Rush: Classic or Dud?

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I am proud to say that I once voted Rush the greatest band of the 80's. They had a lot of good moments, 'Xanadu' appeared in Tommy Vance's poll for the top ten rock tracks of all time throughout most of the 1980s. I think they peaked with 'The Weapon' on Signals (1982). They differed from their contemporaries in being more interested in playing around with the time-signature of their tracks. But ultimately, in an oft repeated pattern, instrumental virtuosity ceased to be musically interesting and just became self-indulgent.

― Conor Kostick, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

But ultimately, in an oft repeated pattern, instrumental virtuosity ceased to be musically interesting and just became self-indulgent.

Are you describing your personal development or that of the band? Because, if anything, the band got less and less showy as the years went on. "Counterparts" (the last one I heard) was even "grunge" influenced, allegedly. Rush was my favorite band all throughout high school.

― Kris, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hey, it's supposed to be a HAIKU, people !

Guitar mag gruel
Less smart than it wants to be
Pretty harmless now

Hey, gimme a break, I've never written a haiku before.

― Patrick, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Stoner's favourite

'Tom Sawyer' plays through art class

Turn that shit off now!

― suzy, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Geddy Lee = King of the Mullet People

― Kim, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm in Canada I like said prog band less Than I did before

― Dave M., Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Truly dreadful, they Give "chops", prog-rock a bad name. Two good songs* -- rest's dud.

*( I reluctantly but freely admit that both Tom Sawyer and YYZ are both decent songs.)

― Phil, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh dear, where did my line breaks go...

― Phil, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Childhood memories
Older brother worships them
Despite this, they ROCK

― Dan Perry, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Repeated listens
Render it annoying, eh
Still, sentimental

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one year passes...

I'm so bored tonight that I'm reading vintage "classic or dud"'s, and I have to say that the stipulation of submitting answers in haiku format is pure, unhomogenized genius. More please!

― Alex in NYC, Friday, 2 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Objectivist Rock a la Ayn Rand = DUD!

― Jack Cole, Friday, 2 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Unhomogenised
Gen-i-us?" You would say that,
Since you started it!

― Jeff W, Friday, 2 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

BA da BA BA BA

da BA BA BA BA da-da

BA da BA BA BA...

― Joe, Friday, 2 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Neil Peart squeals, righteous in his Objectivist zeal but all their songs suck

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 2 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Drummers Who Write songs
Didn't make Hüsker Dü suck
it was Geddy's voice.

― Mr Noodles, Friday, 2 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two years pass...

They may be cheesy
But add rocking conviction
Who else but Rush eh?

― piers (piers), Friday, 8 October 2004 04:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Rush sucks my big dick
Geddy lee is a scourge on Earth
prog rock motherfucks

― The TAO that can be Posted is not the TAO! (The Tao that can be Posted is), Friday, 8 October 2004 04:42 (twenty-one years ago)

more rush haikus please

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 8 October 2004 04:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Andrew L missed the whole point of "Spirit of Radio"! TAO: Your second line would actually fit haiku conventions if you made it "Geddy is a scourge on Earth".

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Friday, 8 October 2004 04:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Fly by night limelight
Too many notes played at once
Blame's on Toronto

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 8 October 2004 05:26 (twenty-one years ago)

thank you sweet sundar, you are correct. that is what i meant to do. *tries to awkwardly plant a kiss on sundar's cheek and is promptly slapped on the face* ouch.

― The TAO that can be Posted is not the TAO! (The Tao that can be Posted is), Friday, 8 October 2004 05:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Ayn Rand prog rockin'
Canadian eunuch squeals
You people so dumb!

― Confucius, Friday, 8 October 2004 06:13 (twenty-one years ago)

moving pictures has
the very worst cover art
which is such a shame

subdivisions rocks
which counters all that i've been
told about this band

the lyrics are too
obvious but what can you
expect from hosers?

― derrick (derrick), Friday, 8 October 2004 06:38 (twenty-one years ago)

'Limelight' licks are great
'Signals' is a true classic
The rest smells like wee

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Friday, 8 October 2004 07:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Once I crossed the street
Geddy Lee almost hit me
In his Land Rover

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Friday, 8 October 2004 07:32 (twenty-one years ago)

CLASSIC as long as this man was Prime Minister:

http://www.clevernet.on.ca/pierre_trudeau/images/pic_trudeau_beer.jpg

DUD thereafter

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 8 October 2004 09:45 (twenty-one years ago)

[...wish I coulda found a picture of him riding on a train & flipping off protesters thru the window!]

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 8 October 2004 09:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Rush is good
for opening up my pooper
so other men can do me

― Good Dog, Friday, 8 October 2004 10:45 (twenty-one years ago)

. . . Or maybe not

Space-jazz-rock-tronic
If rednecks didn't like them
They'd be Kraftwerk-hip

Geddyvox

Less boy or girl than
Alien; Precise
Enunciation

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Friday, 8 October 2004 15:44 (twenty-one years ago)

fact checkin cuz to thread

― sleep (sleep), Friday, 8 October 2004 16:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Songs(works) and arrangements: Classic
Lyrics and vocals: Dud

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 8 October 2004 22:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I love Rush probably more than any other band....I don't think there BETTER than alot of bands, but they were a big part of my childhood....

