"THE SPIRIT OF RADIO" RUSH (1980)

For the month of November, I’ll be selecting songs in conjunction with the music Twitter challenge: #WelcomeToTheOccupation.

There never was and never will be another rocker as talented as Neil Peart. Behind the quiet, stoic veneer was a man who was an absolute beast on drums and a master of the lyric. I always loved his drumming – the sheer speed, technique, versatility and originality. He has no peers. But lyrically, I didn’t always get it. The fantasy worlds that Neil created often soared over my head. But he is a brilliant lyricist – and occasionally his lyrics leave me speechless, like the words on “The Spirit Of Radio”.

It’s one of Rush’s big anthems – and part of the band’s coming out party. “The Spirit Of Radio” literally put them on the radio for good. Many think this is Alex’s song – as his opening guitar riff is one of Rush’s best openings – if not one of rock & roll’s best openings period. And with a song that became as mainstream as Rush gets, it’s easy to overlook the brilliance of Neil’s lyrics. It’s part poem, part essay, and at the end of the day, it’s just a song about the power of music – written in a way that only Neil can capture.

“For the words of the profits Were written on the studio wall. Concert hall Echoes with the sounds of salesmen.”

"VITAL SIGNS" RUSH (1981)

For October, the Mental Jukebox is dialing it way back to the eighties and going deep. Deep cuts have always been an important element of music listening to me because they’re often the songs that resonate with me most. Deep cuts are usually the ones that the true fans appreciate most. I like my singles and hits, but I love my deep cuts.

The Moving Pictures album is widely recognized as one of Rush’s best albums – from beginning to end. It is a tale of two halves. Side A contains four of the band’s biggest anthems. While still rooted in Rush’s progressive agenda, the songs reveal signs of a band willing to reach across the aisle to music fans that prefer more straight ahead rock, most notably in “Limelight” and “Red Barchetta”. But Side B is unapologetically progressive and less palatable for the masses. That’s what makes songs like “Vital Signs” so good.

The song reflects Peart’s mind for things rock bands rarely articulate so eloquently. “Leave out the fiction. The fact is this friction will only be worn by persistence.” The electronic elements give the song its prog tilt, but it’s also a song heavily influenced by the reggae rock sound of The Police in both the drums and guitar playing. “Vital Signs” is clear evidence of a band that’s willing to evolve and welcome in new influences. A band that has never settled for the status quo.

“Leave out conditions. Courageous convictions Will drag the dream into existence.”

"2112" RUSH (1976)

A great title track is par for the course when it comes to great albums. If the title track doesn’t cut it, what does that say about the album itself? This month, the Mental Jukebox will be playing some of my favorite title tracks – inspired by @NicolaB_73’s music Twitter challenge, #TopTitleTracks.

Borrowing Rush cassettes from the town library as a kid was a sort of rite of passage for me as a music fan. Friends from school who had older brothers would tell me how great the band was. At the library, I would flip through the album offerings and those album covers – 2112, Signals, Permanent Waves, A Farewell To Kings – caught my attention. Expressive album art with strange beige plastic backs, these albums stood out like sore thumbs. Then I would play the music in my basement and get lost in the music of Rush, including the epic title track “2112”, featuring seven movements.

“2112” takes up the entire Side A. A concept that was mind blowing to me as a kid who thought songs were supposed to max out at four minutes. The first two parts – “Overture” and “The Temples of Syrinx” have always been my favorite. This magnum opus kicks off with a celestial soundscape. Then Alex’s guitar asserts itself like Neil Armstrong planting the American flag on the moon – only here it’s the Canadian flag that gets flaunted. Then Neil’s thunderous drum rolls unleash and it’s on like Donkey Kong. There’s still a sense of wonder in me every time I hear it.

“All the gifts of life are held within our walls.”

"YYZ" RUSH (1981)

This month, I’m jumping into the #APlaceInTheSong challenge from @JukeboxJohnny2. Great songs have that special ability to describe places in a way that makes us feel like we’re right there. Each day, I’ll pick a track that I think accomplishes that feat.

