Lucas

Let's call that phone number and ask to speak with Anna Phylaxis ;)

Goblin was mainly known for their horror film soundtracks, but they rarely get a mention ... I wish they would have done more on their own

Let's dance tonight To a virtual song Press this key And you can play along Let's fly tonight On our virtual wings Press this key To see amazing things ... for this, Neil should be dick-slapped

The best tales - esp in fantasy and science fiction - are rooted in humanity and sentiments that we can relate to, and that provoke feelings that paint a meaningful picture ... HEMISPHERES was the culmination of a fantastic era for RUSH, one they had begun constructing for years .. but within this, we had three very diverse and creative people ( ... actually four if you include Terry Brown ) ...... Lyrically, Neil had begun to stylize some of his Ayn Rand concepts, although "Apollo" and "Dionysus" were featured in a Rand essay years earlier ... Is it possible that, considering the personalities within the band, Peart was inspired by what was happening to RUSH at the time: We can walk our road together If our goals are all the same We can run alone and free If we pursue a different aim Let the truth of love be lighted Let the love of truth shine clear Sensibility Armed with sense and liberty With the heart and mind united in a single Perfect Sphere Again, RUSH was about to undergo a transformation - not unlike our eventual God Of Balance ..... This era is fascinating to me because is embodies everything that I love about the band, and it combines humanity, imagery, and enough ambiguity to make it continually interesting and thought provoking ..... I am not sure how much has been discussed by Peart, or the rest of those involved, but I suspect that Peart might have felt as an outsider for a long time within the band ... This is NOT to say that RUSH did not get along or feel like family, but Peart himself has described his place in the band up until this time as a "dark tunnel" ..... To me, there undoubtedly must be a pretty significant chunk of personal feelings and meaning within these lyrics

Great topic - very interesting !!!!! I will go a step further and bring in a song from another album that I think could fit, both atmospherically and in regards to meaning ... Here's my 2112 ULTIMATE EDITION: I - 2112 Overture ( with extended synth in the beginning, complete w/ added tubular bells and Alex's volume swells ) II - Temples of Syrinx III - Discovery ( sans the tuning of the guitar - love the idea, and the "discovery" aspect and water rippling, but no tuning up ) IV - Presentation V - Oracle: The Dream VI - Soliloquy VII - Jacob's Ladder - somehow segue the end of one man's fight with the start of the overall battle VIII - Grand Finale . .

I have memory and awareness, But I have no shape or form As a disembodied spirit, I am dead and yet unborn I have passed into Olympus As was told in tales of old, To the city of Immortals, Marble white and purest gold . . . There are rare moments during certain songs that, no matter what you are doing or where you are, these moments will transport you to some other place .. This is one And Hemispheres is, for me, what RUSH is

I don't know if I would've never heard of Rand were it not for 2112, but yeah, 2112 was my gateway. :) I think it's pretty hard to get to the age of 22 and not have heard of Rand. In the US maybe, in certain circles, in mommy and daddy's basement culture... Everywhere else, outside of the Rush connection, she's totally obscure. As she should be... I read Anthem, in public school, before I ever heard 2112. wow, did the school / teacher recommend Anthem, or was it your choice ?

Rand's points regarding "selfishness" are difficult to explain without examples - an example of my personal interpretation might be how I feel about personal relationships, esp the relationship between partners ... A "significant other" type relationship will not work, or be healthy, unless the individuals are happy and comfortable with themselves coming into the relationship. In other words, the "Without you I'm nothing" bit is bullshit ( ... apologies to Brian Molko ;) A relationship that works is a magical thing - true love .... but unless a person loves themselves, it's not going to work with someone else .. I may be opening a can of worms here, but one of my favorite films - Suicide Club - touches on this in a very convoluted and perverse way

Cygnus X1 As close to "cinematic" as a musical composition can get .. .. and Geddy's voice - I love it

