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From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
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Subject: 05/04/93 - The National Midnight Star #674
Status: R
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Midnight Star, Number 674
Tuesday, 4 May 1993
Today's Topics:
Administrivia
Rush on MTV (sorta)
Kibbles & Bits
Re: The Wal... Again.
final fantasy
Rush in Boston
Rush: Harvard Lampoon's Band O' Millennium
break-in period, Black Holes, copyright
Freewill vs RtB
Rush and the Orioles
Freewill vs. RTB
Tour Fun
Translation of La Villa in ESL
FreeWill vs. roll the bones
Diadicts and Narpets
Re:Red Lenses and GUP
black holes
Rush Inspired by Aliens and Elvis !!!
Geddy's basses
Are you guys Serious
Wireless guitars
Physics near Black Holes (very long...sorry)
RUSH cover band
I met Geddy Lee
NEW ALBUM DATE WANTED
Re: 05/03/93 - The National Midnight Star #673
Album Cover Posters -- Goldmine?
Break-in period....
"Digital Man" and Neuromancer
Close up of Neil
Caress of Steel and so forth...
----------------------------------------------------------
From: rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu <The RUSH Fans Digest Manager>
Date: Tue May 4 19:55:27 EDT 1993
Subject: Administrivia
Looks like another digest got sent out accidentally... yesterday's digest
went out earlier today as today's digest, so if you've gotten two that's the
reason. This is the real digest for today.
Also, I'm working on all the removals still, so you might still be on the list
as of now. Don't worry, you'll be off before tomorrow's issue comes out.
- rush-mgr
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Rush on MTV (sorta)
From: Chad King <kingc@rintintin.Colorado.EDU>
Date: Mon, 3 May 93 15:15:37 MDT
Hey all:
For those of you who decry the conspicious absence of the Trio on eMTyV,
this should make you all feel a little better.
Today, while my roommate was filpping through the channels on TV, he stopped
on MVT, where "The Day in Rock" was on. After sitting through a lengthy
discourse on the possible rebirth of some long-disbanded "alternative" band,
I looked up from the magazxine I was reading to see the faces of none other
than Ged, Neil, and Alex on the TV. I immediately began shouting for my
roommate not to change the channel, as he was about to change it back to
cartoons.
Anyway, Kurt Loder described how "the Canadian progressive-rock trio, Rush"
was going to be honored by Harvard's student paper, _The_Lampoon_, as the
band of the millinium. I waite eagerly for more info, but that was all it said,
and Loder immediately returned to his mindless babble about some mindless
"Pop" band.
Well, it was only for a fewq seconds, but Rush _did_ make it onto MTV for a
while, I guess. From this, I can't help but to surmise that a "Rush Unplugged"
is on the way. (*NOT!*)
Well, sorry for the long post with not really anything meaningful to say, but
I just had to tell someone, as my roommates are not really huge Rush fans.
Thas' all for now...
Later,
Chad <<---------==== The Kingman
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | | | |
| | | | ---| | | Chad King (kingc@spot.colorado.edu) |
| ---| | | | ** Rabbitt on IRC ** |
| | |--- | | | |
| | | | | | | "You know how that rabbit feels |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Going under your speeding wheels." |
| GO BUFFS!!!!! | |
| Q: Why is it so windy in Wyoming? | - Neil Peart, _Between_the_Wheels_ |
| A: Nebraska sucks! | (That's RUSH, you know) |
===============================================================================
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 May 93 15:15:29 PDT
From: johnlee@sirius.UVic.CA (John Lee)
Subject: Kibbles & Bits
Good day, eh?
Last Saturday, CKKQ aired its "Rockline" at 12:00 noon. 1 full hour of
requests (In the Victoria area, Rockline is not interview-related). I phoned
mine in, amazed that I actually got in without redial on my phone, and pretty
sure that since they never played my other Rush requests that this one would
go right by them as well. The only request of mine that they had ever played
was "Permanent Frost" from Pink Floyd's latest album. So as I counted down the
minutes until the end of the hour, becoming more and more certain that such a
"long" track would not get played, I began to think what a pity it was that
the citizens of this earth would not be exposed to such a powerful and artistic
piece of work as I had requested. Then, at ten minutes to one, I thought I
heard my voice on the radio, making the request! Right on!, I thought, can
this still be possible? And it came to pass. As the words "Tobes of Hades
lit by flickering torchlight..." filled the air, I nearly cried with joy.
My day was made. The "Q" played By-Tor. And It Was Good.
On another note, does anyone know where I can get the TNMS issue #5?
Apperently a Neil Peart's reaction to the Star is published in that issue.
I can't find it when I go to FTP, so where can I find it? Thanks in advance...
[ All issues before #251 can be obtained from anonymous ftp to
anagram.umd.edu (129.2.8.12), in the rush/digest directory. : rush-mgr ]
--------John
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
---------- ---- ---- ---------- ---- ----
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--- --- ------------- ---------- ---- ----
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----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: The Wal... Again.
Date: Mon, 03 May 93 15:59:51 -0700
From: "Stuart R. Miyasato" <lerxst@harper.Stanford.EDU>
Hello everybody... In response to Joe Mancewicz (jmance@engin.umich.edu):
> Well, now I have a question about the basses on Power Windows.
>[...]
>he used the Steinberger AND the Wal? It may just be the mix, but the bass
>in Mystic Rhythms sounds a bit different than in The Big Money, so maybe...
I suppose it is possible... Apparently during the early parts of the PoW
sessions, he played both basses and compared the sounds. After he did a
few tracks, he stopped doing the comparisons and stuck with the Wal. But
if "Mystic Rhythms" was one of the earlier tracks, it's conceivable that
they may have had some Steinberger parts mixed in. I don't have any
evidence suggesting this though...
