Fully & Completely: redux - Now For Plan A

It started as a punishment.

In 2016, jD heard Greg LeGros pitch "Now For Plan A" on See You Next Wednesday - not as a bad pick, but as something deeply underappreciated that deserved a real listen. jD listened. Came back. And somehow, without either of them knowing it yet, that was the moment Fully & Completely was born.

Full circle, ten years later. Here we are.

About This Episode

jD and Greg LeGros return to the record that, in a weird and fortuitous way, started everything - The Tragically Hip's 2012 album "Now For Plan A." It's the most overlooked record in the catalogue. It's also, when you know what you're listening to, one of the most emotionally devastating.

The Hip recorded "Now For Plan A" while Gord Downie's wife was fighting cancer. Not every track maps directly to that experience - but enough of them do that, once you know, the whole album reorients. The desperation in the vocals. The urgency in the hooks. The tenderness buried inside songs that, on the surface, just cook.

jD and Greg go track by track through the full record, unpacking every song with the weight of that context - and without it, for the songs that stand on their own terms. They talk about what it means to watch a chemotherapy drip and write a lyric. About Gord's wife being "the look ahead." About a title that works on at least three different levels simultaneously. About why 'Goodnight Attawapiskat' is a precis for the last six years of the band.

They also set the scene for 2012 - the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto, the beginning of streaming, the vinyl comeback, Kendrick Lamar's arrival, and how Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" tour changed at least one life in Hamilton that year.

This is a big one.

Why This Record Matters

jD puts it plainly near the end: "This is almost like a precis for the last six years of this band." The journey through cancer. The band songs. The Indigenous reckoning with a thousand mile suit and a community named out loud. "Now For Plan A" was released in 2012 with no context - and it quietly contained everything that was coming.

Greg's take is maybe the sharpest thing said in the episode: "How weird is it that he didn't get to release a record about his illness, and yet we've got track after track of him explaining how he feels about this illness."

You've got to love it. We've got to love it. Because they fucking loved it.

Also in This Episode

• The 100th Grey Cup: nine-and-nine Toronto Argonauts, Burton Cummings on the National Anthem, Justin Bieber and Gordon Lightfoot sharing a halftime show
• Why you should follow Burton Cummings on Facebook immediately
• The streaming-meets-vinyl moment of 2012, and why download codes were a genius move
• Greg's Springsteen conversion in Hamilton (it took three hours and he knew 15% of the songs)
• Greg's CanRock playlist on Spotify - four hours, search Greg LeGros
• The return of Time Bandits, Greg's other podcast - starting with 1980's "Battle Beyond the Stars"

Resources & References

• The Hip Compendium - Setlists, song history, full discography: compendium.tthpods.com
• Hipbase - Tragically Hip discography and catalogue data: hipbase.com
• This Is Our Life by Michael Barclay - the definitive Hip biography
• The Tragically Hip Archive - Live recordings and preservation archive
• Greg LeGros on Spotify - CanRock playlist + Time Bandits episodes (search: Greg LeGros)
• Yer Letter - Sign up for the TTH Podcast Series newsletter: subscribe.tthpods.com
• Facebook Community - community.tthpods.com

Listen & Follow

Listen now via home.tthpods.com | Follow on Instagram and Facebook @tthpods | Reach jD at [e-mail]

#TheTragicallyHip #FullyCompletely #GordDownie #NowForPlanA #CanadianRock #TragicallyHipPodcast

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy