From: inde7lo@rosie.uh.edu (92F02544)
Subject: Re: To Be OR Not To Be A RUSH Fan
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Houston
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 17:08:00 GMT

In article <Bv9F5F.Htr@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, cka52397@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Slartibartfast) writes...
>In article <25SEP199223002276@rosie.uh.edu> inde7lo@rosie.uh.edu (92F02544) writes:

>	                                            .....  I really enjoy
>the fact that Rush DID do the rap.  And you are right, it is horrible rap. 
>Really bad, but they went out on a limb.  They didn't do it for $$$, and here
>is my reasoning:
> 
>	1) No rap fan can take it seriously (three white 40 year olds from
>	North of the Border rapping, yeah, right).  The actual rap is nothing
>	more than an attempt at something, to stretch themselves musically.
> 
>	2) No "rush fan" seems to be able to endure that section of RTB, so
>	They haven't pandered to their following either. 
> 
>	My feelings on these 3 minute songs are this.  Neil said that they 
>didn't feel the need to write monster songs such as 2112 too express themselves
>now, which is  true.  Let them grow, they have experienced a lot of life in
>the past few years, so they don't have to draw from the same old subjects 
>Randian philosophy et. al.  They have interesting songs about topics that we
>all feel, take Ghost of a Chance, it is really a song about love, but a song 
>about fate and love...  Most people wouldn't write a song like that, but Rush
>did, made it work, and had a little succces (top 40) with it, who knows maybe
>the general public actually has gathered some taste.
> 

IMHO....

I agree that Rush didn't do the RTB rap for the money; they knew the album
wouldn't sell in the rap section of music stores.  I disagree, though, that
they did the rap "to stretch themselves musically".  Let me make the following
statement in the context of Rush's musical ability:  Performing a rap on the
album was not a musical stretch for any of them.  The only credit I can give
to rap, IMO, is that the lyrics can be thought provoking because they deal
with real-life issues of Black America.  But Neil has been writing thought
provoking lyrics for 15+ years, so no suprise there.  I give absolutely no
credit to the musical content (beat, rhythm, melody, etc.) of rap music.  I 
mean, 50% (a guesstimate, I've heard people say more) of rap music uses 
samples of classic rock songs as their melodies.

OK, you may think I'm beating a dead horse.  Rush just performed a rap for
the hell of it, right?  But here's my side of the story:  At college, I 
had/have many friends who are into other types of music.  My roommates for
example -- one was a country/western fan, the other was a dance/industrial
fan.  They never understood my fascination with Rush; they say all their
songs sound alike (AAAAAHHHHHH! I hate that comment).  So, I have to go
on and on about why Rush and other bands (Yes, Zepplin, etc.) are a 
superior art form.  So, when RTB went on sale, I ran to get a copy, brought
it home, and...and I cried.  My roommates heard the rap and were on the 
floor laughing, shooting all my claims to hell.  In fact, they listened to 
the CD for their limited attention spans (about a week) saying that Rush 
finally produced something of any worth.  If you ask them why they like it:
"Because it's got a cool beat".  They were getting into "Bravado" and 
"Ghost of a Chance".  When Rush moves down to the level where these
guys like it, something's wrong.  Even though I still love Rush and their
music, I loved them a lot more when you had to spend months to figure out
a certain N. Peart riff or a G. Lee lick.  A time when everyone else was
saying, "What the hell are you listening to?  It sounds like crap!" and
you could mumble to yourself, "you just wouldn't understand".  I have 
nothing against the mainstream public liking Rush's music now, but I don't
think these people appreciate Rush for their extraordinary talent but 
because "it's got a cool beat".

Enough said.