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What Roadrunner Is Doing and Clockwork Angels


farcryoverspilledmilk
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Hi,

 

I don't get to post much on the boards but wanted to give my $.02 on the situation of Clockwork Angels and this cloak of secrecy that has gone on now for the better part of a week.

 

I will be clear in telling you up front that I work for Sirius/XM and yes we were treated to a listening of Headlong Flight and portions of Clockwork Angels in our D.C. offices. This "listening party" has really been blown up to be something it really wasn't. It took place in a conference room and there was a buffet style brunch kinda thing there from what I was told by a colleague who attended. It was extremely low key and maybe 20 to 25 people in total were in attendance.

 

The entire record was NOT played. What was played were 2 and a half minutes of each track as a "taste" of Rush so to speak. The majority of the people in attendance from what I gathered were the movers and shakers of music with some from Live Nation and other radio and television broadcasters. A small group of critics were there to get a listen as well.

 

Headlong Flight has been described on the web as everything from sounding like something from By Tor to heavy 80s Rush. I would say it reminds me of something that is as heavy as a song off Permanent Waves and a flow of 80s Rush. Alex is certainly alive on the track.

 

Why the wait?

 

This is Roadrunner's baby and what you are all seeing and hearing is all part of a viral string along marketing plan. There is a reason you all knew and found out about the "listening party" to begin with. There is a reason why you have people taking to Twitter giving reviews of a song that nobody is supposedly not going to hear until April 19th. It is all part of a major market push to get the public interested in NEW Rush versus just taking them for their huge catalog.

 

Trust me. When a label rep comes in the door and starts a tease like this and no green light to air the track? It is nothing but a marketing ploy. Usually they want that song on the air as soon as we can put it on. We are ready to put it on a few of our stations but have not received official permission yet to do so and these kinds of things (playing songs early) can cost big fines and or sanctions in relationships with reps and labels. They need us and we need them!

 

Just rest and relax on losing patience with Rush themselves. They have nothing to do with it. This is all the label and nothing else. They have basically made sure no recording devices are not on when the track is played, no copies or downloading of the file have happened as of yet but I truly expect that to change by the end of the coming week and you should be listening to Headlong Flight come Easter weekend as word of mouth is spreading at a high rate.

 

In all of the years I have been a Rush fan (Since 1979), I have not seen people take the time to actually push a Rush single and record the way it is right now and I was working in radio when the Atlantic switch happened. In this day and age for classic rock artists to get a new song on the radio is almost impossible with the exception of our operation. Headlong Flight is going to appeal to a lot of program directors across the country but the bottom line is will it get the support from their boss to add it to the rotation?

 

Be happy. People are finally working for Rush and doing their job by marketing and not mailing or fed ex or sending an MP3 over. There isn't a lot to talk about at the moment because the label has asked to not go much further into detail other than our reactions (if positive) to the music.

 

Hang on for the ride gang! Rush is about to take you on a "musical ride" shortly wink.gif

 

- B.C.

Edited by farcryoverspilledmilk
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I would say it is their strongest song writing since Presto which on its face in my opinion was extremely melodic. Personally, what I did hear has put things into perspective of where these 3 guys are at in their lives as musicians and that is they are still writing music like they have something to prove. There is no quit on here. I did think what they put out over the last 10 years was a band that were kind of on auto pilot.

 

Clockwork Angels sees the band taking chances again which is why I think you have heard 80s comparisons. It's not so much an 80s record...actually far from it. It just flows like an 80s Rush record if you know what I mean? They took chances with different sounds and the art of making true arrangements have come back this time versus a cut and paste studio job which imo was done a lot on their last few studio efforts.

 

I hope this helps. I have to get to the airport in an hour and my breakfast is done. Good Day!

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Thank you for posting about this. As I suspected, it's Roadrunner being smart about pushing their premiere artist, creating anticipation.

 

Please do keep us informed as more info becomes available. yes.gif

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QUOTE (greg2112 @ Apr 1 2012, 06:35 AM)
Thanks for the rundown. Most insightful post since all this hype started last week.

yes.gif

 

Finally we got some info as to what the album is gonna be like and what's happening with the release instead of just another mindless thread about the new song that nobody has heard yet.

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QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 1 2012, 08:52 AM)
QUOTE (the_necro_dancer @ Apr 1 2012, 06:31 PM)
Marketing ploy? Taking the piss more like. If this was Radiohead we would have had the record weeks ago.

