School of Hip

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath discuss the CBC’s 10th anniversary rebroadcast of the Tragically Hip’s incredible (nay, Herculean), final concert on Aug. 20, 2016, in front of the band’s hometown crowd in Kingston, Ontario. As a sincere Canada lovin’ American experiencing the show for the first time, Chaz is moved by the country’s outpouring of love for Gord Downie, who showed up a warrior while facing his terminal diagnosis. Indeed, with watch parties across the country, people who were moved the first time found themselves emotional all over again a decade later (like Heath’s girlfriend, a mess of tears as they watched).   The rebroadcast and accompanying live album marked a landmark in Hip history. But they weren’t the only legendary Canadian band to experience a landmark summer. How about Rush, who hit the stage for the first time in over a decade embarking on a massive, hugely successful tour with drummer Anika Nilles, not replacing the irreplaceable Neil Peart, but rather recreating those impossible beats in a new version of the band.  As co-host of the Rush Rash podcast Chaz knows a little something about Rush so he and Heath compare that band with the Hip as the two pillars of Canadian rock. Despite vast differences in their music, the two bands also have a whole lot in common from daringly literate lyricists to stubborn defiance against their own record companies as they each followed their unique musical visions unwaveringly.   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.   For further exploration:   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, rate and review. Five-star reviews help to spike those algorithms and grow our beloved show!  Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our School of Hip Discord and watch for our posts in the awesome Reddit Tragically Hip community.  Also:   Rush Rash With Chaz N Shatz  The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip by Michael Barclay.   https://www.hipmuseum.com/  https://hipbase.com/  https://thehip.com/  This summer play along with The Tragically Hip Song Bracket to determine the Hip’s best song.  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!  

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath mark the tenth anniversary of the Tragically Hip’s inspirational final tour, following the terminal brain cancer diagnosis of late frontman Gord Downie, who somehow found the strength for a final farewell to millions of Hip fans across Canada and abroad. We preview the upcoming live album documenting that monumental tour, Tragically Hip: Live July 22 - Aug. 20, 2016, ahead of the Aug. 21 release of the impressive 29-song, three-album set, recorded at various shows on the band’s 15-date tour. We preview select songs from the album as we tell the tale of Downie rallying through the crushing weight of his symptoms and his treatment regime, delivering animated performances that were nothing short of Herculean, backed up musically, personally and flawlessly by his bandmates, loyal friends to the end. Fans can see and hear it for themselves on Aug. 22 when the CBC rebroadcasts the Hip’s final show, held in their hometown of Kingston, ON, Aug. 20, 2016. An estimated 12 million people tuned in to watch that original broadcast, about a third of Canada’s population at the time. 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. For further exploration: For Info on the Hip’s upcoming live album and the CBC rebroadcast of their final concert: Tragically Hip: A National Celebration. 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, rate and review. Five-star reviews help to spike those algorithms and grow our beloved show! Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our 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. https://www.hipmuseum.com/https://hipbase.com/https://thehip.com/https://downiewenjack.ca/This summer play along with The Tragically Hip Song Bracket to determine the Hip’s best song. 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! 

In this very special edition of School of Hip Chaz and Heath welcome back Stephen Dame, curator of A Museum After Dark at hipmuseum.com, a consistent (and fun) source of Tragically Hip info in their ongoing Hipster schoolin.’   Consider this episode summer school as an informal query on our social media platforms asking fans about their favorite Tragically Hip Summer Songs resulted in an unexpected influx of responses and letters so passionate, thoughtful and surprising that we had to dedicate an episode to it. Let’s call it The Hippest Hip Songs of the Summer.   Distinguished Hip Scholar Dr. Dame breaks down the three categories of Hip summer songs, and we ponder the assertion made by a few listeners that much of the Hip’s music is more suited to winter and fall. (A sound argument can certainly be made, and yet the summer sweat pouring off Road Apples alone might stand in opposition to it).    Tallying up the votes in our ad hoc poll (some folks picked a single song while others offered long lists) here – courtesy of listeners, past guests, and list enthusiasts – are the results... The Hippest Hip Songs of the Summer. Thanks to all of you who played along and offered your thoughts on the topic, too. We’re reading some of your letters and feeling the love!  Bobcaygeon  Lake Fever – Wheat Kings (tie)  Ahead By a Century – Poets – Little Bones (three-way-tie!)  Summer is Killing Us  Fireworks  Boots or Hearts Grace Too - Gift Shop (tie)  Looking For a Place to Happen Courage  New Orleans is Sinking  At the Hundredth Meridian  Long Time Running  Three Pistols  My Music at Work – In View (tie)  Nautical Disaster  Scared – All Canadian Surf Club (tie) Morning Moon  Darkest One The Luxury Yer Not the Ocean Also landing votes, yer runners up: Blow at High Dough, Everytime Your Go, Pigeon Camera, Chagrin Falls, It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken, Cordelia, 50 Mission Cap, 700 Foot Ceiling, Locked in the Trunk of a Car, Coffee Girl, Flamenco, and, oddly enough given that other season namechecked, Springtime in Vienna.   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.   For further exploration:  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, by all means, give us five shiny stars to spike those algorithms, helping us grow our beloved show!  Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our 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.   https://www.hipmuseum.com/  Vote for your favorite Hip songs of all time on journalist Dave Breakenridge’s The Tragically Hip Best Song Bracket.     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 once again, to all you rock n’ roll podcast lovers .... GO BONELESS!  

