Something for Nothing: A RUSH Fancast

Moving Pictures is Rush's best-selling album, and for good reason. It contains arguably the band's most famous song, Tom Sawyer, a concert mainstay since the Moving Pictures tour onward. This week, in the first of our 4-part discussion on the album, we tackle only 2 things: the album art and the aforementioned Tom Sawyer. Catch the witness, catch the wit, catch the spirit, and catch the spit with...

This week we talk to Ed Stenger, who runs the ever popular Rush Is A Band blog. We cover the beginnings of the blog, how it grew to be so successful, and how it's changed over the years. We also name our top 3 Rush album openers. It's a harder exercise than you'd think it would be! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we have a great conversation Ray Wawrzyniak--the Rush uber fan in Time Stand Still with the enormous collection of Rush memorabilia. Now Ray has something else to add to his collection: the 12,000-word liner notes that he wrote for the recently released deluxe edition of the 40th Anniversary of Permanent Waves. Ray takes us on a deep dive into the making of this Rush Masterpiece, his fee...

This week we finish up our discussion of Permanent Waves. Only Rush can follow up the genius that is side 1 of Permanent Waves with the genius that is side 2 of Permanent Waves! And, of course, side 2 contains one of the craziest songs in all of Rushdom: Natural Science. Buckle in, because it's a wonderful ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we discuss one of greatest albums in rock history, 1980's Permanent Waves. The album marks a turning point in Rush's career trajectory. Shorter songs--well mostly--that are more accessible, all without skimping on the songwriting that makes Rush the best band in all the land! Plus, Permanent Waves tees up its follow-up. But more on that in a future episode.  Learn more about your ad choi...

This week we talk with author Martin Popoff. Popoff has written over 90 books about hard rock and heavy metal, including the acclaimed "Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home & Away." His latest is "Anthem: Rush in the '70s," which charts the course of the band from their earliest days through Hemispheres. This is one interview you don't want to miss! Learn more about your ad choice...

Listeners have been asking us to talk more about our favorite Rush concert memories, so this week we called up friend of the show Mark Irwin to do just that. Mark is Executive Editor at Insight Editions (publisher of Wandering the Face of the Earth and Clockwork Lives, the follow up to the Clockwork Angel's novel), has worked with Fantoons on The Making of A Farewell to Kings graphic novel, has wo...

Circumstances! The Trees! La Villa Strangiato! It's side 2 of Hemispheres! 'Nuff said! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we pass into Olympus as was told in tales of old! That's right, it's Hemispheres! We've called various Rush albums masterpieces, but Hemispheres is a masterpiece's masterpiece. The album marks the end of the (really) long-form Rush song, and it's some send off! And we find out what makes the Lifeson (or Hemispheres) chord sound so amazing. So run to build your cities and converse among t...

When we came across writer and philosopher Liz Swan's tribute to Neil Peart in Psychology Today, we knew we had to interview her. In this wide-ranging talk, Swan describes how Rush shaped her professional life, how the band's ethos gave her the courage to follow her heart, and how Hemispheres tackles one of the most difficult questions in all of philosophy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

This week, we talk to the man who is crunching the numbers and pulling interesting information from raw data, John from Rush Graphs. John's Twitter (@xyyzgraphs) is a favorite among Rush fans because it offers a not so typical take on the band. John talks us through 9 different graphs, all of which are available on our Instagram (@therushcast) and Twitter (@rushfancast). Learn more about your ad c...

This week, we get closer to the heart of the black hole of Cygnus-X1 with part 2 of A Farewell to Kings! Topics include Frank Capra, honest to goodness love songs, and what would happen to you if you fell into a black hole. (Spoiler: nothing good.) So when the dragons grow too mighty, listen to Something for Nothing: The RUSH Fancast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With this episode, we enter the most interesting, creative, and imaginative phase of Rush's career. A Farewell to Kings, in our humble opinions, is about as perfect as any Rush album gets--or any album in the history of Rock. OK, maybe we gush a little too much, but can you blame us? It's A Farewell to Kings! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, we're talking about Rush's 2004 covers album, Feedback. This 8-song EP clocks in a brisk 27 minutes and features songs from the 1960s that influenced the band. Once the tracks are discussed, we give our own suggestions for what the guys could have also covered.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Something for Nothing: A RUSH Fancast, we finish our discussion of 1993's Counterparts. Again, one of us likes side 2 more than the other one does. Who falls on which side? Listen to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show, we dissect side one of 1993's Counterparts. In many ways, Counterparts, with its heavy guitars and full sound, is a return to form for Rush, a sonic goodbye to the 1980s. Still, we disagree on the overall merits of the album. Who likes Counterparts more, Steve or Gerry? There's only one way to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we talk to two of the admins of the @RushFans Instagram account, Ryan and Alex. @RushFans is incredibly popular, with over 29 thousand followers, and has recently started a video series called Rush Roundtable. We discuss the history of the account and the top 5 songs that Rush never played live that we would've wanted to hear.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

This week, we tackle the second half of Roll The Bones. Feedback on part 1 has been mixed, and we can only assume that the same will hold true for this episode. Oh, and we talk about a fascinating truth about the Berlin wall. So let the games begin! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we take on 1991's Roll The Bones. RTB went platinum, and the singles charted well, but only one of us thinks the album holds up to scrutiny 29 years later. But all is not lost: we get to talk about the science show Nova, what Where's My Thing has in common with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and what a parallax is.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we have a little housekeeping to do. We read gentle corrections from listeners, continue discussions begun on earlier podcasts, and fill in some gaps left behind by incomplete research. Did we mention there are corrections? And something to look forward to: another installment of The Inboxer Rebellion that does all of the above for this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

This week, we speak with Director of Commercial Music and Instructor of Music at Tiffin University in Ohio, Nathan Santos. Nathan made news when he taught a course called "Rush: Progressive Rock and Modern Society" in the spring of 2014 and the fall of 2016. Our discussion ranges from Nathan's first exposure to Rush, how Rush's ability to reflect the times in their music contributed to their longe...

Last week we heard the heartbreaking news of Neil Peart's death. Upon joining Rush in 1974, Neil changed the trajectory of the band and of every Rush fan's life. His contributions to music cannot be overstated, and his effect on the lives he touched will never be forgotten. In this episode, we reflect on what The Professor means to us, and we read tributes to and memories of Neil from our listener...

It's a new year, and that can only mean one thing: it's time to talk about side 2 of Presto! Fewer keyboards, more guitars, and a song called "Anagram (For Mongo)" that contains precious few actual anagrams but is nonetheless one of the most awe-inspiring songs in the RUSH catalogue. Gerry really, really, REALLY loves "Anagram (For Mongo)." A lot. Like, a lot! Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

On this week's show, we dive into one of our favorite Rush albums, 1989's Presto. The album sees the band stepping away from the heavy keyboards on their previous two albums while maintaining the quality songwriting that made Power Windows and Hold Your Fire exceptional entries in Rush's discography. "The Pass," "War Paint," and "Scars"? Who could ask for anything more? Learn more about your ad ch...

This time around, we finish our discussion of what many will, in time, regard as the first true Rush album, Fly By Night. Side 2 contains some classic Rush tunes, and the album as a whole signals the trajectory of the band's career for decades to come. The guys are flying high on this one, so let's go along for the ride!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices