For Alan Arkin and Madeline Kahn

Last Tuesday The Tragically Hip released their new album Now For Plan A, last weekend, being Thanksgiving, my family, being major Hip fans, discussed the album and quoted lyrics to each other all weekend. OK, I know that at this moment you are probably thinking that you can’t believe that I going to talk about the Hip again, but just trust me.

During one of our first family Hip discussions of the weekend my Dad mentioned that he thought that something had happened to the lead singer, and lyricist, Gord Downie like divorce and the rest of thought that he was wrong. Later, I can’t remember if it was that same day, we watched an interview where Gord Downie talked about how, during writing this album, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer…Dad was close, something bad had happened. Another day later we were listening to Now For Plan A and Dad stated that he thought that the song We Want to Be It could be about going through chemo, and at first I thought that it couldn’t be that obvious, but the more I listen to it the more I think that he is right.

The lyric that make me, and my Dad, think about chemo is simply the word drip being repeated in between lines. In my mind I imagine that these lyrics are the thoughts that are/were going through his head as he sat with his wife watching the chemo drip into her arm. Even the sound/tone of the music feels like this countering of mellow and urgency that I think fits the lyrics perfectly. I find it interesting to hear the thoughts of the person who is supporting the patient; it is one that is very rarely told.

My favourite part is the chorus which repeats “We don’t want to do it, we want to be it”. This line comes from a story that Alan Arkin told about the first time he worked with Madeline Kahn. Arkin asked Kahn what made her want to be an actor and she told him that she wanted to be the music, Arkin thought about it and realized that she was right; we don’t want to do it, we want to be it. I really think that that phrase is so powerful, not just in terms of this song, but for the way that you should live your life.

The more I listen to and think about We Want to Be It the more amazing I think it is. There are so many emotions expressed in this song and the each listen holds something a bit different from the last. Listen, take in the lyrics, feel the emotion behind the vocals, and enjoy.

 

P.S. I couldn't find the album version on youTube, but this live version is pretty good. If you can get your hands of the studio version you won't be sorry.

 

I've Been Meaning to Call You, Then I Do

“Phone rings once

Phone rings twice

Phone rings three times”

Once, years ago, I had a stroke of genius concerning the ringtone on my cell phone. I had just got a phone that came with a program that allowed me to edit a song so that I could have a certain part, instead of just the beginning, play whenever I received a phone call. My brilliant idea was to use the four lines that are written just above this paragraph, which are from the song In View by The Tragically Hip. Yesterday, I heard this song on the radio and immediately began to wonder if I would be able to put the ringtone from years ago on to my new Blackberry. The experiment was a success and I now get to hear Phone rings once…every time my phone rings.

When World Container came out back in 2006 I remember that everyone thought that it sounded so different from what The Tragically Hip usually offers, but mostly I remember loving In View most of all. The song starts out with something that sounds like a synthesizer or a strange setting on a keyboard, which sets the tone. The music is great, it makes me want to dance, and the melody gets stuck in my head very easily. The lyrics are probably my favourite part and at first you think that it is just about a guy who keeps forgetting to call a girl back, but after you listen to it a bit more you hear that it is not just about meaning to call someone but also about the relationship between the caller and the person being called.

The music video for In View is also pretty great. It was filmed in China and follows Gord Downie through the day. It gets really funny when Gord is having lunch and snatches a cell phone off the table next to him and then is chased through the street of Shanghai. I can’t help but smile every time I hear In View, it is such a happy, fun song, and if you want to get me out of a bad mood just turn it on and turn it up! I firmly believe that it is one of those songs that once you hear it you’ll love it, even if you not the biggest Hip fan!

Check out In View by The Tragically Hip off the album World Container.

 

Hey, That's A Morning Moon

“The sun is a light blub

And the moon is a mirror

There are times you can see both the blub and the mirror

And that’s a morning moon”

I always listen to music on my way to work, actually I just always listen to music, and this morning I put on the Tragically Hip album We Are The Same. The first track is Morning Moon; I have always loved this song, but it never spoke to me before in the way that did while walking to the streetcar at 7:15am.

Morning Moon reminds me of the morning, I can almost picture Gord Downie sitting out at the crack of dawn trying to make sense of life looking at the sun rise on one side and the moon on the other. Morning can be such a peaceful time of day, and it is always cool to see both the sun and moon in the sky. This is what popped into my mind this morning on the way to the streetcar; I often think about things, sometimes random things, on the way to work. Sometimes I get some really good thinking in, and other times I just get my crazy thinking out of the way.

I love how Morning Moon is so mellow; it is the perfect early morning song. The music sounds like morning too, the day is new and you never know what is going to happen. Gord Downie’s vocals are also so great! I love it when Gordie sings softly; you can really hear the tone and emotion in his voice. In this song Gordie almost sounds like he is contemplating out loud which really helps to paint the picture of him watching the sunrise.

Check out Morning Moon by The Tragically Hip off We Are The Same