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You know what I *don't* miss? How difficult it was to find out about upcoming shows. As a teenager in the early 80s I only saw Rush once because that was the only time I heard about them coming to my area (never mind shows in other cities—I never would have been able to get info on them). It wasn't until recently that I discovered I missed several shows/tours because I never saw they were happening :(

Are the photos new, or are they the same ones we've seen in other places?

This is one of my top three Rush albums, and the title track is one of my faves. The whole album is spectacular, and I think this is where they really became Musicians.

YES. Are you wearing socks?

There is nothing dated about this song. I guess people are latching on to one word: modem. Modem does not just mean dialup connections. Anything that connects to any network has some kind of modem. (Nor would a song from the 30s about telephones necessarily be dated. We use them now more than ever.) It's not just the word modem, but the entire concept of the song—communicating via the Internet. And the word "cyber" specifically dates the song right to the mid-90s.

It was just announced: http://www.rush.com/clockwork-angels-tour-coming-november-19/

Yup, I agree. I have to agree with this as well. But I don't think the drop in lyric quality is limited to that album. Virtuality is a good example of a lyric path he just should not have wandered upon—it became very dated very quickly, similar to someone back in the 20s or 30s writing a song about the telephone. My list: 1. Animate > Test for Echo 2. Stick it Out < Driven 3. Cut to the Chase = Half the World 4. Nobody's Hero > The Color of Right 5. Between Sun & Moon > Time and Motion 6. Alien Shore > Totem 7. The Speed of Love < Dog Years 8. Double Agent >> Virtuality 9. Leave That Thing Alone = Limbo 10. Cold Fire = Resist 11. Everyday Glory > Carve Away the Stone Tally: 6 for Counterparts 2 for T4E 3 equal

I am sad to report that during a recent show Geddy hit too many high notes and his head exploded: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3750/9735556896_5677ff077c_b.jpg

There's a saying for that: S/He has a face made for radio. :outtahere:

I agree completely. If I happened to meet them through mutual friends or something similar that would be great, but contrived situations just seem weird. And while I like knowing more about them as people, I have no desire to know *everything* about them. That just seems sorta creepy. I'm fine with letting them have their privacy.

Don't forget about the books! There's Clockwork Angels and all of Neil's books, of course (don't forget about Drumbeats, cowritten by Neil and Kevin J. Anderson, available only as an e-book). There are the rock biographies. And a friend introduced me to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It's a somewhat science-fictiony tale taking place in a plausible dystopian not-too-distant future when the multi-billionaire creator of an extremely popular videogame-cum-virtual reality world dies with no heirs and leaves his fortune to whomever can find the easter egg hidden in the massive game. Sure, it's not about Rush, but there are a lot of Rush references in the book. Since this creator grew up in and loved the 80s the book is filled with pop culture references, and since my formative years were the 80s I found this a lot of fun!

Wow. I had never heard that song/seen that video before, and I think my life was better that way. :/

I guess that's me, with your butt in my face :P HYF was the album that made me stop listening to Rush (for several years), 26 years ago :(

... Or is it? ;)

Dude, Rush is definitely better than Rush. Rush is all about songwriting while Rush is all about musicianship. Of course they're better!

Thank you. Also, this goes without saying but wow, some people sure do post a lot to get those levels!

Heh, right!

Not that I know of, but there's the DJ Z-Trip version which has marginally less lyrics! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMtACkI0N4o I just had the chance to listen to that. I have to say I've never heard anything like it before! Thanks for posting it.

Is there a list somewhere of the different "levels" and what it takes to get them?

I've never liked the lyrics. I wonder if I'd like the song if I heard a non-vocal version? I don't suppose one exists, does it?

Well, being in the top 10 of a list with only 19 entries isn't exactly stellar. I just went back and added up the numbers. Clockwork Angels ranked an average of 7 on peoples' lists, and on 4 lists it was in the bottom half. Only 2 people (myself included) ranked it in their top 3, and about half (7/13) ranked it in their top 5. Personally, I think it's a phenomenal album, and I was just curious about why some others didn't think the same way.

Yup. I'm gonna have to agree with you on this ;)

Nice!

So, hot on the heels of the Album Rankings thread, I'm wondering why not many people have ranked Clockwork Angels as one of their favourite Rush albums. Personally I think it's their best album since 1980, and possibly their best ever. If you don't think so, why not? (I'm just curious.)

Yeah, I feel the same way about him smoking :(