Counterparts vs. Test for Echo

[x1yyz]

I have to agree with this as well. But I don't think the drop in lyric quality is limited to that album. Virtuality is a good example of a lyric path he just should not have wandered upon—it became very dated very quickly, similar to someone back in the 20s or 30s writing a song about the telephone.

 

There is nothing dated about this song. I guess people are latching on to one word: modem. Modem does not just mean dialup connections. Anything that connects to any network has some kind of modem.

 

(Nor would a song from the 30s about telephones necessarily be dated. We use them now more than ever.)

 

 

It's not just the word modem, but the entire concept of the song—communicating via the Internet. And the word "cyber" specifically dates the song right to the mid-90s.

[rushgoober]

I have to agree with this as well. But I don't think the drop in lyric quality is limited to that album. Virtuality is a good example of a lyric path he just should not have wandered upon—it became very dated very quickly, similar to someone back in the 20s or 30s writing a song about the telephone.

 

There is nothing dated about this song. I guess people are latching on to one word: modem. Modem does not just mean dialup connections. Anything that connects to any network has some kind of modem.

 

(Nor would a song from the 30s about telephones necessarily be dated. We use them now more than ever.)

 

Totally agree. The song's points resonant even more now.

 

the song was dated before they finished recording it. it's goofy as hell. just for shits & giggles, here's my take on the song from a previous thread:

 

 

Breaking it down:

 

Like a shipwrecked mariner adrift on an unknown sea

Clinging to the wreckage of the lost ship Fantasy

I'm a castaway, stranded in a desolate land

I can see the footprints in the virtual sand

 

Oh, I get it. He's talking about how our imaginations can run wild and go anywhere they want to in this magical land of the internet! How creative! Mr. Rogers would be so proud. And what a clever analogy by calling the lost ship "Fantasy." It means we're fantasizing and going wherever we want to... IN OUR MINDS! Wow! Forget Rocinante, I want to travel on the lost ship fantasy. That would be FANTASTIC!

 

Net boy, net girl

 

Yes, we're on THE INTERNET, so we're net boys and net girls. Net like internet! And even if we're adults, we become as little children mesmerized by all that we see. What a brilliant line/concept! It makes songs like Red Barchetta and Hemispheres seem like rambling teenage poetry by comparison.

 

Send your signal 'round the world

 

That's just so touching! I can touch THE WHOLE WORLD! :o :)

 

Let your fingers walk and talk

And set you free

 

That's just so beautiful! And I love the reference to the old Yellow Pages commercials about letting your fingers do the walking. And I will be set free! Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last!

 

Net boy, net girl

Send your impulse 'round the world

 

What a beautiful sentiment. I can take any impulse I have and send it around the globe... with just the press of a button!

 

Put your message in a modem

And throw it in the Cyber Sea

 

God, I just love the reference to a message and the sea - it's like putting a message in a bottle and hoping one day that some special person opens it and knows exactly how I feel! I have so many feelings, and I love to express my feelings, but now in this modem/cyber world, my feelings are expressed instantaneously. I'm free! I'm freeeee! And freedom, is a taste, of reality!

 

Astronauts in the weightlessness of pixellated space

 

I get it, the space is pixellated because it's on a COMPUTER SCREEN! It's not really space, but the space our minds can occupy in our imaginations! How magical!

 

Exchange graffiti with a disembodied race

 

I love the use of the word grafitti, because not only can you write on the internet, but you can do art! I love being creative! I love doing art! And it's all about exchanging, about sharing. I LOVE sharing! And who is this mysterious disembodied race - well, it hardly matters, does it? It's all in our wondrous imaginations!

 

I can save the universe in a grain of sand

I can hold the future in my virtual hand

 

Now that I'm set free, I can embrace anything, anyone and anywhere in my omniscient magical tower where puppy dogs can fly and rainbows extend off into infinity! My virtual hands are overflowing with the whole of the space-time continuum available at the edges of my fingertips. Awesome!

 

Let's dance tonight

To a virtual song

 

I just love the continual use of the word virtual. It's real, and yet it's not real. It exists ON THE INTERNET, and WE CAN BE A PART OF IT! It just makes me want to put on some music ON MY COMPUTER and dance around the room with complete abandon! I love music - it makes me so happy!

 

Press this key

And you can play along

 

And it's all available on my keyboard. And I can play. I love to play! It's FUN, and it's just so PLAYFUL!

