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When did you break up with Rush?


Weatherman
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Sometime after Roll the Bones. I had been a fan since Moving Pictures, but a diehard since Signals. And I was in love with Rush the most between 1982 and 1989. I really liked Presto and Roll the Bones, but my enthusiasm had dwindled slightly between those albums. Roll the Bones I wasn't too sure of after the first couple of listens but it grew on me rather quickly. Around 1991, my musical interests were changing I think. I was simply ready to hear different bands, different sounds. During the summer of 1991 I started watching "120 Minutes" on MTV and was quickly enjoying bands that would be called alternative rock bands. Two musical movements came about then - "grunge", which was Seattle based and "shoe gaze", which was the newest wave out of the UK. I leaned more toward shoe gaze and similarly styled bands. I didn't quite warm up to grunge though. Because of my new music interests, I couldn't get into Counterparts (which I liked more over the years) nor Test for Echo (which still ranks at the bottom for me). Both musical movements lasted until around 1995 after which, we started seeing boy bands and other similar kinds of acts which I couldn't get into. And dear god, remember the macarena in 1996?

 

I bought "Different Stages" sometime after it was released and thought, for a live album, it was pretty damn good. In the late 1990s I was getting into ambient, new age style music and still think that most of it is not half bad, but it can be too moody at times. There was a jazz radio station out of Plymouth, MA that aired ambient style music on Sunday nights which introduced me to different performers.

 

My interest was renewed in Rush when Geddy's "My Favorite headache" came out and I heard about the first RushCon in 2001 which I attended. Finally, I was able to meet other big time Rush fans and my interest increased significantly as a result and word that Rush was working on their first new album at the time which would be "Vapor Trails". And I loved it! Something that was missing in T4E and Counterparts (not sure what it was) had reappeared on Vapor Trails. I went to opening night in Hartford, CT in May 2002. One of my most memorable Rush shows. And it was the first Rush concert I attended since Roll the Bones in March 1992 in Chapel Hill, NC.

 

When they released "Snakes and Arrows", I liked the album for a period but then got bored with it. Some great songs on it, but I never was in the mood to play it. I thought "Clockwork Angels" was much better but I'm never in the mood to play it. Vapor Trails is my "go to" album regarding the most recent releases.

 

I remember you and a couple others like GeddyRulz and RuthieGood (or something like that?) from that old My Favorite Headache message board from 20 years ago. Crazy when I think about how long ago that really was.

 

I never really stopped liking Rush but my interest was reinvigorated when I joined that board. After a while there, I joined the Counterparts board and even later, TRF.

 

Clearly, as every wise musician knows - the fans keep the music alive.

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Easy for me. Signals. No question. I undertook a complete and total separation from the band. Like walking into your bedroom and finding your spouse in bed with your worst enemy, and his pals filming it and laughing. Never going back. I felt humiliation, like my heroes had waved the white flag. I couldn't deal with that Subdivisions keyboard shite. Didn't listen to anything else on that album. Didn't listen again to Rush for many years. Not at all. Gave away albums. And turned the channel when they came on classic rock stations. Didn't even read stories about them for many years. I felt complete betrayal. And that merits complete exclusion.

You've got to understand. I'm 57 now. I still remember sitting in my friend Gary's bedroom after school and listening to his just-bought, just-released pressing of A Farewell To Kings. Blown away. Totally. Blown. Away. Literally, and fundamentally, that album changed how I listened to music. This band changed what I expected, and now demanded, from music. Hard rock can be like this? So thoughtful, yet so rocking. An instant fan. All the thoughtfulness I'd been looking for and couldn't find in hard rock. All the stuff to make me think deeper into the thoughts I'd been thinking on my own. I followed and listened, and (at least I felt like) my mind expanded. And then, to have them turn to keyboards, like A Flock of Seagulls or Duran Duran? Can't do it, won't do it. And didn't do it.

16+ years passed. I heard that Neil's wife and daughter passed. And that they released a live album, A Show of Hands. So many years since I cared a wit about this band. Somehow, for reasons I don't recall, I asked my sister to get me ASOH for Christmas. At least I wouldn't be paying any money for it. Might as well see what they've been up to since my betrayal.

And I will admit, it wasn't an instant sell. I wasn't convinced that it was all classics in the interim. But some of the music that had happened during my self-imposed exile appealed to me. Maybe I listened with a more mature ear. Maybe the writing of the music matured since the early keyboard days. And maybe, just maybe, the two veered toward the happy middle in those 16+ years.

And I'm very glad I came back. For all of the friends I made on this and other boards. For all of the amazing live shows I saw, from seats I didn't dare dream of as a teenager. For the fantabulous pre-show parties with you lot. And for all of those many Friday nights, sitting up after my son went to bed, listening to my friend Kubla Ken's rushradio.org and playing computer games.To paraphrase Freddie Gruber, "I wish that I could live it all again."

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Easy for me. Signals. No question. I undertook a complete and total separation from the band. Like walking into your bedroom and finding your spouse in bed with your worst enemy, and his pals filming it and laughing. Never going back. I felt humiliation, like my heroes had waved the white flag. I couldn't deal with that Subdivisions keyboard shite. Didn't listen to anything else on that album. Didn't listen again to Rush for many years. Not at all. Gave away albums. And turned the channel when they came on classic rock stations. Didn't even read stories about them for many years. I felt complete betrayal. And that merits complete exclusion.

You've got to understand. I'm 57 now. I still remember sitting in my friend Gary's bedroom after school and listening to his just-bought, just-released pressing of A Farewell To Kings. Blown away. Totally. Blown. Away. Literally, and fundamentally, that album changed how I listened to music. This band changed what I expected, and now demanded, from music. Hard rock can be like this? So thoughtful, yet so rocking. An instant fan. All the thoughtfulness I'd been looking for and couldn't find in hard rock. All the stuff to make me think deeper into the thoughts I'd been thinking on my own. I followed and listened, and (at least I felt like) my mind expanded. And then, to have them turn to keyboards, like A Flock of Seagulls or Duran Duran? Can't do it, won't do it. And didn't do it.

16+ years passed. I heard that Neil's wife and daughter passed. And that they released a live album, A Show of Hands. So many years since I cared a wit about this band. Somehow, for reasons I don't recall, I asked my sister to get me ASOH for Christmas. At least I wouldn't be paying any money for it. Might as well see what they've been up to since my betrayal.

And I will admit, it wasn't an instant sell. I wasn't convinced that it was all classics in the interim. But some of the music that had happened during my self-imposed exile appealed to me. Maybe I listened with a more mature ear. Maybe the writing of the music matured since the early keyboard days. And maybe, just maybe, the two veered toward the happy middle in those 16+ years.

And I'm very glad I came back. For all of the friends I made on this and other boards. For all of the amazing live shows I saw, from seats I didn't dare dream of as a teenager. For the fantabulous pre-show parties with you lot. And for all of those many Friday nights, sitting up after my son went to bed, listening to my friend Kubla Ken's rushradio.org and playing computer games.To paraphrase Freddie Gruber, "I wish that I could live it all again."

 

So your ears changed. And YOU changed.

That's what happens over the years.

I had the benefit of discovering Rush in the early 90s -- I'm 44 -- and at that time I could look at their whole catalog, until then, as one single thing. Unlike you, I didn't choose between FtK and Signals; I liked both of them, understanding how different they are. I played The Trees on the guitar and air drummed to Subdivisions. I didn't care about teh difference.

 

Today, my ears have become so accustomed to electronic music -- Deadmau5 is incredible -- that Signals now sounds really, really good to me.

But that's right now, in 2020. Ask me again in 10 years, and you might get a different answer.

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Been a fan since 1981 (11 years old).

 

Never ever broke up with them......Love them dearly as I type this.

 

I can list dozens of bands I have broken up with.

 

Rush is not nor will ever be one of them.

 

Ever.

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Maybe sometime in the 90's. After counterparts I kind of lost track. My stepmother(now ex step mother)bought me Test for echo in 97 probably in 1997 as a birthday present but I didn't listen to it at the time(or maybe just once). I remember getting vapor trails and listening to it only once before selling it. I gradually got back into them more after snakes and arrows(the first tour I saw for them sinc 1987), I'm still a fan and always will be but I've moved on to other stuff now as well especially since the band are no longer together.
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I got into them when I was 27 in Summer 2008 so I had no breakup anyways. I've had my share of breakups of others bands like U2 and getting back listening to like Pearl Jam.

 

I've never fully broken up with U2. We've just gone on hiatus.

Tori Amos, on the other hand... I dumped that b**** ten years ago. Sadly, because she was so great at the beginning...

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NEVER IN ONE ZILLION YEARS!!!

 

 

Humans who break up with RUSH should just move on.

 

It's like an ex girlfriend or boyfriend. An ex wife or an ex husband.

 

Why the fuckk would anyone want to go back?????

 

I always go forward. DUH.

 

Smart people get this common sense.

 

I loved "Vapor Trails" when it came out. It's hard for me to like it today. So what!!!!

 

I am married to RUSH until my last dying breath.

 

It's in my will RUSH FRUITS!!! Where are the real Rush Fans on here? I know some!!

 

It's in my will and Zoe knows. My oldest daughter.

 

She will have the RUSH STARMAN LOGO laser etched on my tombstone.

 

 

Life is short. RUSH ON!

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If you're a big fan of any artist, you go through up times -- the ones when you feel in love.

Then there are the other times -- the ones when you drift away, disappointed.

These are the breakups.

 

I've broken up with Rush twice.

 

THE FIRST BREAKUP

1) The release of Vapor Trails in 2003. Unlike others, I didn't forget about them during Neil's hiatus -- I was listening to Different Stages, and holding my nose and listening to TFE (which I missed when it was released). When Vapor Trails was announced, I was geeked. It was recapturing my teenage years in my late twenties.

