A FAREWELL TO KINGS
Two weeks ago it was Neil Innes - this week it’s another influential Neil who left us - Neil Peart of Rush.
And, you know, damn.
Where to begin?
Everyone - well, maybe not everyone, but a lot of people had their favorite band in high school - the one that they obsessed over, listened to repeatedly, that band who meant something to them beyond the music itself. For me, Rush was that band.
All three band members - Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson - had a profound influence on me musically. In the case of Peart, in addition to making me want to take up the drums (which I sorta did for a while, but never made it beyond the Phil Rudd difficulty level), his lyrics also influenced me as both a songwriter and a writer in general. Rush meant a lot to me in large part because - via Peart’s words - they had something to say to me, things I arguably needed to hear in my impressionable teen years about suburban loneliness, fear, non-conformity, censorship, liberty vs totalitarianism, the magic of radio, etc.
I mean, yes, there were also prog-rock space operas, Frazetta-like monster battles, Lord of the Rings references, well-meaning tributes to Ayn Rand, and talking trees. But by that time I was heavily into sci-fi/fantasy and totalitarian dystopian fiction, so in that sense Rush was letting me know you could totally be a nerd and still rock out.
Peart himself seemed like a bit of a nerd in interviews - which surprised me because on the album covers and on stage, he was this serious-looking tall guy with a stone face, but in video interviews he was this kind of awkward yet ebullient geek who would enthusiastically chew your ear off about whatever topic you wanted to talk about
I can relate to that.
It wasn’t all great, of course - I fully admit Rush lost me in the mid-80s after Grace Under Pressure (which I liked), which was my problem and not theirs. I thought their crisp, chrome-polished sound lacked the oomph of their earlier stuff, and by the time they started leaning back towards a more guitar-driven sound, I’d already moved on to other music that was more relevant to me. Listening to some of their 80s/90s releases on Spotify now, I may have been justified, but I missed some good stuff too.
Rush officially called it quits in 2016 after their 40th anniversary tour in support of what turned out to be their final album, Clockwork Angels, though in reality it was Peart who called time. He was entitled - he’d endured a lot of personal tragedy in the late 90s, and during the final tour had foot problems that made it difficult for him to play. But play he did, and though I didn’t get to see that tour apart from the YouTube clips, I was happy that the band I loved went out on such a high note (to include Clockwork Angels, which was their best album in years).
So let this post serve as tribute to both Rush the band and Peart the drummer, storyteller, seeker, philosopher and pointed social observer. I might have survived high school without them, but there’s no doubt in my mind I would have been a different person today - and not necessarily a better one.
A few side notes:
1. Yes I did see Rush live. Twice. Once in 1982 (the Signals tour) and again in 1984 (the Grace Under Pressure tour, a.k.a. the show where I left Nashville Auditorium to find my bike had been stolen and I had to walk from downtown all the way back to Inglewood, my ears still ringing. Took about three hours. The next day, I joined the Army.)
2. Yes, I did end up reading some Ayn Rand as a result of listening to 2112, which credited her work as inspiring the title track. Up to then, the only thing I knew about her was that Atlas Shrugged was a regular feature on our high school’s English Lit reading lists. I didn't read that, but I did read Anthem. I remember liking it, mainly for its takeaway of rejecting totalitarian control in favour of individual freedom. I later read We The Living and found it okay but too melodramatic, especially the ending.
Anyway, it was only much later I found out that (1) Rand was considered by some people (mainly socialists) to be pro-fascist, and (2) the British media branded Rush as ultra-right-wing after a journalist for NME (said to be a hard-left socialist) asked Peart to defend Rand’s supposed “genius”. You can read that article here, although for context, Alex Lifeson said in a recent interview that the band mainly appreciated Rand for her themes about individualism and not letting people tell you what to do or how to do it, and that for Peart, his discussion with the journalist was for him more of a thought exercise than any serious advocacy of far-right politics.
3. It's probably been said elsewhere, but to get an idea of how utterly unique Rush was as a band, consider what they managed to accomplish - written off early in their career as Zeppelin wannabes, they managed to play together for over 40 years with the same line-up (not counting Peart replacing John Rutsey after their first album), built up a huge following with relatively limited radio support until they hit it big in 1980 with “The Spirit of Radio”, and put out decent to great albums late in their career. How many bands can claim the same? For that matter, how many bands have lasted that long where their only tabloid scandal of any note was their drummer arguing about the merits of Ayn Rand?
4. It’s interesting to me that as the tributes to Peart come in on the social medias, people are posting their favorite Rush song, and the selections are all over the map rather than focused on their “classic” period. I was surprised at first, but then my first exposure to Rush was Moving Pictures, which is probably still my favorite album of theirs, so it seems natural to me that fans would focus on that era or before. But it actually depends more on which decade you started listening to Rush - and Rush was around long enough to pick up fans from across four decades.
Anyway. I don’t know which Rush song I should post - there are just so many to choose from.
So here’s a clip of Neil Peart playing big band jazz as part of his Buddy Rich tribute project in 1994.
And if it’s Rush content you want, here’s a great instrumental that’s not “YYZ”.
And also, here’s one of my favorite Rush songs in terms of lyrical content that went a long way in shaping my views on censorship.
