Every Irrelevance | Scottitude.Net

Blonde Solid Re-done

I also updated the original post but a new, cleaner version of The Tragically Hip's Blonde Solid MP3 warrants its own post. I replaced the original file with one I edited with Nero. The sound is better; it's still not great, but it's about the best a very old MP3 from a cassette tape is gonna sound and it does sound better then before.

So, download it. Or don't. Whatever.

        copyright © MMVII Scottitude

Listen to Blonde Solid:

Download Blonde_Solid.mp3 (7259.6K)

DL Westwind-Cookie Factory MP3

"And the wind would almost whisper..."

This Get The Hip feature is for fans of the New Orleans Is Sinking  Cookie Factory/West-wind video and want it in MP3 format. It's from the 1995 Pink Pop festival and in addition to the "cookie factory in the west" diversion, Gord Downie works through the very raw original lyrics to Ahead By A Century, which seems to have become the Wheat Kings of a new generation of fans. Downie also throws in some lines that will become the chorus of Springtime In Vienna.

So pick one; listen to it, download it, share it with your friends through YouTube. Or don't.

If anyone wants the track in a different format, email me or PM me at the Titanic Terrarium. It's a pretty large file, though; 87 MB in WAV format but there are other lossless options.

New Orleans Is Sinking - Westwind/Cookie Factory

Download TTH-New-Orleans-Is-Sinking-Westwind-Cookiefactory.mp3 (8081.2K)

Watch the video

Make sure you check theHip.com for the first leg of the US tour and information about European dates.

        copyright © MMVII Scottitude

Get The Hip: Radio Show - Unreleased Classic

Hold in smoke till your father passes
My perspectives are broadened as my senses are dull
Phoning in to the radio show

Radio Show is another out-take from Fully, Completely (which also gave us Blonde Solid) that never got much exposure outside The Hip's fan community but certainly illustrates the depth and diversity of The Tragically Hip's groove and Gord Downie's talent for weaving simple phrases and imagery into an almost epic narrative of human nature. From sneaky dope-smokin' kids to flaming car crashes to the ultra mundane reality of call-in radio shows, it's all there in virtual Technicolor.

I've been slacking on downloads for the "Get The Hip" initiative (GTH) but Radio Show was next in the que and while its relevance is not fully intentional nor completely coincidental (radio has been a hot topic here lately), it serves the purpose of GTH which is to give people an opportunity to actually get The Hip. Not just the download, but the relevance and reality and relativity to the time we spend on this spinning rock. Radio Show just fits; right here, right now.

When you stop caring about what's in store
It's strange how
People stop caring so much about you anymore

While it got regular play on the '92 tour, Radio Show was played live on the CBC program Swinging on a Star in 1992 and that's the likely source of this recording. The quality is excellent and it's well worth a listen. If you dig it, take it, and check out theHip.com or any of the Tragically Hip links in the left sidebar.

Complete Lyric page at hipmuseum.com

Listen to Radio Show




Download Radio_Show.mp3 (3512.2K)

Get The Hip.

        copyright © MMVII Scottitude

The Tragically Hip Concert Video - Cookie Factory/Westwind

It's been too long (again) since the last installment of Get The Hip so I'm hoping you'll all enjoy this classic Hip concert video of New Orleans is Sinking from the 1995 PinkPop Festival in Landgraaf, Holland.

For the uninitiated, The Tragically Hip often use New Orleans is Sinking as a platform for Gord Downie's stream of consciousness "improvisations" or lyrical works in progress that eventually end up on a future album CD. For the fans, it's always a treat when one of these raw little gems evolves into a verse or complete track on a future release, and this one has some truly raw aspects. Hence the Parental Advisory.

On this particular June day in 1995, Gord introduces us to what will evolve into Ahead By A Century, which, to a generation of Hip fans, is the quintessential Hip tune. In 1996, ABAC was a sort of mainstream success (in as much as the mainstream will ever "get" The Hip) reaching #1 on the Rock charts, #6 on the Christian, and #17 on the Adult Contemporary charts.

By the time Trouble at the Henhouse came out, I had almost ten years of fandom under my belt; the first time I saw them live was in April of '95. That's when the hornet stung me!

This particular video completely encapsulates the very essence of everything Hip.

Enjoy it, you will.

        copyright © MMVI Scottitude

Ref: A Museum After Dark; The Hip Story Project

Blonde Solid - Fully Completely Out-take

"I was the funniest guy in the room
For half an hour or so
Pretty much until
This guy kicks me out
He says 'it's time to go'..."

If Get Back Again is the most sought-after unreleased track and the one most worthy of release, then Blonde Solid is a close second. This unplucked gem was recorded during the Fully, Completely sessions but didn't make the final cut.

Still, it's a finely crafted song that makes you feel like you're in a familiar tableau that must be a slice of real life. There's only a subtle hint that the tableau exists only in the Himalayas of Gord's mind, a mundane tale of desire, loss, and longing inspired by... a painting:

"And that's the way Mark painted her
Brown, yellow, stolid
She's blonde solid
She's blonde solid"

The sound is a little tinny and the  production value isn't on par with that of GBA but it's a very cool track, nonetheless.

A must for any fan, die-hard or novice, so check it out. And let me know what you think, eh?

