Yearly Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Debate Thread

As I said, I can't speak for how Rush was/is perceived in the rest of North America. Here in Toronto, they are megastars, not some band reserved for well-read types into Rand and Tolkien. It's no different now than it was when I was in high school, I was just making that point because Zep was still going then.

I'd never really thought of them as some kind of nerd rock act, even though they have recorded shit like "The Trees".

Like you, I have at times found their music really sterile, brilliant chops but you never get the sense that they've ever done a whole lot off the cuff. (Their debut is a whole lot looser than anything they recorded subsequently.)

But there have been signs: Peart's work on the two Buddy Rich tribute albums he produced is tremendous and really showed off his jazz chops, Lifeson's solo album is a little different (and he was great on an episode of Trailer Park Boys) and Geddy's a Jays' fan which is enough for me (and he was great on the Bob & Doug McKenzie single "Take Off").

 

Kansas was great, too, but that's an argument for another day.
I despise the notion that in order to be acceptable, rock music has to have a certain attitude and a relative lack of musical merit.
I wasn't huge into the 2112-type Rush, but I've loved their music for about 30 years. You want to pick out the sci-fi stuff and say it was too obscure, terrif. But they've made 30-some years worth of music, and only a smidge involved side-long cuts.

Your ripping on Rush lyrics got me thinking ...

If theres a bustle in your hedgerow
Dont be alarmed now,
Its just a spring clean for the may queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
Theres still time to change the road youre on.

So there.

 

Interesting stuff, Sam.

And what's funny about Duval liking Rand is he's one of the few Democrats on the PGA Tour.

 

The very act of analyzing whether or not Rush is nerd-rock confirms that it is, in fact, nerd-rock.

Discuss.

 

I first read that in one of John Feinstein's golf books, but since that won't work as a link:

http://www.theatlasphere.com/metablog/000146.php

I always liked David Duval, and wish his career peak had lasted a while longer. The media isn't enamored with him - and the feeling is mutual as he told Feinstein - but he comes across as someone who would be truly interesting, even fascinating, given a chance to work more than a post-round presser. He doesn't come across as hypersensitive and seems to understand the concept of constructive criticism.

 

I say this as a long confirmed Rush nerd: Peart has long disavowed his admiration for Ayn Rand and now considers himself a "left-wing libertarian."

 

I'm with you on that, Twoback. I love Zep, but I'd never confuse them with any great songwriters.

And it's not that they're musically talented that turns me off to them. They're just not terribly interesting about it.

I don't find Jimi Hendrix, Yes, or Genesis boring and they're just as talented musically as Rush is, if not more so. If anything, Rush comes off as derivative of all of those bands, as well as derivative of (gulp!) Led Zeppelin when they elect to rock out.

 

Bubs, Rush was very Zep-like in the beginning - pre-2112. That was obvious.

Genesis? Boring?
"If you don't stand up, you don't stand a chance ... "
(Still their best line 30 years later)

 

I said Genesis didn't bore me. I like Genesis. I have several of their albums.

 

I know. I wasn't defending the group to you. You made it clear you like those guys.

 

Why do the Rush fans get so angry, though.
That's what I don't understand.
What different does it make if some people hate Rush or laugh at Rush? Why does that anger you?

 

I too embrace my nerd status. It was affirmed after my nice welcome to this site nearly four years ago on that incarnation of this thread, when I said the RRHOF was worthless as long as two influential bands like Black Sabbath and Rush were not in.
Someone - who I believe may have been Bubbler - freaked out and said "I don't want to hear about anybody being influenced by fucking Rush." So the haters aren't always so even in their thoughts . . . .

If fanatical devotion helps make a nerd band, then Springsteen moves to the top of that list. For how long can you write every other song so it's called "(blank) the street" and "(blank) the night"? Dave Matthews fans are pretty fanatical, and I've never seen why.

Heavy-metal fans are pretty fanatical too.

I do see Rush fans the way I see soccer fans. If we're discussing, going merrily along, don't be dicks. If you do jump in with the intent to piss people off (which really, no one has been on this thread), we get irritated. Thank fully, this thread has been mellow, though one thing that has always gotten under my skin is when people act snotty, then say "Why you guys getting pissed?!?!?!"

As for "By-Tor and the Snow Dog," it's a song the band makes fun of and is embarrassed by. But it has some kick-ass guitar work.

On Ayn Rand: all of 2112 was based on her works, including some rather "coincidental" similarities. Peart reacted like Led Zeppelin's dudes did on Whole Lotta LOve and such: "Oh, . . .I had NO idea."