Date: Mon, 25 Oct 93 21:35:07 -0400
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From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
To: rush_mailing_list@syrinx.umd.edu
Subject: 10/25/93 - The National Midnight Star #797
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Midnight Star, Number 797
Monday, 25 October 1993
Today's Topics:
AN open letter to Neal Peart
re: the Thursay NMSs...
re Friday's digests
The U.S is the "Alien Shore"
RE: 10/22/93 - The National Midnight Star #792
Bits...
Cp in South America?
Re: 10/24/93 - The National Midnight Star #794
binary
CounterParts and FBN Guest Pass
CP&A
"Counterparts" Musings
My thoughts on symbols
Geddy was right!
Re: 10/24/93 - The National Midnight Star #794
Re: 10/24/93 - The National Midnight Star #794
A Bassist's View of Counterparts
2112 Gold Release
Pye Dubois's collaboration & CP tour
A brief interlude from the past weeks listening...
CP Back-Cover Art
Wheres My Thing-Leave it Alone!
Let's Make "Cold Fire" Into A Country Song (Gift Idea)
More trivial meanings..
Addendum to "Countrified Cold Fire"
Pensacola Florida
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 03:03:52 CDT
From: Tracey <TMCCART3@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Subject: AN open letter to Neal Peart
Dear Neal:
THe next time Pye Dubois comes up to you and asks if he can help you
write a song, no matter how hard he begs, no matter how eager he looks,
no matter how popular he is in Canada, no matter how good the idea
seems at the time,
JUST SAY NO.
Luvyameanit,
Nancy Reagan
P.S. I figured out the binary code. It spells, "Get a life." Pretty
mean, Neal...
----------------------------------------------------------
From: vortexae@mintir.new-orleans.la.us (Niki LeBoeuf)
Subject: re: the Thursay NMSs...
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 01:23:19 -0600
Well, this would include quotes, but everytime I try to reply to #791, I get
an "abnormal termination of application" and get kicked out of the darn
off-liner. :( So. I'm doing this the HARD way.
I hesitate to add to the growing discussion of the liner notes and their
counterpart mysteries, but I just gotta say (that You're all WRONG! The answer
is 42! 42, I tell you!!! :) ... "screwed blued and tattooed" sounds a heck of
a lot like a Primus song. "Fish On", too be exact. Part III of the Fisherman's
Tale trilogy. I'm not kidding! And the pics of the Tooth and the Nail.. well..
"tooth and nail".. get it? :)
"Alien Shore": If you check out the corresponding choruses (chori?), where it
says "for you and me, <sex/race> is not a competition", it would seem that the
first verse deals with gender and the second with race. The song isn't one
or the other, but both. And yes indeed, sex has something to do with
chromosomes! (AND with genes. Chromosomes are located on the genes.)
Male = XY, Female = XX, so he and she truly are strangers by one single
chromosome. (Hey, and I don't even have a degree yet! :)
Michael S.: You said something like "by the way, Neil will do whatever he
/thinks/ is right, not what he /feels/ is right." I don't know what you were
hinting at, but any musician will tell you that the feel of the song is as
important as the technical side. Music is more than mathematics; there's
emotion there, too. You don't have to be a "stupid superstitious mystic" to
see that; being "rational" doesn't necessarily mean emotionless. ("Hemispheres"
comes to mind...) And if a song has no emotional pull, no /feel/ to it, the
musicians might as well be machines. (And we all remember what Neil had to say
about synthesized drumming in the '80s!)
Cheryl! Are you an alto too? I must admit, at some points the album goes a
little /below/ my range.. I think I'll make myself a "Rush Warm-up" tape;
it'll have "Temples of Syrinx" for the high notes and "Cold Fire" for the
lower ones, and I'll sing along on my way to choir rehearsal... :)
I think that's all I had to say... but don't be too sure. :)
--The Vortex
--
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
+ "Rising, falling, at Force Ten,
* we twist the world and ride the wind..." -Rush
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
vortexae@mintir.new-orleans.la.us
----------------------------------------------------------
From: vortexae@mintir.new-orleans.la.us (Niki LeBoeuf)
Subject: re Friday's digests
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 01:23:27 -0600
Gaah. My off-liner is STILL kicking me out when I edit a TNMS reply. Only TNMS.
Nothing else. WHY??????!
ok. I'm controlled and calm now.
Besides, sitting here transfixed between the cathode rays (the computer and
the TV), I just witnessed history! GO JAYS!!! YEAH! Niiiice winning home run,
eh? I can hear Geddy now: "What do you mean? No, I'm NOT a prophet! Go away!"
>..because I can't get that line from the RTB tourbook outta my head. Makes
ya wonder...
The referene to Ayn Rand when you consider the line "voice of reason against
the howling mob" works, but the "she" in the verse is by no means Ms. Rand
herself, that I can see. But it's a neat little allusion, especially since
Rand's heros, in her books, are everyday type people, the type of people who
would fit under the "s/he's nobody's hero" line.
