BURNING TOAST: rush

Showing posts with label rush. Show all posts

The RUSH. . .

>> Saturday, May 29, 2010 – music, rush

It's not often the old guys get out there and do an interview, but here is some enlightening news from Rush.

Also, a concert in The Woodlands around my birthday, oh can't wait! I am there!

Freewill. . .

>> Friday, October 9, 2009 – freewill, rush, the big feed

Yeah I know, this is another Rush posst, but hey, I'm a fan and this is one of my favorite songs. And I've invited the readers of The Big Feed over for a little decompression after my latest editorial.

This song couldn't be any more pertinent now as it was 29 years ago. And of course, the break in the song at around the 3:00 minute mark is something to behold. I believe they call it "groove."

Anyway, enjoy on this beautiful Friday morning before the storms hit!

Thoughts. . .

>> Tuesday, February 24, 2009 – alex lifeson, hope, music, rush, snakes and arrows

Alex Lifeson, the guitarist and half of the music writing duo of Rush, has never been properly appreciated for his guitar virtuosity and it saddens me to no end. His skills are worthy enough to have produced some of the most groundbreaking musical compositions over the last 30 years, a longevity surpassed by few and envied by many.

I haven't listened much to the new Rush album, Snakes and Arrows, but I happened across a bootleg of a live performance of an instrumental track called Hope. If this doesn't open the eyes of the general and musical public to his abilities, then nothing will.

A beautiful work Alex. Thanks.

Gives me happy thoughts and a longing for a certain someone. . .

We Are The Words. . .

>> Monday, February 23, 2009 – music, rock and roll, rush, what you're doing

When you can't think of anything to say, substitute music! And there is nothing better than some 1970's screeching from Geddy Lee and the boys of RUSH.

I shall add the lyrics solely because they are ironically pertinent for today's clime.

What You're Doing by Rush

Well, I see you standin' there
With your finger in the air
Everything we do, you wanna leave it up to you

Who do you think you are?
You think you are a star?
Tryin' to run the town
Always tryin' to put us down

Well, you think that you're right
You think you're out of sight
Tell me something, mister
Why'd you have to make us so uptight?

Well, you say you've been tryin'
You know that you're lyin'
I think you need some groovin'
Who do you think you're foolin', now?

Well, you better start changin'
Your life needs rearrangin'
You better do some talkin'
Or you better do some walkin' now

Yeah, you think that you're right
You think you're out of sight
Tell me something, mister
Why'd you have to make us so uptight?

I know what you're doing
All that you been doin' wrong
I don't know what you're feelin'
Oh, but you been feelin' long

Well, you think that you're right
Tell me something, mister
Why'd you have to make us so uptight?

Music For Nils. . .

>> Friday, February 6, 2009 – music, neil peart, Nils, rush

Red Barchetta
Words by Neil Peart, music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

My uncle has a country place, that no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm, before the motor law
And on Sundays I elude the eyes and hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire, where my white-haired uncle waits.

Jump to the ground
As the turbo slows to cross the borderline
Run like the wind,
As excitement shivers up and down my spine
Down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me, an old machine ---
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new has been his dearest dream

I strip away the old debris, that hides a shining car
A brilliant red barchetta, from a better, vanished time
I fire up the willing engine, responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel, I commit my weekly crime...

Wind in my hair ---
Shifting and drifting ---
Mechanical music ---
Adrenalin surge ---

Well-weathered leather
Hot metal and oil
The scented country air
Sunlight on chrome
The blur of the landscape
Every nerve aware

Suddenly, ahead of me, across the mountainside
A gleaming alloy air-car shoots towards me, two lanes wide
I spin around with shrieking tires, to run the deadly race
Go screaming through the valley as another joins the chase

Drive like the wind
Straining the limits of machine and man
Laughing out loud
With fear and hope, Ive got a desperate plan

At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded
At the riverside
Race back to the farm
To dream with my uncle
At the fireside...

And then of course, the 21st century irony of it. And for fans, here is Neil's website.

1 00 1 00 1. . .S.O.S.

>> Thursday, January 22, 2009 – a perfect circe, black friday, black hole sun, computer problems, cygnus x-1, hal 9000, rush, soundgarden, the toadies

The saga continues. . .

The computer is still farked as I wait on this to arrive next week. Unfortunately, I live in Mississippi, which is kinda like living on Cygnus X-1,

except life is possible here and the women are better looking. Oh, and Mississippi isn't a black hole and here we don't weigh infinity, but in Mississippi it's impossible to go down to the local Fry's and buy the necesary widget to breathe life back into my computer so I might as well live in a black hole.

I bet they got great TV programming. Only a nerd would understand that.

So, I sit on the event horizon of infinity, overlooking everyone's donut hole and wondering in awe. . .

hey, did you wipe?

Got The Chops. . .

