Oracle Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Kind of tired of reading about his personal beliefs. Come on man, you're a drummer who's making an anticipated studio album for millions of fans. We don't want to know about your thoughts on a Christian "skygod", we want to know what's going on with the album. Good read though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Avatar Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (ak2112 @ Jan 11 2012, 11:26 PM) QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jan 11 2012, 10:29 PM) Can't this guy for just one second quit forcing his personal beliefs on people? Has rhythmic drum-beating and writing fantasy/self-help short stories with great success given him the audacity to think he has the most remote idea about what the truth to life is? (I admit I don't, even still, after more than 17 years of intensive, scientific post-secondary study). Is Neil Peart really beyond (or far and away) from the realization of how foolish and naive he appears? The more and more I read his material, the more I realize what a gross imposter he is. How in the world is he naive? Looks to me as if he's invoking reason over myths and fairy tales. I wish more people would deal with the reality of life rather than looking for meaning in fantasy. "I've got my own spirit level for balance...I still cling to hope and I believe in love." Yeah, sounds like reason to me. I love Neil as a drummer, and he seems like a nice enough guy, but I laugh at the hypocrisy in his lyrics... He hates "shouting/preaching voices" in "sermons" yet his song is nothing but one loud shouting sermon preached against everyone who disagrees with him. He's got his "own moral compass to steer by," presumably derived from some combination of philosophies, gurus, mental processes, books, etc., which he thinks is fine, but he lambasts Christians who also have their "own moral compass to steer by" derived from the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. He gives absolutely NO rationale why his moral compass is any better or more well-reasoned. I guess for him simply the fact that it's NOT Christian makes it better. Again...rock solid logic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drbirdsong Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 "always leave them wanting more" I don't know who said that first, but he manages to do a great job here. The small tidbits about the album were worth the read and left me hungry to know more. I wonder if Alex and Geddy ever feel left out because he rarely mentions them. I wish he would write a book about the band someday. Maybe he is waiting for retirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Analog_Bro Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 As a person who agrees with Neil's views on religion and can personally identify with the Rush songs that deal with this subject I personally do not mind. But at the same time I can see how someone might be put off by it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Honestly, his beliefs, or lack thereof, don't bother me in the slightest. I could give a flying f*ck what anyone does or doesn't believe in. I don't read his books and only read his updates if there are specific parts relating to Rush. I care about Rush music, not Neil Peart's personal life or views or motorcycle diaries. What DOES bother me is when he goes on about his beliefs (or lack thereof) in his songs - it's just obnoxious, and I'd feel the same way even if he was preaching from the polar opposite side of the fence. Preachiness in song lyrics is just annoying. It won't stop me from loving Rush or loving other songs on the album if they're good, but it definitely mars the albums IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) I really wish that the people who hate Neil and his beliefs - or lack thereof - would just ignore any thread mentioning his name. Really. It's so very tedious to read the same whining over and over again. The guy doesn't believe like you do: DEAL WITH IT and move on. /rant As to this update, I thought it was great. Neil wrote about his personal life, the upcoming album and Freddy. No matter what anyone else thought of Freddy or his effect on Neil's drumming, you must give some consideration to the fact that these two men were great friends. Neil was there for Freddy at the end and, really, that's what a real friend does. I found the letter he wrote to Freddy about Selena's death very touching and knowing what was further in store for him makes it even moreso. This was a particularly moving update, AFAIC. Plus, tidbits about CA! Edited January 12, 2012 by HowItIs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invisible To Telescopic Eye Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jan 12 2012, 04:05 AM) The guy doesn't believe like you do: DEAL WITH IT and move on. /rant I tend to agree here although I would say quietly accept it. What I dislike most about this whole "his beliefes" thing is that it has kinda marred the complete level of love shared by fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (Invisible To Telescopic Eye @ Jan 12 2012, 03:55 AM) QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jan 12 2012, 04:05 AM) The guy doesn't believe like you do: DEAL WITH IT and move on. /rant I tend to agree here although I would say quietly accept it. What