• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

RUSH the band- are they atheists ??

Status
Not open for further replies.
SwitchGear

SwitchGear

Mar 23, 2005
2,952
1,492
Sunny Beach
#1
Caught a Rush concert at Milwaukee on the 4th of July, a great show. But a new song they played (BU2B) contained lyrics that has since pushed me to research their spiritual leanings. Ive read writings from their lyricist-drummer Neal Peart saying he is a "linear agnostic", and seems to be a basher of anything Christian or religious for that matter.
 
#3
Rush is a band that over the years has been fanatical in keeping their private lives private. As a matter of fact I don't think I've ever seen pictures of their families in all the years I've been following them! As far as their religious belief (or lack thereof) goes, what they believe is their business. I love them for their music, not for what they believe in.

Sorry for being brutally honest, but that's how I feel about them.
 
#4
I ask...does it matter to you? Do you dislike their music as a result? Or them personally? Like I know people who stopped liking Beck when they found out he is a Scientologist. Thing is, he always was one...but somehow their perception of his work was sullied as a result of this news. And I think that is rucking fetarded.
 
#5
LAG said:
Caught a Rush concert at Milwaukee on the 4th of July, a great show. But a new song they played (BU2B) contained lyrics that has since pushed me to research their spiritual leanings. Ive read writings from their lyricist-drummer Neal Peart saying he is a "linear agnostic", and seems to be a basher of anything Christian or religious for that matter.
Click to expand...

edit: [DEL]Let me guess, you dislike anything remotely close to atheism?[/DEL]

Do you know what agnostic is? I don't ask to insult you, but I am curious as to if you know what true agnostics believe.
 
#6
hover said:
I ask...does it matter to you? Do you dislike their music as a result? Or them personally? Like I know people who stopped liking Beck when they found out he is a Scientologist. Thing is, he always was one...but somehow their perception of his work was sullied as a result of this news. And I think that is rucking fetarded.
Click to expand...
It's the kind of information that can make you more critical of lyrics. And maybe people don't like listening to lyrics they don't agree with or are inspired by things they don't agree with. Knowing the faith of a person whose words you're listening to is important.
 
#8
Hear what yer sayin man, I do. But if a song was fine for you one minute, and you're singing along, and then all of a sudden...I just think it's ridiculous. One thing about art is it can mean one thing to the artist, and quite another to the listener. Unless it's obvious, I'd rather not have it spelled out for me.

You MEAN BY TOR AND THE SNOW DOG ISN'T ABOUT THE LAST SUPPER? DANG!

Seriously I am kidding around, but I'm curious about the OP's feelings and why.
 
#10
Well, Neil Peart is a big follower of Ayn Rand who borrowed a lot of ideas from existentialism. Now, there have been a very few religious existentialists, but there's a good reason there have been very few. It's hard to fit the ideas of objectivism or existentialism around the ideas of any religion. The guys in Rush are and have always been very quiet about their personel lives, so beyond analyzing their lyrics and making educated guesses we'll never really know.

I'll just say this, go look at the lyrics to Anthem.
 
#11
You can read Neil's feelings on the subject of religion, and a lot of his own personal philosophy, in Ghost Rider. It's an excellent read. For a Christian, it was interesting to watch, through Neil's own eyes, God repeatedly reaching out to him, and Neil rejecting Him.

Having said that, yeah, they're either atheist or agnostic. Some songs, like "Faithless," push it more than others, but you can see a skepticism if not outright disdain for religion as far back as 2112. I just skip past the tunes that bother me and enjoy the rest of them; there's plenty of material in their catalog to choose from, and I don't see a reason to chuck my copy of Signals out because I don't like or agree with the sentiments spelled out on later albums.
 
#14
Neil basically rejects God according to his writings and lyrics, and he is communicating that in Rush songs in a subtle way. One man's view of things.

But yeah, Rush is a gifted, hard working band with immense creativity and musicianship light years beyond almost every other rock band actively touring. I still dig them.

Thanks for the reply, folks.

The End.
 
#15
The Last Rebel said:
Well, Neil Peart is a big follower of Ayn Rand who borrowed a lot of ideas from existentialism. Now, there have been a very few religious existentialists, but there's a good reason there have been very few. It's hard to fit the ideas of objectivism or existentialism around the ideas of any religion. The guys in Rush are and have always been very quiet about their personel lives, so beyond analyzing their lyrics and making educated guesses we'll never really know.

I'll just say this, go look at the lyrics to Anthem.
Click to expand...

Dont want to thread jack but kind of interested in existentialism, any suggestions on books?
 
#18
basstotheface said:
Dont want to thread jack but kind of interested in existentialism, any suggestions on books?
Click to expand...

Check out some stuff Dostoevsky has written, The Brothers Karamazov is a good place to start. You have to read and find the characters in his novels that eximplify existentialist ideals, he doesn't just hand it over to you.

IconBasser said:
The Stranger by Albert Camus is a rather famous novel by a rather famous existentialist. While it's not a treatise concisely outlining the philosophy, one can discern the main points by reading and analyzing the book.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and I'll add that almost anything by Camus is great for that purpose.
 
#20
MakiSupaStar said:
I like music from people of all different kinds of religious denomination (or lack of), and not only does it fail to have an influence over my own religious beliefs (or lack of), but it fails to play a part on whether or not I like their music. Good music is good music no matter whose performing it.
Click to expand...

I agree with this up to a point - I will listen to music made my anyone with any beliefs, but I don't listen to music which actively pushes a religious message, for example Christian bands who write songs praising God, Jesus, etc.

The lyrics clash with my beliefs, so I don't listen. It's the same as me not listening to bands who write songs with racist messages - I don't agree with it, so I don't listen to it. There are plenty of other bands out there to listen to instead.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back