UPDATE - 4/14@10:26AM: The Limited Edition CD single was also mentioned in the Rush.com newsletter that went out yesterday that you can check out here (thanks Power Windows).

A few weeks ago Alex Lifeson said the following in a Toronto Globe and Mail interview:

... We were off for a year and a half, and now it's just pouring. Everything is totally crazy and there's not a minute left in the day. We've got these half-dozen songs, and we'll probably go in the studio and work on a couple of them and see how it goes, perhaps release something - and I say perhaps - and then we plan on being on the road in the middle of June. Ideally, we'd like to showcase a couple of these songs on the tour, come off tour in mid-October, go back in the studio and continue writing, then record through late this year and early next year, and then release the album in the spring of 2011 on a slightly more substantial tour. ...

Around the same time Neil Peart confirmed that the band was once again working with producer Nick Raskulinecz in this JAM! Music interview. Then a couple of weeks ago user Chief Pronto at the Pearl Drummers Forum posted some pics (they've since been taken down) from a Toronto studio - assumed to be Cherry Beach Sound based on the photos - where Rush was presumably doing some pre-production work. So at this point we knew the band had new material (5 or 6 songs) and was in the process of recording at least 2 of the songs, but we were unsure of whether they would release these 2 songs and - if so - how they would release them. It seems that these questions have now at least been partially answered. For the Rush Time Machine VIP pre-sales that began running yesterday, the description of the VIP package includes a Limited Edition Rush CD Single (includes two new songs off the upcoming album). Whether they will also release them digitally via iTunes or if the CD Single will be available for regular sale at a later date is not yet clear. It also seems that Rush is currently at work recording these songs in a studio in Nashville. Here are 2 recent (in the last day) MySpace status updates from Neil Peart drum tech Lorne Wheaton (thanks rush is best f... the rest):

Done the drums....... Mood: accomplished
Posted 14 hours ago

In Nashville tracking 2 new songs. Mood: happy
Posted 23 hours ago

And several folks sent me this video of all three band members congratulating South Park on its 200th episode via the show's website. The video was posted 2 days ago and the guys are clearly in some kind of recording studio. Oh yeah... and Neil sings in the video. :)

Related Posts:
[Possible Rush in-studio pics posted online]
[Geddy Lee confirms summer Rush tour followed by new album]
[New Neil Peart interview confirms Nick Raskulinecz as producer]
[Alex Lifeson reveals Rush tour, album details in new interview]

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