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RUSH "Snakes And Arrows"

Permanent Waves said:
Here's a few recent interesting rumors for all you fellow Rush freaks :D :

Rush might perform at the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver next Friday, February 12th. They would play a version of YYZ.
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That would be awesome. I'll have to be sure and watch very carefully, now...although I probably would have been watching anyway. My wife and I both really enjoy the Olympics.
 
Permanent Waves said:
Glad to hear you like SnA; I blasted it yet again the other night, and, yet again, was just blown away. :jawdrop: Just a fantastic album overall. :thmbsp:

I like your choices of Countdown, Scars, and High Water. The first two would make great concert songs, and High Water is an under appreciated classic imo that is one of my favorites as well (love the lyrical content for one thing; the lyrics could have been written by Richard Dawkins or the late Carl Sagan!).

Here's a few recent interesting rumors for all you fellow Rush freaks :D :

Rush might perform at the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver next Friday, February 12th. They would play a version of YYZ.

One of the new songs they have been working on is reportedly an instrumental called "The Unfinished Business". It's not clear if it is related to "The Main Monkey Business" instrumental on SnA in more than title only, but it has been rumored since SnA came out that the original studio version of The Main Monkey Business was much longer than the version that ended up on the album. I'll certainly take some more of that stunning Rush instrumental/jam fest! :yes:
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Hmmm, wonder if I'll be watching the opening ceremony? :D

"The Unfinished Business" I would certainly approve of a 10 minute instrumental with the energy of TMMB. :yes: My favorite song on SnA, for sure. I'd like to hear another solo acoustic piece by Alex too.
 
Tedrick said:
That would be awesome. I'll have to be sure and watch very carefully, now...although I probably would have been watching anyway. My wife and I both really enjoy the Olympics.
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Jailtime said:
Hmmm, wonder if I'll be watching the opening ceremony? :D

"The Unfinished Business" I would certainly approve of a 10 minute instrumental with the energy of TMMB. :yes: My favorite song on SnA, for sure. I'd like to hear another solo acoustic piece by Alex too.
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Well if I find out for sure they are performing at the opening ceremonies then I'll post a notice in here. :thmbsp: But you guys know where I get most of my Rush info. anyway and can thus check for updates for yourselves:

http://www.rushisaband.com/

JT: You have a favorite song on SnA? You're a better man (or Rush fan) than I; I can't make up my mind! :D

We'll just have to wait to see what surprises Rush has in store for us this year...:grnbounce
 
Permanent Waves said:
JT: You have a favorite song on SnA? You're a better man (or Rush fan) than I; I can't make up my mind! :D
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TMMB just caught my attention from the first time I heard the first riff. There's so much energy in it. It's masterfully crafted, and has a great progression. I just love the tone of Alex's guitar in it too, the main solo is mind blowing. On top of all that, TMMB is one of my favorite test songs. The low frequency abilities of your system will be strained. :yes:

I don't know if it makes me a better fan to have a favorite on SnA. :D It's all so good. Armor and Sword, Far Cry, and The Larger Bowl all come in a very close second.
 
Jailtime said:
TMMB just caught my attention from the first time I heard the first riff. There's so much energy in it. It's masterfully crafted, and has a great progression. I just love the tone of Alex's guitar in it too, the main solo is mind blowing. On top of all that, TMMB is one of my favorite test songs. The low frequency abilities of your system will be strained. :yes:

I don't know if it makes me a better fan to have a favorite on SnA. :D It's all so good. Armor and Sword, Far Cry, and The Larger Bowl all come in a very close second.
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Lol, I was j/k; certainly one's ability or inability to choose favorite tracks on an album or from a band's entire discography isn't a valid criteria of "fandom". I suppose there really are none actually (despite what the conceited and low self esteem fan bois who need to prove how much of a fan they are to strangers wish to maintain), besides simply how much one enjoys a band and how frequently they listen to them (and maybe also how much one keeps up with news about them, discusses them, goes see them live, buys peripheral products, etc....maybe).

