# Rush: Subdivisions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033 "2012-08-10T01:49:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/1 "2012-08-10T01:49:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Sprawling on the fringes of the city > In geometric order > An insulated border > In between the bright lights > And the far unlit unknown > > Growing up it all seems so one-sided > Opinions all provided > The future pre-decided > Detached and subdivided > In the mass production zone I heard this by chance on the way to work this morning, and have known the song since it first hit the airwaves circa 1982. Suddenly I think it’s a masterpiece of songwriting. This is one fantastic piece of art, IMHO. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![clnilsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@clnilsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clnilsen)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/2 "2012-08-10T01:58:44Z")
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Not only is the synth line perfect for the content, but the lyrics are masterfully insightful. I really identified with this song growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/3 "2012-08-10T02:06:33Z")
Excellent song. One of Rush’s best, possibly _the_ best, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/4 "2012-08-10T02:09:01Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Excellent song. One of Rush’s best, possibly _the_ best, IMO. It’s very reminiscent of Quadrophenia, another of my passions. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/5 "2012-08-10T02:13:42Z")
“Conform or be cast oot…” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/6 "2012-08-10T02:13:58Z")
Great song, and Jacob Moon also does a great version [here](http://youtu.be/W4vd9OVLO7Q). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/7 "2012-08-10T02:19:41Z")
It’s not my favourite. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/8 "2012-08-10T08:46:01Z")
I was never crazy about it until I saw Rush play it live a few years ago. Geddy plays the signature riff on keyboard and switches to bass for the solo, which is pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/9 "2012-08-10T13:51:31Z")
I dismissed Rush for years mainly because most of the boys in my Grade 8 class were huge fans. Years later I came to Rush and decide that not everyone I went to Grade 8 with was a complete idiot. (some were, Rush fans or not.) ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/10 "2012-08-10T15:16:43Z")
Rush is my favorite band. Well, them and Ozzy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/11 "2012-08-10T16:22:42Z")
I agree. I’ve always liked Rush but over the years I’ve come to really love them. I once heard Eddie Trunk call Rush “chick repellant” which I find amusing as a woman who knows a few other massive Rush fans, who are also women. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/12 "2012-08-10T16:25:36Z")
Copies of _Signals_ should be attached to all future space probes to prove our intelligence to any aliens that should happen across them. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/13 "2012-08-10T16:31:54Z")
Briefly in college I was a radio DJ for the Dorm radio station. My first day on the job, this was the first song I played. People kept telling me the rest of that night it was a perfect way to start. Love that song. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/14 "2012-08-10T16:37:09Z")
> [@Dr.Righteous](#): > > I agree. I’ve always liked Rush but over the years I’ve come to really love them. > > I once heard Eddie Trunk call Rush “chick repellant” which I find amusing as a woman who knows a few other massive Rush fans, who are also women. I know who Rush is. Who’s Eddie Trunk? Does he matter? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/15 "2012-08-10T16:43:57Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I know who Rush is. Who’s Eddie Trunk? Does he matter? Well, I don’t know if he _matters_… but he’s a DJ who I appreciate because he is one of the only ones who plays [hard rock on the radio](http://www.eddietrunk.com/index.cfm/pk/content/pid/400521/). Plus he hosts That Metal Show on VH1, which I like. Plus plus he’s also a big Rush fan. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/16 "2012-08-10T16:48:36Z")
Perhaps he was referring to that Limbaugh of yours. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/17 "2012-08-10T16:54:50Z")
I too agree that this is one of Rush’s best songs. I also tend to think of _Signals_ in a broader sense…to me it marked the transition of a fundamental change in their sound. To me, their music after _Signals_ became more clinical sounding. In my mind a lot of it had to do with Alex Lifeson’s guitar sound getting away from the heavier, fuzzier-toned sound he used all the way up to Moving Pictures to a more choruse-y, cleaner, compressed tone. _Signals_ was a departure, sonically in some respects. And its weird: I have not liked a single Rush recording much after the _Signals_ recordind and I like literally everything before it. Weird. Maybe there’s nothing to what I am saying. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/18 "2012-08-10T18:29:26Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I too agree that this is one of Rush’s best songs. I also tend to think of _Signals_ in a broader sense…to me it marked the transition of a fundamental change in their sound. To me, their music after _Signals_ became more clinical sounding. In my mind a lot of it had to do with Alex Lifeson’s guitar sound getting away from the heavier, fuzzier-toned sound he used all the way up to Moving Pictures to a more choruse-y, cleaner, compressed tone. _Signals_ was a departure, sonically in some respects. And its weird: I have not liked a single Rush recording much after the _Signals_ recordind and I like literally everything before it. > > Weird. Maybe there’s nothing to what I am saying. Nope, I’m with ya on this: _Signals_ is the apex of their recordings. It’s more focused than anything that came before it, and more directly relevant, lyrically, to the world around them. After this, the focus actually began to hurt the band’s art, as it meant they were always coming closer to straight-ahead pop/rock conventions in their songwriting. And lyrically, the esoteric quotient began to decline, as more conventional subject matter took hold. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/19 "2012-08-10T19:33:46Z")
I am with you guys. I have heard it said that _Signals_ is a Rush fan’s least favorite Rush album. I do not know why that would be. I like most of their stuff prior to _Signals_, as well as _Grace Under Pressure_, but after that they were taken over by the synth for a number of years. Just part of their evolution, I guess. And to the OP - agree, Subdivisions is one of their best and one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033/20 "2012-08-10T19:43:27Z")
Good tune. But they have better ones. My two favorite Rush songs are _ **Something for Nothing** _ and _ **By-Tor & the Snow Dog** _. The former for the lyrics and the latter for musicianship. \*Awesome \*stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-subdivisions/631033.md?page=2)