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Quote:Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles – The Grand Bounce
It’s too bad this record was released just seconds too late to capture any real support for a 2010 Polaris Music Prize. Gord’s third solo album is exponetially better than the first two and actually more interesting than much of the Tragically Hip’s output this decade. Fans had better get used to this reality; I somehow think we shan’t be getting much more (if anything) from the Hip. Key tracks: “The East Wind,” “The Hard Canadian.”
He thinks The Hip are dead. For a guy that so many hail as an expert, when it comes to The Hip he's kinda dumb. At least this time he spells Downie correctly.
uumm.. i agree with his comment that the CD is better than anything the Hip have done this decade. if their last album in indicative of where the Hip are headed, then yes, they probably are dead.
I think the next album from the Hip will be closer to what they have done in Day for Night, Fully Completely, Phantom Power years if they truly are having Sinclair produce...agree or disagree?
Considering that the Hip have been getting together lately to jam and write new songs (Paul said so himself), then yea, he's way off the mark with his comment about the band being done. I do agree that The Grand Bounce is a better album than the last two Hip efforts. There are some fantastic songs on both WC and WATS that can easily stand up to anything in their catalogue, but overall I'd say that both albums are pretty spotty in terms of songwriting and production. I think the next Hip album will be critical for them. In a recent interview, Downie mentioned that while he is proud of the albums they did with Bob Rock, he definitely wants a different approach for the next one. Here's the quote from the interview he did with Cross:
"Bob Rock would get a lot of credit for those last two records. And I agree with you, I think those are two of the best things we've ever done. And only because I was there for every minute of it and watched Bob and tried to support him and be enthusiastic about what he wanted. All he wanted was to make... he had to do what he did, to take the Hip and I don't know, make huge records or something, but I don't know, I'm getting off track. Bob Rock gets all the credit. But I think the next record will have to come from a different place, and it'll have to start with the songs, so I look forward to hearing from those guys and finding out what it is we want to do."
That right there tells me that the next Hip record will sound very different from the Bob Rock albums. Just a hunch.
A few years ago I used to think Alan Cross was one of the coolest guys around. I loved his History of New Music show, and while that show is still kind of cool, I just think Cross is a bit of a tool now. He hosted a book signing/interview with Nick Cave that I went to in Toronto about a year ago, and he was so lame. And the video interview he did with Gord Downie earlier this year was also super lame, if not one of the worst interviews I have ever seen in my life. Also, I recall him once saying that the two bands that people will think of as important or even remember from the 2000s will be Nickelback and Linkin Park. Which is foolish. Anyhow, that was the long way of saying that I don't put much stock in what Alan Cross has to say any more.
As for the Hip's recent output, I think We Are the Same is pretty great. I'd say that there are only two or three songs that I can't really get behind, but songs like Coffee Girl, Morning Moon, Depression Suite, Love is a First, etcetera, all make me think that the Hip could be heading anywhere with their next records. That said, I do like The Grand Bounce better than any of the recent Hip records (at least right now I do), but that certainly doesn't mean I think the HIp are dead.