One of Canada’s most beloved bands is, without question, The Tragically Hip.  A band that relentlessly continues to deliver album after album to success, one that also continues to take a slightly different direction each time, The Hip are as iconic as poutine and as beloved to many.

This band is one of those bands that delivers live:  the songs are extended jams, with Gord Downie running off on tangents that rival Tori’s Amos’ improvisations, lending him a crazed feel that leaves the listener either scared or mesmerized.  I am naturally the latter;  a good improv is a sign of a mind that truly unleashes itself creatively, one without self-censoring fear or shame.  It’s a lot harder than it looks;  I dare you the next time you hear a catchy beat to just start making up lyrics.  See what you come up with.

Their best album, by miles, is Trouble At The Henhouse (a lot of fans will beg to differ, but they don’t write my blog!) but a great launchpad is the two-disc Yer Favourites collection, a greatest hits selected NOT by a label, but the fans themselves. Speaking of, that’s just an example of the type of band The Hip tends to be. It covers the full gamut of stellar tracks over the years effectively, in a perfect mix for blaring on the highway.

This song haunts me lately, lives forever in my mind and beckons me to sing at two in the morning.  The plaintive insistence that I “find somewhere to go” drives me forward, seeking, hoping to find meaning.  It’s a song that buries itself slowly in your psyche until it’s inextricably tied to your core.

Day Thirty-Seven:  ‘It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken’ – The Tragically Hip