RUSH IN 2012 - THE ARGUMENT

This is where I'm going to lose some people. I realize that Rush isn't for everybody. But I think they belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a huge fan. They were my first concert (Grace Under Pressure tour in 1985), my first favorite band. But, to be honest, I didn't think that they were a band that should be inducted, and here's why. If I were a voter, I'd have two main criteria in mind: (1) obviously the body of work, even if it is a small body (as is the case with Buddy Holly or Cream) and (2) their influence.

Rush's body of work speaks for itself, it's mind-blowing.  I just wasn't sure how influential Rush was! They sort of exist in their own genre, and their influence isn't always so obvious. That was one of the things that turned my head around when I saw the excellent documentary, Beyond The Lighted Stage (which won the Audience Prize at last year's TriBecca Film Festival). I knew that Les Claypool of Primus (one of my favorite bands ever) is a huge fan, but his band is also like Rush - kind of their own genre. But watching all the different musicians talking about Rush's profound influence on them: Trent Reznor, Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Billy Corgan, Tim Commerford of Rage Against The Machine, Zakk Wylde, Danny Carey of Tool,  Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters and Kirk Hammett. Then I also thought of other artists, like Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, all the guys from King's X, Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, and I'm probably forgetting lots of other people.

It's not necessarily that people are trying to copy Geddy Lee's bass playing, Neil Peart's drumming or Alex Lifeson's guitar playing (he is one of the most underrated guitarists, in my opinion). Although I'm sure some musicians do try, the smart ones avoid even attempting that (the rest end up as favorites of subscribers to guitar or drum magazines, but without much appeal outside of that). You don't hear many (or any) bands that you'd refer to as "Rush clones." It would be stupid to try do copy them, you just couldn't do it.

I think it's more of an idea of being heavy but also really intelligent. Precise but really passionate. And not being boxed into any one thing. Yes, there are common elements to Rush songs, but they really progressed a lot. They started out as a heavy blues rock band, influenced mainly by Cream, The Who and Zeppelin. By the end of the '70s, they were something very different. In the '80s, they incorporated new wave and even reggae influences (particularly The Police and Talking Heads). In the '90s, Neil Peart even took a break from recording to re-learn how to play the drums.  This from the guy who has topped every drummer poll on earth!

Neil of course has been their lyricist since joining the band, and early on, his J.R.R. Tolkien and (especially) Ayn Rand influence insured that rock critics wouldn't really like him.  But while he was inspired by Rand, he wasn't a disciple by any means. He simply reacted to her theme of being an individual (which is kind of rock and roll in its own way, and something any rock and roller should respect). That's a theme that's always been inherent in Rush and their music. They do what they do, they are what they are, they never change to fit in, and they do things their own way.  Oh yeah, and they have an embarrassment of classic songs and albums (I'll cite everything they released between their 1974 self-titled debut and 1984's Grace Under Pressure in the "classic" category. They've done a lot of great work since then, of course: 2007's "Far Cry" and 2002's "One Little Victory" are two of my favorite Rush songs.

Much of what determines the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is how well a band has fit into Rolling Stone magazine. I'm not hating on them: I've been a subscriber for probably more than 20 years! And I think that a lot of their inductees are great choices: the first five or so years of induction, they're hard to argue with. I am not someone who thinks that the Hall of Fame should resemble the playlist of a classic rock station. But get over yourselves, voters: Rush deserve to be in, period!

RUSH - CLASSIC ALBUMS 2112 AND MOVING PICTURES DVD

I've written before about the Classic Albums DVD series: I really dug the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Damn The Torpedoes edition, as well as the Black Sabbath Paranoid episode. Now, I've just watched another one that focuses on two Rush albums, 1976's 2112 and 1981's Moving Pictures.

The timing for this seems a bit weird, as it has only been a few months since the DVD release of Beyond The Lighted Stage, the only real Rush documentary, and certainly the only real authorized one. I am pretty sure that some of the interviews from that film were used here.  And the guest list on that one - there were interviews with Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, Les Claypool, Gene Simmons, Tim Commerford, among others - isn't improved upon.  The big name commentators here are Taylor Hawkins of The Foo Fighters (who was in Lighted Stage) and Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies. The one notable addition - and to me, a very surprising one - was Rolling Stone writer David Fricke. Rolling Stone has traditionally written off Rush, so I was surprised to see one of their best, and most high-profile, writers speaking positively about them.

Of course, both of these albums were pretty well covered in Beyond The Lighted Stage, but they get a bit more detail here.  The Ayn Rand influence on 2112 has been well documented, but it was interesting to hear more of the band's explanation about it.  Particularly where Geddy Lee reacts to accusations that the band are "nazis" - given that he is a child of Holocaust survivors.  And Fricke rightfully points out that just because drummer/lyricist Neil Peart was influenced by Rand, he doesn't necessarily agree with everything she ever said.

