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Ep. #272: Gord Downie [Archival; May 2010]

Gord Downie is a genuine hero of mine who has redefined rock ‘n’ roll music in Canada. Over the past 30 years, he’s led Kingston, Ontario’s the Tragically Hip, who write and perform songs that are uncommonly challenging and great, improbably becoming one of Canada’s most popular and influential bands as a result. The band kicks off their Man Machine Poem tour on July 22 in Victoria, which may well be the last time they cross the country together. Away from the Hip, Downie has written poetry, acted in films, collaborated with people like the Sadies, and formed another band called the Country of Miracles whose notable membership includes Julie Doiron, Dave Clark, Dale Morningstar, Josh Finlayson, and John Press. During an interview conducted on May 20, 2010, Gord and I discuss The Grand Bounce liner notes, foxiness and beans, pie makers and connectivity, revelations, desertion, Evan S. Connell and Son of the Morning Star and “the grand bounce,” things and people we desert and fight or flight, the sound of the Country of Miracles, relationships with music, his dedicated bandmates, his role as a player and musician, the shift in production from Coke Machine Glow to Battle of the Nudes to The Grand Bounce, using words up, “The Drowning Machine” collaboration with Buck 65, the water and God, Rich can’t swim, getting the Country of Miracles back together from time to time, a David Bowie ringtone, working with Chris Walla, missing the band, summer lovin’, a collaboration with the Sadies, Hip plans, calling on the songs, the song “The Dance and its Disappearance,” Crystal Pite and Kid Pivot, and then we danced.

Related links: thehip.com vishkhanna.com

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Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #190: Lee Reed

Lee Reed is a riveting and uncompromising hip-hop artist from Hamilton, Ontario. Once a member of the powerful group Warsawpack, Reed has released three politically-charged solo albums, including his latest, The Butcher, The Banker, The Bitumen Tanker, which is available now via leereedrevolt.com. He’s playing the Hillside Festival in Guelph during the weekend of July 24 and here, Lee and I discuss the city of Hamilton and Kathleen Wynne’s one billion dollar promise to bring light rail transit to town, gentrification, people moving to Hamilton while other people are being displaced, the severe classicism within the city, action versus reaction, contributing to discussions more than ushering them along, learning more about and carefully scrutinizing Canada’s disturbing social and political history, this country’s large role in resource extraction, how the Indian Act inspired South African apartheid, writing the new record pretty quickly, punk rock, his relationship to more materialistic or problematic aspects of hip-hop culture, Public Enemy’s Yo! Bum Rush the Show, Kanye West and Mike Myers, old school production, flossing and being a chubby old white dude, trying to breakthrough with ‘fringe’ messages in the Canadian hip-hop community, Hamilton’s supportive music scene, making art for love, catchy political music, accessibility, hopelessness, greed, we just suck, The Butcher, The Banker, The Bitumen Tanker is #1, the Rebel Function, Mother Tareka and Flotilla, working a good day job, the song “Fuck Ya,” and that’s all.

Related links: leereedrevolt.com hillsidefestival.ca vishkhanna.com

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes. Now available via AudioBoom.