Neil is being interviewed right now on Sirius XM

[Analog_Bro]

Just a heads up to all the people interested!

 

"Neil has just arrived at SiriusXM to do the Jim Jadd show on Deep Tracks channel 27, so tune in now. A bit late, next time we'll charter a helicopter. #latraffic"

Edited June 14, 2012 by Analog_Bro

[Godeater2112]

Did nobody else hear this last night?! HOLY SHIT this was the most amazing thing I've ever heard on the radio!

 

First off I expected you know a half hour interview with Neil, same old questions, probably not playing much off the new album?

 

No.

 

This interview went on for hours. Neil was so excited he would go on and on for 10 minutes without Jim Ladd getting in a word edge-wise, very insightful, Neil was terribly excited about the new album, I'd never heard him like this before!

 

To top it off they played the entire album, track-by-track, with Neil explaining the concept entirely, he would then narrate the introduction right before each of the songs before they kicked off.

 

I don't know the relationship between Neil and Jim Ladd, but Neil was right in his comfort zone with this guy like they are best buddies, no stuffiness whatsoever.

 

This was beyond awesome, please tell me a bunch of you managed to listen and heck even record it! We'll have to keep our ears peeled for a replay.

 

Wow! Can you tell I am excited?!

 

[Godeater2112]

Someone with more time that I have did a pretty good run-down of the "interview" on RIAB. Credit to "Most Endangered Species" from over there:

 

Here are some highlights from the interview for those who missed it:

 

Jim Ladd, for those who don't know, was a well known radio DJ in LA ever since forever. Very passionate and opinionated about rock music. He had a brief spot in the Moving Pictures Classic Album episode. The format of the interview was a track by track discussion of the whole Clockwork Angels storyline, with Neil reading the prose from the liner notes leading into the playing of each of the 12 songs in order, with brief interview questions before/after each song that shed light on what we'll see in the novel. Seemed that Ladd did his homework about the songs and the storyline, and he gathered several questions from a colleague at Sirius who is a big Rush fan. With Neil doing interviews so infrequently, it was a treat to listen to an interview that was a serious attempt to get to the bottom of the lyrical subject matter. The way I would put it, they "gave the album the attention it deserves."

 

Neil said he just finished recording the audiobook and joked that because of that he was very warmed up to read these liner notes intros. [i though he did indeed read it very professionally]

 

The lyric "In a world where I feel so small" wasn't originally in the lyrics that Neil submitted to Geddy, and came about later in the writing process because Geddy asked for an extra line to make it sound good.

 

He described The Anarchist's character as a "Freedom Extremist", the polar opposite of the Watchmaker. Not originally a terrorist, but "brought up" to be "lacking" which in turn fueled his evil. Neil said the Anarchist fits the saying "I am the way my life has made me." He said he got chills when he heard Geddy sing "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage." Didn't realize how cool a lyric that was until he heard Ged sing it.

 

A funny part was that Neil referred to The Anarchist as a "Malignant Narcissist" and even quoted the line from Team America: World Police (as authentic as he could with a girly voice!).

 

The song Clockwork Angels is about how the pageantry of Chronos Square is meant to keep the population in line. Noted how in Ancient Rome they said "Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt."

 

Joked about the reference to In N Out milkshakes with the biblical quote in the title track. He explained to Jim Ladd how that SoCal burger chain has biblical chapter:verse references on the bottom of their cups and fries. [As a sidenote, I actually had lunch at In N Out today and sure enough there was "Proverbs 3:5" at the bottom of my milkshake.] And proof that Neil is not infallible, during the interview he mistakenly referred to it as Proverbs 3:16.

 

Asked about his collaboration with Kevin Anderson (author of the book version), he said they always wanted to collaborate on something but never had an opportunity until this project. Neil had the initial idea and they fleshed out some of the story while on a hike near his home in Colorado, discussing themes of order and freedom.

 

Halo Effect was one song that came out of that collaboration. They weren't afraid to make the hero in the story a reflection of themselves and this song was somewhat inspired by experiences in their own lives.

 

The Pedlar is really the Watchmaker in disguise. He wants to know what people lack, hoping the answer is "nothing". His role in the storyline is to prompt soliloquy's with his "What do you lack?" question.

