Rush:Power Windows

Rush's "Power Windows" marks its 40th anniversary this year, and its examination of different forms of power resonates more strongly than ever in our complex world. This groundbreaking 1985 album showcases the band's evolution toward a synthesizer-rich sound while maintaining their trademark technical brilliance and thought-provoking lyrics.

Diving into this highly underrated gem from Rush's discography, we explore how each track examines a different manifestation of power. "Big Money" dissects economic influence, "Territories" critiques nationalism and tribalism, "Manhattan Project" provides a poetic account of nuclear development, and "Marathon" uses running as a metaphor for personal willpower and endurance. The album's title cleverly references both the luxury car feature of the era and the thematic window into various power dynamics that shape our lives.

What makes this album truly special is Neil Peart's lyrical brilliance. His sophisticated yet accessible writing creates a timeless quality that transcends the 1980s production. Though some Rush purists were initially resistant to the synthesizer-heavy direction, time has revealed the depth and prescience of these compositions. Learning that Peart crafted these profound lyrics at "a desk the size for a five-year-old" while researching historical events adds another layer of fascination to this conceptual masterpiece.

Whether you're a longtime Rush fan or discovering their music for the first time, "Power Windows" offers remarkable insights into human nature and social structures that remain strikingly relevant four decades later. Join us as we celebrate this anniversary by sharing our personal connections to these songs and exploring why they continue to resonate in an increasingly divided world. Which form of power speaks most directly to your experience?

Transcript

Introduction to Power Windows Album

Speaker 1 0:05

What is this? What is this? Where's all the money that's as good as money.

Speaker 2 0:10

sir, those are IOUs. Go ahead and add it up. Every cent's accounted for. Look, see this.

Speaker 1 0:18

That's a car, 275. Thou Might want to hang on to that one.

Speaker 2 0:30

All right, thank you for listening to the Greatest Non-Hits. I'm Chris, and playing an acoustic version of the second song on the Power Windows album by Rush Grand Designs is my co-host, tim. The Power Windows album by Rush Grand Designs is my co-host, tim, and the Power Windows is the 11th studio album from Rush and they began recording it in April of 85. We're at the end of April of 2025 when we are recording this and it's been 40 years and this is an interesting album, album I would say really underrated and kind of a divisive album really within Rush fans because it it represents to to some degree. Maybe the the album before it, grace Under Pressure, was kind of synth heavy, but this is a second, the second album in a row with a lot of synthesizers, whether relying on it a little bit more from a musical standpoint, but it's a great album and it's really relevant today. It's one of these timeless albums that has a lot of power windows. Think about the name of it. Power windows are, especially in 1985, your car had power windows. That was a cool thing at the time. People used to roll their windows up with a lever kind of a thing in a car, and all of the songs are about different types of power. You know money. There's territorial power, there's economic power, there's emotional power, there's willpower. They're represented in different songs and so we're going to listen to all of them today and, like we do always, at the end of it we're going to give our top three and we're really excited about it. And it's from the 80s. If you've been listening to the show, you'll notice we're taking a break from the format. We're beginning our fourth season now, and each season we've been doing a different decade, and we're going back to the 80s on this one, so we're kind of ditching the format just for this time. Maybe it'll become a trend, I don't know, but nevertheless, we thought it would be Well. To be honest with you, I wanted to do this album and Tim was happy with it, and the reason why is because I thought it was important.

Speaker 2 3:00

This is an album that has a lot of themes that I think are relevant today or in any time period. The writing is fantastic. Neil Peart, the drummer, is the lyricist for the band. As we all know, eminem. He passed away at the beginning of 2020. God rest his soul.

Speaker 2 3:23

But anyway, we're going to listen to his incredible lyrics and we're going to give our opinions. I mean, they're really clever because they're sophisticated're they're easy to understand. It's it's. They're fairly explicit, but sometimes some of the some of the lyrics are general enough to where you kind of know what he's talking about. But you can. You can interpret it the way you want to. It's open for your own interpretation and how you feel about it when you're listening to it and how it applies to your understanding of the world. And I think that that's what's uh makes it so personal to me and other rush song rush fans who love this album is, you know, when you're listening to it you can think, yeah, I see that now, whichever album or whichever song that you're listening to, and I thought I really knew this album a lot. But every time we do one of these podcasts I always learn something a little bit different and maybe I knew this back in the past.

Speaker 2 4:42

But one of the things that, just reading Wikipedia the album site Sound Studio in Elora, ontario I guess that's where they wrote and rehearsed the new songs after coming off of their Grace Under Pressure tour in 1984. So I guess he was in the studio's farmhouse while Geddy and Alex were working on the music and I guess he was on a small desk just writing down the lyrics, doing research which in quotations, it says about the right size for a five-year-old. So anyway, I can just imagine Neil Peart at a small desk writing lyrics for this. But anyway, there's a song called Manhattan Project. That's on this and it sort of, in a poetic form, provides a synopsis of the Manhattan Project. The developing of the bomb, you know, the one that they dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 45 and pretty intense, and if you've ever seen the movie Oppenheimer you know he eloquently provides the whole story behind it. You know the drama behind it. The race, you know, going out into the desert, out and I think it was like New Mexico, and with a bunch of other scientists all over the, you know, all over the United States and other parts of the world that convened there to develop it, and pretty, you know pretty heavy stuff and pretty far out. So anyway, that's one of the songs and we're going to listen to all of them, I think.

Speaker 2 6:47

Uh, coming into this, I think I already have my top three. Firmly, I mean, after listening to this, listening to this album, dozens at least, maybe even hundreds of times. Um, tim is a little bit newer to it, I think you know a couple of them resonated with him and, uh, there's a couple that I don't like and I've never really liked. I've tried to, but it's just, I don't know, can't win them all. I guess, without further ado, tim's going to join us. Tim, how's it going bud, oh, excellent Good. Kudos to Tim, he did grand designs. That was not bad. You like that synth part? Kudos to Tim, he did grand designs. That was not bad.

Speaker 3 7:27

Yeah, I heard you like that synth part. I found that song to be very agreeable with whatever came to mind to play. It's an open feel to it. The harmonics amazing.

Speaker 2 7:43

Yeah, you weren't even doing the guitar part, you were doing the synth part but you were doing with the.

Speaker 3 7:48

I was layering over the.

Speaker 2 7:50

That beginning.

Speaker 3 7:50

The rhythm and the synth was it's a very catchy synth, so I had to learn that first.

Speaker 2 7:56

Yeah, no, I liked it, it was good.

Speaker 3 7:59

It's always the synth that's going to have you remembering the song.

Speaker 2 8:04

Right, the very beginning of that song is catchy and I get it Starstruck. Yeah, exactly, it's great. Anything stand out for you on this album, anything that you wanted to.

Speaker 3 8:19

For Three Guys. They make a lot of coordinated, just you know it's like a train Composition. It's very coordinated and composed and fast.

Speaker 2 8:35

Yeah, for three musicians to get on the same page so accurately must be. They have to really know each other really well, and that's what I've always appreciated.

Speaker 3 8:45

Yes, it's really tight, yeah, really tight yeah.

Speaker 1 8:50

Excellent.

Speaker 3 8:51

And then this I love the whole concept of it, the power and the different types and the song. Really for him making music, that's a great way to do it to to lump it into categories and just to be out there about his message and yeah, and all the songs they're you know, taking part in, I guess, an industry that has a top-down structure, like at many other things, and uh, that's how they became established.

Speaker 2 9:25

It was, they're, they're not a radio friendly band. And uh, yeah, the some of the songs take a G. It will grand designs. Yeah, it makes a, takes a jab at it, yeah.

Speaker 3 9:38

Yeah, but uh yeah.

Speaker 2 9:42

Well, good man, it's good. Yeah, well, we're going to get into it. The first song is Big Money, and this is just about how money plays an influence on the whole world and how it goes around the world and how it is a force for good or bad and all that stuff.

Speaker 1 9:58

They go around again. They just go around and around.

Speaker 2 10:02

All right, yeah, that's a little.

Speaker 3 10:05

We're going around, all right, here we go, we're into it here, that's right.

Speaker 1 10:35

Oh, we're into it here. Soft money Shout out to George Carlin Soft money you take a penny, you give a penny, you take a penny from the tray.

Speaker 3 11:09

Oh oh, it makes sounds If a money falls in the woods. Does a money make a sound?

Speaker 1 11:30

It's our app, wow, wow.

Speaker 2 11:43

Throughout history it's sort of always been this way it has In terms of money power it calls the shots, it does Slappy bass, tasty wave. Slept to be ass.

Speaker 1 12:21

So much fucking money, 11, right you take a penny from them. Oh, I need some tasty ribs, cool buzz and. I'm fine, he's a fool on a television Tray From the crippled servant. No, that's the jar. I'm talking about the Trey. The pennies are for everybody. Oh for everybody. Yeah well, those are whole pennies, Right. I'm just talking about fractions of a penny. Shout out to Office.

Speaker 2 13:07

Space Shout out to Rod Roddy.

Speaker 1 13:11

It's the Mitsubishi Mirage four-door sedan with a clutch.

Speaker 3 13:16

And power windows. That's right. And power windows. Shout out to the guy that put the drill bit on the manual. Oh yeah, that's the redneck way, that's right, yeah.

Speaker 2 13:36

I grew up in a factory town. I probably went to high school with a few of their dads.

Speaker 3 13:40

Manual roll is great. Manual roll up, sure Manual transmission.

Speaker 1 13:45

In exchange for my core values.

Speaker 2 13:53

See this part like right here, like they're all soloing like at the same time. They do that all throughout this album, which is kind of cool.

Speaker 1 14:03

Wow.

Speaker 2 14:22

A lot of metaphors. It's good and bad.

Speaker 3 14:28

Right.

Speaker 2 14:33

It's got a heavy hand. There's the. There's the the release. There's the release.

