From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #346 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Saturday, September 5 1998 Volume 07 : Number 346 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: gratuitous non-RH [Terrence M Marks ] Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox (.001 RH) [amadain ] Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox [amadain ] critics (0% RH content) [Tobyhello@aol.com] Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox [dmw ] critics too (0%RH) [tanter ] The J has landed... [Mark Gloster ] Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox (.001 RH) [Terrence M Marks ] Bobby in GQ... [X-Communicate ] Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox (.001 RH) [Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: gratuitous non-RH > was probably pretty sure his audience would know who this was- how many > American bands feel compelled to stick the names of critics into venomous > ditties of that nature, or any ditties at all for that matter? This says > something but I'm not sure what :). I can't be the only one who's been forced to listen to Guns'n'Roses' "Get in the Ring". (Those are critics he's threatening to beat up, right? If I were one of those critics, next time he was in my town, I'd take him up on it. Not because I'd like beating up Axl Rose [or being beaten up by Axl Rose], but because, well, he *asked* for it.) I recall a Mr. Hitchcock mentioning Mark Ellen repeatedly. He's mostly Americanized by now, right? "Speed Walker" was a pretty cool comic strip. If you find the books somewhere, get them. Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 02:05:25 -0600 From: amadain Subject: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox (.001 RH) >I can't be the only one who's been forced to listen to Guns'n'Roses' "Get >in the Ring". (Those are critics he's threatening to beat up, right? Did he mention them by name? Or just "you assholes who don't like my music blah blah blah". I've never heard it so I don't know. Anyways, there are songs by everyone from everywhere getting down on those who "criticize what they can't understand" ;). It was the specific mention of the name "Nick Kent" as if it were being spit out that really struck me about "Press Darlings". >I were one of those critics, next time he was in my town, I'd take him up >on it. Not because I'd like beating up Axl Rose [or being beaten up by >Axl Rose], but because, well, he *asked* for it.) Go write something nasty about Paul Weller and see if he'll have a go. I've heard that this actuallly is a standing offer with him to those who write negative reviews. I am not making this up. And I bet he gives you a better fight than Mr. Rose too :). >I recall a Mr. Hitchcock mentioning Mark Ellen repeatedly. He's mostly Well, Mark Ellen is a buddy of his who happens to also be a critic. That's a bit different. Speaking of which, the critic Ben was referring to in his post was probably Lester Bangs. He and Mr. Reed had a very interesting and humorous um, love/hate dynamic going on. Check out "Psychotic Reactions and Carbeurator Dung" for further information on this topic ;). Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 23:54:43 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox Susan: >Speaking of which, the critic Ben was referring to in his post was probably >Lester Bangs. He and Mr. Reed had a very interesting and humorous um, >love/hate dynamic going on. Check out "Psychotic Reactions and Carbeurator >Dung" for further information on this topic ;). No, it was Robert Christgau whom Lou gripes about on Take No Prisoners. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 02:49:57 -0600 From: amadain Subject: Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox >No, it was Robert Christgau whom Lou gripes about on Take No Prisoners. Ah ok. I had thought perhaps it was Bangs, given the oddball way they played off each other. Also this was trying to cut Lou a little slack and not immediately assume that this was mostly a rant/tantrum- because his nastiness with Bangs had a humorous edge to it and if it were Lester Bangs it could have been part of their game. Incidentally, FWIW I've never liked Christgau either, I think he has some really dumb opinions :). Seriously though, he seems to care more about making press by disagreeing with other critics and preening himself for being an iconoclast than he does about music. There is no other way to explain his glowing review of "Under The Red Sky", unless perhaps there was bribery involved :). Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 04:49:32 EDT From: Tobyhello@aol.com Subject: critics (0% RH content) I'm not sure what the opinions of NME critics in particular have to do with any of this. Bands do peak and dropoff with unseemly quickness in the UK and in -general- music journalists and the hype music magazines perpetuate/feed off do have much more of an influence in the UK than here in the US, perhaps not those from the NME but would you make the same argument for Melody Maker, Vox, or Smash Hits? We don't even HAVE that many I really don't know BUT I think that radio 1 (the BBC's national 90s music station) has a lot more to do with it. The NME and Melody Maker do get accused of building groups up only to knock them down on a regular basis - but on the other hand (and I'm not sure of the figures) their readership is small enough to mean that they don't get built up that highly in the first place (Mogwai may well be incredibly popular with critics, but the general public don't know anything about them). Magazines like Vox, Select, Q etc don't tend to feature "new" groups much, so I'm not sure what influence they have. As for Smash Hits - - I don't know, as I'm not really into boy bands! But again, I guess that it tends to focus on bands that are already charting (after all, 10 year old girls aren't going to be interested in reading about groups they've never heard of). On the other hand, the scary thing is that a lot of my record collection is based soley on the reviews that they get in NME/Melody Maker ie on the opinions of two total strangers! btw, what US music mags are there? Spin and Rolling Stone are both available here, but I don't think I've seen any others - certainly, no weekly papers like the NME, and no specialist dance magazines - but maybe they don't get imported to here... And what's that story about a ska revival in the Midlands (I believe, though it's a long time since I heard this story) that came about solely because a bunch of music writers got together and started inventing stories about one? Is this urban legend? This COULD be that whole Romo thing that happened a couple of years ago - basically, the Melody Maker ran a big cover feature about the (pretty much non-existent) Romo scene (I think it was something to do with New Romantics, but as I was only a kid in the 80s I don't really know), which sparked a lot of debate in the letters' page, which led to more articles, a national tour, and... it all died about 6 months later. To my knowledge, only one of the bands in question is still around, and they only have a "cult" following. Toby np: Mogwai Fear Satan Remixes (Mogwai) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 07:53:54 -0400 (EDT) From: dmw Subject: Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox i've never heard "get in the ring" either, although i have the distinct impression, from reading bob guccione (sp?) jr's response, that it did indeed name names. but the connells definitely callout crits robert christgau and j.d. considine in one of the tracks on the lackluster _weird food and devastation_ although i think not to challenge them to fights. i had the somewhat odd pleasure of informing j.d. and his ex-wife of this, a side effect of years of running out to pick up the tuesday releases with more alacrity than judgment. and has anybody but me here sat through nick saloman's >13 minute!!< anti-critic rant on _north circular_? (or whatever...can't be arsed to look it up at the moment...) i don't think he names names (it's hard to tell, he's spitting so venemously and anyway i think i left the disc at my office) but he does say something like "and if any of you fucking wankers call this fucking self-indulgent, well that just goes to show what fucking useless fucking wankers you are." - -- d., who lost a friend named dirk once n.p. bettie serveert _dust bunnies_ in an Eb-like frenzy of re-evaluation of a band's previous work inspired by the startlingly fine new velvet underground covers elpee. - - oh,no!! you've just read mail from doug = dmayowel@access.digex.net - - and dmw@mwmw.com ... get yr pathos at http://www.pathetic-caverns.com/ - - new reviews! tunes, books, flicks, etc. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 07:27:16 -0400 From: tanter Subject: critics too (0%RH) I've rarely found a critic with whom I agree. A lot of the time, when I've read RS or some other music mag and a critic praises or trashes a band or album, I tend to have the opposite opinion when I hear the music. It seems to me that a lot (not all, Eb!!) have an agenda before they hear something or when they're writing about a band that has nothing to do with an objective review. I basically stopped reading reviews and I either go by what's on the radio or I may take up a suggestion from you guys or someone on the Squeeze group or stick with old stuff I already love. Marcy (who forgot to reset Robyn's alarm and now is up and awake with his sister, who should also be asleep--of course Robyn slept through the alarm, as all good 5 yr olds should!) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 08:45:33 -0700 From: Mark Gloster Subject: The J has landed... FYI: for those of you who may have been losing sleep over this matter... After searching far and wide for our beloved/bemoreloved/belessloved Jeme, we saw his face on an intergalactic milk carton. I guess he had been kidnapped by aliens. Anyway, I found him wandering with a strange growth sticking out of his head and a lost look in his eyes. It was like Cartman in the alien episode of South Park. It could bring a tear to your eyes. That is if you laughed that hard. Our great fears about losing the life of the party and, of course the eventual JemeLogue are over. We get Jeme. You get your travelogue. We all win. Woohoo. Happpies, - -Markg ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 13:15:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox (.001 RH) > >I can't be the only one who's been forced to listen to Guns'n'Roses' "Get > >in the Ring". (Those are critics he's threatening to beat up, right? > > Did he mention them by name? Or just "you assholes who don't like my music > blah blah blah". I've never heard it so I don't know. Anyways, there are No, he's quite specific and names names. > Go write something nasty about Paul Weller and see if he'll have a go. I've > heard that this actuallly is a standing offer with him to those who write > negative reviews. I am not making this up. That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while. If it wasn't for the lack of correlation between intelligence and rock stardom, I'd have trouble believing it. > And I bet he gives you a better > fight than Mr. Rose too :). Which is chief among the reasons that I'd rather fight Axl Rose. This doesn't really count, but the cover of "Top of the Pops" on the Kinks Mailing List's Kovers Kontroversy tape mentions a few critics. I don't recall who covered it or who the critics were. Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 11:34:39 PDT From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: "harold's not here (he's in the kingdom of love.)" not only that, but it would be pretty difficult to find any press anywhere that was as subservient to the state/corporate "line" than the u.s. press, including pravda and the like. this is not an exaggeration. the hitch being that every time one ovulates on schedule, chairman bill receives royalties. (the really scary thing is, that's not nearly so far-fetched as it sounds, considering the "intellecutal property rights" provisions of gatt, coupled with bill's penchant for buying up anything that might compete with his profitmaking...) i suppose this is as good a time as any to trot out my favorite quote: "i regret to inform you that we of the fbi are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it in some way obstructs interstate commerce." --j. edgar hoover no kidding? i've never noticed that! i thought bob mould was gay, though? funny thing about that record. this friend of mine, that, like BREATHED husker du, was convinced that it was "gang control" rather than "data control." i was like, "huh? 'a nine-digit number, for every living soul. that is all they talk about at *gang control*'????" by the way, eb, i'm interested in the negativland issue as well. so keep us informed, if you like. Are there not instances when the refusal to serve is a sacred duty, when "treason" means courageous respect for the truth? --Manifesto of the 121 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 12:56:28 -0700 From: Eb Subject: yes, Bob Mould is gay Get in the Ring Why do you look at me when you hate me Why should I look at you when you make me hate you too I sense a smell of retribution in the air I don't even understand why the fuck you even care And I don't need your jealousy yeah Why drag me down in your misery And when you stare, you don't you think I feel it But I'm gonna deal it back to you in spades When I'm havin' fun ya know I can't conceal it 'Cause I know you'd never cut it in my game, oh no And when you're talkin' about a vasectomy- yeah I'll be writin' down your obituary History You got your bitches with the silicone injections Crystal meth and yeast infections Bleached blond hair, collagen lip projections Who are you to criticize my intentions Got your subtle manipulative devices Just like you I got my vices I got a thought that would be nice I'd like to crush your head tight in my vice, pain And that goes for all you punks in the press That want to start shit by printin' lies instead of the things we said That means you Andy Secher at Hit Parader, Circus Magazine Mick Wall at Kerrang, Bob Guccione Jr. at Spin, What you pissed off cuz your dad gets more pussy than you? Fuck