What’s up. everybody? Reader here.
If you know me, you know that I’m a big reader. (Reader by name, reader by hobby!)
My favourite books are non-fiction, especially about history, pop culture and biographies/autobiographies.
Well, I just picked up one I’ve really been looking forward to reading.
Maybe it’s because of the way of the world right now, but I’ve been feeling a lot more Canadian, and nothing says “Canadian” quite like the Tragically Hip.
Their music, through its sound and lyrical references, has always been something uniquely ours, from the references to the David Milgaard case in “Wheat Kings,” to the ’72 Summit Series in “Fireworks.” Ask most people around the globe, and they might not get it, but you ask a Canadian… and we all just nod in acknowledgement.
I only saw the Hip live in concert, back in 2000 in Saskatoon, on the “Music at Work” tour, and it was unreal. No opening act, just three to three-and-a-half hours of Hip goodness, with a short break in the middle. A killer setlist, and the band was in fine form.
(By the way… 40 bucks to see the Hip? Nowadays, 40 bucks to see anybody is a steal of a deal!)
The music of the Hip was always around as long as I can remember, and over the years, I found myself become a bigger fan, culminating with their final concert, on August 20, 2016, in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario. I watched it on TV in my apartment, and was on my feet the entire time, right until the band left the stage together for the final time, before Gord Downie’s untimely passing just over a year later, from glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer (coincidentally the same affliction that took the life of another iconic Canadian musician, Rush drummer Neil Peart, in 2020.)
Last year, the Hip returned to celebrate 40 years, with a four-part documentary on Prime Video, “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal,” directed by Gord Downie’s brother Mike. I don’t have Prime Video, so I haven’t been able to watch it. But you can bet that as soon as I get the chance to do so, I’ll park myself in front of the tube to enjoy it!
However, for Christmas, my brother Curtis and his family got me a gift card for Coles/Chapters/Indigo, and over the weekend, I zipped down to the Parkland Mall, and put that card to great use, picking up the companion book, “This Is Our Life,” and I can’t wait to read it!
I can’t wait to read the story of Canada’s greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll band, told in their own words!
I leave you now, with probably my favourite Hip tune. Enjoy!
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