REACTION! RUSH Virtuality 1996 Test For Echo Album

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REACTION! RUSH Virtuality 1996 Test For Echo Album

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Пікірлер: 125

@brianbannon6200 Жыл бұрын

I've always liked this song. Love it musically. For me its not necessary to have every song to have deeper meaning. Neil does plenty of that. Thanks again Justin. Merry Christmas everyone!

@bobcarn Жыл бұрын

Huh. I like "Virtuality" quite a bit. It's got a catchy chorus and some interesting interplay between the instruments. And while the lyrics may seem a bit dated, virtual interaction of the type described in the song still is rare. The song came out when the internet was catching on, so these concepts were all relatively new.

@jameyw98 Жыл бұрын

An ode to the AOL Chat rooms of 1996! Great Song!

@marklabonte3769 Жыл бұрын

This is actually one of my favorite songs on the album!

@brettking1014 Жыл бұрын

Heavy guitar riffs throughout, the bridge section guitar actually sounds a bit like that modem dial up connection. Lol! I was in college when this song came out, and the internet was new. It’s a little corny lyrically, but it’s an homage to the birth of this new technology…without which we wouldn’t be enjoying Justin’s great reactions 😁.

@michaelkeller6223 Жыл бұрын

Love the acoustic chorus on this track, people say the lyrics are cringe, I don’t think they’re cringe. They’re just dated, which is not a big surprise. given what he was writing about. I find the lyrics actually timely and prophetic talking about something, Neil was guessing correctly was going to change the world.

@chrispotyok8843 Жыл бұрын

I've mentioned it before. Through Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, and Snakes and Arrows, you'll find the occasional nugget. You won't hit the mother lode until you get to Clockwork Angels. Their final album is one of their best. They definitely went out in style.

@MrDuneedon Жыл бұрын

I'd largely agree -- that said? Some of my favorite Rush songs in their entire catalog are on VT (Earthshine, Secret Touch) and S&A (Faithless, The Way The Wind Blows, Main Monkey Business).

@kennethmckinney2532 Жыл бұрын

Yep. Lots of frankly embarrassing stuff during this time. Clockwork Angels is nice...

@carlgibbons5777 Жыл бұрын

@@kennethmckinney2532 I think VT is just as good as CA. The remix anyway....

@kennethmckinney2532 Жыл бұрын

@Carl Gibbons I tried to like it for a while and it just didn't happen. I took my then teenage daughter to the VT tour which was a thrill but the album itself just doesn't do it for me. I am way jaded by growing up with their early stuff. I can't get over it. Cheers...

@Xanadu424 Жыл бұрын

I think snakes and arrows is a gem as well! Lots of really great stuff musically and lyrically :)

@Bass17yl Жыл бұрын

Anytime I hear someone complain about these lyrics, I have to wonder where they were when “If you start me up I’ll never stop” or “goo goo ca-choo” happened. Because THOSE are genius lyrics 😂😂😂

@sethcashman1011 Жыл бұрын

Hahaha, or "Generals gathered in their masses/Just like witches at black masses." Totally hear ya, however, "Start Me Up" wasn't written by Neil Peart. After reading/listening to Neil's lyrics for 40 years, a standard has kind of established itself and one tends to expect something more than "You make a grown man cry." 😄

@enriquemora9272 Жыл бұрын

Hahaha 😂 you got a point. But I guess the problem is that Neil himself set the bar way high.

@ischmidt Жыл бұрын

If this song was by Alternate Universe Rush where Rutsey never left and Geddy continued to write stuff like "hey baby it's a quarter to eight" nobody would blink an eye at this song. (And Rush would probably have had a lot more mainstream success). But Neil set a high bar.

@ischmidt Жыл бұрын

@Lance Williams I had that same thought after I wrote the comment. They'd probably have a few minor radio hits (nothing top 5) and then have been dropped by Mercury and broken up.

@sethcashman1011 Жыл бұрын

@Lance Williams yup! “War Pigs.” Classic example of what not to do. I don’t know if it was Ozzy or Tony who wrote those lyrics.

@yauybob Жыл бұрын

This was Rush's newest album when I discovered them in 1998. The lyrics perfectly represent my first internet experiences on computers as a high school student. Heavy on the nostalgia for me.

