u/NewbombJerk

Were one of these hanging somewhere in your house? And did you make it?

Melted Ice Pop is my favorite summer flavor. The Strawberry Creme was just ok. Coconut Lime was surprisingly good, because I hate La Croix's Coconut. Apple Pie A La Mode wasn't awful, but I wouldn't buy it again. It feels more like a fall flavor... too much nutmeg or cinnamon. Root Beer is really solid!!!! I'm not getting the creamy float part, but it's got a great Root Beer flavor!!!!!

Couple of days ago, u/cloudjunction posted a Hip Greatest Hits playlist on here and it got me to thinking about Hip songs I don't hear much anymore.

I was looking at the playlilst before I had to hop in the car and for some reason "Scared" jumped out at me. Slow, I love it, and I haven't listened to it in a minute. I started the playlist there, unshuffled, and hit the road. In the last two days, while driving, I heard "Scared," and the playlist's selections from Trouble At The Henhouse, and Phantom Power. (I work from home, so I don't drive a lot.)

Today, when I got into the car "Vapour Trails" was playing and I was loving it... there is nothing uglier than a man hitting his stride. Then "Escape Is At Hand For the Travellin' Man" started and it got my mind racing. I haven't heard this in way too long. So, I started thinking about Material Issue and wondering all the same things I used to wonder. All I know about the show Gord met Jim Ellison at was it was in NYC, and probably a CMJ showcase, during their Music Marathon. It's like SXSW but in NYC.

I was a Material Issue fan, they played my college when International Pop Overthrow came out and I met Jim briefly. They used a student's apartment as their green room for the show and I drove them back to campus for the gig. This is also right around the time Road Apples came out and I became a Hip fan.

If the story of that NYC show was ever told, I never heard it. Who was headlining? Who was second, third and fourth on that bill? What song was playing when Jim yelled in Gord's ear?

I was thinking about how sad it was that Jim died by suicide and then... and this is kind of silly, but it just hits me that both of them are dead. Now, the song starts washing over me and I start to cry. Not like ugly crying, just some tears. The sadness of loss, working through grief, and the fragility of life kind-of-tears. I can not stress enough how much I fucking love when music elicits an emotional response from me. It's just a glorious sensation... even if it's sadness.

I pull up to a red light, wiping my eyes as the song ends and something serendipitous happens, even though I should have seen it coming. I'm literally thinking "Gord's music at work, eh?" and then "My Music At Work" starts playing and I erupted in that special kind of laughter that comes after crying. A kind of guffaw that brings more tears and a sense of relief. It almost felt like crying in that moment was good for me. While more tears start erupting from my eyes and I'm laughing, I said out loud to the universe, "Fuck you, Gord!" I can't even imagine what I looked like in that moment sitting at a redlight, crying, laughing, and jokingly telling a dead man to go fuck himself.

I miss living closer to the border and just being exposed to the Hip. I'd shit myself if I walked into a bar here and they were playing "Grace, Too." For too long, if I wanna hear the Hip, I gotta play them.

Before the world went 100% digital, there'd always be a couple Hip CDs spinning at home or in the car. Slowly over the years, mp3 players, and then Spotify playlists boiled down the albums to essential tracks and some great music got lost in the shuffle. I literally only have "Poets," and "Bobcaygeon" from Phantom Power on my most listened to playlists. I gotta fix that!

I've been wanting to move back to albums and I want this to be a catalyst for that. Great place to fucking start is the Hip's discography! I'm declaring it a Summer Of Hip! I hope I get the opportunity to sit next to a lake, smoke a jay, and crank Fully Completely, while drinking a Blue. I don't like everything, but man I LOVE A LOT OF THE TRAGICALLY HIP'S MUSIC! Get to work, Gord!

Anytime a temporary flavor comes out that I love, I try to stock up. My wife and I love Polar's Orange Vanilla, so we knew we'd love Cosmic Swirl which is a berry vanilla flavor. I live in NC and Harris Teeter (The Teet!) usually has buy 2 get 1 free specials, but will also do buy 2 get 3 free! I really took advantage of that one. Sadly, these are already gone, this was the beginning of April. I just found this sub looking to see if Bubly was doing the Bomb Pop flavor again! Melted popsicle? It's out, but I haven't seen it yet! Oddly enough, Oreos is also doing a red, white, and blue popsicle flavor right now, and they're pretty good!