From root Sat Sep 12 10:41 1992
Received: by wake.ncsl.nist.gov (AIX 2.1 2/4.03)
id AA01072; Sat, 12 Sep 92 10:41:11
Received: by syrinx.umd.edu (5.57/Ultrix2.4-C)
id AA21275; Tue, 15 Sep 92 18:30:08 -0400
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 18:30:08 -0400
Message-Id: <9209152230.AA21275@syrinx.umd.edu>
Errors-To: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu
Reply-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
Sender: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
Precedence: bulk
From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
To: rush_mailing_list@syrinx.umd.edu
Subject: 09/15/92 - The National Midnight Star #513
Status: R
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ **
** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / **
** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ **
** **
** __ ___ ____ **
** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / **
** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / **
** **
** ____ ____ ___ ___ **
** /__ / /__/ /__/ **
** ____/ / / / / \ **
List posting/followup: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
Administrative matters: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu
or
rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu
(Administrative postings to the posting address will be ignored!)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Midnight Star, Number 513
Tuesday, 15 September 1992
Today's Topics:
Dream Theatre
90 Min. Essential Rush
Hiding Female Rush Fans
"The Essential Rush tape" (My Chronicles)
RUSH Fans Convention
The Original Roll the Bones Reference
Misc. Banter
Rush Cover band in NYC
WHERE IS GOLDMINE AND HOW MUCH????
Mr. Weintraub's insight
NMS convention... poll?
Rush unconventional CONVENTION!!!!
What You're Doing
Re: 09/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #511
RE: 09/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #511
RE: 09/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #512
T-Shirts?
Re to TNMS512:Suicide
Rush Tapestry Revisited & first rush hear
Neil's word on `The Pass'
Ok here's a question...
Rush Vids...response
Re: Enquiry about The Pass
Set list for the next tour
Rush Convention
First Time
question...
Intro to Rush
The Pass and "Christ what have you done?"
Sun sounds
Dream Theater and Rush 1st
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Dwight Robert Stone <dwight@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Dream Theatre
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 17:28:00 CDT
I just got Dream Theatre's second album (Images and ???) due to the recommend
of the NMS'er and finding it in a used CD bin. It was worth the $9 I paid,
although I would've been upset at paying $14 for it. It was somewhat Rush-like
and it did have that weird "skip" at the end of track 1 that was posted about
earlier. I think that that might be the end of the song, although it is a very
weird place to end. (Middle of a full chord, and the volume doesn't fade out
any; it just ceases). It is sort of cool, in that it makes for a very
unexpected and different ending for a sound (sort of like someone took the
needle off the record).
--
Dwight Stone I feel good. I am wearing my Chthulu underroos!
dwight@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu Cthulhu for new University of Illinois mascot!
"Those who know what's best for us must save us from ourselves" - Witch Hunt
No matter which road you travel down, all other roads get farther away.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 14 Sep 1992 18:09:28 -0500 (EST)
From: "Joshua A. Vaughn, DePauw University"
<JAVAUGHN%DEPAUW.bitnet@UICVM.UIC.EDU>
Subject: 90 Min. Essential Rush
Someone posted the question last issue of what songs would make up the ideal
Rush 90 minute tape. I made a tape like this once for my Walkman, and here's
what I put on it:
Side One: YYZ (ESL), 2112 (Overture/Temples from Chronicles), Tom Sawyer,
Red Barchetta, Limelight, Witch Hunt, Vital Signs, Closer to the Heart (ASOH).
Side Two: Finding My Way, The Trees, La Villa Strangiato, Freewill, Spirit of
Radio, Fly By Night/In the Mood (AtWaS), Working Man.
I like this tape 'cause it takes stuff from all three live albums and has all
of _Moving_Pictures_ except for The Camera Eye (which is good, but would take
up 10% of the tape.) It doesn't have anything post-MP, so it might be nice to
make a sequel.
As for the next tour, I'd like to see them open with Dreamline or
Superconductor. Other stuff I'd like to see would be ALL of La Villa,
Natural Science, and I'd like to see them wrap Where's My Thing around the
drum solo like they used to do with YYZ.
Have fun,
Josh Vaughn
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 19:14:09 EDT
From: Elizabeth Fike <betsey@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: Hiding Female Rush Fans
In digest #511, Jason "hoser" Haas asks where all the female Rush
fans are hiding, since all the ones at concerts seem to be with
their boyfriends.
Well, I have never gone to a Rush concert with my boyfriend.
However, I do usually go with male friends because I don't have
any female friends who like Rush and going to a concert alone is
boring (not to mention that riding the subway alone at 11-12 pm
is not the safest thing in the world). I am sure that I am not
the only person in this sort of situation, although at the last
concert I attended (12/6/91, Madison Square Garden) there were
several gaggles of female fans wandering around. So maybe you
just aren't looking hard enough! :-)
betsey
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Duner <jpm56290@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: "The Essential Rush tape" (My Chronicles)
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 18:31:44 CDT
Someone brought this up on TNMS and I thought it was a pretty cool
subject. I did make a tape for myself of Rush songs that aren't THAT
popular. Some are but that's the way it goes. I put one song from every
album and then went back until my tape (100 min.) was up. Here they are:
Side A Side B
1. Working Man 1. The Body Electric
2. Making Memories 2. Emotion Detector
3. I Think I'm Going Bald 3. Second Nature
4. Lessons 4. The Pass
5. Cinderella Man 5. Before And After
6. Circumstances 6. Best I Can
7. Natural Science 7. Entre Nous
8. Vital Signs 8. Ghost Of A Chance
9. The Weapon 9. Grand Designs
10. New World Man 10. Tai Shan
I really enjoy this collection of songs. There's a lot of great songs here
that nobody talks about.
