I did.
Nice tribute, sad news. I don’t like all the bands from that era, but Rush never did anything I didn’t like. And Neil was in the top tier of drummers by any measure.
Rush was technically very good, and made some fantastic early albums, but I lost interest the album after Moving Pictures. And now as a Christian I take issue with lyrics and messages in most modern rock music. The fact that King Diamond (an overtly Satanist band) is posting tributes should give pause to parents. Neil Peart was a left-libertarian but the other two members were lefties.
I never heard of King Diamond. But if they’re anything close to Black Sabbath, I’m not surprised. I wasn’t very deep into that brand of Rock & Roll. Black costumes, angry stage presence and fright makeup. Many others were.
The closest I ever got was to enjoy Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water.
I’m not a fan of that genre of music, but brain cancer sounds like a nasty way to go.
RIP
For some reason I don’t remember Rush! What hit songs did they do? Maybe one will ring a bell, but I doubt it!
“Time Stand Still”....one of the most beautiful songs musically and lyrically ever written.
“Today, the world lost a true giant in the history of rock & roll. An inspiration to millions with an unmistakable sound who spawned generations of musicians (like myself) to pick up two sticks and chase a dream. A kind, thoughtful, brilliant man who ruled our radios and turntables not only with his drumming, but also his beautiful words.
I still vividly remember my first listen of ‘2112’ when I was young. It was the first time I really listened to a drummer. And since that day, music has never been the same. His power, precision, and composition was incomparable. He was called ‘The Professor’ for a reason: We all learned from him.
Thank you, Neil for making our lives a better place with your music. You will be forever remembered and sorely missed by all of us. And my heartfelt condolences to the Rush family.
God bless Neil Peart.”
Taylor Hawkins: “Neil Peart had the hands of God. End of story.”
Rush brings back great memories when I was a kid. I just love music and simply will ignore politics and other peculiar behavior of groups/musicians.
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