Why Most RUSH Fans Are Idiots...

Relax.. don’t get yourself in a lather, yet… I may not be talking about you...

Why Most Fans Are Idiots...

Some of you are just not going to understand the philosophy behind this article and that is okay, especially if you're a casual music fan. If so, stop reading and put on "Caress Of Steel" really, really loud. However, if you are a dicerning and analytical music fan and don't agree with at least 85% of what I say, or condemn me for it, just consider yourself an idiot

While I could go on for days about what I love about RUSH, I'm not going to do that. This is to counter the hyperbole, silliness, and lack of pragmatism so prevelant on the Facebook RUSH groups, websites and Youtube comments. So if you hate this, you have only yourself to blame...

RUSH are of course our favorite band ever or I wouldn't have written this, nor would you bother reading. My love for them and their music runs deep. No single band has captured my imagination to such an extent. However unlike many fans, my love is NOT unconditional as I am critical of certain aspects of the band. Before I lay down why most RUSH fans are idiots, let me talk about myself for a sec...

Apart from a few really wretched tunes, I can recite every RUSH lyric verbatim, grew up analyzing and dissecting their music like a mad scientist and can easily play dozens of RUSH tunes on guitar, bass, piano.

I could write a book called "Everything I know about music, I learned from RUSH." Friends and family were painfully... painfully aware of my dedication. I was even called “David Kidd Gloves” in high school. Which for me, way seriously annoying because I hate that fucking song. (except for the guitar solo of course) Why do I hate Kid Gloves you ask? Because it is jolly! Ugh! Rock music can be many things, but jolly should NOT be one of them. Again this entire page is a direct result of the incessant nonsense espoused about my favorite band and music in general. As a professional musician and teacher, it's impossible for me to abide the misinformation which RUSH fans seem to cling to.

Here is a brief tour of RUSH's history through the eyes of someone who lived through it while surounded by a large group of very talented musician friends who readily voiced their opinions.

(Easter egg alert!!! You can click on nearly any image for outside links or the artwork to enlarge)

The 70's

"We Have Assumed Control"

lllustration by Kiddmagic

Rush's "All the World's A Stage comes to life in this classic 1976 concert footage...

In the 70’s, RUSH had a certain mysterious aura about them. They were perceived (at least by the stoner/metalhead crowd) as enigmatic wizards who knew more than the rest of us... Make no mistake, it was the music created during this time that has given Rush their long career...

When we turn the pages of history, what we get is robed hippies talking about the trees and castles in the distance...

"A Single Perfect Sphere"

lllustration by Kiddmagic

RUSH's former image was cast aside by the band on January 1st, 1980 with the release of the masterpiece "Permanent Waves" album; a confluence of brilliant songcraft and possibly Rush's most confident playing ever captured on vinyl...

The 80's

Maybe Neil shaving his mustache and adopting a Steward Copeland shag haircut had something to do with the image change!

With Moving Pictures, RUSH became a household name to rock fans, even my hillbilly neighbors had a copy! One of the most unique albums ever, as if aliens came down and gave us 7 tunes to listen to. It sounds like nothing they had done before or since.

Unfortunately, RUSH then went to Cape Canaveral and witnessed the launching of the Space shuttle.

This event has been viewed by some as the one of the most tragic events in rock history, just behind the deaths of Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Bonham and Bon Scott. RUSH have never been the same…

1/2

Illustration by Kiddmagic

Rush decided to document their experience in song. A song that sets the bar for geekiness... Countdown! The closing track on Signals. I've always liked this very unique tune, especially how the music in the verses is written around the vocal melodies. (Never heard a tune do this to such an extent). Break out your pocket-liners boys and girls! Rock music for the scientific youth of America!!!

Their once "cool" image was trounced completely into the ground by 1984’s Grace Under Pressure. A tour on which they were introduced with "The Three Stooges” theme and had them now dancing around on stage donning mullets, rat tails and what look to be pajamas. I remember my friend Donna saying "I liked RUSH better before they turned gay!" lol

After a run of stellar albums, I consider Signals one of the most disappointing albums in rock history. While a solid album in many respects, as a follow up to MP, it falls flat, yet features two of RUSH's greatest tunes, "Subdivisions" and "Losing It". The youthful energy and spirit prevalent in ALL previous RUSH music, was no longer. It is also a downgrade in production quality and marks long-time producer Terry Brown’s swan song with the band… Their first and only Top 40 hit, "New World Man" (written and recorded in one day… and it sounds like it) had RUSH’s hard rock crowd confused and pissed off. Worthy of note is Lifeson's beautiful solo work on the songs "Chemistry" and "Digital Man".