I think it is extremely important - for me, at least - to take art and literature, friends, culture, other's beliefs, social interaction, etc for what it is worth to me, but not losing sight of what it means to others .. Life with a personal filter The internet has provided a incredible means of interaction between individuals - usually, like-minded people ... One fantastic band brings us all to this forum, but the reality is that we all have differences that go beyond RUSH ... In fact, how we all feel about RUSH, and the various stages of their career, is extremely diverse on its own ... The Personal Filter in life is much easier when face to face - on the internet, with disagreements, emotions can, and usually get in the way of any previous bonding or camaraderie ... In other words, if those here were in a room together, we'd all see each other in a different light - I love ANTHEM, but by the time I got to ATLAS SHRUGGED, while it contained some inspiring bits in regards to personal best, I was rolling my eyes at some of the content ..... but that is not much different than the love I have for Cygnus X1 and the dislike I have for Roll The Bones - it is sometimes difficult to get my head around the fact that the same 3 guys created both, but, this is where the personal filter comes in ... I know that in my case, coming to a forum like this, it is best to use that personal filter - if I disagree with someone, I still take something away that wasn't there before - it is up to me if that "something" is negative or positive

I've often wondered if there was more to the end if DIFFERENT STRINGS For cryin' out loud, Alex just gets it going, and it fades ....... it might be interesting to have the solo go awhile, right ?

I have been playing the guitar for most of my life - my Dad played the guitar, and there was always music in the house ( Mom was always always loving Earth, Wind and Fire on the big stereo that was actually considered furniture :) My Dad loved Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Roy Clark and Steve Howe - of course, I did ( and still do ) too ... these guys were all very diverse in what they could play, Steve Howe and Roy Clark in particular - they could pick up an acoustic guitar, and electric guitar, or basically anything with strings and a neck and make music ... This is the way I see Alex - he is not confined to one influence, and he is very diverse and creative in creating music ... The mood he creates with his volume pedal in songs like Xanadu and The Necromancer is brilliant ... His use of classical guitar is wonderful... and the way he uses chords with open strings - moving a certain position up or down the neck, yet leaving certain strings open to ring - is a trademark of his style ... His brilliance does not come from hours and hours of repetition and practice ala Al DiMeola ( who is great in a different way ) ... Alex has the rare ability to put his personality into his playing and at the same time, make great music from it ... And for what it's worth - I love Slash too ... he is another guitar that, while not technically brilliant, is able to play effortlessly as if the guitar is simply an extension of HIMSELF ... His solos in November Rain and Night Train are excellent .... He bends strings and gets the most out of his guitar with the best of his kind - very much like Michael Schenker and Roy Buchanon ...

My second RUSH concert was Sept 25, 1980 ( ... it was also the day John Bonham died )... I had seen RUSH 4 months earlier, but the show in Sept was a little different - they introduced Limelight and Tom Sawyer, and I remember Tom Sawyer had this insane off-the-cuff solo in it from Alex .. In the 4 months between my first and second show, I remember feeling a change from the band - I can't remember if they had cut their hair more, or what ... But 2112 was cut down, Cygnus X1 was no longer in the set, and I recall not being thrilled with the "new" songs .. I still really don't even like Tom Sawyer As a bonus for those still reading this nonsense, here's a fun little fact - my parents drove me and my friends to see the show in Sept 1980 - it was about 2.5 hr drive down to the Spectrum, and during that time, my friend Rex consumed at least 3 containers of orange Tic-Tacs ( hey, we were all of 12 years old ) ... Thankfully, SAXON opened for RUSH, and this gave Rex ample time to take care of his diarrhea and get back to his seat .. The good old days .

RUSH completely lost me after SIGNALS ... it wasn't so much the change in style, but the fact that, beginning with GRACE UNDER PRESSURE, the music became sterile, forced, and, to my ear, unnatural for them .. It was different in the beginning when you could hear obvious influences ( Led Zep, etc ) - they were a young band deveolping their style .... But come the mid 80s, they were established and successful, and, for me, their music became completely void of anything I could relate to - that Steinberger bass is as awkward on Geddy as that raccoon hair he had - to me, it just was not RUSH Sincerity is a big thing for me ... and I think they lost that . .