John
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 17:05:30 -0700
From: walters@tenaya.enet.dec.com (Lisa at 415-617-3576)
Subject: RUSH Fans Convention
In TNMS #511 (19/14/92) John Michael Santore wrote:
>Subject: Rush convention... serious plans
>OK.... since it appears to have been decided by everyone that Toronto is
>the best place... lets move on and plan the other stuff... Now if you
>guys are really serious lets get down to business and try and organize
>shit. Someone set up a basic outline of things we've got to deal with.
Some suggestions from a Meeting Planner.
#1. Estimate the size of crowd you expect then you can;
#2. Contact MANY different sites (hotels, convention
centers) and compare prices/services/availability.
#3. NEVER, EVER tell them up front how much money you
have to spend (cuz they'll spend it all for you!) and
ALWAYS tell them you're working on a strict budget, BUT
if they (the site) do a good job for you this time,
they can expect repeat business from you (i.e. 2nd Annual,
3rd Annual conventions).
#4. Set a definite limit on the number of attendees, then
contract/confirm the site.
#5. IF you are contracting with a hotel for a group rate/
block of rooms, make sure they will either a) discount
the meeting room rates or b) provide meeting rooms at
no charge (This is standard hotel practice, but they won't
tell you about it if you don't ask).
#6. Develop a registration process and have a DROP DEAD-line for
registration. Make this as far in advance as possible, if
you aren't getting the number of registrants you need to pay
for the event, you may have to cancel the event.
#7. Work _with_ the hotel as much as possible. They can
handle on-site registration, room-block reservations,
transportation to and from airports (if necessary), and
audio/visual equipment needs, catering, furniture & linen needs
(tables, chairs, podiums, etc.)bus excursions to Lakeside Park,
Danforth, etc. [what do you do when you get there?]
#8. #1 most important thing is to always let them know you're
working on a tight budget...to get your business they'll
often throw in freebies and discount other services. Remember,
they're making their profit from the sleeping rooms, not from
the event. Be organized and professional.
#9. Here is way I usually break down organization of a large event:
A. Site Selection/Contracts
B. Agenda Development
C. A/V Requirements (include power, lighting)
C. Registration/Badging
D. Catering
E. Entertainment/Contacting/Contracts/Scheduling (w/Agenda coord.)
F. Collateral (T-Shirts, Printed Materials, etcetera)
Obviously all of these "committees" must work together to
pull off a truly great/well-organized and most importantly,
*fun* convention!
ALSO,
#10. I happen to know an excellent silk screen artist who could
probably produce nice-quality commerative t-shirts very
inexpensively and he's in Oregon so no sales tax! If someone
wants to volunteer to design the t-s (rough) then I can take or
mail the design to him to see what he can bid/do.
Regards,
Lisa
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Chris Schiller <chris@cdc.hp.com>
Subject: The Original Roll the Bones Reference
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 17:51:56 PDT
Original Reference for ROLL THE BONES...
Here's a little gem that I came across. Add it to the long list
of literary references for Peart's lyrics. This one covers not
only the song Roll the Bones, but the whole concept for the album.
This is from Chapter 2 of the first epilogue to _War and Peace_. Not
the book itself, but the epilogues to the book. Tolstoy apparently
thought a lot about history and society...
"Why did it happen in this and not some other way? Because it
happened so! 'Chance created the situation; genius utilized
it,' says history. But what is chance? What is genius?"
This is so close to "why does it happen, because it happens..." and
"good work is the key to good fortune," and to the whole message of
the album, that is has to be one of the main inspirations. Comments?
[ A short story entitled "Gonna Roll The Bones" by Fritz Leiber (on
anonymous ftp at syrinx) is also an inspiration for the whole
album. : rush-mgr ]
Chris Schiller
chris@cdc.hp.com
P.S. The quote was gleaned from Steven Jay Gould's monthly column in
Natural History Magazine 10/92. For those who don't know of him, Gould
is a paleontologist supreme. Gives another level of meaning to "Roll
the Bones." :^)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 14 Sep 1992 21:17:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: "CRAIG B. BERWALDT JR." <V057QGHV@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu>
Subject: Misc. Banter
Howdy .....its been awhile but I'm bored as hell and thought I'd post.
To Terry Stedman....finally someone shares my opinion. Middletown Dreams is
also my favorite song. What an incredible piece from start to finish.
As far as the "Essential Rush Tape " goes, thats kinda tough but I can take a
shot at listing the tunes I couldn't do without. In no part. order.
