Rush Song List Countdown (Part 2)

Recapping:
"Recently on twitter, I was challenged to list my top 10 songs by the band Rush. Rush is, of course, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart- three musical geniuses who have kept the same line-up intact for over 40 years. If you're a fan of this band, even a casual one, you know this was not an easy list to compile. This got me to thinking - where would I rank all of their original studio songs?

So, I sat down and listed all of their original studio recordings (no live albums, no cover songs), and proceeded to rank them all. All 19 original albums worth. First, I took the list and graded each from "A+" to "D-". This broke a stellar body of work into more manageable chunks- sort of. C and D-list Rush songs are still better than most others bands A-game, but that's just my opinion. Then I could start my list with "A+" grades - rank those, then move down to "A", "A-", etc.

After much gnashing of teeth, pulling out of hair, and re-listening to much of the catalog in question (I've really suffered to put this post together, heh), here is my list, with selected commentary. As always, your mileage may vary."

The Top 165 Rush Songs Of All Time

(Part 2 of "The List") 

110. "Secret Touch" (B) 

109. "Heresy" (B)

108. "Face Up" (B)

107. "Need Some Love" (B)

106. "High Water" (B)

105. "Driven" (B)

104. "Bravado" (B)

103. "Emotion Detector" (B)

102. "Afterimage" (B)

101. "Something For Nothing" (B)

100. "One Little Victory" (B)

99. "Scars" (B)

98. "Open Secrets" (B)

97. "Lakeside Park"(B)

96. "The Twilight Zone" (B)

95. "Kid Gloves" (B)

94. "Cut To The Chase" (B)

93. "Resist" (B)

92. "You Bet Your Life" (B)

91. "War Paint" (B)

90. "Second Nature" (B)

89. "The Camera Eye" (B)

88. "Finding My Way" (B)

87. "New World Man" (B)

86. "Digital Man" (B)

85. "Wish Them Well" (B+)

84. "The Wreckers" (B+)

83. "Seven Cities Of Gold" (B+)

82. "The Anarchist" (B+)

81. "Different Strings" (B+)

80. "Entre Nous" (B+) -- I always forget how awesome this song is until I come back and listen to it again. 

79. "Think I'm Going Bald" (B+)

78. "Totem" (B+)

77. "Limbo" (B+)

76. "Red Lenses" (B+)

75. "Circumstances" (B+)

74. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" (B+)

73. "Making Memories" (B+)

72. "Clockwork Angels" (B+)

71. "Ghost Rider" (B+)

70. "Middletown Dreams" (B+)

69. "Grand Designs" (B+)

68. "Ghost Of A Chance" (B+)

67. "The Pass" (B+)

66. "Faithless" (B+)

65. "Animate" (B+)

64. "Hand Over Fist" (B+) -- It took me several years before I really started getting into most of Presto. I remember listening to "Show Don't Tell" then the rest of side one of the cassette, flipping it over to side two (remember that?), and "Superconductor" came on, and thinking "Yes! Finally something that rocks!"

63. "Time Stand Still" (B+)

62. "Nobody's Hero" (B+)

61. "Between The Wheels" (B+)

60. "The Body Electric" (B+)

59. "The Enemy Within" (B+)  -- The highest ranking portion of the four parts of the Trilogy Of Fear. 

58. "Virtuality" (B+)

57. "Dog Years" (B+)
56. "Cold Fire" (B+)

 

Part 3 of "The List"                                                 Part 1 of "The List"

To Be Concluded...

Brain Drippings De Jour

The blog finally lives up (or down) to it's name. Very random posting today. You've been warned. If you bailed out now, no one could blame you. Certainly not me.

Still there? Good. Buckle up, and return your seat backs and tray tables to their full, upright and locked position. It's about to get weird.

Publishing:

There's a parallel to be drawn between the current state of the publishing world's digital revolution and the airline industry. For decades, the airlines were told what routes they could fly, and for what price. When the airlines deregulated in the late 1970s, it became a free-for-all. Airlines could fly wherever they wished for whatever price they thought customers would be willing to pay. Airlines that learned to adapt their business model to this new 'freedom' survived. Those that didn't disappeared. After deregulation, there were a slew of start-up airlines, anyone with enough money could have his own airline.

Today, many writers are pushing out into new territory (e-books) with the same independent spirit of start up airlines. They aren't locking themselves into the traditional publishing routes of Big Publishing Houses and doing it themselves, through small indie publishers or releasing e-books thru their own websites. J.K. Rowling just announced that she's going at it on her own, with her own portal for the Harry Potter E-books. Today's indie authors are building networks of followers/readers/customers through social media.

The digital revolution. It's the new way to fly.

Irony Defined:

"Captain America" movie promotion appearing on Canada Dry Ginger Ale products. It's not Captain North America. He's red, white, and blue - there's no Maple Leaf in there.

Revising:

Writing is to building as editing is to... auto-body repair?

Yesterday a friend lamented the differences between writing and editing. Writing is a creative high, while editing? Let's face it, you're just fixing a car wreck.

Team Work:

There is no "I" in TEAM. However, looked at the right way, half of the team is ME. Think about that one. ;)

Commitment To A Project:

I'm always starting things and never...