I think JL's got it right. It's not whether Neil is Randian or not; it's
what /else/ he believes in / is influenced by. There's no way that he totally
forgot such a strong EARLY influence, but there's no way that she's ALL that
influences him, either. BTW, I like the "comfortable old sweater" image. :)
re: "Nobody's Hero" and orchestration... hey, if "Marathon" worked on stage,
why not this?
John Lee: You must have a HELL of a lotta time on your hands. The WHOLE
Starship Enterprise??!! :) :)
RE: dws@acpub.dke.edu -- [ ...stuff deleted... ]
[ Please, this is what I'm talking about. Let's not try and start a flame
war over the frat stuff ok? Send him email, I see you already got the
address. Let's keep it Rush related if possible. :rush-mgr ]
Oh yeah. If I didn't say this already -- can someone explain me please the
Gamera Is Turtle Meat thing? It must be one of the MST3K's that I missed.
(There are a lot of them. Everytime I find time to tune in, it's always "Lost
Continent". "NO!! Not MORE rock climbing!!")
Thoughts on the bald eagle: momentarily forgetting the American symbolism,
this bird is an endangered species (trying times indeed!) and yet it still
flies. Truly an inspiration. In the toughest of times, to still be so ...
I dunno. Dignified. (Not that the bird itself has any clue, but the more
sentimental of us humans might see it that way. :)
re: Juno / Panacea - sure, it's easy enough to tell seconds and thirds apart
when they're a capella or with piano accompaniment, but with all that
guitar and effects going underneath?? And anyway, /you/ can't remember either!
Ha! :) I think it's thirds. But it's the only one of the three verses where
that line is harmonized, rather than one voice, or two in unison.
WOK: Well, as I haven't heard much Fugazi (yes, I've heard enough to know
they're nothing like Marillion), I couldn't comment too much, but I would
like to know where that band (Fugazi, not Marillion) got the name. It's not
in the dictionary! I know; I tried to look it up when I first heard the
Marillion song. And to read the guy in Entertainment Weekly refer to Fugazi
just as I was remembering the Fish album... well, it just seemed too close for
coincidence. It's a question for Neil on the next Rockline, eh?
I guess I couldn't resist, but, Rush-mgr, why exactly do some of these things
(not even stuff /I'm/ talking about) get sent to the e-mail? The frat
discussion (part of it, anyway:) was in terms of Rush and whether Rush and
frats are mutually inexclusive; the Rand discussion was about whether she
influences Neil today. That's Rush related. Are they just getting repetative,
then? (puh-puh-please don't hurt me...)
[ The Rand discussion is still in the digest, I just sent it out as a
special edition because of the length of the individual posts. About the
frats, I left in the part of the post that dealt with Rush, and deleted
the rest which talked about fraternities *specifically*, and made no more
mention to Rush. : rush-mgr ]
The Baltimore Sun wasn't the only one to praise Ged's voice.. With the
release of RTB, I caught the "60 second CD review" one morning. "Perhaps
the best part about this, is that Geddy Lee has finally become a decent
singer." Huh. Somebuddy's slow on the uptake.. /that/ happened with _Presto_
("Available Light".. my god, shivers and chills) or earlier!
And, finally, I'm very sorry that I mentioned "tooth and nail" in my response
to Thursday's digests, because everybody and his grandmother jumped on it
in #793. Kyaa. Damn the link lag, full speed ahead.
this is line 78 --The Vortex
--
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
+ "Rising, falling, at Force Ten,
* we twist the world and ride the wind..." -Rush
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
vortexae@mintir.new-orleans.la.us
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 12:00:22 -0400
From: swaminathan gangadharan <sgangadh@jupiter.cse.utoledo.edu>
Subject: The U.S is the "Alien Shore"
Hi rush-fans,
While hearing Alien Shore for the 15th (maybe more ) time, and having
the lyrics in hand, it occurred to me that the "Alien Shore" could refer
to the United States, or some similar country which was populated by
immigration.
The following lines provided me the first clues for forming this opinion:
For you and me, race is not a competition
For you and me, race is not a definition
The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world where these axioms are almost
always true. There are other lines which seem to point in this direction too:
In a struggle to be happy and free
Swimming in a primitive sea
Is'nt it correct to say that most of the early settlers who came to the U.S.
had to cross the Atlantic? And the primitive sea could be the one that
separates the "Old World" from the "New". The U.S is commonly referred to as
the "land of the free" - right.
But the lines that convinced me that this song was is about the U.S are:
For you and me, we hold these truths to be self-evident
For you and me, we elect each other president
My guess is that "We hold these truths to be self-evident" is a line from the
U.S Constittution. I am not a U.S. citizen, so I don't know for sure. What I
am sure of is that the U.S. has a Presidential system of government and it
is "theoretically" possible that the national orgin of the president is of no
consequence in the elections. Maybe that's what Neil Peart is implying when he
says "We elect each other president". Where a person comes from or his
ancestry will not be a disadvantage.