I dislike most about this whole "his beliefes" thing is that it has kinda marred the complete level of love shared by fans. Prior to recent times, he managed to share his views couched in a way that was more universal and open to interpretation without offending anyone. In more recent years he's been far more direct, and unfortunately this is what happens when you include extremely polarizing points of view in song lyrics. Edited January 12, 2012 by rushgoober Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New World Kid Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) I honestly skimmed the article for news about the album. I've read every travelogue Neil has written and a few of these online offerings too, and what I can say is that I find him to be a terrible droll prose writer. The part about Freddie was nice, and it was good to hear an update on the album. I didn't catch the part about Christianity... BUT Tim Tebow scores a touchdown, thanks God, and everyone thinks that's just charming. So I don't understand why reinforcement of personal belief is okay in one setting, but not the next. In conclusion, if you don't care what he thinks, don't read it. I didn't, and I'm probably on his side! Edited January 12, 2012 by New World Kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invisible To Telescopic Eye Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 12 2012, 07:04 AM) QUOTE (Invisible To Telescopic Eye @ Jan 12 2012, 03:55 AM) QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jan 12 2012, 04:05 AM) The guy doesn't believe like you do: DEAL WITH IT and move on. /rant I tend to agree here although I would say quietly accept it. What I dislike most about this whole "his beliefes" thing is that it has kinda marred the complete level of love shared by fans. Prior to recent times, he managed to share his views couched in a way that was more universal and open to interpretation without offending anyone. In more recent years he's been far more direct, and unfortunately this is what happens when you include extremely polarizing points of view in song lyrics. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New World Kid Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Another point I'd like to make... I don't get why people get so pissed off about Neil's anti-religious feelings. He's an artist, and part of artistry is being honest and open. If anything, I find it intriguing that he will brave the storm that is fan backlash just to be honest and open about what he feels. But I'd also like to add my personal perspective here... I'm an agnostic atheist, so pretty much Neil and I are mostly on the same page. It's part of what draws me to Rush. But I don't foam at the mouth when I hear musicians talking about God. Two good examples from my personal life: I listen to a lot of modern bands, and some of their lyrics allude to the Christian God. In particular, I'm thinking of the band Emery right now. According to Last.FM they're my 4th most played artist, and a lot of their lyrics deal with being Christian. I'm not Christian, but I don't get all pissy when they talk about it. I'm very happy that they're expressing themselves honestly. There's a song called Rock-n-Rule where two characters meet along side a road, and basically the anecdote is about a man without faith doing nothing with his life. Am I pissed? Nope, it's a good song imo. Second personal story is that I've been an agnostic atheist for as long as I've had the ability to analyze things for myself. Yet I voluntarily joined a Praise Band at a local Church nearby. Now, I'm reasonably confident that if I, an atheist, can join a Christian Praise Band, stay in it for 4 years, and be proud of the work I did there... if I can do that, I'm pretty sure some whiny fans should probably either expand their minds to accept other viewpoints, or eject the CD. Either way... I really never understand why the double standard. Why is it okay to talk about God in a song, but not okay to talk about atheism in a song? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxster Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (nettiesaur @ Jan 11 2012, 10:46 PM)QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jan 11 2012, 09:29 PM) Can't this guy for just one second quit forcing his personal beliefs on people? Well, it is possible that he felt he had to explain the Christmas tree, dinner, presents, etc., seeing as we know he doesn't follow a christian belief system. You can't reason with a troll, Nettie. Especially the ones that feel they were forced to read Neil's newest article, which by the way is quite wonderful. Neil rocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (New World Kid @ Jan 12 2012, 04:42 AM) Another point I'd like to make... I don't get why people get so pissed off about Neil's anti-religious feelings. He's an artist, and part of artistry is being honest and open. If anything, I find it intriguing that he will brave the storm that is fan backlash just to be honest and open about what he feels. But I'd also like to add my personal perspective here... I'm an agnostic atheist, so pretty much Neil and I are mostly on the same page. It's part of what draws me to Rush. But I don't foam at the mouth when I hear musicians talking about God. Two good examples from my personal life: I listen to a lot of modern bands, and some of their