Rush - The Spirit of Radio [GEN-Z FIRST TIME REACTION]

[@kentgreer1079]

In the late 50's and early 60's, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)was not permitted to play rock n roll. So several ships were equipped with transmitters and moored 12 miles offshore to begin international waters. They could then play any kind of music they want and the transmitters could be picked up through most of Great Britain. The ships were transmitting 'pirate radio' signals as they were unlicensed.

[@ChrisJones-cs2zd]

Not just the UK. Wolfman Jack came to fame DJing for XERF-AM in Ciudad Acuña (150,000 watts of FU to the FCC from across the river from Del Rio Texas) At night, you could (sometimes) pick it in Europe and the USSR. They claimed to be audible from New York to LA.

[@FeaturingRob]

There is a really good movie about this called Pirate Radio (or The Boat That Rocked) written and directed by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and A Funeral, Love Actually, Notting Hill). It wasn't a big hit, but its a worthwhile watch.

[@BrianMclerran]

Thank you for sharing that. Awesome history. It's great that some people would make the effort.

[@Randsurfer]

Younger folks don't realize how magical the golden era of radio was. It was how we consumed music. This is a loving homage to the pioneers of that era.

[@AlanHoss-pb1bc]

Neil writes all the lyrics while being your favorite drummers favorite drummer

[@Efferri]

The hands! 😂 He really does it at his shows. It's how he works the crowd to get them to clap.

[@bobkitten8150]

Local radio DJs used to have some control over their play list. Donna Halper introduced Cleveland to Rush, helping them get more airplay and interest. I don't think that could happen today..

[@gibson617ajg]

Geddy's name is actually 'Gary'. His Mother spoke with a strong Jewish lilt which, obviously, made it sound like 'Geddy'. She was a Holocaust survivor - obviously a very strong woman. 'Red Sector A' is another masterpiece of a song which tells the haunting story of life in a Concentration camp during the Second World War.

[@cozmicpfunk]

The Details to notice in the video are from the 40+ years of albums/songs hence the Baseball, Owl, Star from the exploding views of the components (Taurus Bass Pedals, Radio, Ghetto Blaster etc.). The Pirate Radio was an actual ship off of England (see the British flag) which broadcast any music that was current and not being played on air in the BBC music channels (which probably included Rush). The Spirit of Radio is maybe the lighter side of the music industry experience in contrast to "Limelight". The band was seeing some commercial success and commenting on it, as they do with everything they find interesting at the time. Also keep in mind 1980 with the explosion of experimental pop music and synthesizers being all over the place musically. The Permanent Waves record was a huge turning point for them and one of my all time favorites

[@FeaturingRob]

The one thing that RUSH doesn't get enough credit for is its lyrical content. Most people forget that Neil Peart wrote the majority of lyrics (except for songs written early in the band's history) and was a voracious reader. What I love about this song is the opening guitar riff, symbolizing the turning of a radio dial back in the day before it was digitized, and it shows up repeatedly in the song. The "reggae" section was part of this because, in the 1980s, reggae was making more headway as a mainstream pop form, and many different bands experimented with the rhythms and instrumentation, mainly thanks to the influence of Bob Marley but others as well.

[@revdmcspumcsb]

The hands were a one-off that Geddy did instead of always clapping.

[@MJS-ON]

Yes, these sections are some of the rare times that Geddy is not playing the bass nor the keyboards and, live, he came up with this hand motion to get the crowd clapping. It turned out most just did the same as him instead of clapping so he went to actually clapping later on and got the « correct » reaction.

[@mdu2112]

That should've been toned down in the video. It's Rush faux-culture.

[@pablozee6359]

@@mdu2112Agreed. I know they tried to throw as many fan-centric Easter eggs, but I’m not a fan of including the silly hand thing in the video. It often leaves new listeners and viewers confused.

[@garysteinert8040]

Magic at your fingers is basically just tuning a radio. That’s what this is all about. Different stations, different music. The guitar is basically static between stations. Very analog radio days.

[@RayEvans-j1q]

Back in the late sixties and through the seventies you had AM radio and FM radio! AM was very commercial! Music was shrunk to fit in with all of the commercials! FM music played full length songs! Less commercials! A home for Progressive music! There was a third medium - college radio! College music played practically anything they wanted to the younger masses!

[@sarastromseth-troy3323]

Great reaction! This is a classic Rush song and they do great live performances of this (my personal favorite is at the end of their 'Best Intro Ever'; also worth a reaction sometime). I got the impression that the 'sci-fi waves' you mention are probably meant to illustrate radio waves. You hit the nail on the head re: Neil's commentary/critique on the music industry. Also, the DJ they show in this video holding the Rush album is Donna Halper. She was a music director at a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, and she put Rush on the map in the United States when she played a song off of their 1974 debut album. Donna thought the song 'Working Man' would resonate with the blue-collar workers in Cleveland, and it did! Rush responded by dedicating two of their albums to Donna, and remain friends with her to this day. Donna is an interesting person; she received her PhD. in media history at age 65 and became a professor. She also did the Q&A portion at the Cleveland stop of Geddy's book tour last year (he wrote a memoir called 'My Effin' Life). Anyway, for a future reaction, I suggest the live version of 'Digital Man' from the Snakes & Arrows' tour; in my opinion, it's one of their best live performances. (You may want to review the lyrics ahead of time to get a sense of what the song is about).

[@theG-man-p2h]

😄Only RUSH can explain both the business of getting air- time on the radio and how marvelously varied the music coming from that little "box" can be, all at the same time! P.S. The objects exploding from the radio are their album covers! 😄

[@jamesvomsaal]

Pirate Radio was a ship that played all music without corporate guild lines illegally transmitting all music without payola .They couldn’t stop it because they were out in the ocean. Great reaction

[@Sohum]

thank you!

[@toddashton9696]

Sohum this song celebrates radio as a way of delivering music. You are probably too young to understand, the imagery but the video gives a bit of history of radio and its relationship to music and Rush. The lines and waves in the video are radio waves. The many change ups and styles in the song reflect the variety of music you could access on the radio. You did correctly identify the issue of artistic integrity . Once you are more familiar with Rush, come back to this video and you will understand more of the imagery

[@devingalloway2708]

ZZ TOP SONG " HEARD IT ON THE X" IS A SONG ABOUT A RADIO STATION BROADCASTING A PIRATE SIGNAL FROM MEXICO TO THE US AUDIENCE

[@scottlescard6154]

In a video for the song, "The Spirit of Radio," you are wondering why they have a depiction of "wavelengths". As in, you know, radio wavelengths. Nothing to scify or outer space. Also, the reason for the extreme transitions in the song is to evoke the effect of channel surfing on the radio that one does while driving in a car. The images that come out of the images that come out of the foot peddle represent some of their album covers. The screws and nuts are from Counterparts, the Owl is Fly By Night and the pentagram is 2112, the thing you called a "rockman" is actually a inuksuk and is on the cover of Test For Echo, the wooden cog toys was from the 1998 live album Different Stages. The baseball likely is for Getty's love of the game. The peddles themselves Getty and Alex used during live shows. The hand thing came from a thing Getty did during live shows while on the keyboard to signal to the crowed to clap. Fans started to just do the hand gesture back at him.

[@Sohum]

How do you know so much about this??

[@scottlescard6154]

@Sohum I've been a Rush fan since their first album in '74

[@matthewhoag2609]

The waves are a sine wave - the radio carrier frequency upon which the music we listen to is “carried”. It’s the number you tune into on the radio dial. The opening guitar line, Alex has said is his representation of a sine wave on the guitar. Cheers!

[@amydameron3928]

The radio at the time was pretty much the only platform to hear music you've never heard before. I was lucky growing up in the LA area (70's &80's) with a lot of stations and a variety of genres. I had a good friend who lived in the San Francisco area and their popular music was completely different than our popular music.

