The National Midnight Star #582

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: 12/15/92 - The National Midnight Star #582
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ** ** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / ** ** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ ** ** ** ** __ ___ ____ ** ** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / ** ** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / ** ** ** ** ____ ____ ___ ___ ** ** /__ / /__/ /__/ ** ** ____/ / / / / \ ** List posting/followup: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Administrative matters: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu (Administrative postings to the posting address will be ignored!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The National Midnight Star, Number 582 Tuesday, 15 December 1992 Today's Topics: Administrivia Drumming, etc. RE: Natural Science Question Re: 11/23/92 - The National Midnight Star #564 Rush/Dire Straits Rush Riff and Dream Theater in Philly New Albumn and stuff Neil's drumming styles. Band members adresses Welp... OOPS! Re: 12/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #581 Sex with animals (simulated, of course!) new BOOT CD! & RTB album cover interpretation Anyone can imitate, but... Re: Re: 12/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #581 ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tues, 15 Dec 92 From: rush-mgr Subject: Administrivia I know I'm behind on the add/drop/address change people, so if you're still getting this and you shouldn't be, please be patient! I plan on finishing them up later tonight. In other news, syrinx is getting an overhaul in the disk space, so things might start disappearing in a week or so. The sounds directory will be mostly eliminated and some of the images directory as well. So if you REALLY have to have anything in those directories, you have about a week to get what you want. - rush-mgr ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 13 Dec 92 22:06:44 EST From: Greg.Andrade@um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Drumming, etc. There has been some great discussion of Neil Peart's drumming and the work of other artists lately. Some good points have been made, but I'd like to offer a definitive statement on Mr. Peart's work. It is not tated in any textbook that rock drummers are supposed to play 4/4, heavy on the back beat rythms, so when Mr. Peart uses a few jazz or reggae ideas in his playing, he's not being a jazz or reggae drummer. He is simply being Neil Peart. Whether you like his style or not, the fact remains that Mr. Peart has been one of the most influential drummers over the past 15 years. His playing combines flashy fills and crashes with very thoughtful and well-planned technique. All of this, as was stated before, is executed with aggression and power. All of these things are what make Neil Peart a very unique and exciting drummer. There is no sense in arguing over who is the best drummer: the drummers themselves don't really care. It's a matter of who influences you the most as a musician and/or listener. If you happen to love drummers like Mick Fleetwood or Charlie Watts, who are very minimalisitc players, then so be it. I enjoy very technical drummers who incorporate burning chops, phenomenal technique, and innovative ideas in their playing. I would never listen to Fleetwood or Watts for inspiration, but that's not to say that they should be written off as bad drummers (in fact, they're damn good in their own right). One last note: Rob, please send me your e-mail address. I don't have it. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: jay@btsc.ma10.bull.com (Jay Martin) Subject: RE: Natural Science Question Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 9:40:36 EST Fronefield Crawford <Fronefield.Crawford@williams.edu> writes: > What is the last part of Natural Science called? > I know the first two are Tide Pools and Hyperspace, but I can't remember > the last one. I believe it is called "Permanent Waves" (Same as the album). -- Jay D. Martin Internet: J.D.Martin@bull.com "The most endangered species, the honest man. Will still survive annihilation." - Natural Science ---------------------------------------------------------- From: James Ely <netxcom!jely@uunet.UU.NET> Subject: Re: 11/23/92 - The National Midnight Star #564 Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 9:44:49 EST uunet!syrinx.umd.edu!rush said: ->---------------------------------------------------------- -> ->From: rush-mgr ->Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 ->Subject: Administrivia -> ->First off there will be another mailing this evening for the star of a 3-part ->frequently asked questions list. The other two will be Tues and Wed evenings. ->Second, the "boring" lines separating these posts are for those people who use ->elm -- it apparently separates each post into a unique mail message (I don't ->know, I don't use elm.) -> ->- rush-mgr -> I'm a little behind in my reading of the NMS. So, I'm sorry if you've