[Scotty12]

Fantastic piece from the "failing" New York times

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/arts/music/gord-downie-tragically-hip-dead-final-album.html">https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/a ... album.html</a><!-- m -->

I especially loved picturing this

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[chagrinfalls]

Fantastic piece from the "failing" New York times
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Thanks for sharing this, it's a lovely discussion of the album we have yet to hear. This esp, where Kevin Drew talks about how Gord processed his diagnosis with his creativity:

"And he really did pull off what he wanted to do, which is take that anger and turn it into love.”

[swm]

I'v been in my own world this morning & only heard the news this past hour.
NO!!!
I am numb with sadness.

My condolences to his family & friends.

[PhantomPower78]

From the NYT article:

The place of honor that Mr. Downie occupies in Canada’s national imagination has no parallel in the United States. Imagine Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Michael Stipe combined into one sensitive, oblique poet-philosopher, and you’re getting close.

wow.

[senrab]

From the NYT article:

The place of honor that Mr. Downie occupies in Canada’s national imagination has no parallel in the United States. Imagine Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Michael Stipe combined into one sensitive, oblique poet-philosopher, and you’re getting close.

wow.

They're right. I'm American and I can't think of any equivalent here. If Bruce did a national goodbye concert it wouldn't shut down the entire country.

[SoulEngine]

I'm gutted.

Playing Kingston 2016 now.

So sad.

[MattyM]

I don't think I've logged in here for a couple of years, but when I heard the news all I could think was how much The Hip have given me. Great memories, wonderful experiences and awesome friends all from following this band.

I don't think I'll come to terms with Gord being gone for quite a while. Right now I'm just thankful for him!

[direwolf74]

Absolutely devastated right now. We knew this day was coming, but man, it fuckin' hurts.

[tonyd]

Absolutely devastated right now. We knew this day was coming, but man, it fuckin' hurts.

That about sums it up.

[chagrinfalls]

Don't know if the link will work, but very nice from The Buffalo News:
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That's a great tribute by Jeff Miers:

"Despite the rapid rate at which we who live for and through music are losing the constellations in our sky, the inclination is to rage at the injustice of it all. Why do we lose the good ones, the people who bring such joy and love and light into our world? How does this make sense?
It doesn’t, of course. And we're left to make some semblance of peace with the injustice, to find a way to cling to the memories. For those of us who love the Tragically Hip, those memories are plentiful. Loving this band gained us entry into what felt like an exclusive club, and Downie was the doorman, a carnival barker with an ever-present sly smirk who lifted the velvet rope with a twinkle in his eye and said "C'mon in."

[Joe]

.

"Rock 'n' roll is not unlike love," Gord told music writer Michael Barclay in 2000. "You find it oddly strangely comforting that no matter how old you get, when it comes to matters of the heart, you're always 15 inside. I know an 85-year-old with boy trouble. That's a strange and comforting thing to me. As we move towards resolution and understanding and greater serenity in all aspects of our life, love's pretty elemental and that's nice to know. I think rock 'n' roll is the same. I don't pretend to understand it; it feels confusing and frightening and wonderful."

Wonderful quote

[sean.bonner]

When I was an angsty teen, I was introduced to Gord Downie.

I was 'in the closet', I was terrified and I felt completely alone. He was the first person that I ever felt 'got me' 1000% (even though in retrospect that could have been due to cryptic lyrics). The lyrics and the music never judged me, never put me down, and always made me feel that everything was going to being alright.

Gord quite literally saved my life.

I will never ever be able to put into words what that has meant to me.

Thanks for everything over the years.

Forward, daily forward.

[LandscapesEmerg]

Thanks for Sharing Sean. Thanks for your work over the years for the Greater Hip Family !

[Escape@Hand]

There's not much to say, I knew this day was coming but I certainly hoped against hope that he would last longer, that there might be one more show left, one more opportunity to "watch the band through a bunch of dancers" into the unknown of what a Hip show was. Every time I saw them live there was an energy like no other band could capture. The anticipation of what songs they might pull out that you weren't expecting, what crazy antics Gord was going to get up to. But for me, most of all, it was just about the music. The Tragically Hip made great music that speaks to my soul. So I while this stings, knowing that I will never again have that opportunity to see those five men playing their hearts out, I will be thankful that I got to see them 22 times, got to see my favourite songs live and have a whole lot of awesome memories because of Gord and the boys.

To The Tragically Hip, thank you for the joy you brought me, and for the wealth of wonderful music I will enjoy for the rest of my life.

[jlittlebones]

RIP Gord....Thanks for the Music and the Memories