i'm on the fence on this issue, for one thing they have introduced new songs that are probably going to show up on the new album (Joe, Ballroom), but it is true they dont keep their website updated. However, I feel that a little bit of mystery and longing is a good thing; I don't want the band to turn into celebrities by having them pop up on MTV, MuchMusic, etc all the time. I think staying out of the spotlight is a good thing cause it lets them concentrate more on creating and performing, not having to deal with the spin cycle of the music industry. Granted, when they have an album coming out, they have to do the interviews and tv performances because they have to make a living. Has anybody seen the movie Hype on the Sundance channel? It's all about the Seattle grunge movement and a good expose on the sound and fury of the record labels. My point is, I'm disappointed that the band hasnt been more communicative but I'm glad they aren't caught up in the commercialism and endless hype of the mainstream music industry.
i can understand peoples agitation about this but one thing you must understand is that being artists they need time to create, and polish, and polish, and polish, and polish...etc...it takes a huge amount of time and effort to get music to the point where it can be performed as effortless and natural looking as the hip does...but often the path to this is not so pretty...artists work until they are completely(for the most part) satisfied with their art...i speak from a classical musician point of view(obviously different from a rock point of view) but i dont want the public to hear me play until i have it just the way i want it...anyways enough ranting from me...and yes i too cant wait for the next hip album
[/quote]Hey angie, I feel your a little more angry about this than most of us here:thumb:[/quote]
Well thanks Summit, but really I'm not that mad. Really I only find it annoying. Maybe they don't have updates right now because they don't have someone to update during "downtimes", maybe their trying to save some money. I don't really know. I was just saying that really I don't think it takes to much for some little update here and there. Really though it's not a big deal, it's just annoying. :mrgreen:
I'm feeling a little Hip deprived myself, but Gord D. had a busy summer and fall and it seems as though when it was all over he jumped right back into work with the band. As antsy as I am for even a tidbit of news, I'm for cutting the guys some slack and being thankful that Gord's solo journey didn't spell the end of TTH. (I have to admit, the thought crossed my mind...it happens sometimes!) Just think how fantastic it will be when we finally get some new stuff. Anticipation makes everything sweeter. This doesn't mean I won't be checking the TTH website everyday, however. It's certainly frustrating not knowing what's going on- but I don't think it's fair to get pissed off about it, even though I understand how a person could.
All in good time.
"This is Kieteldood."
I read some of the initial comments about fans being angry for not being in the loop. Try being a hip fan in the middle of the States where the only Hip one hears is from studio cds and bootlegs. I can only pray that a tour stop is 5-6 hours away and I happen to be able to arrange my schedule to see a show. I think that some fans may be a little spoiled. Then again I did get to see a show in 1998 with only 300 other fans in St. Louis.
mark Wrote:now, we have the Hip Club which has not been updated since July and really only has a couple updates since it's creation. their website hasn't changed since IVL was released. they did a lame "western" canada theatre tour which left over half the country out in the cold.
The band only changes their website when new albums come out. They had a theme for M@W and now they have one for IVL...they'll have a new theme for the new album.
Although I agree with what people are saying about The Hip Club site, I think that comment you made about the IVL tour is ridiculous...
And your comment about "half the country was left in the cold" is wrong. They toured all major Canadian cities in 2002, did you forget they did a summer festival tour that year, and other than Calgary, all of us in the West were "left out in the cold" for the summer tour :roll:
the played 2 shows east of quebec in 2002. one in halifax and one in saint john's. both were in the summer right after IVL came out.
then they embarked on a tour that put them on the road from july to november. with the majority of the shows being played in the US.
on the canadian tour they played BC, AB, MB, SK, ON, and PQ. on paper that looks like a lot. but it wasn't. they played a lot of shows but a lot of cities saw two night stands.
there was no show east of montreal. yes, they hit the major cities, but i still would not call it a canadian tour.
the festival shows you are taking about were in ontario. there was one show in halifax over the july 1 long weekend.
i guess as a canadian (a maritimer for that matter) i see a trend in the hip's touring. they always seem to put more effort into their US tour's than the canadian ones.
yes, i know that they have to work harder to win over the fans in the US, but i think they are getting a little too relaxed on their canadian tours. there are many advantages to touring in the US. there are more major cities, they can play smaller venues, it is cheaper, etc.
maybe now that they have reach this level of popularity here in Canada, they feel they don't have to work as hard. we will continue to pack arenas in the -30 cold of winter to see them. we will still cheer when they play NOIS for the 1 millionith time. we still cheer when we hear the same basic set night after night. we still get excited when they play blow at high dough.
i am not sure where i am going with this at all :roll: . maybe it is because i have been following DMB more closely these last couple of years and i see what they do for their fans. maybe it's because we haven't heard boo from the hip in ages.
i am losing interest in this band and i don't like it. they need to pull their act together and do something for their fans. get on the bandwagon and get a DVD out. or maybe do a canadian SUMMER tour. something they have never done (ARA doesn't count. i mean a real cross canada tour).
