The National Midnight Star #699

From temples@syrinx.umd.edu Fri Jun 18 19:18:28 1993 Return-Path: <temples@syrinx.umd.edu> Received: from syrinx.umd.edu by dsys.ncsl.nist.gov (4.1/NIST-dsys) id AA09100; Fri, 18 Jun 93 19:18:18 EDT Received: by syrinx.umd.edu (5.57/Ultrix2.4-C) id AA24320; Fri, 18 Jun 93 18:30:18 -0400 Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 18:30:18 -0400 Message-Id: <9306182230.AA24320@syrinx.umd.edu> 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@syrinx.umd.edu Subject: 06/18/93 - The National Midnight Star #699 Status: R
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ** ** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / ** ** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ ** ** ** ** __ ___ ____ ** ** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / ** ** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / ** ** ** ** ____ ____ ___ ___ ** ** /__ / /__/ /__/ ** ** ____/ / / / / \ ** 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 699 Friday, 18 June 1993 Today's Topics: Administration Rush Shows.... Scary dreams... More on Sexism, Rap, and 'Gutter Speak'... NOT! Presto, p / g, Critical Mass, MTV, and a Geddy / Marky Mark duet Spinal Tap made fun of Rush? Re: 06/17/93 - The National Midnight Star #698 Oh No I did a bad thing Concerts and Interviews cowbells in Limelight ?? Best I Can lyrics Neil Peart - Drum God Presto lyrics / Tour moldiness / a little on TS video clip adam curry and mtv CURIOSITY and FREEDOM Rush lyrics in interesting places more light than heat? Another bit of info comments about summer RUSH Shows producer alternate toilet papers and DRUMS; read this only if you like music jam sessions Force ten and lyrics BLAH BLAH....... ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Jun 18 18:12:05 EDT 1993 From: rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu <The National Midnight Star Editor> Subject: Administrivia First off, I am happy to report that it seems like the discussions in this digests are a bit better than those that we've been experiencing recently :-) Thanks all for helping out. I made a few more comments than I usually do in posts but hopefully this will kind of steer the discussion in the right direction and not lead off on wild tangents.. -rush-mgr ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 15:36:26 -0500 From: vallowtg@pxa.slu.edu (Thomas Vallow) Subject: Rush Shows.... Hi All, I am not a subscriber, but I do occasionally download the archives from syrinx.umd.edu. A couple of digests ago, someone mentioned something about making the show special..... I have seen the RTB show in Denver and St. Louis. In St. Louis, during Closer to the Heart bass solo, Alex ran off stage, and then came back with a vacuum cleaner----which had a red police-style light on top. He then proceeded to gleefully vacuum around Geddy's feet furing the solo. It was hysterical! From then on, it seemed like Rush was no longer putting on a show----they wre just three very talented musicians having lots of fun. At Denver, same song, same solo, Alex runs off stage and comes back with a golf putter (!!) and some golf balls----and proceeds to practice his putting skills while Ged played away! The stage crew were throwing\ (every once in awhile) what looked like paper airplanes across the stage!! It was great! [ Actually during most of the shows I saw they almost always did something like this during the CttH solos. I've seen Alex play bow and arrow against Neil, Geddy and the road crew. In Vegas he shot a evil wizard near the side of the stage. He also played as you mentioned golf a bunch of times. Anyone else want to jump in? :rush-mgr] Anybody see anything else silly like this that made the show? Tom Vallow vallowtg@pxa.slu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 16:17:00 EST From: "Matt Smith (813) 494-4222" <SMITHM5@mail.firn.edu> Subject: Scary dreams... Gee, kids, I woke up last night drenched in a cold sweat... What if the new album _is_ entitled _Critical Mass_, and there on the cover, in all her glory, is a chest-up rendering of our beloved buxom belle from you-know-which-concert-intro?! *Gulp* Now _there's_ an interpretation that hadn't crossed your mind yet, eh? By the way, is home _boy_ sexist? Uh oh, thread from hell... [ Nice bait :-) :rush -mgr ] "He/she's a new . . . world . . . individual." -- NP (Well, the way he should've done it, anyway.) "Take it for what it is." -- W. Axl Rose Now, back to your regularly scheduled dead horse beating... ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 20:06:12 -0400 (EDT) From: jservait@uceng.uc.EDU (Joe Servaites) Subject: More on Sexism, Rap, and 'Gutter Speak'... NOT! OK, OK, OK! Come on people, enough already on the horses that have already been killed 100 times over!! Although, with the light discussion over 'Red Barchettas' inspired by the July 1993 Car and Driver, I feel I should add my $.000000000002 worth. As someone mentioned, the new Ferarri barchetta is indeed a 'Monster' car.. that is to say, a V-12 engine, 0-60 mph in under 4 sec, and a top speed in excess of 215 mph (!).. These figures have inspired some new lyrics to the song "Red Barchetta" as it would perhaps appear today........ (well into the song)........a gleaming alloy air car shoots towards me two lanes wide.... I spin around with shrieking tires (and shrieking twin turbos) to run the deadly race.... Go screaming through the valley as I approach 170 mph in under 15 seconds..... With the piece of shit alloy air car now at least 7 miles behind me, I let off the throttle slightly so as to avoid the undesired effect of flying 50 feet into the air upon hitting a slight variation in the road.... After a minute or so at speeds under 200 mph, I quickly get bored and decide to redline it back to the farm to dream with my uncle at the fireside, and to discuss why the turbos were only producing 9 psi of boost today, thereby limiting my top speed to 217 mph, as opposed to the previously achieved 223 mph. OK, enough on red barchettas for now... anyone out there got some NEW topic of conversation? (Unfortunately, I do not at the moment.) A rebel and a copy runner ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 93 23:43:43 -0400 From: jaegard@THUNDER.LakeheadU.CA Subject: Presto, p / g, Critical Mass, MTV, and a Geddy / Marky Mark duet I have a hard time getting into Presto. There's a lot of innovative stuff there, but it seems to me that whenever the guys get into a likable groove they abandon it, especially on the front side. Chain Lightning and The Pass are examples of this. I guess they tried to redeem themselves on Scars, but it's a mite too repetitive. The title track is good, it has a genuine sense of wonder and majesty. Side two is much better; Superconductor really grabs you, and Available Light is a perfect end to the album. Red Tide is okay. Hand over Fist sounded trite at first, but it's beginning to grow on me. Anagram is just plain incomprehensible, to me anyway. [ What??! You mean you haven't seen "Blazing Saddles" ? :rush-mgr ] There's enough material on Presto for a hundred songs. I think that squashing that great stuff into eleven tunes kinda hurt. I really prefer the more focussed Rush efforts like 2112, Moving Pictures, Grace Under Pressure, and <flame away!> Roll the Bones. p / g is my favourite of theirs, the whole album has a sense of urgency and intensity that I've never seen from any other album by any other band. Any guesses as to what form Critical Mass is going to take? I realize that there have been denials left and right that CM is *not* the title of the new album, but I think it sounds okay, so I'll use it here. I really wouldn't mind seeing another instrumental..Where's My Thing was a blast! Plus it gives Neil a chance to write a piece called "The Surgical Mask" for the upcoming tourbook. ;^> And as for MTV....ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I hate to be cynical and I truly admire the person who wrote that <somewhat inflammatory> letter to the High Programmers, but.... As long as our beloved pioneers of music television continue to pander to people just old enough to figure out a channel changer, there's not a hope in hell that it'll satisfy us. If Critical Mass has a Marky Mark / Geddy Lee duet that sells 10^6's of copies to the kiddies, then maybe we'll see Rush on MTV. Which is the lesser of these two evils? ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 23:40:39 -0500 From: Brian Saunders <saunders@luther.che.wisc.edu> Subject: Spinal Tap made fun of Rush? Sorry if this is an old thread topic, but I do not remember it being discussed, and it was not in the FAQ (perhaps we should start an "overdiscussed thread" file, with references to the pertinent issues of TNMS, so rehashing can be somewhat avoided). In the Spinal Tap song "Majesty of Rock", near the end Nigel plays a familiar melody (I can't think of the name of the song), which sounds very similar to Alex playing "Victory at Sea" in the 2112 Overture introduction. Do any of you that are pretty familiar with "This is Spinal Tap" think that it was a poke at Rush? After all, it was a rock parody, and they poked fun at so many other bands, they ought to had picked on Rush, too. :^) Oh, and I'm sorry I didn't discuss breast size, proper English, grunge rock, or what I used for toilet paper. (anybody get the feeling that somehow Neil will see one of the latest issues of TNMS, and start wondering if any of his fans has a life? :^) ) [ Of course we all do! Now then, let's discuss again the meaning of the 4th word of the 2nd stanza of the 3rd song of the 5th album. Who will start? :-) :rush-mgr ] Brian Saunders saunders@luther.che.wisc.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: 06/17/93 - The National Midnight Star #698 Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 0:44:31 EDT From: "The Wombat" <mfrazer@skidmore.EDU> Ahhh Heres to the new NMS ;> WEll I for one, semed to join at an oppotune time, acouple of months before school got out, in those long gone days I saw discussions of Rush, maybe all of you com ppl have just gotten hard nosed in your rush appreciation, I doubt it though. It's gotta be the weather. Perhaps we should add a few lines to the definition of Rushfan(tm) Quick to Flame (Need I say more seeing the more recent batches of NMS) Really Really Picky about every little thing, not that is inherently bad or anything, I think it may come from listening to Rush, i mean, there are so many neat little things in it, it must lead to anal tendancies and the birth of the human spell checker. Aw hell with this I can't yell at the people who listen to Real Cool music. Listen, I realize it's hard, but maybe we should show a little more restraint here, think how many people are going to read it, I'm guilty writing without thinking I'm sure, I'm just trying to get the point across that this is by far the largest mailing list I'm on as far as volume of stuff in it, it also contains the most amount of things not related to it's purpose. That's not all bad, but flame wars rarely erupt on say Discipline, the King Crimson mailing list, maybe they're m ore tolerant or somehting, maybe we rush fans are less tolerant, I don't know, About the only thing I see real flames coming from are when people use real nasty language to trash a certain album or band, there is no reason for that, if you don't like something, do you really need to tell everyone about it? Do you need to insult everyone else who likes it? No, this is probably why Flames never appear on The