The group met while in high school at Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute (KCVI) and all attended Queen's University in Kingston. They started as a cover band playing Rolling Stones and Doors covers, and were first represented by a local Kingston agent named Bernie Dobson.
They were first signed in 1987 after Bruce Dickinson, the then VP of A&R at MCA Records saw them perform live at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario. Later that year they released their debut EP The Tragically Hip, though they were largely unrecognized until 1989's Up To Here. Up To Here established them as one of the best and most influential bands in Canada. In 1992, they created the Another Roadside Attraction festival, which tours Canada to promote smaller, unknown emerging bands.
The band is immensely popular in Canada. Although they have never achieved great success in the United States, they have never specifically sought it and have enjoyed their warm Canadian reception. When touring in Canada they typically play to sold-out arenas; when touring in the United States they play smaller venues and clubs. Performances abroad are usually attended by Canadian expatriates. In Europe, The Hip perhaps have their greatest following in the Netherlands.
The band permits recordings of their performances, so an active trading community thrives. The tone and content of much of their music is a paean to the Canadian experience and touches on such themes as small-town life, geography, and hockey.
The Tragically Hip received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2002, and they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2005 Juno Awards. They have performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and played a three-song set at the worldwide broadcast Live 8 benefit concert on July 2nd, 2005 to help make poverty history for the poor African nations.
On April 7th, 2009, the band's twelfth album We Are The Same was being released in North America, and it immediately rose to Number 1 on the Canadian charts. The album features twelve diverse new recordings produced by Bob Rock who had produced 2007's World Container and is perhaps best known for his work with Metallica, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, The Offspring, Michael Bublé and Simple Plan. This album features songs that range from "levity and light to melancholy and anger" according to the band's website. Recorded primarily at The Bathouse Studio, band's recording studio located in a historical coach house west of their hometown, Kingston, Ontario, and its first single was "Love Is A First", which features the ironical addictive hook, 'love is a curse'.
Despite some side solo projects in the past couple of years, the band has completed a new studio album at The Bathouse Studio and in Toronto with Gavin Brown, who is perhaps best known for his work producing Metric, Three Days Grace, Barenaked Ladies and Billy Talent. The album is entitled Now For Plan A and it was released on October 2nd, 2012. This album's first singles were "At Transformation" and "Streets Ahead" and they are available on iTunes and through the band's website.
Man Machine Poem is the fourteenth studio album which is scheduled to be released June 17th, 2016. The album takes its name from a track on their Gold-selling 2012 release, Now For Plan A, and it was recorded at The Hip’s home studio The Bathouse, produced by Kevin Drew, founding member and producer of Broken Social Scene, Andy Kim (singer, songwriter and Arts & Crafts label co-founder) and Dave Hamelin, songwriter and producer from The Stills and Eight and a Half. Album pre-orders are currently available on either CD or Vinyl through the band's "Gift Shop" on their official website: www.TheHip.com or digitally through iTunes. “In A World Possessed By The Human Mind” and “Tired As Fuck" were its first singles, and both were made immediately available for digital download with the album's pre-order.
Early on May 24, 2016, The Tragically Hip announced via a post on their official website and through e-mail subscribers that its lead singer and primary lyricist, Gord Downie, is suffering from aggressive terminal brain cancer, and that the band will do one final national Canadian tour "For Gord". Concert dates for this final tour were available on-line through Ticketmaster, but sold out in minutes. There was a national outcry from devoted fans who claimed that scalpers had scooped up most of the tour's tickets using "bots". Petitions were filed to successfully encourage Canada's national television network, the CBC, to produce and air Live the final August 20, 2016 concert. Broadcast live from the band's hometown, at Kingston's Rogers K-Rock Centre, a national audience viewed The Tragically Hip's final tour show, The concert opened with "50 Mission Cap" and ended almost two hours later, after a third encore, with "Ahead By A Century". All proceeds from the tour were donated to The Gord Downie Fund, at the Sunnybrook Foundation for Brain Cancer Research. Donations can be sent to: http://sunnybrook.ca/foundation.
For the latest band details, please visit their official website: www.TheHip.com.
