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Subject: 01/25/91 - The National Midnight Star #159
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The National Midnight Star, Number 159
Friday, 25 January 1991
Today's Topics:
Random, Unprovoked, Silly Headgames
Next Rush album
Drum Parts
... to be found within a song.
RE: New Album
New Album Speculation
Rand, 2112, and Lyrics
Gowan
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Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 13:44:30 EST
From: warsaw@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (Barry A. Warsaw)
Subject: Random, Unprovoked, Silly Headgames
About the impending new album, does anybody have any idea who is
producing it? Maybe that will give us a clue as to the direction the
Boyz are heading...
-B
orq: "Each of us, a cell of awareness, imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends, with uncertain ends, on a fortune hunt
that's far too fleet."
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Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 10:54 PDT
From: RAGUNTON@WATER.llnl.gov
Subject: Next Rush album
In the National Midnight Star #158, David Arnold wrote:
>If _Presto_ --> <next album> is a similar situation to _Signals_ --> _GUP_,
>then the next album could be quite different. On the other hand, they
>spoke of taking time off after _HYF_ (the breakup rumours, etc), and came
>back with a bunch of stuff. If they had many left-overs from those sessions,
>it could sound much like _Presto_. That I wouldn't mind too much.
I have a friend who is good friends with Neil Peart. The latest info I
got from him, and from an interview Alex Lifeson gave on Canadian TV, was
that the new album will be out sometime around September, with a tour
beginning in the late autumn.
I do know for a fact that they are currently working on the new album at
this time.
Ben Ragunton _
ragunton@water.llnl.gov _ /|
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory \'o.O' Ack! Barf! Pfffttt!
Livermore, California =(___)=
Voice: (415)422-2461 U
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From: ez003211@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Slartibartfast)
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 11:19:18 -0800
Subject: Drum Parts
I have seen a few books with sheet music for some album by Rush. Although the
guitar parts in most of these aren't very specific (as a friend of mine claims),
the books show guitar and vocals, and so forth, but not drums.
The only exception to this is in the Show of Hands book where the Rhythm Method
was actually written out including notes on the drums ("KAT Sampled Instrument:
Marimba" and so forth), but I can't seem to find a complete (or even partial)
listing of drum parts from Rush. Can anyone help?
******* Yoav Gershon ***************
* UNIX: ygershon@ucdavis.edu *
* ez003211@deneb.ucdavis.edu *
************************************
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Date: 24 Jan 91 15:00:25 EST
From: Brad Armstrong <71161.1313@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: ... to be found within a song.
A few digests ago David Gordon commented about Depeche mode being
superficial. I will admit that I don't like the up tempo treatment in a
few of their songs, but mostly I find their abilities more than simply
enjoyable. They have a different style in their musical expression than
Rush, but don't go dismissing them as 'technocrap' without some
justification. As for my justification for my opinion: there is
definitely a place for hard-rocking, up tempo, synthetic dance music when
dancing is what you want to do. They include meaning in their music,
albeit mostly in an uncomplicated, straightforward fashion, but that may
make it better communication in many circumstances (ex. "Just Can't Get
Enough"). That's more than most 'pop' groups can say, and is the essence
of artistic expression (communication is, that is). Besides, they are
certainly communicating the industrial bent of modern society in much of
their music (ex. "Pipeline", which I don't really like, but is a good
example of industrial music). Perhaps it is Gordon who was being
superficial in his commentary (or at least way overgeneralized)?
As for the comment a few digests ago about "Broon's Bane", I have always
surmised that it was called that simply because it was the only totally
acoustic song they have done, and that would be a pain to fit in to the
middle of a Rush concert, both logistically and stylistically for those in
charge of doing so, namely Terry Brown, engineer/producer. I know their
are other songs that have sections played wholly or largely on acoustic
instruments, but I think that a whole song is more likely what an engineer
might complain about, even merely in fun ("She's tidied up and I can't find
anything!" - T. Dolby). As to it being the intro to "The Trees", that
could well be. There are other examples of songs that are not right next
to one another on vinyl, but have other more significant stylistic
connections (i.e. "A Farewell to Kings" and "Closer to the Heart").
On 'intellectual masturbation': I commmend the respondent who can see it
from the military man's point of view, but I don't find that point of view
complete. After all, our abilty to go around shouting "No Blood for Oil"
is part of what we are supposedly fighting for over there, and I support
the demonstrators to do so (even if it is, as it seems to be, a shallow and
ineffective demonstration), except when it becomes criminal behavior, like
blocking entry to public places and destroying public/private property.
