Tribute to Rush that I DID NOT Write

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A friend of mine years ago told me that when you’re traveling through the town of Misery don’t stop to look around. I thought it was good advice. Neil’s passing hasn’t been easy but I take comfort in believing a couple of things. First, he set out to be the best he could be and I think he achieved that beyond measure. Second, he didn’t care about fame or fortune yet he acquired both as a “consequence” of his actions. He lost a family yet gained a new one. Some never do. He had a second family in Geddy and Alex, something I’m sure he never took for granted. Many great bands didn’t have what Rush had, the Beatles certainly didn’t, Kiss doesn’t , and Metallica doesn’t. There’s no feeling of true brotherhood in those bands like Rush had. They worked and got along perfectly whereas other bands fought and hated each other to the point of breaking up. Neil had a loving family and loving band mates. He literally had everything most people wish they could have and that’s leaving money and fame aside. Most importantly I believe that the man who couldn’t pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend did us all a favor by not telling us what he was going through. We feel as though Neil is family and I know how I would feel if a family member is fighting a no win battle. It would suck beyond all measure. He spared us that and I believe it was his last and most important selfless act for his fans. Thanks to Geddy and Alex for taking on that burden for us all. Rush is like no other band in the world!

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Reacting To Neil Peart From Rush Drum Solo

To me, it's "wrong" to try to rank drummers. Everyone has their favorites. Many drummers would say, "Oh, Dave Lombardo is better than Lars Ulrich" or even "Buddy Rich is better than Louie Bellson." Know what? Dave Lombardo, Lars Ulrich, Buddy Rich, and Louie Bellson are ALL tremendously awesome drummers.

That said, I like watching AyeJay reaction videos. Here's the video, followed by my comments about some of the comments under the video:

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1. If neil peart was my neighbor,I woukd build a deck nearest his house,put up a bbq and umbrella and just sip my beer and listen for hours.
• I would just sip my Mountain Dew and listen for hours.
2. just so you know what your actually looking at
   the crazy bit in the middle?
   hes playing in 3\4 with his feet and 7\8 with his hands
   HUMANS CANT DO THAT
   but, he of course is not human
   hes niel peart
   thats its own thing
   BTW, this IS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR HIS BEST
   this is his playing after he quit playing for 5 years and then came back and relearned to play
   he never really recaptured his early greatness
   its a long story, his child and wife died and he kinda went off to think for about half a decade
• I don't agree that "this is NOT ANYWHERE NEAR HIS BEST" and I had no idea he was playing 7/8 with his hands.

Editor's Note: Added the Louie Bellson tag with this post. It's insane he has never been mentioned elsewhere on this blog!