DO YOU NEED *ANOTHER* LIVE RUSH ALBUM? YES. YES YOU DO

Well, I do anyway.  Rush recently released Time Machine, their ninth live album, and their fifth in the past decade.  What makes it different? Well, not too much.

But it does feature the band performing their greatest album (arguably) Moving Pictures, start to finish. And yeah, there are plenty of live versions of "Tom Sawyer," "Red Barchetta," and "Limelight" out there (although this "Barchetta" is a bit different, they go into a surf version of main riff). But I don't think the band ever performed "The Camera Eye" on tour before, and longtime Rush fans (myself included) were excited to hear them play it.

They also played two songs from their upcoming album, "BU2B" and "Caravan." Supposedly that album is coming out this year.  There's also a new Neil Peart drum piece "Moto Perpetuo" which has more of his jazz/swing influence. What else is different about the album?  They add a bit of reggae (yes, really) to "Working Man." So, really, it's not a totally essential to have.  But for Rush fans, well, anything new is fun to have. That's how we roll.

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!

GRAMMY WATCH: "RUSH: BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE"

There are 109 categories at The Grammy Awards, and number 109 is Best Longform Music Video. That's basically where concert videos and documentaries get their nominations.  I was really glad to see that directors Sam Dunn and Scot McFayden got a nomination in that category for the documentary Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage. I just watched it for the second time (I wrote about it in July when I first got the DVD).

Longtime No Expiration readers know that I'm an absolutely huge Rush fan. But before seeing this film, I really had no idea just how influential they are among other musicians. It's funny, I usually think that inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be voted in based mainly on influence on other musicians.  I wasn't sure they should be voted in based on my criteria, I actually thought they were a bit too left field for the hall.  But now I've changed my mind about it. Guys from Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Rage Against The Machine, Primus, Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, Pantera, The Foo Fighters... even Death Cab For Cutie! I was surprised not to see anyone from Pearl Jam, Living Colour and Soundgarden, I know guys from those bands are also fans.

It's interesting to see that in the past few years, rock critics have come around at least a bit to Rush. I remember a few years ago, Rolling Stone did a big piece on Rush, and that in itself was a big deal. I read that it was one of the most-read articles ever on the magazine's website. It was cool that they did it, but: sort of too little too late. While rock critics were condescending, there was a culture of fans being built around this band, and this film is a celebration of that. I'd love to see it win the Grammy. Even if it doesn't, I'd like to thank Sam Dunn and Scot McFayden for honoring something that has been so close to my heart for more of my life, and I bet a lot of other fans feel the same way.

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.

RUSH "NOT FADE AWAY"

A couple of years ago, Rush released Feedback, an EP of covers, which was notable as Rush has never released a cover in their entire three decade career.  Or so I thought!  (And probably most other fans thought so too). It turns out that their first single ever was a cover of the Buddy Holly classic "Not Fade Away" (also covered by The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead and many more). Hopefully they'll release it at some point, but now you can check it out yourself.

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.

RUSH - BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE... AMAZING

I really enjoy watching documentaries about music, but if there's one band who really needed to have a documentary, it's Rush. Their story is rarely told, because the gatekeepers of music media hate them.

Also, you rarely hear big name musicians talking about how awesome Rush is, and here you get Trent Reznor, Jack Black of Tenacious D, Billy Corgan, Kirk Hammett, Gene Simmons, Tim Commerford of Rage Against The Machine, Les Claypool, Danny Carey of Tool, Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters and Zakk Wylde among others, talking about how great they are. Even a guy from Death Cab For Cutie!

And I don't think I've ever seen an interview with Neal Peart. Ever!

On the other hand, other than the unimaginable tragedy that Peart endured some years back (documented in his book Ghostrider), the band hasn't had too much controversy or drama, so I was kind of wondering if their story would really make a great documentary.  Yes it does.

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage came out on DVD this week, and I watched it tonight.

It does a great job of telling their story - how children of immigrants Geddy Lee (son of concentration camp survivors) and Alex Lifeson came together in school and formed a lifelong friendship and this awesome band. And how they had the confidence to do what they wanted to do, and not let the record label or trends or even fans dictate their direction. There's lots of amazing footage: a young Alex Lifeson at the dinner table telling his parents he wants to drop out of school and become a musician and early footage of the performing with original drummer John Rutsey.  There's also interviews with Geddy's mom, Alex's mom, and Neal's parents, plus lots of other people around the band and interviews with all three guys that are actually revealing. Absolute essential viewing for any Rush fan, but I've heard that even non-fans enjoy the doc.

