01-22-2018, 07:46 PM
This is an American album. If Fully Completely arrived packaged in the Maple Leaf, the Stars n’ Stripes cloaks IBE. I mean this is not in a nationalistic sense, but rather in terms of content and commentary. Looking for meaningful Canadiana? Look elsewhere. It’s scant on this album, which really makes it an outlier in terms of lyrical composition on Hip albums. Gord has his sights trained almost exclusively south of the border on this one.
1. Heaven Is a Better Place Today
A song about a hockey player (+1C) who played for an American team (+1A) with a clichéd football reference (+1A).
2. Summer's Killing Us
“Canada lost, go home” (+1C)
3. Gus: The Polar Bear from Central Park
A New York setting (+1A), with an “us vs. them” mentality that well describes U.S. foreign policy (+1A). It’s been mentioned that Gus is a metaphor for Bush, but I think it’s more general… he’s an embodiment of how the world (or at least Gord) viewed America at that time (+1A).
4. Vaccination Scar
“To forget the American word” (+1A), Tacoma Narrows Bridge (+1A). More anti-war sentiment (+1A).
5. It Can't Be Nashville Every Night
Tennessee setting (+1A)
6. If New Orleans Is Beat
Louisiana setting (+1A). This song sums up the “world is going to hell and America is driving the bus” vibe on the album.
7. You're Everywhere
Another anti-war (anti-media?) screed (+1A)
8. As Makeshift as We Are
“Let’s shake some snow off his shoulders” (+1C)
9. Mean Streak
“It’s the way the dust clings to the air, after a stranger’s been there” could be a 9/11 reference to the dust that filled lower Manhattan on that day, or could reference the intrusion of American soldiers into Middle Eastern areas where their presence was unwanted and/or unappreciated. The latter interpretation would fit well with the image of ‘boot-clad’ American soldiers walking through villages: “The sssh sound of the bottoms of their boots On the tops of the grass As the haywagon rolled past”. (+1A)
10. The Heart of the Melt
A hockey reference (“I could dance with the puck”) (+1C), and a Canadian songstress (+1C)
In a rough count, I’ve got Americana topping Canadiana on this one. Off the top of my head, I don’t believe that happens on any other Hip album.
1. Heaven Is a Better Place Today
A song about a hockey player (+1C) who played for an American team (+1A) with a clichéd football reference (+1A).
2. Summer's Killing Us
“Canada lost, go home” (+1C)
3. Gus: The Polar Bear from Central Park
A New York setting (+1A), with an “us vs. them” mentality that well describes U.S. foreign policy (+1A). It’s been mentioned that Gus is a metaphor for Bush, but I think it’s more general… he’s an embodiment of how the world (or at least Gord) viewed America at that time (+1A).
4. Vaccination Scar
“To forget the American word” (+1A), Tacoma Narrows Bridge (+1A). More anti-war sentiment (+1A).
5. It Can't Be Nashville Every Night
Tennessee setting (+1A)
6. If New Orleans Is Beat
Louisiana setting (+1A). This song sums up the “world is going to hell and America is driving the bus” vibe on the album.
7. You're Everywhere
Another anti-war (anti-media?) screed (+1A)
8. As Makeshift as We Are
“Let’s shake some snow off his shoulders” (+1C)
9. Mean Streak
“It’s the way the dust clings to the air, after a stranger’s been there” could be a 9/11 reference to the dust that filled lower Manhattan on that day, or could reference the intrusion of American soldiers into Middle Eastern areas where their presence was unwanted and/or unappreciated. The latter interpretation would fit well with the image of ‘boot-clad’ American soldiers walking through villages: “The sssh sound of the bottoms of their boots On the tops of the grass As the haywagon rolled past”. (+1A)
10. The Heart of the Melt
A hockey reference (“I could dance with the puck”) (+1C), and a Canadian songstress (+1C)
In a rough count, I’ve got Americana topping Canadiana on this one. Off the top of my head, I don’t believe that happens on any other Hip album.