The Deluxe Fan Pack version of the CD/DVD comes with a limited edition lithograph and can be pre-ordered here. From what we know so far the tracklist will contain one unreleased live track (Ghost of a Chance from the 2008 leg of the S&A tour) along with 13 studio tracks. The DVD will contain 10 Atlantic-era music videos along with live videos of The Seeker, Secret Touch and Resist. Also of interest are 2 remixed/remastered versions of One Little Victory and Earthshine off of 2002's Vapor Trails. You can check out the complete tracklist and a full-size image of the album cover in this post.
All this past week from Monday, December 29th through Friday, January 2nd VH1 ran a 5-part series where they counted down the Top 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. Each night they featured 20 songs and finished off with Friday night's episode where they counted down the top 20. Rush's Tom Sawyer made the list at #19. VH1 gave each song's back story along with new exclusive interviews with several rock icons. For Tom Sawyer - Chris Jericho, Sebastian Bach, Judas Priest and others gave praise to Rush's most well-known song along with footage from the song's music video, Exit ... Stage Left video and the band's appearance on the Colbert Report. The VH1 website features several extra bonus videos and interviews from the series on their website. You can see the entire list of the 100 featured songs at this link. Here are the top 20:
01. GUNS N' ROSES - "Welcome To The Jungle" 02. AC/DC - "Back In Black" 03. LED ZEPPELIN - "Whole Lotta Love" 04. BLACK SABBATH - "Paranoid" 05. METALLICA - "Enter Sandman" 06. THE WHO - "Won't Get Fooled Again" 07. NIRVANA - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 08. AEROSMITH - "Walk This Way" 09. VAN HALEN - "Running With The Devil" 10. MOTÖRHEAD - "Ace Of Spades" 11. DEEP PURPLE - "Smoke On The Water" 12. JUDAS PRIEST - "Breaking The Law" 13. DEF LEPPARD - "Photograph" 14. IRON MAIDEN - "Run To The Hills" 15. MÖTLEY CRÜE - "Dr. Feelgood" 16. KISS - "Rock And Roll All Nite" 17. TWISTED SISTER - "I Wanna Rock" 18. SCORPIONS - "Rock You Like A Hurricane" 19. RUSH - "Tom Sawyer" 20. BON JOVI - "You Give Love A Bad Name"
I've just finished making some fairly significant updates to the blog comments. I changed the layout, removed the image Captcha verification, and you can now upload an avatar image to go with your profile. I think the new layout makes things a bit easier to read and the Captcha stuff isn't really necessary since only registered users can post comments anyways. I know some of you will really miss the odd letter combinations that would sometimes arise, but most of you probably won't miss them too much. :) To upload your avatar image just go to your member profile page. If you don't upload one then the default white-on-black Rush starman image will be used. If you notice anything not working properly, let me know. I'll be making a few more tweaks here and there over the next few weeks. Enjoy!
UPDATE - 1/3@2:00PM: Here's one more quick update. All this past week VH1 ran a nightly special where they counted down the Top 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. Each night they featured 20 songs and finished off with last night's episode where they counted down the top 20. Rush's Tom Sawyer made the list at #19. Thanks to bruckler2112 for the heads up.
In my last poll I asked you what your favorite Rush DVD/video is. I posed this same question back in October of 2007 and at that time Rush in Rio was the overwhelming favorite with 50% of the vote. But now it seems that the Snakes & Arrows DVD has taken over the top spot. It won with 44% of the vote and Rush in Rio came in second with 24%. The complete results can be seen here.
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were guests on last Saturday's episode of That Metal Show on VH1 Classic. The show is a hard rock and heavy metal themed talk show hosted by DJ Eddie Trunk. Geddy and Alex appeared on the 7th and final episode of the show's inaugural season (outside of a best of show tomorrow night). The entire show is now posted up on the VH1 Classic website.
The first set of last October's Buddy Rich Memorial Concert is now available as an on-demand purchase up on the Drum Channel website. Set one features Neil Peart's performance of Time Will Tell. It costs $9.95 to view and sets 2 and 3 will be available on January 6th and 13th respectively.
Eric over at the Power Windows site recently discovered that in the 2002 video game Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 there is a Launched Freefall ride named Escape Hatch which costs exactly $2,112.
Also from Power Windows, on the 2005 album Bass Invader Martin Motnik, Gregg Bissonette and Mattias Ia Eklundh perform a cover of YYZ. And the late rapper Proof sampled Rush's Xanadu on the track Cali Trip on his Mayor of Detroit mixtape album released online in 2008.
Back in September I let you know that Hamilton, Ontario (the birthplace of Neil Peart) rock radio station Y108 had started a petition to have a stretch of Red Hill Expressway in Hamilton renamed to Neil Peart Way. Y108 Promotions Coordinator Monica wanted me to give everyone a reminder about the petition which you can sign here if you haven't already.
Speaking of Hamilton, reader Andy S alerted me to this great cover of Subdivisions by Hamilton-based Canadian folk singer/songwriter and guitarist Jacob Moon. You can check out a video of the cover at this link.
Reader Stephen let me know about a very cool Rush collage from artist Abel Adames that you can check out and purchase as a poster at this link.
Reader Dino L got a very cool Rush quilt from his Mom for Christmas. You can check it out here.
Several folks sent me this video of 13-year-old drumming prodigy Sara playing YYZ. She's pretty impressive. You can check out all of her vids at this link.
Have a wonderful weekend and a great 2009 everybody!
UPDATE - 12/30@2:20PM: Many thanks to everyone who sent in a translation. Here's one from reader GeddyJr who happens to be a professional Spanish translator:
Rush is packing its bags for Chile
As with Queen, the station (Canal 13) got together with local producers and came to an agreement to bring the trio here in 2009. It's one of the most anticipated performances in recent memory.
Almost like Radiohead or Madonna, for years the arrival of the Canadian trio Rush has been one of the greatest unfulfilled promises of local megaevents and the confessed dream of an enormous community of devoted fans that grew up in the rock-and-roll virtuosity of the 70's.
Despite often the multitude of rumors (a while back it was said that they would come in May), the negotiations now offer solid evidence of progress. Eventos 13, the concert production office of Canal 13, met with two local producers almost a month ago and closed a financial deal for the group's debut in Santiago.
Initially, the plan was to bring the group here in March, but problems with the group's schedule and the abundance of events during that month precluded that possibility. The last date that was agreed upon is during the last few months of next year. [Translator's note: Keep in mind that the seasons are reversed in South America, so this will be a summer tour in late 2009.] The venue hasn't been decided yet, but industry sources are sure that the Canadians' elevated price tag and strong drawing power in Chile will demand an arena capacity of more than 15,000.
Even the National Stadium has been considered. Chile's last game in World Cup qualifying is during the first week of October, and the stadium's availability and capacity both make it the best choice for the event. Other options would be the Pista Atlética (Sports Stadium) or the Club Hípico (Horse Track), which will host Iron Maiden on March 22. Furthermore, managers of Calle Blanco Encalada have organized a meeting in the next few days with executives of UC-TV - the same people that agreed to participate in Queen's recent show in November, produced by DG Medios.
Rush's tour through Latin America, which will also include Brazil and Argentina, would be an incredible realignment of effort. The band closed its "Snakes & Arrows" tour on July 24 in Indianapolis and has said that they will rest in 2009. This could be a real treat for their South American fans, the greatest Rush fans in the world. Many Chileans traveled to Brazil in 2002 and appear in the DVD that the group recorded in that country.
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Chilean newspapper El Mercurio is reporting that Rush is in negotiations to tour South America sometime late next year. The article is in Spanish but from what I can glean from it, the band would potential play several dates at larger arenas (15000+) in Chile, Argentina and Brazil. If anyone is willing to translate the article, I'd really appreciate it; my Spanish is mediocre at best. The article talks about how originally the band was supposed to tour South America last May, as I'd reported on this site. It also mentions how this would be an unprecedented move since the band closed out the Snakes & Arrows tour back in July and have stated that they'd be taking most of 2009 off. Here's the original article in Spanish and here is the loose Google translation. If true, this is great news for all the South American fans. More as I learn it and I'll try to get a better translation of the article. Thanks to Hugo F for the heads up.