My favourite lines from the album are the last few from Everyday Glory:
If the future's looking dark
We're the ones who have to shine
If there's no one in control
We're the ones to draw the line
Though we live in trying times
We're the ones who have to try
Though we know that time has wings
We're the ones who have to fly
The word-play in these lines is just awesome and the song itself is very
inspiring. Reminds me of "Mission" for some reason. The way Geddy sings these
lines is also relevant to their meaning. Notice how his voice gently "soars"
when he sings "We're the ones who have to flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy."
Too happy that Rush has given us so much to listen and talk about in these
trying times.
Until later
Swami
P.S.
The phosphorescent wave on a tropical sea
Is a cold fire - CF from CP
The angry tone of an e-mail flame is a cold fire.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 12:38:04 EDT
From: c2mxzei@fre.fsu.umd.edu
Subject: RE: 10/22/93 - The National Midnight Star #792
A few notes......
Why the question of the binary still?? People keep asking what it means. It
is obvious this has been looked into throughly. There is nothing there.
Except they are counterparts. The Band has admitted to a sense of humour
on more then one occasion. This is part of that humour...wouldn't you think?
I heard from Bob Roper on Compuserve that they have signed a three album
deal with atlantic strting with their next album...so no this isn't the
end..
A real quick thought on CP....I personally like it. For those who don't,
sometimes simplar music gets the point across....dunno just an observation.
It looks like they fed off many different sources for this album.
So everyone enjoy the record for the music and don't worry about analysing
everything...it takes away from the pure enjoyment nd simplistity music really
is...Rush is deep, but don't forget their main purpose of making music!!
Latah...from nowhere..Frostburg MD.
You Can twist perception....reality won't budge...you can raise an objection
Rush will be the judge and the jury...
----------------------------------------------------------
From: bravado400@aol.com
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 15:14:26 EDT
Subject: Bits...
1) Has there been any word about where Counterparts debuted on the Billboard
charts?
2) SIO was #1 on album rock...what exactly is that?
3) Has anyone seen Cp posters or anything like that being sold in stores?
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 16:22:56 -0500 (CDT)
From: David Aaron Sissman <siss@owlnet.rice.edu>
Subject: Cp in South America?
As I will be living in Santiago, Chile next year, I was wondering if Cp
is in South America yet. Moreover, I wanted to know if there are any Rush
fans in South America. I don't suppose that Rush has toured down there?
[ Nope, Rush has never toured in Chile. : rush-mgr ]
David Sissman
(siss@owlnet.rice.edu)
P.S. Does anyone else think that "Alien Shore" is another way of saying
"Common Ground"?
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 14:54:21 -0700 (MST)
From: Guy K McArthur <guy@gas.uug.arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: 10/24/93 - The National Midnight Star #794
Beunos noches...
I like the album much more than I did on Tuesday! If you put the
lyrics down, and listen to the tracks in sequence, it seems much better.
Before, I was flipping around, listening for the good parts I remembered
from the .au files. I still think the lyrics really suck in parts, but the
music is very good. For my listening pleasure, I cut out the songs
"Nobody's Hero," "Speed of Love," "Double Agent," and "Everyday Glory"
since I don't like those (yet).
Leave That Thing Alone is f*cking cool! The bass lines on that are
to groove for. The interplay between the triggered drum sounds, the bass,
and the synths are the best, it should win the Grammy.
I think Animate should have been done entirely with synths
and electronic percussion. Rush would never go that far, unfortunately. It
would be a great experiment for them.
+----------------------------=============================--------------------+
"I got my sights on the stars< -- -- -- -- > . .
won't get that far > __ __ __ __ < . .
but I'll try anyway..." < __ __ __ - __ > *
RUSH/best I can > == == == == <
+============================<<<guy@gas.uug.arizona.edu>>>====================+
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 18:17:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: 56REIMERS@CUA.EDU
Subject: binary
Has it ever occurred to anyone that the binary code may not actually
reveal _anything_??? Zeroes and ones are natural counterparts, so the binary
pattern is actually very likely to be chosen at random, and mean nothing.
Besides, one would think Neil, Geddy and Alex would have better things to do
with their time than figure out how to torture the entire Rush Fan World.
(In fact, maybe they just wanted a cheap laugh and see how many people tried to
figure out what it really means?)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 19:03:32 EDT
From: ae519@freenet.carleton.ca (Louis Allard)
Subject: CounterParts and FBN Guest Pass
My comments about CP:... Excellent Album... Strong lyrics... The music
is not as complicated as it used to be (Compare to "Subdivisions"'s drums!)...
For the binary code.. I too tried to decipher it.. The best answer is
that it simply means the recording is digital (There is no DDD anywhere on
the disc or the sleeve.
For the Pictures inside.. The big old style "PQ" over the blue background
filled with small "PQ"s probably means "PROVINCE OF QUEBEC"... PQ is the
official Mail abreviation, and Neil Lives in Quebec. (Ile Perrault). It
makes sense since it's near the Maple Leaf and "Fleur de Lys".
Also... I went to a record collector's show today.. I bought a FLY BY
NIGHT "Guest" pass for $10 CDN.. What do you guys think? Are these
Really rare?... There was also Lots of ROIO Videos.. also an audio
recording of Massey Hall's concert in 1974... Also Hemisphere's Red
Pressing, and the original RUSH still wrapped...
--
#--------------------------------------------------------------#
| Louis Allard 1:163/544 | "You sometimes drive me crazy, |
| ae519@freenet.carleton.ca | but I worry about you." |
| Gatineau, Quebec, Canada | - Rush |
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 19:00:31 -0400 (EST)
From: "Joshua B. Atkins" <atkins@minerva.cis.yale.edu>
Subject: CP&A
First, I must admit that my schedule does not permit me to keep up to
date with the discussions in TNMS. But before the album came out I
remember hearing a lot of talk about CP being a move back to the basics(
guitar, base and drums), the tight feel of a trio, and that there were
*no* keyboards on the album. Well they have certainly achieved this goal,
and quite masterfully I must add. I'm probably the last to
notice this, but I would like to point out that Animate has a voice played
in the higher pitches during the chorus that is clearly a keyboard. It
becomes quite distinct at 4:45. This is obviously not a Subdivisions-like
keyboard and I don't think it strays from the tight feel at all. In fact I
think it's perfectly placed. Just pointing it out.
Also I'd like to congratulate the boys. This album is packed solid with
hard hitting, rocking energy, which we have never heard from rush in quite
this form . Yet they managed to also pack it with some stunning vocal
melodies: Animate, NH, CF, and EG to name a few. They couldn't have
done it better.
___________________________________________________________________________
X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X
- Joshua B. Atkins -
- atkins@minerva.cis.yale.edu -
-- Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
-- [guess]
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 19:48:36 -0500 (CDT)
From: BEEZUS@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: "Counterparts" Musings
1] That wondrous percussion instrument, the tamborine, is featured on more
than one song on "CP." I can only hope to see Geddy slappin' it against
his thigh in concert--just like Linda McCartney!
2] Is it just me, or would you like to see Ged and Al do the "hair thing"
a'la Hammett, Newsted, n' Hetfield when Rush starts grooving live in
"Cut to the Chase" after the "Can't stop..." line? I can see 'em now
just thrashing away onstage while the bunnies emerge from their tophats
to carry on likewise.
3] GREAT IDEA FOR THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR: Each show is 'hosted' by
a well-respected personality that joins Rush for the "CP" tour. He/
she acts as an emcee for the evening's festivities. The show is a
retrospective from 1974's "Rush" to 1993's "Counterparts" (sort of
how it's gonna be anyhow). The house lights dim in the respective
venue as two brand spankin' new Spectravision screens which flank the
stage at rakish tilts to accommidate those with awkward seats spring
into life. We see the cover of "Rush" fade in--below it, in a kind
of italicized New York or Times font, "1974." This remains on the
screens as a lone Veri-lite shines on the emcee. He/she makes remarks
about the album and the band circa 1974. The band then kicks into
"In the Mood" (or whatever) and whips the crowd into a frothy melee.
This occurs for every album except the live ones--a song is performed
live from each. When we get to "CP" the emcee disappears and we're
then treated to a more straightforward Rush concert. They'll perfom
five or six from "CP" as well as other obscure nuggets o' Rush
musicianship. The concert ends with quite a long encore comprised of
one of the longest and most remarkable medleys. Balloons decend onto
the crowd (just like the "HYF" shows) with a kind of Rush/20th/"CP"
logo/message on them. Geddy tells us all, "Thankyoooouuuuuverymuch!
We hope to see you again some time!" as Neil and Al dance the "Achy
Breaky Heart" together onstage. The band departs the stage, the
house lights come up, and everyone leaves spent and satisfied. Oh,
don't forget to purchase a commemorative t-shirt in the commons area
for only $30.
I didn't bother trying to configure a stage set-up for this brainstorm
of mine. The aforementioned ideas came to me during a listening-to
of "CP" a few nights ago. Personally, I think it'll sell.
----------------------------------------------------------
From: viking@merle.acns.nwu.edu
Subject: My thoughts on symbols
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 20:05:13 CDT
How's it goin', eh?
This is my first post to TNMS (& there was much rejoicing!) Just
thought I'd give my $0.02 on a few of the symbols.
Whoever suggested the binary code stood for "DDD" (all digital
recording) _must_ be right; this is the only recent cd not to give that
information, and since all you people with lots of time on your hands couldn't
decipher it any further, my bet is on this interpretation.
As for the mysterious breasts, my guess is "Tit for tat", tho I don't
know where the tat is.
Lastly, a question for the musically gifted. A friend of mine, a
great bass player and big (HUGE) Ged fan, was curious about Ged's style on Cp.
Anyone know if he used a pick this time around? My friend suggested that this
might be the case... I'm simply an amateur guitarist, & just don't know. Any
help appreciated.
>...seems to me it's Chemistry...
Jon Godin
(viking@merle.acns.nwu.edu)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 20:48:21 EDT
From: Jason Isner <R3JMI@VM1.CC.UAKRON.EDU>
Subject: Geddy was right!
Hello SportsFans(tm)...
Well, Geddy "The Greek" was right in his prediction that "whosever
pitching sucks the least will win" the World Series. With the exception
of game 5, the pitching was really rather poor on both sides throughout
the Series. So, both Toronto's and Philadelphia's pitching sucked, but
Toronto's pitching sucked less and they won. Wow, can Ged pick 'em or
what?!
To the person who thought that John Kruk looks like Ogre from Revenge
of the Nerds, I agree. A friend of mine made the same observation on Saturday
night while we were watching the game.
Also, to the person who mentioned the similarity between the picture of
the traffic signal in the Counterparts liner notes and the Coverdale/Page
album cover, wow! I read that and then I went and looked at both pictures.
The cloud patterns in the backgrounds of both pictures are identical. I
thought I'd picked out most of the little stuff on the liner notes, but
I guess not. Everyday I read TNMS and find something I hadn't noticed
before. There is one that I'm not sure of that I don't think I've seen
mentioned here. Who are Patty, Maxene, and Laverne? This isn't something
from that awful Laverne and Shirley television program, is it?
Jason
+-------------------------+------------------+-------------------------+
| | Union Building 6 | Internet: |
| Jason M. Isner | Akron, Ohio | R3JMI@VM1.CC.UAKRON.EDU |
| The University of Akron | 44325-3501 +-------------------------+
| Network Operations +------------------+ Bitnet: |
| | (216)-972-5919 | R3JMI@AKRONVM.BITNET |
+-------------------------+------------------+-------------------------+
----------------------------------------------------------
From: gt3144a@prism.gatech.edu
Subject: Re: 10/24/93 - The National Midnight Star #794
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 21:10:05 -0400 (EDT)
Well, I've been listening to CP for almost a week now, and I find that
my opinions of the songs on it have changed pretty violently since
I first popped it in the player.
Animate: I didn't care for this one much at first, but it's really
grown on me... one of my favorites now.
Stick it Out: Whereas Animate has grown on me, this one has slid off.
The music is good, but that gets old, and the lyrics really suck.
Overall, this song sounds like some garbage put out by a wannabe
heavy metal band like Queensryche or Poison.
Cut To the Chase: Possibly the best song on the album. It has a lot
of "Stick it Out", as well as a really catchy beat, and much better
lyrics.
Nobody's Hero: The first verse of this is really awful in term of
lyrics. After that it improves a little, but it's still not up to
Neil's usual standards. Sounds too much like Neil trying to be
politically correct.
Alien Shore: Hasn't made a huge impression, but it's pretty good.
LTTA: See Alien Shore.
Cold Fire: This is probably Rush's worst ever. Very trite lyrics.
Mediocre music. Mostly a standard treatment of a standard subject.
Double Agent: Not quite as CTTA, but definitely one of the best on Cp.
Everyday Glory: This is a really good song, but it's in a distinctly
different vein from nearly anything else on the album, or anything
else Rush has done for that matter. Somebody said it reminded them
of U2. I agree.
More on the U2 thing: This sort of helped me figure out what I haven't
liked about a lot of Rush's recent work. Neil seems to be trying too
hard to be objective. That's good as a political position, or in an
essay or whatever, but in art or entertainment, it's quite boring. Good
music sounds like it comes from somebody who believes something, and
believes it intensely, and is willing to put those beliefs into songs.
U2's stuff before Rattle and Hum (and in my opinion, their best stuff -
Achtung Baby and Zooropa are drek, IMO), and a lot of Roger Water's
music have this attribute. Rush's used to, but, (mostly) doesn't
any more.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 19:19:03 PDT
From: "KEN GARD<21469853@WSUVM1.CSC.WSU.EDU
Subject: Re: 10/24/93 - The National Midnight Star #794
GREETINGS TO ALL YOU RUSH PEOPLE:
This is my first posting to the MNS and thought I say a couple of things
regarding the CP.
1) Thanks A.L for restoring my faith in your guitar virtuosity.
2) With regards to the those binary digits that embellish the
cover. As to what they mean who cares? Come on people
lets not read too much into this. If you really want to know
what they mean all tell you .......NOTHING.......Now thats
that lets talk RUSH.
3) As to the album in general what can I say that has'nt already
been expressed? As always RUSH has shown us something original
yet with a distinct connection to what has been.
4) Does anybody have an official list or semi- maybe somewhat
official list of concert dates. I would like to stop my
uncontrollable drooling with a date.
Well that's about it. Nice to be hear
*********Ken 21469853@WSUVM1.CSC.WSU.EDU***************
P.S. U of Arizona does not deserve #7 yes we choked but it was the cal
ls it tell you ************GO COUGS**********************************
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 21:43:20 -0600 (CST)
From: "David Bell" <dbell@merle.acns.nwu.edu>
Subject: A Bassist's View of Counterparts
G'day! After the wealth of album reviews, I figure if I'm going to lend
my $0.02 I oughta get specific. So these are my comments on my favorite
parts of any Rush album, the basslines! First off, the bass sound overall
is a real throwback to Geddy's 2112-era tone. Great mix too! While I loved
the sound of the Wal on recent albums, the semi-distorted Jazz Bass on Cp
cuts through much better. As for specifics:
"Animate": The word "driving" does not begin to describe the role of the
bass here. But here's the shocker...As much as it pains me, I have to
conclude Geddy is playing with a pick here. Check out not only the
constant 16th-note groove in the chorus, but also the funky muting on the
verses and the "My counterpart..." section. I've tried playing through
this song with both pick and fingers, and picking is not only more
comfortable, but it just makes more sense with these grooves. Anybody
heard anything to confirm or deny? I guess I'll have to wait for Ged to
talk to Bass Player Mag.
"Stick It Out": Vintage Ged here. Strong, supportive. Don't overlook the
funky little fingerpicking thing in the last 30-sec's or so.
"Cut to the Chase": Been listening to some dance music Geddy? This kind of
repeating bass riff over a changing chord progression is the foundation of
most hip-hop and rap grooves. I love the way it locks in with the drums
too.
"Nobody's Hero": Real simple and supportive, but as the song builds up, Ged
throws in some nice melodic flourishes. Also, doing stuff like playing
the 3rd or the 5th under select chords keeps it interesting.
"Between Sun & Moon": Nice song but not too exciting in the bass. However,
the way Geddy uses some funkier 16th-note rhythms in the chorus where he
would have traditionally played straight 8th's shows a little progression
in his style.
"Alien Shore": Funky stuff! Notice how that weird bass groove in the
verses gets more complex each time it repeats (i.e. sliding up to higher
notes, adding little fills).
"The Speed of Love": This one also sounds like he used a pick.
"Double Agent": That bass/voice intro is pretty unprededented in a Rush
song. At the moment, probably my favorite song on the album. No flashy
bass parts here, but I love the 3/4 riffs and the arrangement ("Well, I've
got this other little part we could kinda stick in right here, and
then...").
"Leave That Thing Alone": The bassline I can't stop myself from playing!
Very unconventional, and very beautiful. I don't think Geddy goes so far
as to actually slap on this one, but he does a lot of his pseudo-popping
technique (a la "Body Electric", "Mystic Rhythms"). I think he calls it
"string-pulling". Interesting how he goes from the almost lead-bassline
of the intro to the ultra-laid-back groove in the guitar melody section.
Don't miss Geddy jamming away in the fadeout!
"Cold Fire": Those bass chords really liven this song up.
"Everyday Glory": This song really could have come off of RTB, including
the bass playing.
Well, those are my opinions after learning most of these songs on the
bass. Sorry for the long post, but I got into it as I went along. Hope
it's interesting to you musicians and non-musicians alike.
--David Bell
----------------------------------------------------------
From: trwillia@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Travis Williams)
Subject: 2112 Gold Release
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 21:44:26 +22306512 (CDT)
Hello All.
Trav here again with a note of small importance. It would seem that Mobile
Fidelity is going to release your favorite concept album and mine on Gold disc.
I read this in the latest issue of Goldmine for those of you who were
wondering. I think that I read it was supposed to be out this Tuesday, but
let's not get up in arms and really expect that. It may, but then again it may
not...just suffice it to say that a Gold 2112 will probably be out sometime
soon.
SECOND POINT:
(Warning...non-Rush related...kind of...)
Remember in the new album premiere Neil mentioned a drummer named Chad
Gracey from a band called "Live"? Well, they just finished their second album
and it is being mixed right now. They are going to kick off an East Coast tour
and break in the new material which won't be released until March!!! Anyway,
if anyone lives out there, could you please mail me privately...I'm interested
in trying to get a tape of the show...
Oh, and by the way...I think that Rush fans would really like Live...their
first album is called "Mental Jewelry". Check it out. Thanks in advance for
any help you East Coast Rush fans could give me! Later.
Trav.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 23:38:25 -0400
From: Scott David Daly <skipdaly@wam.umd.edu>
Subject: Pye Dubois's collaboration & CP tour
Hello there.
I just thought I'd voice an opinion for which song Pye Dubois
helped Neil with...I think it's Between Sun And Moon (as it says in
the CD) rather then Speed Of Love.
There are two reasons I think this...
the first one is that I believe it's much more likely that they'd
screw up a radio show than an album liner that was undoubtedly
reviewed and approved by the band (you'll notice there are TWO
references in the liner to the song having been written by
Peart/Dubois...so they would have had to have screwed up in two
different places...).
the second reason is simply the words themselves...Speed Of Love
sounds like something Neil could come up with on his own...some of
the lines about solar flares and such almost remind me of Chain
Lightning...on the other hand, "Ahh yes to yes" is a bit off the
wall...much like Pye Dubois' past slightly weird influences on the
band (e.g. Tom Sawyer...we're used to it now, but when that song came
out, it was a strange departure for the band...). The imagery in
Between Sun And Moon sounds to me like it was affected by an outside
influence. Just an opinion...
