Michael Barclay

Six Years That Changed Canadian Music 2000-2005

Hearts on Fire

The biography of Canada's Tragically Hip and their lead singer Gord Downie.

the story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip

The never-ending present

The long-awaited, first-ever print biography of “Canada’s band” “A clever, touching, and very informative book that may well be the definitive work on an important piece of Canadian pop culture.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review In the summer of 2016, more than a third of Canadians tuned in to watch the Tragically Hip’s final performance. Why? Partially because Gord Downie’s terminal brain cancer made the event much bigger than merely a musical occasion. But also because these five men were always more than just a chart-topping band. They defined a generation of Canadian rock music. They were a tabula rasa onto which fans could project their own ideas: of performance, of poetry, of history, of Canada itself. Acclaimed music journalist Michael Barclay talks to dozens of the band’s peers and friends about not just the Hip’s music but about the opening bands, dealing with disease through art, Gord Downie’s role in reconciliation with Indigenous people, and the Hip’s role in Canadian culture. It’s a book for those who have always loved the Hip, and for everyone else. As Downie said at that final show watched by millions, “Everyone is invited. Everyone is involved.”

The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip

The Never-Ending Present

Rabbi Michael Barclay explores several books of the Bible as related works, collectively characterizing them as the earliest self-help books for creating and sustaining human relationships. He demonstrates how they can help anyone have a personal, direct and intimate encounter with God in every relationship and moment of life.

Biblical Wisdom for Deepening Our Lives Together

Sacred Relationships

Jason Schneider

Ian Andrew Dylan Jack

Capturing the spirit of Canadian rock from 1985 to 1995—a time when it became cool to be Canadian—this book chronicles how indie labels flourished, campus radio exploded, MuchMusic changed the way people view music, major labels tapped into the underground, and an exciting new generation of artists created a new canon of CanRock that altered the musical landscape. Bands like The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, and Sloan created a fever pitch for Canadian music, but there were also numerous others in the underground who created equally exciting work. This vital, lively, and entertaining examination of a groundbreaking decade contains vivid original photographs and interviews with all the major players.

The CanRock Renaissance, 1985-95

Have Not Been the Same

Ian A. D. Jack

Enhanced by interviews and rare photographs, a definitive history of late twentieth century Canadian rock covers bands from Canada's homegrown music industry, including Blue Rodeo, Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, and Daniel Lanois.

The CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995

An authoritative, unprecedented account of how in the early 2000s Canadian music finally became cool Hearts on Fire is about the creative explosion in Canadian music of the early 2000s, which captured the world’s attention in entirely new ways. The Canadian wave didn’t just sweep over one genre or one city, it stretched from coast to coast, affecting large bands and solo performers, rock bands and DJs, and it connected to international scenes by capitalizing on new technology and old-school DIY methods. Arcade Fire, Godspeed, Feist, Tegan and Sara, Alexisonfire: those were just the tip of the iceberg. This is also the story of hippie chicks, turntablists, poetic punks, absurdist pranksters, queer orchestras, obtuse wordsmiths, electronic psychedelic jazz, power-pop supergroups, sexually bold electro queens, cowboys who used to play speed metal, garage rock evangelists, classically trained solo violinists, and the hip-hop scene that preceded Drake. This is Canada like it had never sounded before. This is the Canada that soundtracked the dawn of a new century. Featuring more than 100 exclusive interviews and two decades of research, Hearts on Fire is the music book every Canadian music fan will want on their shelf.

Six Years that Changed Canadian Music 2000–2005

Ian A.D. Jack

Two years ago Wilson left his old boss alive in exchange for a clean slate, keeping up his end of the bargain and staying off the grid. Then, thousands of miles from the city he once escaped, a man comes calling on Wilson with a gun in hand and a woman in his trunk. Wilson is pulled back into his old life as a "grinder" to work under the radar to quietly find out who is responsible for a dangerous mobster's missing nephews and this time all bets are off.

Michael Barclay

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