Speaker 1 14:44

I'm not afraid anymore. Thank you, rock and roll yeah.

Speaker 2 15:02

This is probably the other biggest. Are we going to make this a hit? I mean, this was released as a single, and then Mystic Rhythms. The last song was also a single your call.

Speaker 3 15:14

From an outsider's view, it's not much of a hit. Yeah, no, yeah, I don't know?

Speaker 2 15:20

Yeah, no, it's in there, okay, so no hits on this.

Speaker 3 15:23

Okay, we're going. No hits, no, no hits on this.

Speaker 2 15:25

Okay, we're going no hits, no hits on this Rock and roll. It's a great song, I think.

Speaker 3 15:31

We're just cavemen. You know, we're just cavemen. Listening to music, it's just, it's just key.

Speaker 2 15:35

Rock your honor and yes, I'm ready.

Speaker 3 15:38

Thank you. Are you ready For number two?

Speaker 2 15:41

I am Grand Designs. Here it is. There's that riff you love.

Speaker 1 15:45

Simple lines intertwining.

Speaker 3 15:56

Neil Peart is amazing drummer. He is.

Speaker 2 16:04

How to keep time. That way, it's just like how does he time? That way, it's just like.

Speaker 3 16:09

It's a mad jungle man on drums. So much stuff, spring cleaning. Shout to the spring cleaners. That's right, the runners, the tea drinkers.

Speaker 2 16:23

Absolutely Get your earbuds in. Watch out for that car. Absolutely Get your earbuds in. Yeah, watch out for that car.

Speaker 3 16:29

Watch out for that yellow light. I love this. The precious metal, the rock, it's just key rock, it's great. Yeah, that's A lot of useless talk. Yeah, that's. I hope our listeners don't think that about us.

Speaker 2 16:51

We say all the time it's total useless talk, but that's what the listener comes in for it's the shapes, the forms, the lines, the intertwining, subtle lines, intertwining.

Speaker 3 17:03

That's what's called my love poem Swimming against the stream, yeah.

Speaker 2 17:26

This is a middle finger to the record industry. All these lyrics right here. Mass production scheme. Mass production scheme.

Speaker 1 17:41

A little taste Like a tinder drop in the ocean, a diamond in the waste.

Speaker 2 17:49

Not a diamond in the rough, a diamond in the waste. That's the.

Speaker 3 17:53

I almost thought it was diamond in the waves when I first listened to it.

Speaker 2 17:57

Yeah, you can't. It's diamond in the waste, but yeah, it does sound like that you can't tell the waste of processed.

Speaker 1 18:05

Process anything sold, bought or processed. Process anything sold, bought or processed. Or repair anything sold, bought or processed. You know it's a career. I don't want to do that.

Speaker 3 18:14

It should be a musician, john, that's right.

Speaker 2 18:20

Shout out to John Cusack.

Speaker 3 18:23

Say no, what is it?

Speaker 2 18:24

Say anything.

Speaker 3 18:25

Say anything.

Speaker 2 18:26

That's the one where he has the jam box.

Speaker 3 18:28

Yeah, he just wants to spend time with your daughter, sir. He's getting good at kickboxing, so don't be afraid. That's right. Just get in the ring, get knocked down around.

Speaker 2 18:52

Again, here's the soloing All three of them at the same time.

Speaker 3 18:57

I like the whammy bar. Yeah, a lot of whammy bar.

Speaker 2 19:04

Using it just subtly. The whammy bar is a microcosm of what they're doing using it just subtly.

Speaker 3 19:07

The way they are is a microcosm of what they're doing. They're taking the pitch and the tone of everything and throwing it through the ringer. That's right, oh.

Speaker 2 19:19

Yeah, I agree. What the fuck is he talking about? Oh, oh, you know, fuck is he talking about Uh-oh, uh-oh.

Speaker 3 19:29

You know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2 19:32

Yeah, exactly, yeah, that's. You tell him guy from office space.

Speaker 1 19:38

Fear and love. Fear is in the negative energy spectrum and love is in the negative energy spectrum and love is in the positive energy spectrum.

Speaker 3 19:51

Can't be that simple.

Speaker 1 19:53

Who the fuck is he talking about? Oh, oh.

Speaker 3 20:02

Oh, oh, oh. You know what I'm talking about. Oh.

Speaker 2 20:08

That's a great song.

Grand Designs: Critique of Music Industry

Speaker 3 20:12

The drum rolls afterwards. Right, it's like mini drum rolls. Oh, did you hear that?

Speaker 2 20:29

No, Did you hear that? Oh yeah, no, I mean yeah, slapped off. He did slap, it Slept a bit, all right. So that's song number two, side one. This next one is the Manhattan Project.

Speaker 3 20:54

I'm hoping to turn it into a weapon. I will kill you.

Speaker 1 21:05

All right oh all right.

Speaker 2 21:13

Oh, this is very unrush at this point in time in their career. The band some fans didn't like this. I liked it myself it, it's more sensitive yeah.