 

When asked if they'd ever consider adding other pieces to their tour, Neil gave sort of a long stammering pause (seeming to choose his words carefully) before saying they are "talking about" augmenting the live performances with an orchestra. The way he stumbled at the beginning of his answer led me to the same conclusion as #14 below, that he let the cat out of the bag.

 

Francesca is the name of the trapeze artist that the hero gets tooled by in Halo Effect. [i'm wondering if that name could be a literary reference of some kind?]

 

The historical factoid about the fake lighthouses from The Wreckers is that this was done in the southwest coast of England, in Cornwall.

 

Speaking for myself, I have been confused about why BU2B2 comes after Headlong Flight. Seemed backwards to me, as BU2B2 seems like a sort of fork in the road that should follow the character's disaster in The Wreckers, with Headlong Flight as sort of a 3-part epilogue to his adventures along with Wish Them Well and The Garden. Neil addressed that a little bit in this interview, he said that in BU2B2's soliloquy the hero is figuring out how to deal with all the bad things that happened to him, and Wish Them Well is the answer that he comes up with.

 

Asked if Wish Them Well is how he approaches life, he said it's more like a resolution that we should try to do that. Ladd said "like turning the other cheek?" and Peart said no you're not just standing there and taking more abuse, you're walking away from the situation.

[Rush-O-Matic]

QUOTE (Godeater2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 07:08 AM)

Someone with more time that I have did a pretty good run-down of the "interview" on RIAB. Credit to "Most Endangered Species" from over there: Here are some highlights from the interview for those who missed it: . . . When asked if they'd ever consider adding other pieces to their tour, Neil gave sort of a long stammering pause (seeming to choose his words carefully) before saying they are "talking about" augmenting the live performances with an orchestra. The way he stumbled at the beginning of his answer led me to the same conclusion as #14 below, that he let the cat out of the bag.

He TOTALLY let the cat out of the bag. If somebody posts the audio for this, it is clear he was getting ready to say something different. Somebody in the studio or "behind the glass" made him change course from what he was about to say.

[Lerxster]

That's awesome. Looking forward to hearing this interview. I can't help wondering if the pedlar nugget is a novel spoiler. I would have never guessed that. Hmmm . . .

[Godeater2112]

QUOTE (Rush-O-Matic @ Jun 14 2012, 08:47 AM)

QUOTE (Godeater2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 07:08 AM) Someone with more time that I have did a pretty good run-down of the "interview" on RIAB. Credit to "Most Endangered Species" from over there: Here are some highlights from the interview for those who missed it: . . . When asked if they'd ever consider adding other pieces to their tour, Neil gave sort of a long stammering pause (seeming to choose his words carefully) before saying they are "talking about" augmenting the live performances with an orchestra. The way he stumbled at the beginning of his answer led me to the same conclusion as #14 below, that he let the cat out of the bag. He TOTALLY let the cat out of the bag. If somebody posts the audio for this, it is clear he was getting ready to say something different. Somebody in the studio or "behind the glass" made him change course from what he was about to say. Totally.   Hey I'm glad someone else at least heard this! They may never replay it and possibly nobody managed to record the audio for it.   I expected to wake up this morning to find a hundred Rush fans stammering about how amazing this interview was, instead I could only find two people between here and RIAB that apparently tuned in.   Here of course getting buried by threads about trolls and bad sound quality...   *sigh*

[iglehart]

If anyone finds this interview, please post it.

[Rush-O-Matic]

QUOTE (Godeater2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 07:58 AM)

Hey I'm glad someone else at least heard this! . . . I expected to wake up this morning to find a hundred Rush fans stammering about how amazing this interview was, instead I could only find two people between here and RIAB that apparently tuned in.

When I read that Neil would be on last night, I didn't think much of it. But, I sort of filed it away in my head, thinking, "well, Neil doesn't do many interviews, so this might be cool."

 

I don't have Sirius, but I have Dish Network, so I set my TV in the bedroom to channel 6027, and was watching the Braves' game in the other room. Of course, at 9:00 it was not on, and I started to turn it off, thinking the info wasn't right . . . then, I heard Jim Ladd saying, "If you're expecting to hear Neil Peart, he's on the way, stuck in LA traffic."

