Heath and Chaz settle into a natural groove as they continue their deep dive into The Tragically Hip’s 1987 debut EP. The show opens with their now-familiar intro before jumping into a fast-moving music chat—Sloan, 54-40, The Northern Pikes, Halifax vs. Seattle, and how regional college-rock scenes shaped the late ’80s across North America. They dig into why The Hip ultimately pulled ahead of their peers: Gord Downie’s unpredictable spark, the band’s tight chemistry, and especially the interplay between Rob Baker’s fluid, textural guitar work and Paul Langlois’s grounded rhythmic punch.

Discussion slides into a major moment in Hip News: superstar producer Boi-1da being granted full access to The Hip’s catalog for a FIFA World Cup–themed project. The guys explore why it matters—legacy building, cross-genre discovery, and the surprising ways new listeners stumble onto classic bands through global events and cultural remixing.

They highlight hipmuseum.com, a massive fan-built archive they’ll be relying on heavily, and extend an open invitation to curator Stephen Dame. The sense of community around the show keeps growing.

Then comes the heart of the episode: a track-by-track breakdown of the EP’s final songs, Cemetery Sideroad on through All Canadian Surf Club.

Chaz and Heath close with their first scoring tally and talk through production notes, listener interaction, and the road ahead. It’s a freakin lively, witty, music-nerd-friendly episode that deepens their journey into the earliest days of The Tragically Hip. And the evolving format, it's best described as smoove...

ON THE WEB

You can reach us on our School of Hip Facebook page. We feed on your feedback!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579698875642

Heath McCoy is author of the book Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling

https://www.amazon.ca/Pain-Passion-History-Stampede-Wrestling/dp/1550227874

https://ecwpress.com/products/pain-and-passion

Heath is featured in the documentary Singhs in the Ring:

https://www.crave.ca/en/special/singhs-in-the-ring-58926

Thanks to historian Terry Hoknes for his fantastic research on behalf our Facebook page.

You can follow his Facebook page at Saskatoon History Music Scene

https://www.facebook.com/groups/saskatoonmusichistory

Whether you’re a longtime Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds, stories, and surprises of The Tragically Hip—from their early EPs to their legendary albums. Episodes drop every two weeks, with show notes and links available for further exploration.

Boneless makes a better podcast. Find 20 more like-minded podcast nuggets at The Boneless Podcasting Network.

By Heath McCoy at Amazon.com - Buy a copy here!

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