The Hip, for the first time

My roommate Matt and I recently had an interesting conversation. He, it turns out, is also an avid and passionate music fan, and in the process of exchanging stories about our favourite albums and artists, the thought occurred that it'd be nice to hear certain albums or certain artists for the first time again.

I remember very well the first time I heard Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The summer of 1988 was a musical awakening for me; it's the summer I first understood the concept of an album as a thematically-linked suite of songs, rather than a series of standalone stories.

But there's one band I can't remember the first time I heard: The Tragically Hip. I don't know why, nor do I remember which song would have been the first I heard. I have vague memories of hearing "Three Pistols" in a bar, but by then I was already familiar with the music and the band. But when I heard it first, and what my first impression was, I don't remember.

Lest you wonder why this is a big deal, you have to understand that The Hip (as they are referred to back home) are a Canadian institution. They are passionately loved in the great white north, with a fervor reserved for only the biggest of the world's touring acts. And yet they are supremely unknown if you stray more than 50 miles south of the border.

So an interesting opportunity is now presenting itself: The Hip will be performing at the Fillmore in Philly next week, on the 24th. I intend on bringing my girlfriend to see them, in what will be her first live exposure to this music that, for some unknown reason, seems to resonate most strongly if you were born in or withing sight of the land of hockey pucks and softwood lumber. What will be her first impression?

I personally seldom like anything upon first listen; in point of fact, I remember thinking Radiohead's "Kid A" was a joke the first time I heard it, despite being a big fan of the band. There's also a strong social component to music, which undoubtedly played a part in my musical education, as most of it came during those summers spent at camp, where you were either a fan of AC/DC, or you were the kid with no friends who played tetherball alone.

So, in order to make sure the experience isn't completely lost on her, I've made a compilation CD of some carefully chosen songs:

- Ahead by a Century
- At The Hundredth Meridian
- Bobcaygeon
- Cordelia
- Courage (For Hugh Maclennan)
- Fiddler's Green
- Fifty-Mission Cap
- Fully Completely
- Grace, Too
- Little Bones
- Locked In The Trunk Of A Car
- Long Time Running
- Nautical Disaster
- New Orleans is Sinking
- Scared
- Something On
- Three Pistols
- Wheat Kings
- 38 Years Old

Have I missed anything?