 

Let's fly tonight

On our virtual wings

 

Now that is BEAUTIFUL! I'm flying! And I never even left my chair. I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky! Excuse me while I kiss the sky! Let me preen my beautiful angelic wings!

 

Press this key

To see amazing things

 

I can't wait to get back on my computer (oh wait, I'm already on one) to see what amazing things I can see next! I'm seeing amazing things RIGHT NOW! :D

 

Like a pair of vagabonds who wave between two passing trains

 

What a touching sentiment. We can connect through our computers, like two bums who live on trains and enjoy the heart to heart human connection of waving to each other, for in that wave is encompassed the whole of their humanity; their shared experiences, their joys, their heartaches, regret, hope, longing, and yes, even love.

 

Or the glimpse of a woman's smile through a window in the rain

I can smell her perfume

I can taste her lips

I can feel the voltage from her fingertips

 

This is arguably the most intelligent and beautiful part of the whole song. See, it's a woman, but she's not real - she's a fantasy; smiling so delicately in the rain. I can almost smell her perfume (is that Chanel #5 I detect?), and I can imagine how wonderful are her full lips, how tender her kisses would be, and how electric her touch! Thankfully, no one ever figured how to do porn on the internet or these lyrics could be misconstrued into something a little less than savory. Reading them at face value, however, they're beautiful! I want to meet this woman, but alas I cannot. She's like the beautiful and mysterious woman in the red dress from the Matrix. I can only reach out with my fingertips and grasp... this virtual world beyond where anything can happen!

 

Net boy, net girl

Send your heartbeat round the world

 

I can feel the love, the connection, the endless possibilities! I am engulfed in beauty!

[tx_rush]

I can only really think of two reasons that people actually like Counterparts: (1) they liked the return to the harder sound after years of synths and two thin sounding records; (2) people didn't like how popular RTB was despite its thin sound and appreciated an album that was more in line with Rush being a niche band.

 

The reason I think Counterparts is Rush's worse album is quite simple: the songs just aren't very good compared to the band's other output. The lyrics are Neil's worst and really cringe-inducing. People talk about Dog Years being a low point for lyrics, but at least that is playful. With The Speed of Love and Stick It Out, Neil is deadly serious and absolutely wretched.

 

Test For Echo solved a lot of Counterparts' problems. It still sounds good (though Counterparts' production is superior) but the songs are more melodic, more accessible and more substantive. The lyrics aren't Neil's best, but they are an obvious improvement over him blundering his way through relationships (something we all know isn't his strong point). Anyway, here's my breakdown:

 

1. Animate = Test for Echo - The best song on CP is good

2. Stick it Out < Driven - Stick it Out is painfully bad, and Driven is an excellent song. Not even close.

3. Cut to the Chase < Half the World - Are bad lyrics better than sparse lyrics? No. And the bass in Half the Word is awesome. Nothing in Cut to the Chase is awesome.

4. Nobody's Hero = The Color of Right - 2 very good songs, 1 criminally under-appreciated and one is savaged for rhyming "sexuality", which does sound odd but doesn't kill the song.

5. Between Sun & Moon > Time and Motion - BSaM is a good song, and it wins the match up based on the weakness of T&M

6. Alien Shore < Totem - Alien Shore is more of the same off of CP...bland and boring. Totem is playful and interesting musically and lyrically.

7. The Speed of Love < Dog Years - Speed of Love could be Rush's worst song, while Dog Years is incorrectly referenced as such because Neil had the audacity to have fun with a song.

8. Double Agent < Virtuality - Double Agent is another cringe-worthy entry, while Virtuality is again accessible and exciting musically, and despite the awkward "net girls", an interesting and prescient insight.

9. Leave That Thing Alone = Limbo

10. Cold Fire < Resist - No brainer

11. Everyday Glory = Carve Away the Stone

 

T4E has 5 songs clearly better than CP, 5 songs roughly the same, and 1 song that isn't quite as good. Now, if we were to rank all the songs and compare them based on quality, T4E would win by a much bigger margin. But CP benefits from the format of this comparison. If you didn't switch the instrumentals, T4E would have 6 better, 4 ties, and 1 worse.

 

I was enjoying your post and thought you had some good points, but you lost all credibility when you said limbo = leave that thing alone.