"Faces Under Pressure"

Illustration by Kiddmagic

Then 1987’s “Hold Your Fire” marked what is often referred to as the band’s biggest misstep. I was the only one out of all my friends who still followed RUSH at this point, everyone else hated them. A band once revered as a Canadian national treasure had become a laughing stock and the butt of jokes. It was sad and frustrating, like being a Phillies fan... Lifeson’s once fat guitar tones were replaced with chimey, jangley single-coil nightmares of unrockingness recorded direct to board! Ahhhh!!! No air was moved in the recording of those guitars. If that doesn’t illustrate the level of detached insanity within the band at this point, nothing will. Being filthy rich and recording the Caribbean was not a recipe for good rock music me thinks... Geddy's once powerful vocal style had devolved into a sometimes unpleasant nasaly tone... I listened to it a thousand times when it came out and after all these years both like and hate the album.

Power Windows was the final death-nail to their die-hard rock fans. It also brought in new fans too. Where once live musical interaction and human chemistry prevailed on all their recordings, those were now replaced with click tracks, recording separately and keyboard events created by Andy Richards. This album is brilliant, unique and should be respected for what it is, yet it lacks any real feel or emotion other than Geddy's vocals at certain points. If you think this music has feel and emotion, you are an idiot...

"The Big Grand Java Power Project"

Illustration by Kiddmagic

Songs such as Second Nature and Tai Shan (the latter sounding like the soundtrack to a Chinese gay porno) are an affront to all that is cool and holy in rock music. Feel free to like these tunes, but don't go thinking you have one ounce of true Rock N' Roll spirit. What was going on in Rush's dour psyche at this point we can only speculate. Lyrics like “A memo to a higher office, open letter to the powers that be… to a god, a king, a head of state… a captain of industry” delivered with those geeky melodies should have any self-respecting rock fan run screaming from the room with hands over their ears. Despite this, I still remained a devoted fan... Everyone alse hated them.

Now, as a musician and a magician, everytime I waved

my magic wand in 89', I either got paid or someone pregnant.

Turning the decade came two albums by Rupert Hine, with productions as whimpy as his name. How RUSH hired him after the "Presto" disaster to do "Roll the Bones"

is beyond me...

Yep... I'm a douche

Both works yeilded some great tunes, but gone were the days of Rush making truly solid albums...

llustration by Kiddmagic

The 90's

Rush gets heavy again with the release of Counterparts, thanks to Kevin "The Caveman" Shirley slapping some sense into the boys... This concept was carried over to the devisive "Test For Echo" Again, these albums yeilded several good and interesting tunes, but gone now was Geddy's consistent sense of what made a great vocal melody. One some levels, Rush's music had evolved, yet in other ways it had devolved in regards to the quality of songwriting. Rush has never made a truly bad album in my opinion, but if you call any of these post-Moving Pictures albums truly great, you are an idiot. Feel free to love and adore them... just don't call them great, because they are not. Rush fans throw the term "great" around so much it has zero meaning...

RUSH in the 21st Century!

The new version has zapped every bit of energy out of the music to the point where it sounds like RUSH were sleeping during it's recording. Somewhere in between the two versions would have been nice. Songs like "Freeze" and "Out Of the Cradle" have vocal melodies so awful they make me want to smash my stereo or run for any Queen album...

While I love the fact that RUSH rose from the ashes of tragedy, the last three albums are in many ways, the weakest of their career. While each yield a few good songs, very little is truly great and the bulk of the material ranges from sheerly boring to downright unlistenable. While the original mix of Vapor Trails will cause the listener a massive headache from being overly compressed, it was at least exciting sounding.

"A Huge Victory"

lllustration by Kiddmagic

Snakes and Arrows... ahh... has some good music I guess, songs like "Working Them Angels" has brilliant groove, but the album is ultimately a dour and depressing listen. The end of Spindrift on the live DVD is probably the heaviest thing RUSH has performed since 2112's Grand Finale but again, songs like Armor & Sword and The Larger Bowl have some of the worst vocal melodies I have ever heard. It sounds like Geddy was handed the lyrics just before the recording light came on and was asked to wing it. Ironically it sounds contrived, unnatural and comes off sounding like prose over the music.

"Clockwork Devils"

lllustration by Kiddmagic

Neil “Pratt” Peart aka The Professor… Neil has to be one, if not the most brilliant rock drummers of all time. Nearly every single beat and fill he’s created over the years is ingrained into mine and many others psyche. In over 150 RUSH songs, I don't believe he has ever played the exact same fill twice. Which is stunning and speaks to Peart’s imagination and the infinite possibilities of the instrument.

Yet, for all his musicality and compositional sense, in the grand scheme of things, he is a stiff drummer. That is his Achilles heal… and it’s no big deal. It suits and sometimes serves RUSH’s music. Sometimes not… This is where most RUSH fans are idiots, for Neil Peart couldn’t play with the simple pocket of AC/DC’s Phil Rudd if his life depended on it. Which is unfair I’ll admit, because only Bonham can match Rudd’s innate sense of rhythm. The next time Back In black comes on the radio, check it out. If you think you can do that, you're an idiot. The fact that some RUSH fans refuse to acknowledge this or any shortcomings in him is why they are idiots. In the early days, his sporadic drumming had such a bad tempo, RUSH sounded like a record speeding up and slowing down without the pitch changes. This lasted until around Moving Pictures, where he really gained a masterful control.

Listen to "Limelight "on Exit Stage Left. Neil plays with a one of the best "pockets"of his entire career.

On the other hand, watch Neil’s “Burning for Buddy” tribute. Hearing him attempt swing music is like watching Elaine from Seinfeld dance or a typewriter operator trying to pound out Beethoven. If you can’t hear this, then you’re what’s considered in the music business as “tragically white.” How Neil felt he was qualified to attempt this is an example of his fans mindless worhip maybe blowing his ego out of control. Working with Gruber helped with his stiffness, but only for a short while, Neil went right back to being stiff again.

Another thing that many don't realize, is that, since Neil doesn’t write music, it is not from him that the myriad of time signatures stem from, that comes mostly from the next person I’m going to address…

Neil's rendition lacks all feel and

myriad of subleties inherent in Buddy Rich's playing.

Now here is Neil kicking total ass in his natural element. His playing here is a thing of true beauty.

Alex “Lerxst” Lifeson… Okay, Alex is the main reason I love RUSH and while not the monster player that Geddy and Neil are, his creativity is what makes RUSH, RUSH. His strumming is incredible, his arpeggiations are legendary and he’s written some of the greatest guitar solos ever. However, if you think Alex is on the same technical level as his peers, Geddy and Neil… you are an idiot.

He is possibly my favorite musician of all time, as I don’t think any single musician has taught me more than Alex Lifeson. Why? Well, for one thing, his guitar playing is achievable by the average talented person, whereas the works of those like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, Gary Moore, Steve Vai, etc. are on a whole other level of natural musicianship that few can dream of achieving.

Now when I was younger, I was an idiot too, I thought Lifeson was better than say… Jimmy Page because Page was so sloppy… lol. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Regardless of Page’s lack of cleanliness, the man is utterly fearless and delivers more musical ideas in one show than most musicians do in a lifetime. Lifeson is super creative too and deserves every award and accolade he gets. However, he does not possess the natural control over his instrument that say Steve Vai does, or Edward Van Halen. If you don't comprehend this, you might not be an idiot, but you do not understand music on a higher plane. I’ve actually had numskull “guitarists” tell me Lifeson is a precise lead guitar player!. Lifeson never spent one second of his life developing triangular coordination with a metronome like schooled concert musicians or the likes of Yngwie has. Lifeson flails old school style, which in my book, is way cooler. (The most precise he has ever played was on the intro and first solo on the1978 studio recording of La Villa Strangiato.) And thank God frankly, because it would be a detriment to RUSH if he played stiff and clean like Steve Morse. I’ve actually had an argument with a supposed learned guitarist that The Analog Kid solo is precise guitar playing!!! Lol Watch this video, I love the solo, but it is not precise guitar playing. It is flailing.

LaVilla Straingiato live. Possibly the finest guitar solo ever written, but Alex's live versions have never matched the precision he acheived on Hemispheres.

The Analog Kid live

Regardless of what idiots may say. This killer guitar solo is by no means an example of precise guitar playing.

This is precise guitar playing... however amazing and annoying

as it may be.

Eddie Van Halen in his prime.

If you watch this and think Lifeson is even in the same league as EVH, you are an idiot.

Also, a favorite argument by RUSHians is the notion that Alex is a better guitarist than Eddie Van Halen. Which is also idiotic. Now, it is obvious that Alex is a smarter, more ecclectic and creative musician, as EVH tends to approach his music and guitar playing in the same way. However, at a pure “player” level, Alex has none of the innate groove and control over his instrument that the likes of EVH or SRV naturally have. Again, it’s no big deal and I’m not criticizing Alex at all. I am criticizing the idiots who fail to recognize this simple concept. To illustrate this, watch Eddie Van Halen play in 1991. Pay attention to the nuances, feel and power of his rhythm playing. Lifeson has never played on this level. If you can't hear the difference, well, you know what you are...

