Subdivisions

Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, Lucy and the rest of the Peanuts crew finally got sick of the same old jazzy score for their shows and decided to do something different.  Here is their cover of Rush's Subdivisions which I think better than the original.  You decide.

Limelight

After my morning post featuring drummer Jonathan Moffett, I learned of the death of Neil Peart of Rush, one of the greatest drummers (many think the greatest) in rock history.  While never a big fan of Rush, some of their music is remarkable and, as musicians, one can only admire the skill and creativity of Geddy Lee on bass, Alex Lifeson on guitar and Peart on the drums.  Apart from that they seem from all accounts to be genuinely nice guys.  Lee and Lifeson have been friends from childhood and have both been married for more than 40 years.

Which brings me to Neil Peart who joined Rush in 1975.  While Lee and Lifeson are gregarious and happy to meet with fans, Neil Peart, while very gracious, was also extremely introverted and sought to avoid interaction with strangers.  Along with drumming he wrote the lyrics for the band's songs (Lee and Lifeson did the music) and they often reflect Neil's personality, best represented in the song Limelight which is embedded below, along with the lyrics (for Rick Beato's breakdown of the complexities of the song watch this).

In the late 90s, Peart suffered a double tragedy, losing his daughter in 1997 in a car accident and ten months later his wife of 23 years to cancer.  Peart left the band, embarking on what became a 55,000 mile motorcycle trip through North America.  Three years later he rejoined Rush, which began recording again.

In 2015 Peart announced his retirement due to tendinitis in his hands and shoulder problems which impaired his drumming ability.  He died from a brain tumor at the age of 67.

Living on a lighted stage
Approaches the unreal
For those who think and feel
In touch with some reality
Beyond the gilded cage

Cast in this unlikely role
Well equipped to act
With insufficient tact
One must put up barriers
To keep oneself intact

Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme

Living in a fisheye lens
Caught in the camera eye
I have no heart to lie
I can’t pretend a stranger
Is a long awaited friend

All the world’s indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another’s audience
Outside the gilded cage

EXTRA ADDED BONUS:  I usually don't care for drums solos but this is so good.

Limelight

I have no heart to lie
I can't pretend a stranger
Is a long-awaited friend

I've always had mixed feelings about Rush.   Wonderful musicianship; Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Geddy Lee (bass) are masters, while Neil Peart is one of the finest drummers in the history of rock.  On the other hand, I find much of their music cold and inaccessible and then, of course, we have Geddy's unfortunate voice.  But when they put it together the right way, it's pretty impressive.  Limelight is my favorite as the music (by Lee) and lyric (written by Peart) work well together.

One of the staples of rockers are tiresome songs lamenting the price of stardom and life on the road.  At first glance, Limelight might seem to fall in that category, but it isn't.  It's about how an extreme introvert like Peart (in contrast to extroverts Lee and Lifeson) deals with his life and interaction with fans.  Lee and Lifeson do all fan events without Peart, because of his difficulty.  His personality must have accentuated the impact of events of 1997 and 1998, when Peart's only daughter died in a car crash, followed 10 months later by the death of his wife of 22 years, leading him to cease recording and touring for two years and having limited contact with the rest of the world.  He is now remarried.  On December 7, 2015 Peart announced his retirement from touring.

Lifeson's guitar solo on Limelight is superb.  He recently remarked:

It's funny: after all these years, the solo to "Limelight" is my favorite to play live. There's something very sad and lonely about it; it exists in its own little world. And I think, in its own way, it reflects the nature of the song's lyrics - feeling isolated amidst chaos and adulation.

A Model Acceptance Speech

By Alex Lifeson of Rush at the band's 2013 induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.  His bandmates, Geddie Lee and Neil Peart, had already given their speeches when Alex stepped up to the podium.  His speech should serve as a model for every music, film and theater award winner.

THC stumbled across this while on a YouTube binge in which he eventually found himself watching an interview with Geddie Lee in which he was asked about this speech (which THC had never heard of).  Geddie said that Alex had a normal speech written and on the teleprompter when he unexpectedly launched into what you hear in the video below.  You can see the surprise on his bandmates faces.  Alex seems to be channeling a little William Shatner along the way.

YYZ

THC has mixed feelings about Rush.  He can't stand a lot of their music which sounds formless and goes on for hours while Geddie Lee's voice is the definition of irritating.  At the same time he admires the astonishingly high quality of musicianship Lee, Alex Lifson and Neil Peart exhibit and there are points where it all comes together in memorable songs like Tom Sawyer, Limelight and A Far Cry.  From the interviews THC has seen they also look like more interesting people than most musicians.

YYZ is an instrumental featuring some terrific bass playing by Geddie.  This video tells the story behind the song as well as showing a performance of it.  The video below is Geddie's isolated bass track which is worth a listen.