I know you made them equal for that sake of your arguement, and if you really thought about it, you would say LTTA is a least a little better than limbo

[LedRush]

I can only really think of two reasons that people actually like Counterparts: (1) they liked the return to the harder sound after years of synths and two thin sounding records; (2) people didn't like how popular RTB was despite its thin sound and appreciated an album that was more in line with Rush being a niche band.

 

The reason I think Counterparts is Rush's worse album is quite simple: the songs just aren't very good compared to the band's other output. The lyrics are Neil's worst and really cringe-inducing. People talk about Dog Years being a low point for lyrics, but at least that is playful. With The Speed of Love and Stick It Out, Neil is deadly serious and absolutely wretched.

 

Test For Echo solved a lot of Counterparts' problems. It still sounds good (though Counterparts' production is superior) but the songs are more melodic, more accessible and more substantive. The lyrics aren't Neil's best, but they are an obvious improvement over him blundering his way through relationships (something we all know isn't his strong point). Anyway, here's my breakdown:

 

1. Animate = Test for Echo - The best song on CP is good

2. Stick it Out < Driven - Stick it Out is painfully bad, and Driven is an excellent song. Not even close.

3. Cut to the Chase < Half the World - Are bad lyrics better than sparse lyrics? No. And the bass in Half the Word is awesome. Nothing in Cut to the Chase is awesome.

4. Nobody's Hero = The Color of Right - 2 very good songs, 1 criminally under-appreciated and one is savaged for rhyming "sexuality", which does sound odd but doesn't kill the song.

5. Between Sun & Moon > Time and Motion - BSaM is a good song, and it wins the match up based on the weakness of T&M

6. Alien Shore < Totem - Alien Shore is more of the same off of CP...bland and boring. Totem is playful and interesting musically and lyrically.

7. The Speed of Love < Dog Years - Speed of Love could be Rush's worst song, while Dog Years is incorrectly referenced as such because Neil had the audacity to have fun with a song.

8. Double Agent < Virtuality - Double Agent is another cringe-worthy entry, while Virtuality is again accessible and exciting musically, and despite the awkward "net girls", an interesting and prescient insight.

9. Leave That Thing Alone = Limbo

10. Cold Fire < Resist - No brainer

11. Everyday Glory = Carve Away the Stone

 

T4E has 5 songs clearly better than CP, 5 songs roughly the same, and 1 song that isn't quite as good. Now, if we were to rank all the songs and compare them based on quality, T4E would win by a much bigger margin. But CP benefits from the format of this comparison. If you didn't switch the instrumentals, T4E would have 6 better, 4 ties, and 1 worse.

 

I was enjoying your post and thought you had some good points, but you lost all credibility when you said limbo = leave that thing alone.

I know you made them equal for that sake of your arguement, and if you really thought about it, you would say LTTA is a least a little better than limbo

 

If I thought the songs were close, I put in an equals sign. I do like LTTA a little more than Limbo, but just a bit. I also like The Color of Right more than Nobody's Hero, T4E more than Animate, and although Everyday Glory is a lyrical high point for Peart on CP, I enjoy Carve Away the Stone more. So the equals signs actually benefit CP for my ranking. I just thought with those 4 songs the differences were small, while on the others they were greater.

[RushBoingo]

What is disappointing to me is that everyone seems to be hating on T4E purely due to it's lyrical content, sure in may not be Neil's best, I find the music great, it's like counterparts, with a little more polish (which I like). T4E winds up as number 5 on my album list, with counterparts somewhere between 9 and 11. Here is my perspective 1. Animate < Test for Echo (Test for Echo is awesome in and out, Animate lasts a little too long (but the middle is awesome))

2. Stick it Out > Driven (Bass solo aside, Stick it out has that better energy to it.)

3. Cut to the Chase = Half the World (Not big on either)

4. Nobody's Hero < The Color of Right (Not a big gap between the songs, but The Color of Right wins by a bit_

5. Between Sun & Moon = Time and Motion (Both great for their own reasons)

6. Alien Shore < Totem (I don't know why, but Alien Shore never stuck with me like some other fans, Totem does not stick much either, but I am more inclined to sing along to it, so it wins)

7. The Speed of Love < Dog Years (I actually like dog years, it has a fun riff and verse, the speed of love is flat out boring)

8. Double Agent < Virtuality (Double Agent is another good one, but Virtuality hits me in all the right places as tied for my favorite on the album (with T4E)

...here I have to swap the 9s and 10s to get the instrumentals to line up...

