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ARRGH! $hitty! I posted my song-by-song review in another thread. THis is the place I should've put it... Oh well, I'll post it again... It's long, eh? It's more of speculation, what I think the songs are about. The basic layout is song-title, my favourite line and then my comments.
In Between Evolution – The Tragically Hip
Songs Of Triumph And Drunk-Taxi-Home
By Lord Brazle (Stu MacMillan)
01 Heaven Is A Better Place Today (for Dan Snyder)
“...if and when you get into that endzone act like you’ve been there a thousand times before...”
Most of us have already heard this one. When I first heard it, I had this noble image of a guy running around a football field, facing the opposition, dodging tackles and reigning triumphant. Under the shadow of the Dan Snyder dedication, this song has now taken on a more sombre feel. A eulogy, but not the typical sad one, more of a celebration (and, by this, I don’t mean the sick, demented relief sort of celebration) of a life well-lived.
02 Summer’s Killing Us
“...and does your family know your wishes ‘cause this chorus’ll do ya like the dishes...”
The sun causes cancer so, technically, “summer IS killing us.” This tragic little number alludes to the feeling ya get in your stomach as you’re growing up. A life where how many summers you lived braves a true inkling to your age. Kids go to school all year except for the summer and the summer is then the epitome of transitions. Afterwards we almost “come back” so to speak. We reunite with friends and see others we don’t really want to. Back to the grindstone. The passing summer was freedom.
03 Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park
“...Is that what’s troubling ya Gus? No one is afraid enough?...”
This one is probably my favourite song off the whole album. Is it the malevolent repercussions of caging animals for our own pleasure? It’s somewhat saddening and yet, still holds a hint of nobility. Obviously this bear remembers what it was like before he was imprisoned. “No one is afraid” anymore, whereas before he was the terror of the arctic. Mightily speculative? Maybe others will find a different feel from it.
04 Vaccination Scar
“...I’ll tell you if I’m able that is. I’ll tell you like it is...”
This was released firstly of all the songs and a video was made for it first because this song is a description of the entire album. “In Between Evolution”? Exactly how it’s put. It gives a taste of a journey, a journey that could be attributed to almost anything, but most casually The Hip’s career. We take vaccinations for protection (that sometimes hurt) against natural harms that, if left untreated, could cause more harm in the long run. The lesser of two evils.
05 It Can’t Be Nashville Every Night
“...He sang, ‘I’ll die before I quit’ and this guy’s the limit...”
A heel-tapping adventure. Is it just me or does the beginning of this one sound like “Little Bones”? No real comments on this one. It’s good cuz it’s a new Hip song. My second least-favourite of the album but it still grooves.
06 If New Orleans Is Beat
“...here where the Mississippi quits, where its still got a bit of Minnesota in it...”
This is the song you’d sing as you watched a city crumbling before you. If it was your city, you’d probably even cry from singing this song. Yes, it is that sad. My expectations for this song were low because of the success of a previous song, “New Orleans Is Sinking.” This is not a sequel. This is meant to be an entirely different story. I had negative assumptions of this song, using New Orleans again, but the Hip pull it off perfectly. It’s an excellent song.
07 You’re Everywhere
“...now its time to drown out all of that poetry now...”
Once again, painting the tragedies of life into a song, except I don’t know what the tragedy is for this one so it could be attributed to any tragedy really. It has that ambiguity to it. Lost love? Bad reception? Favourite team lost? Depends on who’s listening.
08 As Makeshift As We Are
“...here’s where I slowly close my eyes and say, ‘I’m too drunk for this’...”
“Makeshift” - ‘Rough and ready’, temporary, crude.
About two people, the narrator, and who (s)he is arguing with and also who (s)he is later remembering. This is a ballad of getting ready for something. Maybe a final encounter or a ‘performance’.
09 Mean Streak
“...it’s the way dust clings to the air when a stranger’s been here...”
A couple of cowboys mad at the world? Was this song written during or after watching a Western? It’s, once again, a combination of both something sad and something noble.
10 The Heart Of The Melt
“...enough about you and your representative hell...”
Really kickin song. Starts off screaming into the receiver of a payphone and ends up swimming from a shark. All she has to do is out-swim me not the shark. Probably that hard kinda love. We all say we like it gentle but you so know that’s not true. Yeah, I let her beat the daylights out of me sometimes and this song will probably be our soundtrack. How evil is that. The beginning sounds like "The Wherewithal" kinda.
11 One Night In Copenhagen
“...conviction + tone = hope...”
This most definitely started as a poem. The other songs could have but this one you can tell by its layout. This is definitely “shades of Up To Here” bluesy kinda rock. Obviously a moment (real or fiction) in Copenhagen (duh) that somebody felt should be documented. From the lyrics you can’t tell anything of the story, just observations of the surroundings which, depending on who you are, will provide you with a backdrop for whatever this song will hit your heart as.
12 Are We Family
“... It’s only human to (bleh)...” (sorry, can’t do it)
In my opinion; probably the worst song of the album. I can’t even listen to this long enough to say something constructive of it.
13 Goodnight Josephine
“...‘but, isn’t this where the crimes begin?’...”
This is the song to sing while walking home in the rain after a big break-up. Who’s this Josephine and why are people always writing songs about her? Joey Potter from Capeside? I’d write a song about her, too. This song has got some “na-na”s in it which brings it’s prestige down a few notches but still a very very good closing song (for the album or a concert or for random purposes in life generally). Probably my second favourite.
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I'm heavily into Gus, the song simply awakens my soul, Are we family- killer tune for me B/C my whole family loves the Hip and this song for obvious reasons strikes a chord for us as a group, Everywhere- very solid, as for the rest they are all awesome, I've had a new favorite every hour or so.
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My favorite so far is Mean Streak, Great tune :jump
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As I posted last night, I love this album, but I find myself skipping over the first few tracks (with the exception of Gus) solely because I've heard them before. I think I'll have a more rounded listening expereince once I've equalized the album in my brain...reading over what I just said, it's clear that my brain may already be working overtime...Anyways...I'm not able to pick a favorite just yet. There's a nice sense of balance and journey throughout the piece. In some ways I feel like the boys were almost forced to put Joe as the last track, simply because the word "goodnight" appears in the title. It is one of the five major rules of album composition. :lol:. And for the record, I love "Are We Family". I had it on repeat while driving this morning...it gets heavier everytime. Overall opinion, solid, solid album. Can't wait to hear it live! :thumb:
-Jenna
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Kim - I love your picture of Gord! :thumb: What a total hottie *sigh*