[@EchoesDaBear]

Great reaction Sohum! This song is Neil's (RIP) view on what radio 'used' to represent! Much of radio now is formulaic. Set playlists, top 40, with seemingly little to no support for independent artists, or deeper album cuts (now this is a generality as there are 'some' stations that still do this, but it's few & far between). In the 70's, there were more stations that had freedom to play a variety. AOR (album oriented rock) , not just singles could be heard. The video highlights stations, common to Toronto, that were champions of this variety. Special nod to Donna Halper who is credited with giving Rush their big break in Cleveland when she put on Working Man (and people called in asking what the new Zeppelin song was!!). Neil was getting into different styles, and he liked The Police, and they were doing some reggae beats, so he incorporated that, as if the song was changing radio stations! Seamless transitions is what Rush perfected over time! Rush had to fight for their artistic integrity! Their 3rd album, Caress of Steel was a commercial failure, it's progressive leanings didn't attract the masses, so on their 4th album, the record company wanted them to make for 'radio friendly' singles - their response, 2112! Featuring a side-long epic prog tale of 'fighting against the system' (done in a sci-fi approach) - but that album's insane success allowed Rush to be creatively independent. They would still go on to develop radio friendly songs, but it was done for them, not the record company! 'Glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity' has to be my favourite line! Great song. Cheers from Canada, eh!!

[@cpmf2112]

Just to give you a taste of Rush - Natural Science 😁 "Art as expression, not as market campaigns, will still capture our imaginations"

[@mdu2112]

Not 34 but 44 years ago! 🔥❤️🇨🇦

[@toddashton9696]

Thanks William and Sohum. Would love to see your reaction to Freewill

[@donhadfield2835]

There are lots of Easter Eggs in this video. Pirate Radio or Radio Luxembourg used to play pop and rock music banned on BBC Radio in the 60's. There is actually a decent comedy movie made about this. There is a short drawing of Gershon's Haus of Sausage, an inside joke to Rush and a skit they used on the Time Machine Tour. Also, Neil is driving that Red coloured Barchetta. There is a reference to Le Studio where Rush made some of their best albums.

[@trevalarose8155]

It's literally a song about listening to the radio which was how you did it before the Internet. And the business side of radio & the music industry. No Spotify lists back then.

[@dug3754]

The professor writes the lyrics🙂

[@neilsackman4723]

During the 70s Rush were doing things their way. Record company did not like that and were about to pull the corporate plug in them so they decided to go out with a bang and made 2112 to show they will do it the way they want. Including the kimonos on the back off the album to make it even more over the top. Well it ended up being a breakthrough album and the record company could not deny it. So they decided they would just let them do whatever they want from there after. They never fell to the corporate direction, Rush always did what Rush wanted to.

[@sealiferr]

This song is about Neil paying homage to CFNY-FM…”The Spirit of Radio”an edgy alternative station that at the time was a rebel in the industry.

[@TheFingerFrame]

At 5:55 -ish, you noted that Geddy is so good at hitting the nail on the head. While Geddy sang that, it was Neil Peart who wrote the lyrics. Neil wrote the lyrics for every song save the first album and one or two songs after he joined the band.

[@ChrisJones-cs2zd]

Cogs: Star - 2112 era star man "eagle" - Actually a snowy owl - Fly by Night Baseball - Geddy Lee is a baseball NUT. Recently sold about $6,000,000 worth of baseball memorabilia at Christie's. Donated a huge amount to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

[@RayEvans-j1q]

Great wake up song! Start the day off with RUSH!

[@First_Command]

The duck bill hands represent an antenna broadcasting radio waves.

[@compnnburns8831]

radio waves - marconi - pirate radio (when radio was broadcast offshore unlicensed because the establishment was not playing the muisc the popular masses wanted to hear in the mid 60's) etc etc etc

[@paulweiss3818]

"How did we do that?" Well, it is RUSH!

[@wtritt5818]

Most of the small things are symbols of Rush's history Its not an eagle its an owl from Rush's second albym Fly by Night, The star is the red star from 2112, the nuts and bolt is from Rush's album counterparts and many more easter eggs. Pitrate radio was a Radio Station that operated from a boat in international waters off the coast of Great Britton that played music that was not allowed to be played on the BBC. all of the people represented in the video are legendary Radio DJs

[@revdmcspumcsb]

Radio is controlled by the government, and some music was deemed not acceptable to be on the radio. The pirate radio ships would float off shore in the US and the UK and broadcast it via shortwave FM radio that would change channels so they couldn't be easily traced.