@ischmidt Жыл бұрын

The music is more or less Superconductor Part II - the riff even suggests 7/8, even though it actually isn't. I've said since the record came out that if this was an instrumental it'd be one of my favorite songs of the 90s. It's my favorite Alex riff since Limelight. But it's hard to avoid the lyrics, and the mental image of Neil elbowing Geddy after every line and saying "get it?", like when you tell a particularly bad dad joke.

@sethcashman1011 Жыл бұрын

Oh man... here we go. 😄 Haven't even gotten to the reaction yet. Rediscovering this gem right along with you. (I think the only caroling they ever did was at the beginning of "Witch Hunt.")

@mpkelley20 Жыл бұрын

“Put your message in a home mesh network and throw it into the NSA, Russians and Chinese and whoever else wants to read it” is the modern lyrics. It’s what they were singing on their last tour. 😉

@carlgibbons5777 Жыл бұрын

....or just hire a Russian agent as your campaign manager like Trump did so he can send inside, sensitive polling information straight to the Kremlin so they can target YOU with their disinformation messages.

@ellavaderknows Жыл бұрын

A rare diverging of opinions, Justin. This is one of my favorite Rush songs. In 1997, the lyrics in this song were as timely as say, cryptocurrency would be today. Yeah, sometimes Neil gets a little simplistic in his “look around the room and say everything that is red” lyric writing style (ala Vital Signs description of a recording studio on Moving Pictures) but it was still very topical at the time…and musically, this song was the heavy guitar/bass track that we’d been pining for. Also, this track sort of leads the direction of their next album, Vapor Trails.

@kennethwalton9567 Жыл бұрын

Baring in mind this was way before you tube and social media ! Amazing he grasped the importance of the internet when it was just starting off. Ps merry Christmas

@pzeeman73 Жыл бұрын

The riff is killer. To modern ears the lyrics are cringe, but in 96, the net was such a game changer with so much potential and had so much excitement. As someone who fell hard for a girl on the other side of alt.music.rush on the other side of the continent in 1996, that last pre-chorus cut a bit close to the bone.

@k.h.1587 11 ай бұрын

I don't think I ever got on alt.music.rush which was odd because I was big on alt.sport.lasertag and alt.sport.photon back then. For me it was the national midnight star mailing list for my online rush community back then. But same as you the song made me feel uneasy because I was being catfished in an online "relationship" from a girl on aol.

@markzucker7868 Жыл бұрын

Song has a kings x vibe to me. Neil’s explanation of the songs and album puts everything in context and makes the album interesting. Majority of listeners do not care about the context they just want Tom Sawyer. The band suffers from being ahead of its time.

@grahamkey8496 Жыл бұрын

Kings X and Rush were in talks around this time about a support slot with Rush, but it didn't happen because they couldn't align their diaries. They did get to meet each other though.

@debbieplato5107 Жыл бұрын

I like this song. The heavy riff and the percussion are cool.

@garylagstrom3864 Жыл бұрын

Merry RUSHMAS to you and yours! Pet Kitty 🐈‍⬛ Ho for me! One of my Christmas presents 🎁 this morning is a RUSH Caress of Steel tour shirts. My old one was getting quite tattered. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. Cheers 🥂🍻

@870expressmag Жыл бұрын

I take Dog years as a metaphor for how fast life goes by without really noticing then, one day you wake up and say "Holy shit, I'm old. What happened!!!!".

@kennethmckinney2532 Жыл бұрын

Stinkaroo...74'-84' out. Merry Christmas brother

@MrDuneedon Жыл бұрын

In fairness, the lyrics to the song were cringy *when it was released* in 1996. Not just in retrospect! Musically, however, this song is very solid in my opinion.

@christophmozure9413 Жыл бұрын

Totally agree. Again Neil was focused on his drumming and changing styles so these lyrics are just not great and half of Rush’s appeal if not more for a lot of fans are Peart’s lyrics. These two songs just come off as corny or something. Having said that nobody in the history of Rock has written better lyrics than Mr Peart. Love the guy.

