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Subject: 01/11/91 - The National Midnight Star #148
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The National Midnight Star, Number 148
Friday, 11 January 1991
Today's Topics:
Didacts and Narpets
Re: Alex' use of scales in Freewill
Cheryl's Poetry
RE:solos
old address for PolyGram QA
Palindromes, Worship
Cosmic palindromes
Canadian content (on Canadian TV and radio)
Freewill
Various and sundry bits and pieces V
Rush CD's
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Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 11:06:33 EST
From: cadreri!rlp@Sun.COM (Robert L. Pitas)
Subject: Didacts and Narpets
>Date: Tue, 8 Jan 1991 23:33:18 EDT
>From: Donald Cross <CROSS@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu>
>Subject: Didacts & Narpets
>In the _Caress of Steel_ song "The Fountain of Lamneth", there is
>a section called "Didacts & Narpets". Many people know that
>'narpets' is actually an anagram for 'parents'.
>This intrigued me, so I wrote a program to generate all possible
>anagrams of a word. I gave it 'didacts' as well, and discovered
>that it is an anagram for 'addicts'.
A long time ago, I tried to figure out the meaning of the words Didacts and
Narpets. So when I saw the above letter, it whipped out my trusty Webster's
II where it says:
di-dac-tic (adj) 1. Intended to instruct. 2. Morally instructive. 3. Inclined
to teach or moralize excessively.
Now don't get me wrong, I think that it's very interesting that didacts is an
anagram for addicts, just don't let it leave this arena of discussion. I can
see the headlines now. "ROCK BAND PROMOTED DRUG USE". It would, however, be
hard for Conservative Psuedo-Censors to pick a bone with a song that is
"Morally instructive" and "Inclined to teach or moralize excessively". Now
doesn't that paint a prettier picture of our favourite Triumvirate? I
thought so... By the way, that program sounds pretty interesting, I wonder
if there are any other interesting lyrical anagrams floating around in
Schmengland somewhere.... A buddy of mine sent away for the anagram program,
so you can bet we'll be looking for them!
___
/ _ \ Bob Pitas
/ /USH 4-EVER!! sun!cadreri!rlp
/ /| \ (Providence, RI)
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From: Atro Tossavainen <d37690r@kaira.hut.fi>
Subject: Re: Alex' use of scales in Freewill
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 18:59:29 EET
Jason Bold assumed that Alex might be using a B major scale in the beginning
of Freewill. Now assuming that to you, B is one half-step higher than Bb,
you meant really B MAJOR? when the song itself is in F major.
Actually, the scale is a F Lydian, if you wanted to express it as a major
scale it would be C major starting on an F.
The main riff in 6/4, 7/4 and so on is in F Lydian also.
The solo goes in F lydian and in F major alternatingly, that is, Alex uses
both B's and Bb's in it, if I recall correctly.
Actually, since the bass comps the solo starting on a D minor figure, the
respective scales would be D Dorian and D Aeolian.
--
atthe
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From: medrcw!bob@uunet.UU.NET
Subject: Cheryl's Poetry
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 12:26:44 CST
Cheryl (crenshaw.osbu_north@xerox.com) in the latest TNMS says:
> maybe one of these days I'll post my one and only Rush inspired piece...but
> only if you ask nicely!
I'm not proud. OK Chery, I'm asking nicely: PLEASE post your
Rush-inspired poetry. Ask nicely?!? Hey, I'll * grovel * if you want me
to....
But seriously, folks: how many other closet Rush-poets are out there?
Perhaps we could make a collection of poetry and prose and send a copy
to the Boyz for a critique.
At the very least, it's a great way to pay tribute to a terrific
group...
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Robert C. Whitehead |
| Intergraph Corporation | No, his mind is not for rent
| Mapping & Energy Division | To any god or government
| Technical Documentation | Always hopeful, yet discontent
| Mailpath: b17a!rw1923!bob | He knows changes aren't permanent
| Phone: (205)730-1923 | But change is.....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 14:14:36 -0500
From: rjf@maxwell.physics.purdue.edu (Robert J. Friedman III)
Subject: RE:solos
Good day, eh?
WHEW! At last we've cleared that up. Yes, the main riff in Freewill
is definitley F Lydian (which I was not reffering to, but...) and so is
the nifty descending introduction (what's that on my tongue? Nike? hmmm...).
It's nice to know that there are other people out there with more
than a passing interest in what is being played. BTW, I agree that Alex's
solos on _Presto_ are less interesting than they have been in the past
(almost cliche-ish at points). My favorite Alex solos are on the albums
_Signals_(...guitar takes a back seat my ass), P/G , and _Power Windows_.
I like them because they are not necessarily a blazing flurry of notes--
they are just very creative (and isn't that the most important thing?).
They seem to incorporate the "fusion" element of guitar solos.
