I think he sounds like a chipmunk. It’s distracting but I still enjoy the music on occasion.
I can’t stand Geddy Lee’s voice. My husband loves them, but I just can’t stand it. I can put up with a song here and there, but a full CD is out of the question.
Well, you haven’t met me so I guess you can still say that’s true, but I love Rush and have since the first time my friend introduced me to their music in 1984.
I don’t like Christina Aguilera and I have no idea who Turbo Negro is, but I loves me some Rush.
I can see how they are an acquired taste, especially Geddy’s voice.
Personally, I like all the albums up to Grace Under Pressure. After that, they sound too cheesy to me.
Calling them mediocre is pretty funny though. Yeah, compared to Mozart they are mediocre.
Oh I think mediocre is a fine way of describing them. And I wouldn’t even go that far - but that is my own taste coming into play.
I appreciate that they are talented musicians, but I don’t think that they do anything interesting with all of their ability. So much of their music seems designed to show off as many “tricks” as possible in one single song. Virtuosity is all well and good, but it can only carry a band so far. I think they might be much more interesting if they had some outside song writers.
They’re a struggle for me. I really want to love them, but just can’t get past Geddy’s voice. The epic instrumentals, or the songs where Geddy is understated or synth-processed, I love. Otherwise, my thought train is “yeah, this rocks, awesome. Oh god, here comes another verse. Phew, that’s over, it rocks again!”
Rush as the band, featuring Roger Daltry on vocals, would be the greatest band ever 
Maybe we’re just too stupid to see that they’re just third rate because it’s my favorite band and I think they’re first rate.
Or maybe opinions are like assholes.
The reason I think the band is great is because their music makes me feel happy. I like Geddy Lee’s voice and it tickles me silly that my brother says I sing just like him. They have a variety of sounds so no matter what mood I’m in there’s Rush to satisfy me.
No other band I know of has this affect on ME, and honestly I don’t care if anyone else likes them. I’m not so crazy about other famous bands, and others it just depends on the song.
I’ve often noticed on this board there are people who don’t just dislike Rush, they dislike people who do like Rush and act like we’re losers who must have some sad issues because we like them. I don’t understand it. It’s just a band. I don’t get being so critical of the fans of a band.
I had some friends in high school (in the 80’s) who more or less worshiped Rush. I could take them or leave them. I like some of their songs that get radio play, and I recognize their talent and the complexity of their music, but… well, shrugs. I’ve never bought any of their music or desired to see them in concert.
That’s about the time I quit listening to them too. Too much synthesizer and Alex was trying too hard to sound like Andy Summers. They were becoming indistinguishable from any other 80s band (except that they still weren’t getting any airplay! ;))
I didn’t buy a new Rush album for twenty-something years from “Signals” until they released “Feeback” a few years back, then got me a copy of “Snakes and Arrows” when it came out. Still as good as ever!
I chose the second option; I appreciate their music to the point that this thread prompted me to finally download (one of) their greatest hits compilations – I like them enough to do enjoy a collection like that, but not enough to buy individual albums.
I can’t say I’m familiar with all of the songs on Spirit of Radio, but I like some of them enough to be happy with the album (and Time Stand Still has been an overall favorite of mine for many years). Also, Red Barchetta – did you know that they named a song after you?
It is kind of funny. Most of the objections I hear to them are of that stripe. “Mediocre. No rhythm. No melody.” Bullshit reasons. I think closer to the truth would be “I just don’t like what they do. Not my cup of tea.” Oh, OK. I pretty much categorically loathe country music. Why? Plenty of reasons, I suppose, but it all boils down to, “Just not my thing. So much not my thing that it can be very irritating to me to be around for long.”
Maybe people object to fans liking them and attribute cult-like attributes to fans’ appreciation. Nah, I think it’s like being around sports fans who are exited, anticipating the season, joyfully talking about all the sports-fan things. Well, I like to watch a game occaisionally, but usually it’s just noise to me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sports nuts, I’m just not that into it.
I picked the second option. Loved 'em in the '70s then moved on after Moving Pictures. My high school rock band played a ton of their songs and I was a huge Neil Peart fan. I still like listening to them from time to time.
I like Rush. I have a few of their albums, I’ve seen them in concert, I still get happy when I hear “The Spirit of Radio” (and, lately, “Subdivisions”) on the local classic rock station, etc. But I totally get why someone else might not like them. Same with Yes.
These both made me laugh out loud.
What winterhawk11 said. I agree that they tend to be a dude band, but I’ve always known that there are other women who like them.
Yeah, it would have been interesting to have had us disclose our gender when voting, too. I have a few of their songs in my iTune, and I like them fine, but I would never pay money to see them live. I’m pretty sure my husband would, though, and he’s welcome to go with one of his buddies when they come to town.
Huge fan, seem them 8 times, and this thread made me start playing Snakes & Arrows while I read through it. I won’t try to convince the haters to actually like Geddy; but if your only complaint is about his voice, you probably haven’t heard his more recent - i.e., within the last twenty years or so - stuff. He usually sings a lot lower these days (on their new songs that is - anything from the 70s will always get you the “adrenaline squawk”, as I once read it described).
I voted “meh”. I think Rush are decidedly B-List-- reasonably talented as musicians, particularly Geddy Lee, but their music has limited artistic merit. If you locked Lee, Lifeson and Peart up in a room only to be released when they came up with a good song, I think you’d be a long time waiting. They did come up with some very good tunes, mainly but not exclusively scattered over their early 80’s albums, but the rest of their material is forgettable.
I also think they’re overrated as a live band. I saw them two times. First time was so loud you couldn’t make out what they were playing. Second time was so dull and lifeless that I left halfway through, and I was quite keen on seeing them. They were just phoning it in.
I chose “They Rock!”
While I don’t listen to them regularly nowadays, I consider Rush one of my all-time favorites, and this thread started injecting so many Rush earworms that I had the irresistible urge to put on “A Farewell to Kings”. Most of the things that people dislike about them are the very same attributes that appeal the most to me: Geddy’s wild, shrill voice, the quirky rhythm changes, the over-indulgent drumming and guitar shredding, and 20-minute epics like 2112 and Hemispheres. I think their albums from the '70s are as good as Permanent Waves through Power Windows. I haven’t gotten into any of their albums since then, but don’t dislike them either.
For those who aren’t into those things, I completely understand, they are a bit of an acquired taste. For those who proclaim them to be third-rate, if you are unable to recognize brilliance when you see it, that’s your own problem.
D
I used to think they were deep souls.
Now they sound like the voice of self-righteous youth to me.
Yikes.
I really don’t know Rush all that intimately–mostly just the radio singles and some random stuff off 2112 and whatever ends up on those Rock Band/Guitar Hero games. I don’t like bands that are all virtuosity and no hooks, no songwriting. I tend to dislike prog rock, except for early Genesis and some King Crimson. However, I don’t think Rush fits into that mold. My main complaint about them is I think their lyrics can be a bit tiresome, but I’m not much for lyrics, anyway (that “Trees” song is particularly laughably bad.) As a band, they do rock. I think there is a “soul” to their music. It’s not all mechanical and left-brained. The songs have hooks and melodies–there’s some good pop behind some of the technical wizardry. There’s a natural flow to it, and I actually don’t think Neal Peart overplays. I think he fits in perfectly into the context of the band.
I have heard OF them, mostly via here as there seems to be an inordinate number of fans at the SDMB.
However, they weren’t around where I grew up, so I’ve not really heard any of their songs. I recently caught a couple of brief clips, I think they were referenced in Chuck for example, and what I heard sounded like mind-numbingly horrendous shit, but I can’t really judge them on such a small sample size.