@RushAss Жыл бұрын

Hands down my favorite on the album. That main riff is fierce and the chorus is catchy as all heck. Neil's groove is also so deep in the pocket here. I know the lyrics didn't age well, but for something released in 96 it was pretty current. They played it on this tour and it smoked. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas Justin as well as the rest of your viewership here. Cheers!

@randylevy Жыл бұрын

I like this one. Lyrics are hit and miss with misses being pretty cringey but I think it still hits on some truths and the chorus is catchy AF.

@ginamarandino6451 Жыл бұрын

I was in college around this time and it was a big deal just to email someone on campus lol! It's so very different now it's just mind-boggling but the song is still pretty relevant surprisingly. Neil spent a lot of time on this album addressing societal changes.

@leddygee1896 Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas Panariello Family!!

@TheFingerFrame Жыл бұрын

Lyrically, this is isn’t the best, but musically, I liked this one better than most on the album. I loved the heavy guitar. It more fit the grunge era it was put out in.

@SandyWhisker Жыл бұрын

I’m wishing you’d been able to react to Dog Years and Virtuality without having had input from others beforehand. These last two reactions feel like you’re checking someone else’s homework rather than reacting completely first hand and I miss your usual insight particularly regarding the music. Like others, Virtuality was a gem of a song for me when I first heard it and it remains a favourite. And while you didn’t get disco on punky Dog Years you get it on this song at the “Let’s Dance Tonight” part. In “A Work In Progress”, Neil describes how he incorporated the dance drum pattern to match those lyrics. Thanks for everything you’ve done and are doing regarding your impact on the Rush community Justin, it’s great appreciated. Merry Christmas to you and the family, enjoy a wonderful day! Cheers from Scotland, Sandy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎄👍

@ZIG4ZAG20 Жыл бұрын

Like I’ve said before about t4e, you either get it or don’t. That’s true for 90+% of Rush, it’s VERY topical of the times, or completely ahead of them, the music is always changing, and if you’re not experiencing it as it happens, with this it would have been late 1996, you kind of missed the boat. Ironically it was the first time I used a friends computer to find the tour dates, how, when and where to buy them. Did I mention how each song has a different weight to it depending on the individual, and that goes for any song from any band off any record. I still enjoy this record immensely and always will❤🤘🖖✌️🎸🥁🎤🎹

@ComedianRonBender Жыл бұрын

The internet as a social medium was still relatively new then so this song was about something relevant at the time.

@countfloyd1269 Жыл бұрын

Virtuality, when I wish they would have opted for an instrumental.

@cpmf2112 Жыл бұрын

Modems are still in use today.

@ResilientOne2112 Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

@richierich398 Жыл бұрын

Yes. It’s the lyrics! Net boy, net girl😂. For Christmas, please tell me you decided to do the remix for Vapor Trails. The bass and bass drum separation alone make it worth doing that version.

@l.j.8784 Жыл бұрын

I love how you call it "the record", so old school . Geddy and Alex always call it that as well.

@johnjackson8228 Жыл бұрын

Likewise!

@apexzeneth4709 Жыл бұрын

They may not have been ahead of their time with this song like Cygnus X-1 but they were at least on time with it. It's hard to come up with great material for 40 years.

@danalioto3146 Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas!!!

@yar9333 Жыл бұрын

The tech is a little different now, but was he wrong? What are we doing this morning. We’re on the internet in a virtual reality interacting with you. And it has taken over the world. Can you imagine not having a net world at this point?

@IslandDigital Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas. This too is a stinker on this album.

@kennethmckinney2532 Жыл бұрын

You said it better than I could have. 74'-84' is my jam. Some good ones here and there after that. CA being the best complete album in that almost 30 year period...

@raskolqqq Жыл бұрын

These lyrics and "Dog Years" fit in perfectly with the themes of this album: it all in the title "Test for Echo." It is about human connection and collective awareness: Hello, is there anyone out there?; are we really aware of what we are doing and saying, and our impact on the world?; does anybody see what I see? If you only scratch the surface and don't spend the time to dig deep, how do you expect to see the roots of his ideas?

@joetrainer31 Жыл бұрын

One of my fav tracks!