 

So, I paused that TV, and every 10 minutes or so, I'd come in and check . . . then, oh, good, he's finally there!

 

Blah, blah, blah, blah - same stuff, well, with Neil's perspective - uh, huh, nice, okay, that's coo-- WH?! They're going to play each song, and Neil's going to read the intro parts? Innnnnteresting. Go on . . .

 

2 hours later . . . Damn. That was fantastic!

 

Even though some of the question were repetitive from other interviews, Ladd did a really nice job. The full on album play was a treat, and Neil just did terrific expanding on each part of the story, going through some of the band's process, promoting the album and tour, and giving his "Neilness" to the answers. What a treat!

 

Surely, somebody recorded this.

[The Owl]

Thanks for posting the summary GE, i really wanna hear this interview in full, someone had to have recorded this

[Godeater2112]

Yeah I am keeping my eyes and ears peeled, this was absolutely golden and I'd love to listen to it again, was half way while tuning in lats night.

 

[Merely Space]

I really want to hear this interview. Hopefully, they will stream it on line.

[Running Rebel]

Same here. Excellent insight btw.

[Godeater2112]

Good news, Jeremy @ RoadRunner says he will try to get a copy of it from SiriusXM and post it to the RoadRunner web site.

 

[Running Rebel]

QUOTE (Godeater2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 07:08 AM)

Someone with more time that I have did a pretty good run-down of the "interview" on RIAB. Credit to "Most Endangered Species" from over there: Here are some highlights from the interview for those who missed it: Jim Ladd, for those who don't know, was a well known radio DJ in LA ever since forever. Very passionate and opinionated about rock music. He had a brief spot in the Moving Pictures Classic Album episode. The format of the interview was a track by track discussion of the whole Clockwork Angels storyline, with Neil reading the prose from the liner notes leading into the playing of each of the 12 songs in order, with brief interview questions before/after each song that shed light on what we'll see in the novel. Seemed that Ladd did his homework about the songs and the storyline, and he gathered several questions from a colleague at Sirius who is a big Rush fan. With Neil doing interviews so infrequently, it was a treat to listen to an interview that was a serious attempt to get to the bottom of the lyrical subject matter. The way I would put it, they "gave the album the attention it deserves." Neil said he just finished recording the audiobook and joked that because of that he was very warmed up to read these liner notes intros. [i though he did indeed read it very professionally] The lyric "In a world where I feel so small" wasn't originally in the lyrics that Neil submitted to Geddy, and came about later in the writing process because Geddy asked for an extra line to make it sound good. He described The Anarchist's character as a "Freedom Extremist", the polar opposite of the Watchmaker. Not originally a terrorist, but "brought up" to be "lacking" which in turn fueled his evil. Neil said the Anarchist fits the saying "I am the way my life has made me." He said he got chills when he heard Geddy sing "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage." Didn't realize how cool a lyric that was until he heard Ged sing it. A funny part was that Neil referred to The Anarchist as a "Malignant Narcissist" and even quoted the line from Team America: World Police (as authentic as he could with a girly voice!). The song Clockwork Angels is about how the pageantry of Chronos Square is meant to keep the population in line. Noted how in Ancient Rome they said "Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt." Joked about the reference to In N Out milkshakes with the biblical quote in the title track. He explained to Jim Ladd how that SoCal burger chain has biblical chapter:verse references on the bottom of their cups and fries. [As a sidenote, I actually had lunch at In N Out today and sure enough there was "Proverbs 3:5" at the bottom of my milkshake.] And proof that Neil is not infallible, during the interview he mistakenly referred to it as Proverbs 3:16. Asked about his collaboration with Kevin Anderson (author of the book version), he said they always wanted to collaborate on something but never had an opportunity until this project. Neil had the initial idea and they fleshed out some of the story while on a hike near his home in Colorado, discussing themes of order and freedom. Halo Effect was one song that came out of that collaboration. They weren't afraid to make the hero in the story a reflection of themselves and this song was somewhat inspired by experiences in their own lives. The Pedlar is really the Watchmaker in disguise. He wants to know what people lack, hoping the answer is "nothing". His role in the storyline is to prompt soliloquy's with his "What do you lack?" question. When asked if they'd ever consider adding other pieces to their tour, Neil gave sort of a long stammering pause (seeming to choose his words carefully) before saying they are "talking about" augmenting the live performances with an orchestra. The way he stumbled at the beginning of his answer led me to the same conclusion as #14 below, that he let the cat out of the bag. Francesca is the name of the trapeze artist that the hero gets tooled by in Halo Effect. [i'm wondering if that name could be a literary reference of some kind?] The historical factoid about the fake lighthouses from The Wreckers is that this was done in the southwest coast of England, in Cornwall. Speaking for myself, I have been confused about why BU2B2 comes after Headlong Flight. Seemed backwards to me, as BU2B2 seems like a sort of fork in the road that should follow the character's disaster in The Wreckers, with Headlong Flight as sort of a 3-part epilogue to his adventures along with Wish Them Well and The Garden. Neil addressed that a little bit in this interview, he said that in BU2B2's soliloquy the hero is figuring out how to deal with all the bad things that happened to him, and Wish Them Well is the answer that he comes up with. Asked if Wish Them Well is how he approaches life, he said it's more like a resolution that we should try to do that. Ladd said "like turning the other cheek?" and Peart said no you're not just standing there and taking more abuse, you're walking away from the situation.

