that guy had a real talent for taking extremely difficult lyrics and making them melodic.

....now we have rap....*sigh*

One of my favorite songs from my favorite band.

Also, in before Rush haters, as there always is.

Happy Birthday Harry Satchel! In the last year I've seen them three times with tickets for July 7th at Mohegan Sun. My joy knows no bounds!

castrato.

Uh, Geddy's birthday is July 29th, not June 29th. MY birthday is June 29th. Let's just pretend I can play like Geddy and we'll all go on with our lives, okay?

Happy EARLY Birthday, Geddy!

"What about the voice of Geddy Lee?
How did it get so high?
I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?"

-"Stereo", Pavement (pops)

Jeez they write really awkward, inane lyrics.

Well, YYZ would have been a far superior example of his bassmanship.

They are mixed bag for me. I certainly like a lot of their material and think they really were ahead of their time in many places. But Rush annoys me with the pretentiousness, I hate his voice for the most part, and many of their albums suffer from just having really bad songs on them (with the more recent albums being more guilty IMO), but they are right up there with The Cream, Jimi Hendrix' various bands and Led Zeppelin as some of the most talented people individually and as a group ever in the history of Rock and I have many of their records. I also give them a lot of credit for keeping up with musical styles without sounding forced or "this is what all the cool kids want to hear" that many old bands suffer from (for the most part).

Happy B'Day Geddy Lee, I hope you have many more.

Thanks so much for posting that, Subby. Rush was my first favorite band, many, many years ago, and this is just fantastic.

PC LOAD LETTER: I also give them a lot of credit for keeping up with musical styles without sounding forced or "this is what all the cool kids want to hear" that many old bands suffer from (for the most part).

This. Very few bands actively keep up with advancing musical styles without completely pissing off their core fan base. Rush somehow accomplishes this.

Happy B-Day in a month, Gary!

I also wish Geddy Lee a happy Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary.





_{/Damn good group.}

the one thing i love about Rush is this- that they play really really well, but they write songs so well that it comes off as right for the song, instead of musical wankery.

Going to see you in about 3 weeks Geddy, ROCK ON.

/would have picked Malignant Narcissism myself.

SilentStrider: the one thing i love about Rush is this- that they play really really well, but they write songs so well that it comes off as right for the song, instead of musical wankery.

Going to see you in about 3 weeks Geddy, ROCK ON.

/would have picked Malignant Narcissism myself.

Well, when it works. They do have quite a few songs where they do cross that line into "musical wankery", however.

And those lyrics don't help. Neal Peart's lyrics are proof positive that nothing good can come from reading Ayn Rand.

That said, when it does all fall together, it's pretty damn awesome. There's probably a good reason why "YYZ" is my favorite Rush song, however.

jake_lex: And those lyrics don't help. Neal Peart's lyrics are proof positive that nothing good can come from reading Ayn Rand.

two songs, from the '70's, not exactly THAT bad with Rand. They wrote the same number of songs based off of Tolkein, but nobody goes on about that.
Besides, when you consider it was 2112 that really broke them into the mainstream, you can argue something good DID come from Rand.

"Take off, to the Great White North!"

Now THAT's a "finest moment".

eqtworld: Can someone explain why people like Rush so much?

Geeks love songs in 188/169 time and sung by a guy with a voice so high only honeybees can hear him.

Plus there's the endless appeal of jokes like, "What do you call a guy who hangs around with musicians?"

SPOILER AHEAD

Neil Peart.

his finest moments

HIS?? HIS finest moment? That's a he???

I guess I owe my buddy $20.

eqtworld: Can someone explain why people like Rush so much?

Probably for the same reason you like whatever you like so much.

I have no idea why people like HipHop or what is so laughingly called "R&B" now or Country music, or Jessica Simpson, or lots of other things I can't stand. I am sure they have no idea how I like The Clash, Minor Threat, The Fall, Mission of Burma, Sonic Youth, Oneida, Stravinsky or Jimi Hendrix, for example.

The difference is, their music sucks :)

He's about to turn 55 years old!

eqtworld: /I don't get it that's all

Ahh, you want rationale.

Well, see my post above so you don't think I am a fanboy. But the reasons why I do like them is that they have been seriously cutting edge musically, bringing in complex (for rock) melodies, harmonies, time signatures and such and still making it sound good. Individually, the 3 of them are serious virtuosos on their respective instruments (for rock). In the 70s, they had epic long pretentious songs that were annoying but, again, rather groundbreaking in their musical approach. Then in the 80s they ditched that crap and went for short and sweet songs. After that, they generally adjust their music to the times, with varying success.

If you want my fave songs:

YYZ (by far. Instrumental masturbation at its finest)
La Villa Strangiato (another instrumental)
Spirit of the Radio (well put together, love the drums and bass)
Red Barchetta (good song, good lyrics, well put together, all around a pleasure to listen to)
Tom Sawyer is annoying and overplayed, but great use of key and mood
Subdivisions for the same reason
Cygnus X-1 really has a great mood, but has some seriously annoying parts
Freewill, because it's an Atheist song and has a kickass guitar solo, with great bass accompaniment

But I think my favorite overall song is The Camera Eye once you get beyond the annoying beginning because it captures the mind of a photographer so perfectly and what a great a great juxtaposition of rhythm and key changes.

I think the use of key and rhythm and the equality of instruments are really what I like about them.

See my initial post on what I don't like about them.

Good group but not my favorite song.
the Temples of Syrinx (new window)

Next month? Is Fark gonna be gone then?

