Rush: Classic or Dud?

Hell, I'll even bet Rush went to EPCOT after seeing the Space Shuttle launch!

Quoting from the Signals tour book

VIII COUNTDOWN
Cape Kennedy, Florida, April,1982

We were there! It wasn't easy, but we made it! We had a long-standing invitation to the first launch, and always swore that we would be there no matter what. Little did we know!

On April 9th we flew into Orlando on a day off, checked into a hotel, and slept until about four A.M., when we had to leave for our rendezvous at the Air Force Base near the Cape. There we met our liaison man, who conducted us safely into the "V.I.P." zone (Red Sector A) in the pre-dawn hours. We stood around, listening to the announcements, as the sun rose higher and hotter in the sky. We were due to play that night in Dallas, so we couldn't wait much longer. Finally they announced that the launch would be scrubbed for that day. The computers weren't speaking!

Well, we ran for the car, and our daring driver sped off, around the traffic jams, down the median of the highway, and got us to the airport barely in time.

The next night we had a show in San Antonio, after which we drove off immediately, clambered into a hired jet, and flew straight back to Florida. This time the launch took place on schedule, and it was SOMETHING!! (More about that in the song.) Again we raced backed to the plane, and flew off once more, back to Fort Worth where we had a show that night. Fortunately the day after that was a day off, so we had a chance to catch up on all that sleep!

I remember thinking to myself as we flew back to Fort Worth after a couple days without sleep: "We've got to write a song about this!" It was an incredible thing to witness, truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can only hope that the song comes even close to capturing the excitement and awe that we felt that morning.

So no trip to EPCOT, huh, bummer...

does ANYONE not like 'tom sawyer'?? i mean ANYONE.

no? i thought so.

I used to hate Tom Sawyer. Doesn't bother me now, though.

I'm often mystified by certain arguments against Rush:

A lot of people go for the Geddy Lee screeches too much argument, which is odd since he started singing in a fairly normal tone of voice somewhere back in the late 70s.

The other is the idea that they are too show-offy and technical. Again, a weird argument since their music is far less busy than much of prog-rock. There's lots of intense musicianship, but they never loose track of the actual song.

I also get irritated by the folks that say that Rush is Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and some guy that no one cares about or has heard of. Alex Lifeson easily holds his own in Rush, and for me often outshines the other two.

Thoughts? Do these arguments hold any merit? Do arguments like these come from a place of deep insecurity? Or should I just ignore the haters?

From first to last...the peak is never past...

Rush was, is and e'er shall be..... godlike.

No TV for years
Guest spot on Colbert Report
Throw to ad mid-song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swk_XqBPs2Y

(BTW, Rush was def. on VH1 Classic in the past few years. Did they just mean "network TV" or something? But then, why would Comedy Central count?)

i think that series of albums from the 80's (signals through power windows, I guess add moving pictures in there too) is their best era.

i'd start and end two albums earlier, hemispheres to signals. any peak era that doesn't include permanent waves is not a peak era.

or, in haiku...

the best rush era,
for me, starts with hemispheres
and ends with signals

For me it's 2112 through Moving Pictures

the first LP through Permanent Waves...

heh, I never knew that "Geddy" was not his real name, but rather his grandmother's pronunciation of his given name (Gary)...thanks, Wiki!

Rush plays the Rock Band version of "Tom Sawyer" backstage at Colbert
http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2008/07/rush-plays-rock.html

There's a really good feature on Rush in the Rolling Stone issue with the giant Obama head on the cover.

The hell?

http://members.cox.net/antipop42/yyz_bigband.mp3

(I suppose this was inevitable)

Thanks Chris. Now I feel dirty.

Is that really the first time someone's done that with "YYZ"? I think there's a thread somewhere where I mentioned to Bryan how I thought the guitar solo would work on a clarinet.

I would like to know what Rush would have sounded like if they'd tried to do disco.

that's fucking awesome

Rush actually uses that Southpark skit as part of their stage show. Last couple times I saw them anyway. It's cute.

Anyone got late era Rush LPs (Presto and beyond) they want to sell me? I have vinyl of every one through Hold Your Fire...

The last "new" Rush album I bought was probably Grace Under Pressure.

I'm way into Snakes & Arrows. Otherwise, Counterparts is the latest I've even heard (aside from live tracks).

I heard that album
With the internet-themed song
Pretty cringeworthy

Rush covers EP
is a difficult listen
due to compression

Cute haiku.

On a happier note, I just won 18 Rush cassettes on ebay for $21. I'll be driving with the windows rolled down this summer!

I'm so appalled how awesome 'Digital Man' is. But I'm not able to write a haiku about it. sorry

Rush is like the Blood
Brothers: both singers' vocals
scare away poseurs

except, unlike the
blood brothers rush can write a
good tune and has jams

hey now, the jaguar love album last year was pretty good, you have to give them that

I have heard this "Rush"
like Christmas, with power chords
to my ears it was

That was quite nice.

Ah man now I feel bad for making a snarky comment in the MJvsNC thread.

Well, you'll get yours.

i think you'd have to pay a lot of money for some of those post-presto albums on vinyl (and in fact, I think some of them were never released on vinyl). most of them sound varying degrees of awful anyway though (vapor trails being the absolute worst of them all).

rush must be enjoying their new profile, they were referenced in both Adventureland and I Love you Man (obviously more than referenced in the latter).

...and appeared on "The Colbert Report"

i've definitely seen snakes & arrows on vinyl

The Colbert Report appearance was kind of awkward... Colbert jumped in front of them and they had to cut short Tom Sawyer because of time or some shit like that

"I have heard this "Rush"
like Christmas, with power chords
to my ears it was"

Fantastic. And extra points for doing it like Yoda.

Tonight at my weekly Dj gig in Portland, my co-host DJ BRKFST SNDWCH and I are going to have a Rush-off battle--2 hours of Rush songs back and forth. It's going to be ridiculous, and will definitely bum out more than a few patrons and staffers.

Okay at the bar today I heard "Closer To The Heart". My musical encyclopediac mind capitulated. What fucking album was that on??? I asked two bartenders and one guy at the bar and they didn't know jack shit. It drove me nuts!! Rush's "Closer To The Heart". What fucking album was that on? Not Moving Pictures, but it didn't seem like it was that one that had Spirit Of Radio on it either. Damn, dudes. I missed that fucking song in my Rush trips, even though I heard it before. Yowza. Grabbing it on iTunes, it says it was on Farewell To Kings? What in the living fuck? I never even had that album! I plead innocence!

Also every bar really needs to have someone with a musical encyclopedia knowledge so that I don't have to go through that again.

I haven't listened to Rush in years and years, but was a big fan at one time (high school) and seem to recall A Farewell to Kings being one of the better '70s Rush albums. The first really "Rush-y" Rush album.

Rush doc nabs Tribeca audience prize

The documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, about Canada's iconic rockers, has captured the audience award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

The feature — which was one of two films that opened Toronto's Hot Docs International Documentary Festival on April 29 — captured the prize at a wrap party on Saturday night.

Directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn also got $25,000 US. All the other festival awards were handed out on Thursday.

The film chronicles the band's 42-year history, profiling bandmates Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.

"It was great to see Rush fans and non-fans enjoy the movie together," said the directors in a statement released Saturday night.

Festival executive director Nancy Schafer called the film "an intimate but energetic portrayal of one of the most prolific rock bands."

McFadyen and Dunn are old hands in the genre of music documentary. Their previous credits include Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Global Metal and last year's Juno-winning Iron Maiden: Flight 666.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RareRushReview#p/a/u/0/sk8hbSxY0sE

I've heard that this movie is fantastic.

Whoah super psyched for this! Hopefully it will get a normal engagement in nyc as I wasn't really paying attention to Tribeca...

I'm pumped for this as well