[opiated]

all i have to say about can-con, is that working in radio it's a pain in the ass...and now the crtc wants it to go from 35 % up to 40...

[thipfan73]

Dame, I totally agree with you.
In my opinion, the biggest reason the Hip aren't popular in mainstream USA is because of our sorry excuse for radio. Oh, and that abercombie fest MTV.

Ditto for me! I also think Canada is a more tolerant country so you don't have to look the whole "rock star" part to actually be one.

[fingernailsonhull]

Can-Con would be one of my main reasons the Hip became so popular.

[Graham]

Can you really narrow it down to one thing?

Maybe they aren't as well known in the states because they both a) don't play Hip on the radio nearly as much as they do here and b) they don't all look like porn stars?

I mean comon, look what makes it in the Land of Oppurtunity. Bands fuelled by corporate BS that gets shoved down the throats of american youth. Hillary. F'in. Duff. Really, does she even write her own lyrics? Can she actually sing? Who knows...

Nickelback may suck, yes but we still don't get enough solid music floating around on mainstream radio. From Winnipeg here, we have The Weakerthans, and I just saw Novillero who are absolutely kickass. The Rheostatics, The Constantines...tons of great awesome MUSIC out there backed by awesome live shows that not enough people go to.

Why the Hip made it so big in Canada I have no idea. It caught on here, I guess. Maybe Canadians actually listen to the music they say they like, who knows. Canadian-esque lyrics yes. But that didn't stop the Guess Who from becoming huge did it?

Quite a pickle, methinks

[scottitude]

At the risk of sounding all 'consultantational', I have to say it's beacuse of synergy. It's as simple as that. Five guys whose collective talent is exponentially greater than the sum of their individual talents.

Gord pretty much takes a live song where ever he wants and nobody skips a beat. Those cats is tight!

[tigerthelion]

At the risk of sounding all 'consultantational', I have to say it's beacuse of synergy. It's as simple as that. Five guys whose collective talent is exponentially greater than the sum of their individual talents.

Gord pretty much takes a live song where ever he wants and nobody skips a beat. Those cats is tight!

I really like this answer. :thumb: Sum is greater than the parts for sure.

[intothenight]

At the risk of sounding all 'consultantational', I have to say it's beacuse of synergy. It's as simple as that. Five guys whose collective talent is exponentially greater than the sum of their individual talents.

Gord pretty much takes a live song where ever he wants and nobody skips a beat. Those cats is tight!

I really like this answer. :thumb: Sum is greater than the parts for sure.

I don't know about this. I think it is pretty safe to say that Gord and Baker are The Tragically Hip. They can all play, they are all tight, but Gord is an unreal frontman and lyricist, and Baker thinks of some pretty original licks. Sure the other members are necessary, but I think they are replaceable.

[tigerthelion]

At the risk of sounding all 'consultantational', I have to say it's beacuse of synergy. It's as simple as that. Five guys whose collective talent is exponentially greater than the sum of their individual talents.

Gord pretty much takes a live song where ever he wants and nobody skips a beat. Those cats is tight!

I really like this answer. :thumb: Sum is greater than the parts for sure.

I don't know about this. I think it is pretty safe to say that Gord and Baker are The Tragically Hip. They can all play, they are all tight, but Gord is an unreal frontman and lyricist, and Baker thinks of some pretty original licks. Sure the other members are necessary, but I think they are replaceable.

Yeah, I see what you're saying. Gord is the undeniable leader of the band. Without Gord, there is no magic. He's the star and deservedly so. Paul stays in the background and Robbie plays some pretty cool stuff. Sinclair has some cool bass lines and Johnny keeps the beat, adding some frills and banging the skins like he's trying to break his drums.

I still think the five of them together make the band. Five friends who have stayed together for so long making great music. They make mistakes on stage but they are a real band. Everyone works together as a collective. There are no session players. I like the idea of a "band" better than a bunch of virtuoso musicians playing together. There's a chemistry within the Hip that is strong. They put emotion into their music. They've got soul but they are not soldiers, they've got soul but they are not soldiers.

(sorry, that Killers' song is so darn catchy) :thumb:

[Graham]

^ That's right. These guys started out making music cause they loved doing it, they were buddies and just KEPT doing it.

When you get band members that haven't been friends since high school, kinda pieced together "oh we're looking for a drummer" kind of thing, it's way, way harder to keep it together.

They've got that chemsitry...like the Gretzky line in the 80s.

[LaminarFlow]

At the risk of sounding all 'consultantational', I have to say it's beacuse of synergy. It's as simple as that. Five guys whose collective talent is exponentially greater than the sum of their individual talents.

Gord pretty much takes a live song where ever he wants and nobody skips a beat. Those cats is tight!

I really like this answer. :thumb: Sum is greater than the parts for sure.

I don't know about this. I think it is pretty safe to say that Gord and Baker are The Tragically Hip. They can all play, they are all tight, but Gord is an unreal frontman and lyricist, and Baker thinks of some pretty original licks. Sure the other members are necessary, but I think they are replaceable.

Uh oh... Paul's about to kick some ass...

[intothenight]

Yeah don't get me wrong. You can't buy the kind of chemistry that the band has together. Just imagine the effect on the band if each of the members left.

Gord- the band is done
Rob- a replacement could be found for the live show but studio albums take a totally different direction
Paul- definitely replaceable in the live show. Backup vocal parts would sound a bit different
Gord #2- Other than chemistry of the band I doubt this has much of an effect
Johnny- Might slightly effect chemistry

Even with that said the bands chemistry could be matched. Look at Ben Folds Five and the current touring band.

Do you people think if there was another drummer drumming on stage, and you couldn't see him, you would even be able to tell the difference?