9. Leave That Thing Alone > Limbo (Obvious)

10. Cold Fire > Resist (By just a smidge, Cold fire wins with it's campy country feel compared to the played straight folk style of Resist)

11. Everyday Glory > Carve Away the Stone (Big winner with the emotional everyday glory, one of Rush's best album closers. Carve away the stone never felt like a good closer.

[Freeze-Frame]

I love both albums, but Counterparts definitly wins my vote. Sorry T4E.

[tx_rush]

I have to agree with this as well. But I don't think the drop in lyric quality is limited to that album. Virtuality is a good example of a lyric path he just should not have wandered upon—it became very dated very quickly, similar to someone back in the 20s or 30s writing a song about the telephone.

 

There is nothing dated about this song. I guess people are latching on to one word: modem. Modem does not just mean dialup connections. Anything that connects to any network has some kind of modem.

 

(Nor would a song from the 30s about telephones necessarily be dated. We use them now more than ever.)

 

Totally agree. The song's points resonant even more now.

 

the song was dated before they finished recording it. it's goofy as hell. just for shits & giggles, here's my take on the song from a previous thread:

 

 

Breaking it down:

 

Like a shipwrecked mariner adrift on an unknown sea

Clinging to the wreckage of the lost ship Fantasy

I'm a castaway, stranded in a desolate land

I can see the footprints in the virtual sand

 

Oh, I get it. He's talking about how our imaginations can run wild and go anywhere they want to in this magical land of the internet! How creative! Mr. Rogers would be so proud. And what a clever analogy by calling the lost ship "Fantasy." It means we're fantasizing and going wherever we want to... IN OUR MINDS! Wow! Forget Rocinante, I want to travel on the lost ship fantasy. That would be FANTASTIC!

 

Net boy, net girl

 

Yes, we're on THE INTERNET, so we're net boys and net girls. Net like internet! And even if we're adults, we become as little children mesmerized by all that we see. What a brilliant line/concept! It makes songs like Red Barchetta and Hemispheres seem like rambling teenage poetry by comparison.

 

Send your signal 'round the world

 

That's just so touching! I can touch THE WHOLE WORLD! :o :)

 

Let your fingers walk and talk

And set you free

 

That's just so beautiful! And I love the reference to the old Yellow Pages commercials about letting your fingers do the walking. And I will be set free! Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last!

 

Net boy, net girl

Send your impulse 'round the world

 

What a beautiful sentiment. I can take any impulse I have and send it around the globe... with just the press of a button!

 

Put your message in a modem

And throw it in the Cyber Sea

 

God, I just love the reference to a message and the sea - it's like putting a message in a bottle and hoping one day that some special person opens it and knows exactly how I feel! I have so many feelings, and I love to express my feelings, but now in this modem/cyber world, my feelings are expressed instantaneously. I'm free! I'm freeeee! And freedom, is a taste, of reality!

 

Astronauts in the weightlessness of pixellated space

 

I get it, the space is pixellated because it's on a COMPUTER SCREEN! It's not really space, but the space our minds can occupy in our imaginations! How magical!

 

Exchange graffiti with a disembodied race

 

I love the use of the word grafitti, because not only can you write on the internet, but you can do art! I love being creative! I love doing art! And it's all about exchanging, about sharing. I LOVE sharing! And who is this mysterious disembodied race - well, it hardly matters, does it? It's all in our wondrous imaginations!

 

I can save the universe in a grain of sand

I can hold the future in my virtual hand

 

Now that I'm set free, I can embrace anything, anyone and anywhere in my omniscient magical tower where puppy dogs can fly and rainbows extend off into infinity! My virtual hands are overflowing with the whole of the space-time continuum available at the edges of my fingertips. Awesome!

 

Let's dance tonight

To a virtual song

 

I just love the continual use of the word virtual. It's real, and yet it's not real. It exists ON THE INTERNET, and WE CAN BE A PART OF IT! It just makes me want to put on some music ON MY COMPUTER and dance around the room with complete abandon! I love music - it makes me so happy!

 

Press this key

And you can play along

 

And it's all available on my keyboard. And I can play. I love to play! It's FUN, and it's just so PLAYFUL!

 

Let's fly tonight

On our virtual wings

 

Now that is BEAUTIFUL! I'm flying! And I never even left my chair. I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky! Excuse me while I kiss the sky! Let me preen my beautiful angelic wings!

