GuitarPlyr01 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) He's got some weird ones, yea. Maybe a few terrible ones. Like, what was the point of "Tai Shan", or half of the CP album. I mean, really? But even the "whiny" songs I tend to just take my own view on, not caring what his original point was. What I don't get is why people seem to think Neil is always poking at God and religion. Everywhere I read (at least on this board) it's all about that. So what. I think we all at this point realize his view. He wants to keep beating a dead horse (that died back in the 80s), go ahead. We all get it at this point But hee does have some convincing ones. Thats another topic. I think Neil gets a kick out of trying to make people argue over him and his lyrics. He probably logs in to this board everyday with a cup of coffee and sits back and laughs at everything he reads. Edited March 9, 2011 by GuitarPlyr01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnoble Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) Neil's written some pretty awkward lyrics over the majority of his career with the band, but the ones I dislike the most are on CP and S&A. While I loved the return to a ballsy heavy rock sound, most of CP left me feeling cold or annoyed. I've never cared for the words to Animate or Cold Fire or Alien Shore or Speed Of Love ( ) . Double Agent was gimmicky at best. Nobody's Hero isn't BAD per se, but it seems to try too hard to be moving. Even Alex himself admitted that he didn't care for a lot of the lyrics they had to work with on that album. There's already entire threads devoted to why S&A sucks lyrically, so I don't need to repeat yet again here, but I will say that album is easily the lamest lyrically of Rush's entire career. (Yes, even the debut album is more fun and listenable than Snakes) Some have mentioned Tai Shan, even Geddy saying in retrospect that it wasn't a good idea. I actually think the lyrics to that song are pretty decent, it's just that the lite-FM wall of keyboards overproduced music Geddy and Alex put to them ruin it. It's not a terrible song, just not something a rock band like Rush should have had any business releasing. Of course many of you might say that about most of HYF, but that song in particular comes to mind. Edited March 9, 2011 by jnoble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucsteve667 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 okey, Ill bite I think its kind of tacky to rank on his lyrics, which are his feeling about losing a friend in Nobody's Hero I also think a lot of you aren't considering how tongue in cheek a lot of his references are. But at the end of the day they have said all along they are geeks....like us. Lets see yer poetry heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IChoseFreeWill Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I like Dog Years. A lot. Enough to purchase it on iTunes and have listened to it several times already. I like the "doggie heaven" part. Why? It mentions a happy afterlife that other animals besides humans go to- so not only it mentions the existence of an afterlife, but also that it is not exclusive to humans (let alone only to humans with some specific beliefs). Tai Shan is OK. No complaints about it here. Nobody's Hero is preachy. I know some anvils need to be dropped. I know they mean well. But still awkward. In Cold Fire they tried too hard and failed. Rush is NOT known for love songs. At least not romantic love ones. Closer to the Heart works because it is about being passionate about your job- not about relationships. Faithless is IMHO the most religion-bashing song they have. While others- Totem, BU2B, etc.- focus more on bashing dogma and organized religious practices that make no sense to them, Faithless seems to downright bash the idea of believing in something greater than ourselves. It is the only one that seems to do so- the rest are more Deist at best, Agnostic at worst, rather than truly Atheistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analog guy Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I find the lyrics to Natural Science to be quite profound. In fact, that album is just about Neil's peak as a lyric writer, IMO. I actually like Superconductor. I always interpreted it as a scathing attack on the music industry and the idea of style over substance. If Neil is guilty of anything, it is a tendency to repeat himself on occasion. Phrases like "magnetic north" and "flickering light" seem to pop up a lot. References to arrows and targets. Counterparts and Test For Echo are probably the worst albums lyrically. The 90s were not Neil's best philosophical moments. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilsugar25 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 QUOTE (analog guy @ Mar 9 2011, 02:22 AM) I find the lyrics to Natural Science to be quite profound. In fact, that album is just about Neil's peak as a lyric writer, IMO. <snip> Counterparts and Test For Echo are probably the worst albums lyrically. The 90s were not Neil's best philosophical moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 QUOTE (StellarJetman @ Mar 8 2011, 09:24 PM) QUOTE (Fridge @ Mar 8 2011, 03:08 PM) And when everyone has a different persepctive, what do we have? That's right, I give you....subjectivity "Perspective" is a noun that means "point of view". "Subjective" is an adjective that means "dependent on personal opinion". To illustrate, you could have the perspective that Rutsey is still with the band, but that wouldn't make it a subjective matter. You'd still be objectively wrong. Ghostworks's point was that bad lyrics are bad, regardless of personal standards. Not taking sides, but it's better for you two to be on the same level regarding terminology. I'm well aware of the differences in terminology....you just missed the subtlety of my point Ghostworks was trying to claim that he had perspective when he clearly didn't...you cannot set an objective standard to opinions on artistic merit. The very fact that everyone here has a different "perspective" means that it can't possibly be "objective". See where I'm going? I note that Geddysmullet "got it". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 QUOTE (GeddysMullet @ Mar 8 2011, 10:51 PM) QUOTE (StellarJetman @ Mar 8 2011, 05:24 PM) QUOTE (Fridge @ Mar 8 2011, 03:08 PM) And when everyone has a different persepctive, what do we have? That's right, I give you....subjectivity "Perspective" is a noun that means "point of view". "Subjective" is an adjective that means "dependent on personal opinion". To illustrate, you could have the perspective that Rutsey is still with the band, but that wouldn't make it a subjective matter. You'd still be objectively wrong. Ghostworks's point was that bad lyrics are bad, regardless of personal standards. Not taking sides, but it's better for you two to be on the same level regarding terminology. And Ghostworks' point is invalid, because there are no objective universal standards for judging lyrics. Someone gets it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 QUOTE (Fridge @ Mar 9 2011, 12:58 AM) QUOTE (GeddysMullet @ Mar 8 2011, 10:51 PM) QUOTE (StellarJetman @ Mar 8 2011, 05:24 PM) QUOTE (Fridge @ Mar 8 2011, 03:08 PM) And when everyone has a different persepctive, what do we have? That's right, I give you....subjectivity "Perspective" is a noun that means "point of view". "Subjective" is an adjective that means "dependent on personal opinion". To illustrate, you could have the perspective that Rutsey is still with the band, but that wouldn't make it a subjective matter. You'd still be objectively wrong. Ghostworks's point was that bad lyrics are bad, regardless of personal standards. Not taking sides, but it's better for you two to be on the same level regarding terminology. And Ghostworks' point is invalid, because there are no objective universal standards for judging lyrics. Someone gets it. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowdogged Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) The only lyric that just absolutely sickens me is the fifth "the" in the song Tom Sawyer! Other than that, I think all the other stuff is just great! Edited March 9, 2011 by snowdogged Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlyJeff Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 QUOTE (IChoseFreeWill @ Mar 8 2011, 09:30 PM) In Cold Fire they tried too hard and failed. Rush is NOT known for love songs. At least not romantic love ones. FYI, CF is NOT a romantic love song. It's a bitter song about the limitations of so-called unconditional love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostworks Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucsteve667 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 "if I was, say, a 40 year old musician who had spent his entire lifetime to date listening to music from every corner of the globe, playing every instrument he could get his hands on and performing publicly at every opportunity, 'Neil's Worst' are easily understood for what they are" ah....but can you write lyrics for 30 years and have them all be perfect to every interpretation? even Galileo was mocked... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarPlyr01 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Nobody's Hero is the most moving RUSH song for me. That song is Neil's deepest, without a doubt. It's not even that bad. He wrote about how he felt, and how true heroes are the ones no one recognizes. Having lost a friend recently who had a long, multi-year battle with cancer, I will say, the song has really meant alot to me recently. He's a true hero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucsteve667 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 QUOTE (GuitarPlyr01 @ Mar 9 2011, 03:24 PM) Nobody's Hero is the most moving RUSH song for me. That song is Neil's deepest, without a doubt. It's not even that bad. He wrote about how he felt, and how true heroes are the ones no one recognizes. Having lost a friend recently who had a long, multi-year battle with cancer, I will say, the song has really meant alot to me recently. He's a true hero. Ill wave to you at Hershey....heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucsteve667 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running Rebel Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 It seems to me as we make our own few circles 'round the block, that we've lost our senses for the higher-level static of talk. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucsteve667 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 QUOTE (Running Rebel @ Mar 9 2011, 05:40 PM) It seems to me as we make our own few circles 'round the block, that we've lost our senses for the higher-level static of talk. Holy Sh*t... checkmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rummut71 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psionic11 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 QUOTE (Running Rebel @ Mar 9 2011, 05:40 PM) It seems to me as we make our own few circles 'round the block, that we've lost our senses for the higher-level static of talk. Astounding statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarJetman Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Just remembered how annoying it is to hear the French in "Circumstances". Such transparent filler to balance out the meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 QUOTE (psionic11 @ Mar 7 2011, 01:17 PM) everybody got to reverse polarity Um....never mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReRushed Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 QUOTE (StellarJetman @ Mar 10 2011, 12:16 AM) Just remembered how annoying it is to hear the French in "Circumstances". Such transparent filler to balance out the meter. I simply don't understand this criticism. Really? Transparent filler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 anarchist reactionary running-dog revisionist hindu muslim catholic creation/evolutionist rational romantic mystic cynical idealist minimal expressionist post-modern neo-symbolist armchair rocket scientist graffiti existentialist deconstruction primitive performance photo-realist be-bop or a one-drop or a hip-hop lite-pop-metallist gold adult contemporary urban country capitalist Other artists have used this kind of wordplay but they don't seem to work for me here...although, I do think the theme of the song itself is worthy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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