Great band, I think.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 8 October 2004 22:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Young Black Teenagers
Seeking the phattest of shit
Sample Tom Sawyer

― dlp9001, Saturday, 9 October 2004 00:01 (twenty-one years ago)

has anyone seen the episode of "trailer park boys" where they kidnap alex liefson?
i gained new respect for the man after watching that.

― m0stly clean (m0stly clean), Saturday, 9 October 2004 13:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I have no haiku to offer which I why I didn't say anything before. But great, of course.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 9 October 2004 13:46 (twenty-one years ago)

i was at a party with some guys who were really entranced with some kind of video of stevie ray vaughn stranglin' the blues back in the '80s. doo-rags. these guys were such geeks, glued to the tube while there were girls to hit on and barbecue to scarf. then they got into "moving pictures," talking about the "production values" and saying things like "you can't deny the musicianship," while trying to be "ironic" about the whole stinkin' thing. typical night with people in nashville trying to be hip about not being hip or whatever that convolution is. then, everyone got drunk the host attempted to explain the shaggs to these geeks and everyone *listened hard and they got it*!! ahh. so, rush sucks and that's it, that's just like being "ironic" about kiss or worryin' about montgomery gentry, i think (as in the video where that goober takes off his cowboy hat to reveal an expensive-looking doo-rag/headwrap of some kind), and only the man upstairs can say whether rush is great or not...yes, rush did a record of covers i understand includes a version of eddie cochran's summertime blues done like blue cheer! so, they have roots like the rest of us, cuz.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Saturday, 9 October 2004 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

worst. voice. ever.

― oops (Oops), Sunday, 10 October 2004 00:00 (twenty-one years ago)

No, that is Brian Johnson, Robert Plant or Bruce Dickinson. But Geddy Lee's voice is not far behind.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 10 October 2004 00:19 (twenty-one years ago)

As a band: dud. As a rite of passage: classic.
-- scott p (scot...), June 21st, 2001.

the wisdom in this succinct observation is humid. i loved rush until i discovered indie and punk rock in high school. hearing that particularly melodramatic cut "the trees" (i think that's the title) is still powerfully evocative of my 13-15 years, playing D&D, obsessing about securing issue # 202 of Spiderman, and committing to memory SNL lines. so i'll grant my meaningless benediction upon Rush in the same manner as the astute scott p.

― j.m. lockery (j.m. lockery), Sunday, 10 October 2004 02:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Rush: Sophomore Lit.
texts become some deep and
meaningful lyrics.

― Edward Bax, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

"Red Barchetta" plays
on radio, Rush fan gets
a speeding ticket.

― Edward Bax, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Fans debate how to
say Peart. Does it sound like "pert"?
No, it rhymes with "near".

― Edward Bax, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Here: Rush's real names
Alex Zivojinovic
Gary Lee Weinrib

― Edward Bax, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

hahaha

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Classic.

NEER-neer-neener-neener
NEE nee nerr
NEER-neer-neener-neener...

That's my "Tom Sawyer" tribute. They should have collaborated with Gary Numan. Maybe there's still time.

― Thea (Thea), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

They sort of define dud, don't they?

― Burr (Burr), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 22:19 (twenty-one years ago)

They define "dude," as in, one kid goes, "Dude, check out Neil's drum solo." Other kid nods in appreciation: "Duuuuuuude." I guess with each passing year I like them less than I did when I was 15, but I still wonder what people who dislike them aren't hearing. Maybe they haven't heard "Natural Science," or "Hemispheres," or "The Camera Eye." I guess Geddy's voice can be annoying but so can Neil Young's and Johnny Rotten's.

― clark, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 22:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Canadian crap
You hosers should have stayed home
why why oh god why?

― The TAO that can be Posted is not the TAO! (The Tao that can be Posted is), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 23:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Rush shall be absolved
of all sonic crimes because
"Working Man" kicks ass

― Will (will), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 00:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 2300 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Is the GUP reissue AI? Hugh Syme has been doing this stuff for ages now. I can't find a straight answer.

― A. Begrand, Wednesday, 11 March 2026 22:26 (two months ago)

I dunno, whatever Syme is doing/using now is ugly and lame. Guy used to have some great arresting visuals and this shit all looks the same.

― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Wednesday, 11 March 2026 22:27 (two months ago)

xpost I saw something on the Rush subreddit that suggested it was known he's been working with AI, but wasn't real specific

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 12 March 2026 01:44 (two months ago)

it's a parallax, u dig?

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 12 March 2026 01:44 (two months ago)

Now this is indeed full of odd stuff

https://www.rush-oddities.com/

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 12 March 2026 03:05 (two months ago)

two weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVw-4L59Tw0

They sounded great tonight!