you, suck my fuckin' dick You be rippin' off the fuckin' kids While they be payin' their hard earned money to read about the bands They want to know about Printin' lies startin' controversy, you wanta antagonize me Antagonize me motherfucker, get in the ring motherfucker And I'll kick your bitchy little ass, punk I don't like you, I just hate you, I'm gonna kick your ass Oh yeah, oh yeah You may not like our integrity, yeah We built a world out of anarchy Oh yeah "And in this corner weighing 850 pounds - Guns n' Roses" Get in the ring, get in the ring, get in the ring, get in the ring Get in the ring, get in the ring, get in the ring, get in the ring Yeah this song is dedicated to all the Guns n' fuckin' Roses fans Who stuck with us through all the fucking shit And to all those opposed, hmm...well ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 13:30:01 -0700 (PDT) From: X-Communicate Subject: Bobby in GQ... Did anyone mention that our man has a three or so page interview in September's GQ magazine. If it has been mentioned, consider yourself mentioned. Having just skimmed the article, it does not break any new ground, but is far better than most. The photos are a couple of years old, I think. So nothing smashingly new. Waiting for plates and or plates with extras--courtesy Clark, .chris ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 18:18:30 -0400 (EDT) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: Gratuitous Eb Wears White Sox (.001 RH) > > >I recall a Mr. Hitchcock mentioning Mark Ellen repeatedly. He's mostly > > Well, Mark Ellen is a buddy of his who happens to also be a critic. That's > a bit different. Oyez! I forgot about "The Lonesome Death of Ian Penman" and the "Invisible Hits" liner notes. (Ian Penman was a music critic who bashed the Soft Boys, right?) Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 17:26:00 -0500 From: Zloduska Subject: my once a month post [was-Re: my once a week post (Mozzer, Phooey, 80's rock)] Ken wrote: >3. 80's rock: >A few of my personal favorites from the 80's: >* The Church "Seance" ah HA. Good choice. Is anyone else seeing The Church while they are on tour in the U.S? I'm going to take a train from Chicago to Cincinatti, Ohio, and see them with a fellow feg (lurker extraordinare off this list). Should be nice and surreal. And oh yes, I recall someone mentioning that they thought the new Grant Lee Buffalo cd was very good. They also mentioned attending a future show (at that time). Well? I saw them, and I was actually surprised at how damn good they were. Excellent and energetic show (which could be due to G.L.Phillips being on speed). Ah, and 'Jubilee' just chimed on my stereo right at this moment... ~kjs ~Viva La Velvet!~ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 16:19:31 -0700 From: zolarox@juno.com (Debora K) Subject: Did Eb write this? >From Mr. Debora, reporting from Seattle, home of the mice... and waiting, waiting for Mr. Nick Cave to come to town (On Letterman the 10th of Sept.) Biography Contemporary Musicians, September 1992 (Volume 8) by Simon Glickman Personal Information Members include Geddy Lee (born Geddy Weinrib, July 29, 1953, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada), vocals, bass, keyboards; Alex Lifeson (born August 27, 1953, in Surnie, British Columbia, Canada), guitar; and Neil Peart (born September 12, 1952, in Hamilton, Ontario; replaced John Rutsey, 1974), drums. Career Group formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1968; recording and performing artists, 1968-. Released independent debut LP, Rush, 1974; released first Mercury album, Fly By Night, 1975. Addresses Manager-- Ray Danniels, SRO Management, Inc., 189 Carlton St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5A 2K7. Record company-- Atlantic Records, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019. The Canadian power trio Rush attracted a large international following in the mid-1970s with their eclectic brew of metal, progressive rock, and fantasy-oriented lyrics. Since then the group has kept up with the times, gradually developing a more pop-oriented sound, but their career approach has remained more or less the same: bypass the critics and Top Forty radio and sell records by touring constantly. In the wake of their enormous success--a 1991 Maclean's profile revealed that the trio had been "a multimillion-dollar entity for 15 years"--Rush has earned grudging respect from some of their harshest critics. Perhaps more notably, though, the once unfashionable fusion they pioneered in the 1970s has emerged as an influence on many cutting edge rock acts of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Faith No More, Jane's Addiction, and Fishbone. What critics of the 1980s derided as "dinosaur rock" gained a new