Rush: Classic or Dud?

Never underestimate the love of Neil Peart by drum corp nerds. That whole drum corp world is a kinda wild musical culture that I think the wider world often does not know about. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue was in one.

OSU's marching band is one of the best of that ilk. In those band circles, just a top level thing as playing for OSU's football team by comparison.

Yeah, I even hear a lot of these people get recruited by North Korea after they graduate.

I never was in marching band but I have been to one of those big football stadium DCI competitions. The fans into that thing are as bloodthirsty in their own way as any football or Nascar fan. Totally weird scene.

A different Big Ten school, but was casual friends with a couple of marching band guys. Yeah, it was a wild culture shock hanging out at their parties (only rivaled the one rugby team party I somehow ended up at in terms of pure debauchery), it's a whole big lifestyle thing. Though the guys I knew were more into Ween and mushrooms than Rush.

I have friends whose daughter plays in the band at Indiana, and yeah, it's practically a varsity sport, in terms of competition, commitments and esteem.

Yeah, I even hear a lot of these people get recruited by North Korea after they graduate.

"Hang On Sloopy" is the American "Arirang".

Never underestimate the love of Neil Peart by drum corp nerds.

Can confirm

That whole drum corp world is a kinda wild musical culture that I think the wider world often does not know about. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue was in one.

Billy Cobham, too.

how about 5:40 in that video when I thought they were messing up their lines walking inward, then realised they were animating "YYZ" as spinning letters ...

I know this wasn't what they were going for, but I'd like to think the shapes that they were forming at the very beginning were a bunch of 1s and 0s meant as a subtle reference to "The Body Electric"

also was hoping the major was going to run into the middle of the star formation and do the naked Rush dude pose

Alex Lifeson has a new project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV-IZRh22mo

Heh, not what I expected - I didn't even really notice the guitar playing!

Yeah, I was going to come here and, er, make fun of it; it sounds like Alex just discovered 1995. But to his credit, it's not even remotely trying to sound like Rush. Though I don't know what it offers by trying to sound like, I dunno, How to Destroy Angels.

Might be out of the price range for most of us tbh

https://www.juliensauctions.com/about-auction?id=405

Part of our “Music Icons” auction happening on May 20th, 21st and 22nd, “Property From The Archives of Alex Lifeson” will feature over 60 vintage guitars and other career memorabilia from the personal collection of Alex Lifeson

Wow, he's selling his white Gibson! There's no way of seeing the whole catalog without paying for it, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrstPbrL1ss

In this interview on GL’s bass book, someone asks him if he could envisage doing a similar book on guitar; He says something about seeing his guitars much more in terms of tools rather than viewing them with the degree of sentimentality Geddy has for his (and others’) basses

The white 355 he’s on record saying that is the ‘iconic’ Rush guitar, but again - in the context of Rush; it could be that he wants a clean break now that the band is done. In a roundabout way there could be too much association with Rush and those guitars.

From the new Brad Mehldau (there's also a version of Yes's "Starship Trooper"); tbh I liked the Bad Plus version better but this is interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJTF94QvLc

Yeah, that's OK, especially when it gets all spacey where the guitar solo would be. But maybe because there are no vocals the Bad Plus one does a better job deconstructing it.

I finally got into Caress of Steel after being a Rush fan since 88, the only album of their pre-91 albums that I never connected with. I never owned the album back in the day even though I've probably heard it a handful of times. Just cleaned a rough vinyl copy someone a number of years ago and it sounds good now. It reminds me of Led Zeppelin III - that mix of rock and the pastoral. The Necromancer is just the best.

I think it's one of their best

I'm still working up to my Caress of Steel phase

Lifeson's closing solo on The Necromancer is so good.

I mean he's playing metallic versions of the spare atmospheric riffs he plays on the mid-80s albums.

"No One at the Bridge" is my favourite song from those first four albums. They were listening to a lot of Genesis at the time, which is maybe reflected in the minor add 9 chords they use in the main riff.

Musically, a stone classic. Individually and collectively, these guys were as good as anyone from their era, and better than most.

Lyrically? I always figured Neil got the last laugh, since he didn't have to sing the words he wrote.

