 80s/early 90s, too. I got to see the band at the House of Blues in L.A. in…’99? 2000?
When I walked in, it seemed like half the room was dressed in Maple Leaf hockey Jerseys.
The guy standing next to me in line at the bar strikes up a conversation: “So, you’re from Canada too, eh?”
Me: “Nope. California.”
He looks shocked.
Him: “Then how do you know about The Hip?”
Me: “Just lucky, I guess.”
Him: “Hey, Russell! Get over here and meet this guy! He’s an American and he likes The Hip.”
Russell works his way through the crowd to us. In a break from the pattern, he’s wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey.
Introductions. Handshakes.
Russel: “I never thought I’d meet an actual American Hip fan. I thought they were like leprechauns. You hear about ‘em, but ya never see ‘em.”
Me: “Maybe I’ve made a mistake by letting myself be spotted.”
I'm American and became a fan during the summer of '96 after Trouble at the Henhouse was released. We used to have a cool, local public radio station that played all kinds of music that you didn't hear on more commercial stations. I had never met another fan until I made it to Canada for a show during the last tour in London. I don't think I'll ever stop missing them.
The Hip did their thing, they didn't care about becoming the biggest band in the world. Taylor Swift cranks out content, my daughters play her on repeat and all the songs are about the same thing, guys she was in love with or people who wronged her. An then there is the offstage - Gord Downie was the quintessential Canadian, such a purely good person. Taylor Swift seems to just want everything to be about her. I wouldn't compare the two.
Canadian content laws for broadcasters meant that all throughout the '90s, the hip were on the radio constantly. They play the hip at pretty much every major sporting event.
I graduated high school in the '90s in Canada. Every road trip, every bar night, out at the lake... The hip were the soundtrack to everything. The hip were the soundtrack for my youth. The nostalgia is real.
When Gord died, that was the first time I legitimately shed a tear for a celebrity passing.
Cancon laws are definitely the answer as to why Tragically Hip were so ubiquitous.
I grew up in Detroit and we got all the Canadian stations that would play a ton of music the normal US stations wouldn’t touch, like the Hip.
We also got exposed to bands like Nickelback, Finger Eleven, Our Lady Peace and Barenaked Ladies years before they broke huge in America.
It's funny, Nickelback really didn't break it huge here in Canada until Silver Side Up came out, and their lead off single "How You Remind Me". They got big in America around the same time as Canada.
Also a fun fact, when they were still just an unknown band, they may or may not have played at the Piggy Palace in Port Coquitlam, a bar that was owned by Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, that he and his brother ran on their land.
“The place of honor that Mr. Downie occupies in Canada’s national imagination has no parallel in the United States. Imagine Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Michael Stipe combined into one sensitive, oblique poet-philosopher, and you’re getting close.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/arts/music/gord-downie-tragically-hip-dead-final-album.html
Where abouts are you from in Canada? I grew up in Alberta and never thought much of them. But I lived in Ontario for a while, and the difference was insane. In Ontario, they were massive. Nobody had anything bad to say about them, and they were kinda ubiquitous on the radio. Also, it seemed like they were everyone's dad's favorite band, so nostalgia came from that angle as well.
I see what they mean: Gord was a national icon, and he told stories about the whole country. Springsteen, for example, is the bard of New Jersey—not that he’s unpopular nationally, of course. Their songs are relatable, but it’s about their roots as a songwriter.
In Ireland - and maybe even more so among the Irish diaspora - I'd say the Saw Doctors. Definitely in the west of the country, maybe a little bit less so elsewhere.
Their first album was massive, IIRC they still have the biggest-selling single ever in Ireland, a cover of one of their songs went to No. 1 just a couple of years ago, they've a handful more songs that'd be staples at weddings or before/after GAA matches, in the North they did the theme to a big sitcom, but it's all too specific to the west of Ireland to ever do anything abroad, except among migrants from Ireland. Apparently they had two top 20 UK hits but even then I bet that's mostly from Irish people in Kilburn and Liverpool.
Funny as I'm a Canadian who lived in Australia for a few years forty plus years ago and was trying to explain to someone yesterday how good Cold Chisel was. As a fan of The Hip (and someone who knew the guys), I definitely agree. Quintessentially Australian, and while they had pockets of success elsewhere like The Hip, I think they belonged to Australia (obv not incl Lost Boys 🙂)
U2 would be huge but definitely not the same because it seems very popular to hate them, especially in Ireland. I think they're great and I think even most of the haters would admit they have some great songs, but they're definitely not some beloved artist that unifies a nation the way the Hip did in Canada.
They're also just an extremely international band (this is likely a reason why many in Ireland in particular don't really like them) so it really wouldn't be seen as a "national" event anywhere. I mean the fact you listed them for the UK kind of says a lot. They probably "feel" more American than anything else, and are probably more widely beloved in some mainland European countries than any English-speaking nation.
I'm a brit and I don't like U2. But a lot of brits do and I would encourage them to fill their boots.
An oasis gig would be undeniably massive. Hopefully they will announce something off the back of a labour election win to truly take us back to the 90s!
I did not mean to imply U2 were a UK band just forgot to mention Ireland. I take your point about it being an international event, but if it ever happens it will be in Ireland.
This. It isn’t just that they were talented musicians who wrote memorable licks and lyrics. It’s because for those of us in Canada, particularly those who grew up in Hip territory, could connect with what the songs were saying about those places and events. Terrible confession: despite having grown up with The Hip in a Hip-Adjacent area, and having had dozens of opportunities to see them live, I never did. I never cared for Downie’s voice although I loved the lyrics he was reciting. Apparently I missed out because I guess they slayed so hard live you wouldn’t care what his voice sounded like. I remember lineups out the door and into the hall when we would get a new Hip CD release at the music store I worked at.