i dunno. i am rambling and i am pretty sure this post made no sense at all. :lol:
Yeah, I have to agree with Ron. Maybe this is what the hip want- maybe they want discussions to build up and anticipation to run wild. Like what good are xmas gifts if you know what they are before-hand. Now, you may not understand the correlation I'm trying to make, but to me, cracking open a new hip CD makes me "scream and shout" like a little school girl. So, I think that there is no need to bicker and complain about what the hip are and aren't doing. We know that they're in the studio and making songs- ie. the whistler tests. Furthermore, while creating their masterpieces, they're still taking time out of their schedules to help those in need-ie. the funds of the BC surprise shows for disaster relief. In summation, I can't wait for a new CD to come out, but for me personally, I love the wait, the anticipation, and the belief that when the hip do put something new out, it will blow me and the rest of you deserving fans AWAY!!!!!
Whoever is trying to defend the Hip's IVL tour obviously doesn't live in the Maritimes. So what if they played a festival here - it was a crappy festival on a sh*tty muddy grass hill. I was so looking forward to the Hip playing the Cohn Theatre here...their medium-venue theatre tour would have been a breathtaking show I woulda killed to see. But noooo...they didn't even consider coming east of Montreal. I had actually made arrangements with a friend to go to Quebec City if they played there, since neither of us could drive to the Montreal show, but they stopped in Montreal and never resumed the trek east.
i totally agree with the touque (i'm sorry, i don't know your name). there are many great venues in this part of the country, but they decided not to bother.
Hi Mark, my name's Neil :mrgreen:
Are you in a part of the country that didn't get the theatre tour? I've been wondering where exactly the "android dungeon" is
i am in Fredericton, NB.
we went down to the halifax show for my bachelor party
Obviously, I’m not incredibly active on this site, and most of you probably don’t give two shits about what someone who isn’t “in the loop” has to say, but.......screw it.
The Hip was nothing short of a revelation for me. Just when it had appeared that good ol’ fashioned guitar-driven rock’n’roll seemed to be gasping for air under the steel-toed boot of the grunge scene, I stumbled upon this gem of a band who was - hell, who still are - relative unknowns in the heartland of the States. Their mystique spat in the face of the image-marketed whiners that had begun to “carry the torch” for this genre of popular music, and helped me keep the flame lit for the waning tradition of the irreplaceable dual-guitar attack. They lured me in and clutched me hard, not unlike the legendary rock gods who no longer exist in the soundscape of the day. In the Hip, I found promise, and rekindled my faith in one your own countryman’s words: “hey, hey - my, my....rock’n’roll will never die”.
After eight solid albums and dozens of scintillating, awe-striking live performances, I cannot be more grateful for the assembly of such remarkable musicians, and for the range of feeling and depth of emotion their works have afforded me. I “cut my teeth” on the music of extinct bands - maybe this is why I have never had the tendency to develop that “give-and-take” attitude with a band I idolize as much as The Hip. Not ever have I felt that the band has owed me one damn thing beyond the wealth I have already gained from their music, and quite frankly, I think it is somewhat irreverent on the behalf of those of you who do.
How is it that you have come to love them so much as to forge a virtual community of disciples? Is it truly the music? If so, I find it hard that you could develop this sense of entitlement from art as unique and sublime as music created by an amalgam of inspired human beings. We are not privileged to what they offer us, and we are not being deprived of a damn thing when we fail to receive something so trivial as an “update” on their progress in the studio, or what the name of an anticipated release might be. Christ.
The whole reason I joined this board months ago was to gain the opportunity to express some of the tremendous impact this band has had on me, and to possibly gain some added insight on their work, their influences, and perhaps some of the regional flavor that is infused in the craft of this band. There’s no one here in Cincinnati, Ohio with whom I can do this . Hell, most everyone I ever come in contact with - even lovers of good rock’n’roll - give me quizzical looks whenever I say the damn name of the band. What I’ve found here at Hipbase, sadly, is nothing different from the prevailing attitudes of the migrants that make their presence painfully known at every Hip show I’ve ever seen here in the States.
Wow! I wish I wrote that statement. My feelings exactly.
Another bewildered Midwest Hip fan,
Hugh from Detroit
Hey Horrible, just becuase some of us want some news doesn't mean were migrants as you put it. I Loved the Hip for a long time, not deeper than anyone here,just my own love, as deep as a love can get but hey man some of us just need/want to know whats up with them from time to time,whats the big :censored deal.Relax,stay loose. I know the Hip don't owe me :censored all.Its not like were posting god-aweful messages about it,its just that sheer wonder that people can weild from time to time. Every fan has differnt levels of interest. I've met them twice and I can tell you they wouldn't be pissed off by us wondering whats up with them,they don't have this ego/complex thing happening like I think your trying to portray them with. Did you join this forum just to tell us that its stupid to have this site constructed for us disciples? Hey your apart of this forum too,aren't you? Get off your Hi Horse,let us have our opinionz,last time I checked it was a free country. I like how you use your intellect to shroud your judgements of us,ya goof.