Weekend self-care open thread: Rush!
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Rush, l-r: Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart, Geddy Lee |
Happy weekend, peoples! Our humble bloglord and fearless leader, LL, has graciously handed over this weekend's self-care duties to everyone's favorite crabby Canadian, moi! And this being the long Thanksgiving weekend here in the Great White North, I present to you one of our country's best rock bands, Rush!
Formed in 1968, in the Toronto neighborhood district of Willowdale, Rush originally consisted of guitarist Alex Lifeson (then known by his real name, Alex Živojinović), bassist Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsy. Jones left the band, shortly after, and was replaced by Lifeson's childhood friend, Geddy Lee (known as Gary Lee Weinrib), who would also take up vocal duties for the band.
A standard rock band of the early seventies, Rush didn't enjoy success, until they formed their own record label, Moon Records, and released their first album in 1973. The record wasn't faring too well, until Cleveland radio station, WMMS 100.7 FM, added the song Working Man to their rotation. Soon, Mercury Records in the U.S. picked up the band's album, and they were on their way to rock stardom.
But in the following year, just as things were starting to look good Rush's way, the band was thrown a curve when Rutsy quit as its drummer, citing health concerns (Rutsy was a diabetic) and his disdain for touring as his reasons. He was replaced by Hamilton native, Neil Peart, who also took on songwriting duties with the band, as neither Lee or Lifeson had any real interest in doing that, and transformed them from a basic rock band, into a progressive rock band.
Peart's songs delved into the realms of fantasy and science fiction, and it was that type of genre that would build Rush's fan base, and drew sneers from rock critics, who described their music as "nerd rock." But the band didn't care, as their albums were being gobbled up by their fans, while their music was being seen in a more critically positive light.
Rush was rewarded with seven Grammy nominations, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, membership into the Order of Canada - the country's highest civilian award, and, in 2013, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that its fans felt was long overdue.
Many people thought Rush was finished in 2020, after Peart's death from cancer. But this past week saw the announcement that the band will tour in 2026 with its remaining members, Lee and Lifeson, as well as Peart's replacement Anika Nilles on drums, giving their fans something to look forward to in the new year.
Here are just some of the songs Rush has put out over its existence:
If you have any favorites of Rush, post them in the comments section, as always.
To quote Walt Kelly's comic strip Pogo: "Don't take life too seriously, it ain't nohow permanent."