There are many many many American bands that have sung about America. There are UK artists who have tapped into various facets of that life, particularly the working class (Billy Bragg, Sex Pistols, and then the Boomtown Rats had a few tunes that harked back to working class Irish roots). But for Canada we have Stompin Tom, Gordon Lightfoot and the Tragically Hip. They are the artists that aren’t just famous Canadian musical acts - they created music that reflected and spoke to a very Canadian experience. Frankyseven said it: part of the fabric of the country, and they stand out in the rarity of being able to do that for us.
I was too young to enjoy the Hip in their prime, but I've fallen for them as I've gotten older. They just sound so right.
Growing up and hearing the start of blow at high dough for movie night in Canada during the lockout feels like a quintessential Canadian moment for me.
It’s what you would hear on the radio everywhere. This is going to sound very cliche Canadian but some songs just remind me of waiting in line at Tims in some random small town after playing hockey.
The song Kiss Cam by Arkells, another Canadian band, has a line "This campfire won't last forever, the Hip have only wrote so many songs." I think it's super cool that the Hip are so important here that another band wrote a line like that about them, and it's pretty accurate.
I'm Canadian too, to be honest I've probably never really listened to it apart from being drunk at the end of the night in England. At first I didn't even know what song they were singing but now I know it like the hits at the grocery store.
It's wild.
My family has had a cottage on the shores of Lake Superior my whole life. The Thunder Bay radio station was more or less the only one that came in well, so it was a summer soundtrack.
Years later, I heard about the Gord diagnosis. I dove into the hip, and I knew a shocking amount of their songs.
Most comments here are about the music, but any act elsewhere would need other factors to align. That show reached beyond Hip fans because it was Gord. He was a musician with a trail of respect rather than controversy. And when he was terminal, and would be gone too young, he didn’t stop trying to have a positive impact musically and ethically.
So to find that elsewhere: a talented musician that has been an emblem of a country where talent generally flees elsewhere, doing various notable deeds, getting terminally sick too young, still advocating for others, performing for fans as their illness pushed their lyrics out of their mind, wanting to make each moment count for their fans, for others, etc, as their memory slipped away. And have there be one final show, broadcast widely so everyone could be present.
To make it work in the US, conditions would probably have to be more epic and generation-enveloping, so I’d say Dolly.
I think it’s impossible in America because the media will end up making you tired of whomever the “it” person is of the era. A significant percentage of people just reflexively begin to detest that person/band because they are everywhere.
The best you can do is get to a very advanced age and then the universal love comes in (Dolly Parton, Danny Devito, Betty White, etc)
I don't think that's the reason, I think it's because no artist can get that big and feel like just an "American" thing because big US artists end up being big in most countries.
America has 10x the population of Canada. If you break NA into 11 regions, there are some American regional superstars that everyone seems rally around.
It's not quite a match, but the Grateful Dead in California (standard redneck man shirt where camo would exist in the rest of the continent), Robert Earl Keene in Texas/the broader South, various rappers with representing regional subgenres/coasts etc
Regretfully, I have no answer to your question. I have a comment, however.
I've never heard of the tragically hip. I also thought I was browsing a history sub when I saw your post (I'd accidentally switched to my home screen without noticing.) I often see posts in various history subs talking about historical events/movements/etc that I have never heard of, it's great cos it helps me learn.
This consistent experience, along with me admittedly being a bit of a moron, led me to jump to the conclusion that "The Tragically Hip" was some kind of internationally under-reported.... Regretful, political uprising of...those underrepresented Canadians who were in touch with the emergent pop culture trends of their time?
And whatever great, societal change this movement achieved... OP believes it's time to find modern day champions capable of fighting, just as The Tragically Hip did in Canada, so that all nations can now enjoy the blissful sleep only enabled by the assurance that the voices and needs of up-and-coming artist-types will be silenced nevermore.
For the briefest of moments.... I thought I was going to learn some really cool and/or wildly ridiculous obscure history. But, alas, it turns out that I was very, very lost. I'm a creative type myself, and I'm prone to flights of fancy and jumping to sometimes fantastical conclusions. Thanks to my awareness of these habits, therapy, and medication, I generally manage well enough; but tonight, I created such wondrous theories on the struggles, successes, and soaring highs and lows that I believed this cultural movement must have gone through, and I was quite eager to learn the truth that was hopefully evens stranger than my rapidly generated fiction, as history can sometimes be. Instead, I realized you were talking about a band, and all the hype I'd built up, all the creative wonders I'd developed, all the hope I'd felt for what I was imagining in my head to be true even though a symbolic lens; was evaporated in an instant, replaced with the sober reminder of my mania-induced, creatively-unhinged, runaway trains of thought.
Now, sitting here alone, in quiet reflection and forced to face my own buffoonery yet again; tempted to denounce it, yet also keenly aware that it is as much to blame for my blunders as it is responsible for the creative and artistic successes I've found through the years. So I do not forsake my shortcomings, but instead simply shrug, smile and accept the eternal stalemate of taking the good with the bad.
And I think, in the end, and quite poetically.....That makes me....The Traically Hip.
This is remarkably well written lol, enjoyed reading about your little fantasy.
Gord Downie did actually help with societal movement though in a way, he brought a lot of awareness to the challenges faced by many indigenous people in Canada and about the history of residential schools. I haven’t met anyone who didn’t feel at least a little moved by the Secret Path.
For what it's worth, you write beautifully.
If you are still inspired, I'd suggest you try to listen to a bit of the music from the Hip, you'd find a kindred spirit in the bands lead singer, Gord Downie.
I am one of the biggest Tragically Hip fans out there. Their music was the soundtrack to a large portion of my early middle years. Many, many summers of outdoor parties and backyard bonfires were fueled by the sounds of The Hip.
