For many of us, touchstones (if not tired stereotypes!) of Canadiana are quite easy to rattle off: beer, maple syrup, beavers, igloos and a wide array of slang that we can either accept we do (i.e., "eh?") or aggressively deny ("Aboot" only crosses our lips in reference to footwear FYI...)!
The leader of the recognized Canadian identity, however, undoubtedly falls at the feet of one of our shared national sports: hockey. My pointing out "shared national" packs a two-fold punch here. One is simply that our official national sport is not singularly hockey, but rather, hockey and lacrosse (for winter and summer, respectively). Even for those who already hold this nugget of info, can we not agree that generally it is hard to find someone who would not believe that Canada is more defined by the former than the latter?
This train of thought leads nicely into point two, which takes the aforementioned defining of Canadian sport and moves it's spotlight onto music. Specifically, from outside of our borders, Canada is often defined musically not by what we have endorsed within our borders, but more by the "unofficial" designations as suggested by US and/or, to a lesser extent, European sales and charting. Indeed, following this train of thought has lead to a significant contributor to the Canadian music spectrum being virtually ignored outside of our country...
Case in point, ask someone to name a Canadian artist or group and what will you get in return? At worst you get Justin Beiber. Most people could probably name Celine, Shania, Nickleback, Avril Lavigne, and others of their ilk. On occasion you’ll get a Rush, Neil Young, Guess Who or Bachman-Turner Overdrive. For better or worse, depending on your taste, each of these responses are acceptable and true to the question, and yet at the same time miss out on who many consider to truly be the definition of Canadian music: The Tragically Hip.
It was announced earlier in the week that “The Hip…, will be playing a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto next Wednesday in the lead-up to the season puck drop for the Leafs and Habs, a choice met by many with a resounding “Of course!…. Indeed, both hockey and The Tragically Hip are certainly accepted as “The People’s Champions… of their respective domains within our borders. They are certainly not strange bedfellows either, crossing paths in various manners.
First off, the band hails from Kingston, Ontario, a city believed to be one of the potential birthplaces of hockey, where the oldest ongoing hockey rivalry occurs (Annual games between Queens University and the Royal Military College of Canada since 1886), and the city in which the Memorial Cup, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) championship was first conceived and awarded. Need more? How about being the birthplace of hockey players and personalities such as Don Cherry, Doug Gilmour, Kirk Muller, Wayne Cashman and Ken Linseman, among others. Not too shabby for a city with a population of approximately 150,000, no? Lead singer of The Hip, Gord Downie, is the godson of Hockey Hall of Famer, and former Bruins coach and GM Harry Sinden! He sports his Bruins association proudly:
The band has also included either references to, or made complete songs about, hockey over theiur career. The song “50 Mission Cap… is a direct reference to the loss of Leafs player Bill Barilko in a plane crash, while the place the sport holds in the life of a kid growing up, and how priorities change, sets the tone for the song “Fireworks…:
Or how about this beauty?:
Hockey aside, they’ve just got a great catalogue of tunes that anyone who hasn’t had the chance to check them out should try out. Here’s a few of my standouts:
And for those who want to hear something utterly bizzare, yet strangely entertaining, I give you the “Killer Whale… version of “New Orleans Is Sinking… (NSFW as a warning!):
So a little hockey and music hear for y’all to chew on this Friday! For those who are well versed in the Hip, hopefully it gave you some good stuff to listen to, and for those who weren’t, hope you’re open to giving it a go!
Cheers all, have a great weekend, and only five more sleeps….!
[Also a reminder for the Philly fans: you have a signing coming up! Check here for the details…] ________________________________________________________________________
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Shawn Gates
shawn.gates@hockeybuzz.com
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