In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by acupuncturist, Chinese medicine practitioner and roving rock fan Nicole Fortin for a deep dive through Side B of the Tragically Hip’s first album for the new millennium, 2000’s Music @ Work.
Their freewheeling conversation takes us to Birmingham, England, where Nicole journeyed to see the Black Sabbath / Ozzy Osbourne farewell concert on July 5, 2025, less than three weeks before Ozzy died. This is but one of her rock pilgrimages as she’s taken in punk and metal festivals all over North America and Europe. Meanwhile, she and Chaz become fast friends over Nicole’s spirit band, the recently reunited Rush, whom she traveled to Chicago to see this summer.
As a Canadian Millennial, Nicole’s never known a world without the Tragically Hip, but she recalls the moment when she first became a true fan, when she saw them live on the World Container tour in 2007, blown away by the eccentric, electric performance of late frontman Gord Downie.
Heath, who was a budding music journalist for the Calgary Herald when Music @ Work was released, shares his own writings from the time with reviews of the album, the Hip’s gig at Calgary’s Saddledome, and an interview with drummer Johnny Fay.
M@W Side B is a mixed bag packing two carnivores and their human feasts (The Bear and Sharks), tender folk balladry (Toronto #4 and As I Wind Down the Pines) and the rockers (Freak Turbulence, Wild Mountain Honey, Train Overnight). Some of it lands beautifully, some less so as Gord seems increasingly out of step with his fellow Hipsters. We ask the question: “Was Gord bored?”
For further exploration:
For more about Nicole Fortin check out her podcast, The Language of Healing.
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 spike those algorithms, helping us grow our beloved show!
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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 winningdocumentary Singhs in the Ring on Crave TV and he too pops up in many a Boneless show.
And once again, to all you rock n’ roll podcast lovers .... GO BONELESS!
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