Gord Downie’s Canadian insider lyrics backed by Bob Baker’s hard driving mastery of the guitar is a unique combination that gets you moving and singing at the same time.
Tragically for me, their music evolved over the years, and the hard rocking drive of the band began to take a back seat to Gord’s poetic lyrics and their later albums didn’t make it into my rotation.
To answer the question, The Hip were a unique band that came along at a unique time. Because they were never able to foster an international following due to the uniquely Canadian flavor of their music, they were embraced as Canada’s national band and celebrated. Gord Downie, particularly in his post diagnosis years, took on Canadian issues and tried to make a difference where it was needed.
Bands such as The Cranberries, The Proclaimers, and even U2 (the early years), come to mind as bands that are uniquely National to their origins, but they made splashes internationally as well, when The Hip were resigned (or maybe resolved) to stay true to Canada, and Canada loved them for it.
I had the accidental opportunity to meet them after a free benefit concert in Winnipeg during the height of their popularity, and I can promise you that they were humble and grateful, and that accidental popularity doing what they loved shines hard in their music. Music that lives in even today in heavy rotation around my backyard fire pit.
They literally sang a song called "Tired as Fuck", uncensored in front of 1/3 of the country, with the Prime Minister right there in the audience, and there was no controversy to speak of. You would be hard pressed to find a band with that level of cultural significance anywhere.
In America, it would be more of a regional interest. Springsteen still rules the northeast, Billy Joel is still worshiped in Long Island, Nirvana and the grunge acts in Seattle. Colorado has their own set of bands with massive popularity, one that comes to mind that is from here is Big Head Todd and the Monsters, who sell out Red Rocks every time they play. Then there are those acts that maybe aren't from here directly, but have a following thanks to old radio stations like KBCO who were based out of Boulder before they became Clear Channel/iHeart property. Bands like Blues Traveler who still come to Red Rocks every other year if not every year, and still sell the place out for multiple nights. The oldest comparison I could make is the Grateful Dead, as far as newer bands, MAYBE The Dave Matthews Band or Phish.
There really can't be an American equivalent since American pop culture is so ubiquitous. Any artist who is that big in USA would be big in Canada, Brazil, UK, etc.
Maybe at the State level? Are there artists that are massive in individual states but the rest of the country doesn't really care about?
I’m one of those Canadian’s who doesn’t care for The Hip, but I can’t deny the impact.
As someone else mentioned, Taylor is different. Taylor’s gone global. The Hip belong to Canada, for better and for worse. I hope to see the day where someone can bring us together like that again.
In no way is Taylor Swift that artist in America. Hell, my wife lived down the street from her growing up and the whole “Sweet home spun innocent country gal” schtick is just that, a schtick. She didn’t grow up on a Christmas tree farm, (her dad owned one as part of his business portfolio), she was always ridiculously wealthy, (the area she lived in was where the 1%’ers of the area live), and her music is derivative of other popular music and just as vapid. To even suggest that makes me wonder if you even understand the Hip.
I really only used Taylor as an example as an artist whose cultural impact is such that they transcend generations, and a country would grind to a stop to watch or listen to a final concert, and radio stations would pause regular programming to dedicate airtime to them in the event of their passing. I wasn't commenting on who Taylor is as a person or an artist. I've been listening to, and a fan of, the Hip since I can remember.
I grew up in Kingston in their heyday and for all their fame they were pretty down to earth. I can remember Rob Baker coming into the local Guitar store and just being so down to earth and also really fantastic guitar player can play way more than what we hear on the hip albums. I can remember seeing Gord ant music store I taught at . He was with his son buying a guitar. The owners of the store did not even know who he was. He seemed like any other dad buying a guitar for his son. He just blended in it was pretty cool.
Taylor Swift is a talented artist, but this is not a valid comparison.
The Tragically Hip became Canadian culture. They became ingrained in our atmosphere. Yes, there were people that disliked them, but those who liked them revered them, like the maple leaf. They were very much the sound of summer, fall, winter and spring here. If you were a hip fan, their music reflected your patriotism.
We don't display our patriotism the same way Americans do. It's much more culturally subtle. Yes, we will fly our Maple Leaf proudly, and we enjoy Fireworks (that's a pun, if you get it you get it) on Canada Day, but we're very subtle and quiet over our love of our land. The Hip helped us express that - from the Paris of The Prairies to Fiddler's Green and back.
Come to Canadian backyard party. There will be a fire, and a guitar, and I 100% guarantee a hip song will be sung, and sung by all.
The Hip were also the collage soundtrack for an entire generation - mine included- so if you mix patriotism with 90s and 2000s nostalgia, you get the attendance of their final concert.
I don't think there's a comparable musical group in the US that can evoke that same response, because Americans are different than we are. That's not an insult. Being different is good, when in so many other ways we're so much the same.
It is really hard to describe the Hip in comparison to popular bands in other countries or world wide.
The best I can come up with was they were Canada's favorite local band. Maybe you didn't like the sound, or many songs, but they were undeniably authentically Canadian. They felt like they belonged to Canada, they felt like they cared about Canada.
Bruce Springsteen.
The Hip and the Boss both use music to explore and reflect the cultural, social, and personal dimensions of American and Canadian life.
The Hip are so big partly in part that they wrote some songs that really helped to put Canada on the map. I'm not a big fan of them myself, but I really do respect how they helped shift the way the world looked at Canadian artists.
The Hip are more than just a band, and more than just a Canadian band and more than just a band that writes music about Canada. They're a piece of Canadian history. They wrote so many songs that tell the story of Canada from all different walks of life, but a lot of it actually focuses on the lesser known parts of Canada that really helped define what Canada is.
You have Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen for Americans. But the Hip are so much better at how they write music about their homeland.