Middletown Dreams, Open Secrets, The Weapon, The Pass, Vital Signs, Making
Mems, Xanadu, La Villa, Lakeside Park, Lessons, Grand Designs, Mission,
Afterimage, Between The Wheels, Bravado......hmmm. Thats 15 tunes and I was
just warming up
Oh well. Damn....missed Kim Mitchell last night myy brother said it was a
fine show in St catherines at Brock U.
Over and out........Ber
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 21:41:20 EDT
From: "David S. Schmidt" <dschmidt@wissel.stern.nyu.edu>
Subject: Rush Cover band in NYC
I noticed a poster for a Rush cover band called "Power Windows" at the
Rock and Roll Cafe in Greenwich Village, on Bleecker Street in NYC.
They are scheduled to play on Thursday, Oct. 1 if anyone is interested.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 20:52:25 EDT
From: Gerry Good <J455%NEMOMUS.bitnet@ACADEMIC.NEMOSTATE.EDU>
Subject: WHERE IS GOLDMINE AND HOW MUCH????
Okay, this is the 2nd time I have asked it, can someone pleeese post
the address and sub info for Goldmine?! (sorry rush-mgr, I know it's
not rush related.) I am in the middle of rural Missori nowhere, and
I am seriously going through CD withdrawal since everyone here
only listens to country music. HELP! PLEASE post the info!! I will
be in your debt forever!!
[ Ok here's the address:
Goldmine
700 E. State Street
Iola, WI 54990
(715) 445-2214
13 issues $22, 26 issues $35 (US) : rush-mgr ]
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 14 Sep 1992 22:30:34 -0500 (CDT)
From: Flax <TBEAUDOIN@VAX1.UMKC.EDU>
Subject: Mr. Weintraub's insight
Hey -- Mr. Weintraub writes about "Christ, what have you done?"
in the pass (by the way -- wasn't WEINTRAUB *GEDDY'S* real name?? you may
be related after all, Mike!!!!) ...
I have often pondered the exact issue Mike raises, as I personally
have a difficult time working such a "swear" (Christ, what have you done!!?)
into my understanding of the song ... perhaps for my own
religious reasons.
Nonetheless, I am willing to bet that the play on words
that Mike brings up is indeed an intended meaning by Neil. To hear Geddy
sing it, cognizant of his Jewish background, adds another dimension to the
lyric, too.
There is of course the literary "device" of a so-called "Christ
figure," like Sidney in that book about the French Rev. (what's it called?) ..
you know -- they guy who says "it is a far, far better thing that i do ..."
and then hv's hanged or something.....
Neil could also be playing on that literary Christ-type here.
Brilliant insight, Mike!!
Thomas Beaudoin
----------------------------------------------------------
From: gtas1@sunyit.edu (Terrance Stedman)
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 23:32:47 -0400
Subject: NMS convention... poll?
I'm curious as to how many subscriber's to TNMS would even want
to attend a convention regardless of its location. I, for one can't see
justifying the expense. TNMS is good enough for me. Oh yeah, I'm not
going to handle the poll, so don't email your responses to me. I don't
think a lot of people would go. But perhaps I'm wrong...
--
I ) I I <~ I_I Terry Stedman .sig copyright
I \ I_I _> I I Internet: gtas1@pool.info.sunyit.edu 1992, T. Stedman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 14 Sep 1992 22:34:51 -0500 (CDT)
From: Flax <TBEAUDOIN@VAX1.UMKC.EDU>
Subject: Rush unconventional CONVENTION!!!!
> OK.... since it appears to have been decided by everyone that Toronto is
> the best place... lets move on and plan the other stuff....since the
> only thing thats going around the net is bullshit talk... Now if you
> guys are really serious lets get down to business and try and organize
> shit. Someone set up a basic outline of things we've got to deal with.
> Suggestions are below. We can discuss and finalize the outline on the
> net.
Well, since I think I was the one to first suggest a
First Annual Rush (or NMS) Convention on the net, i suppose it is my duty to
volunteer my help. (The idea just hit me late one night a couple of weeks
ago...) I therefore offer the following commentary. I am a
(pretty dedicated) high school teacher, which means i work 12+ hours a day,
but i'd still like to be a part of the planning structure.
> Promotion... are just us fans in Net land enough.... Presumably the NMS
> will advertise for us if we get some real organization. PLus maybe A
> show of Fans and other Fanzines...
>
Excellent idea. I would think that there are also plenty of newsgroups
that would be interested in knowing about this convention..
> Transportation.... car pools from people in the South picking up people
> in the North on the way? If there are large groups of people from one
> area, rent a bus or van jointly? Every man/woman for him/herself?
>
If we can recruit a Transportation/Logistics Czar, it seems like
these kind of (seemingly easy but actually sometimes complicated) questions
should be in her/his domain.
> Lodgings... do we just take over a campsite and camp out (in Lakeside
> Park)? Or take over a Hotel and it's convention halls? Can we organize
> a group rate for the hotels? How are we intending to organize this
> REGARDLESS of where we stay.... and once again... should every
> individual just fend for themselves....
>
Romantically, i like the idea of a "woodstockish" overtaking of
Lakeside Park for a weekend, though i think we ought to debate/discuss
accomodations here on alt.music.rush and the NMS. I wouldn't mind shacking
up in a Motel 6 for the weekend..
> Events... I mean yeah, It'd be cool to have a huge Rush convention, but
> what are we going to do when we're there? Rush tribute bands? Guest
> speakers? (terry Brown, B-man or even Rush themselves???) Boot trading
> (and there are legal aspects to this)? we need to formalize a plan...
>
Yes!! Perhaps have a few weeks of Net Elections for a governing
board for the convention, with anyone's input encouraged? Tasks/
responsibilities could be assigned/debated.
> When... Well Obviously we're going to need time to organize this? I'm
> partial to a weekend in mid march or so (it gives us time to plan...
> should be spring break for some college students.... not too far off for
> the whole plan to just fade away (NOT fade away.....)
>
I think a March weekend would be very problematic. While not all
of us on the net are college students at this time, many are. Spring breaks
range from early March to mid-April. That's why I have cast my vote for
a late-June to late-July date.
> WHO... is going to organize this? Any Volunteers..... I'll help, but I
> don't live close enough to Toronto to scout shit out, plus I straight
> out don't have the time to organize everything..... I CAN help by
> calling places and stuff, but we need a more formal plan first. We need
> an administrative structure.
>
I'm officially volunteering to help, too. Perhaps my aforementioned
idea about electing a Convention Governing Board might be a good way to go
about it. Or we could simply appoint people. Any discussion??
> OK..... My tentative plan.....(just as a possible template..not
> necessarily what should happen)
>
I like the idea of a 3-day convention for our "first official"
one, perhaps starting Friday afternoon and ending Sunday afternoon. It would
give us enough time to plan several "big" events but would not drag on so
long that it would encourage massive SNAFUs..
By the way, do we call this a RUSH convention or NMS convention?
I'm sort of partial to an "NMS" convention, since it implies not only that
we're Rush fans, but that there is actually a legitimate (if virtual) "society"
of us. But I know everyone on alt.music.rush may not like or subscribe
to the NMS. Discussion?
> Friday: Everyone gets situated in hotel... Rush tribute band
> performs.... Video showings in groups.... (in Red Sector A we have
> viewings of official video releases.... in Red Sector B we have bootleg
> videos of Signals and GUP... etc...)
Sounds great! At this time we would also need to have some sort
of "official registration" (if we're charging anything to defray any
major costs, we have to have some system of accounting who is officially
part of the convention). How about a time for introductions, too? The
first night might be a great time to get to know other alt.music.rushers
or NMS'ers, perhaps at a special meeting called for just such a purpose..
that way you'll know more about who you'll be hanging around with for the next
few days..
> Saturday: Big ass collectables convention.... bootlegs... record
> meet.... (not everything has to be Rush... believe it or not I don't
> think this would be to hard to organize.... just tell the big album
> collectors about it and set up tables and shit... Take your picture with
> the band (get those stupid cardboard figures of the band... cheesy but
> it works) Guest speaker if we can get one...
> More videos and stuff at night.... Plus periodic pilgrimages to Danforth
> and Pape and Anthem Headquarters or something else cool.... Basically
> do what you want at night (like see a hockey game if one's in town!)
Another great idea, sir. Pilgrimages could either be in groups with
rented buses, or individual (all paying conventioners would get a map
of the "holy city" and its "holy sites"). Would this also be the night
we could try out a massive RUSH BINGO game, with Rush trivia on the Bingo
cards??
>
> Sunday: Picnic at Lakeside Park.... we'll provide directions... get
> there... a big ass picnic... with a loud stereo cranking Rush.... go
> home (hope you had a blast)
>
Fantastic! The loud stereo cranking Rush MUST be present. What about
security?
> Additional stuff.... Commemorative shit.... 1st Annual convention
> t-shirts and shit.... possible contests (Geddy look-alike?, raffle) for
> official RIAA platinum record award (hey these are FREE if you know the
> right people.... my friend got a Motley Crue one (ugh) because he knew a
> guy at Elektra) or other donated Rush stuff... (if you advertise the
> shit out of a local record store/bootleg shop They'll probably provide
> you with a few free things.... PLus guitar picks and shit are free if
> anyone can get a quantity....
>
> Logistics... Some hotel (try and get a group rate for the
> convention)... pre-registration for it (pay in advance so everything can
> be funded)... We **NEED** some organizing head and subcommittees. Also
> a lawyer who'll donate his services into making sure we don't get
> sued.... Any left over money should go to the band.... period!
>
The lawyer is probably a good idea, too. Anyone on the NMS
or a.m.r in the legal profession?? We're all going to have to donate a
little selfless time if this thing is to get off the ground..
Possible seminar topics at the convention: have people present
papers on the relationship of Rush and religion/anti-religion, Ayn Rand,
etc..
Let's keep the hearty discussion alive!
Keeping the dream-flame on life's candle burning...
Thomas Beaudoin
Lee's Summit High School
International Baccalaureate Program
TBEAUDOIN@VAX1.UMKC.EDU
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 23:42:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: SEIDENBERG@MARY.FORDHAM.EDU
Subject: What You're Doing
This may or may not have been mentioned but I'll mention it anyway.
Skid Row released a new EP today called somthing like B-Sides Ourselves.
It includes a cover of the ancient Rush epic What You're Doing! Check
it out.
