psionic11

I just recently discovered The Expanse. Binge watched all 5 seasons this month.

Popped over to this old forum when I saw this little tidbit about the Rocinante:

 

In addition to the ship's weapon systems, it carries three Reconnaissance Drones, named "Peart", "Lee", and "Lifeson".

 

https://expanse.fandom.com/wiki/Rocinante_(TV)

That video still gets to me after all these years, especially at 3:05. :(

 

Justifications change over time, from person to person, culture to culture, generation to generation.

 

But what doesn't change are those things that are DONE. The Latin word "facere" means "to do", and the Latin "factum" means "a thing done"... The dropping of the Little Boy on Hiroshima is a fact we can't erase.

 

We can't justify what was done, but we can choose to remember it, in order not to repeat it. The masses have a short memory span, and it is good to remind ourselves of our mistakes and constantly seek to improve. At least that's my take on history and learning and purpose.

 

Over 70,000 obliterated with a single bomb.

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. -- George Santayana

 

 

Flying out of the shockwave on that August day

All the powers that be, and the course of history,

Would be changed for evermore...

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia...wiki/Little_Boy

Thanks. I'd spell out the full name in the topic if there was a way to edit it.

I'm not a drummer, but I have drum sheet music books for Neil's parts (up to Signals). Years ago I programmed Subdivisions into a drum machine so I could jam with bass and keys when I didn't have a band to play with.

 

So 2 weeks ago, I discovered a new music scoring program called MuseScore. I completed my first ever arrangement, and chose to do Star Trek Next Generation theme music.

 

But it was missing something... drums! I was stoked to see that entering drum parts was pretty easy. First it started out kinda cheesy, but as I got more into it, I began thinking "What would The Professor do here?"

 

And so, here's an original drum line that hopefully would have made Neil proud.

 

https://soundcloud.c...-trek-next-gen7

 

Here's a version that brings out the drum part:

 

https://soundcloud.com/user-292351635/star-trek-next-gen7-subdued-strings-and-trumpet

 

Thank you, Neil, for everything you brought and gifted to this world.

I've collected some of my favorite lyrics by Neil. I realize now that there is an undercurrent of a dark undertone here.

 

As with other great philosophers throughout Western history, thanks for keeping it real, Neil.

 

I miss you dearly already. How is it you've affected me like no other?

It's not just the passing of Neil that's hard...

 

It's the realization of our own mortality and our (lack of) place in history... =(

Yes, it does.

 

Clockwork Angels before had this trodding feel, but now it feels much wiser?

The rest of the songs feel more cemented in my personal, and hopefully global, history than ever.

 

There's been tons of band and personal acts... There's something uniquely special about Rush.

 

RIP Neil

THE GARDEN

 

In this one of many possible worlds, all for the best, or some bizarre test?

It is what it is - and whatever

Time is still the infinite jest

 

The arrow files when you dream, the hours tick away - the cells tick away

The Watchmaker keeps to his schemes

The hours tick away - they tick away

 

The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect

So hard to earn, so easily burned

In the fullness of time

A garden to nurture and protect

 

In the rise and the set of the sun

'Til the stars go spinning - spinning 'round the night

It is what it is - and forever

Each moment a memory in flight

 

The arrow flies while you breathe, the hours tick away - the cells tick away

The Watchmaker has time up his sleeve

The hours tick away - they tick away

 

The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect

The way you live, the gifts that you give

In the fullness of time

It's the only return that you expect

 

The future disappears into memory

With only a moment between

Forever dwells in that moment

Hope is what remains to be seen

MANHATTAN PROJECT

 

Imagine a time when it all began

In the dying days of a war

A weapon - that would settle the score

Whoever found it first

Would be sure to do their worst -

They always had before...

 

Imagine a man where it all began

A scientist pacing the floor

In each nation - always eager to explore

To build the best big stick

To turn the winning trick -

But this was something more...

 

The big bang - took and shook the world

Shot down the rising sun

the end was begun - it would hit everyone

When the chain reaction was done

The big shots - try to hold it back

Fools try to wish it away

The hopeful depend on a world without end

Whatever the hopeless may say

 

Imagine a place where it all began

They gathered from across the land

To work in the secrecy of the desert sand

All of the brightest boys

To play with the biggest toys -

More than they bargained for...

 

Imagine a man when it all began

The pilot of "Enola Gay"

Flying out of the shockwave on that August day

All the powers that be, and the course of history,

Would be changed for evermore...

GLOBAL PHILOSOPHICAL

 

I thought of time and distance

The hardships of history

 

Big money take control

Big money got a mean streak

Big money got no soul...

 

The people were divided

Every soul a battlefield...

 

Now it's come to this

Like we're back in the dark ages

From the Middle East to the Middle West

It's a plague that resists our science

 

Truth is after all a moving target

Hairs to split, and pieces that don't fit

How can anybody be enlightened?

Truth is after all so poorly lit

 

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

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHICAL

 

Some are blessed and some are cursed

The golden one or scarred from birth

While others only see the worst

Such a lot of pain on the earth

 

Some days were dark

I wish that I could live it all again

Some nights were bright

I wish that I could live it all again

 

Though we might have precious little

It's still precious

 

Cast in this unlikely role,

Ill-equipped to act,

With insufficient tact,

One must put up barriers

To keep oneself intact.

 

All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary

'Cause sometimes the target is you

 

=======================================

 

PERSONAL DESTINY

 

Each of us

A cell of awareness

Imperfect and incomplete

Genetic blends

With uncertain ends

On a fortune hunt

That's far too fleet...

 

You don't get something for nothing

You don't get freedom for free

You won't get wise

With the sleep still in your eyes

No matter what your dreams might be

 

I was brought up to believe

The universe has a plan

We are only human

It's not ours to understand

 

All is for the best

Believe in what we're told

Blind men in the market

Buying what we're sold

Believe in what we're told

 

We can go from boom to bust

From dreams to a bowl of dust

We can fall from rockets' red glare

Down to "Brother can you spare-"

 

Like the rat in a maze who says,

"Watch me choose my own direction"

Are you under the illusion

The path is winding your way?

Are you surprised by confusion

When it leads you astray?

Have you lived a lifetime today -

Or do you feel like you just got carried away?

DARK SOCIAL REALITY

 

We shake our heads at the tragedy

 

Summer's going fast,

Nights growing colder

Children growing up-

Old friends growing older

Experience slips away...

 

I find no absolution

In my rational point of view

Maybe some things are instinctive

But there's one thing you could do

You could try to understand me-

I could try to understand you...

 

It's not a matter of mercy

It's not a matter of laws

Plenty of people will kill you for some fanatical cause

 

It's cold comfort

To the ones without it

To know how they struggled-

How they suffered about it

LARGE PHILOSOPHICAL

 

All this time we're talking and sharing our Rational View

A billion other voices are spreading other news

 

We hold beliefs as a consolation

A way to take us out of ourselves

Meditation, or medication

A comfort, or a promised reward

 

Some will sell their dreams for small desires

Or lose the race to rats

 

All the busy little creatures

Chasing out their destinies

Living in their pools

They soon forget about the sea...

 

The balance can sometimes fail-

Strong emotions can tip the scale-

 

Wave after wave

Will flow with the tide

And bury the world as it does

Tide after tide

Will flow and recede

Leaving life to go on

As it was...

I've collected some of my favorite lyrics by Neil. I realize now that there is an undercurrent of a dark undertone here.

 

As with other great philosophers throughout Western history, thanks for keeping it real, Neil.

To Neil!

 

A measure to protect...

Really bummed out right now, but it's really comforting to see all these old friends coming out of the woodwork to pay condolences.

 

Yes, I don't know most of you, but I know we feel a common grief. I haven't felt this sad for a non-relative ever.

 

I'm going over the soundtrack of my life now, skipping through songs that I can grieve / commemorate with.

Losing It was first. I'll get to the classics after I'm numb from a few more drinks.

 

Clockwork Angels has a different perspective now, a mature realization, esp knowing this was their last one together.

 

There's almost an underlying theme like the band knew the end was near. A longing to look back over the years.

I'm not ashamed to say tears are rolling down my face. I'm mostly a distant and cerebral type, but this hits home.

 

Wanted to come and commiserate with the rest of the community. In my last band, and in several bands over the years, we played Rush songs and always felt that bond because of Rush. I'm sure they're devastated as well. I quit gigging last July, but I'm sure the drinks I have tonight will be shared by my former Rush band mates.

 

This is a double whammy because my dad passed at 67 as well, and he was kind often kind of gruff and like Neil. So I'm feeling that as well.

 

My thoughts and condolences go out to Neil's family, and to Alex and Geddy and their families, and the rest of the Rush family worldwide.