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath welcome the editor-in-chief of the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun, journalist and Canadian news podcaster Dave Breakenridge. Dave’s Tragically Hip fandom is such that this summer, via his Twitter/X page, he launched an online elimination tournament (The Tragically Hip Best Song Bracket) to determine by fan votes just what is the Hip’s greatest song. Before taking on Side B of Phantom Power, one of Dave’s favorite records by the band, Heath delves into reviews of the 1998 album from the time of its release, both positive and quite hilariously negative (we’re looking at you NME). Then it’s the track-by-track, standouts being the catchy Cold War-era hockey as love story metaphor, Fireworks, the document of a weary, maturing band on the road (Escape is at Hand for the Traveling Band), and breezy, folk-country ballad, The Rules. Emperor Penguin is an oddity loved by Dave, while Heath, not so much. Is Side B hinting at a lag on the horizon for the Hip? 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. For further exploration: Follow Dave Breakenridge on his X/Twitter page to play The Tragically Hip Best Song Bracket. Listen to his 10/3 Canada Covered podcast, and read his columns in the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun.  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! Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our 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. https://www.hipmuseum.com/https://hipbase.com/https://thehip.com/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! 

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath welcome – from the Paris of the Prairies – writer, documentarian, film critic, and the director of operations at Saskatoon’s Rawlco Radio, Craig Silliphant. Craig’s latest book is a collection of humourous essays entitled Bunnyhug Cynic which includes a must-read reflection on the final Tragically Hip concert, from their hometown of Kingston, Ontario on Aug. 20, 2016.   Broadcast live on the CBC, the concert was watched by 11.7 million people, roughly a quarter of Canada’s population. This was Canada’s farewell to their beloved icon and poet laureate, Hip frontman Gord Downie, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was a funeral hosted by the dying man himself, says Silliphant and we talk about his excellent essay, The Man Who Walks Among the Stars (after first schooling Chaz on what the hell is a bunnyhug! Gotta love that Saskie slang!)   Then it’s on to Side A of Phantom Power wherein even Hip cynic Silliphant acknowledges the brilliance and depth of Bobcaygeon. Other phantom powered topics include the influence of producer Steve Berlin (from Los Lobos), the bare-breasted lawnmowing ladies of Poets, the great Quebec ice storm of ’98, which inspires Something On, and is that a flute we hear on Save the Planet? And Gord, is that a nickel stack in your pocket or are you just happy to see that bad ass Thompson Girl?   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.   For further exploration:   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!  Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our 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.   https://www.hipmuseum.com/  https://hipbase.com/  https://thehip.com/  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!  

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath take a detour from the Tragically Hip catalogue and into the world of Tragically Hip tribute bands interviewing Derek Lathrop, the Gord Downie doppleganger in one of the most in-demand Hip tributes on the circuit, The Hip Experience.  Lathrop, a veteran of the Canadian music industry as a touring musician, recording artist and booking agent takes us through his own Hip journey, becoming a fan after seeing the young and hungry Kingston band open for Rush at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens in 1991.   It was in 2018, a year after Downie’s death, that The Hip Experience played its first gig, initially intended as a one-off for a cancer benefit show at a club in Etobicoke, Ontario. So great was the reception that The Hip Experience was asked to do more shows, eventually leading to today where the band plays around 100 shows a year, a gig Lathrop alternates with his solo career as a country artist.   Recreating the Hip concert experience is sacred ground for fans of the band that became a special part of so many lives and Lathrop shares how deeply he feels that connection, along with the unique brilliance of the band, every time The Hip Experience plays.   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.   For further exploration:   Find the Hip Experience on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.    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!  Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our 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.   https://www.hipmuseum.com/  https://hipbase.com/  https://thehip.com/  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!