music: I have to admit that this is a post that may be filled with a bit of irrational love. I have been a Rush fan, well not since the beginning since I wasn't alive, but for about as long as I have been interested in music. Certainly since the moment I first heard of them. Their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been well overdue. With bands only needing to be twenty-five years old to be eligible and Rush about to enter their thirty-ninth year, this is a nomination that has been a long time coming for fans and I can't help but allow myself to revel in this moment.
I also have to say that I am hoping that this post will truly display why this is such a deserving band. I have no interest in talking about songwriting or the quality of specific songs. I have no interest as well in discussing the power rankings of musicians at their specific crafts. Rush has proven their worth in a different way (although in my opinion you could talk about those things as they apply to Rush and their worthiness in the highest regard).
Rush deserves nomination based on what they represent to the musical community. OK, feel free to cue all the jokes about their representing dorkiness and helium ingesting vocalists and sci-fi conventions. But they really do represent a lot of what is the best of music. The easiest place to begin is longevity. This is a band that has been around since 1974 and has been the same three guys since 1975, when Neil Peart replaced John Rutsey as their drummer. Being that there are only three members of the band I suppose you could make the argument that with less people in the band there are less opportunities for things to happen to members of the band because there are less of them. But still, they have been the same three guys for nearly forty years with only one substantial break in their work that was cause for uncertainty. And even that uncertainty was a far greater source of empathy than your typical "Behind the Music" story. When Peart lost his daughter and wife in the span of less than a year the future of the band was put on hold. But that level of tragedy has got to be understood. Otherwise they have been out there working together without a break all that time. That kind of commitment and bond has to be worth recognizing, especially in an industry so over-wrought with vice filled drama based on pure temptation that is excused because it is "part of the lifestyle".
Artistic integrity is another thing Rush epitomizes in the music industry. I truly hate that term. But when you look at the way their career unfolded, it actually is an apt phrase. On the brink of extinction back in the 70's, they decided that they would rather go down making the music they wanted than give in and be miserable for the rest of their lives pumping out singles they could not have any interest in playing for the rest of their lives. Thanks to the word of mouth success of 2112 (lets face it, that 20 minute song was not getting radio play), they won the battle and were from then on free to do as they pleased. And they took advantage of it. Rush has evolved over time, changing their sound from album to album and era to era, always being the band they wanted to be at the time. Sometimes those evolutions, see the oft dismayed keyboard era at the end of the 80's as a great example, would go too far. But then they would correct and try something new again. The kind of musical freedom with which Rush has operated is something most bands fight their whole careers for, Rush was given that freedom early on and decided to take full advantage of it, never giving into the glittering prizes and endless compromises that Peart talked about in Spirit of Radio and thus giving the state of integrity that surely has always helped music along.
The third thing that Rush has cultivated that is as important to their legacy as their music is their fan base. The Rush fan base is a very different breed. Being a part of that breed I feel I can expertly talk about it. Rush fans are more or less insanely devoted(and generally just insane). As was said on the documentary made about them, Beyond The Lighted Stage, "Rush has brand loyalty, its like NASCAR, those fans are going nowhere." And its 100% true. But what is it that makes it that way? Sure people talk about how they are a musicians band and that because they are "Prog" only musicians love Rush. While I have not done an extensive study, I am sure that there are a lot of musicians in the crowd at a Rush concert. But it goes further than that. And the place it goes is into Peart's lyric writing. Peart is a rather unique writer. His being so literate, combined with his interest in tackling very specific themes through their albums and songs has made him both revered and criticized. Those who criticize him call him pretentious. They claim he is trying too hard to appear smart. But really is he pretending to be anything other than who he is? Fans of his however find the universality in his writing that he sought to achieve. And in that universality they find music that has a much more direct relation to their lives than a simple pop love song, whether it be in Peart's description of life in the suburbs, his description of that first car and ones nearly romantic love of it, or an intimate look at personal loss. In an interview Peart once said, "Lyrically it's always been a reflection of my times and the times I observe. But everyone is a reflection of me." As much as that may be the way he views his writing, I would argue that almost the opposite ends up occurring. We are not a reflection of him. We instead find that his words are a reflection of our own lives and times and not just his. And that connection, beyond the music, but into the words that is so deeply personal, is why the fans stick around. It doesn't matter what song from what era, all Rush fans have a song that they feel deeply connected to.
And it is that very connection that is why they are hall of fame worthy. Not because of hit singles or Grammys. The radio largely rejected them and the critics hated them. But their fans always stuck around. And as a result Rush stuck around. Cult band yes. Prog band yes. Nerds yes. But also the ultimate peoples band. Let's face it. Without people, relating to them as far back as the debut of Working Man in then factory town Cleveland, they would have not been able to carry on. And for us all they continue to.
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