Ken F
----------------------------------------------------------
From: tvos@ais.org (David A Warner)
Subject: Re: 09/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #511
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 0:59:52 EDT
For those interested about the Rush convention You can count me in, thats
|sound really cool idea for a weekend...
I live in Michigan, about 20 miles from detroit, so if anyone is interested
in going there with me either car or plane, let me know...
the trip to toronto would take about 3hrs or so.. never a less, it's iteresting
to visit a convention and while we're there, lets check out the rush
spots................
The Voice Of Silence
--
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 SEP 92 09:32:24 BST
From: BLTSBARRY@VAX.LIVERPOOL-POLY.AC.UK
Subject: RE: 09/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #511
Hi Guys!
Well, I eally think it would be a great Idea to have the Rush Convention in
Toronto! Only problem is.....I live in England!
If it went all according to plan, I would definely make the trip across
and really would love to meet up with you guys!!
I think a picnic or something at Lakeside Park would be really great, as
I've never been out of Europe before so I'd love to see places like this!
Talking about having a couple of Rush copy bands on would be a good idea, as
I play Bass and know quite a lot of the songs too! (I actually have a Black
and White Rickenbacker 4001 !!!)
Hope to see thsi thing get off the ground.
When (hopefully !) will it be, and how many days will it be for?
By the way, are any other UK guys thinking of going? As we could meet at the
Airport and go over there together!!
Anyway, there's my 0.02 pence!!!
That's a Wrap
Shaun Barry 8)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 SEP 92 09:44:16 BST
From: BLTSBARRY@VAX.LIVERPOOL-POLY.AC.UK
Subject: RE: 09/14/92 - The National Midnight Star #512
Hi Guys!
yet another post!
As I mentioned earlier about the possibility of having a rush copy band
(or bands!) I just wanted to know if anyone else can play drums,guitar etc!
I know we wouldn't be able to have much of a practice but it wuld be fun!
We could all have different rush songs for names! I'm in a band here in England
called 'Dreamline'!
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: T-Shirts?
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 19:42:58 CDT
From: Zak Smith <Zak.Smith@mixcom.mixcom.com>
Can someone mail to me any information on what is going on (if anything)
with the NMS t-shirts?
[ From what I can tell, some were made, address provided and people
did receive them. But I mailed the guy a while back and still have
not received a reply from him. Anyone know more? : rush-mgr ]
--
Zak.Smith@mixcom.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 15 Sep 92 05:08:41 EDT
From: Thomas Regina <71530.417@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re to TNMS512:Suicide
Mike W., respectfully, I must say that you are way off target with the
Pass analyzation. You were doing fine when you said that "Christ, what
have you done?" was an exclamation of shock. Then, you started over
analyzing that simple phrase. I believe the "you" in that phrase is
directed at the person committing suicide.
Suicide is defined as "the act of killing oneself intentionally". Yes,
Jesus knew he was to die, but he did not go along with it willingly.
In fact, he was reluctant about it. He wanted to live. His death was not
intentional by his own hands. Dying at the hands of others is not
suicide. Would you say that the Jews in Nazi Germany commited suicide?
Of course not! Also, suicide is NOT honorable in the Judeo-Christian
religions. Neil (and you) would discover this through research and see
that Jesus would never say "Suicide is ok" through his actions/inactions.
Tom
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 09:04:21 -0400
From: keb@syrinx.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Kristin Brown)
Subject: Rush Tapestry Revisited & first rush hear
Hey again,
well first i want to say that i would definitely be interested in the
rush tapestry, as well as seeing what else they have to offer....... so
there must be SOMEONE with a dealer's license out there.....!!!
also, everyone has been telling all these stories about the first time
they heard rush and mine was kinda funny so i thought i might as well post it.
i didnt REALLY get into rush until a few years ago when all my (male!)
friends listened to them and i got hooked, but i heard them all the
way back in seventh grade.
There were three of us who got to go on a field trip to plymouth plantation.
this is a whole working pilgrim village, and the "inhabitants" are not
allowed to know anything modern etc etc. they will tell you all about pilgrim
life etc. it is kinda neat. anyway, the three of us went and the one guy
in the group brought along his box and was playing a rush tape. the pilgrims
didnt know what to make of this, and thought it was a "devil box" because
there were voices coming out of it.... probably geddy's voice contributed to
that impression.... (JUST KIDDING!). ok, maybe you had to be there but it was
kinda funny at the time....... you have to picture it!
lata!
keb
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 09:32:50 -0400
From: jaeger@buphy.bu.edu (Gregg Jaeger)
Subject: Neil's word on `The Pass'
>From: MWEINTR@AMERICAN.EDU
>Subject: Enquiry about The Pass
>...
>Listening to _Presto_ tonight, I was caught by "The Pass" (my favourite on that
>disc), especially the line "Christ, what have you done?" I began to wonder,
>is that reference to Christ only as an exclamation (similar to "Damn!" or
>"Shit!") or might it mean more?
>
>I think perhaps it might represent Neil's frustration with suicide, and
>associating it with Jesus Christ, who I feel somewhat made more honourable
>suicide, by allowing his execution to happen...
