Rush v. Dirk, Pratt, & Lerxst

[Lethean]

I think I can solve this stand off. 

King is right and TAC is wrong. 

There. Shake hands and carry on.

[King Postwhore]

 

But I'm always right and TAC is, well, TAC.

[TAC]

Who's TAC?

[King Postwhore]

Exactly. Now press that Life Alert button Tim.

[TAC]

OOPS...wrong button...

[King Postwhore]

You high bruh.

[KevShmev]

I have to admit that I chuckled seeing a Winger fan talking about how he can't lower his standards.

[TAC]

You high bruh.

I have to admit that I chuckled seeing a Winger fan talking about how he can't lower his standards.

Kinghshmegland likes Winger??

[Cool Chris]

The Pass is my second favorite Rush song after 2112.

OK, first off, the bolded makes no fucking sense. I mean seriously.

It sounded weird in my head too when I typed it. It just touched me at the time it was released, and hasn't ever dropped off. 2112 is #1, lots of songs are bunched in around #'s 3-10. That would be an impossible list for me to make.

That's why I love them.  They soak in what's around them musically. Never standing still.  Bands that stand still bore me over their career.

If every aspect of their evolution/development has resonated with you, that's awesome! I appreciate what they were trying to do, much of it just falls flat for me. So like TAC, when I am in a Rush mood, I stick to my wheelhouse, because that period is as good as it gets for me.

[ProfessorPeart]

Life really sucks lately and I needed something like this to try to cheer me up, even just a little. Two of my favorite things, Peanuts and Rush.

https://news.avclub.com/some-maniac-set-the-entirety-of-rush-s-2112-to-old-pe-1826295577

https://youtu.be/-IOKT_sC9ac

[Cool Chris]

I've seen a few of these lately. This is my favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz0PCgz8r8M

[Stadler]

I feel like "evolving" is good.  I feel like the jump from MP to Signals was evolution.  I feel like the jump from Signals to p/g was... a mutation.   

[Orbert]

I feel like once bands have been around for a while, there can be a change in perspective.  Just as you can have a favorite album, despite it having some great songs and some admittedly weaker ones, and those weaker ones don't spoil the whole album, you can have a favorite band and that band still has a few albums you feel are weaker.  Or at least less enjoyable for you.  But that doesn't ruin the whole band for you or anything; you just avoid those albums just as you might sometimes skip those tracks you don't really like.

I wouldn't want an entire album of songs that all sound the same.  Even if it's a really killer song, once that I always crank up, I don't want an entire album of songs just like it.  Similarly, I don't want all the albums by a band to be the same.  I like the changes, the highs and lows, the differences in style from one album to the next.

Also, scientifically speaking, evolution occurs because of mutation.  Even on my less-favorite Rush albums, there are songs I really like.  And even though there are songs I really don't like, I can appreciate that the band tried something different.

[Cool Chris]

... you can have a favorite band and that band still has a few albums you feel are weaker.  Or at least less enjoyable for you.  But that doesn't ruin the whole band for you or anything; you just avoid those albums just as you might sometimes skip those tracks you don't really like.

Great point. I don't let the songs/albums I don't like ruin my fandom for a band who writes songs/albums I do like. As long as the ratio of dislike:like doesn't get to high. Bands should write the music they want to write. If I don't like it, I won't buy it. Just be sure someone is buying it if you want to keep your careers going!

[King Postwhore]

I must have the mutant gene then!  For now on call me King's X.


Wait! What?!

[The Walrus]

I feel like "evolving" is good.  I feel like the jump from MP to Signals was evolution.  I feel like the jump from Signals to p/g was... a mutation.

Yeah, a damn good mutation, boi. 

[jingle.boy]

And bands that don't change their sound much are tagged with the "samey" label, and fans can get bored of hearing the same stuff.

#NeverEnough

[The Letter M]

And besides, if it weren't for GUP, then we wouldn't have gotten POW, my favorite "Sector 3" album of the bunch, though Signals come close behind it.

-Marc.

[jammindude]

I don’t consider myself such a fanboy that I can’t see any flaws. I consider Roll the Bones to be pretty bad outside of 3 or 4 stellar cuts.

But ya. The synth era gets way too much hate from the old school crowd. There is some amazing songs in that period. And Power Windows is a masterpiece from start to finish.

[pg1067]

the jump from Signals to p/g was... a bastardization.

ftfy

And besides, if it weren't for GUP, then we wouldn't have gotten POW

PoW was, indeed, better than GUP, but then they gave us HYF.  I remember playing HYF for my best friend (who liked Rush but wasn't really a "fan" and whose tastes leaned toward heavier stuff like Metallica and Slayer).  His response was "if this wasn't Rush, you'd hate this."  I'm not sure I realized it right away, but he was absolutely correct.

[pg1067]

The synth era gets way too much hate from the old school crowd. There is some amazing songs in that period. And Power Windows is a masterpiece from start to finish.

The problem with this is that it's not the synths that were the problem.  There were lots of synths all over Signals, but it was a great album.  The biggest problems with GUP are the tinny, harsh guitars, the terrible keyboard and e-drum patches (on most songs), and the flaccid drumming.  PoW is probably the most keyboard-heavy of the "synth era" albums, but it's also the best of them because the playing is better (although I think side 2 is a throw away).  HYF was weak on virtually all fronts, with only a single song that I'll really go out of my way to listen to.  Geddy's singing style also changed dramatically during this time period.

[The Walrus]

This is my first time being a Rush fan at this time of year, so I put on Power Windows on the road just now and man this is totally a summer album. 