It’s quite appropos that one of the key entry points into the catalog of one of Canada’s greatest rock bands of all time is named after the international code for Toronto’s main airport. Moving Pictures – like The Wall or Led Zeppelin IV – was a gateway album for me. But here’s the difference for me. Not only did Moving Pictures get me into the greater Rush canon, it helped solidify my passion for music, for life. While it was much more mainstream than a 2112 or Hemispheres, it was still largely progressive in so many ways. The lyrics. The song composition. The experimentalism. Only “The Camera Eye” clocked in at over ten minutes. But “YYZ” felt like an epic, “2112 Side A”-level affair compacted into four minutes.

Absolutely mammoth. Geddy’s bass lines run at impossibly fast lightning speed. Alex takes full advantage of the song’s instrumental nature, delivering one monster riff after another, culminating in his solo at the 2:20 mark. As for Neil, no corner of his drum kit is spared on this track. He uses everything at his disposal. The piece's introduction, played in a time signature of 10/8, repeatedly renders "Y-Y-Z" in Morse Code using various musical arrangements. From there, the greatest track lets loose, daring countless musicians to try their own rendition, including Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters, Dream Theater, Primus and Muse. “YYZ” has become a sort of rite of passage for both musicians and fans alike.

"SUBDIVISIONS" RUSH (1982)

This month, I’m jumping into the #APlaceInTheSong challenge from @JukeboxJohnny2. Great songs have that special ability to describe places in a way that makes us feel like we’re right there. Each day, I’ll pick a track that I think accomplishes that feat.

In my elementary school years, my parents would take my brother and I to the Pleasantville town library. Thing is, I had no interest in books at the time. But the library had music cassettes that you could borrow. It was inside this library that I discovered one of the most important bands of my journey as a music fan: Rush. The cassette backs were a strange beige. The music was cerebral, mostly guitar-driven, album-oriented, progressive-as-progressive-gets rock. Signals was one of the first albums I devoured – and my favorite track from the album with the spotted dog is the opener, “Subdivisions”.

One of Rush’s synth-heavy tracks, “Subdivisions” feels like a departure from the guitar-first sound the band created for over a decade by the time Signals came around. But not to fret, Alex gets his guitar solo, a proper banger at the 4:20 mark. Lyrically, this is one of my favorite Neil Peart writings. It’s a song of the stark dystopian reality of suburbia. While many of Neil’s lyrics in other songs ruminate over fictitious narratives, “Subdivisions” seemed much more grounded and relatable. A rare gem in the great Rush canon.

“In the high school halls. In the shopping malls. Conform or be cast out. Subdivisions.”

"RED BARCHETTA" RUSH (1981)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Growing up, every Rush album cover I gazed at was epic and teased the promise of something equally epic happening inside. One of the albums that I’ve played from beginning to end incessantly was Moving Pictures. In the streaming age, this ritual has lost its luster a bit, as I’ve ended up playing its individual tracks probably more often than the entire LP. But in recent years, this has only helped reinforce how much each of these songs mean to me — and none more so than “Red Barchetta”. A song that both the cool and uncool kids in my elementary school could all agree on.

“Tom Sawyer” had swagger. “YYZ” had prowess. “Limelight” had melody. But “Red Barchetta” had heart. About a joy ride turned car chase, it had all the musical trappings to further the narrative — from Peart’s cymbal crashes to Lee’s adrenaline-fueled vocals. One of my favorite Alex Lifeson guitar solos happens at the 3:20 mark. Often overshadowed by Lee’s bass playing skills and Peart’s prowess on drums, Lifeson more than held his own on “Red Barchetta”, a song that carries with it so much nostalgia.

“I strip away the old debris That hides a shining car. A brilliant red Barchetta From a better vanished time.”

"LIMELIGHT" RUSH (1981)

This month, I’m looking back at movies and tv shows to rediscover songs that graced the screen. The scenes and the music are inseparable. They’re engrained in our heads and our hearts. And they’re proof that the best music we have doesn’t exist in isolation. It attaches itself to a moment or an experience. #SceneSongs

Movie: I Love You, Man

Rush fans are an interesting bunch. They are inarguably some of the most devoted fans on the planet. Rush fans possess a special bond, but they are scorned, laughed at, and misunderstood by the masses – just like the band. Which is why I Love You, Man had such polarizing reactions. Many viewers saw the main characters’ obsession with the band as hilarious. Rush fans, however, viewed the obsession as nothing short of awesome. If anything, they wish the deep cuts, or at least less obvious picks, made it on to the movie soundtrack, not the universally known stuff. But c’est la vie. “Limelight” – along with “Tom Sawyer” and “Fly By Night” – deservingly put Rush truly into the limelight for a moment.

Moving Pictures is often cited as one of the band’s greatest records. It’s an amalgam of the band’s prog tendencies (“YYZ”, “The Camera Eye”, “Witch Hunt”) as well as their occasional penchant for straight-ahead rock (“Red Barchetta”, “Limelight”). On the latter, there actually isn’t much “slappin’ da’ bass”. Geddy’s biggest contributions on “Limelight” are singing in a more palatable tone for the masses and working in sympatico with Alex on the melody and instrumentation. Alex has some pretty fine guitar chops on “Limelight” as well. But I’d argue that this song was all about Neil, as the lyricist and purveyor of whatever the drum equivalent is of “slappin’ da’ bass”. There are some phenomenal fills in there.

“Living on a lighted stage. Approaches the unreal. For those who think and feel. In touch with some reality beyond the gilded cage.”

"TERRITORIES" RUSH (1985)

I started Mental Jukebox nearly three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. During this time, I’ve discovered new music, rediscovered old favorites and I’ve met passionate music fans around the world. And when things opened up, I kept on blogging. This month, the jukebox goes deeper. The term “deep cut” has multiple meanings. It can refer to lesser known album tracks from well-known artists. It can also refer to tracks from lesser known artists. This month, I’ll be featuring both types. #DeepCutsFeb

Power Windows was the first CD I ever purchased. Funny thing is, I continued to buy cassettes afterwards. In retrospect, I’m confused as to why I went backwards with my album format before returning later to CDs. It seemed Power Windows was simply deserving of a higher quality sound. The decision to buy a CD ultimately paid off, allowing the exceptional production quality of the album to shine through. Typically, a deep cut appears as one of the last couple of tracks on the album. But “Mystic Rhythms”, a single, can hardly be considered one. “Territories”, on the other hand, is – even as the fifth of eight tracks.

It’s the Alex Lifeson show here. One of the few tracks from Power Windows where the synthesizers take a hiatus and the monster riffs come out to play. I have no problem when Rush mashes on the keys, but I always felt the band felt more complete when Lifeson was wielding the axe early and often. “Territories” marks out clear boundaries all the over place – the verses, the chorus, and the instrumental refrains – with one guitar riff after another trekking, traversing, globetrotting and taking us along for the ride.

“Better people... better food... and better beer... Why move around the world when Eden was so near?”

"MYSTIC RHYTHMS" RUSH (1985)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

I could’ve picked any number of closing tracks from the immense catalog of this progressive and chronically misunderstood Canadian three-piece band. But I chose this one from Power Windows because this is an album that I always felt never got its due. Yes, Alex’s guitars take a bit of a backseat to Geddy’s synth musings. But to write off the album because of that is a grave mistake. These songs collectively are some of Geddy’s best melodies from the eighties. I love just about every one of them, especially “Grand Designs”, “Territories”, “Middletown Dreams” and the last track, “Mystic Rhythms”.

Rush purists might quickly dismiss this track which was also the second single from the album. Peart uses electronic drums here in favor of his “traditional” kit. Far from a banger or even a mid-tempo jam, “Mystic Rhythms” hovers in a slow, mystic haze. But the synthesizers, drums and Lifeson’s guitar riff that transition the song from the chorus into the second verse are some of the band’s best examples of power in restraint. It’s an acquired taste. I think I dismissed it when I first heard it, but it has become one of my favorite Rush anthems in more recent years.

“We sometimes catch a window. A glimpse of what's beyond. Was it just imagination Stringing us along?”

"THE SPIRIT OF RADIO" RUSH (1980)

Great album openers get the listeners to keep on listening. They can do this in any number of ways. Some openers set the tone by easing us in. Others jump right in and blow our minds from the very beginning. A great album opener isn’t an easy thing to create. More than a great song, it’s all about the sequence. Track 1 has to be the perfect starter. This month, I’m highlighting my favorites. #AlbumOpeningSongs

I could’ve picked any number of album openers from this Canadian trio. But “The Spirit of Radio” is probably the one that’s most endearing to me as a fan. Before I owned my Permanent Waves cassette, I was borrowing one from the town library. Slightly turned off and amused by the beige plastic back and slightly turned on by the front album cover. Where would this album take me? It was off in a hurry to show me prog rock could be accessible. That instrumental prowess matters. That music doesn’t have to be super complicated. Sometimes nothing gets you going like a good guitar solo. Enter “The Spirit of Radio”.

