The Tragically Hip Top Forty Countdown: Song 20 — Neil from Arroyo Grande

Hey, it’s jD, and this week I’m joined by a die-hard hockey fan and Hip convert who hails from California. Meet Neil from Arroyo Grande, the west coast wizard of late-night YouTube rabbit holes and deep-cut reverence.

Neil didn’t grow up with The Hip in his backyard. He had to find them — through hockey, through Trailer Park Boys, through a fascination with Canadian culture that led him down a road paved with Gretzky, Jericho, and yes… Gord.

We talk about getting into the band via Yer Favourites, chasing context across albums and eras, and how discovering The Hip opened the door to new perspectives on art, identity, and memory. He shares what it’s like being an American Hip fan (“Wait, they’re not on the radio here?”), and how Phantom Power, Man Machine Poem, and some Gordon Edgar Downie solo magic helped him through hard times — and made the music his own.

From WWE finishers to vapor trails to songs that hit like Shakespearean tragedy, this one’s for the late bloomers, the lyric heads, and anyone who ever found themselves singing along to a song they didn’t fully understand… until they really did.

🎙️ Next week: We’ll be joined by Jeff from Belleville — a 31-show veteran and one of our most compelling guests to date. From basement bars to backstage chats and a full-blown English Lit take on Hip lyrics, Jeff brings a hell of a lot to the table. You won’t wanna miss it.

💬 Pull Quote

“When I first heard Machine, I was walking to class, looking up at the stars — and I knew I’d never forget that moment. It was like the song was part of the sky.”

👤 About Our Guest

Neil from Arroyo Grande lives on California’s Central Coast, right near Pismo Beach — Bugs Bunny’s wrong turn and his own right one. A lifelong wrestling fan, hockey nerd, and Hip evangelist, Neil has gone deep into the catalogue (yes, all 13 studio albums and Gord’s solo work) and emerged as a true member of the flock.

He’s also a father, a husband, and a proud Hip missionary — spreading the good word through mixtapes, lectures, and unsolicited YouTube links. Bless him.

📬 Get Involved

• 🎙️ Record a hot take or story at castfeedback.com/tthtop40
• 📧 Email us your Hip origin story: [email protected]

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💸 Support the Show

We’re raising $25K for ALS Canada in memory of Matt Rona and for all the fans still fighting. Join the membersHIP at buymeacoffee.com/tthtop40. No perks, no fluff — just good vibes and real impact.

Transcript follows below:

Track 2:

[0:02] Hey, it's JD here, and you're probably tired of podcasts asking you for money. I get it, so I'm

not going to ask. I am, however, going to strongly suggest, with love, that you give me money. This

isn't about exclusive perks or gated content, though those exist. It's about supporting something

you believe in. If you've been enjoying the Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown, If it's made you laugh,

think, feel something, or reconnect with a band that means the world to you, this is your chance to

give back. I make this show because I love the hip, I love this community, and I believe in telling

stories that matter. But it all takes time, energy, and of course, your support. By joining the

membership, you're not just helping to keep the show running, you're also helping to raise money

for the ALS Society of Canada. No minimum, no catch, no problem. BuyMeACoffee.com forward

slash TTH Top 40. Membership. Support the show. Support the cause. Support what you love.

Track 1:

[1:14] A member of the DATC Media family.

Track 2:

[1:17] Previously on the Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown.

Track 1:

[1:21] God, I love that song. I love the background vocals. I love the guitar. I just really dig that song.

Sean from Vancouver, what did you think the first time you remember hearing Three Pistols? Yeah,

I mean, same thing. It's just a great song. It's a great Canadian rock song. It's a lot of what I love

about the Tragically Hip, high energy, guitar driven, with all these Canadian references. Like, who

sings about Tom Thompson? Right?

