The National Midnight Star #133

Errors-To: rush-request@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: 12/18/90 - The National Midnight Star #133
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ** ** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / ** ** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ ** ** ** ** __ ___ ____ ** ** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / ** ** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / ** ** ** ** ____ ____ ___ ___ ** ** /__ / /__/ /__/ ** ** ____/ / / / / \ ** The National Midnight Star, Number 133 Tuesday, 18 December 1990 Today's Topics: Rush on the Biscuit anonymous ftp Liking/disliking albums No no mom! Not the fish! (excuse me) Station Identification apperances; *Is* Rush really different? ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Dec 90 13:26:07 est From: drivard@hawk.ulowell.edu (Dennis Rivard (Wiseguy)) Subject: Rush on the Biscuit last night, I came home and was flipping through the radio stations, what do my wondering ears hear??? RUSH! on the King Biscuit Flower Hour! the problem is, I only was able to get the last 10-15 minutes on tape. did anyone out there get a coppy of this on tape??? I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount for this... send e-mail to drivard@hawk.ulowell.edu if you can help me! thanks, Dennis ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Dec 90 13:27:05 est From: drivard@hawk.ulowell.edu (Dennis Rivard (Wiseguy)) Subject: anonymous ftp I think an anonymous ftp would be a great idea! it would make it much easier to pick up those back issues! Dennis ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Liking/disliking albums Date: Mon, 17 Dec 90 14:44:42 EST From: David Arnold <davida@umd5.UMD.EDU> In TNMS #132, Dennis Richards Montgomery wrote: >except for _Signals_. I'd seen the "Subdivisions" video and identified with >the Professor's message...I'd heard "New World Man" quite a bit and found >the melody infectuous but always figured _Signals_ wasn't one of their best. >Finally I saw _Signals_ on CD for $9.99 at Tower and decided to pick it up. >It's become one of my favourite Rush releases and contains my undisputed, >all-time favourite Rush song..."Chemistry". I had a similar experience with _Hemispheres_. I loved _2112_ when I first heard it, and ran out & bough ATWAS & loved that also. Then AFTK came out, and I came to like it after only a couple of listens, especially "Cygnus X-1". Then when _Hemispheres_ came out, I listened to it at a friends house the week it came out. I was sorely disappointed when I heard side one, which was supposed to be part 2 of "Cygnus". It was sooo different! When "Perm. Waves" came out, I loved it again, and began my trend of buying their albums the day (or as soon thereafter as possible) they were released. I finally broke down and bought _Hemishpheres_ for the sake of completeness, and was amazed how much I ended up liking it. It's now in my top 5 Rush albums, and contains my (and the majority of others') favorite song - "La Villa". In a similar vein, Evan Hunt wrote: > I'm always startled to see people talk about how much they >hate Hold Your Fire (such as the fellow who said it was as bad as >RUSH). It's one of my very favorite albums; I always put it as a >tie with Moving Pictures and 2112. I must say, I'm more in the class with the ones that don't like HYF. It's not that it's a bad album, more like it doesn't excite me like most of the others. I also have to say that about _Power Windows_ - it's just not the kind of stuff I like to hear from them. I will admit that they have good songs ("Turn The Page", "Force Ten", "Manhattan Project", "Marathon"), but as an overall album failed to stir me like their other works. > Alex spends >more time on arpeggios than he does on power chords and blazing solos. I think this is what I missed; I'm just an old pseudo-headbanger from the days of yore, weaned on BOC, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin (when they were still together), etc. I was thrilled when _Presto_ came out, with it's return to a more guitar/bass/drums oriented style. I was feeling that the last few albums were too slick, too produced; the songs began to blend together near the end of the albums. When I see people posting "I've been into Rush for almost two years now ...", I can't help but wonder how many of the newer fans have really listened to _Fly By Night_, with songs like "Best I Can", "Making Memories", "Anthem", etc. I'll still put my vote in for ATWAS for their best live album, and possibly for best live album for *any* band. Geddy, Alex, & Neil think it sounded too 'raw', but that's what I want to hear in a live album! My main complaint with the other two is that there was too much post-production, and that it fades out & in between songs, losing that 'immediacy' the first one has. [ Sorry, I seem to be rambling here... I'll get back to relevance. ] Still, I can't fault them for growing, searching, looking for new direction. I'm a bit sorry Neil made the comment that any of their music that's pre-'80 holds no interest for him, though - never forget your roots! I'm still a loyal fan - had tickets for them every show here since '79, but (to quote another band) "what a long strange trip it's been". I'll be 'on the bus' until The End ... :-) Well, enough for now. David Arnold Keywords: Rush, Jethro Tull, Crack the Sky, Squeeze, BOC, Neville Brothers, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Inet: davida@umd5.umd.edu Talking Heads, King Crimson, Rolling Stones, UUCP: uunet!umd5.umd.edu!davida Police, ELP, Grass Roots, Hollies, Guess Who "One likes to believe in the freedom of baseball" ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Dec 90 16:18:06 EST From: Ralph R. Miller <rmiller@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu> Subject: No no mom! Not the fish! (excuse me) Hmmm. Is it just me, or do other folks look at Analog Kid, Chemistry, and Digital Man and wonder if there is something more than is obvious? Too many breakfast bars? Should I stay away from watching David Letterman? Should I not persue my psychology degree? I have my ideas(hehehehehe). Anyone else? ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Dec 90 17:56:45 PST From: ronz@imager3.llnl.gov (Ron Zasadzinski) Subject: Station Identification apperances; *Is* Rush really different? Axeman said he heard Alex give a station ID recently at 2:30am. I heard Geddy do a station ID for a Sacramento station around the time that RUSH was in the bay area for the Presto tour. It was during the day, and was followed by one of the songs from Presto ("Show Don't Tell" if I remember correctly. No surprises there, eh?). On the subject of album preference, you know, I really like them all. I think RUSH (album 1 that is) is a great hard rock album. Crank up the volume and let 'er rip! Great noise! There isn't a song on Signals that I dislike, although I do feel that the sound is a bit "muddy" compared to some other Rush albums. My favorites from Signals are "Subdivisions", "New World Man", and "Countdown". I would say that HYF is my least favorite, if I had to pick one as such, but even at that I play it more than some of their other albums. The synths seem to blend better and support Alex's guitar work better than on Signals. One of my favorites from HYF is "High Water". Something about that song really stirs something up inside of me. There is a question that I've always wanted to hear someone else's thoughts on, and that is "How do you think about Rush?" That is, how are they classified in your mind? When I think of rock music, I think of everyone else, and Rush. There is a really big distinction. I have always thought that Rush sounds really different from "usual rock music" in a unique way. I don't have any words yet to say what it is that separates them though. Does anyone else out there think about Rush in a similar way? Is my classification really not accurate, but just skewed a bit towards Rush because I like them so much? This might be a bit hard to discuss here because the NMS readership is obviously a biased audience, but what the hell? One factor that may enter into my demarcation of Rush from everone else is that I have spent a lot of time over the years *really* listening to their music and their lyrics and thinking about what I hear and feel. Because of that I feel that I understand Rush better than I understand any other band. ----------------------------------------------------------
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