gotten many replies on this already. I do use elm, and I get one LARGE message each day to read through. [ EMACS is the program that separates the messages, not elm. : rush-mgr ] ************************************************************************** * Jim Ely Trying to break of my lurker upbringing * * jely@netx.com * * Disclaimer: Do you really believe anyone would let me speak for them? * ************************************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 12:02:22 -0500 (EST) From: Anna Matyas <am2x+@andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Rush/Dire Straits Roger Haworth writes: >Hi all...I see from the '2nd favourite band' bits that a few of us rate Dire >Straits quite highly. Personally (and I stress personally), I find this rather >distressing. I remember when Presto came out, one of our celebrated British >music publications referred to Rush as 'the Dire Straits of heavy rock', or >something along those lines. I've always found Dire Straits to be about as >exciting as a wet weekend in Scunthorpe (or, errm, Seattle to our North >American cousins). Whilst I will admit that Knopfler is a superb guitarist, it >saddens me he wastes his talent playing such suffocatingly bland music. Stuff like this brings me out of the woodwork. Not understanding how Rush fans can like Dire Straits is like asking someone why they're eating something like toast when they could be eating hot peppers. Sometimes you want something to mull over, to soothe you. Knopfler's lyrics are superb and his guitar playing is extraordinary. When I listen to Rush my mind races in a million directions and I'm awestruck by what I'm hearing. Listening to DS is a more earthly experience. Mark's voice blends so well with his guitar; the hums and gentle groans, along with the grammatical errors, give the music a real down-to-earth, guy-next-door quality. I feel like I'm in space when I listen to Rush; I feel "at home" when I listen to DS. No question they are very different bands yet they're each refreshing in their own way. (How can you possibly listen to the beginning of "Tunnel of Love" and use the term "suffocatingly bland music"??? Whew...) Anna ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 15:28:38 -0500 (EST) From: Chad H Hutchinson <06819@brahms.udel.edu> Subject: Rush Riff and Dream Theater in Philly Hi kids, The other night, I was listening to Caress of Steel when I reached "Panacea" and realized that the main riff to that tune is VERY similar to one in "High Water" from Hold Your Fire. In "High Water", it's found during the verse that has "..marble fountains..." in it, I believe. Check this out and let me know what you think. If yo need me to be more specific of the location of the riffs, mail me and I'll get the exact lyrics for each part. For all you musicians out there, are these chord progressions identical? Think the boys are getting alzheimers? Just kidding. One final note, for all you who have mentioned Dream Theater, thanks. Images and Words is a very cool album. Also, they are playing the Chestnut Cabaret Tuesday Night in Philadelphia (7:00pm). Tickets are $6.50. It should be a cool show. I'll give anyone details who wants them. Just contact 'Ghost' at: 06819@brahms.udel.edu Ghost ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: New Albumn and stuff Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 19:20:13 -0500 From: jaborgia@mailbox.syr.edu Hi! I'm the new guy around here and I have to say, it's really great to finally be here!! I don't want to bore anyone right away so I'll start slow with any questions or opinions that I might have. Anyone heard anything about a possible time frame for the release of RUSH's next albumn? There was a funny story in the last issue about someone who lived near Alex in Toronto. I have a slightly funny story of my own. I have a friend that went to Toronto and found out where Ged lives. They waited out in front of his house (STAKEOUT STYLE) until he came out. Finally, he did come out to mow his lawn. They had a camcorder and taped Ged mowing his lawn. They went a long way up to Toronto just to get that tape! It's hysterical!! Geddy keeps looking at the camera suspiciously. He probably thought he was being investigated by the Canadian Secret Service! The tape was really funny! GREAT TO BE AMONG SO MANY OTHER FANS!!!! WOW!!!! -Joe Borgia at S.U.- "I have dined on honeydew and drunk the milk of paradise..."-Neil Peart- ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Scott Kaplan <sfkaplan@cs.amherst.edu> Subject: Neil's drumming styles. Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 19:52:16 -0500 (EST) As another drummer who has heard and listened carefully to a great deal of Neil's playing, I couldn't help but add my opinions to those already expressed. On the idea that Neil's style is a very "rock-only" style, I think that this is basically true, but some further explination is required. Neil has, as someone pointed out, taken a lot of influences, be they rock, jazz, fusion, or other- wise, and used them to build his own rock style. He does not immitate much at all (although I've heard some surprising similarities between his solo and one I heard on a live Duke Ellington disc.) The other thing that one should remember is that a great deal of what is considered a "rock" style these days was developed and defined by Neil. While he is certainly not the only person responsible for such definitions, he's a large part. In regards to emulating his style...I would agree that it is not that hard to do. Most good drummers are capable of playing most everything of his. On the other hand, however, few drummers can copy the style and be as tight as he always is. I often play Rush songs note for note whenever I feel that I am getting sloppy, losing my accuracy, or not moving around the set as mobily as I should be. To play his style correctly you must be clean and on the mark, and while it's not terribly hard to do, it keeps your playing clean and strong. Also, I think Neil's style can teach a drummer how to be more melodic, how to take over the song when it is called for and lead the other instruments on transitions. Other fantastic influnces, however, would have to include Bill Bruford, Phil Collins (old Genesis and Brand X stuff), Stewart Copeland, Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Rudy Collins, Mitch Mitchell, Fritz Hauser, Pip Pyle, Alan White, and the man I consider the best young jazz drummer around--Jeff Watts. There are more, but these are people who can really show you what drums are capable of as real expressive instruments. Scott Kaplan Amherst College sfkaplan@cs.amherst.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 20:58:41 -0400 From: x92fca@px4.stfx.ca (Roy Germon) Subject: Band members adresses Someone mentioned that they had written to Neil (sorry, the name eludes me). Could someone please give me a mailing list where I could write to him, and/or Geddy and Alex? Please E-mail me privately. Thanks Roy Germon x92fca@phoenix.stfx.ca ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 Dec 1992 19:56:51 -0500 (CDT) From: Orchestral Bloodbath <II67@vaxb.acs.unt.edu> Subject: Welp... I have a good question, and would like an equal answer: what happened to Skip Gildersleeve, their stage left technician? He wasn't listed in the RtB credits this year... MMc - Matthew McGarity ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 20:56:43 -0500 (EST) From: Chad H Hutchinson <06819@brahms.udel.edu> Subject: OOPS! MGR, Please post this for me on the NMS. Like an idiot, I accidentally lost ALL of my previous messages. So any of you would have previously contacted me, please do so again soon so that I can keep in touch with my new Rush colleagues. Especially Skip (YYZ tab, I need your address again), Phil (Honeymoon Suite Fan Club, I have your house address I just need your E-mail), and who ever it was that's sending me tapes for Mardi Gras (I need your E-mail address again). Thanks for your time. I'll be a little more careful next time. Ghost (06819@brahms.udel.edu) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 Dec 1992 21:55:35 -0500 (EST) From: MOSUREGD@udavxb.oca.udayton.edu Subject: Re: 12/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #581 The third part of "Natural Science" is "Permanent Waves". If any drummers are out there and have a copy of "Drums Techniques of Rush", they can verify this information. -greg ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 21:57:14 EST From: PWALES@ucs.indiana.edu Subject: Sex with animals (simulated, of course!) Monday, December 14, 1992 9:29pm Hello All!! I just wanted to respond to Jason Crabtree's posting about strange antics on stage.... I was at the concert he mentioned in Indianapolis, 2nd row. It was a peculiar event, I must say!!! It was during "Where's My Thing". This hombre clad in western duds came on the stage and appeared to be looking for, well, his thing. Like Jason said, Alex and Geddy for the most part were ignoring him, although they did laugh when he first got on the stage--he looked ridiculous in cowboy attire and painted-on whiskers!!! Then all of a sudden he got what appeared to be a wild boar (or some beast of the sort) from behind the barrier and simulated sex with it! I don't know if they were expecting *that* to happen or not! Everybody on stage lost it--Neil, Alex and Geddy were laughing their heads off! (So was I for that matter-you don't see bestiality on stage every- day!) And of course, neither one of them missed a note. I never thought I'd see sex with animals at a Rush concert!!! Alex was on a roll that evening, too. During Geddy's solo on CttH, he practiced his putting techniques (for a golfing vacation, I'm sure!) and when it was time for him to play his guitar part, he slung his putter at his roadies! He had a look of horror for about one second until he realized he didn't hit anyone, then he started laughing hysterically! Hmmm...during Tom Sawyer a photographer (maybe Andrew?) started taking shots of him and Geddy, then Alex hand signalled the guy to wait. He started posing like Rodin's "The Thinker" on