Geddy “Dirk” Lee… ahhh Goddy!!! Hands down, one of the top five most fantastic bassists in rock history. He is in the Gallery of Greats having been voted top bassist six times over the years. Geddy puts more thought into his bass lines than some writers put into their novels, inspiring an entire generation of Geddomaniacs, Geddophiles, and bass dorks. What makes RUSH fans idiots is how amazed people are that he sings and plays at the same time. Yet anyone who has talent, can do that with practice, especially when you write your instrument around the vocal lines like Geddy does. There are of course exceptions to this, as some of his parts are rather syncopated. RUSH fans are also amazement at the fact Geddy plays keyboards and pedals too. However, his keyboard playing is rudimentary in the extreme and when parts get anywhere near complex, he triggers them with a single key. Bass pedals are as easy as putting your foot in the right place. If you want to see some real pedal playing, you should "Mrs. Betsy" play organ at your local church.

Personally, I prefer Geddy’s old way of playing as to the overuse of what us bass players have dubbed his “flamingo” technique. It's cool in the songs written that way, but hearing it used in older songs like The Spirit of Radio, YYZ and others is just plain annoying.

Idiot Or Not An Idiot?

Reason number 1 why most RUSH fans are idiots...

Most RUSH fans seem to place little to no value on songwriting...

They think they do, but can’t recognize a great song if their lives depended on it. From Abba to Motley Crue to Zappa... looking down their nose at what they deem “lesser” or “simpler” music with no regard, unable to discern greatness from shit while failing to understand that even though RUSH’s music is wonderful and grand on one hand, it is, immature and geeky on the other. There is nothing wrong with immature and geeky, just acknowledge it for fuck sake. RUSH has written some of my favorite music of all time, but they have also written some of the worst piss ever inflicted on humanity

Reason number 2 why most RUSH fans are idiots...

Most RUSH fans are under the bizarre illusion that RUSH are the greatest musicians in the world! If you are young this is forgivable, however, if you are a grown adult and still think that, you ae an idiot. For example, lets look at one of the most popular rock bands of all-time, AC/DC, a band that has sold 5 times what RUSH has. There music is considered “simple” by those who don’t truly understand music. It is simple in a way. However, of all the bands I have ever seen try to play their music, or their style, fail miserably! Very few people can deliver music with such power, musicality and razor-sharp tightness. RUSH couldn’t play an AC/DC song well if you held a gun to their heads. (Of course, the same thing is true in reverse) If you don't comprehend this, you are an idiot...

Another fucking classic is that "RUSH are better musicians than Led Zeppelin! " Face in palm! Yes, Zep's "rough around the edges vibe" may be misleading and unappealing to some RUSH fans, yet they play with more subtelty and feel than RUSH could possibly muster.

Simplicity is part of what RUSH does. RUSH has a thread of simplicity that makes it digestible to listeners. (They wouldn’t have sold 45 million albums if that is not the case.)

I recall in 89' being disappointed in the fact that most of Presto is in common time! lol When I was young and stupid.

Blind worship of the band. Don’t get me wrong, I was like that too in my youth, but the fact that many adult fans still think this way after a lifetime of wisdom? It's fine to adore RUSH, to love them, to appreciate them, but to believe that

Rush are "the world’s greatest musicians” blah, blah, blah…, is just plain silly. I’ll explain… RUSH are a great band… an incredible band, even if you hate Rush’s music there is no denying that. If you do, you are an idiot.

The boys have a certain intangible magic about them that only the great bands possess. They play together so well sometimes it boggles the mind. Their individual prowess as musicians is also clear. However, amusician like Ray Charles for example, has more music talent and feel than all three members of RUSH combined. A player like Vladimir Horowitz has more skill and musicality than all three members combined. If you don’t understand this, you are a idiot.

To illustrate an alternative way of thinking, let me tell you a story about one of the greatest and most prolific songwriters of all time, Willie Nelson. Willie’s written over 5000 songs and is the most listened to and covered artist in history. When Willie first came to Nashville as a young aspiring artist, the close-knit group of songwriters there would actually make fun of him for writing tunes using four chords! They would say, “What's the matter Willie? You ain’t good enough to write a good tune with only three chords?” Think about that for a moment RUSH fans… think about that before reading on.

The hardest thing to do in music is not overt complexities… it is writing a timeless song and a memorable melody. Memorable melodies are why Beethoven and Mozart are so revered. Where would Star Wars be without John William’s hummable theme? Let me clue you in… RUSH’s music is NOT hard to play if you've put hard work into your instrument and have actual musical talent. However, to the millions of mediocrities out there, I guess it is difficult. There are so many delusional people, not only does the mirror always lies, so do your ears.

Reason number 3 why most RUSH fans are idiots...

Most RUSH fans believe RUSH is really deep and intellectual.... The thinking man's rock band.

Reason number 3 most RUSH fans are idiots...