A friend and former boss of mine who does a blog on rock docs wrote about it here: he mentions that he used to like the band and then moved on because of punk. I never did that, even as I got into punk and what was known as "alternative," and neither did many of the artists interviewed for this film. One of the creators of South Park was interviewed, and comments that even rock critics who hated them for years have to give the band their props these days.  And if they don't, "then they're just being old dicks." Amen brother.

My only gripe: there were great extras, but I would have loved to see the full interviews with Reznor, Claypool, et all. The interviews with other artists was the best part of the recent Stones In Exile doc.  Maybe on the deluxe edition!

ROLLLING STONE'S 500 GREATEST SONGS

A couple of years ago, in the pre-No Expiration era, Rolling Stone magazine put out a special issue with the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." For some reason, they've just updated it slightly in a special collector's issue. And for some reason, you can't see the list on RS's confusingly redesigned website, but you can see it here.

I decided to use this as a launching pad for a great iPod mix, since I'm often finding myself to be ok with Rolling Stone's choices (minus their prejudice towards Jann Wenner's friends, and prejudice against progressive rock and metal). 

So, the first thirty songs… I couldn’t touch and left them intact on my mix. Some of them aren’t songs that I need to hear many more times, but I would feel downright sacrilegious replacing any of them. But I didn't mind ditching some sacred cows of classic rock radio.
I started making my own revisions at #31, where I replaced Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” with “The Rain Song.” I’m so tired of “Stairway.” I don’t know if “Rain Song” is really my favorite Zeppelin song – there are way too many awesome songs to choose one. But I love the line, “Upon us all, a little rain must fall.” That has always stuck with me.

I love The Rolling Stones but I am way more into some of thier album tracks, as opposed to the hits (that said, I left a lot of the hits alone): At #101, I replaced The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” with the live, super badass version of “Midnight Rambler.” The former probably has a better message, as the latter is about a murderer, but I can’t help it, I never loved “You Can’t…” I replaced “Honkey Tonk Women” with “Stray Cat Blues.” “Wild Horses” was replaced “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” from the same album, 1971’s Sticky Fingers. And I replaced The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar” with “All Down The Line.”

At #193, I replaced Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” with “Saturday Night Special." And at #407, I replaced “Sweet Home Alabama” with “The Ballad Of Curtis Loew.” So my Skynyrd songs are anti-gun and one honoring an African American blues musican. Yeah, I'm from a blue state.  But I love Skynyrd.

I’ve often argued that Elton John is more a slave to his greatest hits than any other major artist – he has so many amazing songs that most people aren’t even familiar with. So, I replaced #137 “Your Song” (a great song) with “I Need You To Turn To,” off of the same album, his self titled second album from 1970. Also, I replaced Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” a song about loneliness, veiled in a song about space travel, with “I Want Love” from 2001’s Songs From The West Coast, a much more honest and mature song.

Rod Stewart’s “Maggie Mae” (#131) is a great song about cougars, but another one that’s been driven into the ground. It was the b-side to “Reason To Believe” (written by Tim Hardin), and Rod has said that if the radio DJ hadn’t flipped the single, he’d have ended up going back to digging graves. That’s probably not true, but maybe he would be reuniting with The Faces this year! So, I’m replacing “Maggie Mae” with “Reason To Believe.”

I know that Ray Charles' Modern Sounds In Country and Western was groundbreaking. And I love Ray singing country. But the album is way too overproduced with strings and corny backing vocals. I know that was the way Ray wanted it. But I don’t want to hear “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” so I replaced it with “Come Rain Or Come Shine.” (I did leave "Georgia On My Mind" alone.)

I got really crazy when I replaced Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” with his “Precious Time” from 1999. Sorry everyone! I’m just so tired of that song , and I don’t feel bad saying it, because I think Van is too. “Precious Time” speaks to me more. Also, I replaced Van Morrison’s “Moondance” with “And It Stoned Me.”

People will want to clobber me for replacing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with “The Show Must Go On.” “Rhapsody” is a great creation, and of course I love the scene from Wayne’s World. But I just don’t need to hear it anymore. I’m not a Queen fanatic, but “The Show Must Go On” hits me hard every time. I imagine Freddie Mercury knew he didn’t have much time left when he was writing this, and it certainly comes off that way when he’s singing it. I was going to replace Queen’s “We Will Rock You” with The Roots’ “Rock You,” but instead I used “The Seed (2.0) from the same album. Sorry, I like The Roots more than Queen.

I replaced The Strokes’ “Last Nite,” with the song they stole the riff from, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ “American Girl.”  And Pavement’s song was replaced by Rush’s “The Spirit Of The Radio.” It’s only right. (I do rip on Pavement a lot, but they have like five good songs.  I can't remember any Strokes songs though).

More replacements:

• Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” with “Love To Love You Baby,” it’s plain sexier.
• “Losing My Religion” from Out Of Time with “Try Not To Breathe” from my favorite R.E.M. album, Automatic For The People.
• Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” which I could never stand with “A Case Of You.”
• Aerosmith’s “Dream On” with “Make It” from the same album, their 1973 self-titled debut. Aerosmith are almost as bound to their greatest hits as Elton.
• Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” with “Beyond Here Lies Nothing,” although I like the sentiment of the former better, the latter is a better song.
• Beck’s “Loser” with the funkier “Beercan” from the same album, Mellow Gold.
• Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me” has a nicer message than “Use Me,” but I switched it anyway. Sue me!
• I replaced the studio version of James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” with a live version recorded at The Concert For New York City, which took place a few weeks after 9/11.
• The Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin’” with “I’m A Man.”
• Bobby Darin’s “Mack The Knife” with Louis Armstrong’s version. That may pre-date the rock and roll era, but it’s my mix.
• I don’t have The Dixie Cups’ “Chapel Of Love,” so I replaced it with The Dixie Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl.”
• I replaced Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” with “As,” which he told me was the best lyric he’s ever written.
• I replaced Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” with “Harvest.”
• I replaced Daft Punk’s “One More Time” (which I do like) with The Chemical Brothers’ more rocking “Block Rockin’ Beats.”
• The Rascals’ “Good Lovin’” with “People Got To Be Free.”
• Earth Wind & Fire’s “That’s The Way Of The World” with “September.”
• Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit In The Sky” with a newer version by The Blind Boys Of Alabama.
• I never was that into Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” so I was going to go with The Fugees’ version, but I decided on Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” instead.
• I replaced The Allman Brothers Band’s live “Whipping Post” (clocking in at over 20 minutes) with “Statesboro Blues” from the same album, At Fillmore East. Even though Gregg Allman wrote “Whipping Post” and “Statesboro Blues” is a Blind Willie McTell number. But my wife will be using this mix too, and a twenty something minute blues jam ain't gonna fly. 
• I replaced The Bees Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love?” with “To Love Somebody” because I like it better.
• Only one Metallica song, and it’s “Enter Sandman” ? At #408? I replaced it with “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” the first Metallica song I ever heard on “Metal Shop.”
• I just can’t stand The Carpenters, sorry. I replaced their song with Aimee Mann’s “Save Me” from the 1999 film Magnolia.
• I replaced Nirvana’s “In Bloom” with “School” from Bleach.
• I replaced Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” with “Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems.”
• I replaced Crosby Stills & Nash’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” which I never really liked, with Crosby Stills Nash & Young’s “Carry On.” (both songs were written by Stephen Stills.)
• I replaced Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” with the live version of “Captain Jack.”
• #431 was The Smiths’ “William, It Was Really Nothing,” which I like, but I replaced it by moving up “How Soon Is Now?” from #477, and then replaced that with “Panic.”
• I replaced Deep Purple’s “Smoke On The Water” with “Highway Star.”
• I replaced Gladys Knight & The Pips’ “Midnight Train To Georgia” with “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
• I replaced Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” with “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”
• I replaced Guns N Roses’ “Paradise City” with “It’s So Easy.”
• I replaced George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” with one of my favorite songs ever, “All Things Must Pass.”
• I used the remix of Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On,” the one with Nelly Furtado.
• I replaced Jay-Z and UGK’s “Big Pimpin’” with Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I. and Lil’ Wayne’s “Swagga Like Us.”
• I replaced Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is” with Yes’ “Starship Trooper.” (sorry honey)
• Yeah, I love “I Love Rock N Roll” (#491) too, but I replaced that with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ version of “Crimson and Clover.”
• I replaced MGMT’s “Time To Pretend” (#493) with “Kids.”
• At #496, I replaced Jackson Browne’s “Running On Empty” with Warren Zevon’s “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” which he wrote about Jackson, and which Jackson later covered.
•  Finally, at #499, I replaced Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” with “In My Garage.”

There were also a bunch of songs I had to flat out ditch. 