Speaker 1 21:30

It's a smart, smart lyric. They're in a race to yeah it's not a love song.

Speaker 3 21:51

It's a despair because of destruction of all things yeah, he remembers when it all began he was just a few, so frozen at that point in time. Oh, the scientist helped him. Yeah, ah, would you listen to the gibberish? They've got you saying it's sad and alarming, big stick winning trick.

Speaker 2 22:28

That's a reference to Euchre or spades, depending on. Euchre. Yeah, it's like a card game. In Michigan they play, I think in Canada too. Euchre, yeah, it's like, instead of spades, it's just like four tricks, four or five. Anyway, it's a play on words. Euchre, I've never heard it's a play on words Euchre?

Speaker 3 22:46

Yeah, I've never heard of it, I have, I just.

Speaker 2 22:51

It's old world stuff. It is. It's before the internet, you know. Just people used to play with like playing cards. Yeah, I think it's like the Ace of, or no, it's the Jack of Diamonds, jack of Hearts.

Speaker 3 23:03

I wonder if Rush has playing cards.

Speaker 2 23:07

Rush, no, it's the Jack at Dime, jack at Hearts. I wonder if Rush has playing cards. Rush playing cards, yeah, I mean, who'd be the ace?

Speaker 3 23:12

Probably Neil Peart. Yeah, maybe Shout out to Rush playing card brand that we don't know about. That exists. I have an idea. Take us up.

Speaker 2 23:23

Let's invent it. We can make it right now. Like Neil Peart will be the ace, geddy will be king. There will be a fight. Who would be? Yeah, all of that. Hey, geddy's mom will be the queen. I don't know Geddy's mom. I like that idea. They could be like some of the roadies lower down. There's some guys I've toured with for years. We're on to something I don't know. I'm a great good God.

Speaker 3 24:00

Gentlemen, your attention please Change forevermore.

Speaker 2 24:08

Evermore, we were talking over the most important part of the song the crescendo.

Speaker 3 24:13

Yeah, it was.

Speaker 2 24:17

Oh, this is cool. Well, yeah, they had a whole string section. I think this is why they went to five different studios One studio where they had a choir and then another one where they had a string section.

Speaker 3 24:32

I like that.

Speaker 1 24:36

They're expanding yeah.

Speaker 2 24:38

Shot down the rising sun. Japan Big Bang took and shook the world. They shot down Japan.

Speaker 3 24:44

Yeah that was messed up. Chain reaction was done.

Speaker 2 24:50

Big Shot's tried to hold it back. Watch Hobbit Highlander. They talk about a little bit of a cover-up or like a scapegoat. Big Bang took and shook the world.

Speaker 1 25:03

Shot down the rising sun. Shut down the rising sun. Hope will be there. I will. Whatever the hopeless may say, I will.

Speaker 2 25:28

Getting an attack on my laptop. See, this is all about. This is world politics coming full circle?

Speaker 3 25:35

here. I know I think they can't even podcast with a virus on our computer. Exactly, jesus, just throw these things out the window. Well, well.

Speaker 2 25:45

I'm hopeful. Yeah, even though it's hopeless.

Speaker 1 25:50

Okay, great song though, yeah.

Speaker 2 25:52

All right now. This is Marathon, Last song inside one.

Speaker 1 25:58

Hey, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.

Speaker 2 26:03

Shout out to the runners.

Speaker 3 26:07

It's not how fast, yeah, right.

Speaker 2 26:11

It's not about the distance, it's about getting out there, right, yeah and you know what, if you are training for a marathon as you're listening to this, you know just, it's not how fast you can go.

Speaker 1 26:24

It's not how fast you can go. The voice goes into the flow.

Speaker 2 26:27

Excuse me, flo, it's not how fast you can go.

Speaker 1 26:36

Excuse me, Flo. Oh, the chest of flash we're going streaky.

Speaker 3 27:16

He's really hitting that snare, isn't he? I cannot believe you've never heard Rush. Come on, we need more Rush fans out there.

Speaker 2 27:23

Let's go, keep your pace up. Runners, you can do it. This is about willpower. You know, songs are about different types of power. Yeah, keep going. You gotta keep doing it, you can do it.

Speaker 3 27:37

Don't forget to eat something that's right.

Speaker 2 27:42

And those gels are bullshit, right yeah, you don't need that.

Speaker 3 27:48

You don't need all that sugar, just some protein. Get some garbanzo beans in your pocket, some ground beef, if you're into that.

Speaker 2 27:58

I yeah the gels, I don't know, but maybe like in a marathon.

Speaker 1 28:02

You can miss a stride.

Speaker 3 28:03

You just hydrate. Wait, there's Streak of Lightning.

Speaker 1 28:12

Good streaking.

Speaker 3 28:15

After you win, you gotta win first.

Speaker 1 28:32

Whoa.

Speaker 3 28:32

Fire it, let's go, that's right.

Speaker 1 28:34

Oh wait, just a minute. Good streaky, yes, like a streak of lightning, good streaking In the summer sky.