Tbf, my engagement with them pretty much ended at Signals. I need to get hip to their work after that album (which coincided with the beginning of my senior year in high school and my interest in much less baroque bands).

made another attempt but still cannot get into caress of steel, sorry

now listening to zep iii and . . . that is a really rough comparison

Hmm. I guess the part that feels similar is the blend of acoustic and electric and the pastoral folk elements with bursts of "metallic" heaviness. Probably the song it reminds me most of is The Rain Song (obv not LZ3).

Either way, that's not a terrible night imho.

love the B side fantasy epic on caress of steel but its definitely a bit weaker record than fly by night and 2112

That's the Way seems very Caress of Steel or the other way around. Obv Caress of Steel is more progressive in structure.

I'm mostly familiar with the tracks from All the World's a Stage.

Either way, that's not a terrible night imho.

fair

dont see the zeppelin 3 comparison at all, if anything it reminds me more of wishbone ash

It's a logical but still dramatic step from Caress to 2112.

I wish Didacts & Narpets was much longer but Lamneth is amazing

Those who wish to beer
Must put aside the hydration
Get on with the fermentation
The real libation
The underlying beer https://t.co/BcGrq5vUPH

— Marc Masters 🌵 (@Marcissist) August 10, 2022

It's been out for a while here. The can is better than the beer.

I thought someone bumped this to post this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lel5JGJfwqQ

I was driving around yesterday listening to this station

https://wshechicago.com/

Their tagline is "SHE Loves the 90s & 2000s!", summed up by wiki with "WSHE-FM is a radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois with an adult contemporary format focused on the 90s and 2000s with some 80s and 2010s music."

Out of nowhere I hear a familiar space sound, and then, with no explanation, the station launches into "2112"'s "Overture /The Temples of Syrinx," in its entirety. I thought I had the wrong station, but it was followed by "Wildest Dreams" by Taylor Swift, and then "Counting Stars" by One Republic. Blame an intern, blame a robot, but it was an awesome moment in radio history. When I looked online for their posted playlist, there is a big, Rush epic sized time gap between Rihanna and Taylor Swift, so clearly the station is just pretending this didn't happen. But it did and it ruled.

lol that’s awesome

For those minutes, Rush had assumed control.

"SHE Loves the 2110s!",

Apparently this was Neil Peart's bird-feeding station at his lakehouse in Quebec. Of course he wouldn't have just one ...

https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/324658705_506426998146463_5171991724953394768_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5cd70e&_nc_ohc=XJn8NAVpYVQAX8PxqIH&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AfAijgRbZ2z1KE3mJStV4v2szoaqvOWlihE177D6Jfkv7g&oe=63C6663E

(RIP about three years ago, Neil)

Really enjoying "Snakes & Arrows" tonight.

I had to take my daughter to school really early this morning, 5:30 or so. Pretty sleepy, coffee in my to-go container, radio tuned to classic rock in time for their wacky AM crew Monkey & the Turd or whatever to be up and at 'em. They introduce a new feature, something along the lines of the Got to Get You Moving song, a pick to pep up your morning. The idea is that one DJ picks one song, one DJ picks another, and then they take calls to vote. The first guy plays the telltale start of "Spirit of Radio" and I'm, like, yeah, duh, that's the one. The other guy goes it's OK, but you get more bang for your buck with the Stones' longer "Can't You Hear Me Knocking." And I think, I mean, no contest, right? So the first caller immediately says "Rush, I've been listening to them since I was 13, then later when I was DJing parties ..." (which turned out to be make-out parties. To Rush? To each their own, I guess). The second caller immediately says "Rush, I've been a fan for 40 years." And the third caller comes on and says "I guess I'm going to make it a sweep, because ... Rush." Well, duh. It's around 5 degrees this morning, and I still almost waited it out in the car to hear the whole thing.

which turned out to be make-out parties. To Rush? To each their own, I guess

Mad neckin to "Red Sector A"

Heavy pettin’ to By-Tor and the Snow Dog.

At my childhood home right now, still some vintage Peart posters where my drums used to be.

<3

Revisited Clockwork Angels tonight after nearly a decade. What a flawed album, especially lyrically. Peart apparently wrote elaborate lyrics, but Geddy chose to junk most of them and just repeat the lame choruses again and again.

Even on its release, the steampunk world seemed a mere cash-grab by Peart, who post-comeback was concerned about financial stability. So, why not team up with one of the most bestselling (but least esteemed) sci-fi writers and create a universe that will generate revenue outside recordings?