relevance in the 1990s, causing many fans, musicians, and critics to reassess Rush's work. Rush's success has allowed them to take a more relaxed approach to their careers; all three live quiet, domestic lives. As bassist-singer Geddy Lee remarked in Maclean's, "it's a darn good job and we do very well. But now, I'm not afraid to say no to Rush. My family's extremely important to me." This mellowed perspective has also permitted Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer-lyricist Neil Peart to demonstrate that their reputation for taking themselves too seriously has been exaggerated. "People have always accused us of being deadly serious, but we all can look back at our albums and see the jokes," Lee insisted in an interview with Musician' s J. D. Considine, though he admitted this perspective came with time. "It's funny, when you're younger you seem to have this intentional furrowed brow when you're writing your music. It's like, 'This is serious music!' God knows what serious music is, but when you're a little bit older, you seem to have a lighter hand." Lightness of touch would probably not have been the attribute that leapt to the minds of Rush fans or critics of the 1970s who attempted to describe the trio. The group's early albums featured science fiction opuses and songs based on the work of ultra-individualist writer Ayn Rand, all set to music jammed with complex time changes, extended solos, and bombastic riffing. Lee's voice, which Rolling Stone' s Michael Azerrad called "a shrill screech," has had many detractors over the years. With 1980's Permanent Waves, however, the band turned a corner; the album contained their first radio hit--appropriately titled "The Spirit of Radio"--and drew their first respectful press. Though reviews were mixed over the next decade, the group retained a loyal core of followers and managed to make new converts with each tour and record. The Rush enterprise began in the late 1960s. Lee and Lifeson met in high school in Ontario, Canada. Influenced by the heavy psychedelic rock of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, the guitarist and bassist began playing together; by 1968 they had formed a group with Lifeson's friend John Rutsey on drums. The group struggled on the club scene until a major legislative development--the lowering of the legal drinking age to 18 in Canada--increased their schedule threefold. Soon they were playing gigs throughout the week, and were not constrained to dances that required them to play oldies. After several years and numerous frustrated attempts to generate record company interest, they elected to make their own album. Their debut LP, Rush, appeared on the Moon Records label in 1974, sold surprisingly well in the United States--thanks in part to substantial airplay on a Cleveland, Ohio, radio station--and led Mercury Records to sign them. Soon the group had booked a U.S. tour. At that point, however, a falling out led to Rutsey's departure. Desperate, Lee and Lifeson auditioned and hired drummer Neil Peart; soon the trio achieved "international band" status by playing in such exotic places as Florida and Pennsylvania. For the first several years their touring schedule would be incredibly rigorous. As Lee explained to Rolling Stone' s David Fricke, "The strategy was, 'There's a gig. We'll go play it.'" Ray Danniels, who managed the band from its inception, elaborated: "It was the drive-till-you-die philosophy." Peart's drumming had given breadth and complexity to the group's sound, and his lyrics were ambitious and unusual, as witnessed by fantasy excursions like "By Tor and the Snow Dog." In 1975 Rush released Fly by Night, the first LP with their permanent lineup. But neither Fly by Night nor the subsequent release Caress of Steel sold impressively. According to Fricke, these two records "bear the scars of the group's naivete." Rush wasn't succeeding, at least by rock business standards. "Then we realized how stupid we were," Lee remembered. "Because of all these people putting pressure on us, we were looking at ourselves through their eyes. >From then on, we knew exactly what our direction was going to be, and were determined to have success strictly on our own terms." 1976's elaborate concept album 2112, according to John Swenson of Rolling Stone, "marked the band's evolution into spokesmen for a lost generation of Seventies rockers influenced by groups as disparate as the Who, Cream, Procol Harum and King Crimson." Featuring songs like "Temples of Syrinx," 2112 grabbed a whole new audience, as did the subsequent Rush tour, which included the group's first appearances in the United Kingdom. Melody Maker' s Steve Gett reported that Rush, "for a relatively unknown band, went down tremendously." Chris Welch, writing for the same publication, noted that the trio "surprised a lot of people by selling out and getting a standing ovation at their gigs--not bad for a band virtually unknown here until recently." 