On the passing of Neil Peart

On Friday, January 10, I learned of the passing of Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. To say that I was obsessed with the music of Rush and the writing of Peart during my teen years would be an understatement. Long before taking on the challenge of writing about The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time I wrote a post about the impact the band had on my formative years.

One of my favourite posters - this was on my bedroom wall from 1980-1985

Now, years later, I want to write a tribute to Neil and his significant impact on my life. However, this is a difficult task given:

• How can I write about teenage emotions when I am no longer close to those feelings? 
• How did that fiery cocktail of earnest passion, precocious intellect and quixotic romanticism that once raged within me become this dull and flickering, nostalgic reminiscence?

It is difficult to explain how important the music of Rush and the lyrics of Neil Peart were without providing some background. In the early 80s, I was a Canadian teenager living in a city subdivision. At the risk of sounding very "kids these days have it easy...." let me share the following:

• There were no digital downloads or streaming services for music (iTunes, Spotify). I built my Rush record collection one album at a time, even taking two buses to track down a copy of Farewell to Kings in a shopping mall on the other side of the city.
• I didn't own a record player until I was 17. I took my albums to the public library and borrowed headphones to use in the music listening booths.
• Visiting the library was additionally important because I needed to research the complex references buried within Neil's lyrics. It was more than 15 years before the launch of Google.

I look back on this time fondly. The challenge of building my Rush collection brought me immense joy. With each purchase, I felt like I revealed another piece in an elaborate puzzle that had been constructed specifically for me. No other music I had listened to reflected so perfectly my emotional state and experiences.

The earliest works by Rush tapped into my love of literature, including mythology, fantasy and science fiction, as well as my growing interest in science and philosophy.

• Fly By Night featured songs such as... 
• Anthem which was inspired by the writings of Ayn Rand on the philosophical tenets of objectivisim. 
• Rivendell, a song about retiring to the fictional world of the elves featured in JRR Tolkien's fantasy series The Lord of the Rings 
• Bytor and the Snowdog an eight-minute, multi-part epic about a battle between good and evil on the edge of the mythical underworld of Hades.
  
• Caress of Steel featured...
• Two epic fantasy tracks: The Necromancer and The Fountains of Lamneth. The latter took up the entire side of the record.
• The song Lakeside Park, which was about a small recreation area on the shores of Lake Ontario in Port Dalhousie. Growing up in nearby St. Catharines, I visited this place regularly. It was one of the many times when I felt as if Neil's words were penned for me.

"Midway hawkers calling 'Try your luck with me!' 
 Merry-go-round wheezing the same old melody.
A thousand ten-cent wonders, who could ask for more
A pocket full of silver - the key to heaven's door.
Lakeside Park, willows in the breeze
Lakeside Park, so many memories
Laughing rides, Midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights."

The next album, 2112, tells the story of the fictional city of Megadon in the year 2112. Individualism and creativity have been outlawed by a cabal of priests who rule from the Temples of Syrinx. A nameless protagonist discovers a guitar hidden in a cave behind a waterfall and excitedly brings it to the priests who ultimately destoy it after telling him:

"Oh yes we know, it's nothing new
It's just a waste of time.
We have no need for ancient ways
Our world is doing fine.
Another toy, that helped destroy
The elder race of man.
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the plan."

A dystopian tale about corrupt malevolant leaders quashing creativity fit perfectly in my angsty wheelhouse as an early teen. The lyrics are certainly a bit dated - but, I still listen to the album at least once a year.

That, perhaps, is the most remarkable thing about Rush and the lyrics Neil wrote. He grew as a writer in nearly perfect step with my growing maturity and changing tastes. 

By the time Moving Pictures and Signals were released, Neil was nearing his 30s and his writing reflected reality rather than fantasy. Once again, his lyrics in the song Subdivision seemed to have been written for me, the suburban, Canadian teenager. The song captured the entire time, but I will share one lyric that perfectly reflects it: 

"Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth 
That the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth."

Since Neil's death, I have been taking a journey through my "Rush-centric" memories. Such as:

Eagerly anticipating the release of every record since Moving Pictures in February of 1981.

Taking a two-hour train trip to Toronto to purchase Rush records, patches, posters & pins that could not be found in my hometown and finding the building featured on the Moving Pictures album cover. (It's the Ontario Legistlative Building in Queen's Park). 

Seeing them perform live seven times, including their final performance in Toronto in 2015. 

Spending hours reading album liner notes and lyrics as well as newsletters from the Rush Backstage Fan Club. I still have the certificate.

However, the memory that always lingers is a drive with my girlfriend, now wife, to Algonquin Park in August, 1987. We were heading to Pog Lake for a week-long camping adventure with friends. While on Hwy. 11, just past Orillia, the song Time Stand Still played on the car stereo. I distinctly remember reflecting deeply about the lyrics. It has become my favourite Rush song and hearing it or even thinking about the words always fills me with a wistful melancholy that I simultaneously embrace and eschew. (If that makes sense)

Thank you, Neil. 
Rest in Peace.