goose Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) I can't help but chuckle at the criticism of the album reaching the "even the cover sucks" level. Here's the thing about the RTB cover.... it was a weak attempt to recapture some of the metaphor imagery they had on other covers (Hemispheres... MP with the three notions of defining a "moving picture".... Signals and the hydrant.... etc.). A lot of the lyrics of RTB was about the notion of fate, accepting it or not... thus the kid kicking the skull. Dominos are often referred to as "bones" among those who play dominos. A bit contrived? Yes. Kind of like the title song. Not their best effort on many levels, but a transition album and one that I still partake in from time-to-time.Historical note: Dice are "bones"...derived from the ancient gambling game of rolling actual bones. One of the more famous depictions of this is on the Sagrada Familia cathedral, in Barcelona: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJUAMlWyxHo/T6riAG2yasI/AAAAAAAAAII/dUYJ1qjH-IU/s1600/droga+krzyz+st+IX.jpg Edited March 5, 2015 by goose 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Awesome song if you get off your prog snob high horse. Just because something is catchy and accessible does not make it bad. Music is subjective last time I checked. We get it. You don't like it. Don't try and convince us we are wrong for having a different opinion. Personally, when I first heard it I loved the fact that Rush were dipping their heels in the pop/funk world while still having their "Rush" stamp on it. Never meant to imply that at all, and I would never say "you're wrong" for liking something I don't (except in I hope an obviously cheeky sort of way). I'm pleased and happy you (and many many others I'm sure) can like the song. I was just expressing how I'm having trouble digging it, and I'm genuinely trying to find out what people like about it. For example, lots of folks have used the word "funk" to describe it, as you do above. I hear a bit of that now. That's a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I can focus on the groove a bit more. I hope it's okay if members of the forum from time to time express their opinions in overt, passionate, excited ways as I try to do. It's done to prompt a response, another point of view, which will help me understand what people like, what they hear--maybe what I'm not hearing. "Prog snob high horse"? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Awesome song if you get off your prog snob high horse. Just because something is catchy and accessible does not make it bad. Music is subjective last time I checked. We get it. You don't like it. Don't try and convince us we are wrong for having a different opinion. Personally, when I first heard it I loved the fact that Rush were dipping their heels in the pop/funk world while still having their "Rush" stamp on it. Never meant to imply that at all, and I would never say "you're wrong" for liking something I don't (except in I hope an obviously cheeky sort of way). I'm pleased and happy you (and many many others I'm sure) can like the song. I was just expressing how I'm having trouble digging it, and I'm genuinely trying to find out what people like about it. For example, lots of folks have used the word "funk" to describe it, as you do above. I hear a bit of that now. That's a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I can focus on the groove a bit more. I hope it's okay if members of the forum from time to time express their opinions in overt, passionate, excited ways as I try to do. It's done to prompt a response, another point of view, which will help me understand what people like, what they hear--maybe what I'm not hearing. "Prog snob high horse"? It's all good. One thing for sure, when it comes to opinions on Rush songs from Rush fans, it will be all over the board. That's a good thing I think. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Awesome song if you get off your prog snob high horse. Just because something is catchy and accessible does not make it bad. Music is subjective last time I checked. We get it. You don't like it. Don't try and convince us we are wrong for having a different opinion. Personally, when I first heard it I loved the fact that Rush were dipping their heels in the pop/funk world while still having their "Rush" stamp on it. Never meant to imply that at all, and I would never say "you're wrong" for liking something I don't (except in I hope an obviously cheeky sort of way). I'm pleased and happy you (and many many others I'm sure) can like the song. I was just expressing how I'm having trouble digging it, and I'm genuinely trying to find out what people like about it. For example, lots of folks have used the word "funk" to describe it, as you do above. I hear a bit of that now. That's a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I can focus on the groove a bit more. I hope it's okay if members of the forum from time to time express their opinions in overt, passionate, excited ways as I try to do. It's done to prompt a response, another point of view, which will help me understand what people like, what they hear--maybe what I'm not hearing. "Prog snob high horse"?For what it's worth, I don't like the song RTB, but I do like Face Up, a rather un-prog track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 I removed the rap, and I like the tune much better now. I wonder if part of what I didn't like about the song was that sort of awful anticipation of what was to come . . . I wonder how the audience would react if they played the song without the rap? I wonder how many people find it charming? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I removed the rap, and I like the tune much better now. I wonder if part of what I didn't like about the song was that sort of awful anticipation of what was to come . . . I wonder how the audience would react if they played the song without the rap? I wonder how many people find it charming?I removed the rap, and I like the tune much better now. I wonder if part of what I didn't like about the song was that sort of awful anticipation of what was to come . . . I wonder how the audience would react if they played the song without the rap? I wonder how many people find it charming?I removed the rap, and I like the tune much better now. I wonder if part of what I didn't like about the song was that sort of awful anticipation of what was to come . . . I wonder how the audience would react if they played the song without the rap? I wonder how many people find it charming?It is a much better song with that removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) Perhaps it's the dynamic drumming that makes this song so epic... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMkDkislLnM As opposed to this more pedestrian drumming song... Edited March 6, 2015 by goose 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Ha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I cannot, cannot, cannot warm up to this song. I can't help it. I have removed the rap part. It's still not working. The Rush I love is prodigious, bursting, overflowing genius musical enormousness and insane chops, music that's like the best toy you had as a child and music where you focus on the parts and then go "I have to listen again because I didn't give Lee's f***ing insane bass part enough attention that time." Who likes this song and why? Be philosophical. Explain the appeal to . . . just about anything. While you're at it, give me some good reasons to listen to the following meager offerings. My soul gets nothing from these stunted . . . songs: Chain LightningSecond NatureHand Over FistThe Big Wheel I'll stop there. The list is beginning to bum me out. Also, I just ate like 80 grams worth of glucose corn syrup and a can of Coke. Chain Lightning is my favourite Rush song! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorkingAllTheTime Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I can't help but chuckle at the criticism of the album reaching the "even the cover sucks" level. Here's the thing about the RTB cover.... it was a weak attempt to recapture some of the metaphor imagery they had on other covers (Hemispheres... MP with the three notions of defining a "moving picture".... Signals and the hydrant.... etc.). A lot of the lyrics of RTB was about the notion of fate, accepting it or not... thus the kid kicking the skull. Dominos are often referred to as "bones" among those who play dominos. A bit contrived? Yes. Kind of like the title song. Not their best effort on many levels, but a transition album and one that I still partake in from time-to-time.Historical note: Dice are "bones"...derived from the ancient gambling game of rolling actual bones. One of the more famous depictions of this is on the Sagrada Familia cathedral, in Barcelona: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJUAMlWyxHo/T6riAG2yasI/AAAAAAAAAII/dUYJ1qjH-IU/s1600/droga+krzyz+st+IX.jpg Yep. That's probably the reason the term transferred to dominoes. But after I posted that, I went back and looked to realized the cover doesn't depict dominoes. All those wasted years... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 I cannot, cannot, cannot warm up to this song. I can't help it. I have removed the rap part. It's still not working. The Rush I love is prodigious, bursting, overflowing genius musical enormousness and insane chops, music that's like the best toy you had as a child and music where you focus on the parts and then go "I have to listen again because I didn't give Lee's f***ing insane bass part enough attention that time." Who likes this song and why? Be philosophical. Explain the appeal to . . . just about anything. While you're at it, give me some good reasons to listen to the following meager offerings. My soul gets nothing from these stunted . . . songs: Chain LightningSecond NatureHand Over FistThe Big Wheel I'll stop there. The list is beginning to bum me out. Also, I just ate like 80 grams worth of glucose corn syrup and a can of Coke. Chain Lightning is my favourite Rush song! Yeah, I know. Please explain in a detailed 500-word analysis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empty Mindless Spectre Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Because it is Rush… it's my least favorite album for sure, and I haven't spun it for quite a long time, but at some point, i will listen to it again, and find something I like about it I'm sure… because it is Rush! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemiBeers Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 sorry i can't listen to it anymore. i used the cd for skeet shooting. PULL! :bang bang: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyMidnighter Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 It's a fun song. Do you hate FUN?????? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 It's a fun song. Do you hate FUN??????It's the most fun a human being can have listening to someone attempt to rebut theodicy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Analog Cub Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have about as much "fun" listening to the entire Roll The Bones album as I do writing an essay about gender and sexuality (which I am unfortunately doing this semester). If that wasn't clear, that's not fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) I have about as much "fun" listening to the entire Roll The Bones album as I do writing an essay about gender and sexuality (which I am unfortunately doing this semester). If that wasn't clear, that's not fun.Just parrot the viewpoint of the professor, throw in a few PC buzzwords, and you'll be fine. And remember, there is no such thing as too over the top parody in a gender studies class. You'll find the assignment a lot more fun if you work to make your essay as bizarre as possible without the prof knowing you're mocking the subject matter. Edited March 7, 2015 by laughedatbytime 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Analog Cub Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have about as much "fun" listening to the entire Roll The Bones album as I do writing an essay about gender and sexuality (which I am unfortunately doing this semester). If that wasn't clear, that's not fun.Just parrot the viewpoint of the professor, throw in a few PC buzzwords, and you'll be fine. Pretty much! You just described every sociology class ever. Engineering students aren't made to write about subjective shit... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) I have about as much "fun" listening to the entire Roll The Bones album as I do writing an essay about gender and sexuality (which I am unfortunately doing this semester). If that wasn't clear, that's not fun.Just parrot the viewpoint of the professor, throw in a few PC buzzwords, and you'll be fine. Pretty much! You just described every sociology class ever. Engineering students aren't made to write about subjective shit...Here ya go...gravity as a social construct...a classic... http://www.physics.n...singlefile.html Edited March 7, 2015 by laughedatbytime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Analog Cub Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have about as much "fun" listening to the entire Roll The Bones album as I do writing an essay about gender and sexuality (which I am unfortunately doing this semester). If that wasn't clear, that's not fun.Just parrot the viewpoint of the professor, throw in a few PC buzzwords, and you'll be fine. Pretty much! You just described every sociology class ever. Engineering students aren't made to write about subjective shit...Here ya go...gravity as a social construct...a classic... http://www.physics.n...singlefile.html If you think I'm reading that you're high af. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushpepe Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Not one of their best songs as far as musical composition goes but it has that funky beat that draws me in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have about as much "fun" listening to the entire Roll The Bones album as I do writing an essay about gender and sexuality (which I am unfortunately doing this semester). If that wasn't clear, that's not fun.Just parrot the viewpoint of the professor, throw in a few PC buzzwords, and you'll be fine. Pretty much! You just described every sociology class ever. Engineering students aren't made to write about subjective shit...Here ya go...gravity as a social construct...a classic... http://www.physics.n...singlefile.html If you think I'm reading that you're high af.It's hilarious. And it was published in a referred journal...it's the embodiment of the PC mindset that no one at the journal recognized it was satire... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grasbo Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Love the song and the album although the rap part threw me when i first heard it.Have a listen to the Necromancer ,thats got rap interludes in it(lol).Seriously You Bet Your Life was the hardest song for me to get into (love it now)but the elephants bum always mystified me and the wishbones would be more suited to a Wishbone Ash lp.Love Alex's shiny guitar solo on RTB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Analog Grownup Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 To me it's just Rush having fun. Maybe you're taking them too serious? :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerofthor Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 RTB, the song, was an attempt by the band to use a lot of musical styles in one song. The funky verses, the heavier pre chorus, the folky chorus, all leading to the rap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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