I agree with (most) all you stated about TMMB too, and it stood out for me as well on my first few listens to SnA, as did some others (Far Cry, Workin' Them Angels, Spindrift, Faithless, Malignant Narcissism...).

I don't find it or anything on SnA that good for test songs though; the whole sound of the album is a bit "thin" without true deep (subsonic) bass imo. There is bass, of course, but compared to many other albums I have (including many Rush, especially live) it doesn't stand out or overwhelm me much...with one huge exception: the 1:18 minute mark on TMMB when Neil hits the bass drum. That always shakes my house (literally...as in I can feel it in my floors/walls on the other end of my house on a different level) when I have my sub and system cranked. :D
 
Permanent Waves said:
the 1:18 minute mark on TMMB when Neil hits the bass drum. That always shakes my house (literally...as in I can feel it in my floors/walls on the other end of my house on a different level) when I have my sub and system cranked. :D
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Exactly. :D

There are albums from Rush that have better quality in the low end. Hold Your Fire is a good example. But Neil does lots of work on those big toms in SnA, you need a dynamic system to reproduce those cleanly at high levels. Like the big roll in Workin' them Angels. I've always liked the drum solo on R30 for low freq. dynamic testing too.
 
Jailtime said:
Exactly. :D

There are albums from Rush that have better quality in the low end. Hold Your Fire is a good example. But Neil does lots of work on those big toms in SnA, you need a dynamic system to reproduce those cleanly at high levels. Like the big roll in Workin' them Angels. I've always liked the drum solo on R30 for low freq. dynamic testing too.
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Ok, got ya. :D

I was listening to HYF last night, and yes there is a lot of low level synth bass on that album (the beginning of Lock and Key for instance, and Tai Shan has quite a lot too throughout). I find Power Windows to have a LOT of drum/synth bass (Territories, Manhattan Project, Mystic Rhythms, The Big Money...hell, every song! :D) and a very clean dynamic sound as well and to be a good system tester. Oh, and the end of 2112 is fun to play to see if your system can keep up! And yea, about every live drum solo from Neil since A Show of Hands at least will pummel you and your system! :D

But for "real" bass (not rap or test cd bass, but still) I put on a Michael Jackson or Madonna album. Holy cow, those things are insane! I have to turn down the volume on my sub (which is only about half way anyway so as to blend with my monitors seamlessly instead of overwhelm them and stay tight, fast, lean, and clean instead of boomy and distorted) when I blast their music! Just about every song shakes my pants like I'm at a concert! In contrast only a few moments in Rush songs really do the same...except when live.

There are many other albums I could mention (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall for instance) by many other bands that I use for when I want to blast myself out of my chair or hear bass out in my driveway...but they are too numerous to list. It's certainly fun to hear and feel music, but I also enjoy turning off my sub entirely (my monitors go down to 55hz which, of course, covers much of the bass produced in much music anyway) and also listening to my Grado headphones. Just different ways to hear the same music. :music:
 
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DSOTM - that heartbeat to open the album rocks. :D And I'll admit to rattling a few teeth with The Wall. I have a really good pressing of The Wall on original vinyl, it can get loud at times with the Fisher tubes pushing some 95dB sensitive speakers. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment, so quiet hours disturb my listening time.

Isn't 43 Hz the lowest frequency possible from an electric bass? And I do believe a pipe organ is capable of 32 Hz. But I'm bringing up exceptions to the rule here. I usually shoot for around 40 Hz.

Now back to SnA. I've found that the SnA Live DVD has great sound quality for really pushing your system. Rush's best DVD as far as engineering goes for sure. That's something we can hope for, even if there isn't another full album. If there's a Rush tour, there's likely to be another DVD. :yes:
 
Yea the "Heartbeat" opening will make your own heart rattle! :D I find the climax in Us and Them and Brain Damage even more powerful though. Also the beginning to Welcome to the Machine---holy crap...classic rearrange the stuff on your desk bass! Also the kick drum on The Wall (and synths). Lots of bass in some PF albums. :yes:

If I lived in an apartment I probably wouldn't even own a sub. Sure I play it at a low volume a lot and it supplements my monitors and rounds out the sound on any level, but even on low volumes it goes right through walls and floors. Loud and you can hear it outside. In fact, I actually adhere to quiet times myself (most of the time :D) out of fear that my neighbors on the one side (with 3 small kids) might be able to hear my system. They've never said anything, but if I stand in between our two houses (the side of my house closest to where my stereo is), I can hear both my sub and monitors when they are Rush concert loud (and I have really good windows that seal in/out sound well too). They probably can't hear that inside, but you never know because you can hear bass from those car bass machines that go down the street so.... I also did have a 15" inch sub with amp when I was a teen and living at home and my next door neighbor said she could hear/feel it in her second story bedroom (I was on the first level in our house). But my bedroom was on the end of our house and hers was right on the end of hers too and that thing could blast down walls!

Frequency ranges that certain instruments can produce and what people can hear (and feel which is also important) is a matter of some contention in the audio world (what isn't? :D). I've seen all sorts of different specs for different instruments (bass guitar down to 31hz and pipe organs down to 18hz) so I don't trust any entirely. Generally it is the consensus that usual frequency range a "hi-fi" system should cover is 20-20,000hz just to "make sure you're covered". But my main sub "only" goes down to 25hz; my other smaller one "only" 28hz. My monitors of course go up to 20hz.

Can I hear a difference between my two subs and those 3hz? No, and yes. My "big" sub has a 10" woofer and more watts and it is more powerful and seems to hit deeper than my 8" woofer sub of the same maker with less watts. But this is really due to the spl and dB levels they are capable of reproducing, not how low either sub goes because most hearable and feelable bass is in the 40hz to 200hz range (I think). So it is more important to have a dedicated bass woofer with enough wattage overhead to "cover it" than the size and number of woofers that have to cover too much frequency, from low to mid to high bass and into low mids (I've never personally heard any floor standers that could compete with any decent sub, including several 12 and 15 inch Cerwin Vegas and my friends dad's 15 inch Fishers which were the biggest floor standers I've ever seen!). Otherwise I would have just bought 2 15" subs that went down to 18hz (or lower) and called it a day! But I loved my 8" sub in my main system (it's now in a second one) and my 10" sub is now more than enough (for music anyway...there is the matter of whether larger subs/woofers start to sacrifice some bass articulation for the sake of the "making your change jump out of your pocket" effect). If it wasn't, I wouldn't feel the need to have the volume about halfway and to set the frequency at around 60hz to start to cover where my monitors (which themselves put out a surprising amount of bass that make them great to listen to all on their own) start to fall off dramatically.

Yea, back to Rush! I agree that SnA is their best produced live album yet (although R30 comes close and I love the warm/classic sound of Exit). Do you have the cd verison? That's what I usually listen to. And yes, I'm sure no matter what that Rush will have at least one last tour and subsequent live DVD/CD! :banana:
 
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Jailtime said:
No Rush tonight. :tears: :wtf: Seemed like it was confirmed to me.
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Me too, sorry a-bout that! :D

I was out all night, just got in, but here's some explanation:

http://www.rushisaband.com/display.php?id=2071

Now at the risk of sounding insensitive, if they cut that whole part out just because some guy flew out of a luger track that's ridiculous. He willingly put himself in danger just by choosing that "profession" in the first place, and did so every time he partook in it. He knew the risk, he took it multiple times, and this time it didn't work out. It's his fault what happened to him did, and although I never like it when a human life is snuffed out (especially so young), there are REAL tragedies (Haiti for instance, or the thousands of children dying every damn day) that thousands/millions/billions undergo everyday/week/month/year ad infinitum through NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN (what---did they choose to be born into poverty?!) that I save my limited sympathy and resources (money, volunteering, advocation, etc.) for. Not those so careless and reckless as to chose to do such risky activities (probably out of some ego/self esteem issues they have) in the first place, much less over and over...what do they (and we) expect?

Lol, my gf would kill me for writing that. :D

Now that said, if it was a choice between seeing Rush perform or this guy never having the accident in the first place and thus still being alive, OF COURSE I'd choose the later. In fact, I really don't care whether or not Rush was going to perform or not. I'd just watch their part on YouTube whenever and think "Oh...cool" and that'd be it. But I just think this oversensitive (at a least about those in the limelight---those outside of it who die everyday in our and the world's streets with little champions or media coverage or at least average people caring much to do anything about it) culture has gone way too far. We cry over rich and famous celeb/sports stars/performer's misfortunes while we ignore the plights of the anonymous masses suffering and dying ever day all over the world, some even just miles away. How sick, and how irrational. Sure all human suffering is to be avoided, but there are levels. And until such immense suffering/misery which goes on everyday on such massive scales throughout the world vanishes, then we as individuals and as a society simply don't have the resources (mentally, physically, monetarily, logistically, etc.) to concern ourselves over every individual misfortune that occurs simply because the media covers it, especially when it applies to those who have (relatively speaking) better lives than the vast majority of humankind could ever wish for or ever lived, and befell their misfortune at least partly due to their freely chosen actions/decisions knowing the risk involved.

Rant over. :D
 
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Some tour rumors coming out, looks like I will be seeing them, yet AGAIN, outside in the horrible summer swelter (Aug 22nd: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater).

(Yes, yes I know, it's DAMN spoiled of me to dare complain about such trivial things in this world full of real problems--not that I haven't had those or could have them again any second though--and it is not a big deal at all of course; but I just wish I could see them inside again--I know, I know, I've already seen them inside twice: what right do I have to complain?--the show is so much better!)

Anyway, almost certain Rush tour this summer! :banana:

Also, on March 28th Rush will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Les Claypool will be one of the performers, playing The Spirit of Radio...well that will be interesting! :scratch2: :smoke:
 
Permanent Waves said:
Some tour rumors coming out, looks like I will be seeing them, yet AGAIN, outside in the horrible summer swelter (Aug 22nd: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater).

(Yes, yes I know, it's DAMN spoiled of me to dare complain about such trivial things in this world full of real problems--not that I haven't had those or could have them again any second though--and it is not a big deal at all of course; but I just wish I could see them inside again--I know, I know, I've already seen them inside twice: what right do I have to complain?--the show is so much better!)

Anyway, almost certain Rush tour this summer! :banana:

Also, on March 28th Rush will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Les Claypool will be one of the performers, playing The Spirit of Radio...well that will be interesting! :scratch2: :smoke:
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please, Please, PLEASE, come within at least a 300 mile radius of me, Rush! Haven't heard much about the album/songs release lately.
 
Some big Rush updates: :thmbsp:

First, here's a close to hour long interview with Ged and Alex talking about their induction into the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/More_Shows/Radio/A_Conversation_with_Rush/ID=1445449710

I haven't watched this yet, but according to those that have they revealed that they have several (about 6) new songs written :banana: (as rumored for months).

And in this article where Neil talks about being inducted in the CSHoF (and how he doesn't care--and shouldn't!--about that silly RnRHoF! Go Neil! :thmbsp: I hope they never get in, it would not be an honor but a dishonor!), he reveals some more info on the new material and how it might be released:

http://www.thefreepress.ca/article/GB/20100325/CP05/303259910/-1/FERNIE/rush-say-canadian-songwriters-hall-induction-means-more-than-rock&template=cpArt

Good article; I told you Claypool was a big Rush fan! :D

Then there's this article with Alex about the induction into the CSHoF where he rips the RnRHoF (or Shame really: RnRHoS :D) a new one as well. Go Alex! :thmbsp: He also mentions Rush has half a dozen things (songs) they've put together and what Rush's tour schedule and plans are looking like over the next year and a half: it may not be just one tour (this summer/fall) but TWO tours (next summer/fall as well), the latter after a Spring '11 album release:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/rushs-alex-lifeson-on-doing-what-he-loves/article1513358/#

:banana: :yippy: :tresbon:

Basically, what I surmise from all of this is that Rush is wanting to do what they did in the old days: Go on a "mini" tour with some new material to test out/perfect on the road, go into the studio after the mini tour to record/tweak that material as well as more new material they perhaps wrote on the road and/or will in the studio, and then release a FULL album of all that material and then go on a "full" tour to support that album.

However, they may also release (in digital form I take it) a few songs before the tour this summer, and possibly all the songs in that way (when they are finished) and go on a major world tour next summer/fall after all new material they have is released (and not necessarily in an album format). This is because of what Neil (and now Alex: "It used to be that you made an album and then you went on the road to promote that album, hoping for good record sales. Well, good record sales basically don't exist any more, and the emphasis has been more on the live show." : I would qualify this by saying that good album sales especially don't exist for a band like Rush) and countless others (and stats) have been saying about the decline of album sales in the last decade or so and especially the last few years; they at least don't sell like they used to for even the biggest artists, so how can a band like Rush, who never sold all that well in comparison even at the height of their popularity (which is 20+ years gone), hope to even sign a contract to release an album that's almost guaranteed to not even go gold, and, like SnA, "Pay for itself" as Neil commented of SnA's sales?

I don't know, and I'm not an industry insider, but the members of Rush essentially are and seem to be focused on touring as their main source of income in the future as they have been since around the early 2000's (with all the tours and concert DVD's/live albums in recent years compared to studio albums). BUT they also want to create new music: it is their passion and I do feel they sincerely get an unselfish reward from sharing their music, from knowing that many people will enjoy this new music they created for years to come (yea, of course there is some ego element there as well). But then, how do they pay for this desire to create new music and share it with the world if the sales of the new music will not be good (and, even if are good, not at all what they would have been even 10 years ago) and they can't get any monetary support for it? Seems that distributing it online would be cheaper than all the cost that go into mass producing cd's/records. They could always do a limited run of those formats for the "niche" markets...

Well, we'll see how this all goes, all we know as of now is that Rush seems not at all ready for retirement, is, in fact, planning on not one but two tours and putting out a bunch of new material in less than two years time. And all this comes after one of their best studio album's to date and also a sequence of their best live albums to date as well (RiR, R30, SnA Live). It's still a great time to be a Rush fan, as it always was :thmbsp: (except for that dark period from '98 to '01).

PS: One bit of news I'm simultaneously encouraged and discouraged by: Neil mentions working with Nick Raskulinecz again. :worried: :
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/R/Rush/2010/03/26/13370106.html?cid=rssentertainment

I'm encouraged because it seems Nick is a positive influence on the music of the bands he produces. But I'm discouraged because he seems to have hearing problems and thus the albums he works on have sub-par SQ. Granted I only have Rush's SnA and now Alice in Chain's Black Gives Way to Blue that he worked on to go by, but both, though they have strong material (I was really surprised by the AIC's album: I'm not the biggest AIC fan but I really like it and didn't think I would much at all), the sound could, and SHOULD be better, much better. It isn't Vapor Trails horrible, but it's not as it should be for a "professional" recording by someone who gets paid way too much (as in anything) to produce a flawed and inferior product. Both of these albums sound at least somewhat compressed, congested, "thin", lacking air, headroom, dynamics, instrument separation and sound stage, etc. They also both have audible distortion/crackling (especially the AIC album the more I listen to it) throughout. This is ridiculous and without excuse; Nick, the deaf wonder, giveth (good insight and advice) and taketh away (inferior SQ) on at least these two albums he's worked on. I say hire him as a music consultant, NOT as anyone who has any business in a sound booth! And, even then, any Rush fan could give as good/better input into new Rush material anyway (hence the reason Rush tried to get "feedback" all those years by testing new material on the road and may try it again)...hey, I'd do it for free! :D

Oh well, new Rush music and tour(s)! Not much to complain about I suppose! :thmbsp:


All of the info. for this post I got from here btw so the credit goes to RIAB:

http://www.rushisaband.com/display.php?id=2108

Go there for more links/info, and stay tuned! :thmbsp:
 
Well, I see that rumored tour date of Aug 5 in Salt Lake City. :banana: And that's only the mini tour, I'd bet they'll be back again! Half dozen songs, add a couple more and we have another Rush album! Money waiting in hand for front row seats to the Rush concert in SLC. :yes:
 
Geddy Lee confirms summer tour and new album! :banana:

http://www.rushisaband.com/display.php?id=2113

So, it's pretty much official! :thmbsp:

(At the very least there will be a summer tour with some new songs played on it.)

JT: Front row? :eek: I hope you got some cash saved, those seats are like $300 to $500...unless you know a way to actually get them legitimately. That is, ever since the Vapor Trails tour, I've had the $$$ for front row and always went for "best available" the second Rush tickets went on sale (just to see what happened...I really never wanted to be that close...yea, I'm weird but I don't want to stare up at shoes and knee caps...I want a panoramic view about 1/3 back at the closest...that's my favorite place for concerts). But every time they were "sold out" instantly. I think they are just on sale/reserved for ticket brokers and radio stations (for giveaways), not even the general public, for the more reasonable price of around $100. So those types buy them up even before ticket sales (or pre-sale, I've done both) and then charge 3 to 5 times what they cost. There is no way I'm paying more than most of my audio components cost for a few hours of a show!

That said, my gf and I might possibly go see them multiple times this tour (and/or the next one), which will cost a few hundred each time in and of itself (tickets, gas, lodging--unless we do some marathon driving back and forth--food). But traveling to a city(ies) fairly close to us to see Rush is more like a mini-vacation(s) anyway so it's not just the show that will be the whole reason to go! (Think Dreamline lyrics lol).

Anyway, bring on the tour!!! :yippy:
 
Well, they will be playing only 20 minutes away from my home, so I don't have the other expenses. You bring up a good point about front row looking at shoes. :D Let's make it something like fifth row. The amphitheater doesn't really have a front row like most other stages anyway.
 
Jailtime said:
Well, they will be playing only 20 minutes away from my home, so I don't have the other expenses. You bring up a good point about front row looking at shoes. :D Let's make it something like fifth row. The amphitheater doesn't really have a front row like most other stages anyway.
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Well me too! :D The place that I've seen Rush the most times is about 1/2 an hour from wherever I've ever lived (parents and later own house). So I've just had the tickets to buy as well (which were just mine only for the Counterparts show and 2 legs of the Test For Echo tour...I couldn't get any girl to go even if I paid for her ticket! No...it was not just me, :D I'm talking about girls I was otherwise dating at the time! lol The old "no girl likes Rush" problem. :no: I was so happy when I found out my now live in gf that I've been with for 7 years loves Rush as much or more than I do! Why do you think I've been with her for so long? lol :D), except for the time I drove up to see a college friend in Des Moines, Iowa. But I wanted to do that anyway and as I missed the Rush concert in St. Louis that year (stupid job!!!) I had a good excuse to do so. :thmbsp: So technically the concert cost a few hundred (I stayed at his place, but still), but really I say my ticket was about $60 (I think) and then there was the cost of everything else for a couple of days.

I thought maybe you knew a way to get the first 10 row-ish seats for a sensible price, like the listed price, so that's why you were thinking of doing that. I personally wouldn't pay over $100 for any ticket for any show, unless it was Rush playing in a small indoor venue where I could be about 50 feet back with the perfect view. I know that trips to other cities will cost some $$$, but it's fun to just go on random road trips anyway just to see a different city or area (and go camping and hiking!), so I don't associate the trip money as part of a concert price. If that makes sense. :scratch2:

Anyway, it's your money and your first Rush concert so I hope you get the best seats you can! :thmbsp: If I had all the money in the world I'd buy all the tickets for every Rush show and then sell them back AT COST. I wouldn't charge hundreds of dollars per ticket for a ticket I bought for much less like these broker sharks do! :no:
 
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