As with all the Classic Albums discs, there is fun footage of each member of the band explaining their parts of the songs, and the producer of the album (in this case, Terry Brown) isolating different tracks from the master tapes in the studio, which is always fun to watch. Some of the extras were fun also - I love watching the band talk about their influences (although there was nothing really new there) and they went in depth about the 2112 track "Something For Nothing," which is also a bit Rand-ian, and definitely (and defiantly) anti-hippy-ish, which makes sense, as so many rock critics (particularly of the Rolling Stone ilk) really were a part of the hippy scene.

As No Expiration fans know, I'm a huge Rush fan, and I love seeing any interviews with them. If you were going to watch one non-concert DVD, I'd have to recommend the more comprehensive Beyond The Lighted Stage, but if that's too long for you, or you (like me) just can't get enough Rush, I'd recommend this.

TONIGHT ON THE CATHOLIC CHANNEL: WE DISCUSS NEIL PEART

Tonight I’ll be on SIRIUS XM’s Busted Halo show on The Catholic Channel, talking about the lyrics of Neil Peart – the legendary drummer of Rush. Peart is an atheist, so he might be alarmed, but it's OK: Busted Halo's "Faith and Culture Thursdays" is about finding meaning in "non-religious" music.

It’s a bit unusual for a drummer to write lyrics (when the drummer isn’t the singer), but Rush is an unusual band. Neil Peart wasn’t in the original lineup – Geddy Lee on bass and vocals, Alex Lifeson on guitar and the late John Rutsey on drums – Peart joined for their second album, 1975’s Fly By Night, and they haven’t had a lineup change ever since. On the first album, Geddy and Alex wrote the lyrics, but they really weren’t into it. Since Neil was always reading books, they figured he might be a good writer, and he became the band’s lyricist.
The first song on Fly By Night was “Anthem,” named after the Ayn Rand novella of the same name… it was about a totalitarian future where the word "I" is no longer part of the language. It includes the lyrics go "live for yourself, there's no one else worth living for, begging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more." That kind of thing didn't really fit in in the hippie era, or even the post-hippie era.

I think Peart's thing personally was to always be an individual (and not follow a large collective) and politically, he was very pro-small government. but Rush's lyrics were interpreted by their many detractors as being "fascist," which is ironic... as Geddy Lee's parents were both concentration camp survivors.
In 1976, Rush released their fourth album, 2112. The title track was 20 minutes long with seven different movements and took up all of side 1. It was about a totalitarian society where a forced equality was imposed on everyone - the title character was happy with that, until he finds a guitar, and wants to express himself through that, which, as it turns out, is not allowed. He rebels against them, but it's futile. On side 2, there’s a song called "Something For Nothing" is filled with lines that could be Tea Party bumper stickers in 2010: "you don't get something for nothing, you don't get freedom for free." On the original album, Neil Peart dedicated the album to "the genius of Ayn Rand." One of the big points of Ayn Rand was that she was very much about the individual, and wasn't very altruistic.

Fast forward to Rush's most recent studio album, 2007's Snakes & Arrows, inspired by Neil's traveling around North America on his motorcycle. He didn’t like the control that organized religion seemed to have, especially in the U.S. Songs like "The Larger Bowl" and “Far Cry” are sort of an about face from his earlier lyrics. Ayn Rand probably wouldn't have been concerned with the people who Neil write about in “The Larger Bowl”: "The golden one or scarred from birth, some things can never be changed, such a lot of pain on this earth, it's somehow so badly arranged. Some things can never be changed, some reasons will never become clear, it's somehow so badly arranged, if we're so much the same like I always hear." "Far Cry," laments how "It's a far cry from the world we thought we'd inherit, it's a far cry from the way we thought we'd share it" - the idea of "sharing" is pretty removed from a Randian way of thinking!
A few years earlier, from 2002's Vapor Trails, is "One Little Victory," a song that I think anyone could get with, no matter what side of the political fence they're on - or no matter what they think of Ayn Rand. The song was written in the aftermath of a tragic year in Peart's life: his daughter died, and a few months later, his wife also passed away. I'm always moved by the entire song, but it is heavy and loud and powerful. While Neil was going through what he was going through, so many of us were still recovering from 9/11. But I think the song will always be an inspiration to anyone in the aftermath of a tragedy, no matter what side of the aisle they’re on.

RUSH AT JONES BEACH: AWESOME (and funny!)

Who says Rush isn't funny?  They've been pegged with that reputation, but fans have long known that Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neal Peart enjoy a good laugh.  And on thier current tour, besides playing every song from their classic 1981 album, Moving Pictures, they showed off their sense of humor with a couple of silly/funny films. They have a history of doing this kind of thing: on the last tour the South Park guys gave them an intro to "Tom Sawyer," (and speaking of which, watch them play "Tom Sawyer" on Guitar Hero backstage at The Colbert Report here). The show started with a Beastie Boys-like film with the band members dressed in ridiculous costumes a la The Beastie Boys, playing both a polka band and also patrons of a restraunt.  I won't describe it well, but it made everyone laugh.  The second set started with a skit where all three guys played music biz guys on the set of a rock band's video, and during the performance for some reason Neil is playing guitar, Alex is on bass and Geddy is behind the drums.  Neil steals the show mimicing Alex's guitar faces.  And at the end of the concert there was a really funny film featuring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel of the film I Love You Man (apparently being fans of Rush was a plot point, and the guys from Rush were actually in the film) did this bit where they snuck backstage and got caught by Geddy, Alex and Neil. You could tell the guys were having fun being funny.

Laughs aside, I guess there wasn't any chance that I wasn't going to love the show! Moving Pictures remains the band's most popular, and with good reason, every song is a classic. It's my favorite Rush album as well. Side 1 is carved into the memory of anyone who has listened to classic rock radio (for better or worse): "Tom Sawyer," "Red Barchetta," "YYZ" and "Limelight." Side 2 has more stuff for the die-hards: "The Camera Eye," "Witch Hunt" and "Vital Signs." The entire performance was magnificent. 

But I'll admit I didn't love the entire show.  They opened with "The Spirit Of The Radio," maybe their best song ever - and the song they opened up with on the Grace Under Pressure tour in 1985 (which happened to be my first rock concert ever).  After that, though, they played "Time Stands Still" is one of my favorite post-Grace songs, but I always think it is weird live, because you hear Aimee Mann's guest vocals when she isn't there. They should rearrange the song, or just not play it. After that they did the title track from 1989's Presto, which  I always thought was corny (and there were so many better songs on that album, like "Scars," "Anagram," "The Pass" and especially "Show Don't Tell").  This is the first time they've played it on tour. "Stick It Out" from 1993's Counterparts was pretty rocking, but I'd rather hear "Animate." "Workin' Them Angels" from their last album, 2007's Snakes & Arrows is fine. "Leave That Thing Alone," one of their best instrumentals, also from Counterparts worked for me. "Faithless," from Snakes & Arrows (but not played on that tour) was OK but unnecessary. "BU2B" (aka "Brought Up To Believe") from their upcoming album was pretty rocking.

And after that, the "Time Machine" kicked in (they're calling it the "Time Machine Tour").  The classic "Freewill" from 1980's Permanent Waves always works (I'd love to see them do a tour where they do that album start to finish). "Marathon" from 1985's Power Windows was good - I'd way rather hear "Mystic Rhythms" or "The Big Money" (more relevant than ever in 2010). They ended the set with the always-relevant "Subdivisions" from 1982's Signals.

After the Moving Pictures set, they returned to the present with another new song, "Caravan," which was OK.  That led to Neil's always mind blowing drum solo (it's not really a drum solo, more of a "drum composition" or "drum symphony").  That's always mind blowing.  There aren't too many drummers who can interest me with a solo.  Alex then came out with an acoustic 12 string, and played a nice piece that led into "Closer To The Heart," which I still love. Then everyone lost their minds to the first two chapters of "2112" (I'd love to see a tour where they do the entire 2112 album!).  Then, from Snakes & Arrows, one of my very favorite Rush songs, "Far Cry" (I wish they'd played my other favorite recent song, "One Little Victory" from Vapor Trails).

The encore was maybe the best part of the night. The always amazing instrumental "La Villa Strangiato" (with a polka arrangement to open the song) followed by "Working Man" from their debut album (with a reggae opening).  I actually wish they just did "Working Man" straight, though, as it is also more relevant than ever in 2010 (other than the fact that many "working men" can't even get work these days).

So, maybe I complained a bit about the song selection, but hey, I'm a fan.  Really though, I'm glad the band is playing the songs they want to play: they never seemed like they were going through the motions, so if this is the combination of songs that kept them interested, then great (I do think it's weird that they play the same set every single night, but that's their perogative). Anyway, they have a new album coming out next year, I'm sure it will be followed by a tour, and I'll definitely be there to see it.

THE RUSH TIME MACHINE TOUR SETLIST

It's a bit weird to me that Rush posted the setlist to their tour on their website before the tour started. I mean, we all knew that they were going to play Moving Pictures in its entirety. But they've posted every song, in the order that they will play them, every night.  That's weird to me, but Rush are perfectionists, and improvisation isn't a part of their live thing (which is odd, as Neil Peart is such a huge jazz fan). Anyway, it includes their two new songs, and a good amount of recent material, which will surely get some complaints.  I don't love the list, I wish they included "One Little Victory" from Vapor Trails, it's one of my favorite Rush songs. But I'm sure it will be an awesome show, it always is.

NEIL PEART PAYS TRIBUTE TO BLUE CHEER

Rush drum maestro Neil Peart rarely speaks to the press

but he wrote a great tribute to Blue Cheer, whose bassist/singer Dickie Peterson, recently passed away. It's on Rolling Stone's website.

RUSH MAY RETURN IN 2010

A website called Noisecreep just interviewed Alex Lifeson, who said
that Rush will probably start working together again, and may hit the road again in 2010. Awesome! He also mentioned that Neil Peart and his wife have just had a baby. Normally I don't write about that kind of stuff - I don't think it is anyone's business. But, Neil suffered the loss of his wife and thier only child within one year. He wrote about it in Ghost Rider. I'm glad to see that he has a new chance to have a family.