• I had to flat out ditch #49, The Eagles’ “Hotel California.” Like “Stairway To Heaven,” it’s another classic rock sacred cow. I like other Eagles songs better, but I don’t think any Eagles songs belong in the top 50, sorry. “Stairway” and “Hotel” were the only things I changed from the top 100.
• Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild”
• ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”
• Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman”
• I don’t mind The Lovin’ Spoonful, but I got rid of both of their songs, “Do You Believe In Magic” (#218) and “Summer In The City” (#401). I know they're in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they don't make my top 500, or my top 600.
• I can’t stand The Jefferson Airplane at all, so I dropped their songs “Somebody To Love” (#279) and “White Rabbit” (#483).
• 50 Cent’s “In Da Club.” (But don’t tell him.)
• Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe.”
• Chubby Checker’s “The Twist.”
• R. Kelly’s “Ignition (remix),” I always thought the dude was corny before we all found out how creepy he is.

I added a bunch of songs as well, those are for the next post.

LISTEN: RUSH AT THE CANADIAN SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME

Back in March, Rush was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter's Hall

of Fame.  Seemed like a cool event that didn't get much press here.  But I just discovered the CBC Radio 2 has posted audio clips from the event so you can listen to the parts that you want to hear (Rush wasn't the only artist to recieve the honor, so it was probably a long ceremony).  You can hear Neal Peart's acceptance speech and also Les Claypool and his solo band performing "Spirit Of The Radio." Check it out here. This is normally the type of thing I tweet about - since I'm not using this blog to cover news, but I thought this was so cool I had to share it here and on twitter. Follow me on twitter here.

RUSH HAS TWO NEW SONGS!

I didn't see this coming.  Rush just released two new songs: "Caravan" and "BU2B" on itunes today. They will be playing both of them on their upcoming tour.  They will both be on their next album, Clockwork Angels, due out next year. Rush really never play songs live before releasing them (they haven't done that in over twenty years), nor do they usually release songs this far in advance of an album. But I'm not complaining!

THE RUSH DOC

As I mentioned earlier this year, there is a documentary on Rush coming out. Here's the poster, and here's the blog. The posted two clips with footage from the movie, check it out.

Between this doc and the upcoming tour where Rush will play Moving Pictures from start to finish, 2010 is a cool year to be a Rush fan! What I want to know about the tour is: I heard a rumor that they will be trying out material from their next album. I hope that that is true. Like most Rush fans, I gravitate towards their earlier stuff. That said, I really liked Snakes and Arrows, and from their recent material, I feel that "Far Cry" and "One Little Victory" stands up to anything they've ever done. I've been listening to Snakes and Arrows Live in my car, and they still sound aweome.

RUSH TO PLAY "MOVING PICTURES" ON TOUR

Oh, HELL yeah.  Rush is going on tour this summer. This is a rarity for them: they aren't promoting a new album, but they will be performing Moving Pictures in its entirety.  As well as lots of other music, I'm sure - the album isn't even an hour long. I even hear that they may be trying out new songs from their next album: they haven't done that since the early '80s when they road tested songs from Grace Under Pressure. Get the tour dates at Rush's website. I. Can. Not. Wait.

A WINTER SAFETY WARNING FROM GEDDY LEE

Do you need to learn about tobogganing from Geddy Lee of Rush? Yes, you do. And in this video, he hooks you up with some much-needed advice.

RUSH IN 2010

A friend of mine mentioned that there was a Rush documentary in the works, which I thought was surprising.  They don't seem like the type of band who gets the doc treatment, and they don't seem to love doing interviews (especially Neal Peart). So I went to the Rush Is A Band blog and found out a bit more about the film. I also learned that there is an album and tour due this year.

RADIO ON THE TV: EDDIE TRUNK'S THAT METAL SHOW ON VH1 CLASSIC

A few years back, I happened upon Eddie Trunk on his radio show Saturday Night Rocks. It's a little bit old-school metal - Eddie is into hair metal and stuff that I'm not into - but he's totally into it, and I can appreciate that. I had long given up on terrestrial radio (other than NPR type stuff and Little Steven's syndicated Underground Garage show) when I heard his show, and I was surprised to hear a guy who was obviously picking his own songs, and cared about what he was playing. Honestly: it was a surprise to hear someone on a commercial radio station sound passionate. I got to know Eddie a bit, he's a cool guy. A little later on, I worked with him a bit at VH1 Classic. These days, I sometimes see him around the SIRIUS|XM offices, since he has a show on The Boneyard, and it's fun seeing him back on VH1 Classic on That Metal Show with Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. If you're into metal, I totally recommend it. Below is his interview with the not-totally-metal-but-totally-awesome-band Rush.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

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.

GOOD RUSH, BAD RUSH

This is a great t-shirt. You can get it here.