Well I leave for a day and this thread explodes! I just skimmed through the replies and really don't have time for thorough well thought out replies but...
We're just having the usual arguments and fun here.
That's all I take it as. :thmbsp: Of course, again, I could care less what anyone thinks of anything I find of worth/value anyway.
Aaah, the irony - I posted a few weeks back that I would prefer Geddy out front of Dream Theater as I'm not a fan of THEIR singer, now this. I was shouted down for merely
suggesting that we could play 'swapsies' with singers - lesson learnt !
I'm not a big fan of the DT singer either (or of DT in general). His voice is kind of rough or ugly to me.
I think I posted itt thread btw and I certainly wasn't shouting anything down (again the problem of tone and manner on the internet) so apologies for any offense I might have caused.
OK - I can live (just) with the concept that some folk dont like Rush - they have released a few albums which I struggled with, admittedly - but that is an enormous body of work to dismiss out of hand. A lot of their music doesnt immediately leap out at you in 'Spirit of Radio' fashion, and I will admit that I did only warm to them when a housemate played them virtually 24/7, but once acquired its a tough habit to kick.
I can easily live with the fact that some people abhor whatever music I might like, that's fine and actually a good thing, but what I can't so easily live with is the dismissive attitude so many have towards music they have barely heard, especially with music that takes a lot of "effort" to get into, that is "deep" enough that it requires multiple listens and rumination on for months, if not years.
And Rush, imo, and as you say, is in this category. Sure they have many infectiously catchy songs and hooks that grab hold with one or two listens, they are tremendous songwriters, but as a whole their music is something that takes some time to "get". It even took me with every new and new-to-me Rush album some time and listens (about 5 or so) to "get" exactly what they were trying to accomplish. Even with my predisposition to liking everything new or new-to-me Rush put out after I initially became a huge fan (from the single Dreamline and then buying Exit Stage Left), after listening to new or the new-to-me Rush albums from high school on I was mostly just bewildered. It took several close listens to start to get into the albums, besides a few more accessible songs. But once I did, like with all good/deep music, there was so much more to appreciate, so much more depth and subtlety and nuance than in music that is more accessible. I swear I still discover new things in Rush's music after all this time...part of the reason why I never ever tire of them (I've listened to them at least a few times every week for the past 20 years for the most part).
Rush is a band which I've tried hard to get into over the years, as I have reported previously in other threads. I've listened to virtually all their albums (I think in fact all) multiple times giving myself every opportunity to warm up to their style because they seem like a band I should enjoy. Due to AKer Permanent Waves' enthusiasm I immersed myself with Rush for awhile recently and thought for a bit that I'd finally turned the corner with them via the album Hemispheres, but then it didn't wear well with me, either. So my not liking their music is certainly not a dismissal out of hand.
I applaud your effort sir! :thmbsp: I'll never understand anyone who half listens to one or two (or even several) albums (much less just a song or two) once or twice from a band and then decides they are something they don't like for all time, especially with the more complex bands. No, you haven't even tried yet and you owe it to yourself to not be so "lazy" (I'll never understand how listening to music is supposed to be an effort unless it is the type of music that really grates on you instantly) for you never know what you'll come around to. There are literally dozens of bands/artists that I didn't like upon a casual listen(s), even for years (I didn't have time to expand my musical collection a lot throughout most of my 20's), that I now (and have for some time) really enjoy or are even some of my favorites. Thank goodness I didn't just stubbornly dismiss them for all time after expending entirely minimal "effort" to get into them but instead kept listening to them over and over, sometimes for years, before I finally got them. Yes, Bowie, Queensryche, and Queen are some of these bands...it literally took years for each one to grow on me, even a decade for Bowie, and listening to much more than just "the" album to get from each one, several times, which I had done with each.
Of course their inspirational impact on the formation of the group Dream Theater is widely known, and that is a band I like a lot, so I can thank them for that. In the end I guess, as others say, I just don't care for Geddy's vocals, which sound too strident to my ear. As far as musical virtuosity, I find Dream Theater superior to Rush in that regard, too.
As I have commented recently in the Prog thread, I just can't (yet!) get into DT. I've been listening to them since the late 90's (a fellow Rush fan recommended them) and have had all of their albums for years (my girlfriend is a big fan) and have even seen them live (girlfriend semi-dragged me: I could take it or leave it but it was a good show...for their level at least).
Once a year, as I have been doing for about 10 years, I listen to all of their albums, again, and simply can't get past the "they're ok" level (and I wish I could!). I don't like LaBrie's voice much for one thing and I think they are poor songwriters: they start on something interesting then abandon it to go on to something else that doesn't really fit in the song, and on this goes in most of their songs ad infinitum ad nauseaum (mean people say they just masterbate musically: jam without direction which doesn't take much talent...but I wouldn't go that far even though such a view has some cogency imo). No tight song structure, no logical progression, no narrative (yes I know it's prog, but I like many many prog bands who can write great songs with at least some internal coherence), so-so lyrics, and I also find their keyboards really really cheesy sometimes. And though their playing is good, it is limited in ability (I think they are all merely good players with sometimes great moments). No bashing, just stating my problems with them imo. I do really like some of their songs and again think they are ok on the whole and maybe my views will all change anyway someday (I'll keep trying!).
So I finally gave up. If anyone has ever voluntarily listened to a band they don't much care for more than I have in trying to develop a taste for Rush then I'd be very much surprised...and I'd pity the poor fool. Everything Rush fans say about them in regard to their detractors we Steely Dan fans could say to theirs, but I don't because I just can't expect everybody to like what I like.
See above.
I've done just that and more with literally dozens of bands/artists. No real effort afaic.
And I wouldn't give up for all time, I never do with any band/artist anyway. I might not listen to a band/artist much for several years, especially if I've really tried to like them but so far just can't, but I never say I'll simply never like them for I've come to like (or at least appreciate more) dozens of bands and artists (and even some whole genres) that I never thought I would before. The process can literally take years or even decades.
Have you listened to any of their live albums btw? I know people that only like their live material, but they really like it. I also know people who never got them until they saw them live and then, once they did, would sometimes even become as big of a fan as I am. (And that's fan btw, not worshiper who thinks they are infallible or demigods or any such sophomoric nonsense...they're just musicians after all and being passionate about something is quite distinct from being infatuated or fanatical about it).
In the rest of the world they played Rush 'til we puked.
That's not what I've seen. In St. Louis the main rock radio station has always been very Rush-friendly and St. Louis is a big Rush town, but that's an anomaly from the attestations of Rush fans elsewhere (from those I know personally to those on forums) who maintain that they didn't hear Rush on mainstream rock radio ever or only ever once in awhile when a more popular album came out. Rush is not a widespread radio staple like other huge bands are. Thus their success is all the more impressive.
its odd that Rush has always been on of those bands you either love them, or love to hate them...I personally think this band is awesome!! I saw them in Frankfurt Germany in 1980 during there Moving Pictures tour and a few months ago in San Antonio Texas..They sound just as great now as back then...just one mans opinion.
Yea, most I know love or hate them though there are some who can take them or leave them. Rush holds that you either love or hate them.
I've been seeing them at least once on every tour since '94 and lately a few times on each tour and I think that they have been better than ever in the 2000's. Remarkable since they were always such an incredible band live, one of the very best in rock n' roll history. They have said that they think they are playing better than ever and I'd agree, although of course I only have live albums/boots to go by prior to '94.
