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Subject: 09/10/91 - The National Midnight Star #336
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The National Midnight Star, Number 336
Tuesday, 10 September 1991
Today's Topics:
RTB and a nifty new poll!
Bart Simpson and the Elephant's Butt
How about some help for a fellow Rush fan?
More RTB replies.
what else?
Two questions
random interaction
23 more things to do in zero gravity, or something else entirely...
RTB and Motorcyles!?!?!??
Mystery Rapper
10/25 and Alex Lookalike.
WMT:Funny!
Roll The Bones....*Why Are We Here?*
RUSH Fortune File
Correction - NMS 335
Setting them straight! Dammit
No more holding back on RTB
Are they listening?
Abstract Q's n' FAQL's
RTB
an observation
guess
C'mon, people....
Cool background music
T-shirt question
Re: 09/09/91 - The National Midnight Star #335
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Date: 9 Sep 91 17:11:00 EDT
From: "MAPLE::ARTROCKER" <artrocker%maple.decnet@pine.circa.ufl.edu>
Subject: RTB and a nifty new poll!
Hey all!
Like everyone else, I figure I might as well express my thoughts on RTB.
First of all, I must agree that Rush did a good thing by trying something
new and different by not releasing a rehashed 2112 or MP or whatever.
Secondly, although I am not at all a fan of rap music, I do enjoy Rush's
version in Roll the Bones. I think it does fit well and I especially like
the fact that there is still music behind the "rap."
Overall, however, although I think the album may grow on me, I feel like
RTB is lacking something. That something is the powerful instrumental
sections of Rush's past work. I believe this is a result of Rush's recent
switch to 4-5 minute songs. Although I am pleased with the guitar-
orientation of the album, I really miss the prominence of Ged's bass.
One final point is that I **REALLY** like Where's My Thing? and it does
remind me of old Rush in the respect that all three instruments are
prominent and there are a few times changes. The only differences I find
between Thing? and Rush's previous instrumental masterpieces are the
great presence of keyboards and the short length of the song.
Now for something new and different (and non-RTB)! :-)
I've been wondering what all you Rush fans listen to besides Rush, and I
think it'd be great to know your favorite non-Rush players. Please note
that the word _favorite_ does NOT necessarily mean _best_. You can cast
your votes for up to 5 musicians for each category. I have listed what
I believe to be the 5 most prominent pieces of music:
(1) vocals, (2) guitars, (3) basses, (4) keyboards, and (5) drums.
Please list each member and band as there will surely be many quality
musicians who are relatively unknown. Vote soon and I'll leave you with
my votes.
By the way, make sure you rank your players accordingly as points will
be awarded according to position. (5 pts. for 1st, 4 for 2nd, etc.)
Send all votes to:
artrocker@maple.circa.ufl.edu
vocals: 1.Geoff Tate (Queensryche), 2.Sting, 3.Bono (U2),
4.Fish (Marillion), 5.Morrissey (The Smiths)
guitars: 1.Johnny Marr (The Smiths), 2.Joe Satriani, 3.Steve Howe (Yes)
4.Steve Vai, 5.Vernon Reid (Living Colour)
basses: 1.Chris Squire (Yes), 2.Peter Hook (New Order), 3.Sting,
4.Paul McCartney, 5.Mike Rutherford (Genesis)
keyboards: 1.Rick Wakeman (Yes), 2.Tony Banks (Genesis), 3.Steve Winwood,
4.Geoff Downes (Asia), 5.Bruce Hornsby
drums: 1.Bill Bruford (King Crimson), 2.Larry Mullen Jr. (U2),
3.Will Calhoun (Living Colour), 4.Stewart Copeland (The Police),
5.Phil Collins (Genesis)
{ PLEASE send all your entries on this DIRECTLY to 'artrocker', NOT to the
list! Thanks! :rush-mgr ]
ORQ: "We're only immortal for a limited time."
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Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 15:51:32 -0400
From: "John W Connelly" <connelly@unix.cis.pitt.edu>
Subject: Bart Simpson and the Elephant's Butt
Those of you Rush fans who are also Simpsons fans know what I mean...
My brother came up with the same idea (independently) as Ron K.'s girlfriend
last week, that the elephant is there because ivory from elephant tusks was
used to make dice. He wanted me to give him credit where credit was due.
Also,forgive me if this has been said already:
To the guy who kept asking why the rap was in "Roll The Bones":
WHY IS IT THERE? BECAUSE IT'S THERE. ROLL THE BONES.
(sorry, but we all know it had to be said! :)
/===========================================================================\
| John W. Connelly | "If you choose not to | connelly@unix.cis.pitt.edu |
| 511 LRDC Bldg. | decide, you still |+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=|
| U.of Pittsburgh | have made a choice" | CONNELLY@Pittvms.BITNET |
\===========================================================================/
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From: daveh@fisher.psycha.upenn.edu (David Hamilton)
Subject: How about some help for a fellow Rush fan?
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 19:34:46 EDT
First off, I'd like to say thanks to everyone for keeping this digest
interesting to say the least. Now, however, I must stray from the
content of this digest to ask a necessary question that will bear
significant impact on my existence as an "internetter"
The University of Pennsylvania will soon be taking away my access to the
internet (I'll still have my account here, but I just wont be able to
dial in to the net). What I need to know is if anyone out there knows
of any dialups (anywhere in the US!) that have anonymous access to
telnet capabilities so I can still use my UPenn account here. Much
thanks in advance to those who can help. I remember something on the
"TERMINUS.MIT.EDU" that would allow me to do this, but I have since lost
all of my information regarding that. Thanks... and sorry for wasting
valuable space.
[ Check with Jimmy Lang <jlang@syrinx.umd.edu>, he's the keeper of the
'pay-for-time' computer connections. Jimmy, could you drop this guy
a line? :rush-mgr ]
--
_______________________________________________________________________________
David L. Hamilton | "How can anybody be enlightened?
daveh@fisher.psycha.upenn.edu | When truth is, after all, so poorly lit."