Oh well, it seems like I'm babbling again. My point isn't being made
very well so I'll quit while I'm ahead. Keep the music discussions up
though--I love it!
-Bob Friedman
"Hold your head above the crowd
and they won't bring you down" -Anthem
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 17:01:02 -0500
From: jtkung@caf.MIT.EDU (Joseph Kung)
Subject: old address for PolyGram QA
Here's the address [perhaps an old one; it was good a few years ago]
for PolyGram QA :
Polygram Distribution, INC.
Quality Assurance
6220 Churchman Bypass
Indianapolis, IN 46203
(317) 788-9913
I called them up maybe 2 years ago, and they sent me a new _Moving
Pictures_ CD for FREE, without sending the defective one back. I just
asked about a CD that I had that was defective, missing the first 1/2
sec. The guy knew exactly the CD I was talking about before I even
mentioned the title. He immediately took my address and said that they
would send one out as soon as possible. It arrived in Boston in about
5 days!
I guess they figure that not many people even knew about the error,
even if they had the disc [which I figure is not that big a seller],
so the number of people who would actually call up about it would be
so small, that they could afford to send a few copies out. Hopefully,
the readers of NMS will not all go out and call and get "free" copies
of MP! :-) But if you do, please, no mention of my name!
[ When I did this a year ago, they asked me to return my CD for the
exchange. I took the precaution of taking out the booklet, just in
case the new pressing had a cheaper booklet, but it was the same.
:rush-mgr ]
- Joe
----------------------------------------------------------
From: tribe!kenney@uunet.UU.NET
Subject: Palindromes, Worship
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 16:55:33 CST
Jon (former math team nerd) wrote:
> Not only is 1991 palindromic, but its factors are also palindromic.
> The next year for which this is true is 2112.
What do you mean by saying its factors are palindromic? I know the year
2002 is palindromic, but are its factors?
An another subject, I've noticed that Rush receives a large amount
worship-like admiration from some of it's fans. For example, a friend of
mine (who is a drummer) has so much Rush-related material in his bedroom that
to me it resembles a shrine, and every once in a while, especially around
the time of a tour, he will say to me simply, "Neil Peart is God", which
is something I (and Neil too, I'm sure) must disagree with. I state this
one case, but it seems Rush fans in gereral are more "into" Rush than most
fans of other groups are into that group. Do other readers feel this is
true, and if so, why? (Maybe it's just because Rush's music is better than
anyone else's! :-) )
Also, it seems that compared to other groups, Rush wants less of that kind
reaction than other groups. (Remember Neil's "Get a life" comment, etc.)
--
_________________________________________________________________________
| David J. Kenney | Node: tribe |
| M/S IW1511 | Ethernet: 134b2.08-00-36-cc-dc-00 |
| Intergraph Corporation | Internet: 129.135.217.108 |
| Huntsville, AL 35894 USA | E-Mail: |
| ((205) 730) 7029 | uunet!ingr!b15!tribe!kenney (UUCP) |
| :-) | kenney@tribe.b15.ingr.com (Internet)|
\________________________________________________________________________/
"Do you sing like Olive Oyl on purpose
You guys must be into the Eurythmics" -- They Might Be Giants
----------------------------------------------------------
From: evanh@sco.COM (Evan A.C. Hunt)
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 16:30:28 PST
Subject: Cosmic palindromes
orwant@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Jonathan L. Orwant):
> Not only is 1991 palindromic, but its factors are also palindromic.
> The next year for which this is true is 2112.
You're right...1991 = 11 * 181; 2112 = 66 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2.
That's interesting. Well, only 121 years to go.
eh
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From: yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca
Date: 10 Jan 91 11:53 -0600
Subject: Canadian content (on Canadian TV and radio)
>X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (7.2.1 10/31/90)
Yes Virginia, there are laws regarding how much "Canadian
content" radio and TV stations in Canada must exhibit. For AM radio
it something like "30% of airtime during the hours 7AM - 7PM", but
I'm simplifying - the regulations are pretty convoluted. The rules
for determining whether a song is Canadian are also bizarre; they're
known as the "MAPL", and stand for Music, Artist, Production, and
Lyrics. A song has to be Canadian in 3 of these categories
(e.g., lyrics written (at least in part) by a Canadian musician who
recorded in Canada, even though the music was written by a Mexican
counts) to count as Can-con.
A famous example is the creation of the Great White North.
SCTV was created and produced in Canada largely by Canadians (with
a few Americans who had lived in Canada a long time), but the CBC said
"oh, you need to add some Canadian content to your show". The cast/writers
were peeved by this, seeing as how they thought they couldn't be
any more Canadian than they were, so they came up with this unscripted
joke poking fun at a mythical "national identity" that turned out to
be a couple of real hosers (ideal Canajan content, eh?). They caught
on, had a big album, made a movie, etc....