― A. Begrand, Monday, 30 March 2026 02:15 (two months ago)

Foooommooooooooo

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 30 March 2026 03:02 (two months ago)

she's got it down

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 30 March 2026 03:13 (two months ago)

geddy can't really sing that stuff anymore, but \m/ anyway

also just from a PR standpoint having a fantastic female drummer go nuts is a savvy way to go on without neil

still think they should have changed their name to RUS(H) tho

― mookieproof, Monday, 30 March 2026 03:19 (two months ago)

geddy can't really sing that stuff anymore, but \m/ anyway

I think the 10 year break from touring saved his voice and gave them some fresh energy. Overall, they sound great and Anika kills it

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 30 March 2026 04:14 (two months ago)

yea Anika was great, can't wait to hear what she sounds like on the proggier stuff

Geddy sounds alright, nowhere near as bad as I feared, though he does kinda sound like that video of He-Man doing "Whats Up" by the 4 Non-Blondes

― frogbs, Monday, 30 March 2026 13:38 (two months ago)

I saw the last Peart tour and he definitely sounds better on the high notes then he did on that tour.

but yeah I mean that early stuff, most 20 years olds would struggle let alone a guy of his age.

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 30 March 2026 14:41 (two months ago)

I wonder if it was a conscious decision to debut with a song Peart doesn't play on?

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 30 March 2026 14:42 (two months ago)

I think it was a full-circle thing. Starting over again, so why not album one, track one?

Anika really puts some force into those fills, wow. It's gonna be fun hearing her play this summer.

― A. Begrand, Monday, 30 March 2026 15:17 (two months ago)

yeah you're right, also the last tour did a reverse chronological order so they ended with stuff from the first album so there's a symmetry there

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 30 March 2026 15:20 (two months ago)

https://i.redd.it/itiqgp9f4hrg1.jpeg

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 1 April 2026 18:47 (two months ago)

game recognize game

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 1 April 2026 19:04 (two months ago)

Tony looking for some hot bass tips

― whimsical skeedaddler (Moodles), Wednesday, 1 April 2026 21:03 (two months ago)

it would be super cool if they brought along a female singer to help Geddy out. there's gotta be a ton of women out there who can belt the shit outta Rush tunes and Geddy is prob known better as a bass god anyway, I think people would understand, also I think it would genuinely sound incredible

― frogbs, Thursday, 2 April 2026 19:57 (two months ago)

Yeah, his voice was rough enough the last few times I saw them, that I'm not really eager to revisit, as much as I love them. I think it's cool they found a new drummer that can pull off those crazy parts, but I'm also not over Neil's death to the extent where I can really experience Rush in any sustained format for now.

― whimsical skeedaddler (Moodles), Thursday, 2 April 2026 20:30 (two months ago)

I suspect tickets are going to be so expensive it won't really be a choice

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 2 April 2026 20:36 (two months ago)

No need to suspect, your hunch is established fact.

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 2 April 2026 20:38 (two months ago)

ha yeah I believe it, I just had to come to terms in the last few days that I'm never going to see Springsteen :/

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 2 April 2026 22:24 (two months ago)

I talked to a guy today wearing a 2015 tour t-shirt. I asked him if he snagged tickets to the reunion tour and he didn't know there was a reunion tour. I asked him what he thought of their new drummer, and he didn't know they had a new drummer.

― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 4 April 2026 22:50 (two months ago)

i wonder if Jorma from Marmoset’s dad still drives the bus

― Home Alone Again Or (Deflatormouse), Monday, 6 April 2026 06:05 (two months ago)

he didn't know they had a new drummer

A die-hard Rutsey partisan

― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 6 April 2026 11:57 (two months ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKARiO1ZLQE

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 16 April 2026 15:52 (one month ago)

lol still walking back Peart's Randisms 40-odd years later. Good on Geddy tho.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 16 April 2026 16:04 (one month ago)

Also "Freewill" is a jam.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 16 April 2026 16:05 (one month ago)

Even Peart walked it back, decades ago, lol.

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 16 April 2026 16:20 (one month ago)

Yeah Neil got wiser with age, he was just stuck with all that stuff he wrote in his 20s. I feel his pain, but fortunately my writings in my 20s are mostly only accessible via the local library archives, not on the radio every day.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 16 April 2026 16:25 (one month ago)

You got to be a pretty damn good drummer to play with Jeff Beck, who has had a pretty impressive list of people that played in his groups over the years.

"it would be super cool if they brought along a female singer to help Geddy out."

That would be good to do. I kinda hope they re-arrange a few things and dig into the catalog.

― earlnash, Thursday, 16 April 2026 17:19 (one month ago)

two weeks pass...

NYTimes

https://archive.is/Tin1z

I like Hank, he's a nice guy and a good writer. It's a good piece.

― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 2 May 2026 00:18 (one month ago)

two weeks pass...

Inevitable but good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLkvbCn3xbw

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 03:49 (two weeks ago)

370k views in the first 12 hours, thats pretty wild

say what you will about Beato but he's a great interviewer

― frogbs, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 03:52 (two weeks ago)

ha ha Alex comes in halfway through the interview, sits on Geddy's lap and starts talking about golf.

― The Quaker Gurvitz Army (President Keyes), Wednesday, 20 May 2026 18:46 (two weeks ago)

Alex interview is up now.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 27 May 2026 16:44 (one week ago)

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