Funny thing about Rush, as they've gotten older they've gotten more energetic on stage. Last time I saw them a few years ago you would've thought they were high school kids on stage.

CravenMorehead: Next month? Is Fark gonna be gone then?


Nah, Fark will still be here but will be deep in the throws of Wil-o-mania, celebrating Wil's 36th birthday.



/ i know it's geddy's birthday when I see a post about wil's
// seeing rush for the 23rd time in Atlanta next month.
/// whooo
\\\\ canadian slashies

jbeatty: that guy had a real talent for taking extremely difficult lyrics and making them melodic.

....now we have rap....*sigh*

"Now" we have rap? Rap's been in the mainstream for thirty years and you're just noticing it?

This is him in Grade 9, baby. This is him in Grade 9.

/They called me 'Eddie'

Saw them in Philly 2 weeks ago for the 7th time in 25 years.

The only get better !!!

For a newer Geddy moment, it's hard to beat this.

Leave that thing... (new window)

Don't get it?

Lifeson in my opinion is completely overlooked whenever people go to yacking about best guitarists, he's easily in the top few. If you don't believe me, check out some of his solos, heck, just listen to La Villa Strangiato and you'll get the idea.

Lee is so known as a singer that people seem to miss the fact that he is one of the greatest bassists out there, and the talent to sing, play bass/keyboards and keep the crowd going is phenomenal.

Peart is just the greatest percussionist of all time. Ok, disagree, but if you don't have him in you rock top 3 or so then your criteria apparently doesn't include awesome tempo, fillers, composing, solos, control, deft speed with the sticks and a musical nature that you can feel even from a 'slow' piece. And if you think he can't compose, go listen to the song Time Stand Still and marvel at how the poetic lyrics match the beautiful sound.

There, I probably got suckered by a troll, but dang, they are one of my favorite bands.

Chronomorte:Lifeson in my opinion is completely overlooked whenever people go to yacking about best guitarists, he's easily in the top few. If you don't believe me, check out some of his solos, heck, just listen to La Villa Strangiato and you'll get the idea.

I told a good friend I was going to see Rush a few years back, and the first words out of his mouth were "Excellent guitarist." It was very refreshing to hear someone give Alex the credit he deserves.

Riche:I also wish Geddy Lee a happy Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary.

/Damn good group.

Dam, you beat me to it. 55 Bells!

Uzzah
This is him in Grade 9, baby. This is him in Grade 9.

/They called me 'Eddie'

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE.

Good song...
but with the rush riff 'samples' [Tom Sawyer and Spirit of the Radio] played by the BNL themselves just rocketed it up to greatness

Rush is one of the most successful rock bands ever... They have been consistently churning out decent material every decade. One of my favorite bands/drummers.

/Neil messes up on the snare hit @ 1:20/1:21 in this vid
//Will never be @ Neil Peart's level
///Just noticed, that's all

Here's the band live in 2004, at their best: Not only
is the drumming just incredible, but just listen to the
guitar and bass tearing through the intro...

Link

I miss the days when CFNY was something worth singing about.

That song absolutely kicks farkin ass.

/suck it haters

Would like to wish Geddy a happy B-day

eqtworld:40below: Geeks love songs in 188/169 time and sung by a guy with a voice so high only honeybees can hear him.

lol

/I get that it's not 4/4 beat, I don't get why it good because of that fact

Actually "Spirit of the Radio" is 4/4.

July 4th...Atlantic City...front row, Alex's side.

I'm going to be useless at work this week.

barefoot in the head:I miss the days when CFNY was something worth singing about.

David Marsden has a show every Thursday and Friday night on therock.fm

This validates my opinion that they peaked with Permanent Waves, tho they started out great and are still worth hearing. I love the clunky, preachy lyrics.

Sorry--I have said this before on Rush/bashing/praising threads:


I always felt pretty much everything after "Signals" sucks worse and progressively sucks worse each additional release.

"Grace Under Pressure" and "Power Windows" had pretty good and memorable compositions but the dreadful glossy 80s production makes them sound terrible.

"Hold Your Fire" was just plain embarrassing and by that point I abandoned them.

Some Rush geek once tried to get me into "Presto" claiming it was "as good as all their classic 70s records" It sucked.

"Roll the Bones"
No thank you.

Nothing Rush has done in the late 80s or throughout the 90s has any character. No memorable riffs or hooks.
70s and early 80s nostalgia only for me I am afraid.

whatshisname:barefoot in the head:I miss the days when CFNY was something worth singing about.

David Marsden has a show every Thursday and Friday night on therock.fm

Thanks, I'll check it out.

craigdamage:Sorry--I have said this before on Rush/bashing/praising threads:


I always felt pretty much everything after "Signals" sucks worse and progressively sucks worse each additional release.

"Grace Under Pressure" and "Power Windows" had pretty good and memorable compositions but the dreadful glossy 80s production makes them sound terrible.

"Hold Your Fire" was just plain embarrassing and by that point I abandoned them.

Some Rush geek once tried to get me into "Presto" claiming it was "as good as all their classic 70s records" It sucked.

"Roll the Bones"
No thank you.

Nothing Rush has done in the late 80s or throughout the 90s has any character. No memorable riffs or hooks.
70s and early 80s nostalgia only for me I am afraid.

I'm with you, except I put the decline after Grace Under Pressure (how can you ding that album for 80's production and not Signals?).

But I did take the advice of a die-hard and check out Vapor Trails and it's pretty good.

40below
98% of Rush fans own weapons.

craigdamage:Nothing Rush has done in the late 80s or throughout the 90s has any character. No memorable riffs or hooks.

You are completely wrong on that point.