On the Solitude of Loving Rush
Thumbnail for “The Spirit of Radio” music video taken from Rush’s website
As this year comes to a close I find myself thinking about what music got me through the lockdown. While I definitely enjoyed a lot of music from this year (working on a separate post for that!), I think about my chicken soup bands AKA the bands that bring me comfort. My dad had a big hand in a lot of things in my life, especially when it came to the music I listened to. Looking back, it is probably one of the biggest blessings I could have experienced. I was exposed to some of my favorite bands at a young age as a direct result of or by some influence from my dad. I cannot imagine that the love I hold for The Strokes, Bombay Bicycle Club, Mitski, Stiff Little Fingers, The Replacements, Fugazi, Father John Misty, Wolf Alice, Sure Sure, Tyler the Creator, Majid Jordan, or Janelle Monae would exist without my early influences from Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Public Enemy, 2Pac, N.W.A, Living Colour, Madonna, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Rush.
Rush was like a family secret. Growing up, I did not know anyone outside of my parents and my male cousins (who were pulled into the Canadian fray by my dad) who listened to Rush. Rush pushed the boundaries of what rock was. Learning Neil Peart’s (may he Rest in Peace) drum part on YYZ is like a rite of passage for music nerds. Those time changes are no simple feat. Rush fans also generally weren’t gate keepy like a lot of other music fans (I swear if another person sees me in my Pearl Jam shirt and asks if I’m “really a Pearl Jam fan” they’re getting a dissertation on why Backspacer is the band’s most underrated album). Rush was nerdy. There was a sense of elation seeing another person who wore a Rush shirt when out. It wasn’t as if they were flying off racks at Hot Topic, Target, or Urban Outfitters. And that’s the thing. Rush’s music is not really for everyone even though it could be. Rush embraces complexity in their songwriting and their lyrics so it isn’t easy listening. Where a band like The Strokes can deceive the average listener with really catchy riffs then pull the listener in with extremely introspective lyrics, Rush cannot deceive their listeners. Their sound is heavy like Black Sabbath and experiments with its song structure like Yes. They touch on topics in their lyrics such as the reality of relationships (“Cold Fire” or “Entre Nous”), revolution through music (“2112”), the isolation of fame (“Limelight”), surviving unimaginable circumstances such as the Holocaust (“Red Sector A” or “Bravado”), politics (“Second Nature”), their love of music (“Spirit of Radio”), and identity (“Tom Sawyer” or “Subdivisions” or “Caravan”). All of these themes are relatively universal human emotions but Rush found itself with a more cult and rather homogenous audience. I don’t really know too many other people of color, queer folx, indigenous, or other religious minorities who have embraced Rush with the same gusto that white nerds have. Although if you’re out there I’d love to meet you!
Loving Rush is like gaining knowledge. You become excited that you know more about something you love but are hit with the reality that not everyone has woken up and smelled the roses (of Moving Pictures or 2112). Progressive rock is definitely not every music listener’s cup of tea. It plays with time, expectations, and your feelings. A musician I recently interviewed described it as “music for sad people” and boy do I agree. Not to say that you have to be a sadboi or girl to appreciate Rush but I would say comfort for feeling things beyond hype, anger, chill, or delight when listening to music is probably a good start. Rush achieves its conceit by truly delighting in all the possibilities music has to offer.
Neil Peart passed away earlier this year and in this horror of a year, I find comfort in his words paired with Alex Lifeson’s soulful guitar and Geddy Lee’s ricocheting basslines. If you want to give your ears something new to listen to here are a few tracks for some of the moods you may feel this year.
When you want to challenge your perception - “Closer to the Heart”, “Resist”, “Kid Gloves”, “Second Nature”, “The Enemy Within”
When you feel grief - “Afterimage”, “Tears”, “Halo Effect”
When you feel hopeless - “Everyday Glory”, “Force Ten”, “Bravado”, “The Pass”
When you want to “begin the day with a friendly voice/a companion non obtrusive” - “Spirit of Radio”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Animate”, “Mission”, “Dreamline”