Time signatures and Rush

[Ancient Ways]

I keep reading reviews that annoy me due to the mention of Geddy's shrieking, Neil's "love" of Rand and Rush and time signatures. Curious to hear what you think. Take Pink Floyd's "Money" for example which is mostly in 7/8. I don't think they wrote a 7/8 song, I think they wrote a cool riff which just happens to turn around in 7 beats, not 4 or 8.

[The Vigilante]

Well geddy stated that him and Alex wait for Neils drum parts and lyrics so they can add to it so i would say alot of the time signatures are factored in, but Geddy also said if it doesnt go with a riff or idea it has to be changed. So riffing and melodies are factored in to. What the percentages are who knows.

[AndroidOnTheRun]

QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Jun 21 2012, 05:18 PM)

I keep reading reviews that annoy me due to the mention of Geddy's shrieking, Neil's "love" of Rand and Rush and time signatures.

Yeah, that drives me nuts. It's been debunked for decades that Neil is some kind of Junior Randian, and it's clear in context that he never ascribed to the ultra-social-Darwinism aspect in the first place, yet people keep bringing it up. It was like three albums 30 years ago, people.

 

More annoying to me is the claim from critics (and this goes along with the time sigs) that Rush is "all technique and no emotion" or something like that. Worse, these accusations usually implicate the fans for only caring about instrumental virtuosity. Maybe some fans do, but frankly I wouldn't have listened to a single Rush song more than once if I didn't find them incredibly emotionally compelling. Yeah, maybe you don't get it, Mr. Critic, but the fans clearly do -- did you not hear them singing their guts out to Subdivisions? -- so leave your condescension at home with your boring hipster music.

[The Vigilante]

Heck i dont mind the different time signatures its what makes Rush music Rush music. Im glad they do it and i could care less what the critics says about that. If they think that makes them so technical so be it ! I never heard the critics bitch about odd meters and signatures with King Crimson, Frank Zappa or Yes for that matter. It was always how brillant they were blah blah. Edited June 21, 2012 by The Vigilante

[Ancient Ways]

QUOTE (The Vigilante @ Jun 21 2012, 07:40 PM)

Heck i dont mind the different time signatures its what makes Rush music Rush music. Im glad they do it and i could care less what the critics says about that. If they think that makes them so technical so be it ! I never heard the critics bitch about odd meters and signatures with King Crimson, Frank Zappa or Yes for that matter. It was always how brillant they were blah blah.

I like it. I'm more interested in why it happens. Think about Tom Sawyer. The riff in this video Tom Sawyer Live that starts at 2:24 is in different time signature but I think it is the riff creating it not a pre-decided thing on the band's part.

[HowItIs]

QUOTE (AndroidOnTheRun @ Jun 21 2012, 04:15 PM)

QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Jun 21 2012, 05:18 PM) I keep reading reviews that annoy me due to the mention of Geddy's shrieking, Neil's "love" of Rand and Rush and time signatures. Yeah, that drives me nuts. It's been debunked for decades that Neil is some kind of Junior Randian, and it's clear in context that he never ascribed to the ultra-social-Darwinism aspect in the first place, yet people keep bringing it up. It was like three albums 30 years ago, people.   More annoying to me is the claim from critics (and this goes along with the time sigs) that Rush is "all technique and no emotion" or something like that. Worse, these accusations usually implicate the fans for only caring about instrumental virtuosity. Maybe some fans do, but frankly I wouldn't have listened to a single Rush song more than once if I didn't find them incredibly emotionally compelling. Yeah, maybe you don't get it, Mr. Critic, but the fans clearly do -- did you not hear them singing their guts out to Subdivisions? -- so leave your condescension at home with your boring hipster music.   I think it's just how they write. They don't set out to make any certain time sig but they can't count to 4 twice in a row.   Seriously, sophisticated musicians write sophisticated music.

[OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan]

I think it's obvious and been addressed by the band that they write the riff and whatever time it's in is what it's in and they aren't going to change it to fit a format.

[Gompers]

Geddy addressed this directly in the Billy Corgan interview. If I recall, many times it is Neil saying let's thrown in an extra beat/drap a beat there (or the like). I should find this interview again.

 

I would say this is done on purpose for poll purposes.

 

(can't find the link to the sound file )

Edited June 22, 2012 by Gompers

[Gompers]

Found it.

 

Listen in about 7:55.

[OfficerRabbit]

Bah, I've never enjoyed people saying anything besides 4/4 doesn't feel "natural". I've always felt that odd or compound meters actually feel more natural because they have a life to them created by the dynamics of the different meter.

[Ancient Ways]

QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 22 2012, 08:14 AM)

Found it. Listen in about 7:55.

Great. Didn't listen to that before. Interesting that Billy was interested in the same kind of question.

[treeduck]

I wouldn't know a time signature from a celebrity's signature...

 

But I do know what sounds good to me and that's all that matters...

 

[vitalsigns318]

They write music that comes natural to them, I do the same thing. Also, to fit Neil's unusual lyrics, they have to be flexible with their time signatures. Edited June 24, 2012 by vitalsigns318

[Captain Avatar]

I think it's both, but probably more the second of the three. I've heard Geddy say that they will write a riff that sounds cool that just happens to be in an odd time, and I've also heard him say (less frequently) that they like to throw odd time signatures in every once in a while.

[Steel Rat]

QUOTE (OfficerRabbit @ Jun 22 2012, 12:25 PM)

Bah, I've never enjoyed people saying anything besides 4/4 doesn't feel "natural". I've always felt that odd or compound meters actually feel more natural because they have a life to them created by the dynamics of the different meter.

Four is such an arbitrary number. But music writers universally insist that the number 4 should dominate every given piece of music; something about that concept is absurdly constrictive.

 

Four beats in a measure. Four measures in a phrase. Four phrases in a section.

 

When Rush bends that mold so slightly, it always feels good. Imagine if that mold could be broken.