>> Tuesday, November 11, 2008 – 2112, by-tor and the snow dog, exit stage left, in the end, in the mood, rush

. . .of the musical variety. 9:51 of rock spanning then, about 7 years of musical creation. Pure, loud, unique and spot on. Note the first 4 minutes of the 4-tune medley. . .awesome! Hard to believe that some of those songs are now over 30 years old. I'm gettin' old! And loving every minute of it!

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a Rush fan. Just throwing that out there. Ya know, in case you missed it.

Unbelievable. . .

>> Wednesday, November 5, 2008 – asian girl, organ, rush, yyz

and here's the original version. . .

Election Day Rush. . .

>> Tuesday, November 4, 2008 – best music video ever, elections, freedom of choice, freewill, rush

. . .and I ain't talking about at the polls!

There are those who think that life
Has nothing left to chance
With a host of holy horrors
To direct our aimless dance

A planet of playthings
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
The stars arent aligned ---
Or the gods are malign
Blame is better to give than receive

You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice

You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path thats clear
I will choose free will

There are those who think that theyve been dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them ---
They werent born in lotus-land

All preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate
Kicked in the face
You cant pray for a place
In heavens unearthly estate

Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt
That's far too fleet...

Afternoon Contemplation. . .

>> Wednesday, June 25, 2008 – freewill, jihad, music, rush, rush in rio, taliban, tom sawyer, video

I was sitting here wasting my valuable time away when I asked myself this question: "Hey dipshit, what do Rush and the Taliban have in common?"

Well, nothing. Except maybe both are groups.

So, as I continue to waste my time by watching Rush's videos from their tour in Brazil on YouTube, it occurred to me what a glorious and unique creation music is. Music is quite possibly the sole binder that we have as humans, transcending all of humanity including culture, race, age, sex or beliefs. Music has played an enormous part in my life; consuming me, challenging me, teaching me. There is nothing better than coming home from a terrible day and taking it out on my Stratocaster with the 100 watt amp turned up to 11.

Anyway, I was watching Rush perform the opening song of the concert, which was the perennial classic Tom Sawyer. The crowd just explodes in a collective exudation of joy, jumping, flailing arms, screaming, and I'm certain some crying too. The people are just going berserk! Singing along, having a good time, enjoying themselves.

I thought, man, this is such a fine example of the greatness and beauty that humanity can be, when obliged. And then I thought, man, wouldn't it be awesome to get a group of hardcore jihadi, Taliban fellas and take them to see a Rush concert in Rio.

I would park them in a dark corner of the stadium and just study their faces as they observed the goings on. I would amuse myself by trying to imagine what their close-minded and indoctrinated brain cells were recording. Would they even understand that much audio and visual stimuli at once? Or would it all just register as white noise? How would they react to the mass and fervent display of emotion by the crowd? Or to the blinding lights of the display or an image painted by a laser? Could they possibly understand the concept of bridging the differences of the human race by the common denominator of music? Would the lyrics of a song like Freewill impress upon them the preponderance of individuality?

Maybe I'm an idealist because I believe a simple concept like music could help solve a few of the greater problems in the world, possibly not, but wouldn't it be neat to try?

Then after the show, I'd pack the Taliban up and send them home to their mud huts and poppy fields in Afghanistan. I would document them as they tried to explain and communicate to their brethren what they saw at the concert. I'm sure it would be so incredibly alien to them and the others that there may not be any Pashto or Dari words that could describe the experience completely. The listeners would gape in awe at the description of the great noise and light and the throbbing, undulating heap of mass that were the Brazilians. And even if the Taliban never understood the message I had intended for them, they would certainly forever be changed.

And in the end, if their needlebrains still didn't learn anything, we could just drop a bomb on them. Because, you know. . .some people never change.

Friday Night Music. . .

>> Friday, June 20, 2008 – drumming video, music, one little victory, rush, rush in rio, the pass, videos, yyz

Anyone who knows me knows I'm an avid Rush fan. Ever since I mailed a penny to Columbia House in 1978 and received Rush's 2112 on cassette I've been hooked. Below are a few of my favorite songs from the Rush in Rio DVD.

In all the years Rush has been around they have never toured in Brazil until 2003. They played 3 nights in 3 different cities with the finale being in Rio de Janeiro in front of a crowd of 50,000 plus people. By far the largest crowd Rush has ever drawn. As you can see by the crowd's reaction during the performance of YYZ, Brazilians have been waiting a long, long time to release 30 years of frustration as fans and they were showing nothing but unadulterated, uninhibited, rabid love for the group. I wish I could have been there.

I've seen them several times over the years and a Rush concert in America is nothing like the mayhem in South America. It's more like a funeral. 10,000 inert, geeky guys standing around like, well like geeks, and 1,000 unhappy girlfriends and the coveted rarity that is a girl who loves Rush.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

YYZ

One Little Victory

The Pass

Not too shabby for 50 year old men, don't you think?

And below. . .young 20-somethings.

Ain't the intertubersnet great?