Anyone who knows me knows that i have been on a huge #rush kick for a couple of months. This was the album they were touring for the first time i caught them live in 1988. It's not my favorite in their canon but like so many other CDs i write about it has a nostalgic resonance i can't shake. I have been really been contemplating the reasons i am so obsessed with their discography. I believe it's part of some sort of mid-life crisis. All of my life there has been a new Rush album. Even in the era of their career where i wasn't buying their new releases i was aware of the albums. I knew what the artwork looked like, they were always on my radar. I am currently delving into those albums and finding how much i truly enjoy the entirety of their output. A few years ago they did a retrospective tour (one of my biggest life regrets is that i did not attend for whatever reason) and all signs are pointing to the band being over. I am in uncharted territory now. A life without new Rush albums. It made me realise that i took the comfort of their existence for granted. I have watched (and re-watched) multiple documentaries about the band, i have read Neil Peart's books, i have listened to Alex and Geddy's solo albums, i have perused youtube's hours of interview footage. Since i started buying music they were one of the first three bands whose discographies i started collecting (Kiss and Iron Maiden were the others since you asked). It's a frantic purpose to absorb the material i took for granted in the '90s. I need it because, well... it looks like there will be no more. That really, REALLY makes me feel abandoned and bleak. The summer before i went to college i had a summer job as a custodian at a school. I rented a room from a guy that lived near the school that i also helped with his dj and live music backline business. He had a mammoth beautiful drum kit in his dining room and on many mornings i was woken up to him pounding out the song "show don't tell" off of the album "Presto". Every time he did it i was jarred awake (his intention) and while it may have seemed like a dick move i would smile go downstairs and shout the lyrics over the percussive din. Every time.
