Hey folks, jD here. Give this episode a listen and then get cracking and submit and share your stories.

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Celebrate this triumph with Justin, Craig, Kirk, and jD.

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Join jD and Sara J for a weekly gab fest focusing on all things The Tragically Hip!

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Ever wonder what really happens when I “tabulate the results using an abacus”?

This is The Abacus Files — eight straight minutes of pure, mystical nonsense pulled from the fever dream that is my creative process. A parade of psychic ferrets, deep-fried deep fryers, face bidets, kumquat bongs, and ceramic televangelists with spiderweb crowns — all gathered around one sacred desk to divine the true order of The Tragically Hip’s Top 40.

It’s equal parts séance, satire, and studio detritus — a love letter to the absurd rituals behind the show. Somewhere between noir and nostalgia, math and magic, you’ll find The Abacus Files: a companion piece to chaos, and maybe the most honest thing we’ve ever done.

So grab a candle that smells like nachos and regret. The spreadsheet gods demand tribute.

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It is October 18 — twelve years have passed since Gord Downie released Secret Path, his beautiful and haunting tribute to Chanie Wenjack. Today we re-release the Secret Path episode of Discovering Downie to listen back through those ten songs with fresh ears, deep care, and respect.

We trace Secret Path’s journey: Gord’s shift to solo purpose, how each lyric sketches escape and absence, and how the album remains a bridge between grief and activism. In this intimate revisit, we unpack the poems, the illustrations, and the moments that still haunt us.

What to Expect:

• A song-by-song revisit: The Stranger, Swing Set, Seven Matches, I Will Not Be Struck, Son, Secret Path, Don’t Let This Touch You, Haunt Them, Haunt Them, Haunt Them, The Only Place To Be, Here, Here and Here
• Reflections on how Secret Path changed what we heard — and how we remember
• Insights into Gord’s vision, the artistic collaboration with Jeff Lemire, and the legacy of cultural reconciliation
• Moments of silence, of grief, and of renewed purpose

If this album shaped your heart — or you haven’t listened closely before — I invite you to enter its shadows with me and let Gord’s voice linger long after.

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Enjoy this flashback to Fully & Completely as Greg and jD break down The Hip's 9th studio long play.

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It is October 16. Five years ago today, Gord Downie’s final solo album — Away Is Mine — was released. It’s a double album: ten songs in electric form, ten more in acoustic. It’s the last time Gord ever sang into a mic.  

Tonight, we re-release the Away Is Mine episode of Discovering Downie. We walk those songs again. This is a record born of love, mortality, and farewell.

During four days in July 2017, Gord and Josh Finlayson went into The Bathouse studio in Ontario and captured these final songs, knowing time was short.  

They weren’t trying to make an album — they were trying to make a moment.

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Join jD and Greg every week as they recap the song of the week by exploring the back catalogue of the Fully & Completely episodes

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Well, here we are. The end of the road. The summit. The final spin of The Tragically Hip Top Forty Countdown. After forty-four episodes, one cross-country fandom, and 441 days of counting, we hit the mountaintop—LIVE.

Recorded in front of a packed room of Hip fans at A Celebration of The Hip for ALS, this finale brings all the pomp, circumstance, and pure Canadian emotion you’d expect from a sendoff like this. Joined by the incomparable Tara Slone, we crown the #1 song as chosen by you—the listeners—and dig into what makes Grace, Too such a defining moment in the band’s story.

There’s reflection, revelation, and a few well-earned sighs. Because when the abacus finally stops spinning, what’s left is something bigger than rankings—it’s legacy.

About the Guest

Tara Slone—musician, broadcaster, actor, and lifelong champion of Canadian artists—joins jD live on stage for the grand finale. Tara’s Hipstory runs deep, from performing on national stages to interviewing Paul Langlois at Massey Hall. Her perspective on the band’s artistry, evolution, and impact is both intimate and electric. Together, she and jD unpack Grace, Too with reverence and humour, exploring its mystique, its mythology, and why Gord’s two-finger salute still echoes through time.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just another countdown. It’s a love letter to one of the greatest bands this country’s ever produced.

Over nearly a year, fans from across the globe submitted their Top 20 Tragically Hip songs, resulting in this fan-sourced canon of Hipdom. From 38 Years Old to Ahead by a Century—and finally, Grace, Too—the journey has been as poetic, chaotic, and proudly Canadian as the music itself.

And with Tara Slone on stage, the night becomes something else entirely: a collective catharsis. Part concert, part wake, part love fest. A moment when everyone in the room—bandana’d superfans, first-time listeners, and the just-plain-curious—felt the same electricity that Gord once bottled on stage.

Pull Quote

“I like to think this was a band that didn’t have a logo—every record was different because the content was different. They were explorers, always chasing their own evolution.” — jD

Big Thanks

To Tara Slone for being such a generous, brilliant guest. To every fan who submitted their Top 20. To the membersHIPwho kept this thing humming. And to Gord, Paul, Rob, Johnny, and Sinclair—for the soundtrack to our lives.

This isn’t goodbye—it’s a standing ovation that never ends.

Get Involved

💬 Join the membersHIP: facebook.com/groups/tthtop40

🎥 Catch the Sunday Evening Jam: Every Sunday on YouTube

💪 Support the Cause: Proceeds from this event benefit the ALS Society of Canada in memory of Matt Rona.

Follow + Stream

• Instagram: @tthtop40
• Facebook: facebook.com/groups/tthtop40
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: dewvre.com/tthtop40
• YouTube: youtube.com/@dewvre1974

Hashtags

#TheTragicallyHip #TTHTop40 #GordDownie #CanadianRock #HipFandom #TragicallyHipPodcast #GraceToo #TaraSlone #ALSbenefit #CanadianMusicHistory

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Enjoy The Strictly Hip's amazing performace from the fundraiser.

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