But in my mind, he is using the Wal on "Mystic Rhythms" on PoW. To me,
the bass sounds different on "Mystic Rhythms" off PoW and ASoH. The live
track was recorded on the PoW tour, when Geddy was still playing the
Steinberger. Maybe it's more mental than anything else, but I think I
hear the more twangy sound of the Wal on the studio track and the darker
sound of the Steinberger on the live one. Anyone else agree?
-- Stuart (gimper@leland.stanford.edu, lerxst@harper.stanford.edu)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 May 93 19:30:09 -0500
From: jtstrzyn@papaya.wustl.edu (Jeremy Todd Strzynski )
Subject: final fantasy
i hope everyone can forgive the long post, but this is my last post
before i go home for the summer. here is my vision of the remainder
of Rush's career (summarized so the post doesn't get *too* long).
in september, "Critical Mass" is released, and goes straight to
number one, staying there for eight weeks, as everyone across the
country who didn't know before realizes Rush is the greatest band
ever. the album and every song on it are nominated for every award,
imaginable, and win every one of them except at the grammy's, where
Rush is beat out by mariah carey (gotta have some realism in this
thing). they turn down mtv, snl, and every talk show, prefering
instead to play live, instead of taped. they reserve the first ten
rows of every show for NMS members. after a year of touring, they
take a short break before working on album 16. it is released in
september of '95, and since Neil failed to think of a name in time,
Geddy and Alex follow through on their threats, and the album is
called "Gangster of Boats." it achieves the same results as CM.
before beginning the tour, Rush announces that they are retiring at
the end of the tour. in january of '96, the "A Farewell to Fans"
tour begins. (sorry for the cheesy title.) they play stadiums in
each city and sell out every show, and this time reserve the first 20
rows for NMS members, as the NMS membership has grown to 25,000, with
rush-mgr handling the increase perfectly. the final stop on the tour
is a three-night stand at the Skydome, where on each night they break
the existing attendance record. after playing a standard set for two
hours at each other show, on the third night they depart from the
norm, and play for three hours. among the songs performed is 2112 in
its entirety, including "Oracle" for the first time. the final song
they perform is CttH; the audience sings along, and amazingly, all 25
bazillion people are in key. after the show, they have a huge party
for all the NMSers who made it to the show (which includes me). in
order to fulfill their record contract, and to keep with the
accidental "four albums, one live" pattern, they release as their
last album their last show. it takes three CDs/cassettes, and is
released as a box set. the first 1000 copies are numbered and have
the signatures of each of the members, and i get number 1. (you can
alter this last point for your own fantasy.)
i hope they don't retire this soon, but being honest, they can't play
forever, and i think they'll retire properly, at the pinnacle of
their career, not the bottom. lnog live Rush.
jeremy
some are born to move the world to live their fantasies
but most of us just dream about the things we'd like to be
sadder still to watch it die than never to have known it
for you the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for thee
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 May 1993 21:04 EST
From: ETTLEMYER%BABSON.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Rush in Boston
Hi everyone,
I was listening to WBCN 104.1 in Boston, MA and overheard the DJ
mention that Rush is going to be in Boston on May 9th to accept the
award - "Artists of the Millenium" from the Harvard Lampoon in Cambridge, MA.
I checked with a woman at SRO and she told me that Rush was going to be there
on May 9th. The ceremony is open to the public and will be at 1PM on Sunday.
I'm not exactly sure what the Harvard Lampoon is, but I have heard that it
has something to do with Harvard University's newspaper. I was told by the
woman at SRO that other performers such as Bill Cosby have been given an
award by the Harvard Lampoon. Rush is the first band to get the award. Pretty
good, huh! Though I'm not exactly what the Harvard Lampoon is, I know that
they will be in Boston on Sunday. If anyone has any other information please
let us all know. Hope to see a huge crowd cheering them on! -Later
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 03 May 1993 20:24:06 -0600 (CST)
From: BEEZUS@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Rush: Harvard Lampoon's Band O' Millennium
The Harvard Lampoon has announced that Rush is its "Band of the Millennium."
This announcement was made about a week ago. The H.L. says it is because of
Rush's "sense of humor, overall coolness, and blah-blah-blah..." Now, grab
a hold of yourselves, Rusheads, here comes the capper! MTV towel-boy Kurt
Loder treated this announcement as a MTV-worthy piece o' music news himself,
by taking precious air time during a MTV News hourly report and telling us so.
That's right! Rush made the MTV music news! There were three individual
pictures of each member to accompany the newsstory.
So, whaddaya want to make of that, hmm? The Harvard Lampoon makes Rush its
"Band of the Millennium," and we get to hear about it on MTV...
Will wonders never cease? No.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 May 93 22:25:17 -0400
From: tcorcora@sunlab.cit.cornell.edu (Travis Corcoran)
Subject: break-in period, Black Holes, copyright
break-in period: glad to see I'm not alone. What albums took people
longest to "break in"? I was introduced to Rush w/ MP and 2112, so
loved all "middle Rush" from the start. I then got the early albums,
and enjoyed them, but not as much. GUP and later I've had to break
it...HYF took a while, and I still don't like Presto (although RTB is
great).
black holes: Michael J. Miller did a good job of explaining them, w/ a
few small mistakes: (1) light does not *technically* have mass. It's
path in a gravitational field curves in a way that simulates a mass
moving through a gravitation field. The practical difference: kinetic
energy (energy that something has by dint of moving) is more or less
proportional to m (mass)* v^2 (velocity squared)...except at speeds
aproaching c (speed of light), where it goes asymptotic. If a photon
travelling at c had any mass whatsoever, it would contain infinite
energy. Which would be very bad news if someone shone a flashlight on
you... (2) black holes do not have infinite mass...they have exactly
the mass of the material that went into forming them, plus the mass of
anything that has since fallen in. As Michael pt.s out, black holes
have 0 dimension (a pt.), so (some mass)/(0 volume) --> infinite
density. (not infinite mass). All of this is pretty far from the
topic of Rush, so any followups should probabally be via e-mail or to
alt.folklore.science. Sorry.
copyright notice: I noticed in the "fine print" at the end of the NMS
the line "Copyright The Rush Fans Mailing List, 1993". While I hardly
think that my rambling posts are worth much, I wonder on the
theoretical level- (i) who is the Rush Fans Mailing List? All
subscribers collectively? rush-mgr? the administration at syrinx?
(ii) does sending mail to NMS vest copyright of what we write in the
copyright holder (as I understand it, the current US copyright law
says that copyright exists the instant an idea is written...filling
government paperwork is just a formality).
As I said, this is just out of curiosity. If my posts now belong to
NMS, that's fine...just want to know.
[ This was originally put at the end because parts of the digest were
appearing on newsgroups (like rec.music.misc) without any credit given to
those who had written the posts. Now it's more of a prevention measure so
that people don't start printing out copies and selling them at concerts
(which happened to the GDead list...) The Mailing List is considered to
be all the subscribers collectively. : rush-mgr ]
*.edu: good luck w/ finals guys. "See" you in the fall (for those who
will lose net access over the summer...)
*.com: see you guys all summer long, once I join your ranks in June..
---
Travis Corcoran tcorcora@sunlab.cit.cornell.edu
Who is more likely to stop the government from pushing 'The Button' -
nonviolent protesters crying around the peace tree, or nasty individuals
saying 'Go ahead and push the f---ing button. We're heavily armed, well
prepared, and ready to hunt your ass down after the fallout settles'?
- 'Commander Zeep' (Loompanics 1988 Fall Catalog/ Smurfs in Hell #4)
----------------------------------------------------------
From: "Michael J. Miller" <mumjm02@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu>
Subject: Freewill vs RtB
Date: Mon, 3 May 93 21:26:45 CDT
Greetings!
PRB says that Niel has reversed his postion on freewill vs fate between
Freewill and Roll the Bones. I do not feel this is the case at all. In
RtB, he writes, "Fate is just the weight of circumstances". This implies
that fate is nothing more than the result of what you yourself got into.
It does not imply that fate is putting you into any situation.
Just my .02 worth.
BTW: I once estimated that playing all of Rush's albums would take about
seventeen and a half hours...
********************************************************************************
RRR U U SSS H What you own is your own kingdom
R U U S H What you do is your own glory
R U U SSS HHH What you love is your own power
R U U S H H What you live is your own story
R UUU SSS H H "Something for Nothing", _2112_
Michael J. Miller, mumjm02@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu
********************************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 03 May 1993 23:28:53 -0500 (EST)
From: S72UJOH@TOE.TOWSON.EDU
Subject: Rush and the Orioles
Hello all,
Just a quick note about where I've heard Rush being played where
one wouldn't expect:
Between innings at a Baltimore orioles game at Oriole Park
at Camden Yards....they played the beginning of "Limelight".
Go O's and Go Rush!
Mark Johns
Towson State University
Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Earth
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 May 93 23:34:39 -0500
From: Jeremy Todd Strzynski <jtstrzyn@cherry.wustl.edu>
Subject: Freewill vs. RTB
sorry, i guess i lied when i said my other post was my last; when i read paul
barrett's comments about "Freewill" and RTB i just had to respond, as this is
a topic i take very seriously. when i first heard the song RTB, and indeed the
whole album, my feeling was that Neil was clarifying his position on free will,
not contradicting it. my interpretations of each song are:
Freewill: every action that we take is the result of a conscious decision that
we alone make. there is nobody else who dictates what we do, with us
simply being robots doing as we are told; nor is there anybody else out
there that knows what we are going to do before we do it. none of our
actions is determined until we determine it.
RTB: all of the situations that are presented to us are simply chance. there
is nobody who decides to kill our best friend, who decides to make us have
auto accidents, or who makes the sidewalk slippery just before we walk on
it. these things just happen. but they are not the result of anything
that we control. they are not the result of anything anybody controls.
thus, i feel that when you put Freewill and RTB together, they compliment each
other perfectly, and together they say that there is no all-powerful deity
controling anything. anything that we can control we control, but everything
else is random. incidentally, i think RTB tries to argue that because life is
random, we must not let fear keep us from acting; but that point is taken up
better in other songs on the album.
these two songs are among the most important Neil has written to me, for my
own philosophy centers around free will. they say perfectly what i believe,
and hence this post. i hope i've convinced you, paul.
jeremy
----------------------------------------------------------
From: haplopeart@aol.com
Subject: Tour Fun
Date: Tue, 04 May 93 01:25:28 EDT
Hy,
Some one spoke of things that happened to them when they went to see Rush
on tour. I reminded me of my first Rush concert, on th RTB tour. My
roommate(The guy who hooked me on Rush BTW) and I went to the great woods
show, and had a ball, but thats not the story.
After suffering through Mr. Bigflop(or cowflop in my IMHO), Rush came on and
the first thing I remember is coming to my feat as the most powerful music I
have ever heard started to play, I almost fell back down from the shear
unexpected force of it. Then evrything else is a blur of emotion and
excitement as the boyz go through every song I could have hoped for them to
play, including The trees(I never thought they would play that.
