It's a holiday here in the US and things are a little slow. I thought it an opportune time to clear out my backlog of random Rush stuff.

Snakes & Arrows has fallen to #39 on the United World Chart, which combines sales from around the world. It sold 40,000 copies in its 3rd week of release. In most countries the album is falling off the charts, but reader jp let me know that in Finland it actually moved up a couple spots in its 3rd week; it was #4 in its first week, #21 in its second week but then climbed back up to #18 this week.

The album reviews are finally starting to wind down. This update I only have one. It's a BlogCritics review from T. Michael Testi. He likes it:

... What I found as I listened to this CD is how mature this band is within the culture of their style. At heart, they are an instrumental band in that they really focus on the composition of their music. They have a very complex system of integrating their instruments together to create a powerful wall of sound. The lyrics, which are sometimes simple, sometimes profound, act as a thread that ties the whole package together. ... Yes, I like this album! My first take was that the second half was better than the first half, but after three times through, there are no songs that I would remove and only with Spindrift; the worst that I can say about it, is that I don't always notice it when it is on. This album is worth the time and you will find many of the tunes remaining in your head long after the music's done.

As a heads up, reader Grahm B let me know that Alex Lifeson will be interviewed on UK digital radio station Planet Rock on Wednesday, May 30th at 9PM (4PM EST).

Reader zenarcade2003 pointed me to this humorous video on YouTube. It's 2 guys (Matty and Tones) hosting an animated virtual music news program called the Matty & Tones SoundChaser Show. On this program their featured review is of Snakes & Arrows, which they both like. You can tell they're both Rush fans, Tones is even wearing a Hemispheres shirt. However, their music guru expert Martin did not like the album and thinks that Rush hasn't put out anything worth listening to since Caress of Steel. :)

I think this is a first for Rush sightings; Rush Forum member Jack Aubrey saw a Rush mention on a beer label. The beer in question is the He'brew 10th Anniversary ale from the Shmaltz Brewing Company. The beer label discusses how the number 10 is particularly important in Jewish culture and mentions Rush: ... On Rush's 10th album, Grace Under Pressure (number 10 on Billboard), Geddy Lee sings of his parents surviving the Holocaust..... You can check out the label at this link.

I recently received an email from reader Nick Bradbury who bought tickets to the opening show in Atlanta through Music Today after finding out about the tour from Rush is a Band. He also entered the meet-and-greet contest and was one of the lucky winners. So he and his family will get to meet the band before the show! He put up a post about this on his blog and also pointed me to a couple of other amusing Rush-related posts that you may want to check out. Some of you techies out there may be interested to know that, in addition to being a Rush fan, Nick is a software developer and the creator of HomeSite, TopStyle and FeedDemon.

PhillyMike let me know that in an interview with John Kruk of ESPN in the June 2007 issue of Philadelphia magazine Kruk talks about the ESPN fantasy baseball commercial that he and Geddy Lee were involved with:

Q: Did it take some convincing to get you into leather pants for the ESPN commercial/rock video?
A: Shoot. I showed up and they said, "Here's what you're wearing," and I said, "You gotta be sh**in' me." Everyone assumes I'm a Harley-riding biker guy. I've never been on a Harley in my life. Again the disappointment shows when people hear I don't know anything about rock music. They said, "You're going to be on with Geddy Lee [of Rush]." I said, "Who's he play for?" I thought he was some rookie.

Tony Kornheiser is a sportswriter and radio/TV talk show host who has his own radio show and also is cohost of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption. PhillyMike alerted me that on Tony's May 21st radio show Tony mentioned at the beginning of the show that a listener sent him a copy of "Feedback" because he is a fan of music from the 1960s. You can listen to the show at this location.

That's it for now. Have a great day.

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