 

RIP Neil, and thank you

Your legacy will live on

 

==============================================

 

Thirty years ago, how the words would flow

With passion and precision,

But now his mind is dark and dulled

By sickness and indecision

 

And he stares out the kitchen door

Where the sun will rise no more...

 

Some are born to move the world -

To live their fantasies

But most of us just dream about

The things we'd like to be

 

Sadder still to watch it die

Than never to have known it

For you - the blind who once could see -

The bell tolls for thee...

I knew Voltaire was a philosopher, but was not familiar with Candide. After a quick once-over of thefreedictionary.com article on Candide, I can see a lot of Clockwork Angels in it for sure. Reality smashes optimism and glossy sayings like "it's all for the best" or "it's God's will"...

 

Not sure where you get the idea of karma in Neil's work. If there is no divine hand in all this, why would one believe that what comes around goes around?

 

Why are little ones born only to suffer

For the want of immunity

Or a bowl of rice?

There is the Fear four part trilogy. Then there is the series of songs with the underlying theme of thinking for yourself against the norm of religious authority or societal default. BU2B is the latest realization.

 

Freewill -- nothing is pre-ordained

Roll the Bones -- sh*t happens, immortal powers need not apply

Ghost of a Chance -- no superstition, but love is real

Totem -- you're a thought victim in a pantheon

The Stars Look Down -- cosmic reality cares not for anthropomorphism

Faithless -- I've got my own moral compass to steer by

BU2B -- your belief is a product of how you were raised

 

Actually, the whole album Clockwork Angels is the magnus opus on this series. This life is a story within a man-made story... there were self-defined good times and bad times... things to wonder at and things to regret... rationality struggles against irrationality... the morbid realization at one's own mortality... the legacy of love and enlightenment... the indifference of the universe...

 

The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect

I wish that I could live it all again

 

Hope that helps!

We've all seen good to fair Rush tribute bands. In all the cover bands I've personally been in that do Rush, and with all the other bands that I've seen do Rush, there is always a certain rock edge but a general struggle to get through the song. This one is fresh, smooth, innovative, and, and dare I say, emotional (check out The Pass). Smooth Brazilian female vocals (Gabby), all instruments and production by one awesome dude (Celo). As Rush in Rio testifies, much love for Rush in Brazil.

 

https://www.youtube....next hemisphere

 

Fleesh is a Brazilian Rock project formed by Gabby Vessoni and Celo Oliveira.

 

"The Next Hemisphere" - a Rush Tribute, released on October 2017 available in all digital platforms for buying and streaming. (iTunes, Deezer, Amazon, Google Play and Spotify) Recorded, mixed and mastered by Celo Oliveira at Kolera Home Studio. Artwork by Gabby Vessoni

 

Playlist:

 

The Garden

The Pass

Bravado

Mission

The Trees

Here Again

Losing It

The Way the Wind Blows

Resist

Tears

Nobody's Hero

Closer to the Heart

The Stars Look Down

Limelight

 

Note that many of these are the "Rush ballads", so don't expect metal or hard rock versions like Halestorm or Sebastian Bach's stuff, Respect.

We mostly remember the Da Vincis, Beethovens, and John Philip Sousas by their works, not their performances.

 

Rush should pack up touring. Rush can and should continue to write new songs.

http://www.2112.net/...900keyboard.htm

 

Interview with Geddy focusing on his synths and his song-writing approaches at the time.

 

As a bassist / synthesist with a deep appreciation for the 80s synth contributions to classic rock, I found this article very refreshing, informative, and inspiring. How fortunate we were to be part of the classic musical timeliness that was Rush!

 

Funny how one letter changes things from musical timelines to musical timeliness...

 

 

 

 

(although I probably meant to say "musical timelessness" in the original post...)

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19840900keyboard.htm

 

Interview with Geddy focusing on his synths and his song-writing approaches at the time.

 

As a bassist / synthesist with a deep appreciation for the 80s synth contributions to classic rock, I found this article very refreshing, informative, and inspiring. How fortunate we were to be part of the classic musical timeliness that was Rush!

Haven't read the rest of the thread, not looking to make friends, but I do sympathize that hard times come upon us all...

 

But, point is, there is no God, Rush666, and if you cannot ascertain that very specific enlightenment gushing forth from every other Rush lyric, then you're fooling yourself. But hey, each to his own, if you want to be a believer, then go ahead. You brought up God, and I'm simply offering the other view that is a growing minority.

 

Sometimes we have to be heavy and not just flippant. No one expects peer approval from the uncritical thinking masses, right?