[andrew sharpe]

Well, part of the problem is a sense that Downie in particular feels frustrated by playing to audiences of morons. And yes, I'd like the money, but I'd *also* like for my work to be appreciated for what it actually is rather than a bunch of cartoonish misconceptions about it.

I don't agree with that perception of Gord at all. Every interview I've ever seen with the band where the issue of their fans is addressed, they always defend them, meatheads and all. Who knows why he's shouting? Maybe he thinks it's part of the performance? The hanky throwing was pretty stupid too, but nobody blamed that on frustration. Just because us discerning tongue clucking internet time wasters don't like something doesn't mean others don't. I haven't noticed a drop off in concert attendance...has it really been that significant?

I think they understand they have a hardcore group of fans that "get" it and another, more vocal group that are just there to party. I've yet to be convinced that's a bad thing at a rock show. If they only wanted money from one group, they would only play venues that cater to that one group. But it would be foolish for someone in an industry where profit is almost non-existent to purposefully exclude people because they don't appreciate the music in the way it was intended.

On the acoustic thing: I actually think this could work out very nicely as a purely business proposition. For once a new Hip record would GET A HEARING rather than being automatically dismissed by non-fans as more of the same and old fans as 'not as good as their old stuff.' In terms of new fans, it could win them an audience among a much more thoughtful demographic - e.g., listeners to CBC and NPR. Not only that, but if and when they subsequently to return to their staple sound, a lot of excitement would be generated by the fact that 'the Hip are back to basics!!' So yeah, there's some risk, but there's also the prospect of meaningful rewards from a mercenary point of view.

Agree 100%. Not sure if that would be my preferred change, but it would certainly accomplish what you said. I guess it "would" be fun to hear them on the radio again...

[andrew sharpe]

Then again an acoustic album might be a bit weird for a five piece rock band...like Kiss when they took off the makeup. What would Gord Sinclaire play? One of those old timey stand up bass thingeys? Awwwkward I guess it might earn some indie rock cred but the knuckle draggers would lose their shit

[Killer Whale Tank]

Then again an acoustic album might be a bit weird for a five piece rock band...like Kiss when they took off the makeup. What would Gord Sinclaire play? One of those old timey stand up bass thingeys? Awwwkward I guess it might earn some indie rock cred but the knuckle draggers would lose their shit

It doesn't have to be some 'purist' acoustic record. Ahead By A Century has a primarily acoustic sound but electric instruments interlace it. Remember, I'm talking about building on a sound the Hip already have in their arsenal, not suddenly turning them into some bogus bluegrass act! :lol:

[direwolf74]

The thing with the Hip is that I don't think they've ever had any preconceived ideas about what direction they should go in for a new album, so I doubt we'll ever get a complete back-to-basics album or a complete acoustic album from them. I remember an interview with Gord once where he said, and I'm paraphrasing here: "we've never gone into a new album saying this is gonna be our country record, or this will be our punk record, etc..." The final result seems to be as much a surprise for the band as it does for the fans. Pearl Jam was recently interviewed about this exact topic, and they mentioned that they can't figure out how certain bands can go into a new record saying "this is the direction we're going to go in", because you never know how it's actually going to turn out in the end, especially when you have 5 guys with different opinions on the material.

That being said, the Headstones just finished recording an all-acoustic record where they've reworked some of their older songs (along with a couple of new songs I'm told). But I guess that would be considered a concept album, which is a totally different thing.

[Killer Whale Tank]

Well, I certainly hold no brief for acoustic re-recordings of old material. I'd have no interest in an acoustic 'Blow at High Dough' except as a bizarre novelty recording. The goal should be new music. As for the more important point - that the Hip's creative process does not involve going into the studio with a plan or concept - it's a good one. I gather that they've used different strategies over the years, especially once the golden age of constant touring and, therefore, constant collaboration was over; and I generally assume that when they come together, each member arrives with some well-developed ideas that they want the band to play with and work up into a finished product.

What I'd be curious about is the difference between the rough sketches a given band-member has in mind and the final result. It wouldn't shock me, for instance, to find that a lot of Gord Downie's ideas start out on an acoustic guitar, which is a classic modus operandi for songwriters. Part of me also has a hard time believing that Rob and Paul do all their noodling on electrics. I wonder, therefore, whether there isn't a sort of inertia whereby they default to electric rock in the studio just because that's what the Hip are supposed to be: e.g., 'well, this is for the Hip, therefore it must get louder...' In that sense some received idea of what the band is supposed to be might be artificially limiting their sound palette. Of course this is all speculation on my part. But it doesn't help when fans go spasmodic over the use of a horn in 'Coffee Girl,' for instance.

I think of this a lot whenever I listen to 'The Lookahead.' That's a neat song, definitely a strong Downie composition; but there's something not quite right about the way it's recorded, and to my mind the issue is that it's given a semi-rock treatment when the overall melody and feel of the song seem to call for something else. The horns on the zany video they made actually sounded closer to the mark In short, they 'defaulted' to the staple Hip sound when they perhaps shouldn't have. Maybe going into the studio with a loose overarching sonic 'concept' would push them out of their comfort zone a little and yield exciting results.

[RushFanForever]

It took RUSH until their 2010 documentary RUSH: Beyond The Lighted Stage to be cool in the eyes of the critics.

The fans already knew of the coolness right from the beginning.