Track 3:

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[2:02] Hey, it's JD here, and welcome back to the Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown. It's my pleasure

to be with you here each and every Monday as we spend some time sharing stories and

experiences while counting down 40 essential songs by the hip that you chose with your very own

top 20 ballads. I simply tabulated the results using an abacus and a Subway sandwich artist named

Carl. Listen, the dude knows how to make a beef and cheat. What can I tell you? Have your

favorite episodes fared well in the rankings? Let me know. TTH top 40 at gmail.com. This week, I'm

joined by the incomparable Neil from Arroyo Grande. Neil from Arroyo Grande, how the fuck are

you doing on this hip-tastic day? I'm doing great. I'm doing great, Jamie. It's great to be on here. It's

a pleasure to finally be on the show. I'm a big fan. Oh, that means a lot, dude. That means so

much, for real. And I'm glad to have you, too. We've been trying to do this for a couple weeks, and

then just today, we've tried to do it. This is our third time!

Track 3:

[3:15] Funny how that works it's just a scheduling as my found found a way found a way where

there's that's right jd we're we're here now and that's the important thing and we're here for one

reason really and that's to hear your hipstery so what do you say let's get at it sure thing um so my

story he um i'm fairly i'm fairly new to the hip compared to a lot of people on this show i got i got

into the hip within the last 10 years or so uh back in 2015 um.

Track 3:

[3:52] I mostly got into mostly got into it because i you know a lot of curiosity a lot of curiosity um.

Track 3:

[3:59] Through uh through canadian culture see i'm american i grew i grew up in a real grande

california which is essentially right next to pismo beach which is known for it known for its clams

and um it's where bugs bunny eventually show uh ends up after making that wrong turn at

albuquerque and so we're right we're right i'm right in between los angeles and san francisco so

we're pretty so we're pretty far away from it's anything a lot of people around here they don't really

know much know much about canada but me being me being a huge hockey fan and um, i've

always had a fascination with canadian culture as far as you know hockey music you know a lot of

my favorite my favorite wrestlers growing up from wwe or or that nature are canadian so are you a

hitman guy what's that oh yeah are you a hitman guy oh yeah love love brett love brett love love

jericho i love uh oh yeah i'm i actually i actually i actually i'm a big land storm guy believe it or not

wow yeah when i was when i was when i was a kid i always liked doing as half Boston Crab. That

was always my go-to move as a kid.

Track 3:

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[5:23] But as far as learning about the hip, I really had to go out of my way to... I have really had to

go out of my way to find them. And, you know, a lot of, a lot of Americans around here, they, you

know, when they find out about like the, probably one of the most famous things out of Canada for

Americans is trailer park boys. And so, you know, I was, you know, back then I would just be on,

you know, get home from work. I would just chill out, watch Netflix and watch a couple of episodes.

And then, um, eventually I would, I would be on YouTube and I found a video, of you know bubbles

the character bubbles talking about you know oh i used to you know i used to play like wayne

gretzky i always wore number 99 or one time i fought omio he really really kicked my ass but um

eventually throughout that video he talks about uh being in the the music video for the darkest one

with you know with ricky julian and uh don cherry and that was the first time i've really heard about

the tragically hip in any in any facet and so after after learning about that i listened to the darkest

one not really knowing what to expect because you know how i you know.

Track 3:

[6:45] Growing up you know in cal in central cal central the central coast of california in america you

don't really understand you don't really have a good um context of what gourd is talking about and

so i what's the darkest one i don't know but i um you know kept listening to the song and i was

growing an appreciation for it and then eventually that led to me to like go on go on youtube to look

up more more video um more like playlist videos where i would listen to more songs and i'm like

this this is really good like this like this this is just incredible music and i can't believe that it's taking

me this long to to find it oh my gosh you have 12 records to listen to oh yeah and i've and yeah

yeah since then i've listened to all of them like all the all the hips catalog all the all the gourd

records and it's just it's it was it's been it's been a very fun 10 years just just learning everything and

learning learning the context of a lot of a lot of the songs and and just and um and i've been i've

been a i've been a fan of your shows just you know getting hip to the hip uh discovering discovering

downy um.

