toymaker

That keyboard player, man . . . creepy.

My guess is that if there is a defect on the record that causes the tonearm to rise a little, the counterweight will pull the tonearm up off the record to prevent it from skipping across the surface of the record. All I know is that there was a fair bit of hoping for the best involved in setting all that stuff up. The counterweight is tied to a little length of fishing line that has a little loop on the end, and you have to put the loop around the correct notch in a little peg that sticks out, depending on the weight of the stylus . . . or something like that. So far nothing terrible has happened. I have a couple of records, though, that might be so gummed up with dust and crap that everything sounds a bit "fuzzy." If a good cleaning doesn't help, I wonder if it will be a sign that I haven't set the counter-balance properly - maybe the needle isn't fully in the groove? Complicated.

I live not too far from an LCBO (liquor store) that sells craft beer. I'm hoping they get some in! This may mean, of course, that I'm just one of those people who will buy anything with "Rush" on it somewhere...

I have already made my decision about this, Lorraine. When/if I get cancer, I'm going with cannabis. Daily doses of CBD oil. And I will eat all the chocolate cake I want. I watched Janet go through treatment, and it took her away long before she should have - I say this even though it did technically "extend" her life. If they had let nature take its course, she would have slipped into a coma and died peacefully. What happened is that she ended up in pain from lesions and sores until they ended up administering an overdose of opiates. Chemo drugs give lots of misery and pain, from what I can see. Then you take drugs to counter the effects of those drugs, and on and on. I had a complicated excel file to keep everything organized. Her chemo drug, Temodol, was a pill so poisonous that I was not allowed to touch it - it could penetrate my skin and make me sick. What I want is my final days to be filled with music, mellow feelings, friends sharing memories, and lots of cake. I'm not trying to be a wag. I just want all of my favorite things. I know the cannabis thing is freighted with controversy, even now. Is the endocannabinoid system real? It seems there is only really anecdotal evidence of people who have gone into remission after taking CBD oil. But given the choice, that's what I will go with. Having said all of that, I feel it is important to stress, as well, that you get as much information and opinions as you can from as many people as you can. I remember very well how chemo made Janet's last months miserable, and it is on account of Janet that I decided, once and for all, I'd never get chemo. I'm all for dying peacefully having done all the things I can and/or want to do with my health, more or less, intact, without suffering the wretched effects from that poison which will sap whatever peace and happiness I may have left long before my time has come. No chemo for me. I will take it one day at a time. Me too. I didn't even talk about my sister, Cheryl, who died just over a year later, also from cancer. The drugs made her miserable, as well. No chemicals for me, thanks. I'm not a very spiritual person, but I believe, very strongly - very strongly - that personal positivity in your own life, and positive and encouraging words from others, can alleviate pain. I think you will get a lot of those things here - call 'em vibes. Everyone is sending them, and I am sure the knowledge of that will help. It's no small thing to be admired and even adored - and I've seen tons of evidence of that on the forum. You should soak it up. I know it will help.

For me there's no question that the stuff he did on The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge is the most interesting, in terms of the contribution to the whole ensemble. I think his drumming stands out even more than it does on his "solo" stuff like One of a Kind. I wasn't crazy about the big wall of Simmons drums that he was using for a while there. Also, I'm not sure I would even count the Genesis thing. He was really more a touring musician, like Thompson. Sort of mostly replicating the original parts but putting his own spin on it? All I really have to go by is The Cinema Show on Seconds Out - or did he play on other tracks on that album? It might be useful to watch a whole show that he played with Genesis, but I haven't looked for any.

I have already made my decision about this, Lorraine. When/if I get cancer, I'm going with cannabis. Daily doses of CBD oil. And I will eat all the chocolate cake I want. I watched Janet go through treatment, and it took her away long before she should have - I say this even though it did technically "extend" her life. If they had let nature take its course, she would have slipped into a coma and died peacefully. What happened is that she ended up in pain from lesions and sores until they ended up administering an overdose of opiates. Chemo drugs give lots of misery and pain, from what I can see. Then you take drugs to counter the effects of those drugs, and on and on. I had a complicated excel file to keep everything organized. Her chemo drug, Temodol, was a pill so poisonous that I was not allowed to touch it - it could penetrate my skin and make me sick. What I want is my final days to be filled with music, mellow feelings, friends sharing memories, and lots of cake. I'm not trying to be a wag. I just want all of my favorite things. I know the cannabis thing is freighted with controversy, even now. Is the endocannabinoid system real? It seems there is only really anecdotal evidence of people who have gone into remission after taking CBD oil. But given the choice, that's what I will go with. Having said all of that, I feel it is important to stress, as well, that you get as much information and opinions as you can from as many people as you can.

The new turntable I just brought home was NOT was I was expecting . . . but it's cool. I've been getting back into vinyl. Although I gave a lot of albums away when CDs came out, I kept most of my collection and have bought a few things over for the nostalgic value - and sometimes because I am absent minded. I thought I had lost or given away my vinyl copy of Close to the Edge, so I found a copy in an antique market recently, and then realized that my copy has been hanging in a frame downstairs in my music room. Duh. Anyway, the turntable. I had a Dual when I was younger, but after it needed a second repair I ditched it. I then got a used Technics which served me well for a while, but I thought since I had so many records I should get something nice. So I went into the stereo shop and I told the guy I wanted a good quality, basic turntable. In my mind, I meant no USB, no bluetooth or any of that stuff. So I get it home and discover that, I guess like a lot of audiophile equipment, this is completely manual. So when it gets the the end of the album side, the stylus just goes round and round and round until you go and lift it up. The platter doesn't even start spinning when you push the tonearm over. I didn't realize there was a switch on the underside. It also has this (to me) complicated balancing system and anti-skating thing - a little weight suspended from some fishing line. Anyway, the upside is that listening to a record now is a more absorbing experience, just like it was when I was a kid. I sit and listen. No multitasking! So I get to appreciate my music more. My neighbor has a record washing system that he is going to let me use to clean up my collection. In the end, I find that I do like listening to vinyl albums more than CDs, so my CD collection will likely be for the car, mostly. Vinyl does take up a lot of space, though!

Happy birthday!

many happy more!

We'll keep this thread going so she knows we're thinking of her and pulling for her.

Xanadu is great! Instrumentally, it sounds damned close. Although...there's some weirdness in the solo section.

Hope it was a good one!

Welcome to the forum. I think Lessons is a great tune!

Page 216-17 of the book. "It's just a very simple anti-American song," answers Pye asked about the lyric. “Uncle Sam's time is only to grease the wheel. I think that's self-explanatory. OK, forgive me—for me it's self-explanatory. Uncle Sam is the United States, and 'Uncle Sam's time is only a greased wheel...' I don't know how you used the term, a greased wheel, but you've heard people say grease the wheel? You grease the palm, yeah, grease the wheels of commerce—it's blatantly anti-American. And 'bust the busters, screw the feeders,' well, why bust me if I have dope? Let's go bust them. You know? You know, the people that feeds me this cultural crap, they're the ones that need to be fed. etc. I mean, don't be busting me!" Thank you, RushFanForever. That helped a bit. I always wondered what Buster Keaton and Buster Crabbe had ever done to Max Webster. And the the "screw the feeders" part: What's wrong with nice people trying to feed the starving? Now I know what he actually meant! I always knew the "Uncle Sam's time..." was a negative thing about the United States. I think Dubois would like real Americans. Not the politicians or the corporation jerks. I'd still like to know what he did with that fist though. It's possible the fist in an empty field refers to those solidarity posters, like black power, that show a fist against an empty background, or "field"

We actually got up at 5: PM, and I thought it was Friday. That's a regular occurrence with me.

Sucks. Great voice, great bass, great moves.

Get it.

I'm trying to think of which song that is, so let us know if you get the title. Glad you like it though. It's Our Wonderful Lives - the acoustic bit reminds me of Lights when Shaw starts singing "I heard the knock on my door / I heard the ring of the bell". Different keys - I think Lights is in A and the new tune is in D

This is definitely a solid album. Sometimes I think these bands are influenced by their earlier selves a bit, which I don't mind at all! There's one tune (I haven't got the titles down yet) that sounds a bit like Lights - the acoustic guitar bits.

Thanks for posting the interview. It sounds like I have a few things to look forward to!

The bassline to Another One Bites The Dust.... :D It's hard not to think of the bassline from Good Times - but there's probably lots of funk and disco tunes that start with the bass going "bum - bum - bum"

Sending good thoughts your way, as we all are. All the best to you during recovery and getting back to normal!

Parts of Hold Back the Darkness sound like Pink Floyd.

South Side of the Sky is such a killer tune, but I find the vocals in the middle bit - "laaaa laaaaa laaaaa la" - kind of irritating. I love the drumming under that section - the whole bit musically is great, but the vocals bum me out.

I'll add my congratulations. Keep postin'!