rush haters.
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This
month, Rush (the band, not the bloviating drug-addict hate monger)
appeared on
The Colbert Show and were featured in
an article in Rolling Stone. Which I’m
pretty sure is one of the signs of the apocalypse. I
admit it. My name is Todd, and I’m a
Rush fan. I own all of their studio
albums, all of their live albums, and most of their DVD’s; in other
words,
pretty much everything they’ve recorded except a few of the greatest
hits
collections. Over the years I’ve bought
copies of most of the albums on both cassette and CD, and most of the
videos on
both VHS and DVD. I’ve bought and read
three of Neal Peart’s four books. I even
bought his instructional drum video, even thought I don’t actually play
drums. (For the record, it was both
fascinating and informative, even through the album it documented, Test for Echo, was a low point in their
oeuvre). I own the bobble-head doll set,
complete with double-necked guitars and late 1970’s costumes. And, one of my prized possessions is a
collector’s item promotional poster from 1981 for their classic album Moving Pictures. All
that may sound a bit over the top, but trust me, it could be a lot worse. I’m not the kind
of fanatical fan that has
lost all perspective and thinks everything they’ve ever done is great;
in fact,
I don’t think they’ve made a halfway decent album since 1987. That doesn’t stop me from picking up the new
CDs when they come out, or going to see them when they tour, but my
expectations are realistic. I’ll sit
through the songs from the new album at the show, and it’s worth it
just to
hear them burn through the 6/8 section of Freewill
one more time. However, there are hordes of people out there who hate Rush. I mean despise
them, with deep, conscious, loathing.
We’re talking like the Jews hate the Nazis
and the Arabs hate the Jews. And I don’t
get it. The
most blatant Rush-haters are the aging hippies and self-anointed
arbiters of
cool at Rolling Stone. Rush’s string of
consecutive Gold records is in the top five of any act ever,
yet Rush has never made RS’s cover. Rumor
has it that people at RS have been
instrumental in keeping Rush out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their album reviews are often scathing. (My
personal favorite is the one for Snakes
and Arrows: “Three stars – If you’re a Rush fan, add two; otherwise
subtract two.”) When RS finally
stooped to run a story on Rush
this month, it started with a long string of insults to Rush fans,
basically
portraying the collective group as comic-book-collecting losers who
never
kissed a girl. Not that there aren’t
Rush fans who admittedly fall into that category, but it seems
especially
mean-spirited to paint all of us with that same brush, even for a mag
that
prides itself on post-modern irony and detatched superiority. To be fair, the article was ultimately
positive,
begrudgingly admitting that maybe Rush really did matter after all. But it read like they really weren’t quite
convinced. On
the one hand, I can understand why Rush is not everyone’s cup of tea. Geddy Lee’s vocal style in the seventies
(invariably described as “wailing banshee”) is admittedly an acquired
taste. The progressive pieces for which
they are best known tend towards musician’s music, not music for the
masses (or
for dancing). And the Star Wars robes
they were wearing in the “2112” era were just, well, goofy. But
on the other hand, I still don’t get it.
There are plenty of bands out there for whom I’ve never
understood the
appeal (The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Grateful Dead, The Cult, Oasis,
to name
a few). And there are others that I can
respect to a point but really think are just way over-rated (Bruce
Springsteen,
Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, et al.) But
I pretty much just end up ignoring acts
like these, not posting angry screeds about them in obscure blogs and
chat
rooms. Not interested in an eight-minute
song about a thunderstorm with odd time signatures and extended
instrumental
passages? Fine, I can understand that
it’s not for everyone…so don’t buy the album.
(And don’t worry, the probability that you will ever be
exposed to such
an abomination on the radio is identically zero). Why do people feel the need to go the extra
mile and rave about how pretentious it is to practice your instrument
or write
a song without an obvious chorus? If
you’re not into the music, isn’t it enough to just ignore it and move
on? As
for me, well, obviously I like
eight-minute songs about thunderstorms.
And for the record, I’m happily married, and I’ve never once bought a
comic book. Go figure. |