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Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip has passed

L

LiveFromKyoto

Member
We all knew it was coming, but it still feels awful. That man is going down in Canadian lore as a giant. When someone passes it's common to say "they will never be forgotten," but he really might not be.
 
C

CKB3375

Member
I’m fucking crushed. It’s hard to describe what Gord has meant to me and most of Canada but Trudeau’s reaction sums it up well.
 
Nealand Liquor

Nealand Liquor

Member
When looking back over the past 20 years it is amazing how the hip was able to unite an entire country like they did. It was almost magical. One of my favorite experiences with their music was being on a beach in Mexico with just my wife listening to the Tragically Hip on a little bluetooth speaker and within an hour we've made friends, were chatting, laughing with five other Canadians. I didn't at the time recognise just how special that moment was (even though we all laughed about it) but without their music none of us would have met or bonded.
I truly hope he has found peace.

Long time running: https://youtu.be/d7fj2wCJnCo
 
Q

Quadratic

Member
I read about his passing on cbc's website earlier. The Hip's music was part of my rotation back when I was in high school.
Gord truly lived a full life and I'm glad he could do that farewell tour last year. He was a remarkable man.
RIP
 
S

Seganomics

Member
I read an article on the BBC about the gig that was broadcast in Canada when Gord was sick. It made me give the band a listen and I'm glad I did.

Rest in peace
 
Y

Yawnier

Banned
RIP. The Hip are a great band and I'm glad I had the chance to see them live a few years ago. Also love Road Apples and Fully Completely, both albums are favorites of mine.
 
A

Amirnol

Member
I just saw the doc Long Time Running, a great film about Gord and the band and how hard it really was to do their last tour. It really highlighted how much love and passion Gord had for music, his fans, his band, and the country. RIP Gord.
 
P

Parch

Member
I saw the Hip twice in Halifax. The first time they didn't sound so good. They were moving up from playing bars and their equipment wasn't quite up to arena standards. What I did take from that show was the intensity of Gord Downie. I've seen a lot of groups and I've never seen a performer quite like Downie. He was a special man.
The second time I saw them they were in their prime and absolutely brilliant. Tragically Hip were a big part of a lot of Canadians who are now in the their 40's and 50's.

What makes this emotional is the final tour. That TV performance in conjunction with HNIC was intense. For him to say goodbye like that was really brave and a special moment for Canadians.

Gord Downie was a complex man. Influential, opinionated, but still a regular guy. A poet. A brilliant performer. And very much Canadian. Not so much of a rah rah patriotic Canadian, but a true Canadian spirit. It's difficult to describe and for non-Canadians to fully understand, but Gord Downie really had the spirit.

RIP to a Canadian legend. Thank You Gord.
 
C

chrominance

Member
JettDash said:
RIP.

Sorry if this sounds intensive, but was he only famous in Canada?
Click to expand...

The Tragically Hip are quite famous in Canada--arguably a household name--but that fame never managed to spread very far into the United States or elsewhere. To me, it's still one of those baffling things about Canadiana. Like, sure, hockey and healthcare and all that, but it's easy to feel like you're basically a slightly nicer American 99% of the time (the "slightly nicer" part probably being more hubris on our part than anything resembling objective reality). And yet, Americans never cared for the Tragically Hip. Why? Are a handful of Canadian references really enough to throw people off? Is there something in the air in Canada that makes many of us love them? It's bizarre and I've never been able to explain it to myself.

(It's worth noting that the Hip themselves seemed somewhat skeptical of Canadian patriotism. Maybe that's what makes them uniquely Canadian.)

I was a fairweather fan of the Hip, so any favourites I have tend to relate to the albums I listened to the most: Trouble at the Henhouse and Live Between Us. I put on Trouble a few months back, after the Hip's last tour, and it's still a great album to put on on a Sunday afternoon. "Scared" still gives me chills sometimes. And ask anyone of a certain age about the killer whale tank and see how many people know instantly what you're talking about.

RIP Gord. Thanks for everything.
 
I

Icolin

Banned
Silexx said:
For anyone interested, here is the video in question.

https://twitter.com/journorosa/status/920659101264367617
Click to expand...

This is heartbreaking to watch.


Parch said:
I saw the Hip twice in Halifax. The first time they didn't sound so good. They were moving up from playing bars and their equipment wasn't quite up to arena standards. What I did take from that show was the intensity of Gord Downie. I've seen a lot of groups and I've never seen a performer quite like Downie. He was a special man.
The second time I saw them they were in their prime and absolutely brilliant. Tragically Hip were a big part of a lot of Canadians who are now in the their 40's and 50's.

What makes this emotional is the final tour. That TV performance in conjunction with HNIC was intense. For him to say goodbye like that was really brave and a special moment for Canadians.

Gord Downie was a complex man. Influential, opinionated, but still a regular guy. A poet. A brilliant performer. And very much Canadian. Not so much of a rah rah patriotic Canadian, but a true Canadian spirit. It's difficult to describe and for non-Canadians to fully understand, but Gord Downie really had the spirit.

RIP to a Canadian legend. Thank You Gord.
Click to expand...

Very well said. Gord truly exemplified the Canadian spirit. He will be missed by many. RIP.
 
R

RC

Banned
It was inevitable, but sad nonetheless.

My only regret is that I never got to see the Hip in concert.
 
J

jstripes

Banned
I was lucky enough to see The Hip in concert once, and he was a wonderful performer. He didn't just stand there and sing, he put his all into it.

RIP.
 
J

jstripes

Banned
I just realized we only have one of the Gordon trinity left.

We lost Gordie Howe, and now Gord Downie. Gordon Lightfoot is the only one left.
 
