Chicago > Rush

It was Family Weekend, so EIU got a band to come and serenade us. Last year it was Kool and the Gang, and I contemplated going, because they're pretty cool (yes, I went there), but in the end, I did other things. This year, though, Chicago came, and the day before the concert, I broke down and bought a ticket; it's my senior year, so I may as well have some fun.

Perhaps I'm too used to Rush concerts; without someone smoking a joint behind me and someone else drinking next to me, it just doesn't feel like a concert. I suppose people can't get inebriated at a college concert, but still, it just wasn't the same. I didn't feel too out of place, though; I knew most of the songs (I was disappointed that they didn't play "Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?") and I got up and sang along at some points. It was weird going to a concert by myself, though, especially with this entire family sitting next to me.
In sum, I would prefer Rush, but I don't think EIU could afford them. If they ever do, I'll stop by.
~Sushi

High Water

Yesterday, Spock and I made the long trek to the Charter One Pavilion in Chicago, in order to see Rush. During the earlier part of the week, I meticulously planned out exactly how we were to get there, to the point of separating the money we needed into baggies. _{I shit you not.} We arrived at the pavilion about an hour early, to a torrential downpour that appeared nowhere in the weather forecast. After having our tickets checked at the gate, we were given ponchos, which was awesome. What wasn't so awesome was that everything in my purse, including our tickets and directions home, was soaked. And continued to be soaked as I had to pull the tickets out time and again to prove that we truly were in the venue legitimately.
After navigating through the drunks, stoners, swag-hawkers, and other assorted Rushians, we made it to our seats. From there, we watched as the rain cut through the crowd like rusty scissors as we huddled under our complimentary ponchos. We could clearly see the stage, and watched as someone who appeared to be Geddy Lee popped onto the stage, and then ducked under a curtain which presumably led to the backstage area. A half-hour after the concert was supposed to begin, a random guy came up on stage and told us that our beloved Rush was rained out. And we were pissed. Spock, who is always calm, was calm, but me... well, I swore up a storm with the rest of the Rushians. And we wished it was a joke, but it wasn't. We were to check our e-mail for messages from Live Nation. And this funny thing happened. The only thing I got from them was a link to fill out a survey about how much I loved the concert. Spock had to pull me away from the keyboard before I released an acidic tirade of angry fanatic bile. Our tickets said 'Rain or Shine', and I was livid about the venue going back on their end of the bargain. At least, I was until I understood what actually happened. I settled down after learning that our heroes may have been electrocuted if they had played for us. The only thing I wish had happened differently was if one of the guys told us, instead of some random dude. Mama Bear, though, thought that it may have started a riot. Such is life, I suppose. Rumor has it that the reschedule will be in September, right close to my birthday. The trouble with such a date is that I'll be in school by then. Looks like I need to establish my priorities.
Yours "In the Mood", "In the End", and anywhere "Beneath, Between, and Behind",
~Sushi

Without You We Couldn't Do What We Do

Yes, it's time again for another post about my favorite Canadians, Rush! I'm a bit late on this one, actually. Last Friday, a super awesome thing happened. Rush got its star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Check this out! And here is Geddy stealing a baby! Sort of. The only trouble with this is that tons and tons of people--Rush fans, fanatics, and people who have just heard of Rush--saying that now they should be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Well, I call shenanigans, because that's ridiculous. It is the opinion of many, including myself, that to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, while still alive, anyway, is to destroy your career, or to signify that you are now washed up and done with recording. For example, years ago, when I was off my nut about AC/DC they were inducted, and basically stopped recording. When they came out with Black Ice, it sounded like the same songs they had produced earlier, with _{sort of} different lyrics. It really hurt to see them fall from grace like that. And the Iron Man 2 soundtrack--because I know someone will mention it--is mostly made of songs already recorded. Including Highway to Hell, which is secretly on every AC/DC album ever made.
The best thing to do is induct the artist posthumously; that way they can't do anything to make people wonder how they ever got into the Hall of Fame in the first place. Take Elvis Presley, for example. He was on a downhill spiral by the time he died in 1977. Imagine if he had been alive in 1986, when he was inducted. Would he still have been cranking out albums of himself talking (and shamelessly insulting) the audience at his concerts? [I wish I could say I was kidding around.] It's probably safe to say he would, because people will buy ANYTHING that has to do with The King, and thus, it made the most sense to induct him after his death. Many, many years after, when people had forgotten all the dumb shit he did toward the end of his life, and were able to only remember his pure awesomeness during the '50s and '60s.
I don't want Rush to be inducted until one of the guys dies, because then, Rush will be done. There is no Rush if Lee, Lifeson, or Peart is not still alive and kicking. Yes, there was once a Rush without Neil Peart, but that didn't last for long, now did it?
~Sushi