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were guests on last night's episode of That Metal Show on VH1 Classic. The show is a hard rock and heavy metal themed talk show hosted by DJ Eddie Trunk. Geddy and Alex appeared on the 7th and final episode of the show's inaugural season (outside of a best of show next week). Eddie gushed over the guys as they came out to Limelight playing in the background and immediately made it known how upset he is that Rush is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Geddy and Alex gave their standard reply of how it doesn't mean much to them whether they are inducted or not because they have no control over it. They then touched on a number of subjects including Rock Band (which Alex had discussed at length in this recent interview), the Snakes & Arrows DVD, why they've been filming and releasing to DVD their recent tours, comedy on stage and on their DVDs (Geddy explains the dryers and chicken rotisseries), and checking baseball scores during intermission (as shown in this preview video). After the first commercial break they then came back and talked about the band's longevity. They joked about how Neil was the new guy in the band and how they are thinking of finally starting to pay him. They then explained how their friendship is the main reason they've been able to keep the band together for 34 years, and talked a little about the early days of Rush. Alex mentioned how they are still into drugs ... prescription drugs. Alex and Geddy stuck around for the rest of the show and occasionally broke in with a comment or two. In the Throwdown segment, the question was who was the hotter video vixen Tawny Kitaen or Bobbie Brown. Geddy and Alex both voted for Tani - who won the Throwdown. In the What ever happened to segment they discussed White Lion's Vito Bratta. Eddie brought Geddy and Alex into the discussion and they talked a little about the business side of music and how Rush decided early on to split everything equally among the three members - which was a contributing factor as to why Rush has managed to stay together for so long. All in all the interview was very loose and funny with a lot of joking around. They should be posting the entire episode up on the VH1 Classic website in the next couple days.
In its fourth week of release the Snakes & Arrows DVD is hanging on in the top ten at #8 on the Billboard Top Music Video chart - down from its #5 position last week. I have a couple more stellar reviews to report. BlogCritics Magazine contributor Paul Roy gave the DVD 9 out of 10 stars for the performance and 10 for the production. Here's a snippet:
... Rush have just released what is probably their best concert DVD to date - and they have about 20 others to compare it to. Where other Rush DVDs have been frustratingly deficient in at least one key area, such as Rush In Rio's killer performance being marred by a crappy audio mix, Snakes & Arrows Live finally gets everything right. ...
... Technically, this disc is just about flawless. The image quality of the Rotterdam concert is little short of magnificent, with superb image definition, excellent contrast and loads of detail in a very film-like presentation. Colors are bright and vibrant, but not oversaturated. The DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is also superb, but then so is the uncompressed PCM stereo - it's just a win-win for whatever your preference is. ... Very highly recommended - Rush fans will rejoice, and the uninitiated will probably quickly become converts. Five stars!
According to the National Post, Geddy Lee was recently spotted at Nota Bene restaurant on Queen Street in Toronto. He was there for a private tasting of three different vintages of Dom Perignon (2000, 1993 and 1990 Rose).
As I'd expected, there's not much is going on this week as far as Rush news goes. I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Saturnalia, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Festivus, etc. I'll have the regular Friday updates for you tomorrow. If you just want to send holiday greetings to everyone or let us know about all the cool Rush swag you received in your stocking, please do so in the comments. Happy Holidays and Merry Rush-mas everyone!!
UPDATE - 12/21@10:27AM: FYI for all the folks on Facebook: I created an event for International Rush Day here.
Today is the 21st day of the 12th month - often written as 21/12 in many parts of the world. The occasion has become a sort of unofficial Rush holiday in recent years. What better excuse do you need to listen to Rush all day long, watch Rush DVDs, wear Rush paraphernalia, etc? To make it especially significant, do something extra special at exactly 9:12PM this evening; 21:12 in military time. It's also the Winter Solstice (First Day of Winter) and Hanukkah begins at sundown. Happy International Rush Day!