If they were Radiohead, I wouldn't give a shit.

You beat me to it JohnnyBlaze - Happily, Rush is not Radiohead.

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QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 1 2012, 08:52 AM)
QUOTE (the_necro_dancer @ Apr 1 2012, 06:31 PM)
Marketing ploy? Taking the piss more like. If this was Radiohead we would have had the record weeks ago.

If they were Radiohead, I wouldn't give a shit.

While there should probably be never any connection between Rush and Radiohead (even though they are my two favorite bands), Radiohead has certainly taken the album release and transformed it to an artform.

 

Radiohead finished The King of Limbs album, announced on February 11 of last year that they were releasing it on February 19. So a one week period between announcement and release. HOWEVER, they chose to release it a day early. Why? Because they can. It's their music and it was downloadable from their servers only. It's part of their brilliant mantra of "F*** the Industry." No one questions them on it, as they make more money selling album through their own site, rather than have a label promote it.

 

Rush on the other hand, is no Radiohead insofar as fan base. Radiohead is just a much bigger band. Rush's strategy (or Roadrunner's, as far as we know) is still more modern than just a plain album release. These guys know what they're doing. Remember when Caravan and BU2B were released? It never leaked. I find it hard to believe that this will leak anytime soon (here's hoping it does, though), nor will the album. This is making Rush fans go crazy! We want to hear the music, but Roadrunner is building up hype, which makes the first listen that much better.

Edited by Joesaracer
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QUOTE (farcryoverspilledmilk @ Apr 1 2012, 02:28 AM)
I would say it is their strongest song writing since Presto

OUCH! Sorry, NOT Rush's finest songwriting right there. Anyway, that assessment, like all the others we've heard so far, is just one person's opinion.

 

While I'm glad they have a marketing team working and giving Rush the push they deserve and haven't gotten for a long time, I fear it will make precious little if any difference in terms of album sales or concert sales. The only people who are drooling over all the secrecy, the leak of a "listening party," etc., are the hardcore fans who'd be buying the album regardless (hint: if you're reading this, you're who i'm talking about. wink.gif tongue.gif ).

 

Regardless, cloak and dagger nonsense aside, new Rush coming soon...

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QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 1 2012, 09:09 AM)
...the only people who are drooling over all the secrecy, the leak of a "listening party," etc., are the hardcore fans who'd be buying the album regardless (hint: if you're reading this, you're who i'm talking about...

^ 100%

 

absolutely spot on

 

attn - Roadrunner:

 

keeping an album/new songs under 24/7 NSA security lockdown serves only to aggravate the very customer base you'd like to endear yourself to

 

treat them like fans, they'll do their level best to buy any/everything Rush related directly from your website

 

treat them like they're 7 years old...

 

well, yeah (rapidshare, anyone?)

 

remember: NO one else (general public) cares about Rush - diehard Rush fans are your only audience

 

 

 

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QUOTE (Joesaracer @ Apr 1 2012, 09:02 AM)
QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 1 2012, 08:52 AM)
QUOTE (the_necro_dancer @ Apr 1 2012, 06:31 PM)
Marketing ploy? Taking the piss more like. If this was Radiohead we would have had the record weeks ago.

If they were Radiohead, I wouldn't give a shit.

While there should probably be never any connection between Rush and Radiohead (even though they are my two favorite bands), Radiohead has certainly taken the album release and transformed it to an artform.

 

Radiohead finished The King of Limbs album, announced on February 11 of last year that they were releasing it on February 19. So a one week period between announcement and release. HOWEVER, they chose to release it a day early. Why? Because they can. It's their music and it was downloadable from their servers only. It's part of their brilliant mantra of "F*** the Industry." No one questions them on it, as they make more money selling album through their own site, rather than have a label promote it.

 

Rush on the other hand, is no Radiohead insofar as fan base. Radiohead is just a much bigger band. Rush's strategy (or Roadrunner's, as far as we know) is still more modern than just a plain album release. These guys know what they're doing. Remember when Caravan and BU2B were released? It never leaked. I find it hard to believe that this will leak anytime soon (here's hoping it does, though), nor will the album. This is making Rush fans go crazy! We want to hear the music, but Roadrunner is building up hype, which makes the first listen that much better.

please don't mention radiohead on here. 062802puke_prv.gif

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QUOTE (farcryoverspilledmilk @ Apr 1 2012, 03:41 AM)
In this day and age for classic rock artists to get a new song on the radio is almost impossible with the exception of our operation. Headlong Flight is going to appeal to a lot of program directors across the country but the bottom line is will it get the support from their boss to add it to the rotation?