Compuserve: 70244.322 | -Neil Peart
_______________________________________________________________________________
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Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 19:48 EDT
From: The God Of Balance <V409EPK3@ubvmsc.cc.buffalo.edu>
Subject: More RTB replies.
Hello all! More things to reply to, and then some short statements:
>From: "Douglas G Schwabe" <cschwabe@unix.cis.pitt.edu>
>Does anyone know at this point? What day does 10/25 fall on? I hope it's
>during the weekend because I might be able to make it to Hamilton if it is so.
>I would love to see the boyz play at the SkyDome. For those who never been
>there it is the most beautiful stadium/entertainment complex on the planet.
>Wouldn't it be nice if they did?
It's the week after my birthday, and it's a Friday. 2 reasons for me to go.
(Actually, living in Buffalo is a pretty good 3rd reason.) 8)
>Alex does not look fat in the RTB pic. It looks to me that he aged over the
>last two years. In the Presto pic he looks like he's about 25 or so. In his
>latest he looks like some his age. Maybe in the Presto pic he wore alot of
>makeup and this time around he didn't. Go figure, eh?
He did look younger in the Presto pic, but I think he still looks the
youngest of the three.
>From: stum@basser.cs.su.oz.au!
>Still....better than Presto I think. And whats wrong with Rupert HInes
>production?? I hear people don't like it. I think the sudden fade outs
>are AWFUL though - but his voice is cool on the rap. (I assume its
>him - he IS credited with backing vocal if you look....).
Hmm...on the RTB CD Launch, Ged and Alex said it wasn't Rupert.
>From: Phil Scarr <prs@turing.acs.Virginia.EDU>
> The most obvious criticism is that this album sounds exactly like
>Presto, their previous album. Rush fans like myself have always come
>to expect a kind of metamorphosis of the band from album to album, but
>RTB is merely an extension of an already existing sound and form, one
>which, in my opinion, is not very good.
Personally, I don't think RTB sounds a whole lot like _Presto_. I like
all of their albums for different reasons, and even though some of the
stuff on the new disc isn't that innovative, there certainly *isn't* a
lack of energy on the album.
> Alex seems to have one
>setting on his guitar and pedals: bright and metalic. There is no
>more brooding guitar sounds, it all sounds so bright and annoying.
Not necessarily true. Although his higher rhythm work is very bright
sounding, I think his riffs have a nice low end. (e.g. "Ghost of a Chance")
>Geddy's bass is in good form, whipping up and down the fretboard, he
>could give Stanley Clark a run for the money. Neil continues to be a
>dissapointment. As a friend of mine said after the _Presto_ show "I
>saw his face, he looked like he was going to work on a Monday
>morning".
I think one reason for this is that Neil takes his drumming *very*
seriously. And everyone has their bad days. At the Toronto _Presto_
show, I noticed all 3 of them were happy and vibrant, as opposed to
the gloomier moods they displayed in Rochester.
> His drumming has not evolved in the way I had hoped it
>would. He went through a brief "Copelandesque" phase with _Signals_
>but that quickly deteriorated to a rather dull, rock-steady sound. He
>doesn't seem to have the chops he once had on songs like "2112" and
>"Natural Science".
He has, in part, adopted a "less is more" attitude, but it's not like he's
lost his chops. The "bed" tracks Rush does nowadays are more cohesive than
their pre-MP counterparts, and this means you don't hear Neil stand out as
much. I still appreciate his drumming, and he still throws in little fills
here and there to keep you guessing. 8)
>I remember the first
>production change when Peter Collins replaced the beloved Terry Brown
>after the release of the generally panned _Signals_ (an album which,
>despite it's "synthetic" sound has held up quite well, I think).
You're wrong. Peter Henderson was the first post-Broon producer.
Actually, they produced _Grace Under Pressure_, for the most part, by
themselves...by the time they found Henderson, all they really
needed was to divine the sound for the songs, and engineer the recording,
which were Hentor's strong points.
>Broon's departure, it was thought, would mean the end of the band.
>They had been together for over 10 years at that point. It was like
>losing a band member.
I have noticed the change in their sound, but I think the catalyst was
_Signals_, not _Grace..._.
> The original choice of replacement producer was Steve Lillywhite
>(of U2 fame) for the work on the next album _Grace Under Pressure_
>(P/G) but for whatever reason (some say he laughed at the idea of
>producing a band like Rush) he declined and Peter Collins stepped in.
>His production values, while fundamentally different from those of
>Brown, were, I think, more in line with the way I saw Rush progressing
>and, I hoped, the band themselves saw as well. Just listen to the
>songs "Afterimage"(from _P/G_), "Mystic Rhythms"(from _Power Windows_,
>my all-time favorie Rush song), "Tai Shan" and "Prime Mover" (both
>from _Hold Your Fire_) to get an idea about what I'm talking about.
>The lyrics were more introspective than in the earlier Brown years
>and the music seems to fit. Gone are the progressive Wagnerian pieces
>like "2112" and "Cygnus X-1 / Hemispheres", replaced by tighter, more
>compact songs.
I wish you would have done your homework before you posted this tirade.
Give credit where credit is due. I think "Afterimage" is a great song, and
I like GUP as a whole better than PoW. I don't know if this is because of
Henderson, but I would like to think he had something to do with it. 8)
Peter Collins' work on HYF was better than PoW. They had started to
produce shorter songs *way* before GUP. Try _Permanent Waves_.
>Unfortunately, this [shorter song length] also set the tone for the
>albums _Presto_ and _RTB_, where the tighter song format was transformed
>into a pop sound.
HA HA HA HAHA H AHA HA HA! And I suppose Metallica's shortening songs
suggest the same trend? Bzzt. Nope. A more concise song format leads
to more musical ideas on one album, besides the fact that is makes the
music a little more palatable (sic) to those whose attention spans
wouldn't allow listening to a 10-20 minute song.
> Collins in turn was replaced by Rupert Hine. Unfortunately, I
>get the feeling that there is nothing behind these releases _Presto_
>and _RTB_ except the quest for the royalty check.
If you want to say it, don't beat around the bush -- you think they have
sold out.
> The sound he has
>mixed (presumably with Geddy, Neil and Alex somewhere nearby) is bland
>and lifeless, full of noise and very little passion. It fits the mold
>of the new Rush song-length, but he does nothing to create the kind of
>"short story" of music that Brown or Peter Collins managed.
"Show Don't Tell" -- now there's a lifeless song. Bland? No passion?
Man, you must have gotten a bum copy of _Presto_, because I can't see
any foundation for your point of view -- for *any* of its songs!
> Rush has
>never been an overley emotional band, they have always tended towards
>the cerebral, but this new album (like _Presto_ before it) is almost
>sterile in its presentation. It seems icy. The most chilling example
>of this is in the instrumental "Where's My Thing" which could just as
>easily have been played by a computer. Gone is the freeform sound of
>"La Villa Strangiato" and the funky jazz of "YYZ", It's been
>replaced by a cold, calculated and unpleasent sterility.
I think it depends on what emotions you are talking about. The songs
have never been very "lovey dovey", but they are charged with a love
for life, a curiousness about the world, and the questioning of
authority. Certainly different emotions than those that drive the
current top-40 groups.
"Where's My Thing?", albeit very synthy, actually does shine. I didn't
expect another "YYZ", even though they rehashed some of it on the new
instrumental. Geddy really lets loose, and Alex and Neil keep great
rhythm and have their own little avenues to solo, while not missing a
beat. (Actually, they added a beat in one part -- the song is 4/4 with
one measure of 5/4.)
> I recall seeing them on the _Permanent Waves_ tour and feeling
>transported away when the first chords of "Natural Science" (you know,
>the acoustic part) filled the arena. Or when they broke into "YYZ" or
>even "Working Man". It was an energy that was there but now is gone.
>For me, _RTB_ is the death-knell of a really good band, three
>musicians who, despite all the early criticism of their work, stuck it
>out. My thanks are to them for a solid dozen studio albums and three
>great live sets. But for me, _Presto_ and _RTB_ will never be part of
>that heritage.
I'm sorry they couldn't keep you on the bandwagon. I think I'll always be
a fan of Rush, through all their changes.
>From: tvos@ais.org (David A Warner)
>this is what i'm looking for:
>
>a complete transcription to La Ville Strangiato <sorry if I slaughtered
>the spelling>, for guitar, and bass.......
>if possible, text format would be okey, but the real music in notation
>or tab would serve the purpose!!
I tabbed out a lot of the bass lines for La Villa from the sheet music in
the "Deluxe Anthology". E-mail me for more info.
>From: mrinne@zelda.cs.hut.fi!
>I would never want Rush to stop progressing with each album. No, the whole
>idea is to keep changing. Basically, when I listen to new music (new to me),
>I always want to find new ideas. Something I haven't heard before. The
>problem with RTB is, that I feel like I've heard it all before. One song
>sounds like post-fish Marillion, one like U2, one like REM. And that's NOT
>what I expect from my all-time favorite progressive rock group. I want Rush
>to create trends, not follow/copy them. I want to hear themes stolen from
>a Rush record on a REM album released next year, not vice versa.
Actually, in "Heresy", there's a chord change reminiscent of REM's "Get Up"
Picture the music for this passage:
Do we have to be forgiving at last?
(Get up, get up) <-- add this line 8)
What else can we do?
Funny, eh?
>From: mem10@po.CWRU.Edu (Milton E. Moskowitz)
>Here's a little tidbit that I just noticed -- in RTB, under the pictures
>(you know - where they credit the group with what they do) -- has anyone
>noticed that Alex is now credited with "Electric and Acoustic Guitars,
>Backing Vocals"? I checked back with Presto, Hold Your Fire, and Power
>Windows (didn't feel like going back any further), and he's just guitars in
>those albums. Perhaps Alex is the mystery rapper in the title track. What
>else is he singing? Just a little tidbit that I just *had* to pass on.
>Enjoy!
That is a great point. I didn't even notice the extra credit until you
said something. Thanks!
--
Ugh.. I don't even feel like posting a song-by-song review of RTB now...
My Review: The album rocks! **** (four stars)
Alex Harden \ harden@acsu.buffalo.edu \ v409epk3@ubvms.bitnet
State University of New York at Buffalo - Computer Science
"I was lined up for glory, but the tickets sold out in advance" - Rush
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: what else?
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 91 16:49:17 -0700
From: Michael J. Konopik <zzz@erg.sri.com>
I keep fighting the urge to do a full-blown review, like everybody else. But
here's a couple more musings from this last weekend of listening:
- People have already noticed the "supercalifragilistic...." bent to the
backing lyrics in "You Bet Your Life". But does anybody else out there
find themselves following "Jack, relax / Get busy with the facts" with
"No serenade / No fire brigade / Just pyromaniacs" ? No? Maybe I'm the
only one who likes Lef Zeppard... :) But all kidding aside - that whole
spoken section has really grown on me.
- With a different chorus, "Neurotica" could easily be one of my all-time
favorites. It's intense, emotional, and full of rockin'. But then the
processed gee-whiz cheez-whiz chorus comes in and wrecks the whole mood.
I mean, really - "Neurotica - exotica - ewww oooo ewww oooo oooo oooo".
A whole chorus full of random words that rhyme. Why'd they repeat with
"exotica - neurotica" at the end? Something like "idiotica - moronica"
would have added just as much meaning. What a waste!
Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away. Time to put the CD on again...
-Mike
ORQ: You just don't get it.
----------------------------------------------------------
From: "Daniel L. McDonald" <danmcd@cs.arizona.edu>
Subject: Two questions
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 16:51:28 MST
Hello fellow Rush fans! I have two questions.
1. Does anybody know what Neil is playing on the bells during the
"Invisible airwaves" part of Spirit of Radio? It sounds like
almost random eigth notes in the key of D, but I'm not sure. I have
neither the time nor the transcription to answer my question.
Please send the answer to the address below (unless our rush-mgr
doesn't mind the digest getting even BIGGER! :) ).
2. I know this has been asked already, but it bears repeating. I WANT
TOUR DATES, AND I WANT THEM NOW! Especially for Tucson/Phoenix,
Milwaukee, and Detroit.
And one small opinion. I think it's high time Rush switches producers. I like
RTB and all, but I think they should switch again. (Two albums per producer
seems to work well, doesn't it?)
Thank you for your support.
+------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Dan McDonald | Internet: danmcd@cs.arizona.edu AT&Tnet: (602) 882-6148 |
| Univ. of Arizona +----------------------------+ UUCP:..!uunet!arizona!danmcd|
| Computer Science | "I was lined up for glory, +-----------------------------+
| 1st year Grad. | but the tickets sold out in advance" - Rush (N. Peart) |
+------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
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Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 20:13:07 EDT
From: jaeger@buphy.bu.edu (Gregg Jaeger)
Subject: random interaction
Hi,
A + reaction:
>Also, the boy is standing in front of the word Bones, so there exists a
>skip in the word and it seems to read "ROLL THE BO NES" Can anybody out
>there pick up and symbolism for this!? (someone can probably come up
>with some cocamamy (sp?) reason for this...
I personally love this slightly `anti-realist' move. After all the cover
is just a piece of _art_work! No, really the wall says `Roll the
Boones'!
Now some - ones:
> As a friend of mine said after the _Presto_ show "I
>saw his face, he looked like he was going to work on a Monday
>morning".
Boy I thought Neil was a robot/coke addict who's up for every show he's
ever done! Perhaps you've never seen a serious person before?
>[Neil's] drumming has not evolved in the way I had hoped it
>would. He went through a brief "Copelandesque" phase with _Signals_
>but that quickly deteriorated to a rather dull, rock-steady sound. He
>doesn't seem to have the chops he once had on songs like "2112" and
>"Natural Science".
I hope this is a joke!! Apparently the writer never listened to p/g or
Power Windows (or HYF). Perhaps the writer is not a drummer. I like
Stewart's drumming but I'm glad that he and Neil aren't the same
drummer. As for the ``rock steady'' bit, Neil's moved more toward
working within a form (called ``rock and roll'') which takes much to
be done well. For today's Neil, playing 2112 is an effing joke and
``Natural Science'' an amusement.
(OWoodyAllenQ) ONQ: They ``know nothing of my work.''
> Collins in turn was replaced by Rupert Hine. Unfortunately, I
>get the feeling that there is nothing behind these releases _Presto_
>and _RTB_ except the quest for the royalty check.
I don't love Rupert either. On the other hand no non-cynic could believe
that there is no passion in the last two albums. What the hell about
``Dreamline'' and ``Show Don't Tell,'' not to mention ``Neurotica''?
But, I forgot, Rush sold out with _Moving Pictures_ ;> ;> ;> ;> ;> ;>
and passion is measured in decibels.
>Rush has
>never been an overley emotional band, they have always tended towards
>the cerebral, but this new album (like _Presto_ before it) is almost
>sterile in its presentation. It seems icy. The most chilling example
>of this is in the instrumental "Where's My Thing" which could just as
>easily have been played by a computer. Gone is the freeform sound of
>"La Villa Strangiato" and the funky jazz of "YYZ", It's been
>replaced by a cold, calculated and unpleasent sterility.
Thank you for using every cliche known to 70's bonehead Rock journalism.
>Department of Anthropology
> "Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended
> in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture
> to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore
> not an experimental science in search of law but an
> interpretive one in search of meaning." -C. Geertz
Now I understand. Everything with is not infinitely vague or amorphous
isn't deep. It's hard to ``roll the bones'' when you're stuck in a
sticky web of one's own making.
Try this instead:
``We create the spiritual tools for the technical evolution'' A. Einstein
And a more pleasant note:
>The mystery rapper? My guess is that its none other than keyboard tech Tony
>Geranios. Don't ask me why; just a guess.
>BTW, who is Jack Funk? "Jack-relax." A connection there?
>
>Bob Foery
I had the idea about Tony myself but didn't notice the ``Jack Funk.'' I think
you're on to something as Tony (I believe) is also known as ``Jack
Secret.'' What better name for a funky Jack Secret than ``Jack Funk''!!
Also, he looks cool enough to be the mystery voice...
Finally (all types of puns intended, of Corse) from TV-land:
>From: Tero Valkonen <one@clinet.FI>
>Gregg Jaeger: I bought a white marble bowl for you and I will send it to you
>if you give me your address. I hope it fits the colors of your altar.
I'll be sure to return it to you, full.
Gregg
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 23 more things to do in zero gravity, or something else entirely...
From: dave.bbs@shark.cs.fau.edu
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 91 20:41:20 EDT
oh guys, we're getting *far* too serious here.
1) the motorcycle interpretation is so funny i laughed out loud,
causing my boss to look at me strange (like she needs an excuse...)
2) i think everyone should respect everyone else's opinions in music,
and therefore stop telling others that their opinion is wrong
(by definition, there opinion is always their opinion)
3) enjoy the new album, it gives you a chance to rotate your listening
list of rush.
4) i *like* ghost of a chance very much.