lyrics allude to the Christian God. In particular, I'm thinking of the band Emery right now. According to Last.FM they're my 4th most played artist, and a lot of their lyrics deal with being Christian. I'm not Christian, but I don't get all pissy when they talk about it. I'm very happy that they're expressing themselves honestly. There's a song called Rock-n-Rule where two characters meet along side a road, and basically the anecdote is about a man without faith doing nothing with his life. Am I pissed? Nope, it's a good song imo. Second personal story is that I've been an agnostic atheist for as long as I've had the ability to analyze things for myself. Yet I voluntarily joined a Praise Band at a local Church nearby. Now, I'm reasonably confident that if I, an atheist, can join a Christian Praise Band, stay in it for 4 years, and be proud of the work I did there... if I can do that, I'm pretty sure some whiny fans should probably either expand their minds to accept other viewpoints, or eject the CD. Either way... I really never understand why the double standard. Why is it okay to talk about God in a song, but not okay to talk about atheism in a song? I just don't want to hear about either... in a Rush song. He might be brave putting his controversial ideas out there so blatantly, but it still doesn't mean I or anyone else has to like it. And it's a Rush board, so we're here talking about them. You have very valid views on things, but some people (myself included) just get bothered by some of the lyrics. That's just the way it is. It's not a matter of not accepting other viewpoints. I'm fine with those views, I just find it completely obnoxious in a Rush song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Neil is just doing what so many of us without religion try to do. get people to stop believing in man made story books and use some damn logic and reasoning. i, like Neil, go out of my way to make fun of Christianity. why? because it's ridiculous. It's his blog, his lyrics, his books, etc. he can and will write about whatever he wants. if that includes bashing on your religion, so be it. it's his right. if you don't like, STOP READING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Jan 12 2012, 10:30 PM)Neil is just doing what so many of us without religion try to do. get people to stop believing in man made story books and use some damn logic and reasoning. i, like Neil, go out of my way to make fun of Christianity. why? because it's ridiculous. "Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion." - Dalai Lama Taking that a step further, (even if you think it's ridiculous) why would you go out of your way to make fun of something that others firmly believe in? Sure, you can state your opinion but you're not doing anyone any favors by doing that. Note: I am not a deeply religious person/bible thumper/etc. or a follower of any organized religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Jan 12 2012, 09:30 AM) Neil is just doing what so many of us without religion try to do. get people to stop believing in man made story books and use some damn logic and reasoning. i, like Neil, go out of my way to make fun of Christianity. why? because it's ridiculous. Wow...what a humanitarian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (nettiesaur @ Jan 11 2012, 11:46 PM) QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jan 11 2012, 09:29 PM) Can't this guy for just one second quit forcing his personal beliefs on people? Well, it is possible that he felt he had to explain the Christmas tree, dinner, presents, etc., seeing as we know he doesn't follow a christian belief system. That was my take on it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 12 2012, 08:50 AM) You have very valid views on things, but some people (myself included) just get bothered by some of the lyrics. That's just the way it is. It's not a matter of not accepting other viewpoints. I'm fine with those views, I just find it completely obnoxious in a Rush song. Exactly. I don't care about Neil's personal views...he can believe what he wants to believe. The issue is that they are taking over RUSH songs. I'm sure he's ALWAYS believed this way, and yet, only NOW...almost 40 years as a band, he is flooding albums with direct shots at it. Also, it was one thing with S&A as that was the basis for the album. But if he continues to extend it into CA, I'm going to start to question whether Neil's well is running dry. Like Goober said, it gets obnoxious in Rush songs, and I would feel the same if he was writing from the other side. In fact, LIVE started doing that in the later years, and I can't say I was crazy about it either. Also for the record, I absolutely LOVE BU2B...it's one of my favourite Rush songs in a very long time, and I happen to have very different 'views' than Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenken Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (EmotionDetector @ Jan 12 2012, 09:23 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 12 2012, 08:50 AM) You have very valid views on things, but some people (myself included) just get bothered by some of the lyrics. That's just the way it is. It's not a matter of not accepting other viewpoints. I'm fine with those views, I just find it completely obnoxious in a Rush song. Exactly. I don't care about Neil's personal views...he can believe what