Speaker 3 28:51

Oh, I like this part, that's right.

Speaker 1 28:59

The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.

Speaker 3 29:07

Is that like a lifetime moment? That's right. Shout out to Kramer and Brooks. That's right, Kramer and Brooks. Yeah.

Speaker 2 29:22

You just can't burn out too fast. That's why you got to pace yourself. You just can't burn out too fast.

Speaker 1 29:32

That's why you gotta pace yourself. Then you and the gals can take a load off and watch something on Lifetime.

Speaker 3 29:45

I love this solo. I do too. It sounds a bit like the Toto guitarist A little Lukather yeah, Lukather, yeah it does.

Speaker 2 29:58

I thought I read somewhere that Alex didn't like this song, Like didn't work for him or something. I don't know what.

Speaker 1 30:08

Well, you can do a lot in a lifetime. If you don't burn out too fast, you can make the most of the distance.

Speaker 3 30:22

This is great. Marathon is good.

Speaker 1 30:28

It's hitting for me.

Speaker 3 30:29

This one's growing on me, okay, yeah.

Speaker 1 30:34

What is it all about?

Speaker 3 30:39

That's a good question. Yeah, this choir part was.

Speaker 1 30:47

Something always fires that light.

Manhattan Project: The Power of Destruction

Speaker 2 30:50

I think this is done by Someone who's a big deal, I think, and glory rose on by Like a streak of lightning. The fudges are in place in the summer sky. I gotta look this up. It's bugging me. It's like a 25-person choir and somebody and something From England.

Speaker 1 31:21

Somewhere.

Speaker 2 31:23

Damn it. I had it earlier. I don't know. You gotta look it up. The guy of the album is neil cunningham. You're gonna say something.

Speaker 3 31:37

I'm sorry oh, I, you know. I don't know what it's about, neither does Mr Lundegaard. Okay, nobody knows.

Speaker 2 31:49

That's a Fargo reference. Yeah, the salesman.

Speaker 1 31:52

What is?

Speaker 3 31:54

it all about. Oh yeah, that's next. I'm jumping the gun, that's right, you know, I need to just Wait, just a minute.

Speaker 2 32:08

Okay, this is Territories. This is just about like politics. Middle Earth, shit yeah well just like global stuff, like us versus them, whether it's global, or just like sports gators versus the seminoles, ohio state versus michigan I'll just trivial lines. Okay, yeah, or yeah, capitalism versus communism, socialism yeah, there's some socialism in there. Orism versus socialism. That's the equivalent you need Democracy versus fascism.

Speaker 3 32:55

Capitalism without socialism Is fascism. Socialism without capitalism Is communism. You need both. You need a little bit of both, in my opinion. Slap of the, slap of the bongo the ones we know and love yeah, no snare on this. Yeah, but the bongos are crushing. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. That's good. Where was that from? That's here on Marathon actually. Oh, okay.

Speaker 2 33:46

Nice, it's a Chinese project. Oh, that's actually. Oh, okay, nice Chinese crowd.

Speaker 1 33:48

Oh, that's right.

Speaker 3 33:49

Yeah right.

Speaker 2 33:52

Got it right there.

Speaker 3 34:08

Why are we?

Speaker 2 34:09

feeding.

Speaker 1 34:09

The machine Don't feed the people, but we feed the machines.

Speaker 2 34:18

So the word indifferent versus the two words indifferent or indifferent. The one word, the one word, indifferent circles. We keep spinning around.

Speaker 1 34:29

They go around again.

Speaker 2 34:31

We see so many tribes over and under mine.

Speaker 1 34:37

While they're invader's dream of lands they left behind.

Speaker 2 34:46

Better food.

Speaker 3 34:48

Better beer, better beer, yeah.

Speaker 1 34:51

We're just going around and around.

Speaker 2 35:01

Yeah, protectionism, no need to go around, we're exceptional where we're at.

Speaker 3 35:15

Yeah, I like the pacing Quasi-evil. Oh, I love that. We're the citizens damn it yeah.

Speaker 1 35:39

Oh, that's super nice.

Speaker 3 35:43

Shout out to the machine marathon runners in Shanghai. Yeah, yeah, shout out to the cy marathon runners in Shanghai.

Speaker 2 35:48

Yeah, yeah, shout out to the cyborgs over there, yeah.

Speaker 3 35:55

Who are Boston Dynamics?

Speaker 2 35:56

You can suck it hey listen, man, don't piss them off. All right, they're going to be our supervisors in two years.

Speaker 3 36:04

The Boston Robot Company. Chill, chill, okay, just chill.

Speaker 1 36:15

Sell anything, buy anything.

Speaker 2 36:18

Chris, your numbers are down from last quarter. Is everything okay at home?

Speaker 1 36:23

Or a change of accent or the color of your shirt, better the pride that resides in a citizen of the world.

Speaker 3 36:36

Be a citizen of the world In a citizen of the world.

Speaker 2 36:42

Then the pride that divides when a colorful rag is unfurled.