5) if one more person comments on hearing _rush_ on nbc i think i
shall nod off. since 90% (i'm guessing here) of the readers are male,
i guess that most of us (i include myself) watch football. after all,
we are all products of a society which propagates this, so i just
figured that we all saw it [please note *no* seriousness here].
6) i think that the "rap" voice is Alex. he always has new ways to
corrupt his voice with electronics.
7) i think neil, at times, shows on this album why he is the best (or one
of...)
8) Alex's guitar work is perhaps his best in 10 years.
9) what is the signifigance [sp?] of Boris and Natasha? (in _show of
hands_ video)
10) i salute Atlanta for several things:
a) "Rush hour" last week - an hour of old & new stuff
b) playing a Rush track/hr. to preview the new album.
c) having music stores which'll call you to say "i've got your copy
here - reserved just for you!"
d) {completely unrelated} they played "Ina Gadda Da Vita" [sp?] at
the risk of pissing off the station PD (Mr. Richard B. Head) and
got over 550 phone calls supporting long songs on the air, paving
the way for my requests of "Close to the Edge" and "2112"
11) on a down note, prince is still alive. ;-)
12) jimmy connors lost :-(
13) i cannot fix my [deleted expletive] ZMODEM to work!!
(i'm trying to download gif's too - with no success)
14) back on a good note, i plan to start up my windows with RUSH - every
cretin with a computer owes it to themself to look at something better
than their MS or NEC creations.
15) oh well, time for dinner...
dangerous dave (it's not a bald spot, it's a solar panel for a sex machine)
][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][
If Rock 'n' Roll is responsible for teenage sex, does that mean that
Country-Western is responsible for incest? - (heard on radio)
"Rectum? Damn near killed 'em!!" - (heard in a restaurant)
dave.bbs@shark.cs.fau.edu (current CYBERNET address)
weissd@tuna.cs.fau.edu (UNIX account, Gary Moore mailing list)
weissd@shark.cs.fau.edu (something to call my own)
[ Dave, are these getting through to you?? Drop me a line at the admin.
address if they are. I get bounces every day from your address! :rush-mgr ]
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 20:18:48 CDT
From: caumar@bethel.edu (Caufman)
Subject: RTB and Motorcyles!?!?!??
Eric Theis, you are truly a satirical genius. Comparing RTB to
motorcycles left me rolling on the floor in the 'puter lab.. Thank you
for something truly unique amidst all the RTB Love/Hate squabbling...
People like you make mailers worth reading.
My RTB comments are quite simple and summed up in 3 easy points:
1) Overuse of this album WILL destroy your stereo's subwoofers. Geddy is
turned up to '11' in the mix, and though it sounds truly awesome, ya gotta
have some restraint or you'll start paying through the BOSE (speakers that is.)
2) Somebody better give Neil some more inspiring books to read. The lyrics to
this album don't SUCK, but this album is way-hard to swallow when it rides on
the coat-tails of its predecessors. Dreamline is the only TRUE RUSH song on
the album, with the exception of You Bet Your Life. The rap is only cutesy.
HYF-->Presto-->RTB is pretty non-sequitor listening.
3) Alex has got to listen to his contemporaries or at least get some more
chops. Slowhand Clapton you ain't, homeboy. His solos are melodious, but too
simple and not interesting enough to my taste. Arthritis setting in? Ack! I
hope not! But you listen to Working Man, and then RTB and you say "Gosh, he's
lost a little bit, hasn't he!" I can find GLAM bands with more musicality than
this album (ie FIREHOUSE or TRIXTER). Style or no, he's just gotta put more
into his work.
And one last comment on Where's My Thing:
It sounds way way similar to the concert-encore jams that they did on the
Presto tour, don't you think?? That bass line is AMAZING, and has so much
feel to it, that I can't help but suspect that it's been practiced before
and honed until it just FLOWS from Geddy's fingers... WOW. Alex's part is
like YYZ on acid, until he goes 'Slowhand' in the middle sections.. Neil
is just kinda there, but he gets in a few nice fills..
I want another new album from the boyz SOON, 'cause if something
AWFUL happened to the band and this turned out to be their last album, I
would be seriously grief-stricken. This is NOT a good representation of
what they can do nor what they do in concert..
Mark Caufman
caumar@homer.bethel.edu
ORQ: "Finding my way back home..."
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 21:53 EDT
From: "Doug Morack (412)457-1292" <DCM115@PSUVM>
Subject: Mystery Rapper
I've seen numerous posts saying that the "Mystery Rapper" was Alex. But,
didn't Geddy say that it was neither Alex or him that did the "rap" part on the
world premiere show on the radio???? I guess he could just say that to cover
it up, but IMHO, I think it is Rupert Hine. Just my $.02. Keep Rolling the
Bones! :-)
-Doug
*******************************************************************************
* ____ ___ * Lonely things like nights, I find *
* | \ | | / \ | | * End finer with a friend. *
* |___/ | | \___ |____| * "Anagram (For Mongo)" - Rush _Presto_ *
* | \ | | \ | | * Gonna kick some gluteus max. *
* | \ \__/ \___/ | | * "Roll the Bones" - Rush _Roll the Bones_ *
*******************************************************************************
* BITNET - DCM115@PSUVM * Let's go Pens!!!! *
* INTERNET - DCM115@PSUVM.PSU.EDU * 1990-91 Stanley Cup Champions!!!! *
*******************************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 21:13:10 CDT
From: Robert Clark <rex@buhub.bradley.edu>
Subject: 10/25 and Alex Lookalike.
Doug, 10/25 falls on a Friday night.. I happen to be turning 21
that night. I'm looking forward to it... :-)
Well, Alex may or may not be cute but my girlfriend is convinced
that Neil looks exactly like my best friend.
Oh, my best friend is blond.
-Rob Clark
rex@buhub.bradley.edu
71150,222 CI$
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 16:22:51 HST
From: hinano@ahi.pbrc.Hawaii.Edu (Hinano Akaka)
Subject: WMT:Funny!