he wants to believe. The issue is that they are taking over RUSH songs. I'm sure he's ALWAYS believed this way, and yet, only NOW...almost 40 years as a band, he is flooding albums with direct shots at it. Also, it was one thing with S&A as that was the basis for the album. But if he continues to extend it into CA, I'm going to start to question whether Neil's well is running dry. Like Goober said, it gets obnoxious in Rush songs, and I would feel the same if he was writing from the other side. In fact, LIVE started doing that in the later years, and I can't say I was crazy about it either. Also for the record, I absolutely LOVE BU2B...it's one of my favourite Rush songs in a very long time, and I happen to have very different 'views' than Neil. After S&A, and now BU2B, you're wondering if the well has run dry? As far as Live, they kind of did a total 180. They went from being hardcore against organized religion like Neil, to becoming a band all about preaching the beauty of god. I got real tired of it. They were better when they were angry during their first 3 albums. They broke up anyway so who cares. Neil never went through that transition. He still feels the same way about it now as he did decades ago. In fact with S&A it seems now he's even more malicious, going as far as calling religious people names like a child in some S&A songs. Dedicating an entire album to it too, where in the past it was just a song here and there, so it's starting to get worse. And with the lyrics from BU2B, he's NOT letting go of this. In fact it seems like it's all he can write about these days. So when CA comes out if its another religious shit fest, then Ill just listen to the music and the melodies and just not even care about the lyrics. At this point he is so far away from being my favorite lyricist that it doesnt even matter to me what he writes about anymore. His best work is looooooong behind him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clem Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Jan 12 2012, 08:30 AM) Neil is just doing what so many of us without religion try to do. get people to stop believing in man made story books and use some damn logic and reasoning. i, like Neil, go out of my way to make fun of Christianity. why? because it's ridiculous. It's his blog, his lyrics, his books, etc. he can and will write about whatever he wants. if that includes bashing on your religion, so be it. it's his right. if you don't like, STOP READING. WOW! What a GREAT way to show love! Insult someone's belief and belittle them!! Can't believe how idiotic some people can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sawyer Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Oh man, I was looking forward to reading about this in his next book... now you spoiled the surprise for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Avatar Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jan 12 2012, 03:05 AM) I really wish that the people who hate Neil and his beliefs - or lack thereof - would just ignore any thread mentioning his name. Really. It's so very tedious to read the same whining over and over again. The guy doesn't believe like you do: DEAL WITH IT and move on. /rant "I really wish that NEIL, who hates Christians and their beliefs, would just ignore any book or song or statement that mentions Jesus's name. Really. It's so very tedious to read the same whining over and over again. Christians don't believe like Neil does: DEAL WITH IT and move on NEIL." Hence the hypocrisy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pound of Obscure Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jan 12 2012, 03:05 AM) I really wish that the people who hate Neil and his beliefs - or lack thereof - would just ignore any thread mentioning his name. Really. It's so very tedious to read the same whining over and over again. The guy doesn't believe like you do: DEAL WITH IT and move on. /rant Sadly enough, Neil keeps bringing it up. He can't seem not to. Its not TRFers that won't move on , its him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pound of Obscure Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 QUOTE (Invisible To Telescopic Eye @ Jan 12 2012, 05:55 AM) QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jan 12 2012, 04:05 AM) The guy doesn't believe like you do: DEAL WITH IT and move on. /rant I tend to agree here although I would say quietly accept it. What I dislike most about this whole "his beliefes" thing is that it has kinda marred the complete level of love shared by fans. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circumstantial tree Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 What I can't figure out is why he points out that Christians stole the "pagan tree" yet he, a self-proclaimed linear thinking agnostic, is doing the same thing and topping it with a Christian angel? I guess Jews stole the pagan holiday too since Hanukkah falls, coincidentally, around that same time. What "reason" is he applying here? Seems to me that if you don't believe in deities, you wouldn't be taking part in any activity that derives from religious beliefs. As for me, I couldn't care less if he's atheist, agnostic, or religious. Just stop belaboring the issue in every blog post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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