A good and informative post by the OP. But as someone who has ALSO worked in radio for many years, I disagree (somewhat) with the quote above.

 

In my experience, it isn't exactly "hard" for a Classic Rock artist to get airplay for their new material. Classic Rock radio stations will play the new single for awhile, even in fairly "heavy" rotation, up to a point. (Even The Who's awful new release 5-6 years ago got airplay for awhile.)

 

I worked for WPYX, a large Classic Rock station owned by Clear Channel and serving the Albany market.

 

What happened with Rush - with "One Little Victory," with "Summertime Blues," with "Far Cry" - is that we played the single in heavy rotation, let listeners know Rush had a new album, promoted the upcoming concert... and then, after Rush came through town, programmers DROPPED the single and went back to playing "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight," and "Subdivisions." laugh.gif

 

Long story short: getting Classic Rock stations to play the new material is NOT hard... but getting them to KEEP the new material on their playlist is probably impossible. laugh.gif

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QUOTE (ghostworks @ Apr 1 2012, 09:44 AM)
QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 1 2012, 09:09 AM)
...the only people who are drooling over all the secrecy, the leak of a "listening party," etc., are the hardcore fans who'd be buying the album regardless (hint: if you're reading this, you're who i'm talking about...

^ 100%

 

absolutely spot on

 

X2

 

No matter what Roadrunner pulls, this album will most likely do what all Rush albums do:

 

Diehards like myself and the other members of this board will buy it in the first two weeks of release. You'll see a short and significant spike in sales during those first weeks, where the album may even go briefly into the top five. And then, after us diehards all have the album, it'll slide right off the charts completely.

 

Rush really only sells to us diehards, their cult following. It is us who've kept their career alive for almost 40 years.

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QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 1 2012, 09:09 AM)
QUOTE (farcryoverspilledmilk @ Apr 1 2012, 02:28 AM)
I would say it is their strongest song writing since Presto

OUCH! Sorry, NOT Rush's finest songwriting right there. Anyway, that assessment, like all the others we've heard so far, is just one person's opinion.

 

While I'm glad they have a marketing team working and giving Rush the push they deserve and haven't gotten for a long time, I fear it will make precious little if any difference in terms of album sales or concert sales. The only people who are drooling over all the secrecy, the leak of a "listening party," etc., are the hardcore fans who'd be buying the album regardless (hint: if you're reading this, you're who i'm talking about. wink.gif tongue.gif ).

 

Regardless, cloak and dagger nonsense aside, new Rush coming soon...

I think he ment this is the strongest writing since Hold Your Fire. Presto is when they started going in a defferent direction. Regardless, according to OP its stronger than:

 

RTB, CP, T4E, VT and S&A! That puts it pretty high in my book! Also, the 80's (PeW- RTB) compositions are my favorite. Hence, this albums is going to rock!

 

2.gif 1022.gif 2.gif

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I still love how so many people think that Rush THEMSELVES, are the ones keeping the new album and single all "hush hush"...like Geddy, Alex, and Neil are all sitting together right now, in some fancy restaurant, going, "Lets see how crazy and impatient we can make our fans! Wouldn't that be f**king HILARIOUS!?!?!?! ROFL!!!! rofl3.gif "

 

sarcasm.gif

 

It's ROADRUNNER. Roadrunner, folks...

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QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Apr 1 2012, 10:02 AM)
QUOTE (Joesaracer @ Apr 1 2012, 09:02 AM)
QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 1 2012, 08:52 AM)
QUOTE (the_necro_dancer @ Apr 1 2012, 06:31 PM)
Marketing ploy? Taking the piss more like. If this was Radiohead we would have had the record weeks ago.

If they were Radiohead, I wouldn't give a shit.

While there should probably be never any connection between Rush and Radiohead (even though they are my two favorite bands), Radiohead has certainly taken the album release and transformed it to an artform.

 

Radiohead finished The King of Limbs album, announced on February 11 of last year that they were releasing it on February 19. So a one week period between announcement and release. HOWEVER, they chose to release it a day early. Why? Because they can. It's their music and it was downloadable from their servers only. It's part of their brilliant mantra of "F*** the Industry." No one questions them on it, as they make more money selling album through their own site, rather than have a label promote it.