Several things --
1) Am I the only one who thinks that "Where's My Thing?" is FUNNY?
That song just cracks me up!! My favourite part is the double-bass
part Neil plays. I've listened to that song 100 times and it STILL
puts me on the floor... I mean, you figure that the TITLE is off the
wall; the song MIGHT BE, as well. Or have I just lost my thing?
2) Thanx to the fellow who mentioned his girlfriend thinks Alex is
good-looking. At least I'm not the only one out of my mind! (no
offense intended to your girlfriend...)
3) I KNEW that kid was Alex's youngest!!!! I was waiting for someone
else to mention it...
4) About the "direction" that RUSH are heading to. I don't think
they're "heading" into any "direction". They're just trying something
different -- they'll head off somewhere else, in time. They're just
trying to experiment what they can do with this one particular style
-- once they feel THEY'VE mastered it, not giving a damn, I'm sure to
what WE think, they'll move on to something else. I know that many of
you consider RTB to be a failure. But think about it, even failures
are important!! To contradict what I said before, on the Rush,
Profiled! CD Alex said that if a fan told him, "Well, I like this
song, but THIS song really sucks because xxxxx reason", he'd consider
that important criticism. If something ain't working, TELL 'EM.
What the hell?! But don't send them tons of mail, though... and
please don't tell them I sent you... (Me? Oh no, Mr. Lee, it wasn't
me. It...uh...it was my TWIN SISTER!... yeah, that's it!) :-)
5) I love the "Neil Peart -- Drums and Cymbals" bit. So what do you
all think? A joke? I mean, cymbals are a kind-of given, I guess. I
mean you usually associate 'cymbals' with 'drums'... right? Or is
that just me? Ha ha! It's rather amusing, actually. Speaking of
which, does anyone else miss the nicknames and nonsense in the liner
notes? Whatever happened to "Shrav"? "Slider"? "Ho-hooo"? "First
Base"? Get with it, Neil!!
puanani
----------------------------------------------------------
From: tvos@ais.org (David A Warner)
Subject: Roll The Bones....*Why Are We Here?*
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 23:54:08 EDT
In my opinnion <if there is one up there>, presto took a while to
accept, but I can really appriciate presto and the direction that
they are moving towards with rlb....
Must have listened to rlb 50times or more, still it's taking a while
for some tunes to motivate me, but comparing rlb to the other albums
on the market......this is none....
Alot of you grown up with old rush which you favor more then present
status that rush is writing today!! I came in when moving pictures
hit the scene, and that really hit home, not too mention the other
albums before pictures.. But what we all should appricite is that
they still are playing, coming up with new ideas, and writing
execellent music....
As a guitar player, I give the band *A+* for the changes they have made
within their yrs together.......Technology has changed , and rush has
decided to change with it...... I'm sure, neil,geddy and alex don't
want to keep writing the hard rock as they did in the earlyier yrs
up to pictures, so they've turned to the sentlemental side of
music to take on a different meaning in their playing.. I guess
when you actually play an instrument, the more respect you have for
the artist, because it's a battle uphill to write/compose and perform.
to satisfy everyone's ear......
Take it for what it's worth......
------------The Voice Of Silence-------------
*A Summit Too Lofty, A River Little Too Wide****
--
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 00:01 EDT
From: be-bop or a one-drop or a hip-hop lite-pop-metallist
Subject: RUSH Fortune File
Hi!
Well, in the spirit of the (radio) new album, here's a repeated
offer to the digest (since the first time I posted this was before the jump
in circulation and during the summer slow .edu months ...)
If you're interested in getting the RUSH fortune script (and
accompanying quotes file), just send email to either:
sasaki@cs.jhu.edu -or-
usagi@jhuvms.hcf.jhu.edu
For those not familiar, the script searches through the quotes
file in a semi-random manner, selects one, and then prints it to the
screen. I've recently updated the quotes file to include stuff from
_Roll_The_Bones_; but the nice part about this is that you can easily
add your own quotes to the end of the quotes file, and personalize it
somewhat. So, if you're a Quantum Leap fan, for example, you can
add *their* quotes file to the end of your RUSH quotes. :)
Right now, I have this shell script running on a UNIX system V, a
Sun-OS, and an ULTRIX machine, so it should be easily ported to your UNIX
machine. (At least, last time I didn't hear about any problems.)
Send mail if you're interested (to me, *not* the digest).
Users of JHUNIX have the option of getting their own copy, or running
the program from my directory:
/i/ins5/.sasak_ee/rush
-- Erin Sasaki
OBRQ:"SNAP!"
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 91 23:51:09 EDT
From: Ian Nathan <EU894C@gwuvm.gwu.edu>
Subject: Correction - NMS 335
I would like to take this opportunity to correct Nidhip Mehta's ORQ
from the National Midnight Star issue 335.
The correct transliteration for the intro to YYZ is:
"Ting tuh ting ting ting tuh ting ting ting
ting tuh tuh ting tuh ting ting ting
ting tuh ting ting ting ting tuh
tuh ting tuh ting ting ting tuh ting
ting ting ting tuh tuh ting tuh ting
ting ting tuh ting ting ting ting tuh tuh ting...
ting ting ting...ting ting ting ting...da-da-da
da-da-da da-da-da daaaa da-da-da-da
da-da-da-da-da da-daaa...
The reason I take time to correct this is because the Nidster took
valuable N. U. S. time this past summer and quoted it to me EXACTLY as
you see it above...Nidster? What would P. Unger think if he saw this?
How 'bout BLUE?
Ian Nathan
The George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
** In the midst of very serious conversation of RTB, I try to add a little
humour that only Rush fans can appreciate...
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Setting them straight! Dammit
From: easy@darkside.com (Phil D. Croix)
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 91 20:11:50 PDT
O.K., Not to sound like a wise ass, but.....