I don't have any of them...but you're making it sound very tempting to me. I'm a geek that way - if there is a slight improvement in clarity or tightness somewhere, I'm all for it .. I listen a lot on my car, and all today I have been looking for an excuse to drive somewhere so I can hear these songs all over again .. I'd definitely recommend them .... I also got BOSTON debut on Blu Spec CD, and that one is amazing

All the best to you and your family MH - sorry to hear about your Mom .....

I thought I would drag this Countdown thread back to life ... Today, I received my Japanese SIGNALS SHM CD ( which, btw, sounds fantastic ), and I'm loving Countdown ... I'm hearing a very inspired Geddy, esp on bass Overall, my favorite song from SIGNALS Anyone else have any thoughts on the Japanese SHM-CDs ? ... this was my first, and now I'm thinking I need to get more ... I'm pretty impressed

Decades after her death, Rand continues to be a very polarizing figure ... but my original intent in posting this was not to discuss Rand's work .. Quite obviously, a person does not need to agree with Rand to have been effected or influenced by her . I used the term "springboard" with the hopes hearing person anecdotes or experiences because I wanted to hear more about the people here - the different personalities ( ... which happened anyway ) "I love ANTHEM, and I'd like to hear if RUSH have opened the door to any books, philosophies or other non-musical aspects in life" was my closing sentence ... perhaps a person could be so obsessed with Rand that they fail to realize that there are other authors, philosophies, etc in life .... I enjoy reading the passion here, as that in itself is inspiring - whether I agree or disagree, different viewpoints will inevitably make me assess and reassess my own .. but the one thing I must admit is that the reactionary, critical comments here are a bit off-putting - but it is al. good, and it helps paint the picture .. Strange as it may sound, this has been fun . .

Great stuff http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0000/817/MI0000817167.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

wow, I just watched Mystic Rhythms again - for the first time in years ... please excuse me as I now must clean up the blast of explosive diarrhea I experienced less than a minute in . .

LOL

That's what I meant :)

Matt, here it is ... it is really a simple idea, but it helps a lot ... in addition to slowing the songs down, you can loop certain sections ( any section you choose ) over and over What songs are you thinking about ?? .. Early Alex, or more modern stuff ?? Alex was really into Jimmy Page early on ... so listening to some Led Zep will help too

Hi Matt, and welcome ... I will echo what Eagle has said, and add the following : - Don't feel overwhelmed with RUSH - IMHO and experience, you will never learn or understand what is going on by simply following tabs - but, if you have the patience and take the time yourself - rolling your sleeves up - and learn by your ear, you will quickly begin to see tendencies and patterns that carry over from song to song - Start with the basics - no matter what song it is, the foundation is basic ... For example, the beautiful, atmospheric chord that sets the mood in the first minutes of La Villa Strangiato is a simple open G chord position that is moved up to the 8th fret - At first listen, it's like "Wow, what's that weird chord ?" but it is actually the most basic chord, but moved up to the 8th fret - so it is 8th fret first string, 8th fret second string, open 3rd string, open 4th string, 7th fret fifth string and 8th fret sixth string ... - And I have found that using a tool like Tascam's Guitar Trainer is very helpful .. If you're not familiar, it is basically a CD player where you can adjust the tempo without changing the key or tuning ... You can slow the songs down - from a little to a lot - and that helps because when you first begin learning the stuff, it all goes by so fast ... I highly recommend the Guitar Trainer - you can get a used one on eBay for about 30 dollars - I have the reddish orange one, I think it is Guitar Trainer GT1 MKII by Tascam

I'm somewhat new here, so I'd glad someone resurrected this thread ... Great stuff Jamie !! Very appropriate for Good Fry-Day