1976 also saw the release of a double live record, All the World's a Stage. The following year the band came out with A Farewell to Kings, which Melody Maker' s Michael Oldfie called "Rush's best yet." Oldfie was particularly enraptured by "Cygnus X-1;" he summarized the song as "the story of a doomed journey through the universe to the Black Hole of the title." This was only "Book One" of a continuing story, however: "for those of us waiting to get to Cygnus X-1, the next album can't come soon enough," the reviewer continued. The sequel to A Farewell to Kings arrived in 1978. Hemispheres, which took longer than the band had anticipated to complete, featured a title track that was meant, according to Rolling Stone' s Michael Bloom, to complete "Cygnus X-1," although "the musical and thematic references are only tangential." Bloom approved of much of the record's musical content--especially the instrumental "La Villa Strangiato," but had reservations about Peart's lyrics and Lee's "often unnecessarily strident" voice. Rush's real breakthrough came in 1980 with Permanent Waves. Fricke claimed that "Rush demonstrate a maturity that even their detractors may have to admire," and expressed particular admiration for the single "The Spirit of Radio;" his review concluded with the contention that "this band is among the very best in its genre." Soon Rolling Stone ran a feature about the group's new access to FM radio--thanks to "The Spirit of Radio." The band members owned that the new album reflected a more earthbound set of concerns; ironically, the single and another Permanent Waves track--"Natural Science"--were critical of the industry that had given the band the cold shoulder in the past. According to Swenson, the two songs "carve up the record industry as a pack of charlatans." Peart admitted that the tone of Permanent Waves was "a bit angry," summarizing its message as "Stop bullshitting." Years later he told Bob Mack in Spin that he still considered "Radio"--a song that mixed reggae, pop, and metal in a radical new way--"a valid musical gumbo" designed "to represent what radio should be." Swenson observed that "The Spirit of Radio" in all likelihood had "gotten more airplay than Rush's entire catalog put together, and it's brought them a whole new audience." The album made the Top Five. The band's critical popularity, such as it was, didn't last long. Gett, reviewing 1981's Moving Pictures for Melody Maker, called the LP "self-indulgent. ... The album may be technically superb but it really doesn't generate much excitement." He concluded that "A lot of fans will feel betrayed." Rather than presenting more radio-friendly material, the band had put together longer, more difficult music at a time when critics were hoping for greater simplicity. But, as Fricke had noted, "critics don't count at all" in Rush's genre. As Lifeson explained to Brian Karrigan in Melody Maker, "the media isn't something that we tend to worry about in the band any more. It's more of a management or record company thing." 1981 also saw the release of a double live album, Exit...Stage Left, that sold tremendously. But Rush's albums always had a substantial audience, whether reviews were favorable or not. Harrigan called Signals of 1983 Rush's "major breakthrough," observing that "the album was packed with diverse musical strands and had such an aura of celebration about it that it suggested the band themselves had found a great release and allowed everything they had to come through." Harrigan reported that British concert audiences "greeted Rush in complete awe." By 1984, with its new release, Grace Under Pressure, Rush was--according to Derek Oliver of Melody Maker-- "one of the world's most popular rock bands." Rush's new sound was influenced by British new wave pop from the likes of U2, Simple Minds, the Police, and Ultravox. Oliver was struck by Grace Under Pressure' s "accessibility," while acknowledging that it was "seen by many as Rush's most adventurous album to date." And like numerous other interviewers, Oliver commented on how "immensely likeable" he found Geddy Lee. The following year Rush released Power Windows, which Rolling Stone' s Fricke praised as a record that "may well be the missing link between [English progressive-rockers] Yes and [seminal English punk band] The Sex Pistols." The reviewer referred to the LP's single "The Big Money" as "the best of Rush's Cool Wave experiments to date"; he commented that on Power Windows, as on Grace Under Pressure, the band "tightened up their sidelong suites and rhythmic abstractions into balled-up song fists, art-rock blasts of angular, slashing guitar, spatial keyboards [played by Lee] and hyperpercussion, all resolved with forthright melodic sense." 