April 1 - 2112

Today marks the 40th anniversary of an album that if it didn't change my life, it certainly significantly enhanced it. Somewhere in the mid-80s - probably right in 84-85, the year I have talked about at great length before - Heavyrockmagasinet, my favorite radio show, did a special on Rush. The hosts were huge Rush fans, and it didn't take me long to get converted, thanks to Jan Are and his brother Leif Ove. This was around the time of Power Windows, which Jan Are really liked and I never got quite into. I remember Jan Are and I walking to his house talking about the fact that there was going to be a Rush special - and after listening to it, I think both of us were very excited about raiding Leif Ove's collection to find a Rush album or two.

The album that I first really connected to was their massive breakthrough album 2112, which was released April 1, 1976 - 40 years ago today. The first side of the album was a suite called 2112, and it told the story of a society led by some mystical priests where music is outlawed - but the protagonist of the story finds a guitar and starts playing it. He brings it to the priests of the temple of Syrinx, who promptly shuts him down. That's the nutshell version. The music is mainly written by bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson, with lyrics by drummer Neil Peart. The story is inspired by the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, and Rush thus took me into exploring objectivism, which was Ayn Rand's philosophy. I will say that while I was intrigued by the focus on individualism and following your own thoughts and ideals, I quickly became disenchanted with the cold disregard for others she espoused.

When I later, in a philosophy course I took, once again was introduced to Ayn Rand, I finally saw the hypocrisy she displayed. We looked at a couple of her philosophical tenets, and then we watched the movie The Fountainhead, which she also worked on, including writing the script. I found it very disconcerting that she, in a movie talking about individualism, allowed for very classical poses - poses that were anything but original or individual. Cary Grant was cast as Howard Roark, once again a safe choice, and very little in terms of originality and individualism. It was hypocritical to me that a movie about individualism and originality gave in to all the tropes making it suitable for mass consumption, and I have had a strong dislike of Ayn Rand ever since.

Anyway, back to Rush. When they went in the studio to record the album, the record company was very set on one thing: No epic suites. On Fly By Night, their second album, they had started working on longer pieces with By-Tor and the Snow Dog, and their third album, Caress of Steel had two epics: The Necromancer, which closed out side A, and The Fountain of Lamneth, which comprised the entirety of Side B. While Rush did receive some airplay especially after their debut album, their records kept on tanking, and the record company thought that shorter songs that really could be played on the radio was the solution. Looking at it now, I really love the attitude they must have had, deciding to write an epic and to say that this is who we are and what we want to do - thus really letting their artistic vision trump any record company desire for increased sales.

The beauty of it all is that their artistic vision did lead to increased sales. Not right away, but gradually. It became their first Billboard top 100 album, peaking at #61, and it was certified gold in 1977. By 2011, it had sold more than 3,000,000 copies in the US alone, which certified it to triple platinum status. I cannot help myself, and I am giddy with excitement for it, but I just have to play 2112 in its entirety today. It is a good day for some serious Rush!