[sonichka11]

The first time I listened to Thugs, I was painting my kitchen cupboards.Took me by surprise! As an aside, I think think that song has some of Gord's best writing.

[senrab]

dark but true -

in 2002 I bought the In Violet Light album when it came out. I had heard the Hip on the radio in WNY for years (97.7 HTZ-FM, Q107, Edge 102, blah blah) but this was the first album I bought. My dad was very sick with GBM at that time.

Fast forward to 8/12/16 in Toronto, and I am listening to songs from that album being performed by a man with the same illness.

[edgoffin]

Stood and watched a decent but not great bar band play some Hip covers standing beside a close family member of the band - felt for the band, likely would have skipped those songs if they had known.

[SoylentGreg]

This isn't a coincidence, but it's a funny tangential Hip story I felt like sharing.

Back when I was in college, I worked for our campus' technology services department: answering phones, getting shuffled around various computer labs as a monitor, and occasionally fixing professors' laptops. It was exam week, and since most classes used scantron sheets they needed someone to cart the dozens of boxes full of tests each teacher used down to the server room, babysit them as they ran through the scantron machine and then take them back with the report numbers on them. Since this involved moving heavy boxes, sitting in a freezing cold room for several hours and then moving heavy boxes again, nobody wanted to do it - so I volunteered.

When I got to the server room, there was a stereo on one wall with a whole rat's nest of wires coming from it, playing some smooth jazz CD on a loop. It bugged the hell out of me, so once I got the boxes down I popped the CD out and replaced it with the Hip's Phantom Power. I listened to it three or four times while I was down there, clearing jams in the scantron machine and reading some fantasy novel.

Near the end of the day, my supervisor came to check in on me and heard the music. She got a shocked look on her face and was like "what is that you're listening to, is it appropriate?" I didn't understand, until she explained: that stereo was hooked into the phone systems for the entire campus. That smooth jazz CD was our hold music. The entire time I'd been down there, any person who called the college and was put on hold for any reason got treated to whatever part of Phantom Power I was currently listening to. Nobody mentioned anything about it, so it was quickly forgotten. But I got a pretty good kick out of it.

Tl;dr version - I accidentally replaced my college's hold music with Phantom Power for an entire day.

[vanhalen26]

My brother and I got two singles to Kingston independently and they were 5 feet apart, as we couldn't get a pair together.

More than a Hip coincidence, fate! He got his seat before the show off a scalper, I got mine well before - and it was the only single the scalper had!!

[patiodweller]

Was with a group of friends at RJ's Boom Boom Saloon circa 1998, the biggest dance club in Ottawa at the time, and they only played thumping dance music, but one night, Bandidos by the Refreshments came on, we were floored. One of my friends jokingly said, "Maybe they'll play New Orleans is Sinking next" And in fact, that's exactly what they did. "Sleazy D" I believe was the name of the DJ. Sidenote getting back to the original thread post. "Thugs" was mentioned. When I was watching that 1995 DFN video again on Much on Saturday, I noticed what looked like Ricky from the Trailer Park Boys playing the part of one of the bank tellers. Is that him?

[tlightle]

My best friend went to high school with my favourite band.
He grew up in Kingston (obviously) and I grew up in the Hammer. We became friends at our first job in Toronto just when the Hips career was taking off. I mentioned to him one day how good this band from Kingston was and he says, oh yeah, I went to high school with them.

[paulster2626]

My brother and I got two singles to Kingston independently and they were 5 feet apart, as we couldn't get a pair together.

More than a Hip coincidence, fate! He got his seat before the show off a scalper, I got mine well before - and it was the only single the scalper had!!

Isn't it funny how small such a large arena can get? I had 2 singles to Toronto #1 - I was on the floor and wife just above me in the lower bowl. We met up with my good friend and his wife who had tickets from her boss. Turns out they were right beside each other - I mean right beside. My wife danced with her friends the entire show while I got lost in the music on my own. Great night, and a very fortunate turn of events.

[thebends]

In a cab in Dublin this morning heading for airport and the driver asks me if I'm American. I say no, Canadian. He says oh I will vacationing in Canada in 2 weeks what a charm. I ask where he is going, he replies flying into Ottawa, then fishing in Smith Falls, then to Kingston and then a drive to Hamilton before the Falls. So the Dublin cabbie hits the last 3 Hip cities. Cant make this shit up.

[thedarkcanuck]

I have these all the time....on a trip to Thunder Bay a few years back, had ipod on shuffle with around 4000 songs on it and 100th meridian comes on just as we are crossing the 100th meridan.....another time driving through BC and at the end of Twist My Arm on Live Between Us Gord says " across the river", well that comes on during the 3 seconds that we are driving over a river.....Hip synchronicity is a beautiful thing

[senrab]

This isn't a coincidence, but it's a funny tangential Hip story I felt like sharing.

Back when I was in college, I worked for our campus' technology services department: answering phones, getting shuffled around various computer labs as a monitor, and occasionally fixing professors' laptops. It was exam week, and since most classes used scantron sheets they needed someone to cart the dozens of boxes full of tests each teacher used down to the server room, babysit them as they ran through the scantron machine and then take them back with the report numbers on them. Since this involved moving heavy boxes, sitting in a freezing cold room for several hours and then moving heavy boxes again, nobody wanted to do it - so I volunteered.

When I got to the server room, there was a stereo on one wall with a whole rat's nest of wires coming from it, playing some smooth jazz CD on a loop. It bugged the hell out of me, so once I got the boxes down I popped the CD out and replaced it with the Hip's Phantom Power. I listened to it three or four times while I was down there, clearing jams in the scantron machine and reading some fantasy novel.

Near the end of the day, my supervisor came to check in on me and heard the music. She got a shocked look on her face and was like "what is that you're listening to, is it appropriate?" I didn't understand, until she explained: that stereo was hooked into the phone systems for the entire campus. That smooth jazz CD was our hold music. The entire time I'd been down there, any person who called the college and was put on hold for any reason got treated to whatever part of Phantom Power I was currently listening to. Nobody mentioned anything about it, so it was quickly forgotten. But I got a pretty good kick out of it.

Tl;dr version - I accidentally replaced my college's hold music with Phantom Power for an entire day.

amazing. LOL :thumb: