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Subject: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/31/90 (#20)
RUSH Fans Digest, Number 20
Tuesday, 31 July 1990
Today's Topics:
Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
The Pass
Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
Everything Under the Sun
digital man
Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
"$" and The Pass
The Pass, etc.
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Date: Mon, 30 Jul 90 14:26:10 PDT
From: barish@gauss.llnl.gov (Greg Barish)
Subject: Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
rstark@cogsci.edinburgh.ac.uk writes:
>>Here's another Canadian Band: Voivod. A wonderful progressive metal band.
>>Kinda weird, but cool. They remind me of a cross between RUSH, Pink Floyd,
>>and Metallica.
>Sounds interesting. In another forum, I heard this bad also described as
>"Rush meets Pink Floyd". Any other comments on this band?
Yes. Voivod is a band that's actually been around for quite awhile.
Their latest release, "Nothingface", is something like their 6th album.
I'm not sure if they were ever on the SST label, but I know that they
are now on Mechanic Records. As for the comparisons between Voivod
and Pink Floyd, I would have to say that the two bands are quite different
except for the song Astronomy Domine which Voivod covered on "Nothingface."
I read that the band was asked by their new record company to play a
song that could recieve some airplay for the sake of band exposure. The
band agreed and covered the afore mentioned Pink Floyd song. That, to me,
is the only real comparison one can make between the two groups.
As for the album Nothingface, it's is an intense work. If you want a good
sample of what that album is like without listening to the whole thing,
try the song "Missing Sequences". Excellent. The whole album, like their
previous ones, is about a mythical creature (called the Voivod) that makes
observations of the galaxy around it. The "Nothingface" album is (as
explained by the band) set in the scenario of self-introspection. If this
sounds all too complicated, just wait until you buy the album and look at
the lyrics. I've had it for over 4 months now and still can't figure out
what they're saying in many parts. The lyrics contain a surprising
number of references to chemical principles and the field of alchemy
itself.
The music is a cross between Rush and thrash metal. Its tone is
dark and heavy. Great to play on a rainy day whilst your eyes are
glued to the CRT. I have them on a tape that contains Soundgarden
on the other side (in fact, the two bands toured together).
If you like music that creates a definite atmosphere (gloomy as it
may be), put those two bands together.
So, do yourself a favor and buy Nothingface. It's a remarkable find
to add to your collection (esp if you're a CD owner -- the CD is recorded
in DDD).
greg
barish@gauss.llnl.gov
"paranoia will destroy ya."
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Date: Mon, 30 Jul 90 18:09:23 edt
From: rochester!cci632!ccird5!vcp@harvard.harvard.edu (Vitas Povilaitis - co-op)
Subject: The Pass
In response, to Ron Chrisley who believes that "the Pass" is an
anti-Christ song...
First of all, it seems to me that you'd have to be pretty
pessimistic in order to interpret a song in such a way to disagree
with its contents.
It's certainly an interesting interpretation. However, I tend to
agree that the song is directed to the person who committed
suicide. As Gary Long said previously, his roommate committed
suicide and everyone hated him for it. I think this relates to
the line "Someone set a bad example...Made surrender seem all
right." A better example would be the string of suicides of high
school kids that follow the suicide of their friend. This is
something I've read in the newspaper. I think the song talks
about the situation in which a popular person commits suicide and
makes the people close to him (or her) question their own
existance - I mean here's a popular person who didn't feel good
enough to keep on living; how do the people close to that person
feel since they weren't as popular?
I think the other line that was quoted was also mis-interpreted...
I think it was "Christ! What have you done?" rather than "Christ,
what have you done?" In other words, "Christ" is being used as an
exclamation rather that a direction toward a particular person.
I like this song because it puts down suicide. I certainly
wouldn't like it if it was anti-Christ. I wonder how other people
interpret this song?
-Vitas P.-
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Date: Mon, 30 Jul 90 23:31:41 EDT
From: warsaw@cme.nist.gov (Barry A. Warsaw)
Subject: Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
Just some random blatherings...
Jeff> - Chronicles was prepared from the original master tapes
Now, if they re-mixed the early stuff for digital, then it might be
*really* worth it (ADD as opposed to AAD).