>
>Could Neil feel that since Jesus allowed himself to be crucified, that he was
>saying "Suicide is okay?" Then, one might somehow blame Jesus for any further
>suicides, especially like the one described in the song. I know of Neil's
>extensive research in writing the song, as well of his frequent use of double
>meanings; and this reference to Christ could very well be a double meaning, in
>classic Peart style...
That's my theory. There was an extensive discussion of this issue in #'s
19,20,21, and 27 of the NMS (which may or may not still be available
via ftp), both pro- and con- Neil's intending to refer to Christ specifically.
In NMS #54 there was the text of an interview from 3/3/90 on 102.1 FM
San Diego (contributed by Elisabeth Perrin) wherein Neil says the
following about the song:
Neil: The facet that I most wanted to write about was to demythologize
[teen suicide], taking the nobility out of it, saying ``Yes, it's sad;
it's a horrible tragic thing if someone takes their own lives, but let's
not pretend that it's a hero's end.'' It's a personal tragedy for
them but much more so for the people left behind, and I really decided
to get offended by the samurai kind of values that were attached to
it, like here's a warrior that just felt that it was better to die with
honor. All of that kind of offended me.''
[end of excerpt]
To me this indicates that Neil intended both meanings, as Christ's
death has a mythological quality to it and he is considered by many
to be a hero (to say the least). The explative usage clearly fits
as well as an expression of Neil's being offended.
Gregg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gregg Jaeger (jaeger@buphy.bu.edu) | Tristero? ______/|/| Treestero?
Dept(s). of Physics (and Philosophy) ------------ (_) \|\| Trystero?
Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Ave.,Boston MA 02215 ---------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 10:23 EST
From: "Hey! Neil Peart has a mowhawk!! ... WAY!!" <CMCVEY@LOYOLA.EDU>
Subject: Ok here's a question...
On the Big Money video, I noticed the square on the monopoly board
where Free Parking usually is has instead the initials NSF written in it...
Anybody know what this is??
The only thing I know of with initials NSF is National Science Foundation,
and they certainly do deal in "Big Money" grants....
Is this feasible?
_____________________________________________________________________________
O*****************************************************************************O
| From the Amiga | Multitasking... | No one is blameless |
| of... | --------------- | But we're all without shame.. |
| -.EZ.- | A M I G A S T Y L E | We fight the fire -- |
|cmcvey@loyola.edu | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | While we're feeding the flames.|
O*****************************************************************************O
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 10:43:36 CDT
From: richardr@stolaf.edu (Roman R Richardson)
Subject: Rush Vids...response
To follow up on the video chatter. I thought that "Show Don't Tell" was up
there on the list of best vids. It hardly got any play, but it was classic.
I think Geddy has finally realized that he is getting older and he has
changed his image from the jumping around, screaming, bass monster of the
old (I'll miss him), to the image of "We can ROCK with power and passion...
watch this." What I mean is best illustrated by the picture of him on the
"Roll the Bones" concert poster. There's this dark orange spot coming down
on him from behind, and he's got that huge Wal bass just singing. The best
thing about the picture is his facial expression. It's just raw! He looks
old, but you can just tell that he's the best out there. I his image fits
the new "style" on RTB as well. I mean can you picture the Geddy from
the FBN years playing "Bravado", or even "Dreamline"? Seems a bit odd.
Now baack to why I started writing this letter...
This new attitude/image that I've been rambling about is somewhat shown
in the "Show Don't Tell" video. He has that same look of a perfect comb-
ination of passion and power. I even saw the same thing at the concert
here in Minneapolis. He has changed his look...and I love it! It's a
great contrast to guys like Stu Hamm and Billy Sheean, who can play the paint
off of a bass and are really flashy (they can be, they're good enough.).
Then there's Geddy who looks like the bass is a part of him...like he has
achieved total harmony with it. There's a big difference in the two attitudes
of "Watch me dominte this bass and make it scream" and "Watch this bass
sing for me". During the concert he could rip off his hardest or fastest
riffs without looking like he even had to think about it. That's beautiful!
I don't know if I have been totally clear, but I certainly have gone on for
quite long enough. I think you know what I mean. If not...post!
-Roman
"Experience to extremes"
"Those who know what's best for us, must rise and save us from ourselves."
----------------------------------------------------------
From: exumfs@exu.ericsson.se (Mark Steph)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 10:50:53 CDT
Subject: Re: Enquiry about The Pass
MWEINTR@AMERICAN.EDU writes:
> Listening to _Presto_ tonight, I was caught by "The Pass" (my favourite
> on that disc), especially the line "Christ, what have you done?" I
> began to wonder, is that reference to Christ only as an exclamation
> (similar to "Damn!" or "Shit!") or might it mean more?
My thoughts exactly. I believe Peart is again putting down self-sacrifice.
Christ is often thought as the ultimate hero due to his sacrifice. I
believe "Someonw set a bad example...made surrender seem alright" is
also a reference to Christ.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 11:05:23 -0500
From: Michael Silverman <cubsfan@camelot.bradley.edu>
Subject: Set list for the next tour
Here's my .02 to toss into the ring....
I say trash Closer to the Heart, Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer,
and Distant Early Warning. Add Analog Kid, Natural Science,
and Red Secotr A. In order to make room for For some of the new
stuff (off the next album), dump Ghost of a Chance, Superconductor,
and Where's My Thing. Add in four or five new songs.
What about the encore...How about a full version of Xanadu, the drum
solo, and Working Man to close it out....
Oh, yeah...open with the Big Money!
Force 10...move it to the middle, or maybe to the close of the main
concert, beofre the encore.
cubsfan@camelot.bradley.edu
"One likes to believe in the freedom of baseball" - Geddy Lee
----------------------------------------------------------
From: bigal@wpi.WPI.EDU (Nathan Charles Crowell)
Subject: Rush Convention
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 12:50:16 EDT
It's been a LONG time since I've posted to TNMS, so
forgive me for being a little rusty.
It's been so nice to have the list back, as school is
extremely busy right now! Nice to decompress with fellow
Rush fans......
First off, I think the idea of a Rush Fans' Convention
is wonderful! I know I, in addition to several friends
of mine without net access, would be interested in going
to one. It's about time we had something like this -
Trekkers aren't the only loyal fans in the world!
I do get horrible flashbacks of Saturday Night Live when
William Shatner was on. He did a sketch about a Trek
convention where he makes fun of the fans and tells them
to "Get a life." I wonder, would Neil (or Alex or Geddy)
do the same thing? Hmmm....if you ask me, Neil wouldn't
attend in the first place.
Well, I hope the Convention idea comes together!
Nate "Big Al" Crowell
--------------------------
Nathan C. Crowell, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering/ACRL
Worcester Polytechnic Institute E-mail: bigal@wpi.wpi.edu
"We have just enough religion to hate, but not to love
one another." - Jonathan Swift
--------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
From: "Wungramngam T. Shishak" <wtshisha@debra.wheaton.edu>
Subject: First Time
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 10:50:22 CDT
With the many posts about "first times," I thought I might share the sweet
nostalgic memories of my encounters with RUSH.
I first heard them at the end of Grade 8, at a party celebrating our
"graduation" to high school. It was Tom Sawyer, which I found rather
appealing. However, I didn't keep up. Years later, in Gr. 12, I borrowed a
friend's MP to listen to TS. My roommate (I went to boarding school in India)
loved it and kept playing the entire album. I personally only wanted to hear TS
for old times sake, not the rest of "that crap." He later borrowed ASOH which
at first I could not stand, with the exception of CTTH and maybe Mission and
Subdivisions. To me, Rush seemed monotonous, musically vague, and cacophonous.
But it grew on me, and by the time Presto came out, I enjoyed this new album.
But it was my freshman year in college, when I heard Chronicles, that I was
totally raptured by the boyz. The Spirit of Radio, Freewill, The Trees, etc
etc..ad etcetrum had me in ecstacy! Now I have most of their albums and love
most of their material...
>..and the peak of my Rush development (so far) was the RTB tour, when I saw
them in Chicago for the first time (of many, many more, I hope).
-Wungram Shishak
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 12:18:16 cdt
From: "Sourkrauss (Krauss,Eric B)" <KRAUSS@AC.GRIN.EDU>
Subject: question...
This is not a question about lyrics, but rather about a title:
What is the anagram for mongo?
I keep rearranging the letters "m," "o," "n," "g," and "o," but I can't seem
to come up with anything that makes sense. Anyone out there know the answer?
An "acoustic jam" for Rush? Sounds icky. However, I wouldn't mind if they
played a few of their tunes without the sequencers, and performed truly as a
power trio, and not as three musicians playing over digitized, sampled,
programmed and prerecorded accompianiment.
Eric Krauss (krauss@ac.grin1.edu)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 10:46:08 PDT
From: "Amy Goldman, dtn 264-0588 15-Sep-1992 1330"
<goldman@mrktng.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Intro to Rush
I saw Virginia's post a few days back (just catching up) about
getting introduced to Rush by reading the lyrics first - which is exactly
how I got into the band as well! My (then) boyfriend left me a bunch of
printouts of lyrics which I thought were great! I then *had* to hear the
music that went with them (or they went with!). After that, I was hooked!
When I told my brother I really liked Rush, he couldn't believe it (though
I'm not sure why not - I love Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, etc.)! Now I'm a
bigger fan that the person that got me hooked! I just wish I had done it
earlier, and had been able to see some of the earlier concerts!
Meg, you are the only other person I've heard of whose father
introduced you to rock music! When I mention that my dad got me into Pink
Floyd and the Moody Blues and countless other rock bands, people think it's
really bizarre! I thought it was great! Dad's mellowed a bit in 10 years,
but still enjoys good rock every now and then.
As for female Rush fans, I've made a few others! :^) Heck, gotta
have someone other than my brother to hit the shows with! Seriously, I
don't know all that many, but then again, I don't find many other female
Pink Floyd fans either! For me, it has nothing to do with the lyrics being
male-centered. If I want woman-centered stuff, I listen to female artists
(Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Indigo Girls, others - is that blasphemy on this
list? :^) ). Heck, I work in a male-dominated environment, so I guess
I'm just used to it.
Amy
Goldman@mrktng.enet.dec.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 09:44 EST
From: THE QUIET MAN <OWENK%EARLHAM.BITNET@UICVM.UIC.EDU>
Subject: The Pass and "Christ what have you done?"
