In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by their good friend (and occasional frenemy / nemesis) Kevin Brown, host of topnotch podcasts The Tom Petty Project, The Ultimate Catalogue Clash, Seaside Pod Review: A Queen Podcast, and Rock Court, where he was the formidable thorn in their respective sides!
A spirited chat touchs on Kevin’s discovery of The Tragically Hip as a Brit drawn to the Canadian prairies by the love of his life, and an appraisal of the band’s impeccable, oft overlooked rhythm section, this week’s album Day for Night an absolute tour de force for bassist Gord Sinclair. A consideration of the Hip’s expectation defying turn on the album, away from the arena ready rock on previous releases to the darker, moodier stylings within then leads to the lads’ track by track review of that album’s B Side, chalk full of deep cuts and at least one of the band’s all-time greats.
Could the mysterious, darkly beautiful folk ballad Scared be the Hip’s finest moment? Kevin makes a strong case for it. Other tunes tackled include Thugs, Inevitability of Death and the trippy Titanic Terrarium. But did Day for Night take the Hip to a new level of artistic reverence in Canada while limiting their chances of an international breakthrough?
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds and the story of the Tragically Hip, one album side per episode. Episodes drop every two weeks.
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School of Hip is a proud part of the burgeoning empire that is the Boneless Podcasting Network. Listen there, or find us on iTunes, Spotify, Acast and other podcasting platforms. Please subscribe, review and give us five stars reviews to help grow our beloved show!
Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group, School of Hip Discord and watch for our posts in the awesome Reddit Tragically Hip community.
Also:
The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip by Michael Barclay.
Chaz Charles is the founder of the Boneless Podcasting Network, currently hosting five fantastic shows (and appearing in many more!)
Heath McCoy is the author of Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, available on Amazon.ca and at ECW Press. He appears in the award winning documentary Singhs in the Ring on Crave TV.
And once again, to all you rock n’ roll podcast lovers .... GO BONELESS!