 

Press this key

To see amazing things

 

I can't wait to get back on my computer (oh wait, I'm already on one) to see what amazing things I can see next! I'm seeing amazing things RIGHT NOW! :D

 

Like a pair of vagabonds who wave between two passing trains

 

What a touching sentiment. We can connect through our computers, like two bums who live on trains and enjoy the heart to heart human connection of waving to each other, for in that wave is encompassed the whole of their humanity; their shared experiences, their joys, their heartaches, regret, hope, longing, and yes, even love.

 

Or the glimpse of a woman's smile through a window in the rain

I can smell her perfume

I can taste her lips

I can feel the voltage from her fingertips

 

This is arguably the most intelligent and beautiful part of the whole song. See, it's a woman, but she's not real - she's a fantasy; smiling so delicately in the rain. I can almost smell her perfume (is that Chanel #5 I detect?), and I can imagine how wonderful are her full lips, how tender her kisses would be, and how electric her touch! Thankfully, no one ever figured how to do porn on the internet or these lyrics could be misconstrued into something a little less than savory. Reading them at face value, however, they're beautiful! I want to meet this woman, but alas I cannot. She's like the beautiful and mysterious woman in the red dress from the Matrix. I can only reach out with my fingertips and grasp... this virtual world beyond where anything can happen!

 

Net boy, net girl

Send your heartbeat round the world

 

I can feel the love, the connection, the endless possibilities! I am engulfed in beauty!

 

Bro, I will give you credit for being somewhat clever. Really though, you could slice and dice half of the lyrics from Rush songs like you just did if you wanted to. the verses are brutal, ill give you that.

 

Obviously the song came out when the internet was getting big. Its a reflection on the information at hand, and the way we can connect with people. "put your message in a modem, and throw it in a cyber sea" is actually a nice lyric. Lots of people out there who are on the internet, casting a line out there, hoping to get a nibble of someone seeing them or giving them attention (like a post about VT ;)), creating relationships and living out dreams that arent happening in the real world. Its not excellent lyrically, but I think the theme of the song is interesting and not any less dated than anything else

[tx_rush]

I can only really think of two reasons that people actually like Counterparts: (1) they liked the return to the harder sound after years of synths and two thin sounding records; (2) people didn't like how popular RTB was despite its thin sound and appreciated an album that was more in line with Rush being a niche band.

 

The reason I think Counterparts is Rush's worse album is quite simple: the songs just aren't very good compared to the band's other output. The lyrics are Neil's worst and really cringe-inducing. People talk about Dog Years being a low point for lyrics, but at least that is playful. With The Speed of Love and Stick It Out, Neil is deadly serious and absolutely wretched.

 

Test For Echo solved a lot of Counterparts' problems. It still sounds good (though Counterparts' production is superior) but the songs are more melodic, more accessible and more substantive. The lyrics aren't Neil's best, but they are an obvious improvement over him blundering his way through relationships (something we all know isn't his strong point). Anyway, here's my breakdown:

 

1. Animate = Test for Echo - The best song on CP is good

2. Stick it Out < Driven - Stick it Out is painfully bad, and Driven is an excellent song. Not even close.

3. Cut to the Chase < Half the World - Are bad lyrics better than sparse lyrics? No. And the bass in Half the Word is awesome. Nothing in Cut to the Chase is awesome.

4. Nobody's Hero = The Color of Right - 2 very good songs, 1 criminally under-appreciated and one is savaged for rhyming "sexuality", which does sound odd but doesn't kill the song.

5. Between Sun & Moon > Time and Motion - BSaM is a good song, and it wins the match up based on the weakness of T&M

6. Alien Shore < Totem - Alien Shore is more of the same off of CP...bland and boring. Totem is playful and interesting musically and lyrically.

7. The Speed of Love < Dog Years - Speed of Love could be Rush's worst song, while Dog Years is incorrectly referenced as such because Neil had the audacity to have fun with a song.

8. Double Agent < Virtuality - Double Agent is another cringe-worthy entry, while Virtuality is again accessible and exciting musically, and despite the awkward "net girls", an interesting and prescient insight.