There are two things that stickout the most(becides the guy infront of me
toking on the biggest Bone i ever saw, Guess he took Roll The Bones a nit to
far), and that is that everyone was on there feet and belive me this is a
strange sight at Great Woods. The other thing that was cool was that we
stopped at McDonalds after and the gut who took our order saw i had two tour
books(found one on a seat on the way out) and asked me for one, Me roomie and
I ate well and free that night.
latta,
HaploPeart
haplopeart@aol.com
71603,3600@compuserve.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 00:34:06 EST
From: PWALES@ucs.indiana.edu
Subject: Translation of La Villa in ESL
Tuesday, May 04, 1993 12:20am
Hello everyone!
I can't recall who asked about a translation of what Geddy is singing
during the Danforth and Pape section of La Villa Strangiato, but I do
have the answer!! It is written in the liner notes of ESL:
"We should also include a (loose) translation of the new lyrics to
the Danforth and Pape section of La Villa Strangiato
`Patty-cake, patty-cake,
Mother's going to buy you shoes,
Father's going to buy you socks,
Baby's going to have red cheeks.'
Enough said."
I have *no* idea what language it is in. Knowing their sense of humor,
it could be a language they just made up!
I hope I eased your mind a bit so you can concentrate on important
matters, such as FINAL EXAMS!!!! (Good luck everybody!)
--Pam "Permanent Waves in her hair" Wales
----------------------------------------------------------
From: 93rmm@cs.williams.edu (Prometheus)
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 01:56:08 EDT
Subject: FreeWill vs. roll the bones
In The National Midnight Star #673,
Barett Paul Robert (prbarr@mail.wm.edu) writes:
> Has anyone ever noticed the difference in themes presented by
> Freewill and RtB? Freewill encourages taking control because
> everything is up to you, while RtB is very fatalitic. (sic) In RtB,
> it is up to fate what will happen and you just have to take your
> chances. It seems to me that maybe Niel (sic) has learned a few
> lessons in life. He started off thinking that it was Freewill, but
> now realizes a lot is not up to you and everything is up to fate.
>
> I don't know, just a thought
> -PRB
Hmm. I disagree. I think that roll the bones is not fatalistic, but
is in fact against fatalism. My reason:
The act of rolling the bones is an affirmative, active one. The
dice are not being rolled for you - you have to get out and roll the
bones, take chance by the throat and go for it. I think that this is
most firmly shown in the line about Lady Luck that "She favors the
bold." Basically what it's saying is that, sure, shit happens, but
you CAN still go out and use your freewill to make it happen.
--Prometheus
"He took the light of the gods and he brought it to men,
and he taught men to be gods." -A.R. _Anthem_
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Diadicts and Narpets
From: Chad King <kingc@rintintin.Colorado.EDU>
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 0:29:04 MDT
Hey again:
Alex:
The terms "Diadicts and Narpets" (correct me if I'm wrong here) are anagrams
for the words "addicts" and "parents" in that order. See the FAQ for more info
Chad <<---------==== The Kingman
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | | | |
| | | | ---| | | Chad King (kingc@spot.colorado.edu) |
| ---| | | | ** Rabbitt on IRC ** |
| | |--- | | | |
| | | | | | | "You know how that rabbit feels |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Going under your speeding wheels." |
| GO BUFFS!!!!! | |
| Q: Why is it so windy in Wyoming? | - Neil Peart, _Between_the_Wheels_ |
| A: Nebraska sucks! | (That's RUSH, you know) |
===============================================================================
----------------------------------------------------------
From: gjr@st-andrews.ac.uk (Graham James Reilly)
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 11:32:38 BST
Subject: Re:Red Lenses and GUP
Kimo De'ane says:
> About Red Lenses - That whole album is very important to me,
>probably because of the time in my life I first heard it. I don't much like
>the idea of rating songs, since judgements are so subjective, but I like
>the sound on P/G. Geddy has said they went crazy on the guitars for that
>albumn, but I like the force they carry. It's an angst-ridden mood, and I
>think it goes with the ideas of the song as well. Sort of a list of trouble-
>some aspects of life. I like the baseline, the way the percussion hops all
>over your head with headphones, the way Alex's chords ring out hard, then
>die fast, and the xylophonic sound in the bridge (listening to it now -
>have to say again about Ged's baseline).
Yup. This is what I've been trying to say about GUP as a whole for years but
I just ain't music-critically articulate enough to do so. The guitar work on
the album is some of his best and most intense. Its one of their best.
Michael Miller says:
> First, my comments on "Red Lenses": I do not like this song lyrically.
>I think it is much simpler than almost anything Neil has ever written, and it
>basically grates on my nerves.
Isn't this the song that Neil said he worked harder at than any he had ever done
before and that it contained a piece of just about everything he was thinking
about at the time? It was a very difficult song to write because there was
so much in it. Simplicity does not imply lack of depth.
Dylan
"The backdrops peel and the sets give way, the cast get eaten by the play.
There's a murderer at the matinee, there's dead men in the aisles.
There's mischiefs and malarkies, but no queers or yids or darkies,
Within this bastards carnival, this vicious cabaret."
This Vicious Cabaret, V For Vendetta ( justice has a new bedfellow )
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 07:47:53 CDT
From: tobias@wugrav.wustl.edu (Malcolm Tobias)
Subject: black holes
I realize that this is not the forum to discuss physics, so I'll try
to keep this short. Light _does not_ have mass. You can't accelerate
any massive particle to the speed of light. Saying its only massless
when its moving less than the speed of light is senseless since thats
the only speed it can move at.
Time * as measured by a stationary observer * will slow down in the
sense that to him it takes some poor slob an infinite amount of time
to fall into a black hole. By into a black hole I mean reach a
critical radius (the event horizon) beyond which we will never see
or hear from him again. In this sense a black hole has a well defined
radius and volume. The laws of physics don't break down until you
reach the very center of the black hole.
a very tired physics graduate student trying to survive finals
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Anthony Pun <anthonyp@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU>
Subject: Rush Inspired by Aliens and Elvis !!!
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 22:48:09 EST
(Dear rush-mgr: sorry about plugging up the admin address with NMS
submissions. :< At the time I was *just at bit* too excited, and sent
messages off without thinking. I promise not to do it again !!! {until the
next time :>} Anthony Pun)
Fellow fans,
The following has just come "hot off the presses":
Source: space@out_there.universe.edu
NEWSFLASH: CANADIAN BAND CLAIMS SONGS INSPIRED BY ALIENS AND ELVIS
In a press release and conference today the Canadian band Rush claimed that
their songs were inspired by beings from outer space. "We're communicating to
them through our tracks," says bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee.
"It all started with our album `2112', in which we described their planet, the
planet Zildjuan. Neil had just finished reading a book one day and was just
gripped with a frenzy. He started writing all these strange symbols and
figures on sheet of paper.
Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist, continues the story. "After reading `Tama
Drums on Taurus' I felt my mind blank out. When I regained consciousness I
saw I had written all over the dinner table cloth in some ink, even though I
wasn't holding a pencil. I blanked out again and this time I heard voices in
my head telling me to write what I heard exactly down."
"`We have seen your planet and the progress you have made. Thus we make an
offer to you: knowledge of ideas far beyond your current reasoning and
technology to do whatever you wish. What we ask of you is simple: make
contact with our distant people on Cygnus X-1. However, you cannot shout to
them, you must whisper. Some of our kind have tried to live among you,
including Eddie Rickenbacker (*), Jack Secret and Mata Hari. There is still
One amongst you, called Elvis.'"
Is that the Elvis, as in Elvis Presley?
"Could be," says guitarist Alex Lifeson. "Then again, it could be Elvis
Stoykio (**)."
How does Rush whisper to the Ones on Cygnus X-1?
"In many different ways," says Peart. "Sometimes we whisper, as in
`Dreamline', while other times we use the beat of the music. It just depends
on what we feel like when we're writing. "Whispering in the lyrics is the
least dependable," adds Lifeson. "There's a chance the human population will
hear the message. We get better results with masking and overdubs."
But how does the message get through?
"It's all rather easy," comments Lifeson. "To decode the message we first
reverse the song, then speed it up by a factor of ten. We then mix it with a
combination of the former Soviet Union's national anthem and the sound of one
hand clapping. The message is the jukebox song's title corresponding to the
square root of the resultant frequency. It gets picked up at Cygnus X-1 in
the stray electromagnetic radiation leaking from Earth."
But doesn't that bring calls about satanic verses?
Geddy Lee: "of course it does !!! But it doesn't matter, 'cos most of the
heavy metal today, when decoded properly, is just babble. We only send
messages every few years, because it takes so long to get to there. The two
most recent messages were contained in "Dreamline" and "Chain Lightning.
Whenever Jack (Secret) or Elvis want to talk Neil gets another trance and
writes a new song from there, encoding the message automatically.
Neil Peart: "Writing the song is easy once you know the message. You get it
into your head how the outcome will be and you just reverse engineer."
What messages have been sent?
"Hi", "Hello", "This is not a recording", "Greetings from planet Zildjuan",
"Is there a Burger Bar nearby?"
The trio expect to receive more messages from Cygnus X-1. Says Lee, "We're
confident we have established a dialogue between the two planets.
END NEWSFLASH
(*): Eddie RACKENBACKER was a US WW1 ace, with 26 kills. Rickenbacker is a
brand of guitar which was used to be played by Geddy Lee. (Sorry about the
obvious <grin>)
(**): Canadian figure skater, winner of Men's Figures at Skate Canada '92.
I apologise for unintentionally spelling anyone's name incorrectly, and will
stand corrected if corrections are forwarded.
Hope this helps !!!
Anthony Pun
anthonyp@extro.ucc.su.oz.au
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Anthony Pun <anthonyp@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU>
Subject: Geddy's basses
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 22:59:34 EST
Fellow fans,
I recently ftp'ed the file "g-basses.gif" from syrinx, and had a look at it.
Apart from being a good scan, I liked the range of hardware. However, being
new in my appreciationof this band, I don't know what each of the basses are!
Could anyone help me out of this dilemma? I tried the FAQL, but it didn't
have anything on the brands of instruments Rush have used in their past, only
their current brands. I'll greatly appreciate any information provided.
Anthony Pun
anthonyp@extro.ucc.su.oz.au
(P.S. Hiyah STUM !!!)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 06:33:16 PDT
From: Jeffery_Jones.wbst129@xerox.com
Subject: Are you guys Serious
OK! I can't stand it any longer! Usually, I am pretty content to sit back and
listen to the drivel about what bass Geddy played in his basement as a three
year old, or is it "still" or "cannot have" or is Neil just the puppet of the
Ayn Rand society... But everyone is ripping on Red Lenses!!! Are you guys for
real! Listen to the song, I mean just sit down and do nothing but listen to
the entire song REAL LOUD. On an album that, IMHO is one of their worst to
date, there is only one song that stands out for me. A song that shows the
direction that the band will take on future projects, Red Lenses is that song.
It is simplistic, forceful, driving, moving, and it is all about Red :-).
When the album came out I was REALLY skeptical about Neil using electronic
drums. I could not believe that a man that has done so much for the drumming
industry would even think about using those cheesey Simmons, that sound like a
raw nerve being drilled in your mouth, they don't (didn't) evensound like
drums. But when I heard this particular song, I was amazed yet again by the
talent that Neil exudes. He took a drum kit that would normally sound like
shit and made it sing. What can't this guy do with 2 sticks and something to
bang on. He did it on Red Sector A, also, my second and last fave from that
album. If it wasn't for the fact that Rush created the work and those 2 songs,
I would have traded it long ago. So, I have said my piece, and the flames can
come fast and furious, I will not budge. Red Lenses is one of Rush's greatest
and I will stand by that til I die. So, lay off Red Lenses would ya?!
Now, back to our regularly scheduled speculation...
"I see Red..."
JJones.wbst129@xerox.com
ps The above opinions are not subject to subscription.
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 09:21:35 -0500
From: Michael Korman <michael@morgana.pubserv.com>
Subject: Wireless guitars
Does anyone know how the wireless guitars work?
Some friends of mine were discussing, while watching the ESL video,
how nice it is, that bands can perform now, without having cords attached
to their guitars; making it a lot easier to move around on stage.
We were wondering how the signal is transmitted to the other equipment?
Is it a radio signal?
Could someone who knows something about electronics, bring a device
into a show, and jam the signals, or maybe even play something different
over the system.
That way you could go to a lame show, like say
Def Leppard, and get Rush music instead. 8^).
--Mike
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 08:54:43 PDT
From: brent@ufo.llnl.gov (Kevin B. Fournier)
Subject: Physics near Black Holes (very long...sorry)
>Third, some things about black holes. I did a research paper on faster
>than light travel last year, and learned much about light and black holes.
>Nikos' comments were almost correct: Light actually _does_ have mass, however,
>it must be moving at the speed of light in order to have this mass. Also, a
>black hole is not a star with a large gravitational pull: it is a star that
>died and had such a huge gravitational pull that as it died, it sucked itself
>in on itself. A black hole, according to Steven Hawking, PhD in relative
>field, has _no_ dimensions whatsoever. It has no volume, yet infinite mass.
>Seem paradoxical? But true. Also, time would not have to slow down as one
>approaches a black hole. This is due to the fact that Realativity breaks
>down near places of infinte mass. It is realativity that would cause the
>slow-down and stopping of time.
Howdy, I don't mean to be condescending (sp?) but this post is just sooo off
the mark I have to respond. I'm a theoretical physicist working at the UC
Lawernce Livermore National Labs. (a huge government research facility in the
California desert) and I know a bit about relativity, compact objects (i.e.
black holes), and field quanta (i.e. the particles which convey the electo-
magnetic force - photons or light).
(1) Light does not have mass. If a photon were to have mass we'ld be in
big trouble. First, the universe would never have been able to expand
from the big bang to it's current size. The additional gravitic effects
of the photons would have slown the universe and eventually recollapsed
it. Secondly, the relativistic mass of a particle is proportional to its
rest mass (an unfortunate name at best) and the lorentz factor which is
a function of speed:
m = m(0)*{1/(1-v^2/c^2)^1/2} (tough to edit equations!!)
If a particle were to have a non-zero rest mass m(0), then it would not
be able to move at the speed of light. When a particles velocity equals
the *speed of light*, v/c = 1, and the denominator of the above expression
equals zero. Thus the mass of a massive photon would be infinite if the
photon were to move at the speed of light. Hence, in order to avoid a
singularity in the above equation, m(0)=0 !!!!
There are other more rigorous arguements, but they require a working
knowledge of either electrodynamics (cf. J D Jackson's Classical Elctro-
dynamics) or field theory (unfortunately, no good reference in this field
is accessible to some one with out at least a BS in Physics).
(2) A black hole is not a star. In this you are correct. It was formerly
a star, and when it died, because its mass was something above 6 times
the mass of our sun, it collapsed into a singularity. (Stars between
1.44 and 6 times the mass of our sun may become neutron stars, little
piss ant stars like our own often end as distended red giants.) The
mass may have disappeared into zero volume, but the black hole has a
physical dimension known as the event horizon. That is the point beyond
which a photon would not be able to escape the black hole's pull. The
event horizon of a black hole does have physical size and some how could
be measured (I don't know how...leave that to Star Trek). Hawkins showed
that black holes do evaporate. NEAR the event horizion, the fabric of
space and time are so distorted that pairs of electrons and anti-electrons
(known as positrons) *pop* into existence for a brief time. (The time is
inversely proprotional to the rest mass energy {e=mc^2} of the pair thru
the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle) In their fleeting lives, if one of
these particles is pulled more strongly by the black hole than it's
partner, it may fall below the event horizon. Ordinarily, the principle
of conservation of energy would require that these particles collide,
annihilate each other, and return to nothingness. However, if one of the
particles has fallen below the event horizon, this process can not take
place, and the other particle escapes into space, taking some of the ener-
gy of the blackhole's field with it. Eventually, this could cause a
hole to *evaporate*.
(3) As one were to watch an astronaut approach the surface of a black hole,
one would see the astronaut streched long like a piece of spagetti and
end in a violent bloody spray that would instantly evaporate in the hot,
hot, dense field of X-rays formed by infalling gas and dust which surround
black holes. Rather ugly. To the astronaut, time would seem to slow to
a stop, and he or she would never reach the event horizon in his or her
mind. Have you heard of Xeno's parodox? The streching of each unit of
space in the immense gravitic field of the blackhole causes yet another
sigularity in the fabric of Riemannean space time (4 dimensional space
for treating the woefully limited speacial relativistic world). In like
manner, each unit of time is infinitely streched for the observer in the
field of the hole. This is very difficult to explain clearly, by any good
book on General Realivity (note the General) can do a better job.
(Einstein himself wrote one which is very touchy feely - any other book
would probally start off with an intimidating chapter on Differential
Geometry - just skip that stuff and look for embedding diagrams.)
Finally, Frank Shu (sp?) wrote a wonderful text to introduce students to
astrophysics (I think its called The Physical Universe: An introduction to
Astonomy). The hard back is $52.00 so get a copy from a friend or just sit
and read it in the college book store, but it's really great!!!!
Well, this has no rush content what so ever, but Rush fans are both intellegent
and ecletic and so should not mind (too much) this diversion.
Thanks,
Brent
==============================================
The coffee's not bad for Nectar of the Gods
==============================================
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 04 May 1993 12:01:42 EDT
From: jts1@Lehigh.EDU (Jonathan Sadowsky)
Subject: RUSH cover band
Howdy once again from your cover band source;
Just to reiterate, the cover band that I am talking about, Power Windows, is
an excellent band, that I think is at their best in NYC. I recommend them
highly, especially when we have to wait until at least January to see the real
thing. Unfortunately, Dream Theater is not opening up for them too. Can't
wait for that tour.
Anyway, here are the upcomming dates for Power Windows
Wednesday May 5, 12, 19, 26
at the Rock N' Roll Cafe, NYC (212) 677-7630
Thurs May 20 at Rock the House, NJ somewhere (201) 916-1677
Fri May 21 at the Low Down, Mt. Vernon, NY (914) 667-5422
Fri May 28 at Ronny V's, Millerplace, NY (never heard of it either)
I hope to see many a Rush fan at these concerts. I will probably go to the
ones in NYC.
P.S. Even though MTV has turned into a poser station, RUSH unplugger (plus a
Rockumentary of course) would be awesome. It would give them a chance to play
their older, more classic tunes, like Before and After, Entre Nous, Making
Memories and Lakeside Park. BTH, I think older Rush (pre-ESL) is better than
anything ever made).
Thank you for your support.
jon
----------------------------------------------------------
From: gt1571c@prism.gatech.edu (Isam Robert Makhlouf)
Subject: I met Geddy Lee
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 12:12:56 EDT
Hello there Rush fans,
I have a little story to tell that you may find interesting...
First, a little background: I have been a Rush fan since Moving pictures was
released. No, I didn't ONLY like Tom Sawyer, I liked the entire album! I
started playing the drums in 1982 and immediately decided I wanted to be the
next Neil Peart. (Incidentally, I am very curious as to how many musicians
subscribe to TNMS, how about a survey?) I go to Georgia Tech (Grad school,
Electrical Engineering) but I'm originally from Chicago, which is where this
story takes place.
When Rush first came to Chicago (the Horizon) for the Roll the Bones tour,
my friend got us free tickets through an acquaintance of his (Rick Sudakoff)
who is Atlantic Record's regional promoter. He also found out where the band
was staying! So after the show we went downtown to the hotel they were staying
at and asked the desk clerk which rooms they were in. That information, of
course, was classified (he could tell us, but then he'd have to kill us.) So
we just waited in the lobby which was on the 6th floor. Growing impatient
after about 30 minutes, I decided to go down to the main entrance and see if
any limos were out there or anything. I saw nothing, and proceeded back to
the elevator to go back up and relate the bad news to my friend. After I got
into the elevator and punched 6, nothing happened, so I hit the "door close"
button and the door began closing. Suddenly an arm was jammed into the
remaining few inches the door was open, pushing it back. I immediately
pressed "door-open" and apologized, when GEDDY LEE walked onto the elevator
and thanked me for opening the door! I stood there across from him, not
knowing what to say. Finally I said "Hey, I was just at your show, it was
great!" He thanked me. Then I asked him where the rest of the band was and
he said that they went out without him! He was sort-of upset. Finally, I
asked if pictures and autographs for me and my friend would be OK. He said
sure, after he went to his room and changed. He went and came back and we took
the pictures, shook hands, etc., and that was it.
Well, I hope you found that enjoyable. It is 100% true, nothing has been
altered to protect the identity of anyone. Basically, I almost chopped off
the arm of the world's greatest bassist and got a picture of me standing with
him as my reward. Bye!
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 12:42:36 -0400
From: supriya (Lyricist)
Subject: NEW ALBUM DATE WANTED
dear fellow nms'ers,
because of tons of schoolwork I have not been able to keep up
with the NMS for a while...I know the new alubm is going to be called
critical mass...could someone please e-mail me any critical info about it like
release date, etc..thanks!!
--Supriya
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 04 May 1993 13:29:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: ahung@discover.wright.edu (The Omega Concern)
Subject: Re: 05/03/93 - The National Midnight Star #673
Greetings fellow Rush Fans!
I just got GUP and HYF this weekend. I love them! I agree with some people who
claim that Rush deserves a few listens before you pass judgement. On my first
pass through GUP, I really didn't like it except the songs from it that were
on Chronicles. Now, I rush home (oops, sorry) every day and throw on Kid Gloves
and jump around stupidly after classes or work. From looking at the booklet to
Chronicles and noticing the songs that I like more, I notice that I prefer the
songs that Rush recorded after 1980. Anyone else feel the same way? Also, as
GUP and HYF are three years apart, I could really sense the differences in how
the band had evolved from album to album.
Also, how do I order CD boots? Meg sent me a list. Do I just waltz into my
local record store and say, "Hey man, special order this for me" or what? Or
do I have to get in touch with the record companies themselves? Rush mgr, any
answers? Anyone?
[ You can try ordering from advertisers in "Goldmine" (see below), or you
can mail to meg@syrinx.umd.edu who has a list of mail order places, some of
which deal in the footware business. : rush-mgr ]
Also, to the guy that said "Neil throws like a girl, man"....(MOCK FEROCITY)
How dare you mock our favored son of the strings! The nerve you have to insult
he of the flowing locks! Remember folks, I'm just kidding! (IT'S TRUE!)
Hey Meg, TAG! You're it!
Art
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 10:51:18 PDT
From: changed@robotics.berkeley.edu (Chang... Ed Chang.)
Subject: Album Cover Posters -- Goldmine?
> So, does any one know where I could buy an album
> cover poster? I don't mind receiving it in the mail
> if I have to. I'm sure they are out there, I just
> don't know where to get them!
>
> [ You could try looking in "Goldmine" -- several places offer Rush
> posters (not always listed in their inventory). I came thiiiiis close to
> getting a MP poster, but the guy's cat tore it up... : rush-mgr ]
Could you give us some more info on this "Goldmine"?
[ "Goldmine" is a record collector/cd magazine that comes out every two
weeks. You can usually find it at record stores (like Tower) or some
bookstores (Bookstar sometimes carries it in CA). You can also get it
delivered to your house. The ordering info I have is as follows:
Goldmine phone #: 715-445-2214
700 E. State St fax #: 715-445-4087
Iola, WI 54990
13 issues is $22 (US), $54 (Canada, Mexico), $67.25 (Central Am.), $91
(Europe, S. Am), $115.75 (Asia, Africa).
It's a good place to find those "hard to come by" items, and several
places offer bootlegs. : rush-mgr ]
Thanks,
Ed
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 04 May 1993 13:56:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: Lewis A Bernstein <V087N562@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu>
Subject: Break-in period....
I will have to agree that there is a break in period before I properly
appreciate a Rush album or even a Rush song. I happen to be about
two albums behind the group. When p/g came out, I was in love with
MP, when PoW came out, I was in love with Signals, etc. I notice
it even with songs from an album. I *hated* Nuerotica when RtB first
came out because of the chorus, but now I can get past that and really
enjoy the power of the song. The reason that I believe it happens, at least
with me, is I play the new album all of the time when it comes out, then it
usually gets shelved for a while, as I re-listen to their older stuff, and
when I finally get around to listening to that album a lot, I really enjoy
it.
Whoever said that you can't get sick of a Rush song is wrong. IMHO. I
almost can't stand to hear Freewill. It is played incessantly here. I
would rather hear almost any other Rush song that Freewill. (which is
hacked on the RtB tour, even on OtE, where is the 'Each of us......' shriek
that he can't handle anymore?).
Oh well.
Later.
Lew
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 15:07:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: Daniel Martinez <dm5i+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: "Digital Man" and Neuromancer
I've looked through the last few issues of TNMS, and have perused
the FAQ list, but I haven't found any mention of the subject, so I
guess I'll have to ask my question of the readership at large.
Has anyone else noticed strong parallels between the novel
_Neuromancer_, by William Gibson, and "Digital Man" from _Signals_?
The whole song seems to be about someone who trades in
surreptitously secured information ("he picks up scraps of
information/he's adept at adaptation"): Case, the novel's central
character, is a "console cowboy" who makes his living by weaseling
corporate secrets out of others' computer systems.
Halfway through the novel, Case takes up residence in an orbital
colony called the Zion Cluster (Digital Man: "He'd love to spend the
night in Zion...").
Also, a bit more on the obscure side, the song refers to "his
reliance on the giants in the science of the day"; in his youth, Case
was a member of a group of technopunks calling themselves the Big
Scientists.
Finally, "Digital Man" closes by saying that "he's got a date with
fate in a black sedan": there's a section in Neuromancer in which Case
and his associates have a dangerous encounter, in Istanbul, with a
teammate-to-be, whom they go to collect in a luxurious Mercedes sedan.
(That last one is pushing it, I know.)
Signals is copyrighted 1982; Neuromancer was completed in 1983. Am I
just reading far too much into coincidence because I acquired the book
and the album at the same time, or does someone have documentary
evidence that one work influenced the other?
Dan
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 93 18:38:02 CDT
From: jcc@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Jeremy Caplan)
Subject: Close up of Neil
Would the person who mentioned that they had an excellent close-up shot of
Neil in blue come forward and perhaps offer me a copy of the negative?? I
could offer him a few bucks in exchange, and maybe some backstage passes to
the next show...
$ "Man by nature wants to know." | Jeremy Caplan jcc@casbah.acns.nwu.edu $
$ ARISTOTLE | Philosophy Northwestern University $
$-Metallica-RUSH-Sting-JAdderly-Coltrane-Miles-BMarsalis-Parker-ASandoval-$
$ "We are born unarmed. Our mind is our only weapon." Ayn Rand $
P.S. Kidding about the backstage passes, of course :-)!
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 19:53:08 -0400
From: mcmahan@cs.unca.edu (Scott McMahan -- Genesis mailing list owner)
Subject: Caress of Steel and so forth...
I acquired today something called 'vol II RUSH ARCHIVES', what the
cover claims is a "collector's limited edition". Volume I has both of
the first two Rush albums, one on each side. Is this really that rare?
They did not have Volume I, just II. I have profound reservations
about anything that is claimed to be collectible or rare before it is
even released, anyway.
What an album! It's so dark and stark. Very aptly named. A listening
experience. I haven't heard it enough to comment much.
Scott
--
And then you'll say, even in time we shall control the day (Yes)
----------------------------------------------------------
To submit material to The National Midnight Star, send mail to:
rush@syrinx.umd.edu
For administrative matters (subscription, unsubscription, changes, and
questions), send mail to:
rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or
rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu
There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network
address to ftp to is:
syrinx.umd.edu or 129.2.8.114
When you've connected, userid is "anonymous", password is <your userid>.
Once you've successfully logged on, change directory (cd) to 'rush'.
There is also a mail server available (for those unable or unwilling to
ftp). For more info, send email with the subject line of HELP to:
server@ingr.com
These requests are processed nightly. Use a subject line of MESSAGE to
send a note to the server keeper or to deposit a file into the archive.
The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and
comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the authors' management, or the mailing list management.
Copyright The Rush Fans Mailing List, 1993.
Editor, The National Midnight Star
(Rush Fans Mailing List)
********************************************
End of The National Midnight Star Number 674
********************************************