From: dianetti@acsu.buffalo.edu (Donald J. Dianetti)
Newsgroups: alt.music.rush
Subject: Re: studio poll results- what happened to my fav songs
Date: 13 Oct 92 22:12:49 GMT
Organization: UB

In article <1992Oct13.193458.19313@eng.umd.edu> cmermag@eng.umd.edu (Christopher Mermagen) writes:
>Well, the poll is in, and as usual, many of my favorite songs are near
>the bottom of the list!! I can't understand it....
>
>- Ghost of a Chance was way down there (somewhere around 70 maybe)
>- in the album list, Digital Man was 3rd from the bottom of the signals
>  album
>- album list- p/g - Afterimage was 2nd to last and between the wheels
>  was down there if I recall
>- album list- Spirit of Radio- Different Strings - powerful song that
>  finished last- yet with an album like Spirit of Radio, how can you 
>  choose a bad song-
>
>Oh well, guess it shows to go ya, that everyone who likes Rush
>probably has some facet that most others don't have. I guess that's
>why they have the old saying - 'Opinions are like As-holes, everyone
>has 'em...
>
>later
>Chris
>
>p.s. thanks for taking care of the poles ?Dan?, it is a pleasure to
>observe even if the results are different from my personal feelings :(

You're welcome.
I know how you feel.  Some of my very favorite songs are near the 
bottom -- but that's what I was curious about to begin with...what
other people thought about the songs.  I'm still pretty surprised
about some of them.  For example:

"Available Light" at 47 -- incredible song...emotionally it's off the scale
"Hand Over Fist" at 87 -- I don't understand why this song is so unpopular
"War Paint" at 66 -- great insight - and strangely relevant to my life..
I used this song to help me talk a good friend into getting out of a bad 
relationship she was in.

                "Paint her name on a one-way street
                 Painted cheeks with angry heat
                 Wounded pride on painted eyes..."
              
It did the trick, but I take the credit :)  Still one of my favorite 
songs, even without that incident.  I loved it when they did it in 
concert - the accompanying video was terrific:  the lyrics scrolled 
by "Star Wars" style and were splotched out by black paint during
the closing of the song - the mirror went black.  I love the symbolism 
in this song.  It's great advice for anybody - paint your mirror black.
The "wise" know that the mirror is a lie.
"Red Lenses" at 89 -- great, funky guitar riff; complex, perfectly flowing
drums; great jam at the end during the fade-out.
"The Big Wheel" at 62 -- man, where do I start with this one--killer 
guitar at the beginning (after the intro) (I wish I knew musical terms
so I could describe it better).  This song to me really defines the tone
of the whole album.  The wheel is the perfect symbol for the idea 
of life as a big collection of random events, you know:
"round and round she goes - where she stops, nobody knows" kinda thing.
The roulette-type wheel defies any sort of pre-determined plan.
                
              "Wheel goes round, landing on a twist of fate
               Taking your chances you'll have the right answers
               When the final judgment begins"...
              "Life re-directed in ways unexpected:
               Sometimes the odd number wins 
               The way the Big Wheel spins..."

That's "Roll the Bones" in a nutshell for me.    

Well, I could go on, but I won't.  I don't wany to bore everyone sillier
than they already are :)
-- 
Don Dianetti  --  SUNY at Buffalo  --  dianetti@acsu.buffalo.edu
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