“The Spirit of Radio” was the stuff of a young boy’s fascination and admiration with hard rock. I mean, it just rocked really hard. One of Alex Lifeson’s best moments in the studio, in my opinion. But then it has an unexpected moment where a reggae refrain seeps in and disrupts the carnage, like some comic relief. Only Rush could do this. And since this is Rush playing, everyone, of course, is firing on all cylinders. Geddy is on a rampage on his bass guitar – and singing at the same time when performed live. And Neil is bullying his drums into submission. Not just an incredible album opener, a phenomenal setlist opener, eye opener and mind opener.

“For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall, concert hall, and echoes with the sound of salesmen.”

"XANADU" RUSH (1977)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #SeptSongLyricChallenge

Day 11

Look, this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I myself have never been much of a prog rock fanatic. The early Rush catalog and a couple of select Pink Floyd albums is about as far as I’ll go. One of the best from A Farewell To Kings is Xanadu. For the first five minutes, there isn’t a single lyric. Just instrumental sounds that evoke both nature and another dimension. But when the Neil Peart’s words finally come in, he blows us away. I never read the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge which inspired the song. But I think Peart’s lyrics bring a certain sense of poetry itself in painting a picture of the attainment of immortality.

“I had heard the whispered tales of immortality. The deepest mystery from an ancient book, I took a clue. I scaled the frozen mountain tops of eastern lands unknown. Time and man alone. Searching for the lost, Xanadu.”

"BRAVADO" RUSH (1991)

One of the most powerful things about music is that it is the soundtrack of our lives. Fellow music fanatic Sharon Hepworth started a music challenge on Twitter for the month of July. Each day, fans around the world will select a song from their life and describe what it means to us. These are my songs. #SoundtrackToYourLife

Day 17

Since elementary school, Rush has been a band that I enjoyed and respected tremendously, despite that high-pitched vocal range from Geddy Lee that some music listeners simply can’t stand. I remember borrowing the Signals, Moving Pictures and Grace Under Pressure cassettes from our town library. Rush cassettes stood out with their ugly beige plastic cases. Later in middle school I think I had enough money to buy my own cassettes. That’s when I discovered the genius of 2112, and a couple of other goodies like Exit… Stage Left and Permanent Waves. I loved all of these albums, but when it comes to individual songs, “Bravado” is right up there with the best of Rush in my opinion. This is a song that started to resonate with me more and more during college and the years that followed.

For me, “Bravado” became a guiding force during challenging times. It also carries deeper significance with the passing of drummer Neil Peart. Was it a foreshadowing? One thing’s certain, this wasn’t about a sci-fi or mystical world, like many other Rush songs. This was real. It may have been a song about not giving up, but for me it was more about living life with no regrets. “Bravado” also didn’t put the spotlight solely on one member of the band - as it seemed to have the perfect blend of instrumental contributions paired with Lee’s reflective and more subdued vocal approach. I read somewhere that the band was in love with several recorded parts for the song, but realized that by pairing it down it would result in a stronger track. I think that level of restraint paid dividends.

“We will pay the price. But we will not count the cost.”

"RED BARCHETTA" RUSH (1981)

One of the most powerful things about music is that it is the soundtrack of our lives. Fellow music fanatic Sharon Hepworth started a music challenge on Twitter for the month of July. Each day, fans around the world will select a song from their life and describe what it means to us. These are my songs. #SoundtrackToYourLife

Day 2

Growing up, every Rush album cover I gazed at was epic and teased the promise of something equally epic happening inside. One of the albums that I’ve played from beginning to end incessantly was Moving Pictures. In the streaming age, this ritual has lost its luster a bit, as I’ve ended up playing its individual tracks probably more often than the entire LP. But in recent years, this has only helped reinforce how much each of these songs mean to me — and none more so than “Red Barchetta”. A song that both the cool and uncool kids in my elementary school could all agree on.

