Episode Details

The Tragically Hip Podcast Series presents - "March 25th, 1995" (A podUMENTARY)

The Tragically Hip Podcast Series - TTHTop40 Countdown

March 25th, 1995. Saturday Night Live. Dan Aykroyd walks out, the band plugs in, and Canada holds its breath. Thirty years later, we went and found the people who were watching.

"I finally felt like we - maybe as a nation, as a people, as a culture - arrived."

About This Episode

Hey, it's jD here. This one is different.

March 25th, 1995 is a date that lives in the muscle memory of every Canadian Hip fan. The Tragically Hip on Saturday Night Live - introduced by Dan Aykroyd, two songs that weren't exactly designed for a mass American audience, and a performance that has been debated, replayed, and treasured ever since.

This is a poduMENTARY, not a regular episode - something else entirely. We went out to the community and asked a simple question: where were you? What we got back was something formidable. Seventeen voices. Seventeen Hipstories.

Basement house parties, university bars, dorm rooms, living rooms, a bar in St. Catharines, a campus pub at Queen's. Some people were jumping on their beds. Some were pretty sure they cried. One person was at the actual afterparty and watched David Spade walk away confused.

We also hear from Bill Kenny of the SNL Hall of Fame and Saturday Night Network Podcasts, who puts the episode in full context - what kind of season it was, how Dan Aykroyd ended up hosting, and why this one still holds up.

The songs were 'Grace Too' and 'Nautical Disaster.' The debate about whether those were the right choices has apparently never stopped. We get into that too.

So there's that.

"I remember Dan Aykroyd coming out wearing a shirt that looks like something a snowboarder would wear on Laundry Day and thinking, as a country, we deserve better swag than that."

Voices in This Episode

Community members and contributors, in no particular order:

• Alan Carver
• Bill Kenny - SNL Hall of Fame and Saturday Night Network Podcasts
• Christy Miskelly
• Dean Rainey
• Devon Law
• Erin Rizok
• Jason Kirby
• Jessica Novak
• Jeremy Schultz
• Kim Gill
• Mark Gordon
• Mike Foster
• Paul Do Forno
• Rich Raczelowski
• Ryan McNeil
• Sara J
• Scott McRae

Resources & Links

Mentioned in This Episode

SNL Hall of Fame and Saturday Night Network Podcasts

This Is Our Life - The Tragically Hip (Michael Barclay)

Hipbase - The Tragically Hip Discography & Setlists

The Tragically Hip Archive

Connect & Listen

All TTH Podcast Series links - home.tthpods.com

The Tragically Hip On Shuffle - Live every week

Email jD - tthpodcastseries@gmail.com

Join Us Live - The Tragically Hip On Shuffle

Every week we pull a random Hip song and unpack it live with a rotating panel. No prep. No script. Just the song, the room, and whatever comes up. Join us - details and links at home.tthpods.com.

A Note From jD

Thank you to every single person who sent in a voice memo for this one. Seventeen people trusted us with a memory - a real one, the kind that lives in your chest - and that is not a small thing. This community is the whole point. Every time.