Kerry
--
Kerry Yackoboski <yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca>
The Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Laboratory in the Cellar
U of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 22:09 EST
From: AXEMAN%ALBION.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Freewill
While home from school for the holidays I finally got to see Freewill. I
thought they did a really good job covering Rush. Their original stuff was
pretty good too, definitely influenced by Rush. The sound that night was
dissapointing; however I think it was more due to the house soundman than the
band.
Also while I was home I saw The Rookie with Clint Eastwood and Martin Sheen.
In one scene Martin Sheen used the line from Blazing Saddles "Candygram For
Mongo", which we all know is where Anagram (For Mongo) took its title.
Its great to be back on the list.
Axeman
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Date: Fri, 11 Jan 91 00:31:38 hst
From: Hinano Akaka <bigtuna!hinano@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu>
Subject: Various and sundry bits and pieces V
Good day, eh.
Well, I have some interesting (or not so interesting) news -- most of
it late, but better late than never! Here goes...
Rolling Stone magazine (or was it Musician? Well, whoever does the
Top Concert Grosses) stated that RUSH was #8 on the Top Ten Concert
Grosses List!! This was for the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East
Troy, WI on June 16-17, coming in at $886,385!! For all those who
went -- Atta way ta go, folks! That's the first time I've ever seen
RUSH in the top ten. This also included Mr. Big as opening act. The
others were:
1) Phil Collins $1,665,400
2) Madonna $1,530,000
3) Frank Sinatra, Al Hirt $1,064,450
4) Madonna $976,666
5) Julio Iglesias $ 953,855
6) Madonna $ 928,193
7) J. Jackson, Chuckii Booker $ 893,779
9) Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb $ 403,660
10) Benson & Hedges '90:
Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King,
Dr. John, others $ 371,371
These, of course were all American city concerts (sorry for all the
rest of you out there!). I wasn't sure if I should've printed the
figures, but I thought you all might be interested in the other
results. Madonna is listed three times for three different shows.
But there you have it...! I would've printed this a lot sooner, but I
couldn't find it!
On to other lists. 98 Rock down here does their annual "Top 500 songs
of all time" every Memorial Day Weekend (yes, I realize this was a
while ago!). A couple of years ago, The Spirit of Radio and Freewill
both came in in the top 100 -- Tom Sawyer made #26! This year, Fly By
Night came in at #79, I believe and Closer to the Heart and Freewill
also cracked the top 100, if I recall. And Tom Sawyer came in at #26
again! I'm not sure about any others because I got in it at about the
top 200 and I didn't hear many songs from those, either. I wrote the
whole list of RUSH songs down, but I might've thrown it away. I think
Limelight also made the top 100. The list is compiled from album
sales, requests, etc. (Just for the record, Jethro Tull's Aqualung came
in at #17). Just thought ya'd all like to know.
A couple of days ago, Chris mentioned RUSH songs on DeGrassi Jr. High.
I noticed it last year, too, but when I saw the rerun a couple of weeks
ago, I noticed that there were three songs played (contrary to my
earlier belief that there was only one) -- first the ending of
Limelight, then the middle of Force Ten, and then the beginning of Lock
and Key, but it was (rudely) interrupted and faded off into
oblivion...
On the latest subject (a slight detour) -- I lost the CD booklet to my
Hemispheres CD a while ago. Since we're on the subject of replacing
CD's -- does anyone know if I can get a new boooklet? Should I write
to the record company? Anything else I can do (short of having a
fit...)? Just thought I'd ask...
Last thing. I promise. Seeing as we're (also) discussing music parts
of our favourite trio (a.k.a. Alex guitar parts), I thought I'd ask a
passing question, mostly oriented toward my fellow drummers...(alright,
I admit, I couldn't play guitar if Alex's life depended on it. But one
of these days, I'll know how to play all the scales on guitar! One of
these days, one of these days...).
My question is this -- does anyone know what Neil originally played for
the ending for Tom Sawyer? Has he ever mentioned it in any interview?
I would really love to know what it was. It's a strange thought -- how
different the song would be with the original drum part. Hmmmmm....
Puanani Akaka In the Immortal Words of Illya Kuriyakin: "Wow!"
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 91 13:30:05 GMT
From: Ronald L Chrisley <chrisley@ws.oxford.ac.uk>
Subject: Rush CD's
Hello all.
I've been on break for a while, so forgive me if some of this is old
news.
I have my first RUSH CD single: Prime mover. It says on the front:
"Stictly limited edition single". It has the same tracks as the 12",
so that means I have a CD version of New World Man live, as well as
another CD version of DEW (with a great extended intro)! Tai Shan is
also included.
I've also seen promo CD singles for lots of stuff off presto and HYF,
but since these are either the album versions or shorter, I'm not
interested (unless someone can tell me that there is a great re-mix
out there...). I've also seen a RUSH interview CD that has just been
released (not a bootleg).
Just thought you'd like to know...
Ron Chrisley
chrisley@csli.stanford.edu
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