Alex said "It goes to fourth!" on the radio interview or "launch" of roll
the bones. There IS guitar in the Rap section of the song RTB, They CAN
play it live Because during the coruses with the acoustical strums, there
is no other guitar overdubs! Have you ever heard of the omega Concern?
That'a the Co. That makes Alex's Guitar stands so he can do those killer
quick guitar changes. And, To you, Finland, you say the album is bad?
Well, I guess that means that I LOVE a bad album! And I Guess that
whatever you say, Goes. Right? O.K. everybody, shows over! That Guy from
Finland says the album sucks! C'mon, stop listening to it, now! Take it
back to the store and demand your money back! Geeeeeeeeeeeeez.
I happen to really like the album. That is all I have to say.
Matt. Feel free to flame, I like a good argument!
[ But remember, keep FLAMES to e-mail! :rush-mgr ]
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: No more holding back on RTB
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 21:43:56 CDT
From: David Sandberg <sialis!dts@cs.umn.edu>
Be forewarned - I'll try to keep this short, but I'm probably
going to fail. B-)
I've been listening to Roll The Bones for quite some time now,
and I feel confident that my opinion of the album is pretty much
set in stone. Also, the following opinions are OPINIONS, no
more. Enough said, I hope.
(Alert: Entering acronym mode. Check earflaps before proceeding.)
I'm very happy with RTB. I place it on a par with HYF, which in
turn was my favorite Rush album save AFTK. I certainly consider
it a step up from P (uh, maybe I should call this one Presto B-).
I view the lyrics as very cohesive. The whole of the album seems
to make a single statement: that good and bad things just happen
in people's lives, and the best you can do is take your shot and
accept the results. Even "Heresy" fits into this concept (about
accepting the costs that the Cold War extracted from all of us,
and just going on).
Now, Rush is not my religion. I don't think the new album is
perfect. For some reason "Dreamline" leaves me completely cold.
But pretty much every other song on the album grabbed me right
away, whereas usually half or so of the songs on new Rush albums
take at least a month or two to grow on me. By contrast, only
_two_ songs off Presto grabbed me this way right off the bat.
The strongest point of the album is in songwriting. We know
Rush has been trying to concentrate more and more on that to the
exclusion of individual technical heroics, and I think they've
reached a watershed in that effort. Don't get me wrong - when I
was younger I got off on all the hot licks and odd time
signatures as much as the next kid. But I'm older now, and I
don't yearn to hear that anymore. And Rush is one band that has
certainly proven they can pull off all the difficult stuff... but
I don't think they need to go on proving it time and time again.
Great chops are not the prime ingredient of great music.
Some other guitarist (I think it might have been Robert Fripp)
once made a comment which can be applied here. Paraphrased, he
said "You don't have to flaunt technical ability in order to
benefit from it. If you have the capability to play a million
notes, and then you play only three notes, that lends an amazing
profundity to the three notes you did choose." IMO this is true
of Rush's latest - they can play a simple song and make it a
*statement*, because they're making a *choice* to play something
simple rather than being limited by a lack of ability.
There have been suggestions that Peart sold out on this album by
writing "cliche lyrics" about love, as opposed to his usual fare.
I have a response to that - they aren't cliches coming from *him*.
Neil hasn't really written much about love before, and when he
finally did on this album I think it was especially powerful
because all of us know he doesn't toss off these kind of things
all of the time.
Alex does do some nice guitar work all over this album, but
especially on "Ghost of a Chance". I also like the "plastic
guitar sound" he gets during the last verse of "You Bet Your
Life" - it fits right in with the lyrics.
A quick tour of my RTB favorites: "Bravado" (majestic music and
dark lyrics), "The Big Wheel" (should be a killer guitar rhythm
live), "Ghost of a Chance" (*THE* love song from Rush), and "You
Bet Your Life" (inventive chorus, lyrics which tie up the album
concept as cleanly as a ribbon around a birthday present).
(Here endeth the review. And now for something completely
different...)
In the "has anyone else noticed?" department, you might check out
the drum part (particularly the snare) during the last choruses
of "Neurotica" and notice it's similarity to the last verse of
"The Big Money". (Of course the tempo is quite different, but
I'm talking about the rhythm.)
Lastly, it's my guess that the "mystery rapper" is none other
than Fee Waybill, former lead vocalist of the Tubes. (You know
what they say - always bet on the long shot! Besides, it _does_
sound a wee bit like him.)
--
"and if the music stops, there's only the sound of the rain
all the hope and glory, all the sacrifice in vain rush,
and if love remains, though everything is lost _bravado_
we will pay the price, but we will not count the cost"
______________ david sandberg ___ dts@quad.sialis.com ______________
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Are they listening?
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 12:36:44 N
From: Gordon MacKinney <gordon@hpbblb.bbn.hp.com>
Surely the question has come up plenty in TNMS, but I'd like an
update. Are any of Rush tuned in to TNMS? Directly or
indirectly? It would be nice to think that the band is hearing
feedback on the new album, pro and con, in the interest of
improving future work.
Mr. Rush-Mgr, can you shed some light on my question?
[ As far as I know, no member of Rush is a subscriber to the NMS. Other
than the once Neil saw it, I haven't heard of them contacting it at all.
But hey, our power base is building all the time! :rush-mgr ]
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1991 09:19 EDT
From: Matthew Barton 407-367-3055 <BARTON@ACC.FAU.EDU>
Subject: Abstract Q's n' FAQL's
Perhaps someone should gather these increasingly & exponentially
obscure questions into the (inevitable)
Forever Abstract Rush Trivia Stuff
list ? (for those confused few, see Van Halen's new release :)
... still out to deliberations on RTB (but definitely like GoaC)
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Francesco Marcolla <ele9102@cdc835.cdc.polimi.it>
Subject: RTB
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 17:11:13 METDST
Incredible to say, _Roll the Bones_ was on sale in Italy the 1st week of
September. It's an album I really like, by far better than _Presto_ (which I
did not like at all, even though it contains oe of the best Rush songs ever
written: AVAILABLE LIGHT), but IMO not up to the band's highest works (2112,
P/G, PowWin : absolute perfection). I really like Dreamline, RTB and GhostOAC,
but cannot understand why the boys wrote Face Up, WMT and Neurotica.