 

Man was I disappointed. No need to get into why, since you've all heard that album. It ranks as their very worst, for me, by a loooong shot. I'd rather listen to CoS or the debut before that thing. I didn't even bother to see them live.

 

Then Snakes and Arrows came along, which I enjoyed somewhat, and we got back together briefly.

 

THE SECOND BREAKUP

2) After seeing Snakes and Arrows Tour in 2007. The band was good. Really good. Neil's drum kit wasn't to my liking, but he really did well. Geddy sounded good. Alex rocked. Zero complaints about the performance. I took a friend of mine to the show, his first, and afterwards he said, "Man they really earned their money tonight."

 

Problem was, that was all they did. I didn't feel excited. I felt let down. I'd been plunging deep into electronic music for a few years, and to my ears Rush now sounded really outdated. For the first time.

 

That's when I broke up with them a second time.

 

I didn't follow them for the next 8 years. I ignored all the subsequent tours, Time Machine, Clockwork Angels, R40, etc. I could barely stand to listen to Clockwork Angels.

 

When Neil died this year, I rediscovered them. So it's a happy ending. The breakup is over, we're back together again, and I appreciate them a lot more than before, especially the synth era.

 

What about you?

 

Interesting and don't worry, I want to call you "FAIRWEATHERMAN" but I won't.

 

I get the "Vapor Trails" vibe yet I embraced it when it came out. Today? Horrible record.

Ironically it was the tour where I met Neil Peart by his bus.

Everyone on here knows that story so I won't repeat it for my 2112th time. LOL!!!!

 

"Snakes And Arrows" is incredible.

 

Rush Fans who break up with Rush aren't Rush Fans. It's my opinion. WEAK!

 

To each their own. Leave me alone.

 

RUSH RULES FOR ALL TIME!!!!!!

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NEVER IN ONE ZILLION YEARS!!!

 

 

Humans who break up with RUSH should just move on.

 

It's like an ex girlfriend or boyfriend. An ex wife or an ex husband.

 

Why the fuckk would anyone want to go back?????

 

I always go forward. DUH.

 

Smart people get this common sense.

 

I loved "Vapor Trails" when it came out. It's hard for me to like it today. So what!!!!

 

I am married to RUSH until my last dying breath.

 

It's in my will RUSH FRUITS!!! Where are the real Rush Fans on here? I know some!!

 

It's in my will and Zoe knows. My oldest daughter.

 

She will have the RUSH STARMAN LOGO laser etched on my tombstone.

 

 

Life is short. RUSH ON!

 

Forget the tombstone when you’re dead - You should have the starman logo lasered onto your johnson while you’re alive! YOLO

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NEVER IN ONE ZILLION YEARS!!!

 

 

Humans who break up with RUSH should just move on.

 

It's like an ex girlfriend or boyfriend. An ex wife or an ex husband.

 

Why the fuckk would anyone want to go back?????

 

I always go forward. DUH.

 

Smart people get this common sense.

 

I loved "Vapor Trails" when it came out. It's hard for me to like it today. So what!!!!

 

I am married to RUSH until my last dying breath.

 

It's in my will RUSH FRUITS!!! Where are the real Rush Fans on here? I know some!!

 

It's in my will and Zoe knows. My oldest daughter.

 

She will have the RUSH STARMAN LOGO laser etched on my tombstone.

 

 

Life is short. RUSH ON!

 

Forget the tombstone when you’re dead - You should have the starman logo lasered onto your johnson while you’re alive! YOLO

 

 

Hahahahahahahaha! Good point buddy! But, ummmmmmm no.

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Rush Fans who break up with Rush aren't Rush Fans. It's my opinion. WEAK!

 

To each their own. Leave me alone.

 

I'm getting a strong 'get off my lawn' vibe here.

 

 

No it's all good. I just can't fathom a real Rush fan quitting on the band despite a bad album or two.

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Vapor Trails was the steam coming off a freshly laid diarrhea dump that kept perpetuating itself on thru to the last album.

 

Gemini is rising again!!! Just like the rotten shit Vapor Trails record!!!!!!

 

Welcome back! I miss your fire and brimstone around here!!! Fuckk it! lol

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I was 18 years old in 2010 when I fell in love with Rush, was together for 5 years in 2015 at 23, then had a small separation in 2018 at age 26 until now.

First album was Snake & Arrows: Live 2007 concert film in 2010, then the Time Machine Tour for Christmas of 2012.

Was then ask to be back together forever! So they NEVER left me at all, it was me all the time. :laughing guy: Plus, Geddy was the one begging to come back to me! lolololol jk jk!

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Rush Fans who break up with Rush aren't Rush Fans. It's my opinion. WEAK!

 

To each their own. Leave me alone.

 

I'm getting a strong 'get off my lawn' vibe here.

 

 

No it's all good. I just can't fathom a real Rush fan quitting on the band despite a bad album or two.

 

Well, one can drift away and maybe come back later like I am with the latest Steven Wilson record. Dreadful.

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