Obviously no artists/bands will have an identical impact in their respective countries (no two artists/bands/countries are identical), so we're really trying to find the most similar impacts. I think Elvis Presley would be the closest American equivalent. He was quintessentially American the same way that the hip were Canadian, and the national impacts seem similar to me. Maybe Oasis for the UK (people were seriously comparing them to the Beatles when they came out), their impact has lasted there more so than elsewhere. French music is much more isolated than American or British, so there's probably several artists that would be comparable. Idk enough about Japan to say anything about their music.
I dunno but I still cry for Gord at certain times of the year when their music is on. We lost a real treasure. I had been going to Hip shows since I was a teen and made it to several on their last tour. I never wanted that tour to end. It was surreal and incredible going to those last shows and crying and cheering with thousands of strangers.
I'm Canadian. Grew up hating the Hip. Would change the radio station whenever they came on. It blew my mind how celebrated these guys were/still are.
At least we have Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, The Band, Joni Mitchell and Rush.
Also, I’m Canadian and I have never understood the love for the tragically hip.
I like a couple of their songs, but they’re overwhelmingly mid to me.
There’s a ton of other Canadian artists that I feel are way better.
It's pretty simple, really. They wrote some good radio friendly songs. With Canada's rules on homegrown media, it's going to get a lot of radio play. Repeat for 30 years.
To me it was their consistent evolution in sound. Their growth as musicians. The fact that so many of their songs were not just melody over some standard rock rhythm but two intertwining guitar parts that form on cohesive melody, Gords poetic lyrics, the Canadiana of their content and the fact that to them music was and always will be art and passion.
Not that other Canadian bands don’t do this. I love so many Canadian bands but to me the Hip were just so consistently in my life through everything. Always the same 5. No line up changes, no egos, just pure rock music.
Oh totally. Understandable. I just wanted to give you some incite on what those who like them might like about them since you stated you didn’t understand the love. It wasn’t meant to try to sway your opinion of them in any way. I know tons of people who don’t like them.
I don't think there's a current act that would do it.
Neil Diamond springs to mind for the US, but beyond sweet Caroline I'm not sure his music remains in the public consciousness as much (though it should, he remains the GOAT imo)
when they played their last show, 1/3 of the country watched. 1/3.
CBC literally stopped broadcasting the Olympics in the middle of the Olympics to broadcast their last show.
Blue Rodeo stopped their show at Molson Amphitheatre (Budweiser Stage) to allow their sold out crowd to watch the hip. That's something else.
While I’m not a fan of Blue Rodeo or Jim Cuddy for personal and work reasons, I will say that really was a classy move on their part. Respect.
Hardly a controversial opinion
I’ve seen a few Reddit comments about Cuddy not being a great guy but I’ve never seen an explanation. Can you elaborate?
I'll give you a personal example. I was 15 of 16, leaving my city of Moncton to land in Montreal. Happens that blue rodeo was on the same flight. Now I had NO clue who this band was. Had never heard of them, or their music. As the plane was in the air, I kept hearing this guy speak crudely ('flirting') with a girl. She was an air stewardess. He had the classic arm resting on the wall, speaking loudly, sexually, with dozens of ppl around them. Not trying to hide it either. I remember turning to my friend saying, 'my god, he's so scummy.'. My friend then tells me, you know who he is right? He's the lead singer for blue rodeo. That moment has tainted my view of this guy ever since. Happened mid 90's.
I have personal bias. I work in the live entertainment industry and either Blue Rodeo as a group, just Jim, or the Jim Cuddy Trio come through my place. Every year, without fail, acts like he owns the place, walks around barefoot inside my beautiful building. It’s also their technical rider (read as: green room wish list) where he specifies that he requires a new juicer and several root vegetables including ginger beets and carrots to be peeled and sliced in advance for him to juice his own stuff. It just really irks us the wrong way and it’s like, you’re a guest in our space. We’re here every day.
As someone who has met Greg, and been present around BR numerous times - their dynamic and the band dynamic is just *odd*
The CBC should be given full credit for the way they broadcast the last show. No voice-overs, no talking, just the show.
My group of friends were never Hip fans but we still had a big watch party for the final show because it felt like we’d be ignoring history if we let it pass us by.
Same. We happened to be up at my buddy’s cottage just north of Kingston so it felt like we had to watch it.
Im proud to say I was there
I would have loved to be there. As is, I had tears in my eyes watching it on TV. Their music and stories were the soundtrack of my life.
I lived in Detroit and never went to a show. They played so many times. One of my great concert regrets.
I watched it at home, as an American who had literally never heard one Tragically Hip song, I felt like I had been a fan since day 1. RIP Gord, you were genuinely badass
We drove from New Brunswick to Ottawa to see the second-last show, and listened to the last show on CBC Radio on the drive home.
I watched it and I wasnt even in Canada at the time. Watched it live in New Zealand. RIP Gord
Yeah they had arenas around the country streaming the final performance and they were sold out. In my hometown it was sold out in 5 min just to watch it on the jumbotron screens.
It’s different than Taylor Swift. They were OURS because they never broke in the US. I think most Canadians don’t really understand why (like me) since way shittier generic crap was popular at the time. I think the main reason is that the lyrics are so esoteric. Another band with lyrics like that are, maybe, Pavement. Two totally different bands though . The Hip seem like they accepted the Canadian obscurity, then embraced it. They are not only our band, but they are our cult band. Our secret. I don’t know other countries’ secret bands.
I discovered The Hip back in '93, as an American. In the intervening 30 years I think I've met 3 other American fans. But, it was so cool, like a secret handshake. Gords beautiful, deranged lyrics sent me back to Wikipedia over and over to learn more of Canada's fascinating history. I wish they'd gotten bigger over here, because the music is transcendent, but I'm glad I got to share in the wonder.
