The Never-Ending Present
The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip
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Narrated by:
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George Stroumboulopoulos
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By:
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Michael Barclay
About this listen
From our talent-rich neighbor to the north comes this biography of one of the most successful Canadian rock bands, The Tragically Hip, which announced a year-long tour after sharing the news of lead singer Gord Downie’s inoperable cancer. Now available to US listeners, The Never-Ending Present details what led up to the memorable night when music fans all over the world watched Downie’s heroic final performance. Author Michael Barclay explores the band’s musical and cultural importance through interviews with friends, fans, and others they touched. Broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos narrates the Hip’s saga from its start in Kingston, Ontario, in 1984 to its superstar status as kings of the Canadian music scene—even conquering what Barclay calls the "American albatross." This audiobook is for anyone interested in rock music biographies in general or "Canada’s band" in particular, and how fans’ love for a band can foster a profound cultural moment of unity.
©2018 Michael Barclay (P)2018 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Our favorite moments from The Never-Ending Present
Behind the Scenes with Strombo
"I wanted the surprise in my voice and the emotion in my voice to all be real." – George Stroumboulopoulos, Canadian broadcaster and interviewerFans reminisce about the Hip's last show
Gord Downie’s powerful performances while battling terminal cancer riveted an audience of millions on the Hip’s final 2016 tour.About the Performer
George Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio interviewer, writer, and producer. A former VJ for Canadian TV’s MuchMusic, he was also host of the CBC talk show George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and anchored Hockey Night in Canada. He can be heard on CBC Radio 2 as the voice of The Strombo Show. He also produces and hosts a live concert series, House of Strombo, with Apple Music.
About the Author
Michael Barclay has worked for Maclean’s, CBC Radio’s Brave New Waves, and Exclaim!. He co-authored Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance 1985–1995, which told the stories of the Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, k.d. lang, and dozens more. He lives in Toronto.
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Maurice--Earth, Wind and Fire
- By Linda Ealey on 02-28-17
By: Maurice White, and others
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Keith Richards
- The Unauthorised Biography
- By: Victor Bockris
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1992, Victor Bockris' celebrated biography was the first to recognize Richards' pivotal role in the legend of the Rolling Stones. Now that book on rock's most incredible survivor has been expanded. Here are the true facts behind Richards' battles with his demons: the women, the drugs and the love-hate relationship with Jagger. His struggle with heroin and his status as the rock star most likely to die in the 1970s. His scarcely believable rebirth as a family man in the 1980s. Illuminated with revealing quotes and thoughtful insights into the man behind the band that goes on forever.
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doesn't comapre to LIFE
- By A. Garofalo on 02-20-14
By: Victor Bockris
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Catch a Wave
- The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson
- By: Peter Ames Carlin
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In Catch a Wave, Peter Ames Carlin pulls back the curtain on Brian Wilson, one of popular music's most revered luminaries, as well as its biggest mystery. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and never-before heard studio recordings, Carlin follows the Beach Boys from their earliest days through Brian's deepening emotional problems to his triumphant re-emergence with the release of Smile, the legendarily unreleased album he had originally shelved.
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Not great
- By J. Barker on 08-08-16
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Who I Am
- By: Pete Townshend
- Narrated by: Pete Townshend
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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From the voice of a generation: the most highly anticipated autobiography of the year, and the story of a man who wanted The Who to be called The Hair; wanted to be a sculptor, a journalist, a dancer and a graphic designer; became a musician, composer, librettist, fiction writer, literary editor, sailor; drank too much and nearly died; detached from his body in an airplane, on LSD, and nearly died; planned to write his memoir when he was 21; and published this book at 67.
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Glad To Meet You
- By Mel on 10-12-12
By: Pete Townshend
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Dreaming the Beatles
- A Love Story of One Band and the Whole World
- By: Rob Sheffield
- Narrated by: Rob Sheffield
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Dreaming the Beatles is not another biography of the Beatles or a song-by-song analysis of the best of John and Paul. It isn't another exposé about how they broke up. It isn't a history of their gigs or their gear. It is a collection of essays telling the story of what this ubiquitous band means to a generation who grew up with the Beatles' music on their parents' stereos and their faces on T-shirts. What do the Beatles mean today? Why are they more famous and beloved now than ever? Find out.
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Wonderful ramble
- By Tad Davis on 05-18-17
By: Rob Sheffield
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Outlaw
- Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville
- By: Michael Streissguth
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Waylon Jennings. Willie Nelson. Kris Kristofferson. Three renegade musicians. Three unexpected stars. Three men who changed Nashville and country music forever. Streissguth's new book brings to life an incredible chapter in musical history and reveals for the first time a surprising outlaw zeitgeist in Nashville. Based on extensive research and probing interviews with key players, what emerges is a fascinating glimpse into three of the most legendary artists of our times and the definitive story of how they changed music in Nashville and everywhere.
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Revealing little-known Details does Captivate!
- By Cody Meyer on 11-20-17
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Your Song Changed My Life
- From Jimmy Page to St. Vincent, Smokey Robinson to Hozier, Thirty-Five Beloved Artists on Their Journey and the Music That Inspired It
- By: Bob Boilen
- Narrated by: Bob Boilen
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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From the beloved host and creator of NPR's All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts comes an essential oral history of modern music, told in the voices of iconic and up-and-coming musicians, including Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Michael Stipe, Carrie Brownstein, Smokey Robinson, and Jeff Tweedy, among others - published in association with NPR Music.
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Cool if you know all interviewed artists
- By Farfield on 12-05-16
By: Bob Boilen
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Wild Tales
- A Rock & Roll Life
- By: Graham Nash
- Narrated by: Graham Nash
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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From Graham Nash - the legendary musician and founding member of the iconic bands Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Hollies - comes a candid and riveting autobiography that belongs on the reading list of every classic rock fan.
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The Best of the Recent Rock Biographies
- By Steven Schuster on 10-28-13
By: Graham Nash
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Kicking and Dreaming
- A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll
- By: Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson
- Narrated by: Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Two sisters. Two voices. One Heart.
The mystery of "Magic Man." The wicked riff of "Barracuda." The sadness and beauty of "Alone." The raw energy of "Crazy On You." These songs, and so many more, are part of the fabric of American music. Heart, fronted by Ann and Nancy Wilson, has given fans everywhere classic, raw, and pure badass rock and roll for more than three decades. As the only sisters in rock who write their own music and play their own instruments, Ann and Nancy have always stood apart - certainly from their male counterparts but also from their female peers.
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Good Behind-The-Scenes Look At "Heart"
- By Kathy on 11-13-12
By: Ann Wilson, and others
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Fire and Rain
- The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970
- By: David Browne
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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January 1970: the Beatles assemble one more time to put the finishing touches on Let It Be; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are wrapping up Déjà Vu; Simon and Garfunkel are unveiling Bridge Over Troubled Water; James Taylor is an upstart singer-songwriter who's just completed Sweet Baby James. Over the course of the next twelve months, their lives---and the world around them---will change irrevocably.
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Fascinating information, easy to listen
- By NCKitkat on 07-28-11
By: David Browne
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Luck or Something Like It
- A Memoir
- By: Kenny Rogers
- Narrated by: Taber Burns
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A remarkable story of a boy who couldn't stop singing, and a man who knew how to hold 'em. For more than half a century, Kenny Rogers has been recording some of the most revered and beloved music in America and around the world. In that time, he has become a living legend by combining everything from R&B to country and gospel to folk in his unique voice to create a sound that's both wholly original and instantly recognizable.
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Fun to listen to.
- By b.sea on 07-25-19
By: Kenny Rogers
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High Voltage
- The Life of Angus Young – AC/DC's Last Man Standing
- By: Jeff Apter
- Narrated by: John Derum
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The first biography to focus exclusively on Angus Young - from his remarkable rise from working-class Glasgow and Sydney to the biggest stages in the world. Angus Young, the cofounder and the last remaining original member of AC/DC, has for more than 40 years been the face, the sound and sometimes the exposed backside of the trailblazing rock band.
