BrightestYoungThings: BYT Favorite Song of the Day: Rush

Hm, I really should do an entire I Love Rush post like the Ween, Weird Al, and Steely Dan ones. I've had Moving Pictures on tape since I was in the 4th grade and in high school there was a point where Rush was the only thing that mattered to me. 1978's Hemispheres is often overshadowed by the earlier hit record 2112 and the later early 80s masterpieces, but I think it may hold the title for the proggiest of the entire catalog. Everything you could ask for is here - from multi-movement song structures to science fiction themes to continuations of songs from previous albums. Then there is Rush's first (of many) instrumental pieces, the 9 and a half minute La Villa Strangiato. I distinctly remember playing it in the car for my dad on a road trip sometime during my early high school years and asking him earnestly "why don't any bands nowadays make music this good?", he shrugged. It's the ultimate Alex Lifeson air guitar cream dream, with plenty of bass solos and drum fills to work your other air instrument muscles. And just when you thought Rush took themselves too seriously, they add a winking parentheses after the song title: An Exercise in Self-Indulgence.

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bad ass