Bahamas

Some books turn me off by the style of writing, hard to get a rhythm going.

Fantastic album. I get that fans who like the more guitar heavy or deeper edge to their music would not like it and even though I am not a big synth guy, I think the album is really, really great. Like all their albums, there are songs that take a turn or perhaps I don't like, but I think Signals is a top 5. Song analysis? Subdivisions - the video and song resonated with, like, a million youth across the world. The Analog Kid - smart writing and literally one of my youth anthems (in other writings Neil wrote about the "fawned-eyed girl with sun-browned legs". Were we not all young and shy? Chemistry - there is not a metronome anywhere that could keep up to that timing! The Weapon is Part II of Fear. There are only four parts of Fear - The first is in Grace Under Pressure (The Enemy Within); The second being The Weapon (here); The third in Moving Pictures (Witch Hunt); and, Four in Vapor Trails (Freeze). So that should elevate the album, a bit more? It's part of the "lore" of RUSH. New World Man - yup, like synth or not, it's super catchy and fun to play loud. I just wish it was a bit shorter at the end. Losing It - perhaps more lyrically than musically appreciated, it's a hard truth of ageing. Simple idea, brilliant "visuals" (in my opinion). Do we need to get into the whole electric violin and how Mr. Mink influenced a young boy to take up the instrument and become a great musician? How they actually played together during the R40 Tour? Countdown - Yes they were able to witness the Columbia launch from a VIP gallery (race back and forth to a concert and a re-scheduled launch) but everybody should know that the song "was used as a wake-up song for the astronauts during STS-109 (27 flights using Columbia) including the last flight in 2002" (Wiki) - so, that should be a big reason to appreciate a part of the album that perhaps is not one's preferred RUSH sound? So yes Happy 40th Signals Like it or not, it is a huge part of the band and one I can go a long time without playing, but then it comes to mind and I just want to crank it up big time!

Bookmarking this for tomorrow, nice catch Thebuckey2112, as said in other recent posts RUSH seems to be getting more popular

It was only a simple thought as I cycled past a church. Nothing more. And yes, Nova Carmina, I also do not get/understand a topic right away, it can take time. So, have you seen any similar church signs lately? I think Neil was always looking between the lines, so to speak. His was a challenging relationship with religion, no? By including church signs, he also was able to speak about his feelings during long rides - perhaps without being called on the spot? Like, if somebody else says it, I can relate or share. But don't blame me for starting the discussion? (Yikes, I am going to hit Submit Reply and hope I don't ruin the internet)

Thanks for that! And Sam Elliot, well, he's a real cool dude and I am intrigued to see him in a new show. Edit - Watching The Old Man on Disney. Another very cool dude - and a great show, I think. The first episode tried too hard to "paint a picture" of a very retired and geriatric James Bond type dude, but starting after the half way mark of the that first episode and into the rest of the series, brilliant. Says me.

Neil included many church signs with expressions he found interesting, along his rides. I saw this one on Wednesday and it seemed very relevant. Anybody see some interesting ones lately? ( I admit, I did not do a search for Church Signs Neil Liked. If there is a previous post, perhaps it could be merged?)

After watching Yellowstone (most episodes twice, a few more so) I was really looking forward to the announced prequel 1932 but now apparently 1923 - because Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren would be a great "dance" in terms of scripts, no? Then it all seemed to get convoluted and with 1883 now showing I don't subscribe to Paramount - how many streams does one need, one wonders - if one must wonder? Thus I will wait a few months until I can see a few 1883 episodes in a row (on another streaming platform which always seems to happen, eventually) without too many interruptions - I hate watching something that is still full of advertising other shows and ruining the flow of an episode. How is 1883? Does it feel original or more like an afterthought? I never even glanced at Outer Range with Josh Brolin. It looked too opportunistic, and, well Josh Brolin...you would think having Barbra Streisand as a stepmother some talent would shed off on you? I have never been distracted with famous people being cast in certain roles - Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Jane Fonda - if it's great writing and the cast are really into their parts, I love getting carried away in it all. I think Costner and friends really nailed the whole campy feel and some of the lesser characters still stand out for me, it was a really big show.