A new Alex Lifeson interview and another news update from Neil Peart were the highlights of the past week in Rush news. Alex Lifeson spoke with Greg Prato of UGO.com's Music Blog last week and once again raised the topic of a B-sides Rush tour. He also reminisced about touring with Kiss in the early days, TV shows he's been watching lately and the band's future plans, echoing what he's been saying in recent interviews; that the band will be taking a break for most of the next year and possibly begin writing again in the fall. Alex also recently spoke with Artisan News Service about the popularity of video games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero and how he believes these games are ultimately a good thing for Rush and for music in general. In his most recent News update at NeilPeart.net, Neil describes his recent 3-day motorcycle trip he took to Death Valley on his new BMW R1200 GS. We also learned earlier in the week that Neil Peart has donated some items to a charity auction for Little Kids Rock. The auction runs through December 24th and Neil Peart has 2 signed Pro-Mark drumsticks, 2 signed DW snare drums and 2 signed Sabian cymbals up for bidding. You can place your bid here.
Rush will be making a cameo in an upcoming film starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel called I Love You Man, set to release on March 20th. The first movie trailer for the film was recently released and it unfortunately doesn't show any part of Rush's cameo. However, there is a scene at about the 2-minute mark depicting the co-stars playing in a band and a picture of the 2112 album cover can be seen in the background. A couple of high quality screengrabs are also available over at IMDB.com (thumbnails above). The first is a more detailed image of the scene from the trailer I'd mentioned. In this image you can also see a King's Skull poster, a Caress of Steel album cover and an Exit...Stage Left album cover. The second image is of the main characters at a Rush concert.
Some Rush fans might remember Jason Segel from his role as Nick on the short-lived NBC show Freaks and Geeks, which contained many Rush references including Segel's character in this scene. Jason Segel also stars as Marshall Eriksen on CBS's How I Met Your Mother. Reader nevetsrush let me know of a small Rush reference in this past week's episode titled Little Minnesota (#75 - Season 4, Episode 11). Towards the end of the episode Marshall and Ryan goes to the Hoser Hut, a Canadian bar in New York City. If you look closely you can see a picture of Geddy on the wall, just to the right of a picture of Paul Schaffer. You can watch the entire episode online at this link.
... this live collection, documenting the band's recent "Snakes & Arrows" tour, is stunning, a treat for both the ears and the eyes, unsurprisingly. What might surprise some is the wry, sometimes absurd humor that the band members trade in. There is a short film feature included here featuring all three members in a Mike Meyers-like parody that is side-splittingly hilarious. The set list is fantastic, too, drawing as it does from the band's entire career. A must-have for fans. ...
Then there's this 6 out of 6 review from Norwegian online webzine Panorama. It's in Norwegian, but reader John lets me know that the reviewer writes that the picture and sound quality on the DVD is among the best he has ever seen and heard. He also praises the Snakes & Arrows album and says it was one of the last year's true highlights.
Reader Chris noticed a Rush reference in this New Yorker article about indicted former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. At a recent fundraiser for his legal defense, there was a slide show tribute of officers fallen in the World Trade Center terrorist attack. The slideshow was introduced with the words Suddenly you were gone from all the lives you left your mark upon from Rush's Afterimage.
Reader rushmixtape5 let me know that on Late Night with Conan O'Brien last night there was an unflattering Rush reference. Conan was listing the cast for his True Life made-for-TV movie of the Rod Blagojevich scandal. Their cast list features Webster (Emmanuel Lewis) as President-elect Barack Obama, Stewie from The Family Guy as Rahm Emanuel, a lego man as Governor Rod Blagojevich, and ... Geddy Lee as Illinois State Attorney General, Lisa Madigan. Conan then declares don't cut to me I don't want to be associated with that!. Here's the video.
Eric Meyer pointed me to this 57-page, post-apocalyptic, Rock Band-inspired webcomic called My Name Is Might Have Been. I won't try to describe it - it's beyond description, but suffice it to say that the bass player character in the strip essentially worships Geddy Lee and makes several references to Saint Geddy. :) Give it a read if you're looking to kill some time.
Back in May, I told you about a survey that long-time Rush fan, musician, musicologist and RIAB reader Chris McDonald had put together for a book he was writing on Rush. The book will be an academic (musicological) study of the group published by the Indiana University Press. The survey really helped him out and now he's asking if any RIAB readers can provide him with photos that he can use for the book. If you are interested and have any photos you can contact Chris at rush_survey@hotmail.com. Chris also wrote the article from the July 2008 issue of the academic journal Popular Music & Society that I'd told you about in an update a couple of weeks back. The article is titled Open Secrets: Individualism and Middle-Class Identity in the Songs of Rush. Here's the abstract for that article:
This article examines how the songs of the progressive rock group Rush can be understood as a manifestation of North American middle-class identity, and considers how individualism and escapism play integral roles in the formation of a largely male, middle-class, suburban world view. The article contextualizes and critiques the individualistic nature of middle-class identity, as it is presented by Rush in songs such as Subdivisions and Tom Sawyer.
I have a feeling things might be a little quiet for the next couple of weeks because of the Holidays. Happy Holidays to everybody and may you have a very merry Rush-mas! :)
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson said he sees Guitar Hero possibly saving music for the next generation. Rush recently released their Snakes And Arrows Live DVD, and many kids are familiar with the songs, not just from their parents, but from the Guitar Hero game and others like it. Kids are video gaming to songs like "Tom Sawyer," "YYZ," and others.
Lifeson said that he is seeing more kids at the shows, and from his experience he said it looks like the game is igniting kids' interest in music. He said that can only be a good thing in to change the current pop and gossip dominated music landscape.
"Well, it's a wonderful thing. Through the course of this tour I've noticed how many young kids there were out in the audience, 9, 10, 11 years old, and they were air drumming and air guitaring all these parts to not only to those songs, but to a lot of the songs. Through those games they've been introduced to our music, and from there their parents have just taken it to the next level. It's an amazing thing to view that from the perspective of standing on a stage playing those songs and looking at these young kids getting off on it in such a great way. I'm so hopeful for the future of music because we've gone through a very difficult period, where it's become a lot more poppy and there's been a magic taken out of music, and I hope it's starting to come back. I think a lot of these young kids that start out with Guitar Hero and Rock Band are developing an interest in music and learning how to really play the songs. That is a very hopeful thing for the future of music."
Lifeson was asked if he really feels the game will get people playing real guitar.
"Well, I think it's always great to be able to play a real instrument. These games, these are just controllers. But it sparks something. There's nothing that's quite as exciting as learning to play your first song or figuring out the chords to a song and taking it to the next level and then of course learning to play it well enough that you can start writing your own music. It's just such a wonderful way to express yourself and be creative." ...
Video is also available at this link. Thanks to coolphantom190 for the heads up.
UPDATE - 12/18@10:26PM: Here are a couple of high-quality Rush-related screengrabs from the movie that were posted over at IMDB.com. The first is a better quality image of the scene described below with the 2112 album cover poster in the background. In this image you can also see a King's Skull poster, a Caress of Steel album cover and an Exit...Stage Left album cover too. The second image is of the 2 main characters at a Rush concert. Thanks to LargerBowl2008 for the heads up.
... they're [Rush] in the movie and we didn't have any scenes where I engaged with them, I was just a fan dancing in the show, but I got to meet them, and Jason and I actually interviewed them and I was nervous and like, "How do you interview "Rush"?" They seem also to be really a band that has shied away, they've really lived the words of "Limelight", living in the limelight, it's surreal and they can't pretend that a stranger is a long waited friend, I just kept thinking that when I was trying to buddy up to them, but they were very funny and very friendly, and big fans of "Team America". ...
The first movie trailer for the film was recently released. Unfortunately it doesn't show any part of Rush's cameo but there is a scene at about the 2-minute mark depicting the co-stars playing in a band and a picture of the 2112 album cover can be seen in the background (see above). Here's the full trailer:
... For forty miles I cruised through the rocks, Joshua trees, fuzzy cholla and prickly-pear cactus, and tall, spindly ocotillo. Leaving the park at Twentynine Palms, I continued north on the road to the ghost town of Amboy, and Roy's Motel, which appeared in Ghost Rider. In fact, unknown to most people, Amboy also appears on the booklet cover of the Snakes and Arrows CD, and lately, on the new concert DVD, plus at the beginning of the "What's That Smell?" film that played before "Far Cry" during our concerts this past summer. I watched it every night from my "waiting-chair" behind Geddy's ampline (er, rotisseries), before the second set, and it always gave me a smile.
Back in 2006, when Hugh Syme and I were trading ideas for that Snakes and Arrows cover, we discussed a surreal desert highway scene. As a reference, I sent him one of my Ghost Rider photographs, taken on a stretch of old Route 66, looking west toward the cluster of crumbling buildings at Amboy, with the unmistakable Amboy Crater in the distance. Hugh ended up "building" the scene on that original photo, which had been taken in 1998 (as a slide, in those days). Like the Monument Valley ten-years-apart photo that appeared in a story earlier this year, "South by Southwest," I decided to pause for a ten-year anniversary shot of Route 66 and Amboy. ...
Neil also stops at Devils Hole and Dante's View, and takes a hiking trip in the Panamint Mountains. He also encounters 2 fellow BMW riders from Canada no less, and breaks out of normal shy mode to chat with them a little:
... That day I was giving myself a "talking to" about something, and resolving to kick myself out of my usual shyness, my usual comfort zone. The previous night, as I walked from my room at the Furnace Creek Inn to the main building for dinner, I saw two BMW GSes like mine (one red) in the parking lot. They had Ontario plates, and I thought, "Hmm."
I walked into the lobby a few minutes before my 7:15 reservation, and had a look through the gift shop, and at some of the old photographs on the lobby wall. From the corner of my eye, I saw two guys hesitantly moving my way, and I thought, "Hmm."
One of them called out my name, and I gently corrected his mispronunciation, then nodded, "Yes," and offered a small (careful) smile. They were in their thirties, I would say, quietly friendly and polite (Canadian, after all-we're famous for saying thank you to ATMs), and introduced themselves, shaking my hand. One of them said, "We've read your book!" and I guess he meant Ghost Rider, where I talked so much about Death Valley. Though embarrassed as always by attention from strangers, I have to admit I was secretly a little pleased by this fresh kind of fame-not about hitting things with sticks, or writing mildly cryptic lyrics that people interpreted their own way (for better or worse!), but as a traveler, a travel writer. That was nice. I was still embarrassed, but it was nice.
They went off to the dining room (unusually busy for the time of year, as a marathon was being held the following morning), and I saw them across the room as the host led me to my table. They left me alone to scribble in my journal, while I enjoyed a fine dinner of tortilla soup, lamb with couscous, ice cream with cherries, and pinot noir and coffee. On my way out I stopped by the two riders' table, smiled and said, "Have a good ride!" They returned the sentiment, and that was it.
But when I thought about it later, I wanted to know their story. For one thing, how did they get their bikes from frozen Ontario to Southern California in December, unless they had been traveling a while-like I had done in '98 and '99? ("The Wilderness Years" just occurred to me as a title for that time. I see it was the title of a movie about Winston Churchill, and his famous quote also fits well: "When you're going through hell, keep going.")
Where did they come from? What did they do for a living? What about their families?
So as I hiked up the steep trail, I decided I wanted to make myself do something bold. I promised myself that if those two guys were still at the Inn when I got back that afternoon, I would invite them to join me for dinner. That was about the most unlikely thing I-or anyone who knows me-could imagine me doing. ...
Unfortunately for the 2 riders and for Neil, they were gone when he got back. All in all, another great bit of prose from Neil. No Rush news to speak of, but an entertaining read regardless.