This coming tour is gonna be INCREDIBLE! I for one am overjoyed that
they plan to play up the 20th anniversary thing!! I can't wait to
hear that COS shit!!!!!!!!
Skip
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 24 Oct 93 23:33:22 EDT
From: Ted Sanborn <71572.3417@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: A brief interlude from the past weeks listening...
Not that anyone else has mentioned this in the last week, but this new disc
has completely blown my mind! What seemed odd to be at first listen has
now become nothing less than classic Rush to me now. After hounding
several stores over the past few weeks, I managed to secure a promo poster
for Cp, which I will proudly add to my office decoration this week.
I must note, the two bar drum fill Neil does in Leave That Thing Alone
(3:20 mark or so) has got to be the most intense round-the-house fill I
have ever heard anyone do EVER. On the first listen I must have rewound to
that fill at least 20 times. Then I just handed the headphones to one of
my office mates and fell back stunned. (Yeah, he thinks I'm crazy).
One thing that bothers me is the fact that the promo poster i got has a
graphical representation of essentially "Lock, stock and barrel". Are
these guys trying to tell us something or what? (Like, this is it. We're
calling it quits.)
All of these "things" were probably discussed over the last week, but I was
busy compiling my own non-biased views of the album before dialing in and
reading everybody else's ideas. As for that 33-year old who won't be
buying the album, you've got to be kidding! I hope you recover from this
illness soon... (how sad)
Enough ramblings... Sanbo.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1993 23:50:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mike Smith <msmith@access.netaxs.com>
Subject: CP Back-Cover Art
For those who're interested, and are of the "I just gotta have everything
there is to do with Rush" sect... I took the time out (giggle) to doodle
up the back cover art (the optical illusion thing) and make a .gif out of
it. I sent it to rush-mgr, but I don't know if he's gotten it. If so it
might be available for anonymous ftp. It's not what I'd really call "art"
took me all of 5 minutes, but hey, I was bored, and it was there. <Grin>
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| msmith@netaxs.com |
| msmith@bigboy.cis.temple.edu |
| bpsu60a@prodigy.com |
| Cmdr. Michael A. Smith - U.S.S. Malverne |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 25 Oct 1993 00:36:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: JIM COLLINGWOOD <ECGEEAB@grove.iup.edu>
Subject: Wheres My Thing-Leave it Alone!
I know RUSH claims that "where's my thing?" and "Leave that thing alone!"
are unrelated (other than they share the word thing) but...Leave that thing
Alone! sounds real nice right before Part IV of Gangter of boats trilogy...
plus it sounds real gangster-y. I hope they play the two in sequence on the
upcoming tour. Just for the record, both instumentals are my favorite songs
on the respective albums.
Also...sombody pointed out: Rabbit-Presto/Faces-ATWAS/Traffic light-Signals
Archer-Hold your Fire....
To add to that... The King of Hearts is a suicide king...hence A Farewell to
Kings.
Also notice the "?/!" square. Where's my Thing? and Leave that Thing Alone!
make use of these...hence they are counterparts and Leave that thing Alone!
is Part III of Gangster of Boats. I don't care what The Band says on Rockline
to the whole world...(IMHO of course)
To address the 100100111 controversy...could it somehow be related to the
dice sequence on RTB? Not that I have enough free time to compare the two..
but I know some of y'all do.
>...AND FINALLY...please stop saying RUSH and (gasp) Pearl Jam in the same
breath, It makes my stomach queasy. <--- obligatory flamebait.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jim Collingwood DoD# 1019 1986 Yamaha Maxim 700 Indiana University of Penna.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 93 01:21:20 EDT
From: gordon@Stars.Reston.Paramax.Com
Subject: Let's Make "Cold Fire" Into A Country Song (Gift Idea)
/-/ello:
Here's yet another gift idea (YAGI) for the 20th anniversary
of Rush: money. I'm only being slightly sarcastic here. After all,
isn't money what Ged said he wanted in the Counterparts Radio
Special?
Ged: Any country fans out there, if you wanna do that song
[Cold Fire], make it into a big country hit, we'd be
appreciative of the check.
See? They want money. More money. They apparently don't
have enough yet. They are capitalist pigs, as Greg and Eric have
proven. More money will make them happy.
But seriously now, folks, why not make "Cold Fire" into a
country song? I think that would really flip them out more than
anything else I can imagine. I think they joked about it on the
special because they *never* would believe that somebody would
actually do something that absurd. But we, the readers of the NMS,
know better. We know that we are capable of any absurdity. And
you just *know* that there weren't any country fans glued to their
radio, saying, "Yep, good ah-dear, Ged. Cold Fahr. Yep." In all
seriousness, though, what could be better than a gift of music?