Over the years I often ask co-workers and new acquaintances if they are into RUSH, it can be a great barrier breaker. Almost always, the answer is no. A contractor through of a friend of a friend installed new basement windows last year. After looking at some of his work, we booked him to build a retaining wall for this year. It's been a few days of noise and activity and today I had time to help him. He says "So you're a RUSH fan?" (I guess he saw shirts I have worn over time, I will ask him tomorrow why he even asked me that question) "Yes, big time", I said. "I listened to 2112 a lot as a teenager with my friend, I saw two concerts at Maple Leaf Gardens. I really liked the album before Fly By Night, too". He explained that he has a big poster honouring war hero's with a gold album in the centre (?) that is on the wall of his office beside his albums. Yeah it's simple, but it was really great to hear somebody else talk about the band without me initiating the conversation. That made my day today. Cheers!

More than a month late, oops! Saw this tonight and wish you a Happy Birthday!! !!!

Ugh. I have a confession to make. I thought I was trying to be objective and recognising other great lyricists. Perhaps even trying to sound smarter or more aware than I really am. Who is a favourite? Who is the best? See, I often find the difference between those qualifiers a challenge in the polls of these forums. I spent the day in my front yard helping a contractor demolish an old (110 years) retaining wall so a new one could be built. It was hot and humid and my mind kept playing this topic over and over . I have to admit, I felt a little guilty. Or put in my place? Neil has to be my favourite lyricist. His words filled my head as a boy delivering the morning newspapers on my Globe & Mail route. They sang on long road trips over my entire life. I listened to his lyrics on long bicycle trips. I know they were at times delayed before publishing rights were granted, it mattered that much to him. Geddy has discussed the back and forth of some passages for better comprehension and presentation. And it has to be acknowledged that it's Geddy's approach and voice to the lyrics that kept me listening to the band my whole life. Yes Alex, too, the band culture also - but this is about lyrics. And it's not just, I realise, that Alex and Geddy made music for his lyrics (as other artists were able to make their own music to their own lyrics, as mentioned above) but that they made music to his lyrics. And then he got to accent his expressions with percussion. Very cool. Maybe Phil Collins can say the same, Stewart Copeland? Or other musicians? Properly ironic or not, arguably their most famous song Tom Sawyer to this day credits Copeland for the lyrics - maybe that is indicative of a mature and able lyricist? Yup, Neil is my favourite. Edit: Oops, Mr. Copeland is not behind Tom Sawyer. It was Max Webster's Pye Dubois.

Thanks for still putting up with us noobs, we all love the band and you have kept the train running

He is not my favourite, no. But for darn sure, he went through such effort to get permission, to give perspective, to explain why, to share his purposes for using lyrics. As a rock musician he is way up on my list because of his pure effort. While there are many songs that I hugely love and respect for what he wrote, let's remember that the music his words were written to, two other guys put them to music (generally). Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Gord Downie, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, Daniel Lanois - all wrote amazing lyrics and put them to music as they wished them to sound. And those are just the Canadians that come to mind. Yes I really like Neil's lyrics and have spent too many hours collating and printing many of them into my own little RUSH folders, but I think I need to realise my bias and admit that many, many others had more time to really express words-to-song than he was able to achieve.

I can hear Geddy's voice! Their comeback album, for sure! One Little Victory Like the rat in a maze who says, "Watch me choose my own direction" (quotes used in liner lyrics, not mine)

From anything I have seen, those old logs are for close friends and family, only. I hope (one can?) that some day a lot more of his writings will be released. If only because we really, really want to learn more about his early days. More than just Backstage Club letters and tour books and cyber delicatessens and such - but diaries and travel journal entries. Is that fan-creepy? I don't think so. I think he had a lot to say and we would like to read about it all. Cheers - and just look around the internet, there is a lot out there about his writings. But I agree, a published and cover to cover compilation would be a bedside companion.

At first, yes! Expensive production, great writing. Then...why the gore and extra drama? Then the characters really grow and the whole history-meets-today conflicts are well done (in my opinion). Great show. Really great show. Like him or not, Kevin Costner likes to be in huge productions. And I am waiting for the prequel to start some time in September (but like everything else, who knows when that will happen). If it's already on your DVR, check it out!

Key - "favorite". Yes, absolutely.