The Feverish Flux of Human Interface and Interchange

Time to start talking about Rush again. Today was the one and only American screening of Beyond the Lighted Stage, the Rush documentary. I, for one, am glad I was smart enough to pre-order tickets online. When Spock and I got to the theater, the show was sold out. There were maybe three seats left by the time everyone got there. I severely underestimated Rush's impact on northeastern Illinois, I guess. There were so many of us! But, in retrospect [pun intended], I'm not all that surprised. The movie was great. It's not getting that great of reviews, but then, Rush never has. And they make a point of saying that. Giving Beyond the Lighted Stage bad reviews is along the same lines as burning copies of Fahrenheit 451; the action only serves to drive home the point that the movie/book is making.
But, back to humor. I've never been in a theater that was so... loud! Well, apart from Rocky Horror and Repo! shows. But those are meant to be especially raucous. This was like going to a concert. Which reminds me... Spock and I decided to split the cost of tickets to one of the shows Rush is doing in Chicago. This morning I found tickets on Ticketmaster that are $49.50 each, which, while it might sound expensive to some, are the cheapest tickets I have ever seen for a Rush concert. Ahhhh... Now that that's over with, I have a little bit more to discuss about the movie. Okay, Jack Black is great and all, in his own right, but I really didn't want to see him in his usual semi-retarded state in a movie about my favorite band. He's more of an irritant than an actor. Other than that, most of the people who were interviewed behaved fairly well. And the home videos and childhood pictures that were shown were practically a treasure unto themselves. We got to see Rush perform when they were younger than I am, in basements and bars. Not basement bars, though; at least, I don't think so. Sorry, no more puns.
The musical selection was good, although most of the tunes are the same few songs that show up on every greatest hits album Rush has ever made-- Chronicles, the Retrospectives, et cetera. I think that, with the extensive catalog Rush has put together, there could have been a lot more deep tracks. After all, this is a movie made for Rush fans, by, presumably, Rush fans. With that, I present to you my suggestions for...
15 Rush Songs that Should have been Included in Beyond the Lighted Stage
^{Alphabetized, in order to avoid a ruckus}
1. Available Light, from Presto
2. Chemistry, from Signals
3. Cinderella Man, from A Farewell to Kings
4. Different Strings, from Permanent Waves
5. Digital Man, from Signals
6. Here Again, from Rush
7. Hope, from Snakes and Arrows - Spock and I were sad that our song wasn't included
8. I Think I'm Going Bald, from Caress of Steel
9. Leave That Thing Alone!, from Counterparts
10. Madrigal, from A Farewell to Kings
11. Mission, from Hold Your Fire
12. Resist, from Test for Echo
13. Summertime Blues, from Feedback
14. Tears, from 2112
15. Vital Signs, from Moving Pictures
And some Lerxst rants! _{That last one is totally worth the wait}
So, apart from Jack Black and a lack of deep-cut tracks--wow, that's a lot of rhymes-- I absolutely adored Beyond the Lighted Stage. And I can't wait for the VH1 premiere on June 26th, so I can watch it again!
~Sushi

Rush Are Coming

My favorite band of all time is Rush. I have been a big fan of other bands, like The Beatles, AC/DC, Mindless Self Indulgence, and even that awful period when I used to listen to Nickelback. But, after being introduced to Rush in high school, I have stuck by them like foot odor in Geddy Lee's Converse. Oh, and I have a huge crush on Geddy Lee, and I'm not afraid to say it. If I ever met him, I could die peacefully, knowing that I would never be as happy as I was in that moment. Wow, that's a tad creepy. Anyway... Rush is currently on tour, and while Spock and I most likely won't make it to their concert in our area, which is in early July, we will be going to the one-night-only Rush documentary that hits theaters on June 10th. Yes, it's next week, and we are just... freaking OUT right now. Also, on June 1st, Rush released two songs, Caravan and BU2U, from their upcoming album, Clockwork Angels. Spock's dad gave him an iTunes card for Christmas, which was regifted to me, since I am a total iTunes whore, so I put two and two together and bought the songs. They are awesome. You will listen to them.
In the spirit, not of radio, but of my recent obsession with Cracked.com, I ran a search for articles about Rush. While most of the articles I found are quite negative, I'll still share them, as it is every Rush fan's duty to learn that nearly everybody either hates or has never heard of Rush. Sometimes both.


8 Cracked.com Articles on the Canadian Supertrio
1. Cracked Topics: Rush
2. Cracked Topics: The Most Overrated Rock Bands: I'll just say I don't agree, and try not to choke anyone sitting by me
3. Cracked Topics: The Best Rock Drummers: ummm.... that's not nice, either
4. Cracked Topics: Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Neil Peart, briefly
5. Cracked Topics: Progressive Rock
6. Cracked Topics: Alvin & The Chipmunks: I bet you weren't expecting that; nor was I
7. Cracked Topics: Drums
8. Cracked Topics: Musical Instruments

Just as an aside, I wonder how many Rush fans absolutely despise Rush Limbaugh. That fat bastard makes it almost impossible to run a search on Rush. He's freakin' everywhere! Oh, well. When Limbaugh is dead and forgotten, we will always have the dulcet tones of Lee, Lifeson, and Peart. Amen, Rushians.
~Sushi
P.S. Also, the Rush Hour movies... Very annoying when looking for band news of a maple-y nature.

Please Please Love Me Do

Going to a Rush concert is doubtful, but at least I got to see Beatles cover bands this year! Today was Beatles at the Barn, a fundraiser held at the in Hobart, Indiana. My sister Ladybug is obsessed with the Beatles, and going to the concert was part of her birthday present. The part I found interesting was that the bands playing were not dedicated Beatles cover bands; they are local bands who just happen to love the Beatles. The three bands that played--and I recommend you check all of them out, because they were phenomenal--are Chris & Lou, The Dan Holmes Group, and The Crawpuppies. I probably shouldn't pick favorites, but I will anyway: in my opinion, the Dan Holmes Group was the best. I definitely want to check out one of their shows. They gave all of the covers their own personal touch, but without deviating too far away from the spirit of the music. I think my whole family had a great time, and we're looking forward to going next year.
Today's list is going to be a bit tougher than most. I'm not very good at picking favorite songs, and this is especially true of Beatles music. So, rather than trying to pick a top ten or even twenty favorite Beatles tunes, I'm going to pick my favorite song from each member's solo career. Also, instead of the usual JohnPaulGeorgeRingo that everyone seems to go with, I've put them in order of my own personal preference.
My Favorite Beatles' Solo Songs
George Harrison: Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
John Lennon: Love
Ringo Starr: Photograph
Paul M^cCartney: Say, Say, Say
Have a fab weekend!
~Sushi

2112

Today is the twenty-first day of December, thereby making it 21/12. This is a significant number to any Rush fan, as it is the fourth, and one of the most popular, of their albums.
I haven't been posting a lot lately, because I've been depressed for most of the week. I'm used to having Spock around, and used to taking him for granted, so for him not to be here, even for a week or so, is killer. So, this is going to be a short entry, despite the fact that I had started the blog to combat my depression. Normally, writing makes me feel better, but I've been so fatigued that it seems like a chore.
So, the bulk of this entry is going to be a list. The average of 21 and 12 is 16.5, and so that is the number of the day. As in...
Sixteen-Point-Five Pictorial Examples of the Number 2112
_{Let's see how I pull off the 0.5}
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Yes, I can always find a Star Trek reference. This is NCC-2112, the U.S.S. Star Union

12.
13.
14.
15. Look closely... It's there.

16.
16-1/2. 2112: The Sing-Along
Too bad I didn't post this at 9:21PM, aka 2112 military time. Too bad...
~Sushi

Groupthink Occurrences In Modern Trick-or-Treating

A paper that I recently submitted in my Marriage and the Family class.
Obviously, names have been changed.



