Posted on 01/12/2020 7:21:28 PM PST by DoodleBob
“Nevermore shall I return
Escape these caves of ice
For I have dined on honey dew
And drunk the milk of Paradise”
Live version, Exit Stage Left.
An amazing song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuHS-gjMiVw
In many songs, Rush (Peart?) seem to be looking for something more. A spiritual side of things in some songs. Perhaps dealing with brain cancer for more than 3 years he might have had the opportunity to know Jesus? I would like to hope so.
The Fountain of Lamenth (Caress of Steel Album):
“Call out for direction
And there’s no one there to steer
Shout out for salvation
But there’s no one there to hear
Cry out supplication
For the maelstrom is near
Scream out desperation
But no one cares to hear.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mC7j-fxqfs
This line of thought carries into their last album on a song called “The Wreckers”. The ship is tossed about in a storm, and then “saved” by a light. Turns out the light is from pirates, to lure the ship into a reef where they plunder the ship.
“All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary
Of a miracle too good to be true
All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary
Everything in life you thought you knew
All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary
‘Cause sometimes the target is you”
“The Wreckers” (live):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUZnRX8hgNE
The Clockwork Angels tour was the last one I saw. With my three kids -
“Though it’s just a memory
Some memories last forever”
Okay - the above is a live version of the instrumental “Malignant Narcissism” and then a Peart drum solo.
The bass part is Geddy’s initial jamming with a new fret-less bass that he got from Fender. The producer hit “record” and played it back - “Hey - I think you got another song.”
The recording was all done. However, Peart had his little warm-up drum kit, so he and Geddy worked out their parts and recorded it. Then sent it to Alex.
Alex worked with it and added his guitar parts from his home studio.
Neil talking about the song Malignant Narcissism”
My nephew is a drummer and a Conservative and while he may not have agreed with all of Peart’s political positions, he recognized his immense talent as a both a drummer, nee, “percussionist”; one of the all-time greats and right up there with my nephew’s other drum idols, Kruppa and Rich, but also as a brilliant lyricist.
Peart was a very complex man and a notoriously private man who rarely gave interviews but this was one of his last in 2017.
Neil Peart: The ultimate interview
And when you’re touring on a motorcycle, you must see a lot more of the world,
I avoid motorways whenever possible. The roads I want are the ones that people don’t travel unless they live on them.
Another line from Limelight that grew in resonance over the years is: ‘One must put up barriers to keep oneself intact.’ But there is a corollary that I try to explain. Every day when I’m on tour and travelling between cities on my motorcycle, I have half-a-dozen pleasant encounters with people. I’ve spent a lot of time in truck stops and diners and cafes, very casual, low-grade places, and those are the encounters I have: stranger to stranger, I guess you could say. I love the anonymity of my travels.
Do you feel misunderstood?
I don’t like to puncture illusions. I know I represent some kind of fantasy to a lot of people. But there is no fantasy. There’s a quote that I use: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Most human life is made up of some mixture of happiness and misery.
Where do you stand politically – left or right?
I know where I fall politically. And I define it better now: I’m a libertarian, but a bleeding-heart libertarian.
Meaning what, exactly?
I believe in taxation and healthcare that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don’t want people to have to suffer. It’s as simple as that. If people are suffering and I can help, I want to. But here’s the difference between being an idealist and a realist. Idealistically, I believe that we should help people. But realistically, do I think that government will do that? No.
How do you define ‘libertarianism’?
It’s enlightened self-interest. Free will. I’ve lived in the US for the last 10 years, and I wanted there to be a health care system. The little bit that there is, it’s a wonderful thing. So that’s an example of what I consider enlightened self-interest. That’s why I’m a bleeding-heart libertarian. Paul Theroux said: “A cynic is a disappointed idealist.” But I’m not a cynic. I’m not disappointed. I’ve just broadened my idealism.
You can’t believe in what – God?
No. And I’m well-documented on that subject. In all my songs and in my prose. I was called a faith-basher recently and it went to my heart. I don’t want to be an anything-basher. I don’t like to make enemies.
One of the more interesting things about Peart was that even with all his accolades and success, being called “The Professor”, he still continued to take drum lessons, taking lessons from Freddie Gruber in the 90’s and later in 2007 with Peter Erskine.
"In 2007 I studied with Peter Erskine because I was doing a Buddy Rich tribute concert and I wanted to take my big band drumming up a level. I went over to Peter's house with my sticks, feeling like a 13-year-old again.