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Excellent book
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-18
By: Jeff Apter
What listeners say about The Never-Ending Present
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dayna K
- 03-19-21
we will miss you dearly Gord.
I love The Tragically Hip. share the music and they live forever! So amazing!
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- Michael
- 08-01-18
Non-traditional biography
I have enjoyed this (unauthorized) biography very much. Full disclosure I am a huge Hip fan, but not an audiophile. I listened even though some of the surviving band members have criticized some of the facts in the book, but I have found it very well researched.
Without giving away some of my favorite parts, for me the highlights included:
-history on the band and their key performances
-connections to other popular acts like Nirvana, Spirit of the West, Midnight Oil, the Odds, etc.
-behind the scenes details on Gord’s solo album and how it was constructed
-explanations and perspectives on how the Hip fit into the Canadian cultural landscape (positive and negative)
On a personal note I enjoyed the extensive details on the July 1994 Canada Day Concert which I had never seen anywhere. I was actually there and I remember how amazing their set was (and how out of place Daniel Lanois was, which was fully explained in the book).
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Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 10-13-18
Loved it!
Very thorough informative and entertaining. Gord and the boys are an inspiration to us all!
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- Jim Vitale
- 08-03-18
very insightful in all areas
I really respect the amount of research that went into this. what an unbelievable testament not only to the band, but to how music brings us all together in our common mortality and quest to make meaning of the gift we call life.
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- Oyah
- 12-09-21
Just excellent
I hesitated over this book for a long time because I thought it would disappoint. It really doesn’t. Highly recommended for the text itself and also for Strombo’s reading of it—an inspired choice.
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- JR
- 10-14-18
Gord F’ing Downie
Loved this book, thank you Michael for writing it and for George’s narration. The music these guys gave us became the anthems of my youth. Every time I hear their music it reminds of great times with lifetime friends.
This book is very thorough hence the over 17 hour’s of listening. It gives you everything you would ever want to know about the band, it’s members, albums, tours, etc. it also gives you great info on the Canadian music scene and its players.
If you are a fan of the band or a fan of Canadian music this book will not disappoint. Miss you Gord!
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- Steven Rochon
- 09-12-18
Highly Recommended to Fans
This gave me a lot of the band's story from their beginnings to their culmination in 2016. It reminded me how much I miss Gord and how much of a shame it is that we'll never hear from this band again.
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- Kristy
- 01-29-23
Lots of Hip history in here!
Could be a little less specific on names of bands & musicians for a layperson’s musical knowledge but well worth the read!
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- Tommy Garou
- 12-13-18
Hometown Heroes
I have an intimate relationship with the members of The Hip; I have grown up with them and their music, and it’s all contributed significantly to my own growth as an artist and person. With all that being said, I was truly captivated by Barclay’s intimate narrative. He really captures the essence of what made the five guys so compatible, and how they were able to achieve the level of success that they did. Stroumboulopoulos provides what is quite possibly the most appropriate voice for this book; a well traveled, articulate aficionado of art and culture, his personal relationship with the band accentuates a heartfelt, truthful performance.
My one gripe is the blatant fact that the book itself is not fact-checked by the band themselves (though several intimate sources are verified in interviews etc.) But taking that with a grain of salt, if you look at it as a story, which the magic that the band created is more than worthy of, it is exquisitely crafted and truly compelling. My favourite part was how each of the guys was highlighted and really given thorough focus throughout the novel. Each of their personalities and talents are conveyed through wonderful anecdotes about how particular songs came to be, and how they evolved as a band etc.
With all of my biases aside, this is really is a great book, and all of the production elements combine to amplify a compelling story about one of the truly great Rock and Roll bands, and one of the greatest frontmen of all time.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Eryn S. McGary
- 10-05-22
B+
Touching story about Gord and the boys. Well written and superbly narrated. Author gets tangential in parts - long winded sections on Bowie, Warren Zevon, etc could have been far more succinct and were seemingly added for filler. Also not authorized by the Hip. Overall a solid book filled with some wonderful stories of the band’s career.
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