Chuck> For people who got into Rush BEFORE _Exit,_Stage_Left_ came
Chuck> out, what is your favorite album to come out SINCE ESL? And
Chuck> why?
Well, Hemispheres being their first album released after I got into
them, I guess I qualify. I think my lasting post-ESL fave is Power
Windows, because of the effect it had on me at the time. At the place
I was in my life, I felt this album really had a message for me, and
I've never really gotten over that feeling. Not to mention that I
think PoW has some of the best musicianship of that period (certain
some of the toughest and most fun Geddy bass parts since then, tho'
the other albums have their moments). I tend to agree with much of
what Randall Stark said about PoW in the previous digest.
David> On another topic, John Fourkas (spike@d31mf0.stanford.edu)
David> mentions that ASCII 1001001 is "I" and ASCII 100100 is "$",
David> as a possible explanation of the chorus of "The Body
David> Electric". I tend to think the former ("I") is indeed the
David> intended reference. Reason: Neil was as we all know quite
David> influenced by Ayn Rand, and in her works Rand held the word
David> "I" to be of enormous significance, the key to
David> self-realization in fact.
True enough, but the dollar sign ("$") also played a very significant
and important part in at least one of Rand's novels: Atlas Shrugged,
though I tend to agree that...
David> As far as the "100100" at the end of the chorus, it's my
David> guess that was merely a musical decision to trim off the
David> last syllable, in order to cut off the chorus cleanly.
Now, does any know if the boyz are computer-geeky enough (in the
nicest sense, of course :-) to know the ASCII character set and their
binary representations?
-Barry
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Date: Mon, 30 Jul 90 23:36:51 hst
From: Hinano Akaka <bigtuna!hinano@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu>
Subject: Everything Under the Sun
Well, about that post-ESL thing...hmmm, I guess my favourite would be
P/G. I think when the album came out, I was so overjoyed by the fact
that it was a new Rush album (this being just after i had
"rediscovered" them) that I never got depressed by the songs, even
after 6 years. To this day, P/G just really lifts my spirits. Can't
really explain why.
NEIL'S LAST NAME: Oh boy, why does this sound familiar? Ha! what
can I say I asked this same question not too long ago! As I have
asked, so shall I answer--it's pronounced like "ear", "fear", etc.
For the longest time, I kept hearing it said like "hurt", but when I
saw his name written, I was shocked. I thought, "That ain't like
'hurt', that's pronounced like 'fear'!" But i figured everyone knew
better (ha!)...Oh, for the source--a dj in San Diego, everyone who
answered in the forum, and just by the way it's spelled...
ALEX SOLOS: Some of my favourite (and this from someone who can't
play two chords) solos are Xanadu, DEW (don't ask!), Between the
wheels, Subdivisions, Red Barchetta, oh heck, I can't think of any
more, there are a whole bunch (allright, Every song!!!), but one that
COMPLETELY blows me away, is his solo on "Witch Hunt" off of ASOH. I
end up playing that part 5 times at least at every listening. Damn,
that thing sounds good...
THE PASS: I think I missed some earlier posting, the computer system
over here (or there since I'm at home doing this via modem) blacks out
once in a while, so I tend to miss a few. At the risk of putting my
foot in my mouth, I just wanted to say a few things about "The Pass"
and Neil's writing in general. I disagree with the idea that Neil is
discussing Jesus anywhere in the song. Obviously I don't know him
personally, but I don't think he's the type to dismiss religion
altogether. For _himself_, maybe (altho I don't think he's exactly an
aetheist, not that it's any of our business anyway), but I don't think
he would condemn either a religion or Jesus himself. Then again,
everyone's entitled to their opinion. However, that's not exactly my
point. My point is, I don't think he's referring to Jesus or his life
anywhere in the song--I don't believe that's the point he's trying to
make. Neil strikes me as the kind of person who would, on the
contrary _agree_ with what Jesus was trying to get across, much less
call his life, teachings, and subsequent death a failure. I stick to
the earlier assessment that the song is about suicide, which brings me
to my other point.