(I'm still not sure we have justification, or even good reason, to be over
there, but I do think that, given the current circumstances, it is being
handled well.). This applies directly to music as well. Do you think that
"Freewill's" comment on religion would be tolerated in in someplace like
Providence, 18th century (I think), or England, 17th century, or even
Vatican City or China, 20th century?
Robert Whitehead stated that "Reason and Rationality" were put forth as a
panacea in Rush's music, but I think that there is ample, obvious evidence
that it is in fact a balance between the heart and the mind, not mind
only, which is painted in that light therein. Witness: the title tracks
from "Hemispheres" and "Permanent Waves."
Enough is too much,
Magician.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brad Armstrong 71161.1313@compuserve.COM
The Lion's Den Rochester, NY
"... everybody got to elevate from the norm." - N. Peart
-------------------------------------------------------------------------$
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Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 15:54:31 -0500
From: rjf@maxwell.physics.purdue.edu (Robert J. Friedman III)
Subject: RE: New Album
Good day, eh?
All the recent speculation on the contents of the forthcoming Rush
album have been quite interesting. Though I wouldn't mind at all,
I severely doubt that any lengthy songs are upcoming. The longer pieces
just don't fit with the newer philosophy of the Boyz about being concise
in their delivery of a musical ideas.
An instrumental--now that's a different story. Supposedly, "Hand
Over Fist" was originally intended to be an instrumental, but Neil came
up with the lyrics that "just seemed to fit." If the Boyz were planning
on releasing an instrumental last time... (OH BOY, IS THIS GREAT!)
My own prediction agrees with the P/G trend. I think it will prove
to be very different (I hope) from _Presto_ (which BTW, I loved).
Regardless, it will be a new RUSH album and that's the important thing.
Expectantly waiting...
-Bob Friedman
"I see red..."-ORQ
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Date: Fri, 25 Jan 91 00:18:14 GMT
From: trice@vttcf.cc.vt.edu (Tony R. Rice)
Subject: New Album Speculation
Looks like we've opened Pandora's Box here. What will the new album
will sound like? Consider this: During a Rockline interview before
the Presto tour, Geddy reported that he has been taking keyboard
lessons saying he had been "putting it off for too long."
While thick synth textures are part of Rush's sound now, we may be
seeing some interesting keyboard things on the new album. Geddy is
working on his keyboard chops as we speak.
____________________________________________________________________
| Tony R. Rice | Virginia Tech Department |
| trice@vttcf.cc.vt.edu | of Computer Science and |
| mrmidi@americaonline | Sleep Deprevation Studies |
|_____________________________|______________________________________
.
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Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 18:13:01 PST
From: 6600mld%ucsbuxa@hub.ucsb.edu (Old Tom Bombadil)
Subject: Rand, 2112, and Lyrics
David Sandberg <dts@quad.sialis.com> writes:
>I'm not sure I buy that, but irregardless you might keep in mind that
>Ayn Rand would have been disgusted by 2112 too, though, as well as by
>a lot of what Peart has written in recent times.
Hmmm. I take it you mean that Rand wouldn't have apporoved of the suicide
at the end? You are probably correct. Rand was a brilliant philosopher,
but she often overlooked bits of reality at her own choosing. (For example
her idea that the US shouldn't have been in WWII, and her personal
difficulties with life in general.) To discount suicide in a situation
such as the one in 2112 seems naive. Rand herself avoided it by having her
characters in _Anthem_ run off into the jungle of freedom.
I still think that Peart's lyrics have more in common with objectivism
than not. And on the really big things I think they agree quite a bit.
I'm interested in examples of Rush lyrics that you think Rand wouldn't have
approved of.
I will refrain from commenting on the other issues, since it really doesn't
belong here.
ORQ: "Try as the might, they cannot steal your dreams."
------------
Matthew Deter | 6600mld@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu | Taxes are not levied for
UC Santa Barbara | 6600mld@ucsbuxa.bitnet | the benefit of the taxed.
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Subject: Gowan
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 22:10:46 EST
From: aburnett@ecn.purdue.edu
I recently picked up "The Lost Brotherhood" by Gowan. Anyone else
heard this? Alex's guitar work is nice. It is nice to hear him play
out of the context of Rush.
&y Burnett
aburnett@ecn.purdue.edu
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End of The National Midnight Star Number 159
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