The National Midnight Star #109

Errors-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Reply-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Sender: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Precedence: bulk From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu To: rush_mailing_list Subject: 11/26/90 - The National Midnight Star #109
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ** ** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / ** ** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ ** ** ** ** __ ___ ____ ** ** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / ** ** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / ** ** ** ** ____ ____ ___ ___ ** ** /__ / /__/ /__/ ** ** ____/ / / / / \ ** The National Midnight Star, Number 109 Monday, 26 November 1990 Today's Topics: Administrivia replys from postings past bb&b Tour Info BBB lyrics and Anthem Records BackIssue Service going on ThanksGiving Break! Basting Away RE: 11/21/90 - The National Midnight Star #108 Pentagram(s) Broken strings and crossed eyes Revised Top 3 list Various and sundry bits and pieces IV ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Editor, The National Midnight Star Subject: Administrivia Hope all you Americans had a nice Thanksgiving weekend! Just a note to let you all know that there were apparently some mail problems with Syrinx over the Thanksgiving holiday (too much turkey?). The mail queue was full on Saturday (after Wed being the last mailing); the mailer was killed & restarted, and that seemed to take care of the problem. No guarantees, however! If you are missing issues, you know where to send to. If not, read the trailer of this (or any) Digest. Also, I've received a request from William MacDonald <USERGJ6G@mts.rpi.edu> about a low response to the album poll. The deadline is this Friday (11/30), and he's only received abotu 25 responses form a list of over 500! C'mon, people, there's got to be more than 25 interested parties! Doesn't there? For details, refer to NMS # 105. rush-mgr ---------------------------------------------------------- From: telxon!teleng!dank@uunet.UU.NET (Dan Kelley) Subject: replys from postings past Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 14:09:43 EST Before I comment on the latest postings, I will suggest to you all to try not to get too behind in your readings of the digest. I've been mega-busy here at work and finally found time to read the last half-dozen or so issues and man ... that was kinda tough! Re: Acoustics (a la Bob Friedman) Well, I also was at the Richfield (Cleve) Coliseum show and I thought that the sound was superb. Like I mentioned, it may have to do with where your seats are. It does make a difference. I sat straight back from the stage on the 1st level and they sounded great. I think Rush's mixing crew does a GREAT job. Rush is one of the best I have ever heard live (probably cause they are such perfectionist). Re: Alex's string breaking I've seen Rush quite a number of times since '82 and I did see Alex break a string in "Closer To the Heart" down in Charleston, W.Va on the GUP Tour. It was in his feature section of the tune. It did look like he was ready for it cause he turned around and literally threw the guitar back to a technician then put his arms straight up and in a flash had another guitar around around him from another roadie. What astonished me was how fast the switch was made. Maybe it is possible that Alex had problems with the kind of strings he was using? Re: Sampling et al I, too, noticed some minor problems at the Detroit show last March with the backgroud vocals on "Show, Don't Tell". Probably cause it was still early in the tour (gotta work out those bugs :-). Re: New album It sounds odd to me that Rush would be releasing another album so soon after _Presto_. They seem to be in the album-per-two-years mode since the _Signals_ album (because they have definately established themselves). Geddy, himself, said on the subject of a breakup that they were not breaking up but not to expect an album as often as in years past. They want to spend more time with family, etc. Just a thought... Re: Backmasking Well, I consider myself very religious and I think this is a bunch of bull-$%!t (see, I *TRY* not to swear, somewhat unsuccessfully at times :-). My feeling is that if one tries hard enough, one can hear some sort of backwards message in ANYTHING from Barry Manilow to Larwence Welk! The claims are just a ploy to get parents to guide their children not to listen to rock/hard-rock/heavy-metal, etc. because they think this will guide children into suicide and