Saab Network Mail list, how do you flame about a leaky turbo gasket? I can see it now, Aww you hose-head, look what you did eh.. you screwed it on wrong, boy are you dumb... It just doesn't happen Well enough Something I'd like to find out... Working titles, I read some of them in the FAQ ages ago, but with Critical Mass looking like a bit of a net-myth, I was wondering how many other albums had similar titles floating around that turned out to be wrong, Throw The Stones included What time did the watch have on it ;> And, in Bytor... on all the worlds a stage, is there any meaning in the growling type noises, they sound a bit like noise, but at times, esp around 2:00 or 3:00 into it they sound like they might actually be words any ideas? Words or Electric Guitar Dog noises? [ Sounds like an evil battle between the forces of Good and Evil to me! Might make more sense I guess visually if you watch the ESL video. :rush-mgr ] Did you know Alex found a syringe in his Pepsi, he's now seen the error of his ways and is drinking Coke. (Aww did I make a spelling error?) [ Why did I leave the above in? Well, probably a good illustration to show that we are all smart enough not to follow up on the above statement eh? Seriously folks don't be tempted eh? :rush-mgr ] -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-The Wombat IS Matthew Frazer-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= After Seeing Jurassic Park I'm more convinced than ever, Barney should be eating those kids --- Foxtrot U=BTL --------------------------------=Be Seeing You=-------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Oh No I did a bad thing Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 1:11:32 EDT From: "The Wombat" <mfrazer@skidmore.EDU> Oh no I foolishly left my reply topic as the nms issue line, ARRGHH I'm sorry. But since I'm here I thought I'd add a few more things YES Subdivisions is by far the best song, rivaled only by ones like Turn The Page on ASOH or Red Lenses Subdivisions was the first Rush song I ever liked, a fiend tried to get me hooked with the RUSH album but it dodn't click, a year later it was Subdovisions that brought me round, Now I have nearly all of the albums, I lack 2112 and Caress of Steel, I am much the pooreer man for it, I lng for the full version of 2112, and beign one who thinks he's going bald I also long for CoS, The albums I prefer depends on mood, we men go through monthly hormonal changes too, I've never looked at the music -vs- typical hormone levels but maybe... :> Oh we Bio-psych majors are truly lost Odd My girlfriend got into Rush with Subdivisions, and she borrowed my Signals CD for her Drama class final presentation, it was a real neat deep musical chairs colors and rejection type thing, they got a reccomendation for the drama dept to see it I believe, and best of all, the class said they had more respect for Rush than they ever thought, they apparently had no idea that Rush made wonderful music. [ Discussion about Breast surgery and meaningless opinions on breasts deleted. Sheesh.. :rush-mgr ] Well the Rush content dorta died off at the end but hey thats the end Edit me -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-The Wombat IS Matthew Frazer-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= After Seeing Jurassic Park I'm more convinced than ever, Barney should be eating those kids --- Foxtrot U=BTL --------------------------------=Be Seeing You=-------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- From: J.Screaton@sheffield.ac.uk Date: 18 Jun 93 09:42:57 BST Subject: Concerts and Interviews Hi Everybody Just a quick comment on the "inflexibity" (Is that English?) of the songs played in Rush tours. It may be boring for some people to hear the same songs over and over again. What about THE GUYS WHO PLAY IT. They must be sick to death of some of it, but do they complain? Well maybe a bit. The truth is of course that they do change material around a bit, (for instance the intro to WHERE'S MY THING on the last tour) and they do change the running order during a tour - have a look at rush.songlist.Z on Syrinx if you don't believe me. Now on to something else. While listening to a tape of P/G while driving home from work yesterday I came across an interview with the boys which was on the end of the tape. This came from the New World Man single from SIGNALS. I hadn't heard it in quite a while, and wondered how much of this sort of stuff was "Out There" but not widely heard. Then I thought, perhaps I could transcribe it and put it out on the NMS or onto Syrinx. [ Do you remember what they discussed in the interview. We have a few interviews online, just wondering if it's already been transcribed. :rush-mgr ] I then remembered that I had another interview from the Roll the Bones single as well. This was an interview with Geddy, and it was a picture disc. I seemed to remember that the normal single had a different interview (with Alex, I think) and the Vinyl 12" had yet another interview (with Neil ?). Has anyone out there got these and perhaps be willing to transcribe them as well. (Note that these were released in England. I don't know if they are the same as were released in the USA.) [ If you're thinking of the same thing I am, these were including on the various CD-singles and the Square Picture disk that came out during RTB, a lot of them are excerpts from RTB - Radio Special. The RTB radio special BTW can be found in the ftp area. Of if you want a copy drop me a line. :rush-mgr ] I thought that it might be something to kill time until the discussions about the new album start. Anyway, I'll wait for some replies and see. James PS Lightning nearly took out our network last week. It would have been Ok if it was Chain Lightening I suppose! ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 93 23:53:19 HST From: puanani@wana.pbrc.Hawaii.Edu (Puanani Akaka) Subject: cowbells in Limelight ?? Okay, okay...everyone, take a deep breath..IN...OUT...IN...OUT. Relax. Count to ten. Okay. Everything is fine. :-) Auwe! I don't think I've ever seen everyone get so angry before. Even you, rush-mgr (!), let's everyone just...calm, relax... it's okay. Really. We've obviously got very strong opinions on these subjects, and some have strong opinions on not having any opinions on the subjects. But, really. It's ok. Everything is just fine. sigh. :-) Okay. Now dat we stay in one clam state of Rushness... Has anyone ever noticed cowbell sounds in "Limelight"? Yes, COWBELL sounds, believe it or not! They're soft and hard to hear, but they are there. I don't think they are 'cowbells' themselves, but it has that sort of sound to them. I discovered them while lying half- asleep listening to 'Limelight' on my walkman one night. So far as i can tell, it occurs 4 times. The first time is in the beginning of the song in the measure (or part for all ye non-musicians) right before Neil goes into his fill before Geddy begins singing. It's right during the second and last snare hits in that measure before the fill -- about 0:22 (the first 'cowbell') and 0:23 (the second, and more prominent cowbell), for those with CD players. You have to listen *behind* all the other stuff that's going on. On my headphones (Sony, the good ones), I can hear it on the *left* side only. And the 'cowbell' has a high timbre to it. I think there's another 'tink' at 0:26, but I can't tell if it's my imagination, or whether it's really there. The 4th time it appears is around 1:51, after the part where Geddy sings "...long-awaited friend...". Neil goes into his hi-hat thing (tsst..tsst..tsst). He does three snare hits, and then does a small snare fill, ending it with a crash. At the same time as the crash, is another 'cowbell' sound, this time, occurring on the *right* side of the headphones, and, again with a high timbre. There may be more of them in the beginning of the song, around 0:18 - 0:20 or so, but I'm not sure if it's my imagination (!). Anyway, they can be difficult to hear -- you have to block out what the band is doing (gasp!) and focus on what's going on *behind* the music. It certainly sounds like cowbells, tho perhaps they're just studio phenomena or Neil making unintentional rimshots or accidentally whacking the cowbells while playing. Or perhaps it's a remnant of the dubbing process, but I haven't encountered it in any of the other songs on the album. Has anyone else noticed this before, or am I the only fool who hasn't caught the joke? And I don't think it's just *my* copy because I have the original German-pressing CD and the Ultradisc, and they both have them. Hmmm...yet another mystery in Rushland... Ho-hoo! puanani "Faith, my liege! You'd want to pawn no higher than a costume's French tailor's balls, I'd warrant, my liege, no doubt!" -- Tony Slattery "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 07:12:50 EDT From: u6x22@crcws4.bgm.link.com (Chris Bush) Subject: Best I Can lyrics The last time I posted this it must have been ignored by many because the beginning of my post contained some senseless non-Rush material. Here goes again... I was comparing Neil's first writings with Rush, on FBN, with some recent stuff. I was doing this at work so I was reading the lyrics from the ftp site at syrinx.umd.edu. Anyways, my copy of FBN just has a clear plastic album sleeve, no lyrics. My question is/was this... The lyrics to the song "Best I Can" seem pretty un-Neil like and I was wondering if they are his or Geddy's (or whoever wrote lyrics before Neil joined). The rest of FBN is pretty characteristic NP. Some examples... Anthem - "Live for yourself -- there's no one else more worth living for" BBAB - "Fantastic dreams come true Inventing something new The greatest minds, and never knowing..." By-Tor - "Coal-black eyes shimmering with hate" FBN - "I want to be king now, not just one more pawn" Making Memories - "Well from sea to shining sea, and a hundred points between" (actually Making Memories looks a little questionable too) Rivendell - "Time will never touch you Here in this enchanted place" In The End - "Well, I can shine like you shine It doesn't make me brighter" Now an example from "Best I Can"... "Rock and roll-in's a scream, makin' millions my dream" Hopefully you see my point. Can someone tell me who the lyric writer is for Best I Can, as well as Making Memories. The others seem obvious. Thanks Chris ---------------------------------------------------------- From: robertr@austin.ibm.com (Robert Reynolds) Subject: Neil Peart - Drum God Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 8:24:58 CDT I don't care what anyone says about the man but I still feel that he is a God on the Drums. I played the drums for about 7 years and for numerous reasons I quit (one of which was that I was getting no closer to being as good as Neil ;-) The Genius of Neil, IMHO, is that he makes everything sound so easy and simple. A lot of drummers today tend to force things but Neil, who is probably one of the busiest drummers I've ever heard, never really makes it sound too crowded or forced. I would give my left arm to be able to play like that. Honest, I'd play the drums just like the guy from Def Leppard! :-) [ Well, God on the Drums is pretty subjective. Just keep in mind that there are a LOT of other drummers out there that are worth a listen, Neil does some things very well but is not the best at everything. Having seen a Peter Gabriel concert recently, Manu's work I feel in some places is arguably as good or better than Neil's. :rush-mgr ] On another note, I thought I'd rehash that "dreams about RUSH" thread. I had a dream the other night that I went to a concert and I was the only one who had floor seating. There I was right in front of the stage, no one else around to push me around or get in my way. I was truly psyched. The intro started to play and then the music started building up to a cresendo....and then they canceled the concert. Whoa, what a bummer. First time in my life I woke up in a cold sweat!!! Oh, one more note. I'm listening to HYF right now and for all of you who hate this album you must be closet Bay City Rollers Fans!! :-) Thffpptt!! (Thought I had to have at least one inflammatory post, otherwise I might not make it in the digest!) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Robert Reynolds E-MAIL: robertr@austin.ibm.com AIX High Speed Commo Device Drivers VNET: ROBERTR at AUSTIN 11400 Burnet Rd, 905/9551 Phone: (512)838-3534 TL: 678-3534 Austin, Tx 78758 "I was lined up for glory, but the tickets sold out in advance!" - NP <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 Jun 1993 10:25:43 -0400 (EDT) From: Lewis A Bernstein <V087N562@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu> Subject: Presto lyrics / Tour moldiness / a little on TS video clip I have always thought that the 'My temperatures rising/ I radiate more heat than light' quote to mean that he is getting angry. When people get angry their ability to be rational decreases, and their tendency to violence increases. So I radiate more heat than light, could mean that he is getting angrier without being able to think as well. It could also mean that he just thinks that he is good looking, but not too quick :-) I personally think that Rush tours are stale! Very stale. I have some recorded material from the last 3 - 4 tours and there are very few things that change from single tour to single tour. One example of this is both the placement and pre-video clip for Tom Sawyer. Every tour seems to vary from the preceeding tour by about 4-5 songs, and over a two hour set, that is pretty lame. Not only are the songs the same, but they are in the same damn order! Now don't get me wrong, I love seeing them in concert (been 9 times already), but it seems to be getting old. Maybe they realize this and that is why the infamous 3rd leg of the RtB tour was a little different. [ Actually you bring a good point across, the 3rd leg of the RTB tour was a much welcomed changed both setwise and outdoor atmospheric wise. :rush-mgr ] Now for about 2 sentences on this pre TS video stuff. The discussion is similar to the Rodney King beating tape, about the sexism, etc. Now, let's take a look at the whole clip, they are Moving the Pictures out of the art gallery when one of the workers turns to the gallery of people watching them remove the pictures and says 'Hey, kid!' and the picture goes to a young looking, waif - like female who says something like 'Who me?' as she stands to reveal that she is not a kid, but a developed woman. (The crowd cheers and gawks at this point, and she counts the song in). In full context it isn't as bad, as say, blatant cartoon sexuality in introducing the song. Please, please give it a rest. (Unlike what I am doing). Thanks for reading my drivel, Lew ---------------------------------------------------------- From: aegis@elm.circa.ufl.edu (stuart) Subject: adam curry and mtv Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 11:15:57 EDT Hi Y'all! Some random thoughts: 1. Adam Curry's (the big haired MTV VJ) has an Internet account that really works (its curryco@panix.com I think). I wrote him and got a personal response. It seems like MTV is trying to use the Internet (and IRC) in some way to gather public opinion. I find this very interesting, since it seems that the average Internet user is not a fan of the channel or of the videos it usually plays. (And yes, I am making huge generalizations about the "average" user :) In any case, who knows, we may be able to make a change for the better... 2. I always took the line from Presto "... I radiate more heat than light." as the speaker saying that when he/she is faced with a negitive situation, that instead of presenting a good solution ("light") he/she just makes the situation worse by getting mad and blowing up ("heat"). Instead of rationally finding a solution/compromise, he/she radiates anger. Does that make any sense? Looking forward to October! - stuart ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 11:20:23 -0400 From: Gregg Jaeger <jaeger@buphy.bu.edu> Subject: CURIOSITY and FREEDOM Hi All! I'd just like to make a general comment about the nature of posts to the NMS. Mainly I'd like to advocate two things: freedom of speech and inquiry, and self-restraint. I think that it is quite valid to pursue in the NMS any subject related to Rush that one feels curious about or than one would like to comment on: this includes the meaning of 1001001 and 100100 (which I personally find a fascinating subject), the meaning of any song, the position of Neil's watch, the sound of Geddy's bass and voice, the quality and nature of record production in various releases, etc. NO subject should be invalid. However, as we should all know by now (seeing we can all form sentences with a keyboard) freedom requires a certain degree of SELF_RESTRAINT in order to be workable. In posting on any subject one should try to be as clear, conscise, and flame-free as possible. This process should go on until the bottom of the matter has been reached publically -- once we find that people are just saying: yes, no, yes, no, with no new REASONING then it is time for the thread to go to private email. I've seen GOOD threads on the NMS take TWO WEEKS to get to the bottom of their subject matter. If alot of people are posting that means that there is alot of interest, so as long as people are contributing NEW IDEAS the thread should be allowed to progress without the INTERRUPTIONS by people [besides the Rush-mgr who IMHO does a great job of editing and commenting on posts] who simply feel they are tired of a subject! It's amazing how incapable of using the SPACEBAR many people are. I personally had an opinion about Warpaint's being sexist [it's NOT and on the contrary is telling girls AND guys to stop buying into stereotypical behavior] but once I saw this idea clearly presented by someone else [good going!] I didn't need to post on the subject. ISN'T THAT NICE? ("that's nice") So my advice is to simply read CAREFULLY the threads that interest you (and ignore those that don't), whatever they may be, and contribute new ideas as clearly as possible until all the relevant ideas have come forward. No-one's going to convince anyone here of anything by repitition or spewing anyway: we're not idiots and our minds are not for rent [as the man says]. 100100, Gregg [ It's good to know some of the long-time readers still differentiate between relevant and irrelevant, and free speech with the idea of self-restraint. Good job Gregg. :rush-mgr ] ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 11:15:00 EDT From: Danielle Marie Donaldson <ddon@aal.itd.umich.edu> Subject: Rush lyrics in interesting places License plate allusions to Rush are always interesting and unexpected, but here's a real deviation from the norm: When I turned on a black light for the first time in my dorm room at U of M, I was pleasantly shocked to find the lyrics to the Trees on the wall in "Tide-writing"! The other wall displayed "the words of the profits," literally, in big letters! --Danielle Donaldson ps. hey Moller ( : ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 10:31:27 -0600 From: miesch@solarz.Colorado.EDU (MIESCH MARK) Subject: more light than heat? Greetings, by pure coincidence, just when we need a new thread, just when someone asks to be enlightened about PRESTO, just when a few people mention obscure references, and just when the posts are starting to 'generate more heat than light', I just happened to come across something yesterday that (at least to me) is pretty interesting. I was reading 'Hamlet', and in particular, the discussion between Ophelia (is it just me, or does everyone think of the Dead song 'Althea' when they hear that name?) and her father, Polonius about some guy named Hamlet. Seems ol' Ham has taking a liking to Althea..uh..Ophelia, and her pop is giving her some fatherly advice (as pops will do). It goes (beginning with act 1, scene 3, line 111): OPHELIA (talking about Hamlet): My lord, he hath importuned me with love In honorable fashion. POLONIUS: Ay, fashion you may call it. Go to, go to. OPHELIA: And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord, With almost all the holy vows of heaven. POLONIUS: Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know. When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Lends the tongue vows. These blazes, daughter, giving more light than heat, extinct in both Even in their promise as it is a-making, You must not take for fire.... As a true Rushaholic (and you people are my support group), I immediately thought of the refrain of PRESTO: 'Can't you see, my temperature's rising, I generate more heat than light'. Now, forgive me if this has been brought up before (I haven't seen it anywhere), and pardon me if this is a common expression (then what I have to say is probably bullshit), but I think there's an interesting connection here. Polonius, in the passage I have quoted, is telling Ophelia not to be too quick to believe what Hamlet says in the heat of passion (when the blood burns, how prodigal the soul lends the tongue vows). He's just saying these things to .. ahem .. woo her. He's setting "springes to catch woodcocks". I smile every time I I read this, because I start thinking of Meatloaf's 'Paradise by the dashboard light' - I can almost picture Hamlet saying "let me sleep on it, I'll give you my answer in the morning". Anyway, the point is that Shakespeare uses the phrase "giving more light than heat" to imply that things aren't always what they seem to be, especially in matters of the heart. In Presto, Neil switches the phrase around and speaks of 'generating more heat than light', but it has the same meaning. The song, as I interpret it, is about a relationship on the rocks, and the primary theme is the love interest, but it is also about contradictions. Even in the first stanza, which seems to me kind of detached from the primary gist of the song, he relates that he is 'made from the dust of the stars and the oceans flow in my veins'. But in the very next line, mother nature's son is seeking sanctuary 'in the heart of the city, like a stranger coming out of the rain'. Then, the theme continues and ties into the relationship thing when he leaves on a plane and looks down wondering "what you're doing tonight". He's on a plane, but he wants to be on the ground with his squeeze, eh? But, as I said, the relationship isn't going real well because neither knows what he or she wants. Neil speaks of a romantic "midnight rendezvous", but in the very next breath he says he's in over his head "so deep I could never touch bottom". So when he uses the phrase "I generate more heat than light", it is precisely the same context that Polonius uses, and has precisely the same meaning: "don't believe everything I say. One minute, on a romantic evening, I want to have your kids (so to speak), and the next I want to take off on a plane to Zimbabwe (presumably)." "Don't ask me, I'm just improvising". So, if this isn't a common expression (I haven't heard it before), then I think there's a Shakespeare influence/reference here. But why does Neil switch it around? Well, it may be just because it sounds better (didn't want to rhyme things with heat), but I think it's deeper than that. Shakespeare's phrase could be taken to mean that in general, things aren't what they seem, although the particular context is one involving love and (presumably) lust. Neil's phrase seems to me to be more specific, more in tune with the context. He's saying don't believe everything I say because sometimes I generate more heat (i.e. the heat of passion) than light (in the sense of enlightenment or illumination, or shedding some light on what he really feels). So, this is just an interesting sidelight (and an excuse for me to take a break from work). As I said above if 'generating more heat than light' is a common phrase, then there is probably no connection to Shakespeare whatsoever, and I would have to at this point resort to those immortal words of Gilda Radner: "never mind". But if Neil did read or see Hamlet just before he wrote the lyrics, then I think the little twist he put on Shakespeare's words, while keeping the same context and meaning, is pretty interesting. In fact, I think I like Neil's version better. I didn't have the time (or the motivation) to write more than I did (and I'm sure no one would have read it anyway), but I recommend that you pick up a copy of Hamlet and look again at the Presto lyrics and check it out for yourself. As I said, it's the second half of act 1, scene 3. I'd be interested to see what the support group thinks. adios, /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- /- Mark Miesch /- miesch@mhd.colorado.edu /- "OPHELIA: 'Tis brief, my lord /- HAMLET: As woman's love " - Shakespeare /- "Now I'm praying for the end of time" - Meatloaf /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 12:38:43 EST From: Will Geeslin <geeslinw@uklans.uky.edu> Subject: Another bit of info According to my Atlantic representative Jon Nardachone, the next Rush release has been pushed back to November. He said that the October date was talked about before recording was actually begun, so it was the "working" release date, which are always tentative at best. Jon Nardachone is the metal/hard rock contact at Atlantic. [ That's an interesting comment. The date given before as the working release date was "Sept. 15"/Sept/Fall as reported by Alex back a couple of months ago on a radio show. A few weeks ago a friend of mine told me Atlantic had reported October 5th.. ARGH.. I hope the Nov date is not true, we've all waited long enough ... :rush-mgr ] Will ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 11:30:11 PDT From: brent@ufo.llnl.gov (Kevin B. Fournier) Subject: comments about summer Hey, To all who wrote me a note about the dating story, THANKS! It was appreciated. General observation, with both the inscrutable opposite sex (non-gender specific here) and the quality of the NMS during summer and between albums and tours - Plus ca change, Plus c'est la meme chose. Brent ============================================== The coffee's not bad for Nectar of the Gods ============================================== ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 12:31:10 -0600 From: WPCSUPPORT2.SUPT2H.MARKMU@WordPerfect.COM Subject: RUSH Shows Hello gals and guys (don't want to get that whole sexism thing started again!!!) There seems to be a number of you who feel that seeing Rush live has become too predictable. I disagree. The Rush show as we know it has evolved. Some talentless bands like G&R and Def Leppard may feel the need to overshadow their lack of talent with bigger and better shows. Thank god Rush doesn't. Some aspects of the show have become a sort of tradition. I love the giant blow up bunny's! The thought of a Rush show without Tom Sawyer is... well... unthinkable! Kind of like sex with no orgasm. After a long 34 hours on the sidewalk, I was lucky enough to get front row seats for the Presto tour in Salt Lake City. When Geddy came out with only his bass and one small keyboard, I suspected the trio had some backstage musicians. At the end of the show they (the backstage musicians) came out and jamed with the boys for the last song. At first I was stunned and a little disappointed, but after I gave it some thought I loved it! [ Ahh.. hmm. I really don't think they use backstage musicians. Not sure where you got this from. Maybe you're confusing it with when Mr. Big hopped on stage and did the last song with them during the Presto tour? :rush-mgr ] When I saw the HYF tour, Geddy was buried behind a massive array of keyboards and electronic gadgets. He spent most of the show back there. Having some backstage guys allowed him to come out front and have some fun. I'm all for it! Face it. Christmas wouldn't be the same without Santa. A rush show wouldn't be the same with out Tom Sawyer and all of the other stuff we've grown to love. Mark Muhlestein Orem, UT markmu@wordperfect.com ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 14:58:03 -0400 (EDT) From: "NAME = \"O.P.P.\"" <VANDAMME@JHUVMS.HCF.JHU.EDU> Subject: producer One question that I hope hasn't been addressed yet: Is Peter Collins definitely going to produce Rush's next album, or was that just a nasty rumor? [ It's true. And from what I've heard said, it's not just the producing but word has it he even help "re-write" certain parts of songs on the upcoming album. :rush-mgr ] Jan "Captain Long" Bautista ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 16:08:51 EDT From: nivi@Engn.Uwindsor.Ca (NIVI BABAK) Subject: alternate toilet papers and DRUMS; read this only if you like music DRUMSDRUMSDRUMSDRUMS DRUMS this is to capture the attention of drummers who are tired of dreck in this magazine. this is Babak Nivi. i thank you rush-mgr for your interjections. anyone message which produces two interjection is yakoo . i will tell you why Roll the Bones is a piece of shit. it is sappy, tired, and boring (except for 'ghost of a chance' which is almost classy (a stupid word)) if you don't believe, listen to about two seconds of 'gangster of boats'. I mean really, does this song have anything to do with the excellence of other instrumentals like YYZ? YYZ was exciting and INNOVATIVE. roll the bones is anything but. by the way, YYZ, is almost supposed to make you think of the feeling that you get while you're in an airport. check out the near "arabic (to be non-pc (I'm not talking 'personal computers' kids))" guitar in certain parts. musically the thing i know most about drums so let me discuss them. Neil Peart thinks that it is an achievement that he recorded the drum tracks for Roll the Bones in about two days (check modern drummer for the actual figure). i do not know why he is proud of this. first, if you record the drum tracks for 10 songs in two days, the drums on one track are going to sound like the drums on another track which are going to sound like the drums on another track, the same that is. i'm not sure if any of you know who Matt Cameron is. he is the drummer for Soundgarden. his kit is composed of 3 tom-toms a snare, a bass drum and assorted cymbals; obviously, his kit is tiny compared to Neil's. But!! on their latest album BadMotorFinger Matt Cameron manages to mic his kit so many different ways that anyone would sware that this kit was huge. on the other had, neil would mic his kit so that we think it is nothing; save for his ridiculous and bombastic fills. I say this as someone who loves peart's music. the genius of good music comes out of a band getting together, collaborating, creating, and working TOGETHER intensely and for long periods of time. Genius cannot come out of two days. Example: on certain albums in the past rush has had gone into the studio with NOTHING but came together to create some excellent stuff. I think hemispheres is a case (someone confirm or deny this). the amazingly innovative 'la villa strangiato' was a product of this collaboration. next, anyone who thinks that Peart is the greatest drummer on earth can kiss my ass. i know he's not, and Peart knows he's not. DRUMS. everyone listen to closely to the 7/8 (?) guitar solo in the middle of Villa. i'm sure you've all noticed the genius of peart's 'doubling'. he's playing upbeat on the high hat, one bar he plays a single bass drum hit and a single snare hit. the next bar, he doubles the bass drum hit AND snare hit; he alternates between these two patterns every bar, making for excellence. BUT!!! has anyone ever noticed that on the live version, he also doubles the high hat every other bar by clicking it with his foot after the last high hat hit of the bar. Listen closely and be amazed. last. does anyone on earth know the double ride pattern that peart plays in the chorus of Red Sector A? it's so poorly miked that I can't hear it (or I'm going deaf). how about the double ride pattern at the end of 'available light'? i need to know these things who thinks that peart's double bass pedal setup sucks? please shout and I might hear you. his double bass setup was the foundation, the base of his humongous set. you can't found a huge set on a single bass drum. i have just learned the importance of proof reading e-mail. NEXT ISSUE: why we hate long messages. [ FOLKS I gotta give this guy a A+ for providing a backing to his opinions. Now we all know there will probably be some flames out of this but we can all stand to learn from the above posting, negative as it may sound! This is called objective viewpoint, something like constructive criticism. So if you're gonna reply don't flame, just state why, and back it up! :rush-mgr ] ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 16:11:13 EDT From: nivi@Engn.Uwindsor.Ca (NIVI BABAK) Subject: jam sessions CHRISTOPHER DEAN: yes!!! jam sessions!!! we need jam sessions!! read Milk and Cheese. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 16:17:02 EDT From: nivi@Engn.Uwindsor.Ca (NIVI BABAK) Subject: Force ten and lyrics rush-mgr, the hidden lyrics are 'said' to be in Force Ten nothing. they are there. it is geddy saying them, but the voice is processed to sound very different, almost like synthesizers. listen. yes, i fell obliged to respond to everything. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: n1jfu@gnu.ai.mit.edu Subject: BLAH BLAH....... Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 16:37:15 -0400 (EDT) Hello hello hello, Well Ive been reading the NMS for the last 3 months and I Finally decided to post! First I Emailed Adam curry and got a reply, Im not sure if it was Him, but I got a reply. Second, EVERYBODY NEEDS TO TAKE A CHILL PILL! Boy, some of you people really need to GET A LIFE! pfew, ive been wanting to say that for the last 10 TNMS's. Thirdly Hi Bill Dunn! Nice to see you made it back on! Did anyone else notice the use of a rush video in the TV show Growing Pains? It was the episode that Ben wanted to be the manager ofthat Rap Band. Well, they made a video, and I thought i saw a clip from "Lock and Key". It was the scene were the crowd was playing with the big red ball. Was it Rush? Or am I just seeing things? Wow! A post without sexism, racism, or the word "homeboy"! This Could be a trend!? Steve Meuse ----------------------------------------------------------
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 129.2.8.114 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, 1993. Editor, The National Midnight Star (Rush Fans Mailing List) ******************************************** End of The National Midnight Star Number 699 ********************************************