Korean Job Discussion Forums

[funkywinkerbeans]

Nickleback makes me cringe whenever I hear them. Absolute crap, but I always thought Boston and Journey were crap.

Blue Rodeo are definetly under rated as well as Spirit of the West. I've seen the latter play many times at the Commodore and the floor would be rocking up and down. The new floor at the Commodore doesn't even come close.

A great band to play live was Sons of Freedom at the Ol Town Pump.

[Axl Rose]

i didn';t even know canada had bands.

[Bulsajo]

I guess the question "Where's Beavis?" has just been answered.

[pegpig]

[Eunoia]

To Those who call The Hip "Overrated":


I'll admit it, I am a Hip fan. Perhaps not as rabid a fan as I once was, and in fact I found their last couple of albums somewhat disappointing. Perhaps my expectations were too high, perhaps I'm not evolving with the band, or perhaps they're just losing their touch. But that's another debate.

To those who don't "get" The Hip: Maybe you just don't like the music. Maybe you're into hip-hop or gangsta rap or electro-trance music. Maybe you're into Backstreet and Brittney, or maybe your MP3 player is assaulting your ears with Slipknot. Maybe you don't appreciate the elements of Canadiana they put into their music. Each to their own, that's your business. But before you go and call this band "overrated", let��s consider a couple of facts.

Here is a band that has been together in its original lineup for over 20 years. No mean feat in the music industry. Even the mighty Beatles couldn't survive even half of that. Incessant touring, both at home and abroad, new studio albums, on average, every 2 years - these things take a toll on the body and soul, and this band has survived. The Hip have not allowed alcohol and drug abuse destroy themselves or the band, either. Yeah, you could probably name a lot of other bands that have been around as long, or longer, but for every one of them the rock 'n' roll graveyard is littered with the corpses of has-beens and one-hit-wonders that were supposed the be "The Next Great Thing". In my opinion, any band that can survive 20 years, whether or not I like their particular brand of music or not, is worthy of some modicum of respect. (And yes, I'll even grant that respect, if grudgingly, to Aerosmith.)


Another important thing to consider is that The Hip are, in every sense of the word, a BAND. They made a decision years ago to leave their egos at the door. Take a look at the liner notes from any of their albums, and you'll see these innocuous-looking words:

All songs written by The Tragically Hip.

Every song they record is considered a Band Effort. It doesn't matter who brings the lyrics, who brings the riff, who comes up with a melody, or who makes a suggestion to change something - the songs are the children of The Band. Sure, Gord Downie is most likely responsible for over 90% of the lyrics, but he doesn��t flout that. You don't see, "Lyrics by G. Downie, music by one/some of other guys." Even if one guy brings in the entire song virtually ready to go, it's still considered a product of the group. Every member is considered an equally important part of the whole, which is probably the secret to their longevity. Again, I think that's worthy of some respect.

Gord Downie has had a couple of solo projects, and other members have been involved in side projects as well, and they still remain a cohesive unit. How often have we seen this scenario happen: Lead singer from some popular band decides to try something on his own, next thing you know the band's on an extended hiatus, and then, some months down the road, comes the press release that Band X is seeking a new lead singer, or had disintegrated entirely. Jason Newstead was essentially invited to leave Metallica when he started up a little side project, as other members deemed it to be a threat to the band ("Some Kind of Monster"). The Hip allow each other their individular freedoms, even encourage it, and they remain as strong a unit afterwards asthey were before.

Some people will point out that The Hip have never made it big outside the States. So what? They've never really sought stardom south of The Border, anyway. They can play sold out arenas in any city in Canada, and then play smaller clubs and venues in the States - which, if you think about it, is arguably a whole lot more fun for the band and the audience, anyway. They've achieved enough fame and success in their home country - more than they probably ever dreamed they'd attain - to make up for their relative anonymity outside of Canada - in fact, I think they enjoy being "unknowns". They just keep on doing what they love to do.

Which is really what it's supposed to be all about.

[VanIslander]

[DGB]

Im not entirely sure nickelback should even be on this list, as they lack most of the basic defining characteristics of a band, but i voted for em cuz what ever they are, they suck

>where is brian adams on this list anyways (i guess thats more 'canadian artist'), but still -- there's way too much international respect for that guy.

[Bulsajo]

[khyber]

reasons why i like the hip

1) each album has very subtle styles to it....nothing as in your face as okay computer...they stay in the genre of rock/pop. But you can get a really specific (and unique) feeling from any one record.
2) the songs don't all sound the same...despite their relatively good sized "track record".
3) put on a fine show
4) don't wear *beep* in their face or over/under sized pants/shirts to try to be bad and get this image
5) very few of their songs i actuallly DON't like....
though some can be a bit dull

reasons why i don't like hte band
1) the lead guitarist has the imagination of magma....yeesh
2) the lyrics? Poetic? yes... able to derive some kinda meaning: rarely

[DGB]

Bulsajo: Not sure if that was for or against my argument.. my point being they are more of a tool, or soundsystem, than an actual band. anyhoo, I think your avitar is one of the most underrated artists out there (not Canadian i know), but thats definitely changing

[Bulsajo]

I think if we had to write a nickelback review (and still keep our jobs as music critics, realizing that 11,000 fans in the city have bought tickets) that's the sort of review we'd (have to) write.

So it backs up your nickelback assessment, IMO.
That sub-header about using every rock cliche in the book- and using them perfectly- says it all.

Re: Sufjan Stevens' Illinois-
It's wierd- if you had asked me a year ago if I would ever conceive of thinking the 'album of the year' would come from a banjo-playing-Christian I would have laughed in your face.
What's more, if you had said this banjo-playing-Christian would write incredibly beautiful yet dark and disturbing songs about subjects like John Wayne Gacy and bone-cancer I would have told you to expect some nice men in white clothes with a straitjacket to be coming for you shortly.
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

[Bulsajo]

[Bulsajo]

[Alias]

[DGB]

Yeah, i figured you were on the same wavelength Bulsajo, I just wanted to put it mildly incase you happened to be a flame-happy die-hard nickleback fan who took those sorts of reviews as gospel (Though, the sufjan should have been enough to convince me otherwise). You definitely articulated my sediments in your subsequent posts regarding nickleback vs any of the other bands here. Man, i just dont understand, maybe they're all sons of super rich oil riggers and their daddy's simply bought the music industry for them as a christmass gift.

ps, to find out exactly how much nickelback sucks, check out this url
http://www.aumh22.dsl.pipex.com/thewebshite/flash/nickelback.swf

I know its tough, but listen to the whole thing, its f*ckin priceless (so is the stonig ;])!
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