Episode 101 — The Tragically Hip EP (1987)

Fully & Completely: Redux

Episode 101 — The Tragically Hip EP (1987)

A presentation of The Tragically Hip Podcast Series

Hosted by jD and Greg LeGros

Class is officially back in session.

In Episode 101, Fully & Completely returns as Fully & Completely: Redux, kicking off a weekly, album-by-album journey through the catalog of The Tragically Hip — starting where it all began: the self-titled 1987 EP.

This episode takes us back to a pivotal year in Canadian history. Brian Mulroney is Prime Minister. The loonie replaces the dollar bill. Edmonton is the City of Champions. And in a music landscape dominated by The Joshua Tree, Appetite for Destruction, Sign o’ the Times, and Document, a sweaty, blues-rock bar band from Kingston quietly releases their first official recording.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not fully formed.

But it is the sound of a band just out of high school, road-tested, tight as hell, and figuring out who they might become.

jD and Greg dig into the historical and musical context of 1987, the Canadian charts of the era, the bar-band DNA baked into this EP, and the early lyrical breadcrumbs that hint at where The Tragically Hip were headed. Along the way, they debate throwaway lines versus keeper lyrics, celebrate the power of live mythology, and agree — as most Canadians eventually do — that Highway Girl is the track that escapes the gravity of its origins.

This is the starting point.

The chalk outline.

The sweaty stage at the Horseshoe before the arenas.

And from here on out, it only gets deeper.

In This Episode

• Why 1987 matters — culturally, musically, and politically
• The Tragically Hip as a very good bar band (and why that matters)
• Blues rock, R&B roots, and early Stones influence
• Canadian pop vs. underground grit in the late ’80s
• First signs of Gord Downie’s lyrical instincts
• The role of live performance in shaping Hip mythology
• Time Capsule Track: Highway Girl

Album Discussed

The Tragically Hip (EP, 1987)

Produced by Ken “Kenny” Greer

Eight tracks. Under 30 minutes. A launching pad.

What’s Next

Next week, the tour continues with the next chapter in the evolution — more confidence, sharper songwriting, and the beginning of something unmistakably Hip.

Listen & Subscribe

Fully & Completely: Redux is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow, subscribe, and settle in — we’re taking this fully and completely, one record at a time.

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