If we made a "countrified" "Cold Fire" (CCF), we could either:
1) send them a tape
2) send them a video
3) perform it live
4) make a few million dollars when it tops the country charts
and donate the proceeds to charity, in the name of Rush.
I propose we get the musicians we have here to compose a
"simplified" guitar part for the CCF. Something like this:
G C A F
It was long after midnight
Am G7 D
When we got to unconditional love
Of course, the above chords are *bogus*, it's the format I'm trying
to illustrate. A bass part and drums could be arranged, possibly,
if you wanted to get real fancy, or we could get Meg, Julie, and
Cheryl to record background vocals, or they could do the "female"
parts and we could make it one of those guy-talks-girl-answers type
of songs. However, a simple acoustic guitar and a dude in a cowboy
hat might prove to be the most effective. Then again, maybe the
country scene is ready for a "Rush counterpart" trio; call them
something short and catchy like "Rush" but translated into the
country world. Hmm. How about "Buck".
Since I'm not good at coming up with guitar chords after just
listening to a piece of music, I will ask that somebody else do
that. Can anybody provide guitar chords in the above format for a
"countrified" "Cold Fire"? I think we would be able to take some
artistic license here and try to "simplify" the tune, i.e., try not
to use augmented and diminished chords and try to use major and
minor chords.
I will donate the following to this effort:
1) Yamaha acoustic guitar
2) Stetson cowboy hat
If we have some good country crooners out there, speak up.
Here's your chance to become a star! (And if nobody else is brave
enough, I'll do it, but I'll end up sounding like a Weird Al
take-off instead of the intended tribute.) We will all donate our
time, money, or whatever we can, e.g., recording equipment, studio
time, horse, cattle, etc., to make this a real record and/or video.
We will harness the talents of the subscribers of the NMS for music
and video production, and graphic artists for the "album" cover or
for promos. We will get the proper rights from the record company,
produce the record, get it to radio stations, request it
frequently, etc., so that Rush will have a country hit to celebrate
their 20th anniversary! (Oh, and a few royalty checks!)
The catch: After you become a country star, you must mention
Rush at least once in every interview, and every album you make
after you are launched on your spectacular career must contain at
least one Rush cover tune. (Example: Q: "So, where do you buy your
cowboy hats?" A: "That reminds me of something Neil Peart once
wrote..." Q: "So, what's on your next album?" A: "I'm doing a
cover of this tune called 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog...'")
The problem: "Cold Fire" as a country tune? I don't hear it.
I can't imagine a country song with the word "transcendant" in it.
Well, as someone once said, "we're the one's who have to try."
/\ /\ /\ 1-0-0-1-0-0-1, S.O.S. 1-0-0-1-0-0-1, in distress.
/ \ /\/ \ /\/ \ /-------------------------------------------------------
\/ \/ \/ Del Gordon gordon@stars.reston.paramax.com |><-
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 25 Oct 1993 01:21:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: JIM COLLINGWOOD <ECGEEAB@grove.iup.edu>
Subject: More trivial meanings..
Those are the same hands from presto. (probably already pointed out..)
the pocket watch's time is standing still.
The balance is what Cygnus is the god of.
and the baseball score thing is going into the seventh inning stretch. that
mean nothing to me, but I wanted to point that out anyway.
Lights Camera Action Moving Pictures?
Right under the suicide king (pressure) is something I think is graceful.
O.K. so I am grabbing at straws here...somebody's gotta go it while YOU
figure out what that 1001001011101 crap means.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jim Collingwood DoD# 1019 1986 Yamaha Maxim 700 Indiana University of Penna.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 93 01:25:44 EDT
From: gordon@Stars.Reston.Paramax.Com
Subject: Addendum to "Countrified Cold Fire"
/-/ello again:
Woops! I made a glaring ommission in my previous post about
the 20th anniv. gift. I meant to mention Puanani, since she originated
the gift idea. So, Puanani, have you considered a career in country
music? Ho-hoo!
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 93 00:35:51 CDT
From: jcc@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Jeremy Caplan)
Subject: Pensacola Florida
If January 22, 1994 is the first show on the Counterparts tour, would anyone
located in the Pensacola area be willing to host a fellow RushFan (TM) in
exchange for a ticket to the show (it'd be a good seat, I wouldn't settle
for less!)? If so, please reply. Don't worry, a reply doesn't mean you
are accepting anything :-)
$ "Man by nature wants to know." | Jeremy Caplan jcc@casbah.acns.nwu.edu $
$ ARISTOTLE | Philosophy Northwestern University $
$-Metallica-RUSH-Sting-Bird-JAdderly-Trane-BMarsalis-Miles-ASandoval-Monk-$
$ "We are born unarmed. Our mind is our only weapon." Ayn Rand $
----------------------------------------------------------
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The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and
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Copyright (C) 1993 by The Rush Fans Mailing List
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End of The National Midnight Star Number 797
********************************************