Track 3:

[8:05] All of those to like really provide nuance as to what the lyric may mean or what you know

what your interpretation might be what your guest's interpretation might be it might be different from

mine but you know some some songs have some songs have a deeper meaning than others and

have open interpretation some don't but that's kind of that's kind of the uh what's the word? The

mystery of the mystery of Gord's songwriting. It really is, isn't it? Oh, yeah.

Track 3:

[8:42] So which record did you pick up first when you decided, okay, I'm done with YouTube now, I

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need to own some physical media, or I need to download it from Apple or Spotify or whatever?

What was your playbook next? So the first album I downloaded off of iTunes was Your Favorites.

Because for me, if you're getting into a band, a good way to start is to go with the greatest hits. And

um when i you know i love i've played i played your favorites so much like around.

Track 3:

[9:21] 2016 through 2018 and to me because i didn't grow i didn't grow up with it as a kid i don't

really i couldn't really tell which songs were like the earlier songs and which songs were like the mid

2000s songs they all it all sounds like it all sounds like the hip to me like you know when you listen

to like pearl like pearl jam or something like that you can tell that's like early 90s grunge and stuff

like that for me when i right right when i listen to the when i listen to the hip from from from an

album from like uh fully completely i can't really tell if that's from the early 90s that just it just sounds

like the hip compared to like if i listen to something from phantom power or um in violet light they all

kind of sound like different hip songs there's like subtle differences but i they don't i don't really feel

like that they are like pigeonholed into a specific era of music you know what i mean yeah i i get

that for sure and i mean we're sort of seeing evidence with that with these re-releases these box

sets that are coming out and they're including old songs and people are eating them up oh i i'm me

included me included i've been really into the box set of Phantom Power lately and listening to

those newer songs and just really getting an appreciation for.

Track 3:

[10:42] Those B-sides, essentially. Just be like, wow, I can't believe that this wasn't released. Yeah.

And it's really cool, because you've done your homework and you've got the Gord records under

your wing, it's really cool the crossover between Phantom Power writing sessions and Coke

Machine Glow and Battle of the Nudes. Yeah, I thought that was pretty fascinating. Especially with

the song Mystery. Just listening to the Gord version, which is... There's hardly any music to it, and

he's kind of spoken word. Whereas the Phantom Power re-release version, I actually, when I first

heard that, I really, really, really enjoyed that. It's become one of my favorites as of late, and I just

love... I really, really love that song. Oh you're the first person i've heard say that's one of their

favorites that's pretty cool well i it's just a different uh.

Track 3:

[11:37] It's just um i don't know it's just a very haunting it's just a very haunting melody and just a

very very i i like i kind of like those those haunting those haunting melody, gourd or hip songs it's

just and i just i like to bring i have to bring the mood down a little bit, yeah no i can see that and this

is the band for it they can do it all they can make you party they can make you contemplative you

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know they can touch you emotionally it's it's it's really a wonderful thing they so i want to know

though uh sorry no go ahead i was gonna say they certainly they certainly do and it's it's definitely

something i try to share with other it's definitely something i try to share with others that don't know

the band of yet you know they they can sing about anything sing about being happy being sad uh

going through going through a rough time and it's just they have a song about basically anything

yeah yeah they really do, So what stood out on your favorites to you that made you take the next

step? Because for a lot of people, it could stop there. It could be like, you know what? I've got the

greatest hits. I'm going to continue to listen to this. I'm going to enjoy it. And that's the end. But I'm

guessing for you, there was a little bit more sleuthing.

Track 3:

[12:55] Well, I, um, that's a good question. Um, when you, like, when I go through your favorites and

I pick specific songs, like one song in particular, and I'm not alone in this is nautical disaster. Like to

me, that is, to me, that is their best song.

Track 3:

[13:13] It's art. That's just, that's what's that. It's art. It's high art. It is. There's so, there's so, there's

so much to it. And it's just like it, that song really resonates with me because i would when i would

listen to that song i i was going through a very particularly rough time rough time in my life with a

where there was a lot of uncertainty and that song and that song thank you but everything's better

now but that song really resonated with me at that time to you know move forward and persevere

and that and um.

Track 3:

[13:49] That and the um man machine poem album just listen to that i would listen to that during that

time also and you know and i knew about i knew about um the context in which he recorded that

album right you know right you know right before his cancer diagnosis and before he passed and

just like listening to that album and just thinking about man what is this man going through right

now and uh but when but going back to narco disaster when i heard it on your favorites i would like

okay what album is that on let me listen to that album and i was like from from and then from day

for night i would find songs that aren't on your favorites and just listen to that album and just be like

wow this there's so much great stuff on here and it's it's just it kind of expanded from, you know, the

greatest hits out, you know, going to the, like the greatest hits album and then expanding onto the

other albums and just finding stuff that, that you would find, you wouldn't find anywhere else.

Track 3:

[14:55] Yeah, absolutely. Now I'm going to, I'm going to open up a sore spot here potentially, and I

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apologize, but I'm guessing based on the date that you got into them, you never got a chance to

see them live. No, I didn't. I didn't get a chance to see them live because they wouldn't come to this

area. Right. During that time, it was getting really difficult for the band, or especially for Gord, to

really come down here, especially being as sick as he was. That's true. But I'm okay with that. I

don't really... Even though I don't really go out and see live bands anyway, I'm kind of a recluse.

Okay. I'm okay with that, but I like watching live shows. I just like putting on live shows on YouTube.

Me too. You're like, wow, look at Gord perform like that. And listening to all the rants he goes on.

Yes. Because the first time I've seen his rants, I'm just like, what's he doing?

Track 3:

[16:04] Now I get it. Now I get that he's kind of, you know, he's kind of doing his thing, going on his

tangents and, you know, working with stuff that's eventually going to be in later songs. But at the

time, at first, I was like that, right? I know. Right. I know. And when you hear it, I was like, oh, that's

how he's getting into the Oracle Disaster or. Yeah. Or, you know, this song about Shamu. Right.

Right. That one, that one, that one always makes me laugh.

Track 3:

[16:34] Oh god it's so good and when they released it when they officially released it yeah so good

that they released that you know because it's one that we've all had and on bootleg since the 90s

and uh it's just nice to have it pressed on vinyl and sounds great um do you have a go-to record

now is there one that you, or do you still sort of go back to your favorites or i mean this is a loaded

question because i know that it changes from day to day or from week to week it certainly does it

definitely depends on how i feel right now right now how i feel right now my go-to record right now

is phantom power okay and the reason why the reason why for that is mainly because i love i love

that back half so much like i love listening to emperor like emperor penguin i love that's probably a

top three for me because just i love i really love that song i think about you know what the life of an

emperor penguin is as far as as far as like the mother has to leave has to leave its family in order to

in order to find food essentially and if it doesn't come back the family starves and i really relate to

that a lot because i'm a father i'm a husband and i i you know really i really care for my family. And

I'm like, oh man, what.

Track 3:

[18:01] What would be life without my life without my wife and i'd be like oh it would be it would be

terrible but that's that song that and just sing just sing the whole thing that really um, that really um

makes brings a lot of emotion out uh you can tell i can see that you're moved right now i i i really

am um that and that and.

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Track 3:

[18:27] Um i mean there's this is a this this will be a little uh little tidbit whenever i go out into my

backyard i look up into the sky i look up in the sky and i see you know vapor trails from planes and

everything like that and i've played the song vapor trails from that album and it's just nice nice just a

nice groovy song.

Track 3:

[18:48] And yep so right now phantom power phantom power is uh up there for up there for me and

it changes a lot there's times where i kind of feel like i want to chill out and listen to uh trouble in the

hen house um fully completely is always a great go-to um sure is i like and i like going back to man

machine poem a lot because that's one of the albums to you right yeah that and i love i love the

song machine a lot that's a that's a very special song to me as well and you know like you said it's a

it constantly can i ask why can i ask why that song in particular special to you well going back going

back to when i was going going through that time in my life i would hear like i would hear that song i

would hear that song constantly because i would always play that album a lot and like i feel like it's

kind of you can't i i feel like uh that song kind of brings me to like i you know i have a lot of i have a

lot of responsibilities i got to be a machine in order to you know get through of all get through all

this and um sometimes you gotta you know leave the human part aside and you got to you know

keep moving forward you got to do it you got to do this machine i know that's probably not what

gordon envisioned but you know that's kind of how my interpretation of that song is and that's.

Track 3:

[20:15] That's a big reason why that song resonates with me in a lot of ways. I think that's lovely.

And I also think, for you to say, I don't know that Gord wrote it that way. My firm belief is that he

wrote songs to give to us. And then it's up to us to shape those into whatever we want. It's almost

as like he gives us a prefab shed. And we get to take that shed home and build it you know yeah

um it's the best fucking prefab shed i've ever seen in my goddamn life but it's a prefab shed

seriously that and that and you know like uh midway through the song where they go through that

that that solo that's just some of the most beautiful just a very beautiful solo and i remember um i

remember it was.

Track 3:

[21:10] November of 2018 and i was walking to a to a to a classroom and there was just like stars

out and i was listening to that on my earbuds and just like that that guitar solo just looking up the

stars and looking at the sunset where i was at i was just like it felt serendipitous, essentially it was

just like kind of like a soundtrack moment yeah but that's well you remember the date was that you

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even remember the date it left an indelible mark on you, it does i i i remember a lot of dates a lot it's

a it's a gift and a curse.

Track 3:

[21:50] But um well should we get your take on the song of the week at this point now, that's good to

it let's do that okay well we'll be back right after this Hey.

Track 2:

[22:03] This is Paul Langlois from the Tragically Hip saying hello. Now on with the countdown.

Track 1:

[22:08] Twenty! Ah! Oh. Oh.

Track 3:

[26:22] When I went to Roadside Attraction in 1993, I actually bought a 50-mission cap from the

vendors. It was my prized possession for a lot of time. It was like a baseball cap, and it said 50-

mission cap on it. Let me be clear. I didn't buy like an aviator's hat. Neil from Arroyo Grande, what

kind of memories does 50-mission cap conjure for you?

Track 3:

[26:46] 50 mission cap is uh actually one of the first songs that i got into um first song being the

darkest one and uh i was doing you know some hip research because i'm you know i was fairly new

to the hip at the time and um i just looked up a list of uh what are what are the top 10 hockey songs

and 50 mission cap came up because um and i'm like 50 mission cap what does this have to do

with hockey and then when you listen to it and uh because i'm i'm a huge i'm a massive massive

hockey fan i'm a huge detroit red red wings fan um i my family's all from michigan my mom's from

jackson michigan my dad's from the detroit area so like i'm very familiar with um with hockey

players like a lot of the history of hockey and the story of bill barocco was familiar to me like I knew

about how really yep how he scored the overtime winning goal in the Stanley Cup final and then the

man disappeared and that's about as much as I knew at the time and then listening to 50 mission

cap you know you listen to Gord essentially summarize what he what he was read on a hockey

card about the the exploits of bill barocco where he where he's scored he scored the game-winning

goal.

Track 3:

[28:11] In the 1951 stanley cup stanley cup he uh so yeah so yeah he he scored the game winning

goal and then he and then he disappeared on a fishing trip and then nobody nobody heard from

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him and i was like where did this where did where did he go it's like um you know at the time you

know there's no internet there's no no hardly any news it's like oh bill barocco.

Track 3:

[28:37] Stanley cup winning goal well one uh excuse me like he scores a game winning goal for the

toronto maple leafs and he disappears and like where did he go uh we don't we we don't know And

then, you know, from 1951 to 1962... There's that big drought for the Maple Leafs, which at that

time was super long. I mean, it's much worse now. They need to find Barroco again. I'm sorry,

Leafs fans. I love you. I really, really do. You're one of the most passionate fan bases. No, they're

not.

Track 3:

[29:22] I remember going to the Joe Louis Arena, And it was 50-50 Wings fans and 50-50 Leafs

fans. And the Leafs fans were louder, I can tell you that much. But I know that bringing up 1967 is a

deep wound for a lot of Leafs fans. And I apologize. Not me, but yes, I hear you. And you're

wearing, we should say, you're wearing, now when I grew up, the Leafs and the Detroit were both

in the Norris division. So you wearing a Leafs cap would be like sacrilege. Oh, I do a lot. As a Red

Wings fan. I do a lot of sacrilegious things as far as hockey in a lot of people's eyes, but I have

such an appreciation for hockey. I can wear a Leafs hat. I wear a Habs hat. My best friend is a

Habs fan, and the Leafs and the Habs are going to play each other today. So he'll probably, if he

saw me wearing a Leafs hat, he'll probably give me some shit. But I'm like, you know me, I, I just, I,

you know, I have an appreciation for a lot for that era of hockey from the 19, from 1950s. Cause

that's the era of hockey that my dad grew up in. And he grew up, he grew up in, he grew up in

Detroit. And he tells me that, um, he wouldn't get the American stations. He would get the

Canadian stations because Windsor's across, across the river. And he would tell me that, yeah, I

watched a bunch of Leafs games and Johnny Bauer was my favorite player. And so I would get this

blue sweater and make a Johnny Bauer sweater. I'm like, oh, that's really cool.

Track 3:

[30:51] But as far as going back to Bill Barilco, looking up his stats from his career, like he only

played a partial of five seasons like he was very he was very young when he when he died but he

was he was he was defenseman in that era and there wasn't a whole lot of high scoring

defenseman you didn't have like bobby or anything like that doug harvey was i don't know if doug

harvey started playing back then i'll have to look that up but you didn't really have a whole lot of

superstar defenseman back then but he had some he had some fairly some fairly respectable

numbers for a young defenseman in a very in a very low scoring era of hockey but when looking at

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the final season or the final playoffs from when he played he played 11 games scored three goals

two assists for five points and got 31 penalty minutes in those 11 games that man showed up for

the playoffs he sure did wow yeah and so um.

Track 3:

[31:53] And so he really was a hero for the Maple Leafs at that time. And for him to go from scoring

the game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup final to months later disappearing on a fishing trip, I'm

sure that was just really shocking to a lot of people. And, you know, for him to not be recovered for

11 years, you know, I'm sure that was like a big weight lifted off of a lot of people's shoulders. Like,

oh, wow, Bill, like they finally found Bill Barilco. And we're going to go. And the Maple Leafs went on

their Stanley Cup dynasty run in the 60s.

Track 3:

[32:32] And that essentially lifted the curse. Now, whatever curse the Leafs are going through right

now, I don't know what. But who knows They might find They might recover somebody else After

the next Stanley Cup win If that happens Might happen this year They look really respectable But

I'm not going to hold my breath, Yeah, let's not go there Nah.

Track 3:

[33:00] I don't think I could handle living here If that happened My god, Back to the song Okay, so

the chorus So, I mean, the verse is definitely Bill Barocco How does the chorus relate In your

estimation So Like we said before A lot of hip songs Are open to, Interpretation They kind of build

This prefab shed This song is Not one of those Gord very much lets us know That he stole He's

taking a summary from a hockey card, in which he stole the lyrics and puts it in the song. It's

basically summarizing the exploits of Bill Barocco. However, when he gets to talking about the 50,

tucking it into his 50 mission cap.

Track 3:

[33:56] That's where it gets to a little, that's where it gets a little, okay, what's he mean by this?

Because a 50, like a 50 mission cap is, is an aviator's hat from the RAF or the air force. And it's by

the time where it's a 50 mission cap, it's a little worn in to where like the aviator's headphone, the

aviator's headphones is kind of like built into built into and makes a divot and it wears the hat. So

that kind of relates to oh that's a very experienced pilot right there he's got you know he's got a lot

he's his hat's really worn and so there's my my interpretation of those lyrics are.

Track 3:

[34:38] You know it's it's like um you know did gourd get in a 50 mission cap in which he takes this

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bill barilco card and tucks it in there is this from the perspective of a pilot that had a bill barilco card

and tucked it into it tucked it into his cap or is this like you know that 11 that 11 year disappearance

of bill barilco does that is that kind of like a metaphor as to you know the wear and tear of a 50 of a

50 mission cap that's a you know that's a way to look at i've been trying to think about what the

possible interpretation could be as far as what does gourd mean by a 50 mission cap and so those

are those are pretty much my my ideas i don't know for sure and i'd be i'd be open to i'd be open to

hear what other people have to say about it because you know it's a that's a very sure we will yeah

it's a very um.

Track 3:

[35:36] It's very ambiguous as to why he mentions 50 mission cap. Could it be because Bill Barroco

died in a plane crash? I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. There's so much to it. I've always had it in

my head because the next lyric is I worked it in to look like that.

Track 3:

[35:53] I think it was Greg that brought it up on fully and completely. It may have been him or might

have been an original thought. I don't really know because my memory is so toast. well uh i seem

to recall it being like being mentioned that it was like a rookie and they were trying to make their hat

look like a 50 mission cap yep by working it in okay so you're familiar with that i am familiar with

that yeah yeah a lot of it like a lot of uh you know new pilot new pilots would be like oh look at those

wearing look those really worn in hats i'm gonna try to you know make that that's right wear this out

and try to try to make it look like i've seen I've seen some shit, but. That's right. Yeah. So that could

correlate potentially with like the hockey playoffs, you know, like hockey playoffs, they always say

are like a war. I don't know. I don't know. You could, I, when it, when it comes to the, to the lyric, I, I,

to make it, you know, to look like that, Gord also like the lyrics of the, of the famous hockey card.

That's that, that the famous Bill Barocco card. It's not the same lyrics as what he says in the song.

Like I keep saying, he summarizes what the exploits were in the hockey card to make it look like

that because if you read the actual hockey card.

Track 3:

[37:12] Doesn't it doesn't really make for make for a good song so gory kind of you know worked it in

to make it more presentable as a song so that's that's that could be it's pretty darn close though i

remember getting this card it was in 1992 pro set pro sets uh the pro set from 92 and it was card it

was in the 300s somewhere uh i remember from the checklist so yeah i had it at one point and And

I don't know where the hell that ever went. Just like they always say with your hockey cards, then

your parents, you move and your parents just ditch them. And meanwhile, there were thousands of

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dollars in cards there or whatever. There weren't, but I assure you there wasn't. But, you know,

from a Royal Grande, this is some good shit you're posing here. I really, I really, I really dig it. Is

there anything else you want to say about 50 Mission Cap? 50 Mission Cap is one of my, it's just

one of my favorite hip songs. It's just a fun just a fun song to listen to it's always fun like a fun song

to listen to like over a pa speaker at a hockey game kind of just gets you in a lot of hockey games

right oh yeah yeah.

Track 3:

[38:19] And it's just a staple and it's you know you have you know you have hockey songs like you

know stomping ton connors you have hit somebody from warren zavon you know all shout out to

the zambonis who all they all they do is write hockey songs um um but 50 mission cap is you know

it's a great it's just a fun song to listen to and it tells a great and tragic story.

Track 3:

[38:45] Of it does you know of a very of a very very special hockey player or from you know from the

history of the nhl and i i tried to i tried to you know tell people about that song, for people who want

to either get into the hip or... Like I said, it's just a really fun song to listen to. No ifs, ands, or buts

about it. All right do you have anything that you would like to plug today neil um i don't have

anything to plug i just want to shout out to my wife rachel to my sons charlie and henrik i love you

guys very much uh thank you for putting up with me and my my obsession with hockey and uh you

know have me have me play the hip for you guys i hope one day i hope one day you got he's

getting appreciation for it you're doing you guys you're doing your parental job there inculcating

your children into the ways of the hip i can only try i love it fly the flag neil from a royal grande fly

the probably probably jd and that's what i've got for you this week uh on the tragically hit top 40

countdown i really want to thank neil from a royal grande for stopping by and joining us And of

course, I want to thank you for listening. Pick up your shit.

Track 1:

[40:12] Thanks for listening to the Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown. To email us, send an email to

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