It’s been noted before that Canadian prog rockers Rush are having something of a vogue right now. A prominent role in the new movie I Love You, Man, a daffy little recapitulation of their track “Limelight” in this week’s Adventureland, and a recent spate of other nods (a montage set to “Tom Sawyer” in Chuck and an homage in Freaks and Geeks to “Spirit of the Radio”) have the power trio set as the not-quite-ironically-not-quite-sincerely loved rock punchline of the moment. Geddy Lee’s astoundingly high tenor, the pretentious lyrics and a general sense of brainy bombast have always set Rush up for mockery, and though this recent bit of winking love comes coated with more reverence than disdain, it’s starting to smack of manufactured nostalgia. Perhaps the best pop culture Rush sighting of late came on the Colbert Report, fittingly a program whose line between admiration and mockery is both razor thin and ever-shifting. That Pavement showed a similarly ironic reverence back in their 1997 song “Stereo” now feels somehow more genuine and truly unusual.
In the early 00s Styx’s “Mr. Roboto” had the same kind of kitschy clout, appearing in a Volkswagen ad as well as getting a shout-out in Austin Powers: Goldmember. The meme cruised through the Net, a hundred thousand dormroom-made mix CD’s before finally coming to ignominious rest where all things seem to die: The King of Queens. A quick look at the song results for Denis DeYoung’s sci-fi confection at AllMusic reveal that between 2003 and say 2007 “Mr Roboto” was suddenly de rigeur for any 80’s rock compilation, a clear response to it’s newly-found left-field cachet.
I fear that the Rush love, particularly for “Tom Sawyer,” is no fly by night affair, and with box office comedy pacesetters like Apatow and Co embracing them, it’s only a matter of time before Lee, Lifeson and Peart find that though the royalty checks are bit bigger, their cred as hard rock elder statesmen heads south. Though they’re far too sober, mercurial and well, Canadian, to ever go the way of Bret Michaels, shamelessly pandering to adolescent hard-ons, Rush is back in the limelight for as long as the joke lasts, even if it’s on them. Once again, they owe their fame to moving pictures.
Find the typo and you win!
1) “Stereo”? No such Rush song exists. You must be thinking of “Test for Echo”.
2) “I Love You Man” director John Hamburg is reportedly a big Rush fan; Apatow probably is as well. Colbert’s director(?) John is a fan, Colbert probably is too. You’d be surprised at the Rush love there is out there: Dave Grohl/The Foo Fighters, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, Primus, Barenaked Ladies, No Doubt, Anthrax, Rivers Cuomo, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Sebastian Bach, Megadeth, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Mickey Hart (The Dead). Jack Black is a big fan; he struck a 2112 Starman pose on stage at a UC Irvine show. Trey Parker & Matt Stone did an intro for Tom Sawyer on Rush’s latest tour, with Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny as “Li’l Rush” (hilarious, look it up on YouTube).
Far to sober? It’s a long, long way to sobriety, the road to sober is a long one.
Too. The word is too. Far too sober.
Thanks for the catches on the typo. I did commit the sin of omission of leaving that final “o” off to “too.”
EB, take a look at the post more closely. I’m not suggesting that Rush has a song called “Stereo.” Pavement has a track called “Stereo” where Stephen Malkmus sings “What about the voice of Geddy Lee/How did it get so high?/I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy.” Thanks for all the Rush refs, though. I’ve no doubt that they’ve lots of fans, myself included, I’m merely pointing out that Rush love is having a particular vogue right now.
-Aaron