[direwolf74]

Ok, there have been way too many articles and album reviews lately where music critics (especially Canadian ones) have written some rather scathing remarks about these two albums, calling them names like "mediocre" and "bland". Personally I've had it with these idiots. Because I'm in a fightin' mood, here's a few reasons why I love these two misunderstood Hip albums, starting with IVL.

The Darkest One: One of the catchiest tunes the boys have ever written, with one of the best scream-along choruses in rock n' roll history. I'll never forget shouting along with 800 other like-minded souls during that magical night in Boston during the summer of '02.

It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken: a gorgeous masterpiece of moody psychedelia.

Silver Jet: This one rocks. Ya can't deny it.

Leave: Gord is the only singer I can think of who can write a song from the point of view of a bird and not make it sound corny. I love this tune!

Throwing Off Glass- beautifully played and beautifully sung. I love Paul's riff in this one. Robby's harmonics during the verses are a nice touch as well.

The Dire Wolf- There's a lot of water imagery in the Hip's songs, and this is right up there with Nautical Disaster as one of my all-time favorite Tragically Hip sea chanteys.

The Dark Canuck- a 6 1/2 minute work of art in two parts. As Gord put in on the band's website: "this song should be embroidered and hung over the door." The most appropriate album closer the Hip have ever recorded.

Tiger the Lion- easily the most experimental song the Hip have ever written. It's also their heaviest. The guitars are creepy as hell, Gord's lyrics and singing are powerful and weird, and I love Robby's Pink Floyd-esque guitar solo at the end. It's not radio-friendly by any means, but it's probably one of the most compelling songs I've ever heard from the Hip.

Lake Fever- enough said.

The Bear- yet another song that never fails to send chills up my spine.

The Bastard- rock n' roll, baby! This song is especially good live if you've ever had the rare chance of hearing it. I love the middle-eastern tabla on the album version.

As I Wind Down the Pines- the siren in the background is very cool.

Toronto #4- simply beautiful.


Anyways, that's all I can think of for now. Holy crap, I'm bored.

[lilbones]

the last two songs on IVL (dire wolf and dark canuck) make it worthwhile just by themself. When you add to that outstanding songs like Leave, Silver Jet, Darkest one, I dont understand why its slagged so much. Might not be my favorite hip album, but ive never considered it a shame to the hip; very good album. Can't convince me otherwise.

[tigerthelion]

I really like "A Beautiful Thing". Nice little guitar work from Bobby. Nice "you'd better be dying, and you were" line.

The guitar interplay in "Use It Up" is very satisfying. References to Springsteen and Randy Newman, all right!

I love the pace set by "Are You Ready" which opens the album. Love the drums.

"Stay", "The Completist", "Putting Down", and "Freak Turbulence" are all very well composed songs. "As I Wind Down The Pines" shows the softer side of the band. It shows the versatility of the fab five.

[BulletRiddled]

You're right, these albums don't get enough respect. It's interesting looking at them side by side. M@W has heavy music, with midi, female vocals, a tabla and a cello added to the music. IVL is lighter and poppier, and has nothing except the 5 of them. Both are experimental and both work equally well.

[direwolf74]

Ok, I just listened to Music@Work all the way through for the first time in months, and there are so many cool little things that just came back to me as I listened: Robby's train whistle guitar solo in Train Overnight, Johnny's thunderous drums in Wild Mountain Honey (not to mention that cool sound of his sticks clacking together at the tail end of the song), the weird amplifier feedback at the end of FreaK Turbulence, the piano in Wind Down the Pines, the cello in Tiger the Lion, and last but not least, Julie Doiron's beautiful backing vocals in Pines, Toronto #4, and The Completists.

Don't ya just love how Hip albums keep getting better with age?

[thedarkestone]

I am of the Music @ Work is mediocre persuasion. I absolutley love IVL, but really have no love for the songs on M@W with the exception of Sharks, The Completists and Putting Down.

The song Music at Work is a mediocre rock tune with no real....umph! Stay is just a poor man's Bobcaygeon. I was really dissapointed with Lake Fever and The Bastard after hearing the live versions on the New Years Day 2000 boot and then hearing how they had morphed once the album was released. The drum loop on Lake Fever does not enhance the song at all.

With that said, I still listen to the album as it is not terrible.......just mediocre. I still enjoy singing along to The Bear. I just feel that the album artwork, the flow of the songs and many of the songs themselves just make it mediocre Hip album.

Just my opinion of course.

[thedarkestone]

Don't ya just love how Hip albums keep getting better with age?

That is how I feel about IVL.

[gratts99]

imo M@W is my least fav album. Howver it was their best tour with the "evening with" tour
I mean look at the album b4 M@w. PP was one of their best albums, no matter what they came out with next would have been dissapointing for some

[Tthip]

Two tracks that should have been on IVL that I love are:
Problem Bears and Ultra Mundane.
Great tunes, that I wish they would play live.
I have to listen to Forest Edge when I get home.
I like the song alot, but I'll have to give it another listen to see if I liked it because it was like a Christmas gift from The Hip, or if it really is a great song.
I am still trying to figure out if the "battling" voices on it are Gord D vs himself or if it is him vs Paul. I really like the voices over one another.

[clarke]

I love M@W but I can see why some people wouldnt like it as much. I think when M@W was written it was for a the whole project to be the studio production. Many of the songs just cant be reproduced live, which is fine but perhaps it is harder for people to keep listening and catch on to some of these tunes. As for IVL I cant understand how anyone doesnt like that album, i love everysong on it.

[lord brazle]

I am one of the ones who dislike both M@W and IVL as albums.
Let me explain why; AS ALBUMS....
The majority of the songs I like, in fact, but as albums they just bug the $hit out of me.

I thought M@W was a horrible attempt of the Hip trying to "get with it." Some songs I love but the whole feel of the album is crap. It's the furthest from "The Hip" that I've heard The Hip be. The lyrics are incredible though. And it's not any one song specifically or the multitude of songs or anything. There are songs on IVL that I have only listened to once! (Are U Ready, Leave) But there are some songs I listen to every day (A Beautiful Thing, Silver Jet).

I don't agree with majority of album-reviewers out there who say Avril is cool and The Hip are over. I think if i had any other artists album up against M@W or IVL, the Hip would win hands down. But out of all the Hip albums, I can find much better. I think it may have to do with a post-Pantom Power occurrence. To have such a great album, any album afterwards would look inferior. (gratts99 said it first!)

Anyways, in short, if I have a choice between IVL or DFN (among others) the latter would be picked. But that is not to say I neccessarily "hate" IVL or M@W... i couldn't hate any Hip album. I just dislike their "feel"... It's confusing, maybe too much variety? I don't know... But I would never say that i hated them... Like I look at UTH and then M@W and I'm like WTF!?! What were they thinking?! M@W and IVL (like any Hip album) have a unique feel, you know? I just don't know how to describe them and that's probably the reason I dislike them...

[Hairbird]

I'm too tired to try and say anything meaningful about these two albums, but I do whole-heartedly back the appreciation of them both!

[Drez7]

One song I would like to see make it back in to the live show is Tiger the Lion...I mean, it just has so much energy! It really sets the intensity for the show. Plus, it is one of my favorites. However, The Heart of the Melt should pick up that slack! I don't think Tiger will show up again, but hey ya never know.

[LoftyPines]

Leave: Gord is the only singer I can think of who can write a song from the point of view of a bird and not make it sound corny. I love this tune!

I thought this song was about an airplane, not a bird. I dont have the lyrics in front of me, so I really dont have anything to base this on. "It's a routine flight for this bird tonight..." I thought that had to do with an actual plane. Or I am just stupid.

Tiger the Lion- easily the most experimental song the Hip have ever written. It's also their heaviest. The guitars are creepy as hell, Gord's lyrics and singing are powerful and weird, and I love Robby's Pink Floyd-esque guitar solo at the end. It's not radio-friendly by any means, but it's probably one of the most compelling songs I've ever heard from the Hip.

Couldn't agree more. It is an incredible tune. A little complex and definitely not radio friendly, but likely one of my favs on M@W.

[thedarkestone]

I thought this song was about an airplane, not a bird. I dont have the lyrics in front of me, so I really dont have anything to base this on. "It's a routine flight for this bird tonight..." I thought that had to do with an actual plane. Or I am just stupid.

Nah man it is definatley about a bird. Here are the lyrics............

"Do you mean the attack is routine?"
A bird asked of a bird
"In this context, a concave nest,
How do we learn to hurt?"

"Do you mean there's no variation?"
Watching a dog charge a flock
Of birds exploding in congregation
"Why plan when we stop?"

I don't know but why suppose
It's not the way it should be?
When you can fly above the great waiting list
As the grow implies we won't be missed

We can leave
We can leave
We can leave

It's a routine flight for this bird tonight
There's more worms than earth in the afterlife
Where the blind feed the blind whispering things like;
'On the money' and 'Bulls-eye'

She picks up the little leaves
Where human wrecks are left to seed
Left to repaint their deities
And plaster away at their villainies
Where there's love
There's hope

"And do you hope those earthbound poets
Could learn to sing as good as us?
So we can sit back and enjoy our illusions
And our quietus?"

'Well I don't now but why suppose
It's not the way it should be?
When you can squawk and wait for word from above
And change yourself into something you love

When you leave
When you leave
You leave
When you leave