9. Leave That Thing Alone = Limbo

10. Cold Fire < Resist - No brainer

11. Everyday Glory = Carve Away the Stone

 

T4E has 5 songs clearly better than CP, 5 songs roughly the same, and 1 song that isn't quite as good. Now, if we were to rank all the songs and compare them based on quality, T4E would win by a much bigger margin. But CP benefits from the format of this comparison. If you didn't switch the instrumentals, T4E would have 6 better, 4 ties, and 1 worse.

 

I was enjoying your post and thought you had some good points, but you lost all credibility when you said limbo = leave that thing alone.

I know you made them equal for that sake of your arguement, and if you really thought about it, you would say LTTA is a least a little better than limbo

 

If I thought the songs were close, I put in an equals sign. I do like LTTA a little more than Limbo, but just a bit. I also like The Color of Right more than Nobody's Hero, T4E more than Animate, and although Everyday Glory is a lyrical high point for Peart on CP, I enjoy Carve Away the Stone more. So the equals signs actually benefit CP for my ranking. I just thought with those 4 songs the differences were small, while on the others they were greater.

 

Thats what I wanted to hear. I can now accept the validity of your post and acknowledge that you make some great points.

 

I also like color of right more than Nobodys hero, but Everyday Glory is better than carve away stone, and animate better than T4E.

[Bluefunk]

Bro, I will give you credit for being somewhat clever. Really though, you could slice and dice half of the lyrics from Rush songs like you just did if you wanted to. the verses are brutal, ill give you that.

 

Obviously the song came out when the internet was getting big. Its a reflection on the information at hand, and the way we can connect with people. "put your message in a modem, and throw it in a cyber sea" is actually a nice lyric. Lots of people out there who are on the internet, casting a line out there, hoping to get a nibble of someone seeing them or giving them attention (like a post about VT ;)), creating relationships and living out dreams that arent happening in the real world. Its not excellent lyrically, but I think the theme of the song is interesting and not any less dated than anything else

I agree with that- I still love this song, and think it has a relevance today.

[Slack jaw gaze]

I have to agree with this as well. But I don't think the drop in lyric quality is limited to that album. Virtuality is a good example of a lyric path he just should not have wandered upon—it became very dated very quickly, similar to someone back in the 20s or 30s writing a song about the telephone.

 

There is nothing dated about this song. I guess people are latching on to one word: modem. Modem does not just mean dialup connections. Anything that connects to any network has some kind of modem.

 

(Nor would a song from the 30s about telephones necessarily be dated. We use them now more than ever.)

 

 

It's not just the word modem, but the entire concept of the song—communicating via the Internet. And the word "cyber" specifically dates the song right to the mid-90s.

As you typed that message and posted it to the internet you had no sense of irony?

[rushgoober]

Bro, I will give you credit for being somewhat clever. Really though, you could slice and dice half of the lyrics from Rush songs like you just did if you wanted to. the verses are brutal, ill give you that.

 

Obviously the song came out when the internet was getting big. Its a reflection on the information at hand, and the way we can connect with people. "put your message in a modem, and throw it in a cyber sea" is actually a nice lyric. Lots of people out there who are on the internet, casting a line out there, hoping to get a nibble of someone seeing them or giving them attention (like a post about VT ;)), creating relationships and living out dreams that arent happening in the real world. Its not excellent lyrically, but I think the theme of the song is interesting and not any less dated than anything else

I agree with that- I still love this song, and think it has a relevance today.

 

the song had the shelf life of a banana.

[Slack jaw gaze]

I have to agree with this as well. But I don't think the drop in lyric quality is limited to that album. Virtuality is a good example of a lyric path he just should not have wandered upon—it became very dated very quickly, similar to someone back in the 20s or 30s writing a song about the telephone.

 

There is nothing dated about this song. I guess people are latching on to one word: modem. Modem does not just mean dialup connections. Anything that connects to any network has some kind of modem.

 

(Nor would a song from the 30s about telephones necessarily be dated. We use them now more than ever.)

 

Totally agree. The song's points resonant even more now.

 

the song was dated before they finished recording it. it's goofy as hell. just for shits & giggles, here's my take on the song from a previous thread:

 

 

Breaking it down:

 

Like a shipwrecked mariner adrift on an unknown sea

Clinging to the wreckage of the lost ship Fantasy

I'm a castaway, stranded in a desolate land

I can see the footprints in the virtual sand

 

Oh, I get it. He's talking about how our imaginations can run wild and go anywhere they want to in this magical land of the internet! How creative! Mr. Rogers would be so proud. And what a clever analogy by calling the lost ship "Fantasy." It means we're fantasizing and going wherever we want to... IN OUR MINDS! Wow! Forget Rocinante, I want to travel on the lost ship fantasy. That would be FANTASTIC!

