OneZeroZero

His intro to the live version of "The Weapon" was a classic.

 

https://youtu.be/iTBx0P0zOqA?si=Vxb2f22ZKfvTSCOe

Well-deserved.

 

https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2023/03/27/donna-halper-quincy-ma-rush-fame-joining-the-broadcasters-hall-of-fame/70044991007/

I just got an email from Rush Backstage announcing the release of the 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of Signals. Disappointingly (at least for me), there is apparently no unreleased live material as we've gotten with previous anniversary editions, unless I'm missing something.

 

https://www.rushbackstage.com/product/6XAMRU260/signals-40-backstage-exclusive-super-deluxe-edition?cp=102112_112120

Just FYI, the Symphony's page for the event says the following: "Please note: Special guests are appearing virtually to share their support for music, resilience in the arts, and the VSO in this benefit event. They will not be performing with the VSO."

I was at work. I was scrolling through social media for a few minutes and saw it. I checked a few news sites to confirm. We have a conference room that has a privacy curtain; I went in, closed the door and cried for a while.

Very nice. Thank you.

A year after he passed might be as good a time as any.

Rush is my favorite band ever, so finding out the news, accidentally, while browsing Mike Inez's Instagram page, hit me hard. I couldn't bring myself to listen to Rush for a long time after that, listening to My Favorite Headache instead when I felt like I needed it. The point when Rush music came back into my life was actually only a few months ago, when I was on Spotify, decided that it was the time, and put the 40th anniversary reissue of Permanent Waves on. Since then, it has become easier.

Peart's lyrics spoke to me and while you can say that not all of them hit the mark and that his swing and groove weren't the best (apart from his final years as a drummer, when he began to improvise more and became more loose), but when everything clicked in Rush songs, it was exactly what I needed and it was a beautiful feeling. And his solos were otherwordly and, ironically enough, had groove and swing in spades. Not getting new Neil Peart lyrics and hearing what he was able to come up with this time, along with his new drum work every few years is regretful and not getting his new live performances, along with his new solos, is bitter. The fact that he was diagnosed in such a short time span after finishing his career is simply unfair to the man and the fact that he left behind a young daughter and a wife before the time is tragic.

I should also mention that I always liked reading his books, as they had the ability to transfer you to a place that he was describing and were full of interesting and intricate details. I still read them from time to time or listen to them, as I now have the entire collection in audio format after they were made available for free in the days after he died.

Him being gone is sad and shouldn't have happened when it did. But the music lives on and for that, I am grateful.

RIP, Neil Peart.

 

Beautifully said.

I find this very moving and also incredibly sad.

 

Same. It just feels so unfair, but that's life, I guess.

I've really been enjoying Sean Magee's remasters, so I certainly hope we get at least a few more of them on CD, including MP.

January 7th is my Dad's birthday and he still doing well at the age of 74. That will help to soften the blow of the one year anniversary of Neil's death,

 

I hope your Dad has a nice birthday!

Entre Nous

January 7, 2020 seems like a lifetime ago. Little could we have imagined that the shock and loss we felt last January was merely the beginning of a truly awful year.

 

As the first anniversary of this sad and momentous day approaches, I'm wondering what everyone has planned to commemorate it. As for me, I'll be listening to every studio and live album in chronological order over the next week or so. If time permits, I'll probably add in a few of my favorite boots as well. Also, last year, I bought a bottle of the Macallan 12 to toast The Professor, and I've been nipping at it ever since; on the 7th, I plan to polish it off.

I cried last Friday when I found out, and I've briefly teared up a number of times since then. The reasons, I think, are many, but first and foremost, as others have mentioned, it's the cruel irony of him leaving a wife and young daughter behind after all he'd gone though. It's guilt at having expected the band to keep going for my own pleasure, knowing that he could've been at home enjoying time with his family instead. It's regret that it's really, truly over, and that the world lost such a remarkable talent. It's grief at the passing of an incredible human being who deserved to have a much longer life. All of these things together just coalesce into a huge wave of sadness that washes over me. It shouldn't have ended this way.