Hello out there,
This song has always been an ANTI-suicide song (I was in my junior
year of high school when it was first played on the radio - it struck a real
chord with me at the time). For example, in the chorus, we hear: "All of us
get lost in the darkness / dreamers learn to steer by the stars / All of us do
time in the gutter / dreamers turn to look at the cars" The basic message
being that we all have our tough times, but some people learn how to deal
with it in a positive way, i.e. not killing oneself. The most compelling
evidence comes just before the "Christ" line: "No hero in tradgedy / no
daring in your escape / no salutes to your surrender / nothing noble in
your fate" That sounds like Neil Peart is pretty much DOWN on suicide.
However...
As for the "Christ what have you done" line, I thought about that a lot
when I first heard (in fact, my extremely christian girl-friend was quite
sensitive about it - har, har) the song. According to general christian
doctrine, Christ died for the sins of all the world. It's kind of tragic idea,
in a way. Anyway, if you compare someone frustratedly asking "Why did Christ
have to die?" and someone whose friend has committed suicide frustratedly
asking "Why did he/she have to die?" perhaps the meaning becomes a bit
more clear. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, the speaker of the song
refers to his apparently suicidal friend in the beginning of the song as a
"martyr without a cause". That seems to tie in well with the use of Christ
later on. So much for literary analysis...
"There is no safe seat at the feast..."
Owen
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 14:29:29 MDT
Subject: Sun sounds
From: storm@acca.nmsu.edu!MWEINTR@AMERICAN.EDU
Would someone mind putting more rush songs in the sounds directory
for ftp on syrinx? ;)
Actually, in sun sound format, .au files.
It gets very boring here in the lab at night, and I'd like
some entertainment while I'm working. ;)
I'd do it myself, but there's no microphone to be found
anywhere, and people would get suspicious here. ;)
-- Keith
storm@ucsd.edu storm@ucsd.bitnet kestanol@bull.ucsd.edu
----------------------------------------------------------
From: claris!qm!Tim_Hall@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Tim Hall)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 11:53:09 PDT
Subject: Dream Theater and Rush 1st
Several people have speculated on the meaning of the abrupt ending of "Pull
Me Under" on Dream Theater's new CD. My own interpretation is that it fits
with the theme of the song, i.e. the guy is being "pulled under". One of
the neat things about Dream Theater is that, like Rush, their songs lend
themselves to different interpretations on different levels, and by no means
do I suggest that this is the definitive one. Anyway, on to some Rush
content, lest I be scolded by the Rush manager :).
My first time of hearing Rush was when Caress of Steel came out. I was in
high school and managed to tune my radio to a heavy-metal station in Little
Rock Arkansas, which was pretty impressive given that that was at least 500
miles away. Anyway, they would occasionally play cuts off of CoS, and so I
went out and bought the cassette. The interesting thing about that
cassette, for you Rush trivia fans, is that in order to fit everything from
the LP onto the cassette, they had to move "I think I'm Going Bald" to the
other side, and they ended up putting it right in the middle of "Fountain of
Lamneth"!! I believe they put it right after Didacts and Narpets, or
something really bizarre like that.
I never really fully appreciated CoS at the time (though it's now one of my
faves), and so I pretty much forgot about Rush until about 1979, when my
roommate in college, who played guitar in a band, introduced me to the
musical complexity of Rush. The odd thing was, he seemed to be more
interested in and knowledgeable about Neil's drumming than Alex's playing.
He would pick up the needle (that's on a record player, for those of you who
under 25 :), and set it down on a particular spot (usually in 2112 or
Xanadu) and say, "Listen to this drum roll-- he's hitting 7 different drums
at one time", or "I can't believe it -- just try to count that", or
whatever. So, even though to this day I've never learned to play an
instrument, I can appreciate some of the musical technique of Rush.
But the song that really hooked me was "In the End". I just loved the
dramatic pause before they shift from soft acoustic to all-out electric. I
got a real appreciation for the way Rush uses that kind of dramatic flair in
their music, as well as the wonderful melodies and musical mastery. By the
time Permanent Waves came out, I knew I was a fan for life. My most
thrilling moment at any concert was my first Rush one during the PeW tour --
hearing the opening "notes" of 2112 in the dark concert arena, and then
being in bliss for two hours.
Tim
Tim_Hall@qm.claris.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To submit material to The National Midnight Star, send mail to:
rush@syrinx.umd.edu
For administrative matters (subscription, unsubscription, changes, and
questions), send mail to:
rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or
rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu
There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network
address to ftp to is:
syrinx.umd.edu or 128.8.2.114
When you've connected, userid is "anonymous", password is <your userid>.
Once you've successfully logged on, change directory (cd) to 'rush'.
There is also a mail server available (for those unable or unwilling to
ftp). For more info, send email with the subject line of HELP to:
server@ingr.com
These requests are processed nightly. Use a subject line of MESSAGE to
send a note to the server keeper or to deposit a file into the archive.
The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and
comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the authors' management, or the mailing list management.
Copyright The Rush Fans Mailing List, 1992.
Editor, The National Midnight Star
(Rush Fans Mailing List)
********************************************
End of The National Midnight Star Number 513
********************************************