I’m not sure what it is about Rush that divides US, but there is definitely a difference in peoples taste of music. I’m an old hard rock & head-banger from way back.
To me Rush is like fingernails on a chalkboard. I WILL turn off the radio when they come on.
But, I gotta give’m their card. They’re doing something right.
Hall of Fame material…not in my opinion. I’d much rather listen to Ozzy anytime.
Jonathan, fully with you on Rush’s influence on other bands. Although I have to say that the Smashing Pumpkins’ version of Limelight makes my skin crawl. Just reminds me why I’m not a fan of SP, and that they should have just stopped after making that one classic song, Disarm.
Rush will live forever. If Geddy can’t hit those high notes anymore (let’s face it, he’s getting up there - 52 or so?), they can always hire the singer from Placebo, and let Geddy concentrate on playing bass and keys. No one will hear the difference! 
(Italics mine.)
And then:
(Italics, once again, mine.)
I think your advice on backing things up should be heeded by more than just Rib Eye.
But then again, I’m the guy that thinks Chicago should be inducted. 
Oh hell, Coldie, Rush will live as long as those such as thee and me buy and appreciate their offerings. If we no longer give them support, well, they’ve always got the Orbit Room to fall back on.
Yeah, but that’s just Alex.
I have visions of them at 70 doing some weird fusion-jazz thing in small clubs.
And FTR…Ged turns 50 this year. God, that’s scary. They released that first record so damn young.
(Relaxing to “Let There Be Rock” live after a long day)
AC/DC fan here. Fine, they aren’t incredible Musical Innovators, I’ll be the first to admit that, but I betcha that there’s an awful lot of rock and roll bands that count them as important influences one way or the other.
Per the RIAA they have sold over 63 million albums, have the 6th-highest selling album of all time and are the 5th best-selling group in the US ever (behind the Beatles, Zeppelin, Floyd and the Eagles - not bad company), I think about 10th worldwide. Keep in mind that this has been done over a 30 year period, most of it without the benefit of MTV, videos, etc - say what you like but they certainly aren’t a flash in the pan and I think that it’s entirely appropriate for them to be in the HoF. Believe that they also just signed a new $25 million contract so not exactly slowing down (OK “Ballbreaker” had strong sunction-like qualities).
They’ve been doing the same act for decades but I don’t see what’s wrong with that frankly - it’s simple, bar-band R&B/RnR and they do it well, just happens to be in Olympic stadiums instead of bars now. The show is still basically one funny-looking short Aussie who runs all over the place playing guitar and I’ll take that over lipsynching, prerecorded music, cutesy costumes and carefully coordinated dance steps any time.
Valgard
Why? I saw them play in California last September (it was like a catholic going to Lourdes, lemme tell ya :D), and these geezers rocked harder than a lot of 20-something bands I’ve seen. Sure, they don’t dance around on the stage a lot, but they’ve never done that. The compositions don’t lend a lot of room for it anyway, it’s musically quite intense.
Seeing as they live life a lot healthier than, say Keith fucking Richards, I see no reason why they can’t rock as hard at 60 as they did last fall. Or at 70!
You should have seen them in the early 80s, rookie.
Heh heh heh.
Plus, if they’re still doing the same thing in 20 years they’ll be bankrupt. They change. That makes them work.
You should have seen them in the early 80s, rookie.
Heh heh heh.
Plus, if they’re still doing the same thing in 20 years they’ll be bankrupt. They change. That makes them work.
Fair enough. The difference is that I have no problems at all with AC/DC or the Police in the HoF, I don’t begrudge their influence, and I’m familiar with almost all their work.
Speak of the devil, Costello is hosting Letterman right now. “By coincidence, my first band was called the Shingles.”
All you need to know about ELvis Costello:
“You wanna know why critics love Elvis Costello so much? Because critics LOOK like f***ing Elvis Costello, that’s why.” - David Lee Roth
Elvis Costello called Ray Charles “a blind ignorant nigger,” and got his ass kicked by a girl (Bonnie Bramlett) for it.
He’s a bigot, a wuss, and a mediocre songwriter. End of story.
So, he’s an asshole with poor fashion sense. That doesn’t say a thing about his musical talents.
And, okay, Rush is hugely talented and influential. They still sound like a helium truck crashed into a recording studio.
Oh, and Jonathan Chance: Memphis.
I’d like to agree with all those who suggested that Turbonegro belong in at least the homo-erotic scandinavian sailor wing of the Roque and Rowle HOF.
Where the hell are the Dictators though? Where would rock be without them? It would be a hell of a lot less fun, that’s for sure. I’d like to see Sting come up with a verse as poetic and just damn inspiring as:
It just shows what happens when you let a bunch of old hippies hold the keys to the history of Rock.
Tim Finn is fifty as well, and I for one would love it if he got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for his work with Split Enz, his solo work and with Crowded House.
All Rib Eye said was that he wasn’t familiar with Costello’s entire catalog, and you jumped on him for criticizing Costello without giving specific examples.
From my side of the screen, it looks like you’re only assuming he doesn’t know what he’s talking about because he doesn’t list the particular songs he finds, well, boring. (“Boring” is my word; I’m not sure Rib Eye actually said that.) How do you know that he isn’t thinking of more songs than you’re giving him credit for? And yet you rather nastily compare him to an ill-informed 12 year-old.
Yet in the same breath (or, you know, keystrokes), you assert that both the Police and AC/DC rate lower than Costello on an artistic scale without citing specific examples. You’re asking us to assume that you know what you’re talking about absent any evidence to support that assumption. How do we know you’re familair with almost all of their work?
None of which is to say that neither of you gave invalid opinions; it is to say, however, that you still hold a negative view of his opinion when you, as of your last post, have provided the same amount of support for your opinion.
It looks to me like a bit o’ the Pot and Kettle syndrome going on here.
Will the other members of the board please fill in the blanks as for who will be eligible in the next few years:
2004 (1979):
2005 (1980):
2006 (1981):
2007 (1982):
And Chicago
And New Orleans
And Detroit
And St Louis
Yes, there are many cities that provide roots music. But Memphis and the ones I mentioned aren’t the place where the term was coined, where there isn’t also a huge blues influence and where there wasn’t a large attempt to land the facility.
And yes, most people can’t get past Ged’s voice.
Funny!
(see sig)
And as Tiny Tim says, well GOD FUCK US EVERYONE!
[sub]Yeah, I read your other post, same here. Actually, I like their pre-Permanent Waves stuff, but I sat through a show on their Moving Pictures tour waiting for something to happen.[/sub]
Come to think of it, Rush has been pretty influential. Where would hair metal have been without a squeaky singer up front, and who squeaked before Geddy Lee? d&r!