School of Hip

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath welcome returning guest, Tragically Hip Super Fan Chris Doucher, as they review Side A of In Violet Light (2002). Before embarking on their deep dive Heath shares his account of the Oct. 17 https://www.gedfest.ca/ GEDFest show in Calgary featuring Hip tribute band Trickle Down . Trickle Down was joined onstage at one point by none other than Roby Milgaard, son of the late David Milgaard , whose tragic story inspired one of the Hip’s most profound and impactful songs, Wheat Kings off the 1992 album Fully Completely. Roby fronts his own Hip tribute band, named, appropriately, The Wheat Kings , who performed at the Oct. 24 GEDFest show in Cochrane, AB! In Violet Light gab touches on the album’s star producer Hugh Padgam who was hugely influential in the 1980s shaping Phil Collins’ signature sound on In the Air Tonight while also working with the likes of Genesis, David Bowie, Paul McCartney and The Police. But did Padgham’s slickly mature production bless or curse this album? Songs include Are Your Ready, Use It Up, Silver Jet, The Darkest One, and the Pink Floyd-like It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken. Commentary on The Darkest One comes with a watch-along of the hilariously weird video, featuring the Trailer Park Boys and cancelled but iconic NHL announcer Don Cherry . Our Hip Schoolers also check out the band’s gorgeous performance of It’s a Good Life…as fronted by Leslie Feist at the 2021 Juno Awards . 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 he too pops up in many a Boneless show. And once again, to all you rock n’ roll podcast lovers .... GO BONELESS! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the Season Two kickoff episode of School of Hip (check out the cool new logo!) Chaz n’ Heath talk GEDFest, an annual concert event dedicated to the memory of the late, iconic Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, which raises funds for various charities in the fight against cancer. Now in its ninth year, GEDFest, which began as a grassroots Calgary event, has blossomed into a 12-city extravaganza with GEDFest gigs across Canada between October 16 and 24, from Vancouver to St. John’s, Newfoundland. The growing festival has even expanded into the United States with this year’s first American show being held Oct. 21 in Buffalo, New York. To date GEDFest has raised $732,000 for cancer charities and this year they’re aiming to cross the $1M mark! From its inception, all GEDFest headliners have been bands from the Tragically Hip tribute band community and that includes Calgary’s Trickle Down, whose drummer just happens to be the founder of GEDFest, and one of this episode’s guests, Keith Dyck. Also joining us is fellow podcaster Sarah J of the excellent Dropped Among This Crowd (DATC) podcast. Sarah is the organizer of this year’s Buffalo GEDFest show, featuring highly-in-demand New York Hip tribute act The Strictly Hip. Talk includes the origins and expansion of GEDFest, the robust and ever-growing universe of Tragically Hip tribute bands, and a look at an inspired series of Hip-themed mini-shows on Sarah’s DATC podcast, Tangentially Hip. For further exploration : Learn more about GEDFest. Check out a GEDFest show near you. Listen to Sarah J’s podcast Dropped Among This Crowd (featuring the Tangentially Hip series). 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 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! 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 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath welcome returning guest Sean McGinity of the SeanGeek and FastFret Podcast as they return to the class’s regular curriculum after a summer of specially themed classes / episodes. Now it’s back to Hip album reviews as the band enters the new millennium with Music @ Work. After a bit o’ Hip news, looking at the band’s partnership with the Canadian Football League for a limited edition of Hip / CFL branded t-shirts and hoodies, the lads then dive deep into Side A of M@W. With an artistically restless Gord Downie pushing the band in new directions both live and in the studio the frictions yield some rewarding results, including the catchy (if overly repetitive) title track, the trippy campfire folk of Lake Fever, and the uncharacteristically heavy Tiger the Lion, its eerie cello intro descending into a slow Sabbath-like stomp. But are we also finding glimmers of Gord’s growing frustration within the lyrics. Are we hearing alienation between Gord and his Hip-mates on their delivery from both sides? 