Little Kids Rock is a nonprofit organization that provides free instruments and lessons to children in under-served public schools. They are conducting a charity auction that will run through December 24th and several well-known musicians including Neil Peart, Phil Collins, Bonnie Raitt, Ringo Starr and others have donated items for the auction. Neil's contributions are 2 signed Pro-Mark drumsticks, 2 signed DW snare drums and 2 signed Sabian cymbals. You can check out all the items and place your bid at this link. Thanks to lerxst62 for the heads up.
... I'm always toying with that idea - of really doing a tour, or a set, of more obscure stuff. Kind of stay away from "Tom Sawyer" and "The Spirit of Radio," and explore some more obscure songs. I think the thing with us is, it's "An Evening With," and these are Rush fans that are there to see us play, and I think we can play just about anything we've written, and it would be accepted and there would be great interested in it. It would be really great to play those songs - for us to go on tour and play material that we haven't played in 20 or 30 years...or ever. It would be a different tour, and something I hope we'll consider seriously. It would be really interesting for us, I think. ...
Alex has been touching on this theme of a B-sides Rush tour in recent interviews such as his interviews with the Toledo Blade and Modern Guitars. Hopefully he really means it and can convince his bandmates to go along with it. Alex also reminisces about touring with Kiss in the early days, TV shows he's been watching lately and had this to say about the band's future plans:
We finished the tour in July, and we were exhausted. We had been working hard for the last seven or eight years - I think we'd done four tours, four albums, and a bunch of DVD's. Constantly working. And we all just need to get away from it. So our plan for the next year is to not even think about the band. And then jump into it fresh. I mean, there's a bunch of stuff that we have coming out - the DVD, and we were part of a film called 'I Love You, Man,' that is coming out in the new year. A couple of other film things. There's lots to keep us "plugged in" for the next little while, but we just want to clear our minds of the whole business for a little bit, and jump into it with a renewed energy. Maybe not this late next year, but sometime in the fall of next year, I think we'll get together. Having said that, Ged and I have this habit of getting together sooner than later, and casually starting to do some work. So if we get bored in the new year, we might advance that schedule a little bit. But right now, we're thinking about next fall.
This echoes what both Alex and Geddy have been saying in recent interviews; that the band will be taking a break for most of the next year and possibly begin writing again in the fall. Many thanks to BW&BK for the heads up. Interviewer Greg Prato is a huge Rush fan who also recently issued books about Shannon Hoon/Blind Melon and guitarist Tommy Bolin - both are available for purchase at this link.
The highlight of this past week in Rush news was the posting of some preview excerpts from an Alex Lifeson interview for Modern Guitars magazine on the Counterparts messageboard. The interview was conducted by Skip Daly - the cofounder of BOS Music as well as the creator of the infamous Rush Petition site. In the excerpts provided Alex talked about his and the band's disappointment with how the Vapor Trails album was recorded. He also discussed the possibility of remixing the entire album because Richard Chycki's remixes of One Little Victory and Earthshine for Rush: Retrospective 3 turned out so well. Alex talked about how he just discovered some old pre-1974 tapes that might have some interesting stuff on them such as recordings of songs like Run Willie Run, Slaughterhouse, Garden Road and other songs that they wrote and played during the early bar days. He also pretty much debunked the rumor that the next tour would be their last, essentially reiterating what he had stated in his recent Toledo Blade interview and what Geddy had intoned in his Billboard interview. They also touched on songs that almost made recent set lists such as The Camera Eye and A Farewell to Kings and how sites such as the Rush Petition help influence their choices. The full interview will be published at the Modern Guitars website in the near future.
Rush's new three-DVD concert video has everything you want from Dirk, Lerxst and Pratt: Virtuoso musicianship, all the requisite epics, a killer drum solo -- and plenty of goofball antics (this may be the only music video with a blooper reel). What it doesn't have: The usual closeups of hot chicks in the front row (unless you count the Barbie dolls on Alex's pedal board). Go figure.
Thanks to Armeee for the heads up.
Earlier this year I'd mentioned the Flat Earth Brewing Company in Saint Paul Minnesota because they feature a Cyngnus-X1 Porter as a tribute to their favorite band - Rush. For the month of December, they are holding their Porterfest event at the brewery and featuring several additional infused versions of the their Rush inspired Porter. Here's the calendar along with the featured brews:
It looks as though the revolt of the Maples as foretold by the bard Geddy Lee has finally come to pass.