@y9xda Жыл бұрын

This was the last album before Neil's tragedy i did buy. It took me 6 years to listen again. First vapor trails. And Snakes and arrows, Clockwork angels last year.

@niftyfiftytwo1484 Жыл бұрын

Lyrically, Test for Echo made more sense to me when I thought about the time it came out, and the over-arching theme of just about all of the songs. The album art, with it's Inuksuk and, on the back cover, satellite dishes, provides some insight on what the concept is. Both of those are symbols of one group trying to reach out to another. Inukshuks were placed by native tribes to indicate where to go to find everyone. The satellites are largely reminiscent of SETI's search for alien life. They're all symbols of communication through observation. Or, said more simply, all of the lyrics are Neil, in one way or another, saying "are you seeing this shit?" "Cops on TV, cyber sex in the chat rooms, all these different religions butting off each other, it's crazy what we're doing with all of this communication!"

@hardenscragg3796 Жыл бұрын

Just a sincere comment on the phenomenon of the time. 😎

@oilrules4302 Жыл бұрын

I don't particularly care what anyone else has to say about it, But this is one bad ass song.

@KennethStCyr-dv6cm Жыл бұрын

Probably my favorite song post Presto. One of their most creative IMHO

@obelisk21 Жыл бұрын

Parts of this song, primarily what you referred to as the big and beefy thick sections, have always reminded me of "One Little Victory" off of Vapor Trails. I am curious if you will hear the similarities when you do that album.

@johntash5895 Жыл бұрын

I enjoyed this song after not hearing for a long time. Geddy is doing his thing on the bass with the index finger, his vocal carries the melody well and I like its placement in the mix. Usually I like hearing Rush albums all the way through, but not on TFE; to me they run together without distinctness.

@cecillegravelle2590 Жыл бұрын

the music was great.

@andypenny2010 Жыл бұрын

Neil was way ahead off his time. Probably most off us. The Internet had just begun. 🤘🤘🤘👍👍👍

@JeffOnTheRoads Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas, Justin. Hope you and your family have a great day. So...my takeaway is that Rush never would never have made it if they were an American band. To this point, Geddy and Alex were too nice to Neil, and Alex was too nice to Geddy. Alex should have gotten a lifetime award for "Nicest Bandmate Ever."

@enriquemora9272 Жыл бұрын

Wow that's spot on, I guess only real Rush fans will get it. And Alex deserves that award definetely.

@JeffOnTheRoads Жыл бұрын

@@enriquemora9272 An argument ensues between the members of Rush, circa Test for Echo: Alex: "Guys, I think we should collaborate on the lyrics." Neil: says nothing Geddy: "Let's just keep going." Alex: "Ok." End of argument.

@youtoo2233 Жыл бұрын

I'm not picky about lyrics just as long as I like a song musically, I do respect Neil as an intelligent lyrics writer and amazing drummer, problem with this album and a few others for me is none of the playing is standing out as anything great, nothing is making me shake my head in amazement like on much of those '74-'82 albums. After that, only Presto and Vapor Trails has really wow'd me. When Vapor Trails came out I just couldn't get enough of it!

@rickthestiks9240 Жыл бұрын

🎵jingo bell, jingo bell, jingo bell rock and jingo bell suck,l.o.l🎅musicaly, the song is strong,the guitar riffs,the roll of the toms synchronised whit the bass.a cool vibe, not a lots of band did an internet song, so merry christmas to all the (net boys and the few net girls)l.o.l🤘🤘🤘

@obiwanbenobi4943 Жыл бұрын

It's different when you've lived through it. :) After all this is now a part of what youtube is like, sending messages via a huge space, never know exactly which way the tides will flow... Still like this song. If you really want to get into a different sort of perspective consider this, before AOL came along the internet was largely a nerd playground. It was fairly civil in many regards, people didn't spam e-mail boxes or hack websites (there weren't any yet :) ). There is this whole other thing going on long before the internet came along. It was interesting, fun, there were mailing lists, there was usenet (it still exists as do mailing lists). Then, as you say, "Bam!" Eternal September arrived and with that the world of us nerds was not much ever the same again. You got every bozo with a modem who could type spewing their racist or political stuff in any place they could put it, no concern about "where" it would be more appropriate, and as it goes, yes, that is largely now the same - it has just changed forms several times over with Dejanews, and then Facebook came along and etc., etc. but it has largely been all of the same in terms of iterations it hasn't yet gotten to some next stage of interest for me. Usenet has become more quiet but not much more civil. I still read/write there. A hobby. For a winter evening...

@paulstratis5579 Жыл бұрын

Still 10X better than Dog Years

@Jekylnhyde55 Жыл бұрын

There is a demo version of Virtuality on the net sans the corny "net boy net girl" chorus. It's heavy all the way through and shorter.

@stevecollette6831 Жыл бұрын

This song and Dog Years are both OK musically, even good in parts. Dog Years took a metaphor and beat it to death lyrically. Virtuallity talks about the disconnect that comes from online interactions.....but the lyrics don't hold up real well. (I actually do think they are OK) Not sure why so many people dump on these songs. Do you hate the Beach Boys 'Little Duce Coupe'? LOL

@grazynafrey7545 Жыл бұрын

Can you imagine if Neil wrote this years later, seeing all the zombies looking down at their phones on trains, buses, streets...brains...phones. I'm glad you at least tolerate the music on the last two tracks.

@plotmaker Жыл бұрын

The problem IMO was the fact that two lyric duds were back-to-back. Maybe if the placement on the album were different they wouldn't receive quite as much criticism.

@garylagstrom3864 Жыл бұрын

Well it all cracks up to be the same ole schpeel that according to me: 74-82 is best and according to you 74-85 or maybe 75-85 for you. Counterparts is my favorite 90’s RUSH record. The 2000’s get better!

@camshaftishh Жыл бұрын

I think the lyrics for this song are at least forgivable compared to Dog Years. Everyone was still pretty blown away by all the new possibilities with the internet and all that. Pretty cringe looking back on it from today though lol. Merry Christmas dude!

@JustinPanariello Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas!

@danalioto3146 Жыл бұрын

I like this song actually. Not a favorite but still a good tune.

@danarchuleta1154 Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas! My take exactly. I'm not sure of the order of song writing, but it sure seems like Getty especially was burnt out, and he stated so in interviews. The song actually had potential, and if Rush had harkened back, and allowed for rhythmic and melodic progressions and let the song morph, we might have heard something much better. The doggone chorus just ruined the song. The subject is ok IMO, but the song just lacked cohesion between the lyric and arrangement. May Blessings Abound!

@mightyV444 9 ай бұрын

Dang! Hearing this for the first time again now since the mid-Ninedies, I'd totally forgotten how cool the _rest_ of this song actually is (apart from the cringey chorus)! 😯 I also wonder if the "Net Boy, Net Girl" lyric was inspired by that awful 'Jet Boy/Jet Girl' song from the 70's!? (later re-released as 'Ça plane pour moi' by Plastic Bertrand). Anyway, this song could've been🔥all the way through with a different, better chorus.

@Snowcrasher1 Жыл бұрын

This song rocks, the vitriol for it is so overblown. It all centers around some cringe word choices, specifically 'net boy, net girl' and 'message in a modem'. Those words started in a bad place, and if anything have aged for the better (if someone has a folk song about some anachronistic thing, people don't lose their minds). Their most cringe phrase is actually from a different (but also topical) track - Countdown. "Excitement so thick you could cut it with a knife" is a horrible line to put to song.

@mark-be9mq Жыл бұрын

I liked it. The lyrics are a critique about then new obsession with living lives "virtually", impersonally" online. Neil wasn't into that.

@bryceHUHwhat Жыл бұрын

The lyrics on this are slightly less cringe now than they were in the late 90s and early 2000's. The language moved so fast, that they lyrics aged quickly. Like a song about "myspace" today...

@kevinhampton6986 Жыл бұрын

Always liked the music...thought the lyrics were a little cringey (and I think most people have a problem with the net boy, net girl stuff, not really most of the rest of it). Now I think it's worth a second look lyrically. I think it was predictive to an extent. Still like the music either way.