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 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath welcome their first ever returning guest, none other than the Podfather of the Boneless Podcasting Network, co-host of the world’s greatest Van Halen podcast And the Podcast Will Rock , and five more equally killer shows which you can learn about by clicking the link on his immortal name. Hello, Corey Morrissette ! In Hip news the boys talk about an upcoming live triple album set to mark the 10th anniversary of the band’s final tour before the death of their iconic frontman Gord Downie. The Tragically Hip Live: July 22-Aug. 20, 2016, will feature recordings from various stops on that historical tour. The day after the album’s release, on Aug. 22, the CBC will be rebroadcasting the band’s final show in the Hip’s hometown of Kingston, ON, a day that united roughly one third of the country! In other news, Corey schools Heath ‘n Chaz on the coming of a Hip approved ice cream flavour, coming in June from Kawartha Dairy (headquartered, quite rightly, in Bobcaygeon, ON!) A delicious blend of maple whiskey flavored ice cream with dark, chocolatey chunks and rich, black cherry ripple. If they sent us some, we wouldn’t be mad! Then it’s on to Side B of Trouble at the Henhouse, released on this month, 30 years ago! Full of Butts Wigglin’ Kids in the Hall accompaniment, canons shooting Coconut Cream, and an Apartment Song soiree wherein a strange lady shows off her ugly feet, does this side of deep cuts reflect a more playful Hip? And does it live up to the band’s epic previous output? Listen to the buried treasure that is Put It Off and you tell us! 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by friend of the show and bonafide Tragically Hip Super Fan Chris Doucher, a comic book reporter whose work is featured at GeekNerdNet.com and on the GNN Instagram page. Chris shares the deep connection he feels to the lyrics of Gord Downie, with a special emphasis on two meaningful passages in particular, which he’s tattooed to his forearms (one featured on this very show). Talk also turns to his concert experience on that final tour, prior to Gord’s passing (yes, tears were shed in streams) and a humorous chance run-in with the Hip frontman and guitarist Paul Langois mere days later. Then it’s off the races with Side A of Trouble at Henhouse . The acknowledged masterpiece of the collection is undoubtedly the tender Ahead by a Century , arguably the band’s biggest song. But did you know about an earlier version of the song, an eye-raising “dirty version,” as it’s been called? We also review a newly released cover of the classic, featuring City and Colour, Ruby Waters, and Boi-1da. The ambitious album side also takes us to the Grand Canyon ( Gift Shop ) and brings us face to face with Kurt Cobain, reincarnated as a sled dog on Don’t Wake Daddy . This leads to a tale of from 1989 when the Hip and Nirvana played a gig together, pre-fame. Other tunes from the classic album include: Springtime in Vienna, Flamenco, and 700 Foot Ceiling. 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 help grow our beloved show! Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our School of Hip Discord page 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. 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 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. 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this re-duxed for improved sound quality episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by an Irishman living in Germany, none other than Ian Winick host of Black Adder podcast Lord of Adders Black and the brand new Eat the Pudding: A Simpsons Podcast . Despite being stricken with illness and even more unrested than anticipated – curse you, time zone trickery – Winick plants his boots on hallowed Hip ground sharing the story of his first Tragically Hip exposure, via – weirdly enough – Metal Hammer magazine in the ‘90s. While there’s been much School of Hip talk about the beloved Canadian band’s presence in the American market, Ian brings insights into the Hip’s European profile. The Australian reception to the band is touched on too, though the test group is select, observations gleaned from a busload of drunken Aussie twentysomethings hearing this episode’s featured album, Day for Night, for the first time. Ushering in a new era for the band – one that is subjectively darker and more subdued than on previous albums, as in a work of film noir – side A of Day for Night includes some of the Hip’s most revered songs, including the masterpieces Grace, Too, So Hard Done By, Greasy Jungle and the epic, historically grounded fever dream, Nautical Disaster. Elsewhere armed cops storm into mosh pits while sheer lust for life leads to the riding of a barrel down a raging waterfall. It’s no wonder Day for the Night is one of the Hip’s most acclaimed works. 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 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. 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath take a detour from their chronological deep dive through the Tragically Hip’s discography to instead explore the newly released live album by Gord Downie & The Sadies, Live at 6 O’Clock. It’s a dynamic snapshot from the short 2014 tour the late Hip frontman embarked on in support of a solo album he released that same year with psychedelic alt-country band The Sadies, entitled And the Conquering Sun, and it finds the pairing exploding in a manner only hinted at on that studio record. Live at 6 O’Clock burns with garage rock intensity as Downie and The Sadies storm through inspired covers of deep cuts by The Who, Neil Young, and Iggy and the Stooges, along with gems by the underground likes of Roky Erickson, Fucked Up, and The Gun Club. It finds Downie in raw, animated, vulnerable form, in a manner quite distinct from his work with the Hip. It’s a posthumous release not only for Gord, but also from Sadies co-founder Dallas Good, who died in 2022. “If you have ghosts” indeed (to quote the eccentric Roky Erickson). The co-hosts also address online criticisms about the podcast’s length and their supposed lack of sufficient “deep Hip knowledge,” as they defend their format and explain the concept of schoolin’! 