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Nothing makes me more angry than to hear someone say, "yeah I really like the Hip's older stuff, but their new stuff, isn't that good" or "damn, they've sold out"
That statement is complete fallacy, name me one, one damn band that hasn't changed their sound from day 1, and has lived to write about it. Listen to some old Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, or Beatles and tell me that they haven't/didn't change.
To me, putting out the same sound, the same song time after time would be much more detremental than changing with the times, exploring creatively and putting together new and fascinating works.
To all you 'naysayers' out there, and seeing as you're a member of the Hipbase I doubt there are that many of you, I challenge you to come to the table with 2 or 3 debatable topics to back your claim.
Until then, I rest, as a devoted Tragically Hip fan, from Small Town Bringdown to Goodnight Josephine...a woman so beautiful they named her Josephine.
Goulet!!!
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It really is lose, lose for bands sometimes. A band tries to stay close to their roots and they are dubbed unoriginal and if they try to diversify thier sound they are sell-outs and alienate a certain narrow-minded fan base. I think the Hip have done a perfect job of retaining their sound yet making each album with its own unique feel. Look at Radiohead. You go from Pablo Honey to Hail. Now thats something.
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Led Zeppelin is often considered to be one of the best, if not the best, band ever. Compare the sound of Zeppelin I in 69 to In Through The Out Door in 79. They were around for ten years recording and their sound changed drastically. The Hip released their EP in what was it? 87? They were around for about 4 years before that and their newest release is 14 years later. How could we expect the same sound? I am not trying to equate the Hip to Zeppelin. I am stating that musical style is often a fluid evolution for a band. The Hip rocked in 87 and they still rock in 04. Has the sound changed? Absolutely. Does it matter? No way.
Jeff
Jeff
June 21, 2003 Toronto, ON: SkyDome
July 1, 2004 Toronto, ON: Molson Amphitheatre
November 26, 2004 Toronto, ON: Air Canada Centre
June 24, 2006 Toronto, ON: Historic Fort York
May 10, 2007 Indianapolis, IN: The Vogue
July 14, 2011 Edmonton, AB: Northlands Festival Site
June 30, 2012 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON: The Commons at Butler's Barracks
January 23, 2013 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
July 28, 2016 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
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I don't really think the sound of the band has really changed all that much. They've gotten a bit less bluesy over time. . about it. I know what you're saying though.
I personally enjoy the newer stuff more than the old stuff.
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If they were still cranking out the same stuff, nobody would be listening by now. That's a case of "be careful what you wish for."
The answer to those people is, "Okay. You don't have to like their new direction."
Simple enough.
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Honestly is what I want from my bands. If their lives and perspectives change, so should the music...otherwise it's just bullsh*t.
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Even when I had to put up with two years of In Violet Light being "the new album", I never for a minute wished they'd get back to the days of Road Apples. that's like a chapter in a book...they had to get through chapter two to get to chapter twelve. Who needs the same old shit - in art, refinement doesn't usually equal a better product. Going back and trying to update and improve upon your old "sound" usually comes off as uninspired and derivative. And if they'd never moved forward, not only would their live show lack the astonishing diversity we are lucky to experience, but we wouldn't have the brilliant IBE either.
I remember after Phantom Power came out, CBC Radio read a fan letter to the Hip saying "your last album was so good, break up and do it soon so your legacy will remain untarnished." I was like...what kind of fan is this?! In the past half-dozen years, on all the Hip boards I have ever visited, I've never met this person. Or at least, if they are around, they're not daring to voice this opinion...I always wondered who the hell it was. Maybe an undercover Our Lady Peace fan or something. I still doubt it was really a Hip fan.
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I don't know about you guys, but whenever I get a "the Hip suck" or "they haven't done anything good since Road Apples", I ask the person making that comment who they listen to. Does anyone else do that? And better yet, does anyone else bite their lip to stop themselves from laughing uncontrollably when you hear them inevitably reply: "Nickleback, Default, Creed, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, etc etc etc". I just kind of nod and give that look - you know the one that says: "I'm nodding, but your taste in music sucks, but I won't come out and say it, but you know I'm thinking it."
Anyway, maybe its because I'm older now, but I just don't give a rat's ass about what other people say about the Hip. I've never told anyone that they should be a fan just because I am. I love 'em, and nothing that anyone says is ever going to change that.
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Well said people, I was at the Wasaga show this summer and there was some dickhead behind my complaining about the songs they played, he was like "play the old stuff! this isn't hip" and all this other crap, I wanted to ask him to rattle off 10 hip songs, and they can't be poets, newO, bobcaygeon, nautical, meridian, goodlife, abac, courage, grace, or blow... guaranteed the guy woulda given me a blank stare. However I didn't want to be confrontational as the guy was bigger than me, even though I stand 6'3".
Anyway, what's weird for me is I started paying attention to them around Fully Completely/Phantom Power, but went back and listened to their old stuff and just got sucked into it without realizing. Each album is great in its own right.
What I find so special about the hip is how the music grows on you. These new groups put together catchy tunes that last a couple weeks and then you're sick of them (if you liked them in the first place). The Hip put out great music that grows on you each time you hear it - the meaning of the songs grows with you, and there is never a point where you don't want to hear the song. I remember the first time I heard Three Pistols I couldn't stand Paul's backing vocals, but then all of a sudden it changed for me and I couldn't stop playing it. It's like that with a lot of their music and that's what is so good about it, whether they put it out 10 years ago or 10 months ago, the music is timeless and will never grow old.