@leofinley4144 Жыл бұрын

The Net Boy Net Girl thing isn't quite as cringey when you realise it is paraphrasing Jet Boy Jet Girl by Elton Motello

@rickthestiks9240 Жыл бұрын

hey leo, who is elton motello,a singer?

@leofinley4144 Жыл бұрын

@@rickthestiks9240 Google is your friend en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_Motello

@frisco4758 Жыл бұрын

The music in the song is kick-ass. Lyrics reflect Neils dislike for the internet.

@CygnusKC Жыл бұрын

The word that always come to mind when I hear this song is DATED. For a band that always seemed to be ahead of its time, this is one instance where they dropped the ball lyrically (R.I.P. Professor, but this one's on you...) The "Net boy, net girl..." part always makes me cringe a little. Even back in the 90s, technology was changing FAST. It was an oversight to use terminology and analogies in the lyrics that were going to be outdated as soon as the next "big thing" happened in tech. THAT SAID, musically I love the song. There's a big, heavy hard rock riff in there along with our favorite Rush-y moments as well. I think this would have worked better as an instrumental.

@Shigawire Жыл бұрын

I *KNEW* you would find the lyrics of this song too cringe. XD But yeah, I liked it when I got the CD back in 1997.

@nathanisrael894 2 ай бұрын

Did you actually listen to the lyrics?

@georgespragens7589 Жыл бұрын

I don't get the level of dislike for this song. IMO, it's got the best riff on the album (better than most things that came out that year), the bass break is nice, the vocal harmonies are weird but interesting. Hung up on the lyrics? I've been a fan of Yes for years and to this day I couldn't tell you the meaning of the lyrics to well over 90% of anything Jon Anderson wrote. "Roundabout" is awesome. What's it about? I have no idea. Same with "Yours is No Disgrace". But, it sounds cool, so just ignore the lyrics and listen to the riffs, melodies, harmonies, and transitions.

@charlieYTonly Жыл бұрын

Rush were kind of anti-internet back in the day. Look at songs like Available Light which celebrate actually being somewhere and personally experiencing life. The internet promised exactly the opposite of that. They grew to embrace the internet because you kind of had to but Alex only got on social media in the last couple of years. This is an anti-internet song and makes fun of the idea that those virtual experiences can even remotely approach real life.

@ischmidt Жыл бұрын

There's a back story to that as well. In the early 90s there was an Internet e-mail list called The National Midnight Star (from a line in Red Lenses, of course) where people discussed Rush. Neil had the opportunity to tour NASA, and one of the people he talked to was on the mailing list and was excited to show him what people were talking about. On that particular day, the discussion was people arguing over the significance of the brand of watch Neil was wearing in a recent publicity photo. Neil reportedly growled "get a life" and continued on his tour.

@johnjackson8228 Жыл бұрын

Never heard that story. That’s great!

@sethcashman1011 Жыл бұрын

I kind of like it, musically, for the most part. The vocal melodies during the verses are the only thing I don't like - typical late-era Geddy. They remind me of some the melodies (if you can even refer to them thusly) on Snakes & Arrows and Clockwork Angels - flat and tuneless. The choruses are nice, though. Lyrically, far from Neil's best work. Crammed with cliches and too clever for their own good. Enjoy the rest of the day! (Camilla's Rush ornament is hanging on the tree!)

@andysimpson4327 Жыл бұрын

There isn't anything wrong with either of them. They're a product of their time, like everything. Rush have always had a touch of the corny. You can find it endearing or find it annoying. Sometimes it's both lol

@raymondregis6219 Жыл бұрын

Always liked the music but ignored the weak chorus. I'd guess that Neil was well-informed at the time but the lyrics sound outdated now. I could write more relevant lyrics on the subject now but that's with 20/20 hindsight.

@k.h.1587 11 ай бұрын

I was in an online "relationship"/ being catfished by a gjrl on aol back then, so this song hit me in an uneasy way. And the net boy net girl part is pretty cringe. Solid music as always

@aicarnie Жыл бұрын

I have to laugh when the “young folks” talk about the internet being a new thing in ‘97. By that time, I’d been using the internet for over 14 years. What you folks call the internet, is the World Wide Web, which came into being as a commercially available entity in about 1991. “The Internet” has been around since 1969 / 1970, and in a widely useable form since 1982. Dial-Up via modem was still very popular in ‘97. ISDN and X2 modems were all the rage. Sorry for the history lesson, but you need to put the lyrics into the context of the times.

