Educated and Smarts are two different things. Granted a college education is good for learning how to learn & for developing a career - many people (if they are smart) continue to educate themselves through out their lives - through books and teachers of thought & skill.
Zappa was never college educated but many people would consider him one of the smartest men in rock. He self-learned how to orchestrate and write music and was very well read. His lyrics are smart (Swiftian in nature) & his music even more so.
Rush is smart - the lyrics have meaning (sometimes deeper than they appear on the surface) & the musicianship is defined by players who are at the top of the craft per their peers. Someone once told me they thought the lyrics to Tom Sawyer were the stupidist she had ever heard - I tried to explain them to her but she was not smart enough to understand what I was talking about. That's ok - she can always listen to Aerosmith or Boston. Nothing deep happening there (& that's OK)
Kiss had to be smart business wise - if it was not for the makeup and gimmics they would be a third rate band by most standards. But they developed a circus and myths to surround their image and got rich in the process. No offense Kiss fans - I do think that Gene Simmons is the greatest clown of our generation and I say that out of respect for the man's craft.
Rush has avoided criticism by the press mostly due to their sense of privacy and overall anonymity. Back in the day (70's) the mainstream press did not even know who they were. The fact that they are nice guys and family men (not JetSetters and publicity hounds) means they have a low profile. They let their music do their talking for the most part. I think in the past I have seen pictures of Geddy & Neil reading to bide the time - feeding their brains with new ideas.
I wonder what they are reading now? (I dont wonder that with most bands)
