Border towns have their benefits, even if they are damn cold. Sure, Rochester’s border with its northern neighbor is aquatic and, um, rather voluminous (see Lake Ontario). But our cousin to the west, Buffalo, is separated from the Great White North by a mere river, one that has little hope of stanching the flow of brilliance. And that’s why, in this part of the US, the most Canadian of all creations has found a home. No, not Tim Hortons. The Tragically Hip.
The Story
Kingston, Ontario, might be anonymous to many, but the city of 132,000 on the eastern edge of the aforementioned Lake Ontario has laid eyes on some gems—John A. Macdonald (Canada’s first prime minister), Bryan Adams, Dan Aykroyd, and, of course, The Tragically Hip.
Formed in the early ’80s in Kingston, The Hip worked their way through the local bar scene, making a dent at student joints on the campus of Queen’s University, where a few members were enrolled. Among them was lead singer Gord Downie, at the time having no idea that he would go on to become the voice of a nation, a poet-entertainer who in the words of The New York Times was Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Stipe all in one.
His crew consisted of Rob Baker (lead guitar), Johnny Fay (drums), Gord Sinclair (bass), and Paul Langois (rhythm guitar), the last replacing saxophonist Davis Manning in 1986. From there came recognition in the much larger Toronto, a record deal, zero lineup changes, and surprisingly little drama—until Downie’s 2015 diagnosis of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that would take his life less than two years later.
That left time for one last tour, a 2016 journey that ended fittingly in Kingston with a show broadcast throughout Canada and viewed by about a third of the country (the same proportion of Americans that view the Super Bowl), including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In Downie’s lifetime, the quintet pumped out 14 albums (including an initial self-titled EP), fusing alternative rock, blues, and folk into a national soundtrack. The vocals could be off pitch and the music short on technical mastery, but those imperfections were trounced by thoughtfulness and raw emotion. Using lyrics rife with Canadian history and imagery, the band became a cultural force, and album sales in its home country dominated those of other Canadians aside from a handful of international icons, the likes of Céline Dion, Shania Twain, and Michael Bublé.
Yet despite having captured the imagination of the world’s tenth-largest economy, part of the band’s legacy would be its failure to penetrate the American market in a meaningful way. There were multiple festival gigs, a 1995 Aykroyd-facilitated Saturday Night Live appearance, and a still-active Western New York tribute band, but most Americans never heard of The Hip.
Whether this storyline was due to unfortunate timing, suboptimal marketing, or simply a lack of desire is hard to say, but talking heads often swung and missed at the underlying significance. The real narrative was that as evidenced by The Hip, a young nation that grew up in the shadow of the United Kingdom and then the United States had finally found its own identity.
The Songs
A portfolio so deep leaves ample room for debate, but this collection of five tunes is a reasonable sample of what The Hip could do, both musically and lyrically.
New Orleans Is Sinking (1989)
From their first full-length studio album, this bluesy track—whether designed to be or not—is a gentle reminder that New Orleans culture still carries a dose of Canadiana.
Little Bones (1991)
The opener from their next album is a classic ’90s alt-rock jam which, by referencing happy hour, cheap beer, and chicken bones, will always resonate in Buffalo.
Wheat Kings (1992)
From the subsequent album came this folk-inspired song, never released as a single but bursting with references to the Paris of the prairies (Saskatoon), the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and a wrongful murder conviction.
Grace, Too (1994)
A couple years later came the lead single from the group’s fourth full-length album, performed during the Saturday Night Live appearance and a perfect example of what could happen when the band was firing on all cylinders.
Bobcaygeon (1999)
And finally, from the sixth full-length album came this shout out to an unassuming Ontario town, complete with a hazy reference to white supremacy in Toronto.
So no, in border towns, art doesn’t have to pass through an American filter for verification. And with the hope that The Tragically Hip started a trend, I’ll be here, across the lake, listening.