Hot Mic
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Laws of the shadows, colors of justice, I don't know what it meant
How patriotism is now enough and it's powerful stuff
Can we get it quiet enough? In here, I can hear god, the cat's paws cross the keys
Or the wish tomorrow is, but a whisper from your lips and I fall to my knees
I am the hot mic, the war room is dead, janitors move in
How with something to fall back on, yeah, people usually do
Hit the lights, kill the room
Can we get it quiet enough? In here, I can hear god, cat paws along the keys
And the wish tomorrow is, but a whisper from your lips and I fall to my knees
I'm not afraid of convincingness, I'm just uncertain for sure
I'm in awe of no one, I'm made for this, teach me what to want
I am the hot mic, I pick up asides of Dawn, The Tyrant
He's coming from the shadows, feeling being seen, I don't know what he meant
I don't guess, I listen, it's more than enough, it's powerful stuff
Can we get it quiet enough in here so I can hear God
A cat walk cross the keys
Hit notes so lonely it's one whisper from your lips and I fall to my knees
I'm not afraid of convincingness, I'm just uncertain for sure
I'm in awe of no one, I'm made for this, teach me what to want
And though I'm not yet earnest enough, not unblinkingly sincere
I'm over here
I overhear you
And I always hear you
The lyrics to The Tragically Hip's song Hot Mic are cryptic and layered with meaning, but a common theme throughout is the power of words and the danger of those who wield them without care. The singer is "the hot mic," a device that picks up off-screen conversations and whispers, catching the secrets and schemes of those in power. The song begins with a reference to a "modern tyrant," suggesting that this person uses his or her power in a way that is opaque and possibly unethical. The singer laments that even the laws of justice are hidden in the shadows, and he doesn't understand what it all means.
The second verse adds to the sense of danger, as the singer glimpses what might be the outlines of a war room, but is unsure. The janitors who move in after the powerful people have left speak of dark doors and enchanted paths. Again, the singer doesn't understand the significance of what he is hearing. He longs for quiet, so he can hear other things - God, for example, or the whisper of a lover's desire. In this way, the song suggests that there is room for intimacy and connection, even amidst the noise and danger of the wider world.
The final verse suggests that the danger is closing in. Dawn, the tyrant, is coming out of the shadows and wants to be seen. The singer is listening, trying to make sense of it all, but he is uncertain and not yet earnest enough. He longs for someone to teach him what to want, but at the same time he is "in awe of no one" and "made for this." The lyrics are poetic and elusive, but they suggest that there is always danger lurking behind closed doors, and that the power of language is something to be wary of.
Line by Line Meaning
I am the hot mic, I pick up asides, of the modern tyrant
I am a recording device that unintentionally captures private conversations of corrupt leaders.
Laws of the shadows, colors of justice, I don't know what it meant
I'm not sure of the true meaning behind the laws and justice system, as there are often hidden agendas.
How patriotism is now enough and it's powerful stuff
Patriotism is being used as a tool to control and manipulate individuals, and it has a strong influence.
Can we get it quiet enough? In here, I can hear god, the cat's paws cross the keys
Please lower the noise level so I can focus, as I can hear even the subtlest sounds, like a cat walking on a keyboard.
Or the wish tomorrow is, but a whisper from your lips and I fall to my knees
Just a single wish from you can have a profound impact on me and my beliefs.
I am the hot mic, the war room is dead, janitors move in
I am still recording but the meeting has ended and people have left, only the janitors remain.
Talking of their dark doors, their enchanted paths, I don't know what they meant
The janitors are discussing their mysterious work areas, and I am unsure of the real meaning behind their words.
How with something to fall back on, yeah, people usually do Hit the lights, kill the room
When people have a backup plan or support system, they are more likely to take risks and pursue their goals.
I'm not afraid of convincingness, I'm just uncertain for sure
I'm not easily swayed but I still have doubts and am unsure of my own beliefs.
I'm in awe of no one, I'm made for this, teach me what to want
I am not impressed by anyone and feel like I have a purpose, but I am open to learning and being guided.
I am the hot mic, I pick up asides of Dawn, The Tyrant
I am still recording and now I am capturing the private conversations of another corrupt leader, Dawn the Tyrant.
He's coming from the shadows, feeling being seen, I don't know what he meant
Dawn is coming out of hiding, but I can't fully decipher his intentions.
I don't guess, I listen, it's more than enough, it's powerful stuff
I don't make assumptions, I just listen to what I capture, and it holds great power.
And though I'm not yet earnest enough, not unblinkingly sincere, I'm over here
I may not be fully committed or completely honest, but I am still present and observing the world around me.
I overhear you, And I always hear you
I am always listening and capturing what you say, even when you think no one is paying attention.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GORDON DOWNIE, ROBERT BAKER, GORDON SINCLAIR, JOHNNY FAY, PAUL LANGLOIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind