Rush announced last month that they will be releasing a Rush 50 Super Deluxe Box Set compilation anthology in celebration of the band's 50th anniversary this Spring. Although we've known about the set since early December, Rush made it officially official a few weeks ago on January 28th, along with a few more details and an unboxing video. From the announcement:

On March 21, UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records label groups celebrate the half-century milestone marker for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame icons with RUSH 50, a wide-ranging 50-track super deluxe anthology that encompasses the entirety of the band's long and storied career for the first time across all the band's label groups, bookended with the first ever reissue of their debut 1973 single and a live recording of the last song they ever performed together as a band at their final concert in 2015 at The Forum in Los Angeles. ...

"50? Is that all?...seriously...it's a cool collection...but look at all those songs - I'm exhausted just reading the effin list!" - Geddy Lee ...

The set will be available in five distinct configurations, including the (1) Super Deluxe Edition ($374.98), (2) Rush Store Exclusive Super Deluxe Edition, (3) 7-LP Deluxe Edition ($249.98), (4) 4-CD Deluxe Edition ($99.98), and (5) Digital Edition ($26.49). The Rush Backstage Store exclusive edition includes an additional four bonus lithos showcasing Rush through time, newly illustrated by FANTOONS from the characters created for the graphic novel depicting the band in the '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000s. As mentioned above, Rush 50 will be officially released on March 21st, and it can be pre-ordered via Amazon and other retailers. You can view all the details regarding the different configurations and what they include, along with the full tracklist at Rush.com.

The ForeBatten Foundation provides funding, support and hope for children with Batten disease, and earlier this week they kicked off their annual online charity auction which will run through March 5th. One of the items up for bidding is a golf outing with Rush's Alex Lifeson, and Alex posted the following announcement to his Instagram, along with a photo of himself about to take a golf swing:

Wow, what a set up! Too bad about what happened next! I'd love to show you the booming arc of my ball flight, the incredibly sticky pitch shots into the green and the seemingly impossible 30 yard putts I usually sometimes maybe make (this was my opponent's putt I took because I already tapped in and he was crying so much he couldn't even clean his ball.)

You can be my 3 guests for a delicious dinner, wines from my cellar and golf at amazing courses with a bid on the @forebatten auction site - information is included here (link in bio!). Please bid responsibly and without limit. Nevermind the responsibily part!

For more information and to place your bid, go to this location.

Speaking of Lerxst, Alex recently added his endorsement to AUDEZE's LCD-X professional headphones, a high-end headphone designed for recording artists and engineers. Here's what Alex had to say about the product:

"Since receiving my AUDEZE LCD-X headphones, I'm finding it difficult to take them off. It's hard to explain but everything sounds so clear and accurate. Bottom end is glorious! Mixing, which can be so much fun but nerve wracking, is a joy. Working on the new EON album reveals that I'm getting all the information I need. I've never fully trusted a pair of cans until the AUDEZE."-Alex Lifeson

You can learn more about the headphones at the AUDEZE website here. Alex's Envy of None project is due to release their sophomore album, Stygian Wavz, next month.

RUSHfest Scotland will take place the weekend of May 9-11 at Drygate Brewery in Glasgow, with tickets available at this location. Several Rush tribute bands from around the world will perform, including Moving Pictures (Scotland), Karol & The Snow Dogs (Brazil), Vapor Trails (Norway), The Audiorayz (Scotland), and The RFS Allstars. Special guests will include Danny Peart, Brandon Dyke, Sally and Xsenia Zivojinovich, Mike Masse, David King and others. You can get all the details and purchase tickets here.

Goldmine magazine posted their list of The Top 20 Progressive Rock songs under five minutes this past week, and 4 Rush tracks made the cut, including Circumstances at #18, Anthem at #14, The Spirit of Radio at #4, and Tom Sawyer in the top spot (thanks RushFanForever):

Look, we coulda packed a pile of Rush songs onto this list, but I think four makes the point forcefully enough that Geddy, Alex and Neil liked short, action-packed songs a lot, at least from the Fly by Night period through to Grace Under Pressure. "Tom Sawyer" is the band's biggest song ever, and it gets extra marks for being proggy and slow, as well as proggy and heavy, making for a cinematic and heroic composition, exquisitely constructed. Surprisingly, five of seven songs from Moving Pictures are under five minutes, but why not go with a classic of the genre, and a song blessed with the second most famous air drum part in the world?

Speaking of which, CBC Music posted a video highlighting some of the best Canadian songs from the '80s, and Rush's Tom Sawyer is featured at the 2:10 mark (thanks RushFanForever).

Reader Murray A noticed a Rush reference in the new Hallmark movie Return to Office. At around the 30-minute mark there's a scene at the Xanadu Village Senior Living center. Once inside the facility, the male costar tells his mother that the Village is named after his favorite Rush song so it's got to be great. The film is available for streaming on the Hallmark channel.

The RushRash podcast posted the first part of their 2-part interview with Rush album artist Hugh Syme this past week, and will be posting part 2 tomorrow. You can check out part 1 below or wherever you get your podcasts:

On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable on the Rushfans YouTube channel (episode #264), the panel continues thier Snakes & Arrows discussion with Hope:

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!