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 (with the odd detour in between!). 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 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: If You Have Ghosts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueEGIHhcU8c Generation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvDHKOyxnY0 Grey Riders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTlDniwX53I 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 seven 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by the acknowledged Godfather of their podcasting universe, now forever crowned the Podfather! That’s Corey Morrissette , whose flagship show, Van Halen podcast And the Podcast Will Rock , is the very venue where our School of Hip co-hosts met. A spirited talk between the three pod pals touches on the vast differences between the Canadiana of Gord Downie and that of Canuck folk troubadour Stompin’ Tom Connors. Then talk turns to side B of Corey’s favorite Tragically Hip album (and that of a huge portion of the fanbase) Fully Completely. Of course, the tragic tale of hockey hero and Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bill Barilko is covered during Fifty Mission Cap, as is the story of the fifty mission caps worn by pilots who had survived 50 bombing missions during the Second World War. The inspired brilliance of marrying these two seemingly disparate narratives in song is not lost on our trio. As for iconic ballad Wheat Kings, the story of David Milgaard, wrongly convicted for a Saskatoon murder in 1969, this leads to Heath and Corey attempting to correct Chaz the American of the insane notion, fairly borne on this show, that grisly murders are somehow central to the lived Canadian experience. Alas, then Corey shares his own boyhood story of a brush with prison escaped killers and their argument is self-torpedoed. ‘Tis an episode of much laughter amidst probing insight! 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 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. 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by special guest Michael Barclay, author of Canadian best seller The Never-Ending Present: The Story of the Tragically Hip – which has been a constant reference point for this show – as well as the book Hearts on Fire: Six Years That Changed Canadian Music 2000-20005. Michael takes us on his Tragically Hip journey, from falling in love with the band in his teenage years when they were a live sensation on the Ontario indie rock scene to writing the definitive biography of the band, published in 2018, the year after singer Gord Downie’s death. Hip news includes the upcoming Gord Downie and the Sadies live album, Live at 6 O’Clock, and a new record by guitarist Paul Langois, Smooth Rock Falls. Then it’s on to Side 1 of the Hip’s third full length release, the diamond certified Fully Completely. We discuss the heavy Canadiana in the lyrics, running through six tracks, including some of the bands’ biggest hits: Courage (for Hugh MacLennan), Looking for a Place to Happen, At the Hundredth Meridian and Locked in the Trunk of a Car. Also, is Pigeon Camera about incest and sexual abuse? Can it be compared to other popular songs of the era that touch on the topic (see Janie’s Got a Gun by Aerosmith and Pearl Jam’s Daughter). Hot take on this one, Barclay is not a Fully Completely fan, giving a few of these songs the lowest rankings we’ve ever had on the show! That leads to an analysis of the radio ready production techniques of Chris Tsangarides. We compare Tsangarides to Don Smith whose rougher “live off the floor” recording shaped the sonics of Up to Here and Road Apples. 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 hosted on Acast and can be found on iTunes, Spotify and other podcasting platforms. Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group and our School of Hip Discord . Also: Hearts on Fire: Six Years that Changed Canadian Music 2000–2005 The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip by Michael Barclay. That Night in Toronto: https://michaelbarclay.substack.com https://www.hipmuseum.com/ https://hipbase.com/ https://thehip.com/ Chaz Charles is also the co-host of podcasts: RushRash , Regarding… Series , Those Who Are About To Dive: Chronicling Colosseum Track By Bloody Track With Dr. Glund , and he’s a rocktorney on season two of Rock Court . 