Why Do I Love Rush?

Of the top of my head, I can’t put my finger on why I love Rush so much, and I’ve never really thought about it. They just “clicked” with me I suppose, but I will explore in greater detail exactly what they mean to me in this post.

Firstly, of course, we shall have to examine the music. Right from when I first listened to them on The Friday Rock Show all those years ago, they were exactly the sound I had been searching for (but didn’t know up until then). I get bored of simple music and song structures very quickly, and Rush’s music is a lot more complex, a lot more unpredictable and a lot harder to pigeon hole then most other bands. I’ve always preferred music that goes against the trend and that sums up Rush very well. I love the rambling yet precise songs, the sudden yet appropriate time signature changes, the complex yet beautifully flowing compositions. The musicianship is also incredible. I’m not a guitar player by any means, but I do have grade four piano and that gives me a pretty good understanding of the basics of music theory. Both Geddy and Alex are virtuosos at their instruments and it shows throughout Rush’s catalogue. I am, however, a drummer. When I was a teen I played drums for my church (it was a charismatic evangelical movement) – I played every week and when I listened to Neil’s playing it gripped me instantly. There will be more about Neil under the “Rush” menu in the new year.

Secondly we must examine the lyrical content. Nobody wrote lyrics like Neil. He’s a bit like marmite apparently. He’s been named as both the best lyricist in the world and the worst. But they spoke to me in a way that no other lyrics have managed. I have always been an outsider, a geek, a weirdo – call it what you will. I’ve never really fitted in anywhere. Always been awkward socially. In 2005 I was diagnosed as having an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and all that suddenly made sense. Rush has always been the band for people like me, who always struggled to be accepted, who were always confused by social norms, who always found it more comfortable to swim against the stream. Many of Rush’s lyrics champion these kinds of people and no more so than in the song Subdivisions:

Finally, it’s the personality of the band members themselves. This anecdotal story pretty much sums up why I adore them all so much. During their earliest years Rush opened for Kiss during their American tour. After each show Kiss would have numbers of girls and drugs around their hotel rooms and would partying and having a lot of fun. Rush didn’t want any of that. They were happy just sitting in one of their rooms together, just the three of them, watching tv. Rush were just about the least rock’n’roll rock band in the world. And I love that about them! They have never, never once been fashionable. And I think that’s why they attract the sorts of fans they do.