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OMG—
I'm 41 years old and I'm going to see Rush on Saturday. That should be depressing but I'm so excited. It's been more than 25 years since I sat in my best friend Tim Haney's basement and boggled over the mystery of Cygnus X-1, a song that ends "to be continued…" Whoa. Tim had filched older brother Jaye's copy of A Farewell to Kings and it was just one of the most intriguing things either of us had ever seen or heard. What would I have thought if I'd known that I'd be going to see Rush so many years later?
There's something about Rush that fires the furnace inside of teenage boys in a way that cannot be denied. I barreled through my teens listening to "Tom Sawyer" and "Red Barchetta" thinking that there was nothing in the world that I couldn't do if I really wanted to. The music of Rush assured me that I had an important place in the universe —that in fact, we all did should we chose to accept such a mantle. Does that sound breathlessly grandiose? Of course it does! That's what Rush is about somehow.
What really excites me is that I'm going to see Rush with some of my oldest friends and, while our friendships are somewhat disparate and we don't always spend a lot of time together these days, we still have Rush. And while we listen to all manner of music (I am an ultra-hip-on-the-newest thing college radio deejay, I must belabor), obscure, mainstream, in a variety of genres, we still have Rush.
So why is it then that Rush inspires a kind of timid or reluctant endorsement as we get older? There's almost "the Rush smirk," the sideways look you know you're gonna get if you bring up Rush among those who claim any degree of modern music fandom or scholarship. It's as if my briefcase (if I had one) fell open and was full of Tinker Toys or Legos.
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So where am I going with this? Maybe it's this: Rush is just like Star Wars for me. That elemental. And just as I don't tend to watch Star Wars very often these days, neither do I tend to listen to Rush. But they both resonate to this day. They've both lost little of their sway over me and the way my brain works and really the values that I hold.
Recently, I've been reading, for the first time, The Lord of the Rings. I have always felt that not having read the Tolkien tome was an oversight by any supposedly well-read person. And one of the treats of this reading is seeing some of Rush's own influences. "Rivendell" is obvious, and even somewhat hamfisted, one must admit. But "The Trees" shines still, in both word and music.
I learned so much from Rush, and I can't wait to see them for the 3rd and probably last time. I doubt that I'll need to see them again, honestly; this is kind of a "touching base" with my roots. It's less a testament to any continued adulation, than it is a celebration of who I am in my 40's. This person—this person who takes pride in a renaissance attitude, in a continuing zeal of discovery—owes plenty of that attitude to Rush.
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Rush just carries on. They are the essence of what one might call progressive rock. They just keep progressing and kids keep graduating from the school of Rush. It's not like they ever sold out. It's not like they've ever had a bigger hit than "Tom Sawyer." But they have made million-selling record after record and have a die-hard audience of — guess who?— teenage boys full of fire, ambition, and what might be called intellectual angst, I'm guessing.
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I'm still trying to do that, and I will always love Rush for their unflagging encouragement.
Last note on "The Starman," the longstanding emblem of Rush. Neil Peart says: "All it means is the abstract man against the masses. The red star symbolizes any collectivist mentality."
10 comments:
Bless you Mick! see you tomorrow
Oh ma gaw. I married a GEEK! (Insert "That Rush Smirk" here) But...That picture of the guys with their tennis rackets? Nice packages!
Hmm... now that I've read this I'm slightly sorry I won't be attending the show. I have to work (in a completely different state) anyway. Rest assured, if I was ever going to see Rush, I'd want it to be with you!
Happy weekend Rush spew follows:
I recently read a book by Neil P all about his motorcycle journeys while on tour. Sounds pretty swank, as he rides with a roadie & has pre-planned pick up & drop off points with the Rush equipment trucks. Like lots of rawk books, it was a bit like a car crash...terrible, but you just can't look away.
I also recently endured an unbelievably detailed dissertation from my current band's drummer on why Neil P sucks! It's too much to go into here, but basically revolves around the fact that he notates his drum solos ahead of time. (I think that's kind of cool actually.)
no point to this, just weekend Rush spew.
--jT (of NYC)
Holy smokes, Mick, what a great essay. I feel very warm and fuzzy, and you spelled Jaye's name right, too.
I'm not totally sure it was my basement where we broke "Farewell" in--it might have been on my swinging 8-track/turntable/radio combo rig in my room, but it is amazing that music we first heard in 5th or 6th grade could entertain and inspire for so long.
A very tiny subset of your readers may be interested to know that Rush was the opener for KISS at the last rock show that ever played in the big O (we were too young but my brother was there!). KISS burned the roof with their satanic fireworks!
Keep up the good work!
Tim Haney
Tim:
I would go so far as to say that we listened to AFTK in the far left-hand corner of the basement, relative to the stairs. :-)
Really, I'm thinking particularly of Cygnus X-1
Well, that may be true, or it may be a memory implanted by the Solar Federation.
Tim
From Paste Magazine's New Rock Lexicon: GEDDICORN - A beautiful but possibly mythical creature - a woman who goes to Rush concerts without coercion from a male significant other.
What a create write up on the influences of Rush on your life.
It's amazing how many people resonate with a band that has received such critical disdain.
Just goes to show that critics don't necessarily have their fingers on the pulse of what really matters in the musical community.
-John
www.cygnus-x1.net
I am going to see rush in one week 9 days and some odd hours and i am so excited. I realized a few months back that i needed to get back to my musical roots having been inundated with the current music my teenage daughters listen to. I thought of course! Rush can bring me out of this music hell. And sure enough they did. They have inspired me to once again pursue my dreams that I had back in the day when I knew and loved them so intimately. They are and always will be the greatest band in my rock and roll heart.
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