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Deckiller

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  1. QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 1 2012, 11:08 AM) 2. I can't stand I Think I'm Going Bald - the lyrics, while trying to make a point, are just too silly for Rush. The guys obviously have great senses of humor, but trying to stick that into a song just doesn't work for them (RTB rap anyone? ). Their music, especially in the 70's and 80's, was so great that trying to make a funny song just seems beneath them, and it dragged the album down. 3. Most of the time they do narration, it ruins a song for me. This is especially evident with The Necromancer (which would have been great otherwise) and Cygnus X-1 (which along with the screaming at the very end drags down the song immensely - again, the song would have been great otherwise). The rap in RTB is awful for this reason as well. 4. Hold Your Fire is one of their best albums. This is the other album I love that so often gets thrown under the bus. Admittedly, the last two songs keep this album from true greatness, but otherwise the first 8 songs are excellent. 5. The keyboard era was incredible. A lot of people hate the keyboard era, but I loved it, and I've bitterly missed the keyboards in every subsequent Rush album. These albums were innovative and interesting, and the keys added a level of depth to the music that's been missing ever since they went back to basics. 6. Presto is a very mediocre album. 10. Counterparts was a comeback album after two major duds. A lot of people don't see those as duds, so they don't share this view. 11. T4E has no memorable songs at all. The album is just heavy, and that's pretty much it for me. Resist is highly overrated and only started really getting attention when they did the acoustic version of it. And again there are songs with horribly embarrassing lyrics, perhaps more so than some of the songs on Presto and RTB, namely Test For Echo, Totem, Dog Years and Virtuality. What on earth was Neil thinking with some of these lyrics? 12. VT is a complete disaster in every conceivable way. There's the obvious mastering problem, but outside of that the songs just aren't good - the lyrics are depressing and the songs are just too structured and relentlessly intense. There's no guitar solos, the songs are too long, the album is too long, there's the annoying Geddy choirs, etc. The album should have been scrapped and never released to the public. The album is a true embarrassment to their legacy. I can't understand how anyone likes it. The only good thing about it is that they came back after immense tragedy, but unfortunately that doesn't make the album palatable at all. 13. S&A is actually a very good album, and again it's a HUGE comeback album. Many here seem to hate on it. The first three songs in particular are outstanding, and the instrumentals are by far their best post-1981. 16. I don't give a shit about Neil's blog or books. I like to have it pointed out where he gives Rush related information and news, but the rest of it I see no point in personally. I sincerely feel that if he wasn't a member of this band beloved by so many, his books would have gone nowhere. Most of the material is just boring. 17. That said, Neil is NOT an asshole. I have no problem whatsoever with his behavior or choices in how he interacts (or doesn't as the case may be) with fans. That's completely his choice. I care only if he gives his all into his drumming and songwriting, and that he does, even if I don't always love everything he comes up with. The rest is superfluous. 19. Rush have somewhat sold out in the past few years. Thankfully, I don't believe they've ever not given it their all in the studio or in a live performance, so in that I give them major respect. That said, I think they've done tons of unnecessary touring the past few years as an obvious cash grab capitalizing on their longevity and success and status as icons. Of course they're entitled, and I can understand the argument that they've earned it, but I'm old school - either you tour to support new material, or you do the golden oldies circuit where you just play your old hits and it's obvious that you're touring solely on legacy alone (like say The Moody Blues). Touring to support an EP of covers was questionable, but the 2nd leg of S&A was definitely unnecessary other than to make money (often playing the same venues), and both legs of the Time Machine tour supporting two songs was an obvious cash grab. Again, they're entitled, and if the fans are happy, that's cool, but for such an active band to only release an album of new studio material every 5 years is sad. I know they're older, and I understand that new albums don't make much if any money, but for me if a band is active they make studio albums, at least every once in awhile because music is creativity, and creativity is new material. Just how I feel... 20. Rush should have lip synched at the Olympics. Some will find it highly ironic that I accuse the group of selling out and appreciate the fact that they've kept their integrity while criticizing them for something that many would consider to be the ultimate sell-out and compromising of their integrity. I completely see and appreciate that point of view, and still I feel they missed the opportunity of a lifetime to be seen by the biggest audience they could ever dream of representing the best their country has to offer in music. Five minutes of lip synching was a small price to pay for that. Similarly, I think they've repeatedly shot themselves in the foot prior to a few years ago by not doing interviews and publicity for a long time - they could have pushed themselves into a higher echelon of popularity. Some would argue that this is a positive thing, but I disagree. I believe Rush should be as exposed to as many people as possible. Others want to keep them their little secret and love their status as the biggest cult band in the world. I think that's a fairly selfish point of view. They deserve a HUGE audience! I agree with all these.
  2. http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?showtopic=59252 I've already committed way too many sins! 1. Neil's drum solos post-Counterparts are better than those of most drummers, but they are still some of his weakest material. Many of the newer ones lack cohesion and groove, especially between the electronic parts and his fills. They just don't match up; they're awkward for the lay man like me. 2. Headlong Flight is one of Rush's weaker songs. Poor melodies/singing, inconsistent lyrics, poor production, and repetitive sections drag down some good guitar/bass riffs and drum fills. 3. Vital Signs is one of Geddy Lee's 10 best basslines. It's so powerful and driving. 4. Power Windows and Hold Your Fire are two of Rush's 5 best albums. The Synth Era in general was Rush's peak; the songs were well written and produced, and the balance was impeccable. This was their golden era of songwriting - and arguably the most creative period of any musical force to come out of the 70s prog scene. Alex was sidelined a bit, but he compensated by unleashing his most consistent solos. 5. Ghost of a Chance is outstanding. Great guitar solo, fantastic melodies, and a rare example of Rupert Hine's production working in favor of the band. 6. Middletown Dreams is VERY underrated. 7. Rush's first album is actually one of the best hard rock albums ever. It's just eclipsed by their genre-trancending 80s output.
  3. Rush and Genesis are two of my five favorite bands. I am totally there. Edit: they're playing Headlong Flight right now, and WOW - their mix sounds fantastic! The vocals are clear and crisp!
  4. I hope Roadrunner make some money off this album. They're a good label and they sign good bands...like half of my top 10 bands are under their aegis.
  5. I'm thinking of bands that fit the Rush "spirit" here... 3 from 12:00-12:45 (Hard-hitting warmup band...great opener to Within Temptation last year) Kansas from 1:00-2:30 Primus from 2:45-4:15 Porcupine Tree from 4:30-6:00 Dream Theater from 6:15-8:15 Rush from 8:30-11:15
  6. Rush are probably the most technically proficient of the bands you hear on the radio in a particular day. But there are plenty of musicians with "better" chops. Mangini/Petrucci/Myung of Dream Theater are technically superior to Lee/Lifeson/Peart at their own instruments, but they lack Rush's consistency and succinctness as songwriters. The only "trio" I can think of that is more technical than Rush is Primus - and they're lacking in the guitar department in terms of pure chops, as LaLonde is more avant garde than technical. Mid-70s King Crimson came close. Planet X would count as well, but they have to bring a bassist on tour. ELP are also close; Palmer and Peart are roughly equal, but Lee has an edge over Lake. Emerson is, of course, the wild card. Chemistry and songwriting? Rush are undeniably top tier.
  7. Sorry, guys - I had some gamedev-related sidetracking. We were just wrapping up the judging of a game development contest. I'll write some more entries ASAP!
  8. I'll probably sit on them for a couple months. I didn't start the rankings until about 3 months after Caravan/BU2B came out.
  9. I also just realized that there's some real irony in the way I envision the music of Power Windows when compared to the actual lyrical content. That's another great thing about Rush: the music doesn't necessarily have to complement or match the lyrics.
  10. All great songs, for sure! Just to clarify a few things: I truly believe that we must live together or we will die alone. But we all need an identity as well. That's what makes us human.
  11. 18. "Emotion Detector" This is going to be a long write-up, and most of it will be tangential to this song. I've had a lot of built-up things to say. Sorry if it seems disorganized; I'm going to leave it as raw as I can. This song is bloody fantastic. I can't say enough about the synths in this song. This is synth work at its finest. THIS is where all those years of experimenting paid dividends. The keyboards in this song are just so beautiful, ethereal, and powerful. They paint a vivid landscape of a futuristic city built in the frontier that may seem cold and distant as you approach it at night, but then the sun rises and you see that everything in front of you is personalized. It's not quite as uniform as we would expect - there are variations in architecture and the interiors are still pretty damn personalized! It's a landscape that serves as the antithesis of the suburbs in "Subdivisions". For the future, it's very...human. Power Windows in general sounds like it could be the soundtrack of a tasteful, character-driven scifi series. It's cold and futuristic, but at the same time full of the "goodness of humanity": care, pride, optimism. Rush can be very effective when they take the role of disciplined, gentle giants. This song - and this album, really - could also be the soundtrack to an alternate version of 2112's world, where music and culture won out but technology continued to flourish. The beautiful synths resonate with us...they are a celebration of our uniqueness as individuals, and how our identities and our ability to forge our identities gives us something to live for. If we're all the same, then we lose our individuality and our will to live. We will self destruct if we lose our identities as people, and we will become mindless husks like the ones seen in Mass Effect. And if we're all like that...well, then the world will turn into that which is seen in 2112. We humans can still flourish in the future, even if things become more sterile as a consequence of technology. There's nothing wrong with a realistic vision of the future that is still optimistic. And that's one of the things Rush are the best at conveying: realistic optimism. You hear it in their lyrics, in their careful use of major chords, and in their interviews. The melodies are beautiful, as are the synths. Granted, Lifeson took a backseat in this period and Neil emphasized timbre over technique, but the songs are timeless and crafted from the heart. They NEVER lost that ability; they just changed their sound and emphasis over the years. I mean, come on: instruments are a vehicle for music. If you're about to reunite with your long lost wife, who cares if she comes home on a plane or a train? It doesn't matter to me - as long as the instruments are played well, sound good, feel good, and blend together nicely with the melodies. And by god, the synths certainly helped Geddy construct some beautiful melodies - at Alex's expense, sadly. And I'm going to be honest here: the synths may have reduced Alex's role, but they sure as hell helped elevate his soloing. On this song in particular, he didn't have much room to work in the verses and choruses, so he compensated by unleashing what might be his best solo (or close to it). I envision it as a powerful beast being caged up, its owner waiting for the right moment to unleash it upon the crowd. Every note of the guitar solo is brilliant. Should we, the audience, use the solo and the song as an...emotion detector for Alex during this time period? Could the solo be conveying his frustrations about being so...restricted? It's understandable why they couldn't sustain this period. Alex is an important creative force in the band, and most of their best material is written with him at the helm with the other two boys. I just feel that the "synth era experiment" paid dividends for Rush for a period of time, with one of those dividends being this gem.
  12. Thanks for all the feedback, guys - both positive and negative. As for Presto, granted...I started off this thread with some criticism hurled in the direction of Presto/RtB, but I'll be coming full circle in this top 20 by giving those albums credit where credit is certainly due in my eyes But we're all different, and that's what makes Rush so awesome. It's not like ranking the episodes of Lost, where there's a pretty unanimous consensus on where most of the episodes stand. One Rush fan's favorite song could be another fan's least favorite!
  13. 19. "The Pass" This is a beautiful song - I think most of us can agree on that. The choruses are full of emotion, and Geddy's delivery of the line, "Christ, what have you done?", packs a punch without being over the top. I also love that simple, popping bassline that plays a bit of "call and answer" with Alex's guitar bursts during the verses. It's not a technically complex piece, at least to my ears, but it just fits the rather dark and tragic nature of this song. Sythesizers are used very tastefully in this song, serving to accentuate or differentiate certain passages and melodies; one notable example is in the second verse. As good as the verses are, what really makes this song stand out are the choruses and...yes, I am going to say this...the production job by Rupert Hine. But more on the production later - I want to gush about the choruses first! They are bursting at the seams with the raw energy of desperation and, ultimately, despair and confusion. Every time I hear the choruses, I almost get a little misty. This song was pretty personal to me, as I had a friend who was feeling suicidal around the time that I first listened to Presto. And Rush feel attached to this song as well; they've said point-blank that it's "one of [their] very favorites". I've seen Neil show some real emotion when playing the final chorus - one that packs a greater punch after Lifeson's brief solo and Geddy's "Christ" line. In a lot of ways, that's the true test of a song's emotional worth: does the chorus feel more satisfying after the bridge? In this song, it sure as hell does - Geddy's delivery of the "Christ" line turns the song upside down. We failed to convince the person; s/he did the deed. And now we look back in that last chorus and reflect at what happened, with the chorus serving as the message that we wanted to tell the person...but couldn't or didn't?! Makes you wonder! Powerful stuff. This song is a good example of tasteful balance, and - as I've said in previous postings - that's Rupert Hine's strength as a Rush producer. His Rush productions may seem a little flat, but they're well mixed and all the instruments are balanced. This song and "Available Light" are not "loud" or booming from an instrumental angle - they get their emotional punch from the lyrics, the singing, and the interplay of the instruments. This is in stark contrast to "Face Up" or "Superconductor", two songs that lack the deep and rich instrumental 'punch' they desperately need.
  14. QUOTE (GeddyLeeRoth @ Feb 25 2011, 12:09 AM) QUOTE (kookaluka @ Feb 24 2011, 09:30 PM) This has been an agonizing wait.......... Clockwork Angels will be out before this list is through, then he will have to start from scratch. 2014 is the magic number here folks. Oh my.
  15. Meh, sorry if some of my write-ups seem lazy...I've been really busy lately.
  16. QUOTE (kookaluka @ Feb 11 2011, 08:39 AM) Worth a try... 1. Hemispheres 2. 2112 3. Natural Science 4. Xanadu 5. Tom Sawyer 6. La Villa Strangiato 7. The Spirit of Radio 8. Limelight 9. Different Strings 10. Freewill 11. Working Man 12. YYZ 13. Subdivisions 14. Ghost of a Chance 15. Red Barchetta 16. The Enemy Within 17. Losing It 18. Mystic Rhythms 19. The Pass 20. Available Light 21. Marathon 22. Armor and Sword 23. Lock and Key 24. Emotion Detector Two of the top five are accurate! The rest...
  17. QUOTE (kookaluka @ Feb 10 2011, 11:45 PM) Only ones I would have ranked as better songs. 79. By-Tor and the Snow Dog (30-40) 74. Something for Nothing (40-50) 65. A Passage to Bangkok (20-30) 61. Circumstances (30-40) 60. Cygnus X-1 (30-40) I hope Cygnus X-1's ranking is not an indication of Book 2's, which may be my all time favorite! Also pulling for Natural Science, Xanadu, and 2112 to make the top 5. At least one of those songs is in my top 5!
  18. Thanks for the comments, guys -- here are a few hints regarding the top 24: Number 23 is either Ghost of a Chance, Armor and Sword, Freewill, or Lock and Key. Number 14 is either Armor and Sword, Ghost of a Chance, Freewill, or Marathon. Number 10 is from Permanent Waves. Number 15 is from Moving Pictures. Number 19 is from Presto. Number 11 was recorded in the 1970s. Who wants to try and guess the top 24 in order?
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