H

hiim_haz

Banned
I never listened to the tragically hip much, despite growing up in Canada. But I know their impact on Canadian music and Canada in general. I’m watching cbc all morning and i just feel sad, incredibly sad. He geniuinely seemed like someone who just loved Canada so much.

I only recently started to look into their discography to understand exactly why him and the band are so loved, rip.
 
SaintJonathan

SaintJonathan

Member
Being from his hometown, our radio stations are playing Hip songs all day, we are having a giant gathering tonight in celebration of his life. I believe they are airing the final concert tonight as well in our market square. He may be gone, but his memory will never die.
 
S

Somewhat Damaged

Member
Watching the video of Trudeau speaking, hopefully his death will act as a push towards improving the treatment of the First Nations. This was something Gord was extremely passionate about and dedicated a huge portion of his life to, especially in his later years. I don't care if a fund or task force or anything is only done for PR reasons, this hopefully can ensure that his final passionate causes can get some proper government funding in his honour.


On the note of his music, I'm not even going to try to pick one favourite song. The Hip to me feel like a constant soundtrack of wandering around Kingston.
 
O

ozhenson

Member
I am alot more broken up about this than anticipated.

The Hip were among the only music that I shared enjoyment of with my father, and after my dad passed Gordon Downie took on a much bigger sentimental meaning in my life. Im crushed, despite the inevitability of all of this.

R.I.P. Gord.
 
Z

Zarovitch

Member
Tragically Hip is probably the band i've seen the most performing live. It a big loss.

R.I.P. Gordon and thanks for the memories.
 
Z

zer0blivion

Member
Jeff Lemire shared this tribute to Gord.

https://twitter.com/JeffLemire/status/920666917311881216
Jeff Lemire said:
To my friend. xo J
DMbdi_fX0AAHSdC.jpg
Click to expand...

He and Gord worked together on The Secret Path.

Gord Downie's The Secret Path
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGd764YU9yc&t=2116s
 
C

chrominance

Member
Somewhat Damaged said:
Watching the video of Trudeau speaking, hopefully his death will act as a push towards improving the treatment of the First Nations. This was something Gord was extremely passionate about and dedicated a huge portion of his life to, especially in his later years. I don't care if a fund or task force or anything is only done for PR reasons, this hopefully can ensure that his final passionate causes can get some proper government funding in his honour.


On the note of his music, I'm not even going to try to pick one favourite song. The Hip to me feel like a constant soundtrack of wandering around Kingston.
Click to expand...

I hope Trudeau does take Downie's activism to heart. Indigenous people still face so many challenges in this country; the missing/murdered indigenous women inquiry is one initiative his government started that really needs proper follow-through. Macleans had a very thorough article on the current state of the inquiry.

Closer to Gord's chosen area of activism (reconciliation and indigenous rights), if this is something anyone here wants to look into, one place to start is the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund. Chanie Wenjack is the subject of Downie's last album, The Secret Path; he was a twelve-year-old boy who ran away from a residential school and died from hunger and exposure in the fall of 1966.
 
Pyccko

Pyccko

Member
Damn, knew it was gonna happen eventually, but it still sucks. RIP

Condolences to all our northern neighbors.
 
D

disappeared

Banned
I always appreciated the way Gord wrote his songs. There was a lot of artistic merit to his lyrics and how it wasn't always just fluff-pop filler. Also very glad I got to catch their last concert via cbc's stream. All three hours of it. Just an insane performance.
 
N

NeoZeedeater

Member
chrominance said:
The Tragically Hip are quite famous in Canada--arguably a household name--but that fame never managed to spread very far into the United States or elsewhere. To me, it's still one of those baffling things about Canadiana. Like, sure, hockey and healthcare and all that, but it's easy to feel like you're basically a slightly nicer American 99% of the time (the "slightly nicer" part probably being more hubris on our part than anything resembling objective reality). And yet, Americans never cared for the Tragically Hip. Why? Are a handful of Canadian references really enough to throw people off? Is there something in the air in Canada that makes many of us love them? It's bizarre and I've never been able to explain it to myself.
Click to expand...

Part of it is because of Canadian content laws. I stopped listening to the radio on my way to university in the '90s because every second song was from them. If the US had the band rammed its throat, they would be well known there, too. The funny thing about Canadian references is that I don't remember any of them now but the song about New Orleans totally stands out.

It's horrible Gord died at such a young age, though.
 
S

SRG01

Member
Y'know, I used to not think much of the Tragically Hip in the past. Then I watched their final concert and when 'Ahead by a Century' came up, I remembered that it was the first English song I could name and sing by heart.

So yeah, I finally understood their importance from that moment on. RIP Gord.
 
C

castlegar

Member
Man, this hit me hard. The Hip have been my favourite band ever since I've had a favourite band.

I've never enjoyed them for the Canadiana in their schtick, though, and I've always felt that their talent and energy as a band gets sidelined for that. Gord was an incredible lyricist who was thoughtful and clever and could write songs about shit I'd never imagine hearing or learning about in that way. Songs like 'The Luxury', 'Daredevil', and 'Escape is at Hand for the Travellin' Man' made me think about what was being said but I'd always be humming them after listening.

And then there's Gord's incredible stage energy, which was amazing. Especially in the nineties. This performance from the Heksenketel tour is one of my favourite examples of that, but there's also the obvious rants and song-mashes they'd do, too. I'm very lucky to have had the chance to see him/them two dozen or so times in my 28 years.

He was such a talented guy with, thankfully, an incredible band backing him up. I'm one of those people who certainly hoped they'd one day be more popular globally but I'm also so appreciative they had that love they deserved here in Canada.

I highly recommend checking out his solo work if you're looking for music of his that's a bit more personal and gentle and weird.

Coolest guy in the world. Rest in peace.
 
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