04 Aug 2002
Sun, 04 Aug 2002
Neil Peart's Travels On The Healing Road
I have been a huge fan of Rush drummer Neil Peart since I was a small child struggling to play paradiddles on my lonesome rubber pad. That Peart is a god amongst men in the drum world is a surpise to no one. What is not as well known is that Peart is a gifted writer and lyricist. I had picked up the latest Modern Drummer issue at Border's last night and read with great interest how Peart had returned to the kit after a dark period in which his daughter and wife were killed. My niece returned from a recent trip to Toronto with a copy of the Toronto Star which just happened to have a nice article containing a few excerpts from Peart's book, Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road, also the title of one of the better tracks on Rush's recent album - Vapor Trails. The Star article reveals Peart's difficulties and his eloquence in relating them in such a deeply human way. I'll be headed out to buy the book shortly.
Posted at: 22:42 | permalink
Janis Ian on Internet and the Music Industry
In an article that I found via Sam Ruby, Janis Ian says, "Do I still believe downloading is not harming the music industry? Yes, absolutely. Do I think consumers, once the industry starts making product they want to buy, will still buy even though they can download? Yes. Water is free, but a lot of us drink bottled water because it tastes better. You can get coffee at the office, but you're likely to go to Starbucks or the local espresso place, because it tastes better. When record companies start making CD's that offer consumers a reason to buy them, as illustrated by Kevin's email at the end of this article, we will buy them. The songs may be free on line, but the CD's will taste better."
Janis nails it. I buy aquafina because that's the way god intended water to taste, I buy coffee at the local shop because office coffee is horrendous, and I bought Rush Vapor Trails at a record store because Rush is one of the few bands on the planet that honestly deserve the spoils. Why the music industry can't figure this out is beyond me.
Posted at: 20:40 | permalink
