School of Hip: A Different Kind’a Tragically Hip Podcast follows two hosts from opposite sides of the border as they dive deep into the music, history, and mythology of one of Canada’s most beloved bands.
Chaz Charles — an American who first stumbled onto The Tragically Hip in the ’90s when they opened for Page & Plant — is finally taking the full journey through the band’s catalogue.
Guiding him is Heath McCoy, a Canadian rock journalist who grew up with The Hip woven into the fabric of his country’s culture.
Together, they explore every era, every album, and every track: the stories behind the songs, the legacy of Gord Downie, the cultural moments, the live performances, the deep cuts, and the impact The Hip left on fans across the world. It’s part discovery, part nostalgia, part education — and all heart.
Whether you're a lifelong Hip fan or coming in fresh, this podcast is your bi-weekly class in all things Tragically Hip.
Episode Highlights: In the debut episode of School of Hip, hosts Chaz Charles and Heath McCoy kick off their deep dive into the world of The Tragically Hip. Chaz, an American who first encountered the band in the 90s, and Heath, a Canadian rock journalist with firsthand experience interviewing Gord Downie, set the stage for a unique, cross-border exploration of the band’s music and legacy.
The episode opens with personal stories about discovering the Hip and the cultural differences in how the band is perceived in Canada versus the US. Chaz and Heath outline the show’s format: each episode will focus on an album, breaking it down track by track, sharing insights, anecdotes, and ratings, while keeping the tone conversational and fun.
The Album: The Tragically Hip (EP) 1987 Side A (Smalltown Bringdown thru Evelyn)
They begin with the band’s self-titled debut EP, discussing its roots-rock sound, the influence of band members like Gord Sinclair and Gord Downie, and the evolution of their style. The hosts compare tracks to other bands (R.E.M., Tom Petty, B-52s), analyze lyrics, and share behind-the-scenes stories—like the inspiration for “Evelyn” and the band’s early days in Kingston, Ontario.
Listeners are invited to join the journey, connect with the growing podcast network, and look forward to future episodes that promise more music, stories, and special guests.
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...
Up To Here 1989 - Side A with Podstar Sean McGinity
Saison 1 · Épisode 3
dimanche 14 décembre 2025 • Durée 01:56:37
This is where it really starts.
In this episode of School of Hip, the show hits a turning point as Chaz and Heath—joined by Sean McGinity—step into Up To Here, The Tragically Hip’s 1989 major-label debut and the record that changed everything.
This isn’t just a new album. It’s the moment the band locked in their sound, their voice, and their place in Canadian culture—on their own terms. The conversation moves beyond origin stories and into identity, momentum, and the choices that shaped what The Hip would become.
It’s part music, part culture, part fan perspective—sharp, opinionated, and intentionally unfinished. If you’ve been waiting for the episode where the stakes rise and the story accelerates, this is it.
Chaz and Heath are joined by special guest Paul Beaulieu of the Canadian Music
Scene website and founder of the annual RushFest event, celebrating the music
and legacy of legendary Canadian rock trio, Rush (a band near and dear to Chaz,
who is also the co-host of the RushRash podcast!)
Paul shares stories of his interactions with the Tragically Hip over the years
through his Canadian Music Scene website which celebrates and promotes
Canadian music. Paul met the band on several occasions, behind the scenes at
such history-making events as numerous Juno Awards and the Canadian edition
of the Live 8 concert series, dedicated to aiding impoverished nations. Paul also
discusses the two concerts he attended on the Hip’s emotional final tour, after
singer Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
From there our co-hosts and their esteemed guests begin their track-by-track
review of side one of the Tragically Hip’s first number one album in Canada, Road
Apples. Highlights include two of the Hip’s most beloved singles, Little Bones and
Twist My Arm as well as the soulful balladry of Long Time Running. But truthfully,
the entire side is outstanding with the Stonesy Born in the Water, surreal
Shakespearean nods on Cordelia, and the jazzy cool of The Luxury, the growing
poetic powers of Downie a beacon throughout.
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so
Up To Here 1989 - Side B with Hipmuseum.com's Stephen Dame
Saison 1 · Épisode 4
dimanche 28 décembre 2025 • Durée 01:50:54
In this episode of School of Hip: Chaz and Heath are joined by special guest Stephen Dame, whose website A Museum After Dark at hipmuseum.com has been an amazing source of information for the illustrious co-hosts as they have set out to explore the Tragically Hip’s entire musical catalogue, one album side at a time.
They discuss Dame’s personal connection to the Hip and the origins of the website, which he began compiling 20 years ago, experiencing a huge surge in traffic and media attention with the cancer diagnosis and death of Hip frontman Gord Downie circa 2016-17.
After a free-flowing chat touching on the trenches of Canadian journalism and Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling promotion, the trio begin their track-by-track review of side two of the Tragically Hip’s Canadian breakthrough album, Up to Here.
Conversation highlights include the politics of lyric writing in the band, with Up to Here featuring excellent contributions by both guitarist Paul Langois and bassist Gord Sinclair, which were to be their last as, after this point, Downie insisted that he be the Hip’s lone lyricist. While he was, unquestionably, the band’s great poet, was something lost in the suppression of the other voices?