his PRS!!! He kept me laughing all evening!!! What a clown! Well, enough of having fun....I have to study for finals now!!! Hope every- body has a festive holiday season, and you get all the Rush goodies your heart desires! Think Santa could deliver Alex to my house????!!!! (Joking, of course...!) --Pam ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 22:00:41 -0500 From: Scott David Daly <skipdaly@wam.umd.edu> Subject: new BOOT CD! & RTB album cover interpretation Hi there everyone! First off...I was glancing through the new Goldmine today, and I noticed a new Rush boot CD listed by one of the German dealers...it said: Rush:"Kaleidoscopic Harmonies" USA '92 Anyone heard of it?...or heard IT? God...please let it be the first of the boot cds from the 3rd LEG! THAT is what I'm waiting for! That'd be awesome to get The Analog Kid on a CD boot (especially if it sounded like "Over The Europe"!)! Second...(since I'm a little bored right now), there's been a bit of discussion with people trying to interpret the Roll The Bones album cover, so I thought I'd give MY personal (humble) opinion/interpretation: 1) The boy in the foreground nonchalantly (or casually) kicking the scull is obviously symbolizing a kind of "scoffing at death". He is young (at least in HIS mind...kinda like Neil says they feel), and death is obviously not a big concern of his. We ALL feel this immortality, or "nothing can happen to me", complex at one time or another...one of the messages of this album seems to be a reminder that we ARE all immortal and we need to live life to the fullest NOW...you only live once, so if you have a chance: TAKE IT! 2) The dice that make up the background (and whose "pattern" seems to have everyone so perplexed) make perfect sense to me...(most of you will probably think MY interpretation is "stretching it" a bit...but then that's why I'm calling it "MY" personal interpretation!). If you start at the bottom, the numbers are all mixed up...as you proceed up the wall, more and more of the dice are "three"...until finally, they are ALL three. This is how I interpret it: The 3 obviously symbolizes the band. Rush started out at the very bottom and worked their way up to where they are today. When they first started, the odds were against them, and their "number was not coming up"...but, by being PERSISTENT, and continuing to ROLL THE DICE, they were able to get where they are. They didn't give up, but rather: they kept Rolling those Bones. The whole message is that there is a RANDOM element in life...but there is also HARD WORK. To paraphrase Neil in the tourbook: so what if your number doesn't come up the first few times...pick up the dice, load them (with a DREAM,HARD WORK and PERSISTANCE), and ROLL AGAIN! You may have to wait awhile (e.g. 20 years!), but things will eventually begin to fall your way (if there is no "failure INSIDE OF YOU...a failure of CHARACTER") So there it is...don't look for a "pattern" in the mixed up dice on the wall...the whole message is RANDOMNESS! This is all just MY OPINION...that's the great thing about art: it means something different to everyone! So, please don't waste time with flames about this...if anyone wants to DISCUSS it, or add something, or disagree constructively...I'd be VERY interested in hearing opinions. I, for one, LOVE Hugh Syme's art (anybody know if you can get PAINTINGS of his somewhere?). I also don't think that interpretations like this are "reading too much into it"...the man is subtle, but he definitely is a genius at representing "deep" ideas...if you have an open mind and can pick stuff out...and maybe do some drugs! Sorry for the long post! Skip ---------------------------------------------------------- From: frick@cs.utexas.edu (Baltasar Allende Reva) Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 22:44:17 -0600 Subject: Anyone can imitate, but... I can paint just like Leornardo Devinci, and Michael Angelo..and Van goh is a joke....Does that make me a great artists? I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!!!!!!! This reminds me of the guy that said Anybody worth anything can duplicate him, but it'd be mighty hard to find someone who can BE Neil. So all these people can play just like Neil, but none have made it as far and they will never get anywhere, simply because Neil is the originator , and the rest are mere imitators. In other words...if a paint another Mona Lisa, does that also make me great? I think you all got my point, Neil is an original, and perhaps like no one else. I also play the drums, and no one ever before inspired me to play the drums until I heard him. I mean power windows in an incredible drums album (an all around). Anyways....I recemmend Over the Europe to anyone, but why only get audio while you can get audio and video, go video...the following are good Madison Square Garden 1991 Reno 1992 later Albertr ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 11:16:34 PST From: Will Hartung - Master Rallyeist <villy@uunet.uu.net> > Another question: Does anyone else out there have a personalized license > plate that refers to Rush? Mine happens to be 2112-AD. So if you're ever in > SE Pennsylvania and you see the plate, you know it's "The Ghost". > On my '90 Honda VFR 750 (VFR stands for Very Red :-): Plate: WKLY CRM Frame: No Barchetta, but it's RED! [ ELP Concert note... ] I got to see ELP in Irvine at a Real Small Venue. It was amazing being able to see them in such a small place. During the encore, the side and back seating areas pretty much flowed onto the floor. I ended up standing on a chair (with three other people) in the second row right in front of Lake. Very Cool. I don't know if this show is syndicated out anyplace else in the country, but here in LA we've got a show on KLOS called 'Stone Trek'. It's on 9am on Sundays, and claims "The Best in Progressive Rock". Greg Stone plays all sorts of stuff, and and it's on at a great time (i.e. I'm contemplating dragging myself out of bed...) You might want to give it a listen if you haven't yet. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 15:28:04 -0500 (EST) From: Herschel A Gelman <hagst3+@pitt.edu> Subject: Re: 12/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #581 Excerpts from mail: 14-Dec-92 12/14/92 - The National Mid.. rush@syrinx.umd.edu (47974) > Just thought I'd let you all know that the Japanese version of the > Chronicles has 12 tracks, not 11 that the US version has. I forget > the different track that's missing. > [ The US version does not contain "Red Sector A". : rush-mgr ] Woah. Hang on. Chronicles has 11 tracks?? No "Red Sector A?" What am I missing? Why does mine have closer to 25 tracks or so, and *has* Red Sector A? I be confused... [ He's referring to the laser disc of Chronicles, not the CD. : rush-mgr ] > more (in true Python trad) Oh BTW, (switches subject) nice to see another > Douggie Adams fan. Does Mr. Adams like Rush, I wonder, well I guess not. > Oh well. I missed something, somewhere around here. Where did that come from. Douglas *is* a great writer, of course. Finally got around to the Holistic Detective Agency. Which...uh...deals with time-travel. Yeah! Which shows the Rush influence from "Hemispheres!" Of course. (So, this was Rush-related after all...) :-) > [ Skip, yes, it's real. I've known quite a few people who have > received postcards from Neil in the same fashion as yours > (typed reply on a postcard, but handwritten signature) and > like you, it did take a while for the letter to be answered, but > Neil does eventually get around to it. : rush-mgr ] Wow. That's mighty impressive. Does anyone know if there are other musicians or people of similar fame that show that kind of dedication? While I'm posting...my other favorite musicians. Hard to do. I have really *no* definite ordering. Not sure where Rush falls in, really. But I like everything. Quick overview: Rush, They Might Be Giants, Billy Joel, U2, Branford Marsalis, 10,000 Maniacs, Indigo Girls, Duke Ellington, Joe Satriani, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, The Police, Sting, New Order, Jimi Hendrix, Rockapella, Bob Marley, Paul Simon, The Steve Miller Band, Procol Harum, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Yes, The Cure... The list just goes on and on (and on and on...) I don't think that I like *too* much (yet). I'm beginning to actually like some rap songs. (NWA, Arrested Development, Tribe Called Quest.....). Anything but country, I suppose. Oops, that got long. Low Rush level. Sorry.. Getting back on course: I heard someone on here mention a while ago that they had a copy of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Anyone out there have this? A decent copy? It would be really interesting to hear what those guys would consider not good enough... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Herschel Gelman | Calvin: I wonder where we go when we die. | | hagst3+@pitt.edu | Hobbes: Pittsburgh? | | (412)648-4309 | Calvin: You mean if we're good or if we're bad? | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------
To submit material to The National Midnight Star, send mail to: rush@syrinx.umd.edu For administrative matters (subscription, unsubscription, changes, and questions), send mail to: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network address to ftp to is: syrinx.umd.edu or 128.8.2.114 When you've connected, userid is "anonymous", password is <your userid>. Once you've successfully logged on, change directory (cd) to 'rush'. There is also a mail server available (for those unable or unwilling to ftp). For more info, send email with the subject line of HELP to: server@ingr.com These requests are processed nightly. Use a subject line of MESSAGE to send a note to the server keeper or to deposit a file into the archive. The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the authors' management, or the mailing list management. Copyright The Rush Fans Mailing List, 1992. Editor, The National Midnight Star (Rush Fans Mailing List) ******************************************** End of The National Midnight Star Number 582 ********************************************