Speaker 3 36:48

Trivial territorialism.

Speaker 2 37:08

This is good. Yeah, the whole wide world is an endless universe. You can look at a telescope, see further out, or you can turn around backwards and just get stuck in the smallest stupid bullshit.

Speaker 3 37:23

The mitochondria For 500. Yeah, powerhouse in the cell Ascelia Silica Is it.

Speaker 2 37:39

Is it a Toyota, mitsubishi Celica?

Speaker 1 37:41

It's the Mitsubishi Mirage four-door sedan.

Speaker 3 37:43

It's a Mirage, it's all a Mirage. It isdoor sedan, it's a Mirage, it's all a Mirage, it is, it's a Mirage. My sister had a Mitsubishi Mirage. I smacked that thing up bad. I tell ya, I smacked it up real good, you okay. No, this is the car that took the brunt.

Speaker 2 38:06

It's not a real stable car, is it? No, maybe you were feeding the machine something, was it the gas? Maybe you gotta go with the mid-grade, at least on a Mirage. It's not good for snow days. I'll just say that.

Speaker 3 38:20

It's not a good snow day. Car A little spin-out, definitely Alright. This is song two on side two Middletown A little spin-out.

Speaker 2 38:26

Definitely All right. This is song two on side two, Middletown Dreams. The office door is going to close a little early and this guy's going to do some drinking. You've got to remember this is, this is in the 80s. Oh, Salesman Turned to close the blinds.

Speaker 3 39:04

Is he drinking a stout or is he just stout? I think he's he a stout or is he just stout. I think he's stout himself. Shout out to the stout drinkers yeah, don't do it on office time.

Speaker 2 39:27

Because he's got big dreams, but he's stuck in the office. It's a dream. Shout out to the Heartland, shout out to you salesmen in the Heartland for desires driving. When you're down, at least bring out the hidden bottle after store hours, yeah.

Speaker 3 39:54

Go to the park and bring some old bread Feed the ducks. Yeah, it's a dream.

Speaker 1 40:04

It's only a dream.

Speaker 2 40:22

He'd be climbing on that bus. That's a weird dream that sounds depressing For the rocks. I do like the music, I just don't like the lyrics.

Speaker 3 40:44

Again, really good punchy guitar rhythm here and a synthy hook yeah shout out we haven't talked about Peter Collins.

Speaker 2 40:59

He's the producer. I'm sure he had a lot to do with this too.

Speaker 3 41:20

Love that. Hold on to the dream.

Marathon: Willpower and Endurance

Speaker 2 41:35

That was a nice little mini solo. Yeah, there's a criticism of it. They should have had more parts for Alex Because his guitar playing is probably peaking right after moving pictures and signals. It's only like two or three years after that.

Speaker 3 42:05

It's not unpleasant in your little town either. Alright, you got. Grass is greener. Syndrome, with your little dream of selling your gadget spinner worldwide Instead of being a salesman for fire and flood? Yeah.

Speaker 2 42:32

I know what you said.

Speaker 3 42:33

It can be a little dream, it can be a big dream.

Speaker 1 42:35

Yeah, dreams transport the ones who need to get out of town.

Speaker 2 42:56

Slept to BS.

Speaker 3 42:59

There's a lot of flow here at the end.

Speaker 1 43:01

Excuse me flow.

Speaker 2 43:02

Yeah, they dream in the town. Excuse me, flo, yeah, now, sometime. It's weird. This is a song that hits with me sometimes, and other times it's just like that. But I mean just focusing on the music.

Speaker 2 43:24

I'm digging it All right, all right. So I mean I'm digging it All right, all right. So I mean, I don't know, decide to well, it's hit and miss. For me, this is Emotion Detector. This is the only song that they've ever played live on this album. I should say there are other songs, it's a non-starter for even the band yeah yeah, I bet you there are some parts in this.

Speaker 2 43:51

They said this is difficult to record. This is probably a difficult song to play. Yeah, I'm sure all of their songs are super hard to play, but maybe this is.

Speaker 3 44:03

I think Life wasn't sold on this one. I think I read as well.

Speaker 1 44:12

I'm in a glass case of emotion.

Speaker 2 44:16

Yeah, maybe he was in a glass case of emotion. This kind of has a Top Gun kind of sound, didn't it? It does, doesn't that sound kind of Top Gun-y at the beginning?

Speaker 3 44:33

Yeah, Very Top Gun-y.

Speaker 2 44:40

I think the Top Gun came out in 1985. I guess they're trying to sound contemporary at the time.

Speaker 1 44:53

We expose our insecure spots. Trust is just as rare as devotion.

Speaker 3 44:59

Say that again Be silly, darling.

Speaker 1 45:00

Trust is just as rare as devotion. Say that again. Give us our simple thoughts. Say it, darling.

Speaker 3 45:06

Not pretend to be All work. No play.

Speaker 1 45:08

We must do ourselves right open. Start acting like a fool If we need too much approval.

Speaker 2 45:16

I think Jack Nicholson just needed a little bit too much approval.

Speaker 1 45:20

Then the cuts can seem to grow. I think Jack Nicholson just needed a little bit too much approval.

Speaker 3 45:48

You gotta feel your emotions.

Speaker 2 45:50

Right like after the wall comes down. You know, like when you're Usually when you're in relationships, there's a wall there. When that wall gets broken, that's when you know there's the weakness. It's a weakness when you're with people that you can't trust. If you can break yourself down, leave yourself vulnerable to those who you can trust, it becomes a strength.

Speaker 3 46:18

Put a couple sticks and some chewing gum over that wall of previous emotion and just continue. Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1 46:34

What the fuck is he talking about?

Speaker 2 46:38

I don't know. Both of us are talking out of our asses right now. I'm trying to. I'm not Neil Peart, we're running high here.

Speaker 3 46:46

Yeah, getting far out, man Getting far out, this is far this is far.

Speaker 2 47:00

I think they're going to start rocking out pretty soon, like the tempo is going to go up and it's going to get really frantic. All right, here it is.

Speaker 3 47:12

There's like four on the floor right here.

Speaker 2 47:19

They're all soloing Except Neil, but you know he's gonna do something cool, you just gotta wait for it. This is one of the best guitar solos on this album.

Speaker 3 47:50

I think Might be successful. Ah, no damn. It is good, it sucks. I don't like the first part of the song, I know.

Speaker 1 47:57

Right to the heart of the matter.

Speaker 3 48:00

I mean, it is a good song as a whole.

Speaker 1 48:18

I'm in a glass case of emotion.

Speaker 3 48:38

Sometimes our big splashes are just ripples in the pool. Huh, so maybe it's not that big a deal, the pool? Huh, so maybe it's not that big a deal, right? Right, that's interesting.

Speaker 2 48:46

Be cool. The blue angels like doing a thing to that song. Oh that top top gun yeah. I gotcha had to say something for commission yeah you should Got some connections over this.

Speaker 3 49:04

Call the angels.

Speaker 2 49:08

Shout out to Vince next door. Maybe I'll put in a word to him. Yeah, he knows him. I think he knows him. All right, this is the last song. It's the Mystic Rhythms. This was a song that had a lot of airplay on MTV.

Speaker 1 49:35

I can see that, yeah, at the time I think about, when I look far away, things I know, things I wonder.

Speaker 2 49:56

Things. I'd like to say it's very, it's like Nagelel.

Speaker 3 50:03

It's like boiling over.

Speaker 2 50:04

You'll need to unlock your iPad first.

Speaker 3 50:08

What was that?

Territories: Global Politics and Division

Speaker 2 50:09

The machines are taking over I know, You'll need to turn on location services for that. Want to turn it on. Just that's hilarious. That was a mystic rhythm right there.

Speaker 3 50:39

Open the pod bay doors Hal.

Speaker 2 50:44

I'm sorry, tim, I cannot do that.

Speaker 3 50:55

Good drum and bass.

Speaker 2 50:59

I like how it goes to the acoustic. A part of me was thinking that you were going to do this song Because it's kind of like. It's kind of like this easy pace to it. But you went for grand designs, I appreciate that. Yeah, that was ambitious. Alright, do it over. So I went for grand designs, I appreciate that, yeah, that was ambitious.

Speaker 3 51:23

All right, do it over so I can do this song. I'll learn this song on its own. I think it would be a good jumping point for another jam, my own composer.

Speaker 2 51:41

You made the right call. Grand Designs was perfect. So this is like supernatural power, the powers of the unknown.

Speaker 1 52:04

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh. You know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 3 52:31

Oh, whoa, what was that? Oh, this is the coolest part of the song. All right, damn, it's like Phil Collins-y Very.

Speaker 2 52:51

Peter Collins is our producer. He's like the deuce. Yeah, bon Jovi, queensryche Suicidal tendencies. Oh, this guy has a wide range.

Speaker 1 53:33

Really splat, james Jimbo.

Speaker 2 53:33

Simple lines intertwining. There are a lot of simple lines intertwining. Yeah, jimbo Barton's Engineer, still a lot of sound Getting that all right.

Speaker 3 53:51

The length is 44 minutes and 44 seconds. It's pretty tight, it's good stuff.

Speaker 2 53:56

What does it mean? What does it mean?

Speaker 3 54:00

What does it mean?

Speaker 2 54:05

All right, yeah. So what'd you think, man?

Speaker 3 54:08

Wild.

Speaker 2 54:09

Wild stuff, all right. Well, it's time for the top three. What are we looking at for you? What's your top three?

Speaker 3 54:17

You can take some time if you need to. Yeah, I honestly that one made an impression. Um, I think I'm going to go. Territories Number three Good call, yeah, I like its message. It had a uh Howard's in feel to it. You know, anti. You know one world, but only if we're sovereign as individuals. Right, and we be you know one world organization, and if we're not that then we can't be taking part. You know perfect our own country.

Speaker 2 55:06

Yeah.