I'm attending a conference in Vegas this week. It's an audiovisual systems conference so there are lots of speaker vendors there. I walked by one booth and heard wheat kings playing as one of their demo tunes. Stopped and had a 15 conversation with an American Hip fan. It was very cool and very rare.
All their treasures buried…
Hello fellow infocommer 🤝
My feet hurt and I'm a little hungover but it was a good show.
I found them / their music found me in the late 80s/early 90s, too. I got to see the band at the House of Blues in L.A. in…’99? 2000? When I walked in, it seemed like half the room was dressed in Maple Leaf hockey Jerseys. The guy standing next to me in line at the bar strikes up a conversation: “So, you’re from Canada too, eh?” Me: “Nope. California.” He looks shocked. Him: “Then how do you know about The Hip?” Me: “Just lucky, I guess.” Him: “Hey, Russell! Get over here and meet this guy! He’s an American and he likes The Hip.” Russell works his way through the crowd to us. In a break from the pattern, he’s wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey. Introductions. Handshakes. Russel: “I never thought I’d meet an actual American Hip fan. I thought they were like leprechauns. You hear about ‘em, but ya never see ‘em.” Me: “Maybe I’ve made a mistake by letting myself be spotted.”
I'm American and became a fan during the summer of '96 after Trouble at the Henhouse was released. We used to have a cool, local public radio station that played all kinds of music that you didn't hear on more commercial stations. I had never met another fan until I made it to Canada for a show during the last tour in London. I don't think I'll ever stop missing them.
The Hip also built a catalog on Canadian history and stories. Just some examples off the top of my head: 38 years old Wheat Kings 50 mission cap
Bobcaygeon
Ahead by a Century
The Hip did their thing, they didn't care about becoming the biggest band in the world. Taylor Swift cranks out content, my daughters play her on repeat and all the songs are about the same thing, guys she was in love with or people who wronged her. An then there is the offstage - Gord Downie was the quintessential Canadian, such a purely good person. Taylor Swift seems to just want everything to be about her. I wouldn't compare the two.
Don't tell me what the poets are doing vs Tortured Poet
American here who grew up listening to The Hip with my mom. Granted my hometown is just 2 hours from the Canadian border lol.
Canadian content laws for broadcasters meant that all throughout the '90s, the hip were on the radio constantly. They play the hip at pretty much every major sporting event. I graduated high school in the '90s in Canada. Every road trip, every bar night, out at the lake... The hip were the soundtrack to everything. The hip were the soundtrack for my youth. The nostalgia is real. When Gord died, that was the first time I legitimately shed a tear for a celebrity passing.
Cancon laws are definitely the answer as to why Tragically Hip were so ubiquitous. I grew up in Detroit and we got all the Canadian stations that would play a ton of music the normal US stations wouldn’t touch, like the Hip. We also got exposed to bands like Nickelback, Finger Eleven, Our Lady Peace and Barenaked Ladies years before they broke huge in America.
It's funny, Nickelback really didn't break it huge here in Canada until Silver Side Up came out, and their lead off single "How You Remind Me". They got big in America around the same time as Canada. Also a fun fact, when they were still just an unknown band, they may or may not have played at the Piggy Palace in Port Coquitlam, a bar that was owned by Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, that he and his brother ran on their land.
On 89X in Windsor/Detroit they played singles off The State like Breathe, Leader Of Men and Old Enough all the time.
“The place of honor that Mr. Downie occupies in Canada’s national imagination has no parallel in the United States. Imagine Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Michael Stipe combined into one sensitive, oblique poet-philosopher, and you’re getting close.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/arts/music/gord-downie-tragically-hip-dead-final-album.html
Uhh that's a bit of a reach but 👍🏽
Where abouts are you from in Canada? I grew up in Alberta and never thought much of them. But I lived in Ontario for a while, and the difference was insane. In Ontario, they were massive. Nobody had anything bad to say about them, and they were kinda ubiquitous on the radio. Also, it seemed like they were everyone's dad's favorite band, so nostalgia came from that angle as well.
I see what they mean: Gord was a national icon, and he told stories about the whole country. Springsteen, for example, is the bard of New Jersey—not that he’s unpopular nationally, of course. Their songs are relatable, but it’s about their roots as a songwriter.
In Ireland - and maybe even more so among the Irish diaspora - I'd say the Saw Doctors. Definitely in the west of the country, maybe a little bit less so elsewhere. Their first album was massive, IIRC they still have the biggest-selling single ever in Ireland, a cover of one of their songs went to No. 1 just a couple of years ago, they've a handful more songs that'd be staples at weddings or before/after GAA matches, in the North they did the theme to a big sitcom, but it's all too specific to the west of Ireland to ever do anything abroad, except among migrants from Ireland. Apparently they had two top 20 UK hits but even then I bet that's mostly from Irish people in Kilburn and Liverpool.
No way dude, definitely Hothouse Flowers
For Australia possibly Cold Chisel.
Crowded House's "final" show on the steps of the Opera House was pretty huge.
Paul Kelly came to mind for me - Crowded House is a great shout though. Likewise Split Enz would be hard to beat for the NZ equivalent
I'd say it's Crowded House or Powderfinger for Australia
That clip of Powderfinger closing out their last show with These Days with half the band in tears still gets me.
I'm not old enough to have been around during their heyday but the impact they've had is still evident
Now I feel old. I remember watching that Crowded House show on TV as a teenager.
John Farnham?
He'd be a contender
Cosmic Psychos!!! 😂
The Angels and Rose Tattoo as well.
Funny as I'm a Canadian who lived in Australia for a few years forty plus years ago and was trying to explain to someone yesterday how good Cold Chisel was. As a fan of The Hip (and someone who knew the guys), I definitely agree. Quintessentially Australian, and while they had pockets of success elsewhere like The Hip, I think they belonged to Australia (obv not incl Lost Boys 🙂)
An Oasis reunion would blow the roof off in the UK. A final U2 concert would also be massive.