Think as much as you like about it. His writing often had multi-meanings into things. Sarcasm, sentimentality, frustration - and then he would make a point of explaining why he wrote something. You have the words in front of you, I have read it all a couple of times but don't know why, exactly, he wrote any of it per-say. But something that comes to mind is, it may have been a point of geography when he learned terrible news during previous travels. And perhaps Michael (boy, how they loved to banter!) should have known better, but I am on Michael's side. It must have taken a lot to consider all the thoughts and reactions Neil had during travels around the world. Personally, I think to really understand a lot of what Neil wrote you need to keep a running journal of entries for cross-referencing. I think he really did pay that much attention to what he wrote.

The Anarchist (And welcome to the Forums, NoahLutz!) I could disappear into the crowd but not if I keep my head in the clouds I could walk away so proud It's easy enough if you don't laugh too loud

I think I read somewhere that she had long requested a song for her dear Corgis. "Please, lads!". she pleaded. "They need a bedtime ballad!". Dog Years was a close as they could get. So she often dressed up her little loved ones in over-sized tortoise costumes, set out the bright red fire hydrant from her special edition of the Signals Ultra Royal Deluxe box set (before us devoted fans get our version) and let them roam around the room like Roombas, asking them "would you rather be in the Galapagos Islands?" "I wouldn't think so, no!" Who knew?!

Not a lot of love, huh. It's a great long distance cycling-with-headphones album. Personally, over the course of so many albums and decades I decided years ago it was a matter of understanding what they were playing, learning why new sounds and styles were introduced - not yes it's great or it's sh*t. And maybe not a popular expression but to me the albums are often about more than the music. Backstory and events play a big role in why I choose to play an album at certain times. It could have been their last album. Lots transpired after the tour. But they kept together like they did until the very end, so an album like Test For Echo is pretty high on my list. Of course we don't have to love everything they did. But it bugs me when people say this or that album or this or that song sucked. It was pressed and released with full agreement. Perhaps it's not a personal favourite but, sorry no, nothing sucked. Take the title song for example, great "visuals". And Driven? Somebody posted recently about the "goth - horror European" filming style. So much thinking and production went into everything they did. Dog Years could have been shorter - but, it's about dogs!!!!! "Put your message in a modem and throw it in the Cyber Sea", pretty cool concept. And the lyrics in Limbo? Brilliant Nothing RUSH did was half-hearted. Was TFE a precursor to Vapor Trails? When you play out a few albums of a "newer-wave" and need to go back to full on heavy, maybe TFE deserves more credit. Cheers

I am catching up and watching some clips on You Tube. It seems to me that during Working Man, Mr. Grohl is looking out at the guys and thinking "I thought you guys were retired?!"...breath...it can't last much longer...keep breathing... I thought it sounded great!

The Way The Wind Blows - Snakes & Arrows (I looked through the lyrics a couple of times as it would be this or that album and then looked for a song that fit - but the idea of "Us vs. Them" or " They vs. Me" is really, really common in Neil's writing. Nice choice! And Geddy has a way of singing rhymes that are appropriate for many, many albums. It's been a while but this "game" is a great way to re-visit songs and re-read the words of all of them!) My gaze is caught and held And I am helpless, mesmerized

With Roll The Bones in the CD rotation tonight, right now it's The Big Wheel.

snowdog2112, you are a master finder of great stuff! When Time Stood Still first asked above, I thought of the audio box set(s) with the name Retrospective and passed on by. Of course, I missed the "aired" bit. I never thought much of RUSH videos. Posters and album covers and tour books, yes. Videos, no. Never a big MTV or music media fan in general, what I did see of their videos was underwhelming, or weird to me. Not polished like little movies as so many music videos were. This recording explains so much about the videos. I have watched some that came with recent 40th anniversary releases, only Driven really caught my attention. Now finding and watching the 1991 movie Delicatessen is my new side project! I noticed "Christ" was edited out of the broadcast during the discussion of The Pass video. Goodness, how times have changed in over thirty years since. Thanks for that trip down memory lane. I think I will find a new interest in Rush music videos and the names and artists and producers behind them.

Interesting choice. While I have almost zero interest in baseball or its ballparks, I have also learned in recent years that subjects unknown can reveal a lot of interesting stuff, and when it's a well written book? It feels lucky. And thanks for the mention of repetition - happens often, but hearing "rus in urbe" more than once on a long drive with no internet? I'd probably climb the first mountain I saw just to get a few bars for a google.