“Tom Sawyer” had swagger. “YYZ” had prowess. “Limelight” had melody. But “Red Barchetta” had heart. About a joy ride turned car chase, it had all the musical trappings to further the narrative — from Peart’s cymbal crashes to Lee’s adrenaline-fueled vocals. One of my favorite Alex Lifeson guitar solos happens at the 3:20 mark. Often overshadowed by Lee’s bass playing skills and Peart’s prowess on drums, Lifeson more than held his own on “Red Barchetta”, a song that carries with it so much nostalgia.

“Drive like the wind. Straining the limits of machine and man.”

"RED SECTOR A" RUSH (1984)

It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs

Grace Under Pressure is rarely mentioned among Rush’s best albums. On the surface, it seems that other recordings were able to assert a more clearly defined musical agenda, including Hemispheres, 2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, among many others. But one could argue that Grace Under Pressure is where Rush started to put multiple musical explorations together unlike any of their other albums. While Signals was almost exclusively synth, Grace Under Pressure is where Lifeson’s guitar-driven attack collided with Lee’s synth explosions. You can hear it loud and clear on “Red Sector A”.

Uncharacteristic of the band, there isn’t a single bass line to be found on this song. Instead Lee focused solely on creating calculating synth jams and singing the harrowing story of life inside a prison camp. Meanwhile, Lifeson and Peart led the attack on guitar and drums, building a soundscape that washes over you. What’s more profound beyond the music is the influence of “Red Sector A”, which bears a striking resemblance to the epic musicality of Muse.

“All that we can do is just survive. All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive.”

"LESSONS" RUSH (2112)

The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs

Rush is one of the most polarizing bands of all time. They have some of the most loyal fans. They also have some of the biggest naysayers. The naysayers say Geddy’s voice is atrocious. The lyrics don’t belong in rock music. Too much technique, not enough soul. While I’ve sometimes had these same gripes, it hasn’t stopped me from admiring this band. I adore this band. My brother and I got our first taste of Rush by borrowing cassettes at the town library. We heard Signals, Moving Pictures, Exit… Stage Left, Permanent Waves and Grace Under Pressure. And we were hooked. But no album was more addicting than 2112. A concept album that expanded my imagination and rocked hard all at once. One of the least heralded songs from that record is “Lessons”.

The funny thing about Geddy’s voice is his unusually high notes are pushed to the max on this song, yet it isn’t overblown. It feels like his vocal demeanor hits its sweet spot on “Lessons” more so than most songs. This is a true rock & roll song that would garner more interest in Rush if rock fans gave it a listen. “Lessons” has always been overshadowed by the mainstream’s limited view of Rush: “YYZ”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Spirit of Radio”, “Limelight” and the like. But, it’s the song that reminds me why I love Rush so much. Lee, Peart and Lifeson all have their moments here – there are some nice drum fills, guitar hooks and bass lines in there, but the three friends are totally locked in and in sync.

“Sweet memories. Flashing very quickly by. Reminding me and giving me a reason why.”

"BRAVADO" RUSH (1991)

Each day in November, I’m revisiting a song from the 90’s — a decade that was a sorta coming of age for me. In that span, I experienced high school, college and my time as a young single guy in New York City. It was a decade of ups and downs, and the music never stopped playing during that span. It was always there with me. #30DaysOf90sSongs

Since elementary school, Rush has been a band that I enjoyed and respected tremendously, despite that high-pitched vocal range from Geddy Lee that some music listeners simply can’t stand. I remember borrowing the Signals, Moving Pictures and Grace Under Pressure cassettes from our town library. Rush cassettes stood out with their ugly beige plastic cases. Later in middle school I think I had enough money to buy my own cassettes. That’s when I discovered the genius of 2112, and a couple of other goodies like Exit… Stage Left and Permanent Waves. I loved all of these albums, but when it comes to individual songs, “Bravado” is right up there with the best of Rush in my opinion.

For me, “Bravado” carries deeper significance with the passing of drummer Neil Peart. Was it a foreshadowing? One thing’s certain, this wasn’t about a sci-fi or mystical world, like many other Rush songs. This was real. It may have been a song about not giving up, but for me it was more about living life with no regrets. “Bravado” also didn’t put the spotlight solely on one member of the band - as it seemed to have the perfect blend of instrumental contributions paired with Lee’s reflective and more subdued vocal approach. I read somewhere that the band was in love with several recorded parts for the song, but realized that by pairing it down it would result in a stronger track. I think that level of restraint paid dividends.

“If we burn our wings flying too close to the sun… If the moment of glory is over before it's begun… If the dream is won though everything is lost… We will pay the price. But we will not count the cost.”

"LEAVE THAT THING ALONE" RUSH (1993)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

While Counterparts represented a return to the guitar-heavy side of Rush, some of the songs contain reminders of the power guitar riff era of “Working Man” and the band’s first album. But one track, in particular, showed a new side to Rush. “Leave That Thing Alone” helped bring up the rear on the album and ushered in an evolved sound as one of their best instrumentals in several years.

“YYZ” and “La Villa Stangiato” still stand the test of time as two of Rush’s best instrumentals, and two of their best songs period. But I don’t think “Leave That Thing Alone” is that far behind them. Like a classic jazz recording, Lee, Peart and Lifeson all take turns in the spotlight. But for the most part, it’s Lifeson’s multiple riffs that assert the most presence, echoing Counterparts’ heavy emphasis on guitars. Hats off to Peart for being one of rock’s most talented lyricists, but tracks like “Leave That Thing Alone” make me wonder why Rush hasn’t composed and recorded more instrumentals.

"RED SECTOR A" RUSH (1984)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

Grace Under Pressure is rarely mentioned among Rush’s best albums. On the surface, it seems that other recordings were able to assert a more clearly defined musical agenda, including Fly By Night, 2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, among many others. But one could argue that Grace Under Pressure is where Rush started to put multiple musical explorations together unlike any other album. While Signals was almost exclusively synth, Grace Under Pressure is where Lifeson’s guitar-driven attack collided with Lee’s synth explosions. You can hear it loud and clear on “Red Sector A”.

Uncharacteristic of the band, there isn’t a single bass line to be found on this song. Instead Lee focused solely on creating calculating synth jams and singing the harrowing story of life inside a prison camp. Meanwhile, Lifeson and Peart led the attack on guitar and drums, building a soundscape that washes over you. What’s more profound beyond the music is the influence of “Red Sector A”, which bears a striking resemblance to the epic musicality of Muse.

“All that we can do is just survive. All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive.”

"RED BARCHETTA" RUSH (1981)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

Growing up, one of the albums that I’ve played from beginning to end incessantly was Moving Pictures. In the streaming age, this ritual has lost its luster a bit, as I’ve ended up playing its individual tracks probably more often than the entire LP. But in recent years, this has only helped reinforce how much each of these songs mean to me — and none more so than “Red Barchetta”.

“Tom Sawyer” had attitude. “YYZ” had technique. “Limelight” had melody. But “Red Barchetta” had heart. About a joy ride turned car chase, it had all the musical trappings to further the narrative — from Peart’s cymbal crashes to Lee’s adrenaline-fueled vocals. One of my favorite Alex Lifeson guitar solos happens at the 3:20 mark. Often overshadowed by Lee’s bass playing skills and Peart’s prowess on drums, Lifeson more than held his own on “Red Barchetta”.

“Drive like the wind. Straining the limits of machine and man.”

"THE TREES" RUSH (1978)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

Not an easy task picking just four Rush songs for a Rock Block. I could easily dedicate an entire month of Mental Jukebox to the band. But we all know Rush isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s mine, and it has been mine since middle school. Rather than wax poetic about the brilliance of “YYZ” or “Freewill”, I’m going to skip ahead to the second and third upper echelons of Rush greatness, starting with “The Trees”.

“The Trees” was one of only two normal-length songs on Hemispheres. But regardless, it still had strands of prog rock throughout. The instrumental interludes and chord progressions were eclectic — and the lyrics are some of Neil Peart’s best, a story about trouble in the forest among the maples and oaks. Musically, The Trees covers a lot of ground in under five minutes, starting with a classical guitar introduction, shifting into hard rock Rush and then finishing off with a foreshadowing of the bass and guitar stylings that would later appear on Permanent Waves and, most noticeably, on Moving Pictures. Epic is an understatement.

“There is trouble in the Forest. And the creatures all have fled as the Maples scream ‘Oppression!’ And the Oaks, just shake their heads.”