"I was going in there to the master and I told him at the time, 'As far as I'm concerned you're a surgeon and I'm a butcher.' He said, 'You're not a butcher!' I said, 'No, I'm a good butcher but I'd just like to get a little more surgery into it.' He helped me with that eloquence and time sense.
Respect can be earned and lost
"There is nothing I would rather have than the respect of other musicians for what I do, but respect is something you have to earn continually. A lot of times people only respect dead musicians because they can't let you down. Everyone has had that experience of being a fan of someone who suddenly really lets you down.
"As a musician it's my responsibility to get better and if people are admiring the work I do then that's even more inspiration to improve and to take it up a notch. The hunger for improvement and exploration and all that really does derive from the acclaim. I know people give me that respect so I feel I have to earn it."
It’s also been said that while Peart was a bit of an introvert, he was also very kind to young up and coming drummers often quietly and without fanfare or boasting about it, took many young drummers under his wing and mentored them.
Finally:
“I can worship Nature, and that fulfills my need for miracles and beauty. Art gives a spiritual depth to existence -- I can find worlds bigger and deeper than my own in music, paintings, and books. And from my friends and family I receive the highest benediction, emotional contact, and personal affirmation. I can bow before the works of Man, from buildings to babies, and that fulfills my need for wonder. I can believe in the sanctity of Life, and that becomes the Revealed Word, to live my life as I believe it should be, not as I'm told to by self-appointed guides.”
Personally this quote comes a bit closer to what I believe and perhaps what Peart believed – “I can believe in the sanctity of Life, and that becomes the Revealed Word, to live my life as I believe it should be, not as I'm told to by self-appointed guides.”
By that I don’t know if Peart was as much as an atheist in his heart as he was perhaps more of an agnostic, a deeply spiritual agnostic who rather than outright rejecting the idea of a higher power, rejected organized religion, the “self-appointed guides”.
But at the end of the day, no matter his political views or his views on God or religion, he was one of the all-time greatest drummers. And someone who was never so arrogant as to believe that once achieving so much success and accolades, resting on his fame alone, that he couldn’t continue to learn and improve by being a humble student all of his life. And for that alone, I’ve great respect for him
Neil Peart (R.I.P.) & The Buddy Rich Big Band: Drum Solo - Cotton Tail - 1994
It is always the job of the parent to ensure their child isn't getting sucked in. But the parent has to be vigilant. I think parents have basically stopped screening for the devil for a variety of reasons, though sexualized performers still get attention.
Yes. Great album, great song! One of my favorite live albums.
Time Stand Still
I turn my back to the wind
To catch my breath,
Before I start off again
Driven on,
Without a moment to spend
To pass an evening
With a drink and a friend
I let my skin get too thin
I’d like to pause,
No matter what I pretend
Like some pilgrim
Who learns to transcend
Learns to live
As if each step was the end
Time stand still
I’m not looking back
But I want to look around me now
Time stands still
See more of the people
And the places that surround me now
Time stands still
Freeze this moment
A little bit longer
Make each sensation
A little bit stronger
Experience slips away
Experience slips away
Time stands still
I turn my face to the sun
Close my eyes,
Let my defenses down
All those wounds
That I can’t get unwound
I let my past go too fast
No time to pause
If I could…
.....
If I could slow it all down
Like some captain,
Whose ship runs aground
I can wait until the tide comes around
Time stand still
I’m not looking back
But I want to look around me now
Time stands still
See more of the people
And the places that surround me now
Freeze this moment
A little bit longer
Make each sensation
A little bit stronger
Make each impression
A little bit stronger
Freeze this motion
A little bit longer
The innocence slips away
The innocence slips away
Time stands still
Time stands still
I’m not looking back
But I want to look around me now
See more of the people
And the places that surround me now
Time stands still
Summer’s going fast
Nights growing colder
Children growing up
Old friends growing older
Freeze this moment
A little bit longer
Make each sensation
A little bit stronger
Experience slips away
Experience slips away
The innocence slips away
Yes, but so was Joe Stalin. That doesn't make it accurate to say Peart "was a proponent of Joe Stalin's philosophies."
They don’t say “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” for nothing.
Music is very powerful; cultures worldwide have known since the beginning that music was useful for religious purposes, for control.
The links between prominent musicians and the intelligence agencies of both the US and UK have been discussed elsewhere. And also, intelligence agencies and occultism.
Check out David McGowan’s book on Laurel Canyon and the hippie scene...
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