12-27-2004, 03:38 PM
Long time fan from the lower 48. In all these years, I've seen only two Hip music videos played in the US: I saw "100th Meridian" in a bar and I caught "Music at Work" one time on MTV. I understand that they played them once in a while on the old "120 Minutes" show on MTV.
I recently bought a video off e-Bay that someone had compiled of old Hip videos. It looks like a special on "Much Music" that had old videos, interviews, etc, and then culminated in a live "in studio" concert at the release of "Music @ Work". As I watched the old videos, I started thinking about the Hips failure to explode in the US and had some thoughts. I don't want this to degenerate into a thread on "why didn't they make it there?" because that's been done to death and not really relevent. I would like to suggest one thing and see what you all think.
When we first saw the Hip in 1990 and 91, my friends and I assumed that it was just a matter of time before we'd be seeing them in arenas instead of bars. We bemoaned the fact that we never saw their videos and we'd talk about the videos that WE'D make if we could. Every one contained some element of the thing about the band that made them stand so much higher in our opinion and that was their live shows and watching Gordie wig out. I loved their songs, but we all travel great distances and overcome great obstacles to see them live and watch Gord! In the late 1980s and early 90s, MTV and music videos were still a way to check out bands and new music. I remember the first time I heard (and saw) Nirvana, STP and Pearl Jam was on MTV. I didn't buy "10" until I saw the Pearl Jam video for "Evenflow" and thought "That guy Vedder is pretty interesting but he's no Gordie".
After watching the old videos, 15 years after the fact, I think I understand why we never saw the Hip on MTV. First, as some on this board have already stated, they pretty much sucked. But more importantly, they did nothing to capture the unique qualities of the band. In every "live" shot, Gordie is standing almost stock still in front of the mic, mouthing the words. HUH! Who's that guy? I've never seen him stand still for more than 10 seconds in a row! I didn't see a single video that came close to capturing what I see as the strong points of the band. On Saturday Night Live, he had to stand in one place (probably for cameraman purposes) but he still got in a lot of Gordie shakes and wierdness. I can't believe they went 10 years without someone saying, "why don't we capture them live?" What an idea. The best video I saw on the tape was for "Poets". I thought it captured their sense of humor and playfulness and some idea of what it would be like to see them live.
In my opinion, the Hip have put out some of the best music available in the last two decades. Unfortunately, in the US of the early 1990s at least, the music wasn't always enough to get people out to see a show. If the Hip had videos that conveyed their live shows, I'm sure they would have sparked more interest in seeing them live. And we all know what happens to you after you see them live. Infected for life.
Just some random thoughts ....
I recently bought a video off e-Bay that someone had compiled of old Hip videos. It looks like a special on "Much Music" that had old videos, interviews, etc, and then culminated in a live "in studio" concert at the release of "Music @ Work". As I watched the old videos, I started thinking about the Hips failure to explode in the US and had some thoughts. I don't want this to degenerate into a thread on "why didn't they make it there?" because that's been done to death and not really relevent. I would like to suggest one thing and see what you all think.
When we first saw the Hip in 1990 and 91, my friends and I assumed that it was just a matter of time before we'd be seeing them in arenas instead of bars. We bemoaned the fact that we never saw their videos and we'd talk about the videos that WE'D make if we could. Every one contained some element of the thing about the band that made them stand so much higher in our opinion and that was their live shows and watching Gordie wig out. I loved their songs, but we all travel great distances and overcome great obstacles to see them live and watch Gord! In the late 1980s and early 90s, MTV and music videos were still a way to check out bands and new music. I remember the first time I heard (and saw) Nirvana, STP and Pearl Jam was on MTV. I didn't buy "10" until I saw the Pearl Jam video for "Evenflow" and thought "That guy Vedder is pretty interesting but he's no Gordie".
After watching the old videos, 15 years after the fact, I think I understand why we never saw the Hip on MTV. First, as some on this board have already stated, they pretty much sucked. But more importantly, they did nothing to capture the unique qualities of the band. In every "live" shot, Gordie is standing almost stock still in front of the mic, mouthing the words. HUH! Who's that guy? I've never seen him stand still for more than 10 seconds in a row! I didn't see a single video that came close to capturing what I see as the strong points of the band. On Saturday Night Live, he had to stand in one place (probably for cameraman purposes) but he still got in a lot of Gordie shakes and wierdness. I can't believe they went 10 years without someone saying, "why don't we capture them live?" What an idea. The best video I saw on the tape was for "Poets". I thought it captured their sense of humor and playfulness and some idea of what it would be like to see them live.
In my opinion, the Hip have put out some of the best music available in the last two decades. Unfortunately, in the US of the early 1990s at least, the music wasn't always enough to get people out to see a show. If the Hip had videos that conveyed their live shows, I'm sure they would have sparked more interest in seeing them live. And we all know what happens to you after you see them live. Infected for life.
Just some random thoughts ....