1987 saw the release of Hold Your Fire, which contained the single "Time Stand Still," featuring singer Aimee Mann of the group 'Til Tuesday on backing vocals. According to a Maclean's reporter, after the tour for this album the three members of Rush returned to Canada sick and virtually estranged from their families. At that point, according to Lee, he, Lifeson, and Peart "discovered that we didn't have to be obsessed about Rush 24 hours a day." They arranged to spend more time doing other things; Lee would get ten days off with his family for every three weeks of touring, while Lifeson and Peart devoted themselves to athletic pursuits. Hold Your Fire-- along with Power Windows-- provided the material for 1989's double live set A Show of Hands. Azerrad panned the record as a sterile, bombastic marathon, observing that "the music has the emotional emptiness of bad jazz fusion." By this time Melody Maker had fallen out of love with Rush's sound; Mick Mercer's acidic review of A Show of Hands revealed the group's lowered status with the publication: "The removal of Rush from society," Mercer fantasized, "as with the eradication of tuberculosis, was greeted with the establishment of internationally agreed public holidays." Though the album was rather unpopular with other critics as well, a People reviewer spoke highly of the 1989 Show of Hands videocassette: "Even those who don't usually enjoy Rush may find this 14-song concert video by the Canadian power-pop trio to their liking." Rush earned some accolades for their 1989 studio album Presto, released by their new label, Atlantic. Stereo Review called the record "proof that progressive rock is alive and well and in capable hands." The LP included the single "Show Don't Tell," the message of which was so popular with some American schoolteachers that the video for the song was actually shown in their classrooms. David Hiltbrand remarked in People that the band's "rock formalism has never been better realized," though he had less admiration for "the cartoonishly high pitch and overwrought intensity" of Lee's voice. Another Atlantic album, Chronicles, was released in 1990, and by 1991 Rush had a new hit album on their hands, Roll the Bones. The latter LP entered the Billboard album chart at Number Three, and if it didn't please everyone--Craig Tomashoff of People called it "audible proof that dinosaurs still roam the earth"--it sold faster than any previous Rush album. In addition, the single "Dreamline" was for a time the most requested song on U.S. rock stations, and the concert tour that supported the album was a smash in a dry concert season. The admiration expressed for Rush by a variety of groundbreaking alternative bands of the early 1990s---and the trio's clear influence even on many bands that did not mention them--gave Rush a new respectability in the music world. >From their days as a teenaged blues-metal act to their international fame as progressive rock's longest lasting big act, Rush have stuck to their vision; critical attitudes have changed, but the trio's commitment to themselves and their audience have paid off handsomely. As Lee remarked in a Guitar Player interview, "It's such a satisfying musical situation that, whenever push comes to shove, we always count our blessings. It's something you appreciate more the older you get." Selected Discography Rush, Moon Records, 1974. On Mercury Records: Fly by Night (includes "By Tor and the Snow Dog"), 1975. Caress of Steel, 1975. 2112 (includes "Temples of Syrinx"), 1976. All the World's a Stage, 1976. A Farewell to Kings (includes "Cygnus X-1"), 1977. Hemispheres (includes "La Villa Strangiato"), 1978. Permanent Waves (includes "The Spirit of Radio" and "Natural Science"), 1980. Moving Pictures, 1981. Exit...Stage Left, 1981. Signals, 1983. Grace Under Pressure, 1984. Power Windows (includes "The Big Money"), 1985. Hold Your Fire (includes "Time Stand Still"), 1987. A Show of Hands, 1989. On Atlantic Records: Presto (includes "Show Don't Tell"), 1989. Chronicles, 1990. Roll the Bones (includes "Dreamline"), 1991. Sources Guitar Player, September 1991. Maclean's, September 30, 1991. Melody Maker, July 23, 1977; November 5, 1977; May 12, 1979; February 28, 1981; November 7, 1981; May 28, 1983; May 5, 1984; January 28, 1989. Musician, April 1990. People, April 24, 1989; January 22, 1990; November 18, 1991. Rolling Stone, March 22, 1979; May 1, 1980; June 26, 1980; May 28, 1981; January 30, 1986; April 20, 1989. Spin, March 1992. Stereo Review, April 1990. ~~ Simon Glickman _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #346 *******************************