Alex worked really well this time. I thought that PowWin was his epitaph
(in HYF and Presto he did nothing noteworthy) but he has proven me wrong.
**** KING LERXST IS NOT DEAD. LONG LIVE KING LERXST!!! ****
Francesco "IRCNICK=_2112_" Marcolla <ele9102@cdc835.cdc.polimi.it>
*****************************************************************************
* *
* I believed what I was told. I thought it was a good life, I thought *
* I was happy. Then I found something that changed it all... *
* *
*****************************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1991 09:10:32 PDT
From: rking.Sunnyvale@xerox.com
Subject: an observation
Hi,
This is my first posting to TNMS, so I hope it gets through all right.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before, so forgive me if I'm
repeating something you already know, but has anyone else noticed that one of
the acknowledgements in HYF is to "the Gangster of Boats"?
Just wondering.
BTW, I *like* the rap section. Reminds me of Blondie's "Rapture" more than
rap. And I *despise* rap. I also like the chorus in "You Bet Your Life,"
which seems to have gotten rather bad press around here lately. My husband is
having a great time making up new pieces for it. So far he's come up with
"neurotic neo-Calvinist," "rabid fundamentalist," and "moldy anthropologist."
(we don't get out much! :-) )
--Rat
ORQ: "How can anybody be enlightened?
The truth is, after all, so poorly lit."
----------------------------------------------------------
From: cfabrams@eos.ncsu.edu
Subject: guess
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 12:50:10 EDT
Rush.....
.....is.....
.....awesome.
Roll the Bones is better every time i listen to it. i think i'll drop
out and become a
roadie....
i admit i was a little disappointed the first time i listened to it
the whole way through, but after giving it a chance and really listening to it
i'm finding lots of things in the music and lyrics which are suprisingly
emotional and interesting.
>...one thing, though--not sure if this has been mentioned yet (i scroll a LOT
these days), but wasn't Johnny Abdul that funny Indian "King of Rock-n-Roll"
on "In
Living Color"? "Are you ready to raaahck"<--(much hacking and spittle)...
perhaps
they were inspired in some way?
Anyway, i'm happy to say i like the new album.
later,
--cam
cfabrams@eos.ncsu.edu
----------------------------------------------------------
From: jlwoodal@eos.ncsu.edu
Subject: C'mon, people....
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 14:37:04 EDT
>Also, the boy is standing in front of the word Bones, so there exists a
>skip in the word and it seems to read "ROLL THE BO NES" Can anybody out
>there pick up and symbolism for this!? (someone can probably come up
>with some cocamamy (sp?) reason for this...
Well, gee. Maybe so that the entire title can be read?
People, I think some of you are going a bit too far with
interpreting the album cover. There are dice because of the "roll"
in the title. There is a skull because of the "bones" in the title.
Its just Rush having fun. No "666" or any shit like that.
It's sorta like the ole' Moving Pictures cover, where people are
actually MOVING pictures. Or HYF, where the guy is HOLDING fire.
I was suprised that Presto didn't have soe guy's toe going through
a big press or something.
Geddy said he thought the RTB cover was "funny".
So in the immortal words of Neil Peart.....
"Get a Life"
----------------------------------------------------------
From: jlwoodal@eos.ncsu.edu
Subject: Cool background music
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 14:44:40 EDT
> Did anybody see the NBC NFL Live show today. During a bit about
>the San Fran QB problem they played Bravado as the background music.
>Somebody at NBC is hip.
Hey, even eMpTyV uses "Show Don't Tell" as background music from time to
time. I also hear Yes stuff alot. I think the people at eMpTyV secretly
KNOW whats hip.
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Chris R. Oliva <oliva@gaul.csd.uwo.ca>
Subject: T-shirt question
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 15:49:19 D
I've had this RUSH t-shirt for a couple of years and it's been puzzling me
ever since I've had it. Here's what happened.
Right after the Toronto HYF concert on March 7 , 1988 there was this guy
trying to sell a shirt in the street. Since I wasn't too happy with the tour
shirts (I thought they really sucked) I decided to get it. I'm pretty sure
it was a bootleg shirt of some sort. Anyway here's what it looked like:
It's all black and on the back it has a huge picture of the Star of the
Federation with the guy standing in the middle of it ( from 2112). Above
the picture the words "HOLD YOUR FIRE" appear in red and at the bottom "TOUR".
On the front there's a picture of the boyz with "RUSH" at the bottom.
At the top of the picture the words "Adventures in Paradise" appear. That's
the part I don't understand. Does anyone know what these words refer to ?
*************************************************************
* | *
* Chris Oliva | oliva@gaul.csd.uwo.ca *
* | London , Ontario *
* | *
*-----------------------------------------------------------*
* *
* ... at least I thought I was dancing, *
* 'til somebody stepped on my hand. *
* *
*************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 91 16:02:59 EDT
From: katopis@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Chris J Katopis)
Subject: Re: 09/09/91 - The National Midnight Star #335
please unsubscribe me from the star.
----------------------------------------------------------
To submit material to The National Midnight Star, send mail to:
rush@syrinx.umd.edu
For administrative matters (additions, deletions, changes, and
questions), send mail to:
rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or
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There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network
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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
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These requests are processed nightly. Use a subject line of MESSAGE to
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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, 1991.
Editor, The National Midnight Star
(Rush Fans Mailing List)
********************************************
End of The National Midnight Star Number 336
********************************************