The Tragically Hip Top Forty Countdown: Song 20 — Neil from Arroyo GrandeHey, 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 GuestNeil 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]📡 Follow + StreamSpotify | Apple | YouTube | dewvre.com/tthtop40Instagram: @tthtop40Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/tthtop40💸 Support the ShowWe’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'mnot going to ask. I am, however, going to strongly suggest, with love, that you give me money. Thisisn't about exclusive perks or gated content, though those exist. It's about supporting somethingyou 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 togive back. I make this show because I love the hip, I love this community, and I believe in tellingstories that matter. But it all takes time, energy, and of course, your support. By joining themembership, you're not just helping to keep the show running, you're also helping to raise moneyfor the ALS Society of Canada. No minimum, no catch, no problem. BuyMeACoffee.com forwardslash 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 loveabout the Tragically Hip, high energy, guitar driven, with all these Canadian references. Like, whosings about Tom Thompson? Right?Track 3:file:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 1 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PM[2:02] Hey, it's JD here, and welcome back to the Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown. It's my pleasureto be with you here each and every Monday as we spend some time sharing stories andexperiences while counting down 40 essential songs by the hip that you chose with your very owntop 20 ballads. I simply tabulated the results using an abacus and a Subway sandwich artist namedCarl. Listen, the dude knows how to make a beef and cheat. What can I tell you? Have yourfavorite episodes fared well in the rankings? Let me know. TTH top 40 at gmail.com. This week, I'mjoined by the incomparable Neil from Arroyo Grande. Neil from Arroyo Grande, how the fuck areyou doing on this hip-tastic day? I'm doing great. I'm doing great, Jamie. It's great to be on here. It'sa pleasure to finally be on the show. I'm a big fan. Oh, that means a lot, dude. That means somuch, for real. And I'm glad to have you, too. We've been trying to do this for a couple weeks, andthen 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 wherethere's that's right jd we're we're here now and that's the important thing and we're here for onereason really and that's to hear your hipstery so what do you say let's get at it sure thing um so mystory he um i'm fairly i'm fairly new to the hip compared to a lot of people on this show i got i gotinto 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 grandecalifornia which is essentially right next to pismo beach which is known for it known for its clamsand um it's where bugs bunny eventually show uh ends up after making that wrong turn atalbuquerque and so we're right we're right i'm right in between los angeles and san francisco sowe're pretty so we're pretty far away from it's anything a lot of people around here they don't reallyknow much know much about canada but me being me being a huge hockey fan and um, i'vealways had a fascination with canadian culture as far as you know hockey music you know a lot ofmy favorite my favorite wrestlers growing up from wwe or or that nature are canadian so are you ahitman guy what's that oh yeah are you a hitman guy oh yeah love love brett love brett love lovejericho i love uh oh yeah i'm i actually i actually i actually i'm a big land storm guy believe it or notwow yeah when i was when i was when i was a kid i always liked doing as half Boston Crab. Thatwas always my go-to move as a kid.Track 3:file:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 2 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PM[5:23] But as far as learning about the hip, I really had to go out of my way to... I have really had togo out of my way to find them. And, you know, a lot of, a lot of Americans around here, they, youknow, when they find out about like the, probably one of the most famous things out of Canada forAmericans 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 bubblesthe character bubbles talking about you know oh i used to you know i used to play like waynegretzky i always wore number 99 or one time i fought omio he really really kicked my ass but umeventually throughout that video he talks about uh being in the the music video for the darkest onewith you know with ricky julian and uh don cherry and that was the first time i've really heard aboutthe tragically hip in any in any facet and so after after learning about that i listened to the darkestone 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 youdon't really understand you don't really have a good um context of what gourd is talking about andso i what's the darkest one i don't know but i um you know kept listening to the song and i wasgrowing an appreciation for it and then eventually that led to me to like go on go on youtube to lookup more more video um more like playlist videos where i would listen to more songs and i'm likethis this is really good like this like this this is just incredible music and i can't believe that it's takingme this long to to find it oh my gosh you have 12 records to listen to oh yeah and i've and yeahyeah since then i've listened to all of them like all the all the hips catalog all the all the gourdrecords and it's just it's it was it's been it's been a very fun 10 years just just learning everything andlearning learning the context of a lot of a lot of the songs and and just and um and i've been i'vebeen a i've been a fan of your shows just you know getting hip to the hip uh discovering discoveringdowny um.Track 3:[8:05] All of those to like really provide nuance as to what the lyric may mean or what you knowwhat your interpretation might be what your guest's interpretation might be it might be different frommine but you know some some songs have some songs have a deeper meaning than others andhave open interpretation some don't but that's kind of that's kind of the uh what's the word? Themystery 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, Ifile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 3 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMneed 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. Andum 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'treally i couldn't really tell which songs were like the earlier songs and which songs were like the mid2000s songs they all it all sounds like it all sounds like the hip to me like you know when you listento like pearl like pearl jam or something like that you can tell that's like early 90s grunge and stufflike that for me when i right right when i listen to the when i listen to the hip from from from analbum from like uh fully completely i can't really tell if that's from the early 90s that just it just soundslike the hip compared to like if i listen to something from phantom power or um in violet light they allkind of sound like different hip songs there's like subtle differences but i they don't i don't really feellike that they are like pigeonholed into a specific era of music you know what i mean yeah i i getthat for sure and i mean we're sort of seeing evidence with that with these re-releases these boxsets that are coming out and they're including old songs and people are eating them up oh i i'm meincluded me included i've been really into the box set of Phantom Power lately and listening tothose 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 underyour wing, it's really cool the crossover between Phantom Power writing sessions and CokeMachine Glow and Battle of the Nudes. Yeah, I thought that was pretty fascinating. Especially withthe song Mystery. Just listening to the Gord version, which is... There's hardly any music to it, andhe's kind of spoken word. Whereas the Phantom Power re-release version, I actually, when I firstheard that, I really, really, really enjoyed that. It's become one of my favorites as of late, and I justlove... I really, really love that song. Oh you're the first person i've heard say that's one of theirfavorites 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 avery very i i like i kind of like those those haunting those haunting melody, gourd or hip songs it'sjust and i just i like to bring i have to bring the mood down a little bit, yeah no i can see that and thisis the band for it they can do it all they can make you party they can make you contemplative youfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 4 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMknow they can touch you emotionally it's it's it's really a wonderful thing they so i want to knowthough uh sorry no go ahead i was gonna say they certainly they certainly do and it's it's definitelysomething i try to share with other it's definitely something i try to share with others that don't knowthe band of yet you know they they can sing about anything sing about being happy being sad uhgoing through going through a rough time and it's just they have a song about basically anythingyeah yeah they really do, So what stood out on your favorites to you that made you take the nextstep? Because for a lot of people, it could stop there. It could be like, you know what? I've got thegreatest hits. I'm going to continue to listen to this. I'm going to enjoy it. And that's the end. But I'mguessing 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 andI pick specific songs, like one song in particular, and I'm not alone in this is nautical disaster. Like tome, 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'sso much to it. And it's just like it, that song really resonates with me because i would when i wouldlisten to that song i i was going through a very particularly rough time rough time in my life with awhere there was a lot of uncertainty and that song and that song thank you but everything's betternow but that song really resonated with me at that time to you know move forward and persevereand 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 thattime also and you know and i knew about i knew about um the context in which he recorded thatalbum right you know right you know right before his cancer diagnosis and before he passed andjust like listening to that album and just thinking about man what is this man going through rightnow and uh but when but going back to narco disaster when i heard it on your favorites i would likeokay what album is that on let me listen to that album and i was like from from and then from dayfor night i would find songs that aren't on your favorites and just listen to that album and just be likewow this there's so much great stuff on here and it's it's just it kind of expanded from, you know, thegreatest hits out, you know, going to the, like the greatest hits album and then expanding onto theother 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 Ifile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 5 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMapologize, but I'm guessing based on the date that you got into them, you never got a chance tosee them live. No, I didn't. I didn't get a chance to see them live because they wouldn't come to thisarea. Right. During that time, it was getting really difficult for the band, or especially for Gord, toreally come down here, especially being as sick as he was. That's true. But I'm okay with that. Idon'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 histangents and, you know, working with stuff that's eventually going to be in later songs. But at thetime, at first, I was like that, right? I know. Right. I know. And when you hear it, I was like, oh, that'show 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 goodthat they released that you know because it's one that we've all had and on bootleg since the 90sand uh it's just nice to have it pressed on vinyl and sounds great um do you have a go-to recordnow is there one that you, or do you still sort of go back to your favorites or i mean this is a loadedquestion because i know that it changes from day to day or from week to week it certainly does itdefinitely depends on how i feel right now right now how i feel right now my go-to record right nowis phantom power okay and the reason why the reason why for that is mainly because i love i lovethat back half so much like i love listening to emperor like emperor penguin i love that's probably atop three for me because just i love i really love that song i think about you know what the life of anemperor penguin is as far as as far as like the mother has to leave has to leave its family in order toin order to find food essentially and if it doesn't come back the family starves and i really relate tothat a lot because i'm a father i'm a husband and i i you know really i really care for my family. AndI'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 beterrible but that's that song that and just sing just sing the whole thing that really um, that really ummakes brings a lot of emotion out uh you can tell i can see that you're moved right now i i i reallyam um that and that and.file:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 6 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMTrack 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 mybackyard i look up into the sky i look up in the sky and i see you know vapor trails from planes andeverything like that and i've played the song vapor trails from that album and it's just nice nice just anice groovy song.Track 3:[18:48] And yep so right now phantom power phantom power is uh up there for up there for me andit changes a lot there's times where i kind of feel like i want to chill out and listen to uh trouble in thehen house um fully completely is always a great go-to um sure is i like and i like going back to manmachine poem a lot because that's one of the albums to you right yeah that and i love i love thesong machine a lot that's a that's a very special song to me as well and you know like you said it's ait constantly can i ask why can i ask why that song in particular special to you well going back goingback to when i was going going through that time in my life i would hear like i would hear that song iwould hear that song constantly because i would always play that album a lot and like i feel like it'skind 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 alot of responsibilities i got to be a machine in order to you know get through of all get through allthis and um sometimes you gotta you know leave the human part aside and you got to you knowkeep moving forward you got to do it you got to do this machine i know that's probably not whatgordon 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 hewrote songs to give to us. And then it's up to us to shape those into whatever we want. It's almostas like he gives us a prefab shed. And we get to take that shed home and build it you know yeahum it's the best fucking prefab shed i've ever seen in my goddamn life but it's a prefab shedseriously that and that and you know like uh midway through the song where they go through thatthat that solo that's just some of the most beautiful just a very beautiful solo and i remember um iremember 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 starsout and i was listening to that on my earbuds and just like that that guitar solo just looking up thestars and looking at the sunset where i was at i was just like it felt serendipitous, essentially it wasjust like kind of like a soundtrack moment yeah but that's well you remember the date was that youfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 7 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMeven remember the date it left an indelible mark on you, it does i i i remember a lot of dates a lot it'sa 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 toit 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 thevendors. 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, whatkind 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 thedarkest one and uh i was doing you know some hip research because i'm you know i was fairly newto the hip at the time and um i just looked up a list of uh what are what are the top 10 hockey songsand 50 mission cap came up because um and i'm like 50 mission cap what does this have to dowith hockey and then when you listen to it and uh because i'm i'm a huge i'm a massive massivehockey fan i'm a huge detroit red red wings fan um i my family's all from michigan my mom's fromjackson michigan my dad's from the detroit area so like i'm very familiar with um with hockeyplayers like a lot of the history of hockey and the story of bill barocco was familiar to me like I knewabout how really yep how he scored the overtime winning goal in the Stanley Cup final and then theman disappeared and that's about as much as I knew at the time and then listening to 50 missioncap you know you listen to Gord essentially summarize what he what he was read on a hockeycard about the the exploits of bill barocco where he where he's scored he scored the game-winninggoal.Track 3:[28:11] In the 1951 stanley cup stanley cup he uh so yeah so yeah he he scored the game winninggoal and then he and then he disappeared on a fishing trip and then nobody nobody heard fromfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 8 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMhim and i was like where did this where did where did he go it's like um you know at the time youknow 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 thetoronto maple leafs and he disappears and like where did he go uh we don't we we don't know Andthen, you know, from 1951 to 1962... There's that big drought for the Maple Leafs, which at thattime 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'renot.Track 3:[29:22] I remember going to the Joe Louis Arena, And it was 50-50 Wings fans and 50-50 Leafsfans. And the Leafs fans were louder, I can tell you that much. But I know that bringing up 1967 is adeep wound for a lot of Leafs fans. And I apologize. Not me, but yes, I hear you. And you'rewearing, we should say, you're wearing, now when I grew up, the Leafs and the Detroit were bothin the Norris division. So you wearing a Leafs cap would be like sacrilege. Oh, I do a lot. As a RedWings fan. I do a lot of sacrilegious things as far as hockey in a lot of people's eyes, but I havesuch an appreciation for hockey. I can wear a Leafs hat. I wear a Habs hat. My best friend is aHabs fan, and the Leafs and the Habs are going to play each other today. So he'll probably, if hesaw 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. Causethat's the era of hockey that my dad grew up in. And he grew up, he grew up in, he grew up inDetroit. And he tells me that, um, he wouldn't get the American stations. He would get theCanadian stations because Windsor's across, across the river. And he would tell me that, yeah, Iwatched a bunch of Leafs games and Johnny Bauer was my favorite player. And so I would get thisblue 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 onlyplayed a partial of five seasons like he was very he was very young when he when he died but hewas he was he was defenseman in that era and there wasn't a whole lot of high scoringdefenseman you didn't have like bobby or anything like that doug harvey was i don't know if dougharvey started playing back then i'll have to look that up but you didn't really have a whole lot ofsuperstar defenseman back then but he had some he had some fairly some fairly respectablenumbers for a young defenseman in a very in a very low scoring era of hockey but when looking atfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 9 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMthe final season or the final playoffs from when he played he played 11 games scored three goalstwo assists for five points and got 31 penalty minutes in those 11 games that man showed up forthe 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 scoringthe game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup final to months later disappearing on a fishing trip, I'msure that was just really shocking to a lot of people. And, you know, for him to not be recovered for11 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 ontheir 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 rightnow, I don't know what. But who knows They might find They might recover somebody else Afterthe next Stanley Cup win If that happens Might happen this year They look really respectable ButI'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, sothe chorus So, I mean, the verse is definitely Bill Barocco How does the chorus relate In yourestimation So Like we said before A lot of hip songs Are open to, Interpretation They kind of buildThis prefab shed This song is Not one of those Gord very much lets us know That he stole He'staking a summary from a hockey card, in which he stole the lyrics and puts it in the song. It'sbasically 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 bythe time where it's a 50 mission cap, it's a little worn in to where like the aviator's headphone, theaviator's headphones is kind of like built into built into and makes a divot and it wears the hat. Sothat kind of relates to oh that's a very experienced pilot right there he's got you know he's got a lothe'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 thisfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 10 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMbill barilco card and tucks it in there is this from the perspective of a pilot that had a bill barilco cardand tucked it into it tucked it into his cap or is this like you know that 11 that 11 year disappearanceof bill barilco does that is that kind of like a metaphor as to you know the wear and tear of a 50 of a50 mission cap that's a you know that's a way to look at i've been trying to think about what thepossible interpretation could be as far as what does gourd mean by a 50 mission cap and so thoseare 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 tohear what other people have to say about it because you know it's a that's a very sure we will yeahit'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 Barrocodied in a plane crash? I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. There's so much to it. I've always had it inmy 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 mighthave been an original thought. I don't really know because my memory is so toast. well uh i seemto recall it being like being mentioned that it was like a rookie and they were trying to make their hatlook like a 50 mission cap yep by working it in okay so you're familiar with that i am familiar withthat yeah yeah a lot of it like a lot of uh you know new pilot new pilots would be like oh look at thosewearing look those really worn in hats i'm gonna try to you know make that that's right wear this outand try to try to make it look like i've seen I've seen some shit, but. That's right. Yeah. So that couldcorrelate potentially with like the hockey playoffs, you know, like hockey playoffs, they always sayare 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 likethat 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 into make it more presentable as a song so that's that's that could be it's pretty darn close though iremember getting this card it was in 1992 pro set pro sets uh the pro set from 92 and it was card itwas in the 300s somewhere uh i remember from the checklist so yeah i had it at one point and AndI don't know where the hell that ever went. Just like they always say with your hockey cards, thenyour parents, you move and your parents just ditch them. And meanwhile, there were thousands offile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20621.htmlPage 11 of 12The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 5:20 PMdollars 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. Isthere anything else you want to say about 50 Mission Cap? 50 Mission Cap is one of my, it's justone of my favorite hip songs. It's just a fun just a fun song to listen to it's always fun like a fun songto listen to like over a pa speaker at a hockey game kind of just gets you in a lot of hockey gamesright 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 youknow stomping ton connors you have hit somebody from warren zavon you know all shout out tothe zambonis who all they all they do is write hockey songs um um but 50 mission cap is you knowit'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 thehistory of the nhl and i i tried to i tried to you know tell people about that song, for people who wantto either get into the hip or... Like I said, it's just a really fun song to listen to. No ifs, ands, or butsabout it. All right do you have anything that you would like to plug today neil um i don't haveanything to plug i just want to shout out to my wife rachel to my sons charlie and henrik i love youguys very much uh thank you for putting up with me and my my obsession with hockey and uh youknow have me have me play the hip for you guys i hope one day i hope one day you got he'sgetting appreciation for it you're doing you guys you're doing your parental job there inculcatingyour children into the ways of the hip i can only try i love it fly the flag neil from a royal grande flythe probably probably jd and that's what i've got for you this week uh on the tragically hit top 40countdown i really want to thank neil from a royal grande for stopping by and joining us And ofcourse, 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 totthtop40 at gmail.com. We're social. 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