RIP Neil Peart

[Pete]

Gone at 67. He'd been battling brain cancer for several years.

No fucking words.

[DEAN]

No fucking way.

[clintthecrippler]

 

 

[Curt McGirt]

This is all I can say right now.

[Matt D]

I don't feel like saying much. Rush was probably the first band I cared about. I was a drummer in High School in the late 90s and it was sort of a rule: if you were a drummer at the school, Rush was your favorite band. It was that simple. It was a rule.

[Cliff Hanger]

My relationship with Rush is weird.  Much like XTC, their last radio hit ("Bravado") was the first time I knew who they were, but I know now that I had heard a lot of their stuff thru osmosis without really knowing who they WERE.  Then, my first college roommate in 95-96 was a HUGE Rush nerd.  He had a great stereo and would just blast Farewell to Kings, Moving Pictures, 2112, Show of Hands and the first 3 tracks of Roll the Bones (after which he skipped to Pink Floyd or the Beatles) over and over.  We didn't get along very well, but his music tastes left an impression on me and I was there day 1 for Test For Echo (which I maintain is hugely underrated).  I've run hot and cold on whether I actually enjoy their music over time (fairly hot lately) but I've always admired them a lot.  Neil clearly had an incredibly hard life, and it's kind of amazing that he managed to keep going.  

[odessasteps]

Today, the electronic billboard at the MD/PA border had a “farewell to the king” Neil Peart as one of its signs. 
 

edit: twitter tells me people saw them all over the Philadelphia media market. 

Edited January 14, 2020 by odessasteps

[Death From Above]

 

[John E. Dynamite]

3 hours ago, Death From Above said:

 

I can't believe how much of that routine I remember - and how much of it I could never hit. Switching hands on those cymbals never came naturally to me. He really went out of his way to make sure no measure was the same, but still managed to sound locked in. In lesser hands, his fills would sound needless and showy. But Rush were always so earnest, even in their more muscular moments. 

Bands like Rush are really important for the brains of 15 year old boys. Lyrics about tree politics, black holes, tide pools and science fiction motor crimes + odd time signatures are a lot healthier for developing minds than endless pentatonic duh-nuh-nuh-ing about how a woman done you wrong. Thanks forever, Neil.

Edited January 14, 2020 by John E. Dynamite

[J.T.]

RIP Neil.

[OSJ]

He may not have been the world's greatest drummer, hell, he may not have even been the greatest drummer from Canada, but he WAS Canada's drummer if you catch my meaning and I'm so grateful that you guys let us down here in the lower forty-eight let us borrow him from time to time so could be North America's drummer.