 

Net boy, net girl

 

Yes, we're on THE INTERNET, so we're net boys and net girls. Net like internet! And even if we're adults, we become as little children mesmerized by all that we see. What a brilliant line/concept! It makes songs like Red Barchetta and Hemispheres seem like rambling teenage poetry by comparison.

 

Send your signal 'round the world

 

That's just so touching! I can touch THE WHOLE WORLD! :o :)

 

Let your fingers walk and talk

And set you free

 

That's just so beautiful! And I love the reference to the old Yellow Pages commercials about letting your fingers do the walking. And I will be set free! Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last!

 

Net boy, net girl

Send your impulse 'round the world

 

What a beautiful sentiment. I can take any impulse I have and send it around the globe... with just the press of a button!

 

Put your message in a modem

And throw it in the Cyber Sea

 

God, I just love the reference to a message and the sea - it's like putting a message in a bottle and hoping one day that some special person opens it and knows exactly how I feel! I have so many feelings, and I love to express my feelings, but now in this modem/cyber world, my feelings are expressed instantaneously. I'm free! I'm freeeee! And freedom, is a taste, of reality!

 

Astronauts in the weightlessness of pixellated space

 

I get it, the space is pixellated because it's on a COMPUTER SCREEN! It's not really space, but the space our minds can occupy in our imaginations! How magical!

 

Exchange graffiti with a disembodied race

 

I love the use of the word grafitti, because not only can you write on the internet, but you can do art! I love being creative! I love doing art! And it's all about exchanging, about sharing. I LOVE sharing! And who is this mysterious disembodied race - well, it hardly matters, does it? It's all in our wondrous imaginations!

 

I can save the universe in a grain of sand

I can hold the future in my virtual hand

 

Now that I'm set free, I can embrace anything, anyone and anywhere in my omniscient magical tower where puppy dogs can fly and rainbows extend off into infinity! My virtual hands are overflowing with the whole of the space-time continuum available at the edges of my fingertips. Awesome!

 

Let's dance tonight

To a virtual song

 

I just love the continual use of the word virtual. It's real, and yet it's not real. It exists ON THE INTERNET, and WE CAN BE A PART OF IT! It just makes me want to put on some music ON MY COMPUTER and dance around the room with complete abandon! I love music - it makes me so happy!

 

Press this key

And you can play along

 

And it's all available on my keyboard. And I can play. I love to play! It's FUN, and it's just so PLAYFUL!

 

Let's fly tonight

On our virtual wings

 

Now that is BEAUTIFUL! I'm flying! And I never even left my chair. I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky! Excuse me while I kiss the sky! Let me preen my beautiful angelic wings!

 

Press this key

To see amazing things

 

I can't wait to get back on my computer (oh wait, I'm already on one) to see what amazing things I can see next! I'm seeing amazing things RIGHT NOW! :D

 

Like a pair of vagabonds who wave between two passing trains

 

What a touching sentiment. We can connect through our computers, like two bums who live on trains and enjoy the heart to heart human connection of waving to each other, for in that wave is encompassed the whole of their humanity; their shared experiences, their joys, their heartaches, regret, hope, longing, and yes, even love.

 

Or the glimpse of a woman's smile through a window in the rain

I can smell her perfume

I can taste her lips

I can feel the voltage from her fingertips

 

This is arguably the most intelligent and beautiful part of the whole song. See, it's a woman, but she's not real - she's a fantasy; smiling so delicately in the rain. I can almost smell her perfume (is that Chanel #5 I detect?), and I can imagine how wonderful are her full lips, how tender her kisses would be, and how electric her touch! Thankfully, no one ever figured how to do porn on the internet or these lyrics could be misconstrued into something a little less than savory. Reading them at face value, however, they're beautiful! I want to meet this woman, but alas I cannot. She's like the beautiful and mysterious woman in the red dress from the Matrix. I can only reach out with my fingertips and grasp... this virtual world beyond where anything can happen!

 

Net boy, net girl

Send your heartbeat round the world

 

I can feel the love, the connection, the endless possibilities! I am engulfed in beauty!

Not only is sarcasm the lowest form of humor, it can never be mistaken for intellect.