[Stadler]

I don’t consider myself such a fanboy that I can’t see any flaws. I consider Roll the Bones to be pretty bad outside of 3 or 4 stellar cuts.

But ya. The synth era gets way too much hate from the old school crowd. There is some amazing songs in that period. And Power Windows is a masterpiece from start to finish.

And let's keep some perspective:   Rush isn't my favorite band of all time, but they are goddamn close.  I have everything from the first one to the last, and love most of it.  Hemispheres is a top five album of all time for me, and  I sometimes have a hard time picking that over MP and Signals (which I love love love).   This is not a Rush hater here; I just feel that the experiments through the years have all moved the band as much forward as sideways.   For some reason, p/g and Test For Echo have "less forward" in them.   But as much as I bag on it, I firmly believe that there would be no Power Windows if there wasn't a Grace Under Pressure, and I LOVE Power Windows. 

[jammindude]

the jump from Signals to p/g was... a bastardization.

ftfy

And besides, if it weren't for GUP, then we wouldn't have gotten POW

PoW was, indeed, better than GUP, but then they gave us HYF.  I remember playing HYF for my best friend (who liked Rush but wasn't really a "fan" and whose tastes leaned toward heavier stuff like Metallica and Slayer).  His response was "if this wasn't Rush, you'd hate this."  I'm not sure I realized it right away, but he was absolutely correct.

I had a friend who said the same thing about the same album.

But I disagreed with him on the basis that the PLAYING is what kept it interesting. I have always been fascinated by music with more intricate rhythms instead of the more simplistic approach. Much of the synth laden music that Rush was influenced by at that time lacked the engaging bass and drum patterns that Rush always put into their music.

[Stadler]

^^ Except for Prime Mover.  That song rules.

[jammindude]

Huh? I’m saying Rush always put intricate patterns in their music, and your saying Prime Mover is an exception...but it rules?

[Lethean]

I think Stadler thought you were saying Rush's synth era wasn't intricate (probably that shopping cart head injury).    I think that era of Rush was full of interesting musical stuff (just like the rest of their catalogue). 

[Snow Dog]

But I disagreed with him on the basis that the PLAYING is what kept it interesting. I have always been fascinated by music with more intricate rhythms instead of the more simplistic approach. Much of the synth laden music that Rush was influenced by at that time lacked the engaging bass and drum patterns that Rush always put into their music.

I’d argue that, at least in the case of Hold Your Fire, the bass absolutely keeps the album interesting, as I think it is one of Geddy’s finer albums playing wise. The utter lack of guitar on that album compared to the keyboards, however, is what I struggled with initially before finally accepting and enjoying the album for what it is. But the comment about how I would probably hate the album if it was not Rush that made it would likely be quite true.

[Stadler]

Huh? I’m saying Rush always put intricate patterns in their music, and your saying Prime Mover is an exception...but it rules?

I thought you were saying that "intricate patterns" were MISSING from the synth era.  My bad.

[pg1067]

But I disagreed with him on the basis that the PLAYING is what kept it interesting. I have always been fascinated by music with more intricate rhythms instead of the more simplistic approach. Much of the synth laden music that Rush was influenced by at that time lacked the engaging bass and drum patterns that Rush always put into their music.

Those are fair comments, and I suppose that the "inate Rushness" of those albums, while buried DEEP on those albums is what keeps me from just trashing them altogether and going back to them now and then to see if maybe the 417th listen will finally make them click.

[jammindude]

The breakdown portion of Mission is something that I don’t think most synth bands were even capable of .

[King Postwhore]

Those albums are so good that you're screwing each other up!

As a Rush nerd I can say there is always one song on the synth era on that is a clunker of a song.

[KevShmev]

And let's keep some perspective:   Rush isn't my favorite band of all time, but they are goddamn close.  I have everything from the first one to the last, and love most of it.  Hemispheres is a top five album of all time for me, and  I sometimes have a hard time picking that over MP and Signals (which I love love love).   This is not a Rush hater here; I just feel that the experiments through the years have all moved the band as much forward as sideways.   For some reason, p/g and Test For Echo have "less forward" in them.   But as much as I bag on it, I firmly believe that there would be no Power Windows if there wasn't a Grace Under Pressure, and I LOVE Power Windows.

Only a Rush fan with no soul doesn't love Power Windows.

See: TAC

[Cool Chris]

After slogging through Signals and GUP recently, I made it through POW today. I still don't care for it, but I think some of my prejudice is a result of me being most familiar with Big Money, Mystic Rhythms, and Manhattan Project. Those are the POW songs from the Chronicles CD, which was my main introduction to the band many years ago after hearing 2112 and thinking it was the greatest thing ever. And those songs I never liked and turned me off of the album. As I said, I still don't care for it, but think it is more enjoyable than Signals or GUP.

[ytserush]

The synth era gets way too much hate from the old school crowd. There is some amazing songs in that period. And Power Windows is a masterpiece from start to finish.

The problem with this is that it's not the synths that were the problem.  There were lots of synths all over Signals, but it was a great album.  The biggest problems with GUP are the tinny, harsh guitars, the terrible keyboard and e-drum patches (on most songs), and the flaccid drumming.  PoW is probably the most keyboard-heavy of the "synth era" albums, but it's also the best of them because the playing is better (although I think side 2 is a throw away).  HYF was weak on virtually all fronts, with only a single song that I'll really go out of my way to listen to.  Geddy's singing style also changed dramatically during this time period.

Agree to disagree on virtually all fronts...