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Title: Fine album - REM derivative
Review: This is a very good album but listening to The Hip, whether on CD or live (and they do put on excellent live shows) reminds one that they are fairly derivative of REM. Downey has a knock-off Michael Stipe voice, facsimile idiosyncrasies and clever, opaque lyrics. Lead guitarist is Peter Buck knock-off; hot licks, deadpan stage presence. Drummer is Bill-Berry-manic.Not that The Hip aren't a great band. They're just another example of the derivative nature of Canadian pop culture. Just as Much Music is MTV 10 years after the fact, TSN is ESPN a decade later, "Traders" is "L.A. Law" transposed to an investment bank, etc... The Hip are REM five or six years after the fact. An excellent, if unoriginal, Canadian product. But the album is hot. It's easy to see why US college radio picked up on these guys around '90. And why they can still pack arenas in Canada. Wave those maple leafs!
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