KTTY Bayside

[Erika]

Oh wow! I haven't seen this thread! Yeah we can work something. Let me get the site up and then I will open it up.

[Perculiar Chicken]

The break between posts was a caesura - emphatic AND poetic! Love it, Friar!

[The Friar]

Thanks PC! I love it when I am emphatic AND poetic!!! And yes, methinks you're right, a drink is very much in order!!!

The ;D Friar

[Muffin Sangria]

Friar,
I was really into Rush around the time of Presto and Roll the Bones. I had most of their tapes (yeah I said tapes, ha ha). But then their subsequent albums didn't get much airplay and I sort of forgot about them.
Neil Peart is a heck of a drummer, he's one of my favorites along with Keith Moon and John Bonham (I'll throw Dave Grohl in that mix too for some current flavor).

I find myself listening to more and more of classic rock, especially Van Halen, AC/DC, David Bowie, etc. To me, there's something missing with current "rock" music. Some stuff is pretty good, but there is so much that I just can't get into. I think Keith Richards said it pretty well when he said "everyone knows how to rock, but most have forgotten how to roll".

[The Friar]

Muff,

I've been a RUSH fan since the summer of '84 when my cousin turned me on to them and another little known band...Van Halen!!! They are probably my second fav band.

Now I gotta ask a question, knowing you are a VH fan, or at least a listener, who do you prefer, Roth or Hagar? I will answer this after I hear from you.

Yes, Neil Peart is a heck of a drummer, along with the others you've mentioned. Being a drummer myself I feel I have an inside track into picking the best, and hands down Peart is the best I've ever heard. To see him in concert is a true treasure, one I won't soon forget. It is refreshing to hear a percussionist like Peart vs. all of the bangers that are out there these days. He is a true musician and master of his craft.

The ;D Friar

[Muffin Sangria]

Hmmm...Van Halen, or Van Hagar? Good question.
I think most people's opinions lean toward Van Hagar being garbage, but I think that couldn't be further from the truth. Sammy made some really good music with the boys.
Is it better than the Roth-era stuff?? I don't think it's fair to compare them. Roth was the original, so he's always going to have that advantage. One thing that Diamond Dave had, that Sammy lacked, was the craziness, charisma, and stage presence. If I had to choose, I'd go with the Roth-era, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy Sammy's contribution.

The Gary Cherone stuff.....ehhhh, now that's another story.

I wonder if they'll ever release another record.
At least Eddie should be doing something, like a solo record. Eddie's got way too much talent to just be sitting at home doing nothing.

[The Friar]

Sorry it's taken me a few days to get back, but I am on vacation!!!

To the VH convo...

You're probably right in the comparison part, it probably isn't fair to compare. However, comparison is inevitable. I am a Roth era fan. I love the stuff Hagar did with them, but truthfully, it really is two different bands, in my humble opinion. The Roth stuff is my fav, but then I am a little biased toward the era since that was when I started listening to them.

Back to RUSH...

As for RUSH, again there are different periods of RUSH as there are different periods of geological time!

You have the Cambrian period which contains the RUSH album (yes, I still call them albums!) entitled "RUSH" and this was pre-Peartian.

Then you have the Ordovician period which contains the album "Fly By Night" the first release with a Peartian flavor to the lyrics as well as the music.

Next comes the Silurian period which contains "Caress of Steel" one of the weaker RUSH albums, which finds the group still searching for its identity and a signature sound.

Finally, on their fourth album, "2112", RUSH has done it. It has found the sound that it was looking for, and the “Star Man” symbol. This ode to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" is complete myth and storytelling, and even has the cannons of the revolution in the background. I love the last line of the overture, “Attention all planets of the Solar Federation, we have assumed control!” An Orwellian theme to be sure. With this album we have the beginning of the period known as the Triassic. Within the Triassic is this album and their next, the first of several, ubiquitous, live/greatest hits albums “All the World’s a Stage.” Once again RUSH reaches into the classical (see Tchaikovsky above), this time to Shakespeare, for the title of this great offering.

Finally, we have reached the major period of RUSH’S metamorphosis, the Jurassic. Albums of the Jurassic are as follows: “A Farewell to Kings”, “Hemispheres”, and “Permanent Waves”. These albums contained such great songs as, “Xanadu” an 11:08 epic, “Closer to the Heart” RUSH’S concert anthem, “The Trees” perhaps the all time best RUSH song and a great commentary on social classes, the 9:35 “La Villa Strangiato” one of many instrumentals, that has perhaps the most soulful guitar solo of Alex Lifeson’s career, a great bass solo, and equally great drum solo (with Peart, they‘re all GREAT!!!), “The Spirit of the Radio” and “Freewill” two songs that would gain wide airplay on the radio and bring RUSH to a whole new audience.

Then there is perhaps what some consider their greatest release (not this fan), launching them into a new period, the Cretaceous, the album “Moving Pictures”. Although this is a great album containing such RUSH concert staples as “Tom Sawyer”, “Limelight”, and “Red Barchetta”, as well as another fantastic instrumental “YYZ”, it also marks a time when RUSH has reached commercial success. No longer are these three Canadian rockers a secret. This is one of their best, but it seems to see them going down a road, for awhile, toward more commercial writing than they ever have before. This is followed by another live album “Exit…Stage Left” their greatest live album of their career. “Signals” is their next album and it too contains a radio hit “Subdivisions”, a great song with heavy synth. This album also contains the concert favorite “New World Man”. The period ends with a string of albums that are still very good but are steering RUSH into another direction. The end of the Cretaceous sees these albums: “Grace Under Pressure”, “Power Windows”, and "Hold Your Fire”.

It is after this release that this writer feels Rush enters a new period, the Quaternary, that contains the rest of their work to date. Although this is still all good, it is much different, as it should be, from their Jurassic period.

So Muff, I hope you know more than the Quaternary stuff. If you don't, you are missing out on a great deal of RUSH, and really their best work.

The ;D Friar

[The Friar]

A great commentary on social classes written from the perspective of Trees.

RUSH
The Trees

There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas.

The trouble with the maples,
(And they're quite convinced they're right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light.
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made.
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade.

There is trouble in the forest,
And the creatures all have fled,
As the maples scream "Oppression!"
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
"The oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light."
Now there's no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.

The music for this unbelievable song is equal to the lyric.



The ;D Friar

[Muffin Sangria]

Wow Friar, that is quite the overview!!!!

I think the first album I bought was Chronicles and since I liked every song on that collection I started to buy the earlier albums. Mind you, this was pre-internet so it was difficult finding the early albums like RUSH and Fly By Night, but I think I have all the albums from the "Jurassic" period on up to Roll The Bones.

I always liked The Trees for the social commentary. I like songs that try and say something worthwhile rather than just the typical "uhh uhh ooo ooo baby baby" garbage.

I'm sure you can answer this for me: What is the genesis of the Star Man symbol? The first time I saw that, I think on the 2112 album cover, I thought it was some sort of satanic symbol...like the pentagram. I've since dispelled that notion, but I never really understood where it came from, or what it means, if anything.

[The Friar]

Hey Muff,

I found this quote about the "Star Man" that explains it best...

"The man is the hero of the story. That he is nude is just a classic tradition ... the pureness of his person and creativity without the trappings of other elements such as clothing. The red star is the evil red star of the Federation, which was one of Neil's symbols. We basically based that cover around the red star and that hero." - Hugh Syme, Creem, 1983

I, too, thought in the beginning that this was a satanic symbol and was told by some “over the top” religious people that it was. But I was skeptical since their lyrical content never touched this realm and did some research on it. In doing so I found explanations like the one above. I also read that Peart, the originator of the lyrics for “2112” and the art, was not a satanist. The biggest clue that it isn’t satanic? The star is not upside down, which it would be if it were portraying satanism.

I am glad you are more than peripheral listener of RUSH. I know I’ve gone on and on about them here, but I truly see them as one of the best bands around. They are lyrical and musical, which can be a hard combination to come by…especially these days. I would certainly suggest picking up “2112” if you don’t have it. This is classic RUSH in its highest form. You want to hear something amazing? I saw the “Test for Echo” tour back in ‘97. RUSH had no opening band for this tour. They came out played the “2112” overture as the opening act (which in its original album form is over 20 minutes long, and for the tour was extended), went off stage, came back for the main portion of the show and rocked for a good 2 hours. I would rather hear RUSH for 30 minutes extra than to a no name band making noise for an hour any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Needless to say I was in heaven!!!

The ;D Friar

[Muffin Sangria]

I did a little research myself on pentagrams and found this thorough history of its many uses and meanings.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagram

It seems that much like the swastika, the pentagram, a fairly innocent symbol, has been adopted by less than honorable people and has come to symbolize all that is sinister in society.

[Jeff]

Few of my favourites:
The Bloodhound Gang (Going to see them TODAY, at Pinkpop!)
Kaiser Chiefs (Who I already saw at Pinkpop ;D !)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Who I am going to see tomorrow at Pinkpop!)

LOVE it!!

[zach86]

I never heard of Pinkpop. Is it a type of tour?

[Timothy]

Pinkpop is a festival in Landgraaf, small town in southern Holland. It's every year around 'Pinksteren' (English = Pentecost I believe, it's about ten days after Ascension day, am I right?).

The festival in quite well known in Holland/Belgium/Luxemburg/Germany I guess, it attracts a lot of visitors every year. Quite some artists play op an open stage. This year ao there were the RHCP.

Pinkpop Festival

The Netherlands most famous open-air festival PINKPOP will take place for the 37th time in the city of Landgraaf at the beautiful festivalsite MEGALAND, 134 miles from Amsterdam, near the city of Heerlen and situated in the most South bound province of Limburg.

In 36 years the festival was sold out 16 times, with a capacity of 60.000 spectators. In 36 years more than 1,5 million people visited the festival and more than 500 acts played at the Pinkpop festival. See the History section.

This year´s program will be just as sensational as previous years on the Whitsun weekend, Saturday 3, Sunday 4 and Monday 5 of June. During these three days PINKPOP proudly presents more than 30 bands on three stages. Click here for our Program or timeschedule

Of the website, hmmz, I was quite sure pentecost was Pinksteren, but not it says Whitsun here. Are both possible, or am I wrong ?

[The Friar]

Hey Gang,

I can try and shed some light on this question.

Whitsun or Whitsunday literally means "White Sunday," probably for the white robes worn by the newly baptized, since Whitesunday was a special day for baptizing. The reason it was a special day is because it was the Sunday of Pentecost, the Church's celebration of the day that the apostles received the Holy Spirit, the Helper Jesus promised, as tongues of flame upon their heads.

Wikipedia agrees with you Timothy, Pinksteren means Pentecost. And yes, it is 10 days after Ascension, which is 40 days after Easter, so Pentecost is 50 days after Easter. Good job Timothy!!!

The ;D Friar