Neil writes in such a way that you can take what's written and
apply to any applicable situation. He writes about the very _root_ of
the emotion, and of the emotion itself, THAT is what the song/s are
about, he tends to use the situations as an outline. Because of that,
you can put almost any interpretation into the song and come out with
your own meaning. I like that, and that's the way HE thinks
personally--he likes songs that are universal, which is why he writes
universal songs. Anyway, I'm not attacking your interpretation that
The Pass has references to religion--it's great, it's one more way of
looking at the song. I'm just throwing in my 2 cents (or at the rate
this thing is going, more like $5.00!). Anyway, I've taken up enough
space. Ho-Hoo!
(Ray, this computer has been acting up, which is why I haven't been
able to get back to you. It's behaving now, so I'll send you
something tomorrow. Until then, a hui hou!)
"Suddenly ahead of me, across the mountainside..." Puanani Akaka
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Date: Tue, 31 Jul 90 05:54:15 PDT
From: antonyc%coil.caltech.edu@Tybalt.Caltech.Edu (Bill T. Cat)
Subject: digital man
ok. now that someone's mentioned it, why doesn't the digital man
need a bed?
antony chan
"Science, like Nature, must also be tamed
with a view towards its preservation..."
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Date: Tue, 31 Jul 90 08:33:19 MST
From: Jeff Jonsson <DATACTL%UTAHLIB.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
Yes, Chronicles is coming out October 3rd, but what label is it on?
I assume it's on Mercury/Polygram, but I am not sure, can anyone confirm
or refute this?
Danke.
========================================================================
Come! See the violence | Jeff Jonsson ___
inherent in the system! | <DATACTL@UTAHLIB.BITNET> | |__
Help! Help! I'm being | | UofU |
repressed! | |______|
=======================================================================
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Date: Tue, 31 Jul 90 08:56:02 MST
From: Jeff Jonsson <DATACTL%UTAHLIB.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: RUSH Fans Digest of 07/30/90 (#19)
Yeah, it's me again. I have Voivod's latest album, "Nothingface", and
it is very good. The reason people say that they are a cross between Pink
Floyd and RUSH is because they are a very hard-edged band, that just happened
to make one of the best covers of a Pink Floyd song I have ever heard. The
cover is "Astronomy Domine" and it compares very favorably to the original.
Voivod played Salt Lake City recently with Soundgarden as an opening act.
No one stayed to hear Voivod because Soundgarden was very hot at the time, and
Voivod was relatively unknown. They missed a good performance.
I'm not sure whether Voivod is Canadian or not, I'll just take your word
for it. They don't sound a heck of a lot like RUSH in anything except volume.
Their main emphasis is a sort of demented psychedelia, nothing at all like the
controlled fury of RUSH. Another reason that RUSH and Voivod are compared is
they both use Sci-fi themes in their lyrics. Voivod's album is covered with
computer graphic paintings which convey a sort of Cyberpunk feel.
Anyway, if anyone knows any more about Voivod tell us all.
========================================================================
Come! See the violence | Jeff Jonsson ___
inherent in the system! | <DATACTL@UTAHLIB.BITNET> | |__
Help! Help! I'm being | | UofU |
repressed! | |______|
=======================================================================
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Date: Tue, 31 Jul 90 10:12:24 EDT
From: bsb2u@prime.acc.virginia.edu
Subject: "$" and The Pass
Hello All,
I haven't posted in a long time because I was away earlier in the summer and
it has taken quite a while to catch up on all the old digests. There is
truly an enormous amount of great information in our backlogs!
Concerning the ASCII values of 1001001 and 100100, I think that both the
"I" and the "$" are intended. It is true that "I" is of enormous importance
in the philosophy and writings on Ayn Rand, but the dollar sign is just as
important. Rand was the consummate capitalist. At the end of one of her
more well known works (Atlas Shrugged, I think) the main character traces
a dollar sign over the earth with his hand. It is possible that these ASCII
equivalences are are coincidences, but the fact that the two numbers correspond
to the two most appropriate symbols for the song makes this seem unlikely to me.
I had never noticed before it was pointed out on the list, but it makes a lot of
sense. My thanks to whoever brought it up.