Though I am aware that the original assignment was to observe groupthink in either a haunted house or at the movie Paranormal Activity, I didn't have the opportunity to take in either of those things, because I had to take care of my sisters all weekend. So, rather than forgo the extra credit that I know I so badly need, I decided to use an experience that I could have over the Halloween weekend. Being that my sisters are a great deal younger than me, I had the chance to go trick-or-treating with them, which can oftentimes be more terrifying than any haunted house.
My sisters, Ladybug, 8, and Sunshine, 5, were stuck in the house for the majority of the day, so I set the kitchen timer so they would know exactly how much time they had for me to change my mind about taking them anywhere. When 4:30, the beginning of trick-or-treating in our town, came, they were already in their costumes and clawing at the door. My dad and I drove them to town [we live in the country], to my friend [and fellow classmate] Spock's house. He and I decided to dress up as Shaggy and Velma from Scooby Doo. And so, the trick-or-treating began.
Groupthink isn't really prevalent in trick-or-treating when you're young. Half the time, you don't even realize you're following a crowd. However, as I observed my sisters, as well as the other children, I noticed a few patterns. For example, whenever someone screamed, either from sheer delight or absolute terror, an echo of accompanying screams would bounce from street to street. When a group of children would skip a house, either because it was scary or because it didn't have a light on, several other groups would skip that same house, even if there was someone with candy there. Also, and I have noticed this at several costumed events, adults would refer to the children as the costume they were wearing. I am included in this group, sad to say; I even referred to children I knew as the embodiment of their costume. Occasionally the children would do this as well, but they mostly greeted each other by name, or as “Whoever-You-Are.”
There was one instance of learned behavior that I, disappointingly, didn't see all night. This would be the dreaded question, “And who are you supposed to be?” When I was younger, I would be asked this question countless times, by countless adults, even if I was dressed as the most obvious thing on Earth. Possibly that example of groupthink has been eliminated, but when I'm certain that when I answer the door on Halloween night, I'll ask every single child what they are. Just for fun.


A different kind of list
My On-the-Way-Home-From-School Playlist
_{Just as a warning, most of these songs are rather...well, dirty.}
1. Capital P, Mindless Self Indulgence
2. Sometimes a Fantasy, Billy Joel
3. Pussy All Night, Mindless Self Indulgence
4. Bomb This Track, Mindless Self Indulgence
5. Fanatica, Eisbrecher
6. Utah Saints Take On the Theme From Mortal Kombat, Utah Saints
7. Faggot, Mindless Self Indulgence
8. Mark David Chapman, Mindless Self Indulgence
9. Tom Sawyer, Mindless Self Indulgence
10. Honesty, Billy Joel
11. Alienating My Audience, Mindless Self Indulgence
12. Smooth Criminal, Alien Ant Farm
13. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth), George Harrison


My mix CDs sometimes have a life of their own.
~Sushi

Delicious Tomato Soup

My lovely boyfriend-like person, Spock, has just made a can of delicious tomato soup, because I seem to have the flu, or some other nasty disease. On the bottom of the can, we learned that the expiration date was sometime in 2011. So, I ask you, how in the HELL can they make soup keep for that long. It may be October or '09, but still, that's a long time for a can of soup. Vegetables shouldn't be able to stretch that far into the future. But enough of my ranting. Time for another list, courtesy of the plethora of stupid Facebook note quizzes that I have done.


My Life According to Rush
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 (or more) people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. You can use current or older artists. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)"

Pick your Artist:
Rush

Are you a male or female:
Emotion Detector

Describe yourself:
Nobody's Hero

How do you feel:
Faithless

Describe where you currently live:
The Stars Look Down

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Twilight Zone

Your favorite form of transportation:
Red Barchetta

Your best friend is:
Digital Man

You and your best friends are:
We Hold On

What's the weather like:
Available Light

Favorite time of day:
Fly By Night

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Cut to the Chase

What is life to you:
Ghost of a Chance

Your last relationship:
Sweet Miracle

Your fear:
The Enemy Within

What is the best advice you have to give:
Turn the Page

Thought for the Day:
Where's My Thing?

How I would like to die:
Between the Wheels

My soul's present condition:
Losing It

My motto:
Closer to the Heart



Just a hint; Rush is my absolute FAVORITE band. They will pop up often.
~Sushi