So much going on and I think each song needs context in the space of the overall picture as I see this as sort of a metaphorical journey of Neil's life, at least some of the more important issues, and at least the ones that made it to the album in song form.

 

Early on when Neil was into Ayn Rand and objectivism, he was sort viewed as a "freedom extremist" and wrongly mislabeled in an English rag as pro-communist and by others as "anarchist". To me, the Anarchist, rightly or wrongly lobbed the proverbial "label" on Neil in the next song, Carnies.

 

But, I think despite the accusation that this isn't Neil's voice, I kind of think it actually is. When he was young and angry, and "right" and unreasonable because he felt he knew everything, a trademark of a true "Randian". He obviously goes much darker with it in the story, but as he said about the line,

QUOTE

"A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage.

 

So the nagging question of "what do you lack?" in the back of his mind at the time was vengence. Vengence against the record labels. Vengence against those who opposed his philosphy, etc... He pretty much was a Freedom Extremist.

 

 

 

 

 

(his full quote on the topic)

 

QUOTE

He described The Anarchist's character as a "Freedom Extremist", the polar opposite of the Watchmaker. Not originally a terrorist, but "brought up" to be "lacking" which in turn fueled his evil. Neil said the Anarchist fits the saying "I am the way my life has made me." He said he got chills when he heard Geddy sing "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage." Didn't realize how cool a lyric that was until he heard Ged sing it. A funny part was that Neil referred to The Anarchist as a "Malignant Narcissist" and even quoted the line from Team America: World Police (as authentic as he could with a girly voice!).

 

So in my mind (a dangerous place in itself) Neil is talking about the extremes of his youth, from submissive upbringing to ralling anarchist.

Edited June 14, 2012 by Running Rebel

[Running Rebel]

I am also thinking "Carnies" might be refering to the band, traveling performers

 

 

.

QUOTE

How I prayed just to get away To carry me anywhere Sometimes the angels punish us By answering our prayers

 

The proverbial "you get what you asked for" line. Also foreshadowing for "The Wreckers" where we all know about the "wrecks" in his life.

Edited June 14, 2012 by Running Rebel

[Running Rebel]

OH, and it is 3:5

 

 

QUOTE

Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV) 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart     and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him,     and he will make your paths straight.[a]

 

 

And this song is probably the greatest irony of the whole album. Neil going all evangelical and doing it in such a way that even a hard core athiest like me listens to it and wants to bow down and praise the Angels and wave my hands in the air because it is so amazingly spiritual. I mean, for all the people who bashed his athiest lyrics, there ya' go! A full blown religous experience!

 

Even if he does mention at the end that

 

QUOTE

Stars aglow like scattered sparks Span the sky in clockwork arcs Hint at more than we can see Spiritual machinery

 

a hint more than we can see going on behind all that spiritual machinery. Kind of like the Wizard of Oz.

Edited June 14, 2012 by Running Rebel

[LeaveMyThingAlone]

So when you guys say "he let the cat out of the bag" are you referring to bringing an orchestra on tour with them?

 

Wow, that would be freakin' incredible and would mean without a doubt they're playing the whole album live and would probably play some other tunes conducive to an orchestra...Losing It?

[Running Rebel]

QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Jun 14 2012, 11:48 AM)

So when you guys say "he let the cat out of the bag" are you referring to bringing an orchestra on tour with them? Wow, that would be freakin' incredible and would mean without a doubt they're playing the whole album live and would probably play some other tunes conducive to an orchestra...Losing It?

I have no idea how they would pull this off, but who knows?

 

edit- on the big screen behind them? Maybe they filmed the Orchestra?

Edited June 14, 2012 by Running Rebel

[Running Rebel]

QUOTE

Halo Effect was one song that came out of that collaboration. They weren't afraid to make the hero in the story a reflection of themselves and this song was somewhat inspired by experiences in their own lives.

 

The woman in Neil's life= Ayn Rand who had the Halo Effect? He made her out to be more than she was?

Edited June 14, 2012 by Running Rebel

[Del_Duio]

QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Jun 14 2012, 11:48 AM)

Wow, that would be freakin' incredible and would mean without a doubt they're playing the whole album live and would probably play some other tunes conducive to an orchestra...Losing It?

If they bring an orchestra I don't see how they don't play Losing It.

Low-register singing Ged could easily still do, too.

[Rushman14]

QUOTE (Godeater2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 05:58 AM)

QUOTE (Rush-O-Matic @ Jun 14 2012, 08:47 AM) QUOTE (Godeater2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 07:08 AM) Someone with more time that I have did a pretty good run-down of the "interview" on RIAB. Credit to "Most Endangered Species" from over there: Here are some highlights from the interview for those who missed it: . . . When asked if they'd ever consider adding other pieces to their tour, Neil gave sort of a long stammering pause (seeming to choose his words carefully) before saying they are "talking about" augmenting the live performances with an orchestra. The way he stumbled at the beginning of his answer led me to the same conclusion as #14 below, that he let the cat out of the bag. He TOTALLY let the cat out of the bag. If somebody posts the audio for this, it is clear he was getting ready to say something different. Somebody in the studio or "behind the glass" made him change course from what he was about to say. Totally.   Hey I'm glad someone else at least heard this! They may never replay it and possibly nobody managed to record the audio for it.   I expected to wake up this morning to find a hundred Rush fans stammering about how amazing this interview was, instead I could only find two people between here and RIAB that apparently tuned in.   Here of course getting buried by threads about trolls and bad sound quality...   *sigh* dang, I have Sirius and totally missed it

[Rushman14]

QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Jun 14 2012, 09:48 AM)

So when you guys say "he let the cat out of the bag" are you referring to bringing an orchestra on tour with them? Wow, that would be freakin' incredible and would mean without a doubt they're playing the whole album live and would probably play some other tunes conducive to an orchestra...Losing It?

a small orchestra during Clockwork Angels in its entirety would not suck at all

[marblesmike]

QUOTE (Running Rebel @ Jun 14 2012, 12:20 PM)

But, I think despite the accusation that this isn't Neil's voice, I kind of think it actually is.  When he was young and angry, and "right" and unreasonable because he felt he knew everything, a trademark of a true "Randian".  He obviously goes much darker with it in the story, but as he said about the line,

 

I consider myself a partial "Randian" or "Randroid" and that is the furthest thing from the truth. A true Randian only thinks they know everything about what they want in life, not everything in general. Gotta love the common misconceptions about what Rand was all about. If you were to read any of her stuff and compare it to what's going on economically and globally you'd be astounded at how prophetic she was in a lot of ways.

 

To each his own. I'm not going to waste time trying to convert someone, but it never ceases to amaze me what everyone assumes they know about Objectivism.

 

Another thread, another day.

 

I do hope that someone can post this interview somewhere. It sounds very interesting. And I for one hope they don't tour with an orchestra. That sort of defeats the purpose of Rush for me, but whatever.

Edited June 14, 2012 by marblesmike

[Godeater2112]

Ahhhhhhh. Actual conversations about Rush.....

 

[Running Rebel]