 

Rush on the other hand, is no Radiohead insofar as fan base. Radiohead is just a much bigger band. Rush's strategy (or Roadrunner's, as far as we know) is still more modern than just a plain album release. These guys know what they're doing. Remember when Caravan and BU2B were released? It never leaked. I find it hard to believe that this will leak anytime soon (here's hoping it does, though), nor will the album. This is making Rush fans go crazy! We want to hear the music, but Roadrunner is building up hype, which makes the first listen that much better.

please don't mention radiohead on here. 062802puke_prv.gif

^ exactly!

 

remember: this is the kind of board that prefers to talk only about bands well past their prime, thank you

 

truly progressive bands/ideas NEED NOT APPLY!

 

 

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QUOTE (ghostworks @ Apr 1 2012, 11:21 AM)
QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Apr 1 2012, 10:02 AM)
QUOTE (Joesaracer @ Apr 1 2012, 09:02 AM)
QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 1 2012, 08:52 AM)
QUOTE (the_necro_dancer @ Apr 1 2012, 06:31 PM)
Marketing ploy? Taking the piss more like. If this was Radiohead we would have had the record weeks ago.

If they were Radiohead, I wouldn't give a shit.

While there should probably be never any connection between Rush and Radiohead (even though they are my two favorite bands), Radiohead has certainly taken the album release and transformed it to an artform.

 

Radiohead finished The King of Limbs album, announced on February 11 of last year that they were releasing it on February 19. So a one week period between announcement and release. HOWEVER, they chose to release it a day early. Why? Because they can. It's their music and it was downloadable from their servers only. It's part of their brilliant mantra of "F*** the Industry." No one questions them on it, as they make more money selling album through their own site, rather than have a label promote it.

 

Rush on the other hand, is no Radiohead insofar as fan base. Radiohead is just a much bigger band. Rush's strategy (or Roadrunner's, as far as we know) is still more modern than just a plain album release. These guys know what they're doing. Remember when Caravan and BU2B were released? It never leaked. I find it hard to believe that this will leak anytime soon (here's hoping it does, though), nor will the album. This is making Rush fans go crazy! We want to hear the music, but Roadrunner is building up hype, which makes the first listen that much better.

please don't mention radiohead on here. 062802puke_prv.gif

^ exactly!

 

remember: this is the kind of board that prefers to talk only about bands well past their prime, thank you

 

truly progressive bands/ideas NEED NOT APPLY!

the reason why i mentioned what i did was because radiohead really does make me vomit.

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hey Farcryoverspilledmilk: Since you listend to snipets of the entire album,

 

Were there any instrumentals?

If so how many?

Were there any slower songs like Mission or Losingit?

Did they incorporate any keyboards in a major way? (Like Big Money.)

How many songs did you actually listen too?

How many songs are actually part of the Clockwork Angels Suite?

How is Geddy's bass playing? (Flamenco or more bass line driven)

How are Alex's Leads? ( More melodic like Middletown Dreams or Exploratory like By-Tor & the Snowdog)

How's Neals drumming? (Aggressive like Anthem or Precise like Tom Sawyer or Jazzy like Test for Echo)

how did Geddy's voice sound? ( high pitched like Early, normal like in the 80's or Lower like Caravan?

 

Or are you under a strict gag order?

 

Inquiry minds want to know!

 

confused13.gif

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QUOTE (losingit2k @ Apr 1 2012, 10:49 AM)
hey Farcryoverspilledmilk: Since you listend to snipets of the entire album,

Were there any instrumentals?
If so how many?
Were there any slower songs like Mission or Losingit?
Did they incorporate any keyboards in a major way? (Like Big Money.)
How many songs did you actually listen too?
How many songs are actually part of the Clockwork Angels Suite?
How is Geddy's bass playing? (Flamenco or more bass line driven)
How are Alex's Leads? ( More melodic like Middletown Dreams or Exploratory like By-Tor & the Snowdog)
How's Neals drumming? (Aggressive like Anthem or Precise like Tom Sawyer or Jazzy like Test for Echo)
how did Geddy's voice sound? ( high pitched like Early, normal like in the 80's or Lower like Caravan?

Or are you under a strict gag order?

Inquiry minds want to know!

confused13.gif

re-read his first post. he can't tell you any of this stuff..

 

 

farcryoverspilledmilk, interesting post, makes total sense to me.

 

thanks for posting here trink39.gif

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