Today in Canada, we learned of the death of one of our greatest poets and musicians, a man who has challenged politicians, changed people's hearts and whose music has been the sound-track of many of our lives. Gord Downie of the Canadian band called The Tragically Hip has died at the age of 53. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and his band embarked on a farewell tour last year which culminated in a huge concert in their home town of Kingston Ontario.
I grew up with The Tragically Hip. It was not a band that I ever collected, but in retrospect, I don't know why I didn't, because every song I heard had amazing lyrics and great music. They were just there, the background to my life as I became a teenager and later went on to university. Except for their first album, Up to Hear, released in 1989, their music doesn't fit Mushroom Fm's "four decades" format, but I think that management will forgive me for breaking ranks for a few songs tomorrow.
This man stood so tall in Canada, challenged us to be better people in terms of the environment and in terms of reconciliation with this land's indigenous people, and his music and poetry really did shape a generation of Canadians. As the resident week-day Canadian on this station, I feel it incumbent upon me to pay tribute to this man and to the band which we as a country loved and now mourn, and which really never broke through in the US. I think we took The Hip to our hearts because of that failure, claiming them as Canada's band, and as you'll hear on my show tomorrow, even with the small sample of songs that I've picked to play, Canada shines through in every lyric and in every note.
Also on the show, it's Thankful Thursday! If you have something you're thankful for and want to have it included, tweet me @sarahillismusic or email me at sara@mushroomfm.com, and I'll do my best to get it on the air.
Join me tomorrow at 12:00 PM Eastern, or on Friday at 12:00 AM Eastern, for this very special Sara Hillis Show!