24 July 2012:The first official award is shared jointly by two listeners: MisiFaye,
from XXXChatters.com and our own dj`shoobie, who both correctly guessed that
the link was that all the tunes were Number 1 Hits from different years. [In
actuality, I chose 40 songs – a number one hit from every year from 1973 right
up to 2012].
Congratulations to both of you and excellent
guesses from lots of other listeners!
Tuesday
is very much a “not quite sure what to do for the show to get people
interested” sort of day. With my Friday
and Sunday shows it always seems to come to me a lot easier, but for some
reason, Tuesday shows are always a bit of a struggle to think up.
One
of the ideas I have come up with recently has been the themed show idea, which
I hope to run at least a couple of times a month. The idea is that all the
songs on the show are connected in some way and it is up to the listeners to
guess the link. The winner’s name will be posted on the blog following my show,
so make sure you tune in on Tuesdays for a chance to guess the theme and earn
my “Kudos To You" Award.
Rush –
Clockwork Angels - June 12, 2012 – Reviewed On Air:
June 8, 2012
The new Rush release, Clockwork Angels, is about as good as it gets. The main
thing to note about this CD is that this is a band with a long history and
they’ve not lost a step; indeed this recording is fresh, vital…current. Indeed,
this new release from Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil
Pert has plenty of music to love. The songs on Clockwork Angels will be
the basis of a loosely drawn novelization by Science Fiction author Kevin J. Anderson, a longtime friend of Neil Pert,
Rush’s exceptional drummer. Pert described the release as being the foundation
of the novel that will depict the following storyline:
“In a
young man's quest to follow his dreams, he is caught between the grandiose
forces of order and chaos. He travels across a lavish and colorful world of
steampunk and alchemy, with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals,
and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.”
While
I find that intriguing and will be looking forward to the book, one can easily
enjoy the music without any hearing or knowledge of the upcoming story. The
first two songs of the album have been around a while. “Caravan” and “BU2B” (Brought Up to
Believe”) were laid down April 2010 at Blackbird Studio in Nashville,
Tennessee. The remainder of the album was recorded October - December 2011 at
Revolution Recording in Toronto, after lengthy tours by the group.
“Caravan” starts the CD out with a BANG…nice Ionian
mode guitar lick and a rocking tempo. Geddy Lee’s voice is powerful and driving
in lower scales here, but shows he can still hit the high notes he’s become
famous for. The lyrics are incredible, as always, and Geddy belts them out with
authority. The song is sophisticatedly written with interesting modulations and
chord progressions. Alex Lifeson’s solo is nice, but it’s in the complicated-yet-sounds-smooth
musical structure the he excels.
“BU2B” – Brought Up to Believe – starts out letting us
know we’re not in Kansas anymore. Wispy backdrops turn quickly into a powerful
chord progression. Again, Lifeson’s work drives the sound, but Lee and Pert add
breadth and intensity. The bridge is incredible work, changing drastically, yet
seamlessly into an equally devastating progression. I think I could listen to
this excellent tune over and over. The lyrics are very creative, after admonishing
us the he was brought up to believe, he adds that the “loving Watchmaker loves
us all to death”.
The
title cut, “Clockwork Angels”, begins as many of
the songs do, with an ethereal foundation before the tune begins to pound. The
music moves between a rocking verse and a more melancholy chorus, all well
written and performed. Lifeson’s solo is enigmatic, thoughtful and links a
sophisticated passage with a softer bridge perfectly. Lee’s bass playing is
technically challenging and…wonderful to the ear.
Rush
has always made intricate and complex music. The thing that sets this
sophistication apart is that it IS difficult, yet doesn’t challenge or
intimidate the listener’s enjoyment. That, my friends, is a real talent. The
band is sharp, the sound is fresh and made to be played LOUD, the vocals are
amazing and the musicianship of the group is impeccable. And the music is made
to be played LOUD.
Alex
Lifeson’s guitar work is simply astonishing. When other 70s era guitarists are
scaling back, becoming minimalist players, Lifeson is still showing a thirst to
explore his guitar and to make it do new things and speak in new languages.
Always an exceptional and underrated guitarist, Clockwork Angels is an
impeccable backdrop for him to underscore his virtuosity. Pert and Lee are also
showing evolutionary musicianship and Lee’s vocal range has broadened
considerably. This isn’t what normally happens when a band is creeping into its
sixties.
I have seen Rush four times and it has always impressed me that while their
albums are so amazing, what is really remarkable is that this three-piece group
can reproduce their sound live. These are superior musicians, easily virtuosos
at their instruments… and age hasn’t caught them. All three are still breaking
new ground in both composing and performing…thank god! This is truly an
astounding piece of work.
I’m giving this
incredible collection of music 4 Floggers (out of 4)
For those of you that enjoy dubstep and also 3D animation this is a pretty cool short video just figured I would share it before I forgot to share it :) hope you all enjoy and if you want to see the process of the renderings here is the website that you can go to http://www.fluxelmedia.com/fluxelmedia/projects/Dubstep_Dispute/Dubstep_Dispute.html