Concerning the recent discussion of The Pass, I have to disagree with the
assessment of that song as a statement of religious doctrine (anti-Christian or
otherwise). From what I have heard (and read) Neil say about the song in
interviews and from my own understanding of it, It seems to be much more
personal than that. It's about the tremendous cost of suicide both to the one
in despair and to the ones left behind.
"Someone set a bad example, made surrender seem alright..." I suppose the line
conceivably could be a reference to Christ, but I think of it more as a
condemnation of the popular attitude that suicide is somehow romantic or
spectacular.
"Christ, what have you done?" Maybe it's just me, but I think "Christ" is
to be understood as an expletive here, not a noun of address. I think of that
line as the panic that a suicide must feel in the moments between the pill
swallowing or the wrist slitting and the loss of consciousness; the ultimate
realization: "Oh my God, I'm going to die!" In second person because it's
from the singer's point of view. (excuse my fragment)
I didn't mean to ramble on about this for so long, but The Pass is a very
powerful song. I don't mean to discredit a religious interpretation out of
hand, but I think that is reading too much into a fairly straightforward
song. I'd like to hear other personal thoughts on The Pass, though I know
there have already been some from a while back.
I'll close with a question. Does anyone know if there is some strong PERSONAL
motivation behind The Pass, like with Afterimage?
bsb2u@prime.acc.virginia.edu
Brian Bevins
"And now you're trembling on a rocky ledge...." -ORQ
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Subject: The Pass
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 90 11:44:41 EDT
From: David Arnold <davida@umd5.UMD.EDU>
In Digest #19, ?? wrote:
> What is the proper pronunciation of "Peart"? Is it:
>1.) rhymes with "art", "part", "heart" etc.;
>2.) rhymes with "beer", "ear", "near", etc. (with a 't' on the end);
>3.) rhymes with "air", "bare", "fair", etc. (with a 't' on the end);
[ etc., etc. ]
It's pronounced "Peert", as in #2 above. Geddy pronounces it this way
on the Electric Lady tape ("... our new drummer, Neil Peart ..."), and
I believe Neil has also clarified this in at least one interview. Any
other interview collectors out there to back me up?
In the same Digest, Ron Chrisley wrote:
>When hearing the lyrics to this song for the first time, I felt that same
>feeling again: Peart sees Christ's death as not only a personal defeat, but
>also as a defeat for all those who believe in him. "Someone set a bad
>example... made surrender seem all right". I think Peart is speaking of
>Christ's self-sacrifice.
No, "The Pass" is written about teenage suicide, not anything Christian,
or anti-Christian. Apparently the band (and Neil in particular) have been
touched by death deeply, as "Afterimage" also deals with death (not neces-
serily suicide, tho). The line "Christ, what have you done?" is aimed at
the person who commits the suicide; "Christ" being an exclamative statement,
not directed at Jesus.
Also, thespot!root@uunet.UU.NET (Postmaster) wrote:
>I have of couple of questions about the album _Caress_of_Steel_...
>2) Under the titles of some songs there is the name of a city. I noticed
> South Bend was on a couple. I'm from South Bend, and wondered why it
> was there...
Wasn't this on _Fly By Night_, not _Caress of Steel_? (Or do I need to
get a copy of the original liner notes from somebody??) Anyway, I was
under the impression that this was the city (on their never-ending touring
of the early days) where the song was written. Corroborate? Refute?
By the way, if you have actual liner notes from COS, and if you're willing
to X-rox them for me, PLEASE send me mail to:
davida@umd5.umd.edu or
uunet!umd5.umd.edu!davida
Then, from cygnus@wpi.wpi.edu (Marshall Robin):
>Well, as far as I can remember, the previewed songs were Fly By Night and
>Best I Can on Stellar Dynamics,
Also, "In The End".
David Arnold Keywords: Rush, Neville Brothers, Squeeze, Crack the Sky,
Peter Gabriel, ELP, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd,
Inet: davida@umd5.umd.edu Talking Heads, Arc Of Ones (RIP), Stones, BOC,
UUCP: uunet!umd5.umd.edu!davida King Crimson, Police, Grass Roots, Hollies
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