Red Barchetta is my all time favorite Rush song, a true classic! RIP Neil Peart
Coming up with a favorite Rush song is no easy task! I'd say "Subdivisions", "Fly By Night", "Closer to the Heart" and "Time Stand Still" are the first Rush songs that come to mind for me but I'm probably forgetting a few dozen others.
Until tonight I had no idea Neal Pert was the main lyricist for Rush! His lyrical skill may have even been more impressive than his drumming, which is really saying something!! Here is a paragraph from a Rolling Stone article about him today.
Peart was widely considered one of the best drummers in rock history, with a flamboyant yet utterly precise style. He joined singer-bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson in Rush in 1974, and his virtuosic playing and literate lyrics – which drew on Ayn Rand and science fiction, among other influences – helped make the trio one of the key bands of the classic-rock era. A rigorous autodidact and a gifted writer, he was also the author of numerous books. He was fiercely principled, and never stopped believing in the possibilities of rock and despising what he saw as over-commercialization of the music industry. “It’s about being your own hero,” he told Rolling Stone in 2015. “I set out to never betray the values that 16-year-old had, to never sell out, to never bow to the man. A compromise is what I can never accept.”
Two lines from Subdivisions may be my favorite lyrics ever. "Conform or be cast out" and "Be cool or be cast out" have been used by me more times than I care to remember. I wish I had come up with those!
If anyone doubts his lyrical skills and vision just read the lyrics to "Spirit of the Radio" written in 1980 which laments the state of current music at that time. Fast forward to 2020 and those lyrics hold true more now than they did 40 years ago. His passing is quite a loss.
