How can a band that has been around for over thirty years, written some of the greatest rock and roll songs in history, has a star on the Hollywood Sidewalk, and has become a cultural icon referenced in everything from TV cartoons to big screen movies... NOT be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Second... should we really care?
It doesn't make any difference to Rush... the trio from Canada who didn't just raise the bar of musical excellence in rock, but put it completely out of reach for nearly everybody. Sure... many great bands have come and go... and a few are still around... but even the best of them would have to put a hell of a lot of practice in to play the simplest of Rush songs, if that word can even be used to describe any of them.
Yet, in spite of the level of musicianship Rush maintains (still able to perform at the same level they did in their early twenties), they managed to become a commercial success as well... not a common combination. However, as much as fans of Rush are often infuriated over the HOF's snub of them in favor of such acts like Run DMC, the band couldn't care less. The fact that they are still playing arenas and major festivals after 30 years, when most of the HOF acts that are still around are lucky to be playing clubs, is enough for them...and most of their fans, like me.
Their performance in Rio at the end of the Vapor Trails tour drew over 40,000 people just a few years ago. Not bad for the same three middle-aged guys who have been in this band since 1974. They continue to record and perform, and will be playing at the MGM Grand Arena on the 14th of this month... a show I will certainly be attending.
So the question remains... How can the HOF continue to ignore the accomplishments of a band like Rush when many of the artists in the Hall of Fame are virtual unknowns today? One theory is the backlash against "Progressive Rock," which would also include bands like Yes, ELO, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Some consider "Prog Rock" to be arrogant and pompous... as if it's bad to develop a superior level of musical proficiency and then USE it! It seems to go against the original vibe of rock and roll... simplicity.
It doesn't take the best musicians on the planet to play the average rock and roll song. If you can chord an A, E, and a D...without even worrying about the major/minor tonality (a difference of one note that is often ignored anyway), then you can play a lot of stuff. Basic knowledge of the A and E minor pentatonic scales will get you through a lot of the solos, and adding one technically out-of-key note gives you the "Blues" scale. Now, I"m certainly not saying that this basic knowledge is going to get you around the guitar neck like Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, and certainly not Steve Vai. The more you practice, the better you get... but be careful! If you get too good, you may be practicing yourself right out of the Hall of Fame!
They don't look like rock stars. They don't wear spandex and have big hair.. although bassist Geddy Lee is the only one to maintain a long hair style through the years. They look like everyday people. You might bump right into one of them in the mall and never know.
One of them looks like the guy that could be living a few doors down from you, and leaves for the office every morning at 8:00. Tall, well-dressed, and probably drives a nice car, like many people who work a 9-5 job... but his name is Alex, and he just happens to be the guitarist of one of the greatest bands of all time.
The other looks like a college professor... highly intelligent, well spoken, but very shy. He likes motorcycles and traveling, and writes brilliant books about it, but turns out that he is one of the greatest drummers on the planet, not to mention the one who primarily comes up with Rush's incredibly intellectual lyrics...Neil Peart.
But does a musician who takes pride in his craft and practices to a high level of efficiency deserve to be called "arrogant' or "pompous?" I've met many of my heroes.. like Steve Vai, who by general consensus is considered one of the greatest guitarists on the planet... and he's not arrogant. In fact, he's very shy, which can often be mistaken for arrogance...unfairly. Of course, when he gets on stage, he's a maniac... but that's the transformation many musicians make when they step up on that stage.
So where's the arrogance in Rush? Is it in their 7/8 time signatures? The complex chord progressions? Geddy's ability to play keyboards, bass, and sing at the same time? It certainly can't be Alex, who loves to goof around on stage and does his best to cause train wrecks by messing with Geddy and Neil throughout the show. It's certainly not Geddy... for as overworked as he is on stage and pulls it off flawlessly, he doesn't appear to have an arrogant bone in his body.
Or is it the misunderstanding of the reclusive Neil Peart? His stone-faced concentration when he performs? Neil says that his expressions are only a product of the focus required to play the songs...otherwise, he really is having fun up there. He suffered unimaginable tragedies in his life in the late '90's, losing his wife and daughter... so after a five year hiatus during which he wrote his book, "Ghost Rider," it was decided that he would be forever excused from the customary meet-and-greets the band would do before every show, and not expected to do interviews to shelter him from the questions that would naturally bring up painful memories. Any reasonable person would understand that. Add to that the fact that he is probably the most shy member of the band to begin with.
Yet, these three unassuming guys have created music that you would have a hard time avoiding if you listen to the radio or watch TV at all. Even Chester Cheetah, during an episode of "Family Guy," proclaims "THERE IS NO F***ING DRUMMER BETTER THAN NEIL PEART!!" while listening to the iconic "Tom Sawyer," (and snorting a line of powdered cheese).
Rush has become woven into our cultural DNA. There's not likely to be anyone on the planet over the age of 10 who has not heard any number of Rush songs, especially "Tom Sawyer," "Spirit of the Radio," "Free Will," or "Limelight." So to Hell with the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." Rush doesn't need them, nor do their fans. It would certainly be nice to see them get a little more recognition while they're still around as a performing act, but the loyalty of their fans is all they care about. They completely lack the arrogance necessary to hold any value in the opinion of a private organization of truly pompous idiots who think they know what rock and roll is all about. We should think the same way, and enjoy them while they're still around... hopefully for a long time to come.
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