As well as the considerable artistic merits of Up To Here, the guys also talk about the album’s massive commercial impact in Canada, eventually achieving diamond sales, meaning that on the Homefront the Hip were on par with such music industry chart toppers of the day as Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses. This set the underdog band from Kingston, Ontario, on a new trajectory which would define the rest of its career.
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds and the story of the Tragically Hip, one album side at per episode. Episodes drop every two weeks.
Road Apples 1991 - Side B with Fast-Fret Todd McGinity
Saison 1 · Épisode 6
dimanche 25 janvier 2026 • Durée 01:27:01
In this episode of School of Hip:
Chaz and Heath are joined by special guest Todd McGinity who co-hosts the SeanGeek and FastFret Podcastwith his brother Sean. Yes, the same Sean who joined us a few weeks back. Can’t get enough of those rockin’ rollin’ McGinity Bros!
Todd remembers his earliest memories of road apples. No, not the Hip album, but rather the album’s namesake, horse poop, which, when frozen, made for great hockey pucks shot across icy ponds in the McGinity’s youth. (A bit of the Canadian experience for ya,’ Chaz!) Talk also turns fondly to Maritime kitchen parties in the McGinity home and the family band the brothers played in with their dad.
Then Heath apologizes to all of Canada for last week’s regrettable fk up regarding Tragically Hip team ups with TV’s Trailer Park Boys and their appearance on CTV’s Corner Gas. It takes a big man to admit to his mistakes, Heath, but don’t let it happen again!
Then it’s on to Side 2 of the Tragically Hip’s first number one album in Canada, Road Apples.
Tunes include: the Stonesy swagger and spiderweb alphabets of Bring It All Back; the Tom Thomson Canadiana and pistols-at-dawn perfection of Three Pistols; and the deliriously hard-driving On the Verge.
During the simmering slow groove of Fight Heath delivers a hot take which he immediately regrets when Chaz zeroes in on those seething, burning pillows.
Chaz sees shades of Led Zeppelin III in Fiddler’s Green, a beautifully devastating masterpiece and quite possibly the most heart-wrenching song in the Hip’s canon (which became all the more moving on the Hip’s final tour.
Finally, it’s the trippy serenade which drifts this incredible album to a close, Last of the Unplucked Gems. A precursor to Downie’s first solo album, Coke Machine Glow (released 10 years after Road Apples).
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds and the story of the Tragically Hip, one album side per episode. Episodes drop every two weeks.
Saskadelphia 2021 (1991) with Nick Lewis
Saison 1 · Épisode 7
dimanche 8 février 2026 • Durée 01:31:25
In this episode of School of Hip:
Chaz and Heath are joined by Nick Lewis, a former journalist who covered Calgary’s arts and entertainment scene with Heath in the early 2000s, writing for the Calgary Herald. Reunited for the first time in well over a decade they share stories from the rock critic trenches.
Nick’s tale of a near fisticuffs encounter with a drunken, belligerent Tragically Hip fan in the ‘90s serves as an intro to the episode’s review of the EP Saskadelphia. Released in 2021 but compiled from lost, leftover tracks from the Hip’s 1991 masterpiece, Road Apples – which were thought to have been destroyed in the devastating Universal Studios fire of 2008 – our reviewers discover that Saskadelphia is far from a collection of throwaways. Rather, it’s a treasure in its own right.
While one poignant track turns talk to the Montreal Massacre of 1989, most of the EP is a wild ride wherein spines crack like whips, skeletons play dumb and the Hip gets their southern rock on. Quality was surely not a factor which led these songs to the cutting room floor three decades ago.
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds and the story of the Tragically Hip, one album side per episode. Episodes drop every two weeks.
Fully Completely (1992) Side A with Michael Barclay
Saison 1 · Épisode 8
dimanche 22 février 2026 • Durée 01:50:44
In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by special guest Michael Barclay, author of Canadian best seller The Never-Ending Present: The Story of the Tragically Hip – which has been a constant reference point for this show – as well as the book Hearts on Fire: Six Years That Changed Canadian Music 2000-20005.
Michael takes us on his Tragically Hip journey, from falling in love with the band in his teenage years when they were a live sensation on the Ontario indie rock scene to writing the definitive biography of the band, published in 2018, the year after singer Gord Downie’s death.
Hip news includes the upcoming Gord Downie and the Sadies live album, Live at 6 O’Clock, and a new record by guitarist Paul Langois, Smooth Rock Falls.
Then it’s on to Side 1 of the Hip’s third full length release, the diamond certified Fully Completely. We discuss the heavy Canadiana in the lyrics, running through six tracks, including some of the bands’ biggest hits: Courage (for Hugh MacLennan), Looking for a Place to Happen, At the Hundredth Meridian and Locked in the Trunk of a Car. Also, is Pigeon Camera about incest and sexual abuse? Can it be compared to other popular songs of the era that touch on the topic (see Janie’s Got a Gun by Aerosmith and Pearl Jam’s Daughter).