satanism. If someone is that easily pursuaded into the depths of these areas then that person was unstable to begin with and the parents have no-one to blame but themselves. I tried to state my point as delicately as possible and I hope I do not open a can of worms with this. Please forgive me if I have stepped on anyones toes. This is all, of course, my opinion. Re: Cancer rumors et al Come on now ... I will say that Neil was (and still is I believe) a chain-smoker (consult your personal copy of "Visions"). Re: Geeks Well, I don't consider myself a geek and I graduated from Kent State (no shooting jokes, please) with a CS degree. We're not geeks, we just like to play on computers (and read the digest). Re: "Success Under Pressure" I would also like to thank the individual who spent much time in typing in "Success Under Pressure". Nice job! Dan... -- Dan Kelley <-> ...!uunet!telxon!dank <-> telxon!dank@uunet.uu.net Telxon Corporation <-> Akron, OH 44313 <-> "Don't have a cow man." - Bart Simpson (216) 867-3700 x3512 <-> ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 14:54:06 -0500 From: Tonya Y Schooler <tysst@unix.cis.pitt.edu> Subject: bb&b Here's my version of B,B,&B: Beneath the noble fir Between the crowded spur Behind the gloomy cracks Sophia... (that was I joke--I didn't mean to offend anybody!) By the way, I'm a cognitive psychology grad student and (gasp) a *GIRL* Thank you, Tonya Y. Schooler, former Husky. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Phillip R. Scarr" <prs9k@newton.acc.virginia.edu> Date: Wed, 21 Nov 1990 15:45:11 EST Subject: Tour Info Not to be picky or anything, the tour list was interesting, but you missed a short series of dates which fell between the termination of the Hemisphere's tour and the release of PW. These dates are interesting because (1) it was the first time I saw Rush in concert, (2) They played unreleased stuff from PW. I think the tour was titled _A Somewhat Smaller Tour of the Hemispheres_ and was restricted to a few dates in New England (where I happened to be at the time). [ Please address any items like this to the creator/maintainer of the tour list, Jimmy Lang <jlang%sdcc13@ucsd.edu>. :rush-mgr ] -Phil -- Phillip Scarr <> What the West has thrown on the waters of the prs9k@virginia.EDU <> world drifts back to us on a tide of cultural prs9k@virginia.BITNET <> pollution appalling to behold. ======================<> - Arthur Charles Erikson ---------------------------------------------------------- From: yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca Date: 21 Nov 90 14:32 -0600 Subject: BBB lyrics and Anthem Records >X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (7.0.4 1/31/90) Since I posted the lyrics to "Beneath, Between, Behind" last week 2 people have written that they saw slightly different lyrics in their music anthologies. I'm looking at the original lyric sheet supplied with the album when it was released, and the line is definitely "Beneath the noble bird", actually in all uppercase letters. There's a neat drawing at the top of the page and the stylized initials "NP". I assume that this is a photocopy of the lyrics as hand written by Neil Peart, and I assume they're right. The neat little logo at the top includes some stars'n'bars and what might be a sun setting (or rising), although it's hard to tell. On another topic, has anyone heard any stories about how the guys are as record executives? I assume they own Anthem Records (formerly Moon Records), but I remember Kim Mitchell really seemed pissed off after leaving Anthem, and rightfully so. After his contract expired, Anthem released a "best of Max Webster" album and included 2 previously unreleased songs that were recorded for the first Max album and deemed unworthy of release. Mitchell's feeling was "well, if they weren't good enough for our first album, when we didn't even know what an overdub was or that we could go back and fix things, why should it be on a "best of" album?". Anthem has since released another "best of Max Webster" CD that looks like a pretty shoddy compilation. I'm also disgusted with their CD releases of Max Webster albums, since they included none of the original lyric sheets and did a lousy job on the CD artwork - they look like reduced photocopies of the original album art, some of which was pretty neat. Does anyone else have any opinions or information on Rush's business ventures? "We're just musicians, here to thin the thickness of your skin..." - Dubois -- Kerry Yackoboski <yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca> The Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Laboratory in the Cellar U of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: BackIssue Service going on ThanksGiving Break! Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 18:16:50 EST From: htodd@gmuvax2.gmu.edu Sorry everyone - there won't be anything for about a week. I have to go home for the holiday, and what hasn't been responded to yet is still on tape. (You should have gotten a note if it was, but no promises!) Programs and exams beckon menacingly, so don't expect anything until next week sometime.... Sorry for the delay... -Helen (the humble backissue-archiver-type-person-who-really-needs-a-break-anyway) ---------------------------------------------------------- From: atz@clmqt.marquette.Mi.US (dweezilbub) Subject: Basting Away Date: 22 Nov 90 17:06:39 EST (Thu) Just blasted the turkey with what looks like the last baste, so I better hurry. Hope everyone had a great Thanxgiving! One quick comment to ATRO - dont get too upset about the polls that go on. My favorite songs didn't show up in the top 3, but it is fun to see what the outcome is from everyone. So La Villa wins it... That's strikes me kinda funny. I mean, it is a great tune, but with all the talk that goes on about Lyrics and Ged's singing, I never imagined that a wordless song would come out on top :^) The day, no wait... The MOMENT I hear Tom Sawyer in RAP version, I will cry! I like RAP somewhat, just like all other forms of music, but I keep hearing it over and over in my head Tom Sawyer he gets YO! Tom Sawyer he gets YO! vrrba vrrba vrrba high on you, on on on on you, vrrba vrrba vrrba... Please tell me it isn't so. :) I must have read 5 or 6 times now about Alex's string breaking during YYZ, and whether it is part of the act. Ya never know. I understand that some parts of some songs are more demanding on a guitar, and if the guy wanted to show off a little with the "fast guitar switch", why not let him? Like I posted before, "I got off on it". I do remember also during the Hemispheres tour I saw in Chicago, during the beginning of The Trees, right when Alex finished playing his acoustic that was on a stand, he stepped back to whale into the jam and fell straight back onto his back, both feet in the air. He never missed a note. Anybody see the Canadian Music Awards? I read that it was what, the 20th? Well, I hear the turkey screamin, so later! And oh... Your welcome, Crimson! -- \____________________ /// ////// ///// _____________________/ \__ The Enterprise __/ // // // ,.-'~ \___space for rent ___/ \___-____BBS___-- //~~// // ////// --_____-___-____/ \ \ \/ atz@clmqt.marquette.mi.us \/ / / ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Nov 90 12:59 GMT From: CHRISLEY@vax.oxford.ac.uk Subject: RE: 11/21/90 - The National Midnight Star #108 About the gig guide: There is a listing for Nov 6, 1981, and a (?) entry for Nov. 7th. I was at the Nov 6th gig, so I know that's correct, but I also know that the Nov 7th date is wrong, because they couldn't have been playing there: the hall was being used by Styx and their audience. I know this because I was there! Yep, long bus rides from East Anglia to Wembley on successive days... [ Please address any items like this to the creator/maintainer of the tour list, Jimmy Lang <jlang%sdcc13@ucsd.edu>. :rush-mgr ] Just thought you'd all be fabulously interested... Where are RUSH working right now? Anybody know? Ron Chrisley chrisley@csli.stanford.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 25 Nov 90 13:39:08 -0500 From: Patrick.Quairoli@cyber.widener.edu Subject: Pentagram(s) first of all, i don't think anything is too tangential for this list, so i'll pqd my two bits of information to the subject of the pentagram. the pentagram is not a true symbol of witchcraft, infact it is believed by many to be an original symbol of life, the pentagram was not adopted by the christians (in fact i don't know that they ever used it.). in its original form the pentagram is a symbol for life because it is in fact the human body. picture a man (sorry girls)... picture a *person* standing with legs open and arms extended there you have the PENTAGRAM! ....now an inverted pentagram is another story.......... ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Kenneth Mark Maxham <max@owlnet.rice.edu> Subject: Broken strings and crossed eyes Date: Sun, 25 Nov 90 16:05:18 CDT Brief bitching: Could the discussion of broken strings and the 700-line lists of this and that be toned down a bit? My head hurts trying to sort through the huge daily volume as it is. Things like tour listings are great server supplies, not light reading. Plus, I have a dwindling disk partition on which to save back issues. [ That's why it will no longer be posted; rather it will be available by request from the originator (and possibly at the administrative address. :rush-mgr ] On a less whiny note, I was enthralled by the laser show I saw at my first concert, Power Windows in Dallas. The running man during Marathon was the best. I had a small helium-neon (red) laser I'd acquired, and was determined to rig some setup to do my own homebrew vector display. Unfortunately, at the time, I did not know enough EE stuff to accomplish this. Four years and a BSEE later, though, I've got a primitive doo-dad working. It uses a PC and a couple of small speakers to control a small mirror. As soon as I get it to my satisfaction, I'll make plans available to anyone who wants to toy with it. Lasers of the right sort can be had for less than $200 from Edmund Scientific, and they're *expensive*, so I'm sure you hardware hackers can do better. Imagine your own home laser shows to run with your CD's! More details as I play with it. max | Mark Maxham | No, his mind is not for rent, to any god or government | | max@rice.edu | ... he knows changes aren't permanent. But change is. | ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 25 Nov 90 16:16:22 -0800 From: ppierald@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Paul Pieralde) Subject: Revised Top 3 list In my original posting, I made an error in calculating votes. A lot of people misspelled 'The Spirit of Radio' so I manually went through the master file and corrected the spelling. Well as you may have guessed by now, one slipped by and we have a new updated winner's list. Here it is: 1) La Villa Strangiato 2) (tie) The Spirit of Radio (tie) Red Barchetta 3) Tom Sawyer Thanks to all the observant folks! -Paul Pieralde ppierald@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 26 Nov 90 00:13:21 hst From: Hinano Akaka <bigtuna!hinano@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu> Subject: Various and sundry bits and pieces IV Good day -- Well...I finally got the Chronicles video!! For any and all those interested, I got it at Tower Records on Saturday for 19.95. I almost didn't get it 'cause I almost didn't see it! First thing I did when I walked in was to check the video shelf. Nada. Then I went over to the 45's stand to see if there were any "vinatge" Rush singles or something. The 45's are situated next to the video shelf; I looked up and there were 10 copies of the video sitting right in front of me! Why they weren't on the video shelf where there was room is beyond me... I didn't check for sound quality because our VCR is ARCHAIC so the sound is generally O.K. at best. But I really like the Limelight video! It's great to watch them playing as they're recording (or "presuming to be recording"). I wish the Red Sector A video was the other one, altho I recall someone mentioning here that is was from GUP video. Has anyone ever seen the other Red Sector A video? I saw it once on MTV -- it was basically the same video, but it had different shots. At least I remember it being somewhat like GUP. But it was a little different -- the middle part of the song (my musical terminology is quite rusty!) with just the keyboards and Alex's solo; there's a shot of Neil from the back playing the drum part and I remember I was so excited because I could see how he was playing the part, but I've never seen the video since. This came out some months after the album came out -- some time after the DEW video. I wish I could see it again... This sort-of brings up another question -- just of curiousity, does anyone know if they'll be recording at Le Studio again this time around? It's kind of fun watching the Limelight and Vital Signs videos and sort-of "imagining" them recording the new songs now -- makes me wonder what the songs might sound like, or what Neil might be writing about this time. Geez, if there's one thing I would LOVE to do is watch them through the whole process of making an album -- from the early writing stages down to mixing and even rehearsals for the tour; to watch how they come up with such good stuff!!! And how about those volleyball games! Now that would be FUN!!!!! Man oh man, if I had three wishes... At any rate, the video collection is worth it. And I finally got to see Lock and Key! I have never seen it till now (well...the last 10 seconds of it!) and I got to see Mystic Rhythms again...ah, happiness reigns! Puanani Akaka WORQ: "Everything around us is legitimizing us to all hell!" Geddy Lee. ----------------------------------------------------------
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