Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Announced he's been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The Hip are doing one last tour this Summer.

Sucks.
Last edited by Rush2112 on Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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sad
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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That sucks. Really wish I had seen them in Vegas last fall now.
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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That band killed it in concert.

What shitty news.
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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Might have to make a trip to Canada this August. Maybe Winnipeg. I always liked visiting there.
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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Certainly they should give it to the entire band, but not sure why Gord hasn't been awarded the Order of Canada yet. I'm hoping that's rectified soon.
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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brian wrote:Certainly they should give it to the entire band, but not sure why Gord hasn't been awarded the Order of Canada yet. I'm hoping that's rectified soon.


Thank G-- Gord is still alive. I know bumping this thread will scare some folks, but I had missed it and he (and the whole band) were in fact awarded the Order of Canada in June.Don't think it's good news that Gord's ceremony was in June and the rest of the band will receive theirs "at a later date".
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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Image
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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Sadly, we can change the title. I'm American so I never really got into them but this whole thing has been really captivating.
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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mister d wrote:Sadly, we can change the title. I'm American so I never really got into them but this whole thing has been really captivating.

Same.
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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I got introduced to them by the swamp (I actually have a mix on iTunes called "Scottie Mix" and then rush gave me a bunch) lots and lots of good stuff in there even away from the "hits"
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Re: Gord Downey (not yet, but bad news)

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A shame you never got to see them in concert - they were fantastic live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovf9THhbaHg
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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I think maybe the only band I can say I saw in a club (in Appleton, WI and New Orleans) and headlining a football stadium (well, Molson Park in Barrie though 25,000+ is the size of some CFL football stadiums) and venues in-between (Cobo Arena in Detroit).

Never a bad show, never a bad night, always something different. Could always make you think and feel even if you had heard a song 100 times before. No disrespect to Tom Petty, but even though this one was always coming, it still hurts more.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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brian wrote:I think maybe the only band I can say I saw in a club (in Appleton, WI and New Orleans) and headlining a football stadium (well, Molson Park in Barrie though 25,000+ is the size of some CFL football stadiums) and venues in-between (Cobo Arena in Detroit).

Never a bad show, never a bad night, always something different. Could always make you think and feel even if you had heard a song 100 times before. No disrespect to Tom Petty, but even though this one was always coming, it still hurts more.


I had the opportunity to see them in a bar as well as a stadium, and they were both phenomenal shows. The passion of the Hip's fans can't be overstated, and the grace and dignity of the last year and a half of Gord Downie's life cemented his place as a national treasure.

Image

I wouldn't be surprised if the flags get lowered to half mast across the country.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Trudeau was just crying on TV so that sounds about right.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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So just doing a little Gord reading. He's been honoured by the government of Canada with the Order of Canada, but I didn't know he was given the name He Who Walks With The Stars by the Assembly of First Nations.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Late breaking story on the CBC, a nation whispers, "We always knew that he'd go free" they add, "you can't be fond of living in the past, 'cause if you are then there's no way that you're gonna last"
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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You can skip the Michigan football stuff at the beginning and end if you wish and if you do, it's basically me. Start with the (accurate) quote from Ron MacLean and go from there.

Because I am from metro Detroit I am 100% American and 30% Canadian. I know that CBC coverage of the Olympics kicks ass. I vowed I would not get a cell phone until I could get the Hockey Night In Canada theme on it—the right HNIC theme—and kept that vow. One time I counted the number of Tim Hortons between the border and the Windsor airport less than 10km from said border; it was 9, 10 if you count the one in the airport itself. I know a truth about the countries' national anthems that I can only repeat in polite company within about 50 miles of the border, which is that O Canada is far superior.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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RIP Gord.

With all my Facebook friends that are Canadian and/or Swampers, I've got at least a dozen "RIP Gord" posts on my timeline today.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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sancarlos wrote:RIP Gord.

With all my Facebook friends that are Canadian and/or Swampers, I've got at least a dozen "RIP Gord" posts on my timeline today.


Cool stuff.

The night of that last concert broadcast, we were at a great barbecue party - maybe 50 people (no one younger than 35), mingling, drinking enjoying a beautiful evening. Then the concert comes on, and within the hour, more than half the people were crammed in the tv room watching in rapt silence as the Hip performed.

Sure, it was a heavily hyped event, and people always want to be able to say they watched an event. But it was something a bit more.

This won;t come as a shock to anyone, but Canadian rock music is horrible. And what big stars we've had play nondescript stadium rock or (Neil young) music that is in no way, shape or form, distinctly Canadian. The Hip were different. One of their first big songs referenced Bill Barilko, a long dead Maple Leafs player. "Bobcaygeon," "Wheat Kings" and so many others could only be Canadian songs.

And for the most part, they kicked ass as well. I'm not a huge Hip fan, but this news still touches me. Sure, I saw them a few times in concert, and have about a half dozen songs of theirs that are permanently stuck in my mind. But in Canada, we don't have that many heroes (other than Terry Fox and hockey players. (I mean, this country embraces William Shatner unironically).

And so while I usually shudder when people on FB pour out their memories of dead celebrities, for the most part, I am buying what people are writing today.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Pruitt wrote:And so while I usually shudder when people on FB pour out their memories of dead celebrities, for the most part, I am buying what people are writing today.



I was aware of the Hip growing up, but they didn't resonate with me until later in life. It's a sad day for me, reading through the Reddit remembrance thread it's amazing to see how many memories are conjured up by their music. Official band of the Summer cottage, and we always look most fondly on those warm Summer days.
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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As I've mentioned to a few people via Insta... this is the first "famous person" death that has really hit me. The Hip and by extension Gord were such an influence on me personally and professionally for 25-30 yrs. I was lucky enough to have seen them in a small underground club in Boston back in 92 and after seeing them more than any other act I was fortunate to come full circle and live in Canada last year to experience the final show with a few million brothers and sisters. :) Outdoors in Burnaby BC on a big screen. Not a dry eye anywhere.

I heard it on Buffalo radio this morning - they started in after a commercial halfway through Fiddler's Green and I knew. goddammit. Host was pretty choked.

I admired the guy, not as a "rock singer" but for who he was as a person and what he was able to do with his considerable reach.

(so as to not get myself misty again...also had a major role in the most Canadian rock video ever)
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Re: Gord Downey (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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MaxWebster wrote:As I've mentioned to a few people via Insta... this is the first "famous person" death that has really hit me. The Hip and by extension Gord were such an influence on me personally and professionally for 25-30 yrs. I was lucky enough to have seen them in a small underground club in Boston back in 92 and after seeing them more than any other act I was fortunate to come full circle and live in Canada last year to experience the final show with a few million brothers and sisters. :) Outdoors in Burnaby BC on a big screen. Not a dry eye anywhere.

I heard it on Buffalo radio this morning - they started in after a commercial halfway through Fiddler's Green and I knew. goddammit. Host was pretty choked.

I admired the guy, not as a "rock singer" but for who he was as a person and what he was able to do with his considerable reach.

(so as to not get myself misty again...also had a major role in the most Canadian rock video ever)


Wow! That is the most Canadian thing I have seen in a long, long time!

You know, Lil' Trudeau is masterful at playing to the camera, but he seemed genuinely upset.
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Re: Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Yeah I don’t think he’s faking his fandom. He seemed pretty genuine before the final Kingston show too.
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Re: Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Re: Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Released early. I can’t believe Gord was able to do that last tour. Super human.
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Re: Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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New Celebration Rock podcast episode with Steven Hyden is called An American's Guide to the Tragically Hip.
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Re: Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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When Gord got sick I think I kind of subconsciously decided not to listen to the Hip's final album (Man Machine Poem) and mostly just kept going back to the old stuff and kind of realized today I had never really given it a listen.

I don't know how much it is missing Gord and knowing there will be no more music, but it's really fucking good. I mean, not Fully Completely or Trouble At The Henhouse good, but especially good by late Hip standards. I wish there could be one more Frightened Rabbit album or one more David Foster Wallace novel, so that was a nice (accidental) gift to myself.
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Re: Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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Died one year ago today. Globe and Mail had a somewhat interesting behind-the-scenes piece from the neurologist who was treating Gord and went on tour with him.
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Re: Gord Downie (dead at age 53 - RIP)

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brian wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:37 am Died one year ago today. Globe and Mail had a somewhat interesting behind-the-scenes piece from the neurologist who was treating Gord and went on tour with him.
That gave me chills.

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