Hot take on this one, Barclay is not a Fully Completely fan, giving a few of these songs the lowest rankings we’ve ever had on the show! That leads to an analysis of the radio ready production techniques of Chris Tsangarides. We compare Tsangarides to Don Smith whose rougher “live off the floor” recording shaped the sonics of Up to Here and Road Apples.
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds and the story of the Tragically Hip, one album side per episode. Episodes drop every two weeks.
For further exploration:
Fully Completely (1992) Side B with Corey Morrissette
Saison 1 · Épisode 9
dimanche 8 mars 2026 • Durée 01:54:47
In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath are joined by the acknowledged Godfather of their podcasting universe, now forever crowned the Podfather! That’s Corey Morrissette, whose flagship show, Van Halen podcast And the Podcast Will Rock, is the very venue where our School of Hip co-hosts met.
A spirited talk between the three pod pals touches on the vast differences between the Canadiana of Gord Downie and that of Canuck folk troubadour Stompin’ Tom Connors. Then talk turns to side B of Corey’s favorite Tragically Hip album (and that of a huge portion of the fanbase) Fully Completely.
Of course, the tragic tale of hockey hero and Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bill Barilko is covered during Fifty Mission Cap, as is the story of the fifty mission caps worn by pilots who had survived 50 bombing missions during the Second World War. The inspired brilliance of marrying these two seemingly disparate narratives in song is not lost on our trio.
As for iconic ballad Wheat Kings, the story of David Milgaard, wrongly convicted for a Saskatoon murder in 1969, this leads to Heath and Corey attempting to correct Chaz the American of the insane notion, fairly borne on this show, that grisly murders are somehow central to the lived Canadian experience. Alas, then Corey shares his own boyhood story of a brush with prison escaped killers and their argument is self-torpedoed. ‘Tis an episode of much laughter amidst probing insight!
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds and the story of the Tragically Hip, one album side per episode. Episodes drop every two weeks.
Elective Course: Live at 6 O'Clock
Saison 1 · Épisode 10
lundi 23 mars 2026 • Durée 01:37:36
In this episode of School of Hip Chaz and Heath take a detour from their chronological deep dive through the Tragically Hip’s discography to instead explore the newly released live album by Gord Downie & The Sadies, Live at 6 O’Clock. It’s a dynamic snapshot from the short 2014 tour the late Hip frontman embarked on in support of a solo album he released that same year with psychedelic alt-country band The Sadies, entitled And the Conquering Sun, and it finds the pairing exploding in a manner only hinted at on that studio record.
Live at 6 O’Clock burns with garage rock intensity as Downie and The Sadies storm through inspired covers of deep cuts by The Who, Neil Young, and Iggy and the Stooges, along with gems by the underground likes of Roky Erickson, Fucked Up, and The Gun Club. It finds Downie in raw, animated, vulnerable form, in a manner quite distinct from his work with the Hip. It’s a posthumous release not only for Gord, but also from Sadies co-founder Dallas Good, who died in 2022. “If you have ghosts” indeed (to quote the eccentric Roky Erickson).
The co-hosts also address online criticisms about the podcast’s length and their supposed lack of sufficient “deep Hip knowledge,” as they defend their format and explain the concept of schoolin’!
Whether you’re a lifelong Hip fan or just curious about what makes this band so iconic in Canada, School of Hip is your guide to the sounds and the story of the Tragically Hip, one album side per episode (with the odd detour in between!). Episodes drop every two weeks.
For further exploration:
School of Hip is a proud part of the burgeoning empire that is the Boneless Podcasting Network. Listen there, or find us on iTunes, Spotify, Acast and other podcasting platforms. Please subscribe, review and give us five stars reviews to help grow our beloved show!
Heath McCoy is the author of Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, available on Amazon.ca and at ECW Press.He appears in the award winning documentary Singhs in the Ring on Crave TV. He is a rocktorney on season one of Rock Court.
GO BONELESS!
Boneless makes a better podcast. Find 20 more like-minded podcast nuggets at The Boneless Podcasting Network. https://goboneless.loveable.app
Heath McCoy is the author of Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, available on Amazon.ca and at ECW Press.He appears in the award winning documentary Singhs in the Ring on Crave TV. He is a rocktorney on season one of Rock Court.
School of Hip is hosted on Acast and can be found on iTunes, Spotify and other podcasting platforms.
Heath McCoy is the author of Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, available on Amazon.ca and at ECW Press.He appears in the award winning documentary Singhs in the Ring on Crave TV. He is a rocktorney on season one of Rock Court.
GO BONELESS!
Boneless makes a better podcast. Find 20 more like-minded podcast nuggets at The Boneless Podcasting Network. https://goboneless.loveable.app
School of Hip is a proud part of the burgeoning empire that is the Boneless Podcasting Network. Listen there, or find us on iTunes, Spotify, Acast and other podcasting platforms. Please subscribe, review and give us five stars reviews to help grow our beloved show!
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