@JustinPanariello Жыл бұрын

Song is trash lol

@aicarnie Жыл бұрын

Not their best to be sure :-D. I think if you had heard this when it came out, you would react differently to the lyrics. When put against all that has happened since that time, Neil unwittingly commented on what has become a social norm. Hope you are having a great Christmas Day Justin. Keep up the good work.

@ischmidt Жыл бұрын

I've had Internet access since I started college in 1991 and I cringed into a singularity the first time I heard these lyrics. They were just as bad in 1996.

@aicarnie Жыл бұрын

Maybe it’s because I’ve been in the IT industry since the mid 80’s and was playing with computers for years before that. I also still take an almost child like delight in TCP/IP and the basics of inter-networking that allow us to communicate with billions of people around the world. What Neil was driving at is something that has come to pass in ways we could not have imagined in ‘97. I think he was taken with all the possibilities that the WWW could offer the future. I agree that he may not have articulated that in the best way.

@alexgarrido4607 Жыл бұрын

Cheese 🧀

@enriquemora9272 Жыл бұрын

Bingo. You've found out that the whole problem with this album is the lyrics. Like you I found the music ok, not outstanding by any means, but listenable. For me this album shows Neil's lousiest set of lyrics this far. Maybe he was too focused on his new learnt skills on the drum kit (New approach and tuition by Freddy Grubber)

@jimtatro6550 Жыл бұрын

More lyrical diarrhea from Neil. I actually like the main riff, too bad the lyrics aged like fresh bread. Merry Christmas Justin!

@kennethmckinney2532 Жыл бұрын

Or like stuff growing in the bathroom shower...

@stephanechamberland8486 Жыл бұрын

It's the only song wrote by Peart that I don't like the lyrics. It's a bottom 10 song on the Rush catalog for me.

@DionysusAlS Жыл бұрын

I could have done without the disco part. The song just seemed too paint-by-numbers. The lyrics were cringeworthy, but only slightly. I don't have much of a problem with them. I guess it helps that I had a career as a knowledge worker and actually first got into computers in graduate school in the mid-1980s, so a song talking about telecommunications was kind of neat.

@anacap007 Жыл бұрын

To me this song is just cringy for a Rush song. If I was to introduce someone to Rush, this song would literally be last on that list with either Tom Sawyer or Spirit of Radio at the very top. This song is just dated and a recognition of the Internet paradigm shift in how we connect with each other.

@donnelson6694 Жыл бұрын

This song has some parts I like but overall it doesn't work for me.

@NCNelz Жыл бұрын

Yea …I love the heavy riff ….it’s the phrase “ Net Boy Net Girl “ ….made me cringe even at the time…the phrasing is nerdy and moronic …Neil was thinking way to hard hard about the internet….yea it was new and cool at the time ….but it was equivalent to saying “ telephone boy telephone girl” let your fingers do the dialing and talk to the world….pretty lame

@juliebrockett3471 Жыл бұрын

Not one of my favorites.., I don’t know what it is about it. It just doesn’t stick with me! Merry Christmas and God bless… from Texas!!

@geddylee501 Жыл бұрын

Lol terrible melodic lines, lyrics, everything Merry Xmas All x

@blazingsaddle166 Жыл бұрын

I know all the lyrics to every song on every album from Rush & can recite them religiously..........until I got to Vapor Trails onwards, including this album, Test For Echo. I cannot sing a song from this entire album from start to finish, like I can on Rush's albums up to & including Roll The Bones & maybe a few from Counterparts. That's how uninteresting the songs are for me. They just aren't memorable in any way. All throw away songs. An album I rarely listen to & believe me, I have tried. Clockwork Angels is the album to jump straight to after Roll The Bones imo.

@vgspro5365 Жыл бұрын

Cool music. But... "Net boy, net girl..." ??? Those chorus vocals both lyrically and melodically just come out goofy to me. Cool riffs and changes in other parts of the song. But I feel like they are making an attempt at a pop song. Rather badly.