Say Something

The music of Rush influences and inspires, at least that's what it's done
for me over the past 25 years. Now, the question is, is the music that
powerful, or am I just too easy to inspire? Both I guess.

When something really hits me I tend to pay attention to it, like a smack
in the face. It's tough to ignore something that's truly eye-opening. I pay
attention to things that open my eyes, things that make me think and
feel, like music. When I listen to Rush sometimes I laugh because of
their comical aspects, sometimes I cry because of the impact of certain
phrases or melodies, or indeed the combination thereof. I'm also often
floored by the power of the music, and the sheer talent that created it.

The music of Rush can be incredibly gentle, and touching, stuff I would
play for mom, unlike my old AC/DC or Ozzy Ozbourne (there's a story for
another day), though I'm sure she has heard them vibrating the walls of
my room one time or another. Rush also makes great wall-rattling tunes
that you just have to crank up, songs with drive and power that make
you want to play dashboard drums while you cruising along the
highway. I'm a frequent dashboard drummer, though I can scarcely keep
up with Neil Peart's double bass thumping -- my gas pedal gets in the
way.

Sorry about that, back to my initial thought...

I feel many emotions when I listen to music, whether it's Rush, Peter
Gabriel, James Taylor, Coldplay or a host of other great musicians and
bands. The fact is, music inspires. A great song puts on its gloves and
gives you a good one two punch.

Okay, some great songs just have a good grove, or catchy chorus, but
when you're listening to not-top-40 music like Rush, stuff that's not at all
heard on mainstream commercial radio, you're listening to a band that's
made it as far as they have because of their influence and talent. Their
fans love them because of what they say, what they play, and how they
play and say it. Don't trip there.

I can't imagine what my life would be like without some of these great
musicians and writers. And while their music inspires greatly, we must
understand that they're still human, and humans make mistakes. Do as I
say, not as I do. :)

When something hits me, I look to see what it was. How often do you
feel an impact? I guess that's why I write and record music as well,
because I'd like to influence people the way I've been influenced,
positively. I have stuff to say, do you? Say it. If we say enough good
things, we won't have to worry about what the papers say when we
make a mistake, the people we've influenced won't dwell on it.

I was hit by the Bob Marley song "Could you be loved" that ends with the
repeated phrase "Say something... say something...say something.."

Great song. Great idea.

Drew Vics, an artist, writer & musician from New Jersey, writes for
http://www.Myeyez.net, and for other websites online.

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