Good stuff. The Onion is known to occasionally reference Rush in their stories such as in this infamouse article from 8 years back titled Congress Debates Coolness Of Rush.
Speaking of satire and Rush, Ray of the Rush Fan Film Project has been keeping himself busy lately by creating a few satirical Rush Celebrity Interviews. So far he's interviewedNeil Diamond, and Debra Messing & John Leguizamo. Funny stuff. And if you haven't seen the La-Pre-Show Strangiato Rush fan tribute video yet, you can check it out here.
Reader Pat let me know that this year's Best American Essays collection includes On Celestial Music by Rick Moody, originally published in Salmagundi in 2007. In it, Moody considers the power of music, hypothesizing which music we might listen to in heaven. In section 3, The Heavenly Jukebox, he writes, "Could I, for example, hear The Spirit of Radio by Rush in heaven (assuming I'm virtuous), even though I won't allow myself to listen to it on earth because it is simply too embarrassing? What if hearing Rush would (arguably) make me happy for all eternity?" And later he returns briefly to it in the last sentence of the essay: "All kinds of other music are apparent in this [celestial] music, even though they are lost, all possible music is contained in this infinite music, so Otis Redding is in there, and Simon and Garfunkel, and Funkadelic, and Arvo Pärt, maybe even Rush, because everything is in there, and in this way I am gone and gone is good, but I am also a very excellent musician and no one is any better, except the artful arranger of all sounds."
Here's a bootleg video of the Smashing Pumpkins performing a bit of Tom Sawyer and YYZ at a show at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland last month.
Late last month we learned that Rush was offering a Deluxe Fan Pack version of their upcoming Retrospective 3 greatest hits package which you can pre-order here. The pre-order site states that the album will hits stores in March. But at the time, most online retail sites still had the release date listed as January 27th and still do. However, according to the official sellsheet (thanks to Power Windows) for the album the official release date is now February 24th. Not quite March, but close enough - and I wouldn't be surprised if there are further delays forthcoming.
From what we know so far the tracklist will contain one unreleased live track (Ghost of a Chance from the 2008 leg of the S&A tour) along with 13 studio tracks. The DVD will contain 10 Atlantic-era music videos along with live videos of The Seeker, Secret Touch and Resist. Also of interest are 2 remixed/remastered versions of One Little Victory and Earthshine off of 2002's Vapor Trails. You can check out the complete tracklist and a full-size image of the album cover in this post.
The kickoff reception will include a VIP Preview from 7-9PM which will include a private reception and silent auction. The portraits are expected to fetch between $300 - $2500 each with all proceeds going to the MS Society of Canada Scholarship Fund. The Art Opening and Drum-O-Rama starts immediately after the reception and will run until midnight. The Drum-o-Rama will be a showcase of drumming styles and talents involving local stars and up and comers performing solo or head to head. It promises to be a loud, drummy night, with plenty to see and hear, and some surprises that the event organizers are keeping to themselves. Tickets for the VIP Preview are $150 and tickets for the Art Opening/Drum-O-Rama are $30. You can purchase your tickets via TicketWeb at this link.
According to an industry source, the release of Rush's Retrospective 3 greatest hits package has been delayed once again. Last we heard the official release date was given as February 24th but now it looks like that has been pushed back one week to March 3rd. This is now consistent with what Rush.com's Deluxe Fan Pack pre-order site says, namely that the album will hits stores in March. 
As I'd expected, there's not much is going on this week as far as Rush news goes. I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Saturnalia, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Festivus, etc. I'll have the regular Friday updates for you tomorrow. If you just want to send holiday greetings to everyone or let us know about all the cool Rush swag you received in your stocking, please do so in the comments. Happy Holidays and Merry Rush-mas everyone!!
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Neil Peart 
UPDATE - 12/12@1:23PM: Thanks to Jim we now have an image of Neil's portrait.