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 . He is a rocktorney on season one of Rock Court. GO BONELESS! Boneless makes a better podcast. Find 20 more like-minded podcast nuggets at The Boneless Podcasting Network. https://goboneless.loveable.app Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip: Chaz and Heath are joined by Nick Lewis, a former journalist who covered Calgary’s arts and entertainment scene with Heath in the early 2000s, writing for the Calgary Herald. Reunited for the first time in well over a decade they share stories from the rock critic trenches. Nick’s tale of a near fisticuffs encounter with a drunken, belligerent Tragically Hip fan in the ‘90s serves as an intro to the episode’s review of the EP Saskadelphia. Released in 2021 but compiled from lost, leftover tracks from the Hip’s 1991 masterpiece, Road Apples – which were thought to have been destroyed in the devastating Universal Studios fire of 2008 – our reviewers discover that Saskadelphia is far from a collection of throwaways. Rather, it’s a treasure in its own right. While one poignant track turns talk to the Montreal Massacre of 1989, most of the EP is a wild ride wherein spines crack like whips, skeletons play dumb and the Hip gets their southern rock on. Quality was surely not a factor which led these songs to the cutting room floor three decades ago. 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. 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. 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip: Chaz and Heath are joined by special guest Todd McGinity who co-hosts the SeanGeek and FastFret Podcast with his brother Sean. Yes, the same Sean who joined us a few weeks back. Can’t get enough of those rockin’ rollin’ McGinity Bros! Todd remembers his earliest memories of road apples. No, not the Hip album, but rather the album’s namesake, horse poop, which, when frozen, made for great hockey pucks shot across icy ponds in the McGinity’s youth. (A bit of the Canadian experience for ya,’ Chaz!) Talk also turns fondly to Maritime kitchen parties in the McGinity home and the family band the brothers played in with their dad. Then Heath apologizes to all of Canada for last week’s regrettable fk up regarding Tragically Hip team ups with TV’s Trailer Park Boys and their appearance on CTV’s Corner Gas. It takes a big man to admit to his mistakes, Heath, but don’t let it happen again! Then it’s on to Side 2 of the Tragically Hip’s first number one album in Canada, Road Apples. Tunes include: the Stonesy swagger and spiderweb alphabets of Bring It All Back; the Tom Thomson Canadiana and pistols-at-dawn perfection of Three Pistols; and the deliriously hard-driving On the Verge. During the simmering slow groove of Fight Heath delivers a hot take which he immediately regrets when Chaz zeroes in on those seething, burning pillows. Chaz sees shades of Led Zeppelin III in Fiddler’s Green, a beautifully devastating masterpiece and quite possibly the most heart-wrenching song in the Hip’s canon (which became all the more moving on the Hip’s final tour. Finally, it’s the trippy serenade which drifts this incredible album to a close, Last of the Unplucked Gems. A precursor to Downie’s first solo album, Coke Machine Glow (released 10 years after Road Apples). 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. 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. 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of School of Hip: Chaz and Heath are joined by special guest Paul Beaulieu of the Canadian Music Scene website and founder of the annual RushFest event, celebrating the music and legacy of legendary Canadian rock trio, Rush (a band near and dear to Chaz, who is also the co-host of the RushRash podcast!) Paul shares stories of his interactions with the Tragically Hip over the years through his Canadian Music Scene website which celebrates and promotes Canadian music. Paul met the band on several occasions, behind the scenes at such history-making events as numerous Juno Awards and the Canadian edition of the Live 8 concert series, dedicated to aiding impoverished nations. Paul also discusses the two concerts he attended on the Hip’s emotional final tour, after singer Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal cancer. From there our co-hosts and their esteemed guests begin their track-by-track review of side one of the Tragically Hip’s first number one album in Canada, Road Apples. Highlights include two of the Hip’s most beloved singles, Little Bones and Twist My Arm as well as the soulful balladry of Long Time Running. But truthfully, the entire side is outstanding with the Stonesy Born in the Water, surreal Shakespearean nods on Cordelia, and the jazzy cool of The Luxury, the growing poetic powers of Downie a beacon throughout. 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: https://www.thecanadianmusicscene.com https://rushfestcanada.ca https://www.hipmuseum.com/ https://hipbase.com/ https://thehip.com/ The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip by Michael Barclay. School of Hip is hosted on Acast and can be found on iTunes, Spotify and other podcasting platforms. We love to hear from our listeners! Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group and our School of Hip Discord Chaz Charles is also the co-host of podcasts: RushRash , Regarding… Series , Those Who Are About To Dive: Chronicling Colosseum Track By Bloody Track With Dr. Glund , and he’s a rocktorney on season two of Rock Court . 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 . He is a rocktorney on season one of Rock Court . GO BONELESS! Boneless makes a better podcast. Find 20 more like-minded podcast nuggets at The Boneless Podcasting Network. https://goboneless.loveable.app Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.