Closer to the heart,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1633977.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
And, you know, damn.
Where to begin?
Everyone - well, maybe not everyone, but a lot of people had their favorite band in high school - the one that they obsessed over, listened to repeatedly, that band who meant something to them beyond the music itself. For me, Rush was that band.
All three band members - Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson - had a profound influence on me musically. In the case of Peart, in addition to making me want to take up the drums (which I sorta did for a while, but never made it beyond the Phil Rudd difficulty level), his lyrics also influenced me as both a songwriter and a writer in general. Rush meant a lot to me in large part because - via Peart’s words - they had something to say to me, things I arguably needed to hear in my impressionable teen years about suburban loneliness, fear, non-conformity, censorship, liberty vs totalitarianism, the magic of radio, etc.
I mean, yes, there were also prog-rock space operas, Frazetta-like monster battles, Lord of the Rings references, well-meaning tributes to Ayn Rand, and talking trees. But by that time I was heavily into sci-fi/fantasy and totalitarian dystopian fiction, so in that sense Rush was letting me know you could totally be a nerd and still rock out.
Peart himself seemed like a bit of a nerd in interviews - which surprised me because on the album covers and on stage, he was this serious-looking tall guy with a stone face, but in video interviews he was this kind of awkward yet ebullient geek who would enthusiastically chew your ear off about whatever topic you wanted to talk about
I can relate to that.
It wasn’t all great, of course - I fully admit Rush lost me in the mid-80s after Grace Under Pressure (which I liked), which was my problem and not theirs. I thought their crisp, chrome-polished sound lacked the oomph of their earlier stuff, and by the time they started leaning back towards a more guitar-driven sound, I’d already moved on to other music that was more relevant to me. Listening to some of their 80s/90s releases on Spotify now, I may have been justified, but I missed some good stuff too.
Rush officially called it quits in 2016 after their 40th anniversary tour in support of what turned out to be their final album, Clockwork Angels, though in reality it was Peart who called time. He was entitled - he’d endured a lot of personal tragedy in the late 90s, and during the final tour had foot problems that made it difficult for him to play. But play he did, and though I didn’t get to see that tour apart from the YouTube clips, I was happy that the band I loved went out on such a high note (to include Clockwork Angels, which was their best album in years).
So let this post serve as tribute to both Rush the band and Peart the drummer, storyteller, seeker, philosopher and pointed social observer. I might have survived high school without them, but there’s no doubt in my mind I would have been a different person today - and not necessarily a better one.
A few side notes:
1. Yes I did see Rush live. Twice. Once in 1982 (the Signals tour) and again in 1984 (the Grace Under Pressure tour, a.k.a. the show where I left Nashville Auditorium to find my bike had been stolen and I had to walk from downtown all the way back to Inglewood, my ears still ringing. Took about three hours. The next day, I joined the Army.)
2. Yes, I did end up reading some Ayn Rand as a result of listening to 2112, which credited her work as inspiring the title track. Up to then, the only thing I knew about her was that Atlas Shrugged was a regular feature on our high school’s English Lit reading lists. I didn't read that, but I did read Anthem. I remember liking it, mainly for its takeaway of rejecting totalitarian control in favour of individual freedom. I later read We The Living and found it okay but too melodramatic, especially the ending.
Anyway, it was only much later I found out that (1) Rand was considered by some people (mainly socialists) to be pro-fascist, and (2) the British media branded Rush as ultra-right-wing after a journalist for NME (said to be a hard-left socialist) asked Peart to defend Rand’s supposed “genius”. You can read that article here, although for context, Alex Lifeson said in a recent interview that the band mainly appreciated Rand for her themes about individualism and not letting people tell you what to do or how to do it, and that for Peart, his discussion with the journalist was for him more of a thought exercise than any serious advocacy of far-right politics.
3. It's probably been said elsewhere, but to get an idea of how utterly unique Rush was as a band, consider what they managed to accomplish - written off early in their career as Zeppelin wannabes, they managed to play together for over 40 years with the same line-up (not counting Peart replacing John Rutsey after their first album), built up a huge following with relatively limited radio support until they hit it big in 1980 with “The Spirit of Radio”, and put out decent to great albums late in their career. How many bands can claim the same? For that matter, how many bands have lasted that long where their only tabloid scandal of any note was their drummer arguing about the merits of Ayn Rand?
4. It’s interesting to me that as the tributes to Peart come in on the social medias, people are posting their favorite Rush song, and the selections are all over the map rather than focused on their “classic” period. I was surprised at first, but then my first exposure to Rush was Moving Pictures, which is probably still my favorite album of theirs, so it seems natural to me that fans would focus on that era or before. But it actually depends more on which decade you started listening to Rush - and Rush was around long enough to pick up fans from across four decades.
Anyway. I don’t know which Rush song I should post - there are just so many to choose from.
So here’s a clip of Neil Peart playing big band jazz as part of his Buddy Rich tribute project in 1994.
Click to viewAnd if it’s Rush content you want, here’s a great instrumental that’s not “YYZ”.
And also, here’s one of my favorite Rush songs in terms of lyrical content that went a long way in shaping my views on censorship.
Closer to the heart,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1633977.html. Please comment there using OpenID.