UPDATE - 01.29.07: I replaced the original file with an new edited version. The sound is better, but still not great. It's about the best a very old MP3 from a cassette tape is gonna sound.

        copyright © MMVI Scottitude

Listen to Blonde Solid:

Download Blonde_Solid.mp3 (7259.6K)

Technorati Tags:
Audio Files; Downloads; MP3; Music; The Tragically Hip

Get Back Again - Unreleased Classic

It's been too long since the last 'Get The Hip' offering so this one's an unplucked gem; pluck it. Get Back Again is a stunning Gord Sinclair (bass/setlist) ballad written long ago and eventually recorded during the Road Apples sessions but never released.

This recording is a live radio broadcast from 1992. GBA was last played live in February of 1995 in The Hip's hometown, Kingston, ON. Stephen Dame, Curator of A Museum After Dark says "Among diehard Hip Heads, it remains the most requested of the unreleased material, and is perhaps the most deserving of a release."

Everyone who hears it digs it and nobody outside the hip really knows why it hasn't been released. If a song like this doesn't make the album, can you imagine the ones that did?

It's definitely worth 4:06 of your time so check it out, and let me know what you think.

Listen to Get Back Again:

Download Get Back Again.mp3 (3858.4K)

        copyright © MMVI Scottitude

Reference:
A Museum After Dark
The Myth and Mystery of The Tragically Hip
www hipmuseum.com

NOIS - "Killer Whale Tank"

The second selection in the Scottitude.Net "Get The Hip" initiative is also available on the Roxy & Elsewhere 'bootleg'. The actual title of the track is New Orleans is Sinking, a practical staple in The Hip's never-the-same setlist, NOIS has long been used as a proving-ground or rehearsal stage for works in process as Gord Downie weaves random thoughts into lyrics that usually evolve into future releases.

Much to the chagrin of hardcore fans, ever-mindful of the human condition, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Gord Sinclair (who creates each show's list) pulled it indefinitely from their setlist. When asked on the air at Y108 in Hamilton, ON  whether radio stations should also refrain from playing it, Sinclair said that he did what he felt was appropriate and commented that he's "not sure if they'll ever play it again". Several stations did in fact stop playing it, some for a while and some, apparently, for good.

The song itself (written in 1988) deals with ones attachment to New Orleans and desire to stay, even though the city's sinking. It's filled with literal imagery of the now devastated city but is more a celebration of the culture, than a disparagement of it.

But the purpose of selecting this particular track is the beloved Killer Whale Tank "rant".

"I had a job before this... I had a job before this...
Ultimately it was that job that drove me into this..."

Downie relates a fictional tale of his job as a "clean & scrub man" in the C&S unit of a huge aquarium where his presence unwittingly causes problems for a killer whale-couple that result in an unfortunate "accident".

Another fan-favorite, "Killerwhaletank" is a perfect companion to "Double Suicide". Downie doesn't "rant" in every song but when he does, they are indeed memorable.

Enjoy it, and let me know what you think.

        copyright © MMVI Scottitude

Listen to New Orleans is Sinking - Killerwhaletank


Download NOIS_Killer_Whale_Tank.mp3 (8066.1K)

[NOTE: more Tragically Hip links in the left sidebar]

Highway Girl - "Double Suicide"

If you're even mildly interested in The Tragically Hip but don't know where to start exploring their expansive catalog, or if you've heard commercial releases but don't quite 'get' the attraction, I'm going to make it easy for you. There are a variety of sources for legal Hip downloads so I'm not offering you anything you can't find elsewhere, I'm just simplifying the selection process by offering choice live tracks with a little background info.

The Tragically Hip has an "open taping" policy at their shows and the recordings are widely distributed in the Hip-fan community so be assured that any Hip tracks you might download from this site are absolutely legal.

The first offering in this series is the infamous "Double Suicide" version of Highway Girl. This one-of performance appears on the Roxy & Elsewhere "bootleg" recorded on and around May 3, 1991 on The Hip's "Another Roadside Attraction" tour. It was also released as a "B" side of a radio promo disc for the Twist My Arm single. Some may find the subject and language (one word) of Gord Downie's mid-song 'rant' offensive or inappropriate for minors so it warrants an advisory.

Indeed almost ten years after it was released to Canadian radio stations (and played often) a Winnipeg listener complained to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. From the ruling on that complaint:

"The Prairie Regional Panel ruled similarly in CJKR-FM re the song “Highway Girl (Live)” by The Tragically Hip (CBSC Decision 00/01-0832, January 14, 2002). In this live version of the song, the lead singer performs one of his signature “rants”; that is , he tells a story or recites a poem in a stream-of-consciousness style.

This particular “rant” tells the story of a couple’s suicide attempt and includes the word “fucking”. The song was played at 11:02 am. The Panel ruled that the coarse language, violent theme and “veritable ‘how-to’ section on committing suicide were unsuitable for broadcast at times of the day when children could reasonably be expected to be listening."

The ruling goes on to find the "F" word a violation because a child could have heard it but recognized that while the details of the double suicide "are gruesome and leave little to the imagination of the listener", they are nonetheless integral to the story within the song.

Take your pick: listen to the track or download it. Or don't. But if you do, make sure to let me know what you think!

        copyright © MMVI Scottitude

Listen to Highway Girl (w/"Double Suicide")


Download Highway_Girl.mp3 (7016.7K)

[NOTE: more Tragically Hip links in the left sidebar]