 

Postbastica.

[bathory]

gettin harsh!

[rushgoober]

]Not only is sarcasm the lowest form of humor, it can never be mistaken for intellect.

 

Postbastica.

 

:eyeroll:

 

Life would be pretty sad and boring without sarcasm, but to each their own I guess.

 

The lyrics to Virtuality are deeply, deeply cringeworthy. The only song lyrics I've heard from them arguably more ridiculous are Dog Years. Both are wretched.

Edited September 16, 2013 by rushgoober

[bathory]

jammin jacob's ladder

 

shits on both these records

[ShlappinDahBass]

]Not only is sarcasm the lowest form of humor, it can never be mistaken for intellect.

 

Postbastica.

 

:eyeroll:

 

Life would be pretty sad and boring without sarcasm, but to each their own I guess.

 

The lyrics to Virtuality are deeply, deeply cringeworthy. The only song lyrics I've heard from them arguably more ridiculous are Dog Years. Both are wretched.

 

I agree with the whole "life would be boring without sarcasm" thing. My favorite form of humor, including many other's.

 

But yeah, I don't know how anyone could really defend the lyrics to Dog Years and, to some aspect, Virtuality. If you like the instruments, that's fine, but my goodness. The lyrics. Just.....no.

[EagleMoon]

Who listens to the lyrics anyway? :tsk:

[Slack jaw gaze]

Life would be pretty sad and boring without sarcasm

The less tools in your belt, the more value any given one holds.

 

The lyrics to Virtuality are deeply, deeply cringeworthy. The only song lyrics I've heard from them arguably more ridiculous are Dog Years. Both are wretched.

I haven't argued the merits of the lyrics, which is pointless anyway. I've only argued that they are not dated.

[sitboaf]

I also cringe when hearing Dog Years or Virtuality, but the combination of bad lyrics and bad melody make Totem one of their worst choruses:

 

Angels and demons dancing in my head

Lunatics and monsters underneath my bed

Media messiahs preying on my fears

Pop culture prophets playing in my ears

 

Ugh. That makes for one weak trifecta of songs. Even worse than Speed of Love and company.

[rushgoober]

Life would be pretty sad and boring without sarcasm

The less tools in your belt, the more value any given one holds.

 

Um, sure, you enjoy that philosophy. For what it's worth, however, you have shown me the error of my ways, and I shall endeavor to refrain from sarcasm from this point forward.

 

The lyrics to Virtuality are deeply, deeply cringeworthy. The only song lyrics I've heard from them arguably more ridiculous are Dog Years. Both are wretched.

I haven't argued the merits of the lyrics, which is pointless anyway. I've only argued that they are not dated.

 

if you say so, net boy. It sure has been great having this virtual conversation with you out here in pixellated space, sending you out my virtual impulses via my modem. Thank God we have this great usenet group here - I feel so set free. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go organize my VHS tapes and floppy discs.

[rushgoober]

Who listens to the lyrics anyway? :tsk:

 

Um, pretty much ALL Rush fans? ;)

[EagleMoon]

Who listens to the lyrics anyway? :tsk:

 

Um, pretty much ALL Rush fans? ;)

 

That would be what you would call sarcasm. But actually I know several Rush fans that couldn't quote you the lyrics but they know the music by heart.

[goose]

 

5. Between Sun & Moon = Time and Motion (Both great for their own reasons)

 

:goodone:

[Pause Rewind Replay]

Going song by song, for me T4E starts off with a tremendous 1-2 punch, but after that has a bunch of listenable but not very memorable songs that Cp clobbers:

 

Animate < Test For Echo

Stick it Out < Driven

Cut To The Chase >>> Half The World

Nobody's Hero >>> Color Of Right

Between Sun And Moon > Time And Motion

Alien Shore = Todem

Speed Of Love > Dog Years

Double Agent > Virtuality

LTTA > Resist

Cold Fire >>> Limbo

Everyday Glory >> Carve Away The Stone

 

8 wins for Cp, 4 of them blowouts, 2 narrow wins for T4E, and a draw. Resist is my 3rd favorite song on T4E, but still didn't have a chance against LTTA.

[Your_Lion]

Nothing in Cut to the Chase is awesome.

 

Pretty much everything in Cut to the Chase is awesome. Especially the guitar solo, which is so awesome that you couldn't fit any more awe into it :haz: