Cyclops

More has happened in the first 3-4 eps I have seen this year than all of the first season. I like the direction the show has taken and kind of hope they keep the momentum going. Oh and more shield walls and sword play. That is never bad. And Lagertha. Always more Lagertha.

I think the show keeps getting better. They create new elements for the show and use them to pretty awesome effect. Green Arrow's genesis is more interesting than a lot of other characters because what he ends up as, at least in the comics, is drastically different than what is presented on the show.

Rush's marketing strategy is to flood the market with stuff so that even when they take a long break, their name is still out there. Remember when they used to put out a live album every five studio albums or so? Now every album has a live album to accompany the tour. Its all about brand at this point. The boys are padding their retirement funds. Good on them too, they've earned any mainstream bucks that come their way.

Its an amazing song. As has been said previously, it melts faces. The Ark of the Covenant melted less faces. Thematically, the song is amazing. It works in context of the CA concept, but could also be seen as Rush singing an ode to their own journeys. Its easy to take this song and apply it to my own humdrum life because there have been moments of highest highs and lowest lows, times where I basked and burned. And in the end, even though there is still so much to do, I would still live it all again. So yes, the one time I heard it concert, I screamed lyrics and air telegraphed, and enjoyed the hell out of it. That said, The Garden is a powerhouse of a song.

There's a part of me that just wants them to stick with what worked on CA, S&A, and VT. Those albums contain some amazing songs, simple enough to enjoy, complex enough to require an undistracted listen. Part of me wonders if they have anything left in the tank. Without googling, I want to say they've been writing songs for almost 40 years, and not all of it has been inspired. My unadulterated fanboy dream is for them to keep pumping out amazing songs, touring like men half their age, Geddy singing with cackling glee until even a deaf person could realize his voice was blown. I doubt that's going to happen. I read an interview that indicated 70 was their breaking point, but part of the mad awesome of being your own boss is that as long as the ledgers are balanced, the rest is fluid. Rambling aside, I hope they keep putting out music akin to the stuff they've done since reforming. I like my Rush a little more prog metal. Some of their best songs have been synth heavy, but I think the band works much better with the synths providing backup to the guitar/bass. The use of synth on CA is my example on how Rush should use synths from here on out. That said, I wouldn't be suprised if the next Rush album was heavily influenced by some EDM they picked up on tour with Neil busting out the electronic drumset and Alex autotuning his voice so he can finally sing decent backup.

The backhanded nature of this article reminds me of that guy trying to explain liking the strange, unpopular, or misunderstood to his buddies so they won't bust his chops about it. Robb Sheffied is dog crap melting on a sunny day.

1) Double Agent 2) Time and Motion 3) Secret Touch 4) Hope 5) Afterimage 6) Coldfire 7) Entre Nous 8) Spindrift 9) War Paint 10) In The End This is all relative to the idea that I've been hearing the same 6 Rush songs on the radio, and am the only hardcore Rush fan I personally know.

I don't like buying things twice, but this will be money well spent. The OLV and Earthshine remixes were really good. I doubt it'll win the album any new fans, but I think the ones who were already sold on it will enjoy it more. I'm a big fan of the whole album and can't wait to hear the remix.

Over a year since I first heard CA and I'm still reveling in how good it is.

S&A was a funny album for me. I think I heard Far Cry and expected more songs in that vein, and found myself disappointed my some of the mid-tempo offerings. Of course, the instrumentals hooked me, but it took several spins for the album to hook me as a whole. I'm still not overly fond of The Larger Bowl, The Way The Wind Blows, Bravest Face, or We Hold On, but the rest of the album pretty much rocks, and I found a deep appreciation of Armor and Sword and Faithless. I could listen to Hope every day, and Far Cry is amazing.

QUOTE (Todem @ Jul 1 2012, 03:46 PM) The main riff is a bad to the mother f***ing bone full on 70's classic Rush assault. I love the keyboard chords during the pre-chorus. And I really love the lyrics on this tune. "Glitter in the sun like a revelation" Distant as a comet or a constellation". Fricking bas ass! This song is going to cook and melt peoples faces on the tour. I don't get the hate. I think its a great moody song.

QUOTE (Slack jaw gaze @ Jul 1 2012, 05:29 PM) Much of it has to do with emotional attachments made to things when we were young. If someone bothered to do polls about favorites by age group, the favorites would probably cluster around what they heard when they were a teenager. When giving lists of top 5 albums, it's common for people to make the comment that their top 5 "will never change". I'm an oddball because I had Exit Stage Left, Moving Pictures, and Permanent Waves back in the day. That was about all I knew of Rush until 3 or 4 years ago. I had no idea they were even still a band. It wasn't until the last few years that I listened to the full catalog. I don't have as many sacred cows as most people do. New Rush is far more compelling to me than almost all of those old records, which are pretty new to me. Of course my sacred cows are MP and PeW, but they are pretty much universally liked by all camps of fans. And, for me, its hard to judge Rush album to album over their career. They don't follow a progression where they try to improve on the sound they established in the previous album, sometimes going far afield of that sound/style on purpose. You can't really compare a lot of the early stuff with the later stuff because the band changed. Age, interests, work ethic. In my mind, they still excel at writing and arranging, the lyrics are poweful as ever, but Rush is a known factor and I don't think they're going to suprise us anymore. In fact, I think the real question should be what do you as the listener expect from Rush that you haven't already heard?

QUOTE (goose @ Jul 1 2012, 08:50 AM) QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Jul 1 2012, 12:08 AM) Halo Effect for me.....closely followed by Wish Them Well.... If any are "skipable", then .

<having trouble formulating words>

1. Zoolander 2. Anchorman 3. 40 Year Old Virgin 4. Army of Darkness 5. I Love You Man