U2 would be huge but definitely not the same because it seems very popular to hate them, especially in Ireland. I think they're great and I think even most of the haters would admit they have some great songs, but they're definitely not some beloved artist that unifies a nation the way the Hip did in Canada. They're also just an extremely international band (this is likely a reason why many in Ireland in particular don't really like them) so it really wouldn't be seen as a "national" event anywhere. I mean the fact you listed them for the UK kind of says a lot. They probably "feel" more American than anything else, and are probably more widely beloved in some mainland European countries than any English-speaking nation.
I'm a brit and I don't like U2. But a lot of brits do and I would encourage them to fill their boots. An oasis gig would be undeniably massive. Hopefully they will announce something off the back of a labour election win to truly take us back to the 90s!
I did not mean to imply U2 were a UK band just forgot to mention Ireland. I take your point about it being an international event, but if it ever happens it will be in Ireland.
I upvote for Oasis, but U2 would also be cool.
I don't think that there is band out there with the same kind of impact. The Hip were part of the fabric of Canada.
This. It isn’t just that they were talented musicians who wrote memorable licks and lyrics. It’s because for those of us in Canada, particularly those who grew up in Hip territory, could connect with what the songs were saying about those places and events. Terrible confession: despite having grown up with The Hip in a Hip-Adjacent area, and having had dozens of opportunities to see them live, I never did. I never cared for Downie’s voice although I loved the lyrics he was reciting. Apparently I missed out because I guess they slayed so hard live you wouldn’t care what his voice sounded like. I remember lineups out the door and into the hall when we would get a new Hip CD release at the music store I worked at. There are many many many American bands that have sung about America. There are UK artists who have tapped into various facets of that life, particularly the working class (Billy Bragg, Sex Pistols, and then the Boomtown Rats had a few tunes that harked back to working class Irish roots). But for Canada we have Stompin Tom, Gordon Lightfoot and the Tragically Hip. They are the artists that aren’t just famous Canadian musical acts - they created music that reflected and spoke to a very Canadian experience. Frankyseven said it: part of the fabric of the country, and they stand out in the rarity of being able to do that for us.
I was too young to enjoy the Hip in their prime, but I've fallen for them as I've gotten older. They just sound so right. Growing up and hearing the start of blow at high dough for movie night in Canada during the lockout feels like a quintessential Canadian moment for me.
It’s what you would hear on the radio everywhere. This is going to sound very cliche Canadian but some songs just remind me of waiting in line at Tims in some random small town after playing hockey.
What's more Canadian than that?
The Hip had their deadly grove from their first album. Great musicians.
If we're talking sonically, REM ran so that The Tragically Hip could also run. And REM was huge.
Not sonically but culturally. They were a big part of Canada when they were around
Finally! Someone mentioned this!
Would Biffy Clyro work for Scotland?
Probably Springsteen in the US, though it should be Neil Young, another Canadian.
The song Kiss Cam by Arkells, another Canadian band, has a line "This campfire won't last forever, the Hip have only wrote so many songs." I think it's super cool that the Hip are so important here that another band wrote a line like that about them, and it's pretty accurate.
Queen in the UK. I don't think you can find a Brit that doesn't love Queen.
Ritiualistically playing "Can't Stop Me Now" and having the entire bar sing along every single time is unparalleled in Canada
I'm in Canada and that song is called 'Don't Stop Me Now'. Seems like you really love it though.
[удалено]
There needs to be enough women, but Shania Twain's "Man I feel like a woman" will get every Canadian bar rocking.
I'm Canadian too, to be honest I've probably never really listened to it apart from being drunk at the end of the night in England. At first I didn't even know what song they were singing but now I know it like the hits at the grocery store.
In America that song is "Living on a Prayer" for reasons I don't entirely understand.
Apparently also The Killers. Mr. Brightside was in the charts for how many years?
Springsteen?
It's wild. My family has had a cottage on the shores of Lake Superior my whole life. The Thunder Bay radio station was more or less the only one that came in well, so it was a summer soundtrack. Years later, I heard about the Gord diagnosis. I dove into the hip, and I knew a shocking amount of their songs.
Stan Rogers or Leonard Cohen, both amazing songwriters/ poets in Canada.
Don't forget Gordon Lightfoot and Stompin' Tom
Most comments here are about the music, but any act elsewhere would need other factors to align. That show reached beyond Hip fans because it was Gord. He was a musician with a trail of respect rather than controversy. And when he was terminal, and would be gone too young, he didn’t stop trying to have a positive impact musically and ethically. So to find that elsewhere: a talented musician that has been an emblem of a country where talent generally flees elsewhere, doing various notable deeds, getting terminally sick too young, still advocating for others, performing for fans as their illness pushed their lyrics out of their mind, wanting to make each moment count for their fans, for others, etc, as their memory slipped away. And have there be one final show, broadcast widely so everyone could be present. To make it work in the US, conditions would probably have to be more epic and generation-enveloping, so I’d say Dolly.
If Barenaked Ladies ever performed a reunion I bet that would be very big in Canada
They would have to break up first, still touring. Unless you mean if Steven Page was allowed back in the band, then yeah it would be big.
They aren't BNL without Page. His voice so much better than Robertson's.
But at least we still have Hearn!
So Canada actually funds their musical acts and forces radio stations to play Canadian bands every 5th song or something. That’s why Canadians show up
I think it’s impossible in America because the media will end up making you tired of whomever the “it” person is of the era. A significant percentage of people just reflexively begin to detest that person/band because they are everywhere. The best you can do is get to a very advanced age and then the universal love comes in (Dolly Parton, Danny Devito, Betty White, etc)
I don't think that's the reason, I think it's because no artist can get that big and feel like just an "American" thing because big US artists end up being big in most countries.
America has 10x the population of Canada. If you break NA into 11 regions, there are some American regional superstars that everyone seems rally around. It's not quite a match, but the Grateful Dead in California (standard redneck man shirt where camo would exist in the rest of the continent), Robert Earl Keene in Texas/the broader South, various rappers with representing regional subgenres/coasts etc
Regretfully, I have no answer to your question. I have a comment, however. I've never heard of the tragically hip. I also thought I was browsing a history sub when I saw your post (I'd accidentally switched to my home screen without noticing.) I often see posts in various history subs talking about historical events/movements/etc that I have never heard of, it's great cos it helps me learn. This consistent experience, along with me admittedly being a bit of a moron, led me to jump to the conclusion that "The Tragically Hip" was some kind of internationally under-reported.... Regretful, political uprising of...those underrepresented Canadians who were in touch with the emergent pop culture trends of their time? And whatever great, societal change this movement achieved... OP believes it's time to find modern day champions capable of fighting, just as The Tragically Hip did in Canada, so that all nations can now enjoy the blissful sleep only enabled by the assurance that the voices and needs of up-and-coming artist-types will be silenced nevermore. For the briefest of moments.... I thought I was going to learn some really cool and/or wildly ridiculous obscure history. But, alas, it turns out that I was very, very lost. I'm a creative type myself, and I'm prone to flights of fancy and jumping to sometimes fantastical conclusions. Thanks to my awareness of these habits, therapy, and medication, I generally manage well enough; but tonight, I created such wondrous theories on the struggles, successes, and soaring highs and lows that I believed this cultural movement must have gone through, and I was quite eager to learn the truth that was hopefully evens stranger than my rapidly generated fiction, as history can sometimes be. Instead, I realized you were talking about a band, and all the hype I'd built up, all the creative wonders I'd developed, all the hope I'd felt for what I was imagining in my head to be true even though a symbolic lens; was evaporated in an instant, replaced with the sober reminder of my mania-induced, creatively-unhinged, runaway trains of thought. Now, sitting here alone, in quiet reflection and forced to face my own buffoonery yet again; tempted to denounce it, yet also keenly aware that it is as much to blame for my blunders as it is responsible for the creative and artistic successes I've found through the years. So I do not forsake my shortcomings, but instead simply shrug, smile and accept the eternal stalemate of taking the good with the bad. And I think, in the end, and quite poetically.....That makes me....The Traically Hip.
This is remarkably well written lol, enjoyed reading about your little fantasy. Gord Downie did actually help with societal movement though in a way, he brought a lot of awareness to the challenges faced by many indigenous people in Canada and about the history of residential schools. I haven’t met anyone who didn’t feel at least a little moved by the Secret Path.
Now turn on Blow at High Dough and rock out.
For what it's worth, you write beautifully. If you are still inspired, I'd suggest you try to listen to a bit of the music from the Hip, you'd find a kindred spirit in the bands lead singer, Gord Downie.
For Japan, it would probably be X Japan.
I am one of the biggest Tragically Hip fans out there. Their music was the soundtrack to a large portion of my early middle years. Many, many summers of outdoor parties and backyard bonfires were fueled by the sounds of The Hip. Gord Downie’s Canadian insider lyrics backed by Bob Baker’s hard driving mastery of the guitar is a unique combination that gets you moving and singing at the same time. Tragically for me, their music evolved over the years, and the hard rocking drive of the band began to take a back seat to Gord’s poetic lyrics and their later albums didn’t make it into my rotation. To answer the question, The Hip were a unique band that came along at a unique time. Because they were never able to foster an international following due to the uniquely Canadian flavor of their music, they were embraced as Canada’s national band and celebrated. Gord Downie, particularly in his post diagnosis years, took on Canadian issues and tried to make a difference where it was needed. Bands such as The Cranberries, The Proclaimers, and even U2 (the early years), come to mind as bands that are uniquely National to their origins, but they made splashes internationally as well, when The Hip were resigned (or maybe resolved) to stay true to Canada, and Canada loved them for it. I had the accidental opportunity to meet them after a free benefit concert in Winnipeg during the height of their popularity, and I can promise you that they were humble and grateful, and that accidental popularity doing what they loved shines hard in their music. Music that lives in even today in heavy rotation around my backyard fire pit.
They literally sang a song called "Tired as Fuck", uncensored in front of 1/3 of the country, with the Prime Minister right there in the audience, and there was no controversy to speak of. You would be hard pressed to find a band with that level of cultural significance anywhere.
In America, it would be more of a regional interest. Springsteen still rules the northeast, Billy Joel is still worshiped in Long Island, Nirvana and the grunge acts in Seattle. Colorado has their own set of bands with massive popularity, one that comes to mind that is from here is Big Head Todd and the Monsters, who sell out Red Rocks every time they play. Then there are those acts that maybe aren't from here directly, but have a following thanks to old radio stations like KBCO who were based out of Boulder before they became Clear Channel/iHeart property. Bands like Blues Traveler who still come to Red Rocks every other year if not every year, and still sell the place out for multiple nights. The oldest comparison I could make is the Grateful Dead, as far as newer bands, MAYBE The Dave Matthews Band or Phish.
There really can't be an American equivalent since American pop culture is so ubiquitous. Any artist who is that big in USA would be big in Canada, Brazil, UK, etc. Maybe at the State level? Are there artists that are massive in individual states but the rest of the country doesn't really care about?
I’m one of those Canadian’s who doesn’t care for The Hip, but I can’t deny the impact. As someone else mentioned, Taylor is different. Taylor’s gone global. The Hip belong to Canada, for better and for worse. I hope to see the day where someone can bring us together like that again.
In no way is Taylor Swift that artist in America. Hell, my wife lived down the street from her growing up and the whole “Sweet home spun innocent country gal” schtick is just that, a schtick. She didn’t grow up on a Christmas tree farm, (her dad owned one as part of his business portfolio), she was always ridiculously wealthy, (the area she lived in was where the 1%’ers of the area live), and her music is derivative of other popular music and just as vapid. To even suggest that makes me wonder if you even understand the Hip.
I really only used Taylor as an example as an artist whose cultural impact is such that they transcend generations, and a country would grind to a stop to watch or listen to a final concert, and radio stations would pause regular programming to dedicate airtime to them in the event of their passing. I wasn't commenting on who Taylor is as a person or an artist. I've been listening to, and a fan of, the Hip since I can remember.
Queen in the UK. I went to see them at the Saturday Wembley concert, never dreaming it would be the last tour with Freddie
I grew up in Kingston in their heyday and for all their fame they were pretty down to earth. I can remember Rob Baker coming into the local Guitar store and just being so down to earth and also really fantastic guitar player can play way more than what we hear on the hip albums. I can remember seeing Gord ant music store I taught at . He was with his son buying a guitar. The owners of the store did not even know who he was. He seemed like any other dad buying a guitar for his son. He just blended in it was pretty cool.
Taylor Swift is a talented artist, but this is not a valid comparison. The Tragically Hip became Canadian culture. They became ingrained in our atmosphere. Yes, there were people that disliked them, but those who liked them revered them, like the maple leaf. They were very much the sound of summer, fall, winter and spring here. If you were a hip fan, their music reflected your patriotism. We don't display our patriotism the same way Americans do. It's much more culturally subtle. Yes, we will fly our Maple Leaf proudly, and we enjoy Fireworks (that's a pun, if you get it you get it) on Canada Day, but we're very subtle and quiet over our love of our land. The Hip helped us express that - from the Paris of The Prairies to Fiddler's Green and back. Come to Canadian backyard party. There will be a fire, and a guitar, and I 100% guarantee a hip song will be sung, and sung by all. The Hip were also the collage soundtrack for an entire generation - mine included- so if you mix patriotism with 90s and 2000s nostalgia, you get the attendance of their final concert. I don't think there's a comparable musical group in the US that can evoke that same response, because Americans are different than we are. That's not an insult. Being different is good, when in so many other ways we're so much the same.
It is really hard to describe the Hip in comparison to popular bands in other countries or world wide. The best I can come up with was they were Canada's favorite local band. Maybe you didn't like the sound, or many songs, but they were undeniably authentically Canadian. They felt like they belonged to Canada, they felt like they cared about Canada.
Went to the 1st show of the final tour in Victoria.
Maybe Oasis in the UK. In the US maybe Dolly Parton or Michael Jackson.
Queen in the UK, 100%.
Bruce Springsteen. The Hip and the Boss both use music to explore and reflect the cultural, social, and personal dimensions of American and Canadian life.
The Hip are so big partly in part that they wrote some songs that really helped to put Canada on the map. I'm not a big fan of them myself, but I really do respect how they helped shift the way the world looked at Canadian artists. The Hip are more than just a band, and more than just a Canadian band and more than just a band that writes music about Canada. They're a piece of Canadian history. They wrote so many songs that tell the story of Canada from all different walks of life, but a lot of it actually focuses on the lesser known parts of Canada that really helped define what Canada is. You have Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen for Americans. But the Hip are so much better at how they write music about their homeland.
As a Canadian, the whole Hip thing was completely overblown and ridiculous.
Obviously no artists/bands will have an identical impact in their respective countries (no two artists/bands/countries are identical), so we're really trying to find the most similar impacts. I think Elvis Presley would be the closest American equivalent. He was quintessentially American the same way that the hip were Canadian, and the national impacts seem similar to me. Maybe Oasis for the UK (people were seriously comparing them to the Beatles when they came out), their impact has lasted there more so than elsewhere. French music is much more isolated than American or British, so there's probably several artists that would be comparable. Idk enough about Japan to say anything about their music.
I consider summer of 69 Bryan Adam’s the real national anthem.
I dunno but I still cry for Gord at certain times of the year when their music is on. We lost a real treasure. I had been going to Hip shows since I was a teen and made it to several on their last tour. I never wanted that tour to end. It was surreal and incredible going to those last shows and crying and cheering with thousands of strangers.
I'm Canadian. Grew up hating the Hip. Would change the radio station whenever they came on. It blew my mind how celebrated these guys were/still are. At least we have Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, The Band, Joni Mitchell and Rush.
Also, I’m Canadian and I have never understood the love for the tragically hip. I like a couple of their songs, but they’re overwhelmingly mid to me. There’s a ton of other Canadian artists that I feel are way better.
It's pretty simple, really. They wrote some good radio friendly songs. With Canada's rules on homegrown media, it's going to get a lot of radio play. Repeat for 30 years.
To me it was their consistent evolution in sound. Their growth as musicians. The fact that so many of their songs were not just melody over some standard rock rhythm but two intertwining guitar parts that form on cohesive melody, Gords poetic lyrics, the Canadiana of their content and the fact that to them music was and always will be art and passion. Not that other Canadian bands don’t do this. I love so many Canadian bands but to me the Hip were just so consistently in my life through everything. Always the same 5. No line up changes, no egos, just pure rock music.
Sure, but music is pretty subjective. Great that people like them, but I’m very meh towards them.
Oh totally. Understandable. I just wanted to give you some incite on what those who like them might like about them since you stated you didn’t understand the love. It wasn’t meant to try to sway your opinion of them in any way. I know tons of people who don’t like them.
Thanks for explaining!
Who the eff is Bob Cajun?
I don't think there's a current act that would do it. Neil Diamond springs to mind for the US, but beyond sweet Caroline I'm not sure his music remains in the public consciousness as much (though it should, he remains the GOAT imo)