Speaker 3 55:07

Work out from there. I don't know. No, that's, that's exactly it, something like that.

Speaker 1 55:12

Like if we can just get past the pettiness of our differences.

Speaker 2 55:16

We all need to work together to you know, explore beyond you. You know, in different circles we keep holding our ground and then in different circles, we're in different. We just keep spinning round and round. So if we're separated, we just hold our ground, we don't go anywhere. If we're indifferent in in different circles, then we're just not going anywhere either yeah good, what's your number three?

Speaker 2 55:42

yeah, my number three in different circles, then we're just not going anywhere either. Yeah, good, what's your number three? Yeah, my number three is going to be Grand Designs. Nice, I like the music. It's not really so much. I mean, it's not even their best song about a middle finger to the record industry. They've got a couple that are even better than that, but I like the music. A middle finger to the record industry Right, you know they've got a couple that are even better than that, but, um, I, I like the music. It's kind of interesting and cool and it. I like how it. You know the. They have different, uh, the. The pace and the tone changes from time to time. So that's going to be my number three.

Speaker 3 56:16

Which one had the orchestra, the symphony, Marathon. Was that Marathon? Definitely a good song, but I mean, this is tough. I did like Middletown Dreams, but I don't know if it's on. It's up there. I'm going to go with the big money.

Speaker 1 56:47

It's good, it's amazing.

Speaker 3 56:49

The big money was just a fire starter, ready to go yeah.

Speaker 2 56:55

It's pretty simple. It's just big money. Does this big money? Is this big money is this? It's just, it's just big money. Does this big money? Is this big money? Is this? And it just didn't the the it's not all bad, you know there's some good. It does this, but it, you know, big money makes mistakes. Big money does a power. Good has a heavy hand, has no soul. You know, I'm going to not my number two is going to like big money's a hit for me, so I'm just going to exclude. I just think it's a. I just that mystic rhythms are great songs, but they just they should be out for me, I think. But number I, number two is Manhattan project. It's nice.

Final Songs and Top Three Rankings

Speaker 2 57:35

I like the, the the lyrics are, and I saw the movie Oppenheimer and I know the story pretty well and just the way that Neil Peart thoroughly researched it 40 years ago, because we're 40 years on the anniversary of this album. He's looking back at that event, 40 years in the past from when he wrote it, and I think that that speaks to how timeless it is and how, how poetic he summarized the story of it, how cleverly he, you know, constructed it and how the music builds up and comes back down and it's got like an airplane kind of a thing to it in the beginning. So I think it's a great song. So that's my number two.

Speaker 3 58:21

Excellent, excellent.

Speaker 1 58:23

Okay.

Speaker 3 58:28

I mean I, I for me, I mystic rhythms, yeah, it's, it's. They saved, you know, a really good song for last and I appreciate that on the album and it does kind of change it up. It's it's got like more of international feel, in my opinion. Um, yeah.

Speaker 2 58:53

Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's slow, it's uh sometimes the slower songs sink on me.

Speaker 3 59:00

Yeah, yeah, no interesting sounds. Yeah, yeah, no interesting sounds yeah.

Speaker 2 59:02

Subtle lines intertwining kind of thing. It's gold. It is gold it is a great song and it might be up there for me if but I, I, I, I. They played it on MTV all the time. It just feels and seems like kind of like a hit or it should be at least in the context of this album, and so in the spirit of it. My number one is going to be territories.

Speaker 3 59:25

Nice Because it's?

Speaker 2 59:29

it's hitting me right now. It feels like in I guess. I mean we're here in the United States and it just feels like we're in the precipice of a completely different world order and nobody knows where this is going. I guess we kind of know where all this is going, but there's a lot of division. I mean, there's a lot of unity in some circles, but there's disunity in others.

Speaker 3 59:57

Disunity and others and um well, disunity is pegged up to be think it's you know. I think we're more united than some some of the news likes to portray. I don't know no, totally no no, no, yeah, that's the thing. That's on the local level, yeah.

Speaker 2 1:00:14

Right, right, but then there were like big money though that I mean maybe this is. Maybe this is a song for like big money and territories are sort of like intertwined yeah they're.

Speaker 2 1:00:22

They're sort of together and there are forces that are out there to divide us, you know, and um, I think you know that's sort of like a theme of the album and that's why it's hitting me with with me and a lot of people right now is that this is, you know, this was made 40 years ago and yet it's for me, this is very relevant and these songs, I listen to it and I think, oh, wow, this is, this can be, this is very applicable to you know, what's going on today, and he, when he was looking back 40 years ago, he was, he was doing the same thing. I'm talking with neil pierre when he's writing the lyrics, so that's that's why it hits for me, so it's's a non-hit number one for me. I guess that puts a bow on it.

Speaker 2 1:01:03

Yeah solid album. Yeah, it really was All good, all right so any last thoughts?

Speaker 3 1:01:09

Rock on, all right, slap the bass Get out there.

Speaker 2 1:01:12

All right, that's it for us, woo.