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RIP Neil Peart


Rain

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I am ashamed to admit that I never really liked Rush - that is until a few years ago.  Probably because they were so ubiquitous in my entourage, and everyone held them in such high esteem - but their music was like a foreign language to me. I could appreciate pieces like La Villa Stangiato and YYZ, but the music they were releasing when I was discovering rock and roll in the mid 80's was just to synth-y for my tastes - back then. Plus I didn't really like prog, so...

But I had my epiphany a couple of years ago and became a HUGE fan of theirs. The good thing about that is that, this left me with many great classic albums to discover, so no matter what's released by contemporary bands, I have a backlog of awesome Rush music to discover.

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On 1/10/2020 at 3:25 PM, Rain said:

I am ashamed to admit that I never really liked Rush - that is until a few years ago.  Probably because they were so ubiquitous in my entourage, and everyone held them in such high esteem - but their music was like a foreign language to me. I could appreciate pieces like La Villa Stangiato and YYZ, but the music they were releasing when I was discovering rock and roll in the mid 80's was just to synth-y for my tastes - back then. Plus I didn't really like prog, so...

But I had my epiphany a couple of years ago and became a HUGE fan of theirs. The good thing about that is that, this left me with many great classic albums to discover, so no matter what's released by contemporary bands, I have a backlog of awesome Rush music to discover.

Same here. I ignored the band for decades. I thought of them as something the kids listen to. What little I had heard on the radio (e.g. Tom Sawyer) I found grating.

What brought me around was a documentary about them called Beyond the Lighted Stage (which might still be on Netflix). I had no interest in seeing where they went to grade school, but the film featured some music segments that impressed me. So I came here to the Coffee House and asked around. Which of the 20-some albums were the must-haves? I ended up buying 6 of them, and love them. Especially Snakes and Arrows, which Rush fans always list among their least-favorites.

Neil inspired more than one generation of drummers. And good as he was, they guy continued to take drum lessons. He made a series of video tutorials on drumming, which I found helpful even though I'm not a drummer. They helped me fake sampled drums better.

Rolling Stone magazine named Neil the worst rock lyricist in the world. I guess we know now why Rolling Stone is no longer relevant. He was a great lyricist.

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Like many, I have seen them multiple times. They were the first real rock band that I really liked, having cut my teeth exclusively on Beethoven and his pals during my adolescence.

The primary reason why a wider fan base never materialized was probably Geddy Lee' voice. I for one couldn't imagine anyone but Geddy fronting that band.

Neil RIP.  Great lyrics and par excellence drums.  

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