[@jonisears742]

Interesting that you are reacting to Rush and The Warning, my two favorite groups. Common thread is that neither bent to the corporate machine that wanted to fashion them into something they were not. I think you just heard this from Dany in the Ted Talk. Much respect!

[@johnholland7369]

Hand gestures are a way for the producers to tell DJs to fill dead air time

[@tonyrogers5709]

The only reason I can think of that Geddy does that with his hands, is so his vocal microphone didn't pick up the sound of his hands clapping together while playing live. I don't know for sure, but it's plausible.

[@BlackGuardXIII]

Pirate radio stations were stations on ships that would sit outside national waters so they could broadcast what they wanted. Edit: the waves are radio waves.

[@jackteppo9633]

At 14:25 is Donna Halper. 100.7 fm. Home of the Buzzard sharing for the 1st time Rush in '74 Working man album on the radio in Cleveland Ohio.

[@moon4music]

This comic-style visual has a lot of references or Easter eggs as some people say, of Rush's full journey. They did an excellent job with it, love this tribute video. Your analysis is an interesting take.

[@debbieplato5107]

Pirate Radio happened back in the 60's. The regular radio stations including the BBC would not play rock music so some of the disc jockeys decided to set up a radio station and broadcast from a boat. There is a movie called Pirate Radio which I highly recommend. It's a lot of fun. Neil Peart ( you pronounced his name perfectly the first time) wrote the majority of their lyrics. All the different musical changes represented different radio stations. Back in the 60's and 70's AM radio was completely radio friendly pop songs whereas the FM channels played heavier more complex songs. Unfortunately the FM stations became more like AM stations as time went on. Alex Lifeson started the band in 1968 when he was 16. They released their first album in 1974 with then drummer John Rutsy. John Rutsy left the band shortly after and that is when Neil joined. To see how close knit and down to earth these guys are please react to Dinner with Rush where the wine and the jokes were flowing. I really enjoy your commentary on the songs. 💖 Cheers

[@rimskykorsakov2892]

The film was actually called The Boat That Rocked but the title was changed to Pirate Radio for the US audience as it wasn't that well received in the UK. British audiences thought the film was too long so it was shortened by 20 minutes before it was rereleased in the US.

[@debbieplato5107]

​@@rimskykorsakov2892That's interesting. I saw here in Canada and of course it was called Pirate Radio.

[@ChrisJones-cs2zd]

Waves.... Off of the album "Permanent Waves" Radio is just EM radiation. It is identified by its frequency, with is directly proportional to its "wavelength". The song is a tribute to radio general and rock radio in particular.

[@BigRalphSmith]

The pirate radio imagery was a reference to the BBC's monopoly over radio programming and broadcasting in Britain in the late 60s and early 70s and the demand for more rock and roll by the British people. Pirate radio stations on ships off shore filled that demand as the BBC tried to censor rock for various reasons.

[@matthewhoag2609]

Rock person - from cover of Test for Echo (1996). So many Easter eggs.

[@jonathanspahn7308]

Sohum, you don't seem very old yet, so I assume you weren't around for radio's hayday. Most of the 1st part where you were confused revolved around historical moments, like the inventor of the radio and the pirate radio ship (I believe that came about when stations weren't allowed to play new music called rock and had to go to international waters to broadcast). Also, images of many famous radio DJ's including Donna Halper who discovered Rush. Lots of Easter eggs in this video. 🤘👏

[@BlackGuardXIII]

Please check out Closer To The Heart by Rush live in Toronto 1983. Lyrics, fun, and musicianship.

[@patrickarts9091]

Radio waves.

[@kevinwalsh3327]

Radio. It's in the title. It's about radio

[@compnnburns8831]

you could spend hours researching the symbols coming out of the radio at the end - dense with meaning from start to finish - reference to Simon & Garfunkel

[@kimmack4669]

🤘

[@devingalloway2708]

Pirate radio is off shore radio stations broadcasting illegally that which commercial broadcasters wouldn't uncensored.

[@Fred-vy1hm]

While Permanent Waves has since become my favorite Rush album when it first came out I remember feeling a little disappointed with it after damn near wearing out Hemispheres that I bought the year before, especially since this was the single that got tons of radio play while I much preferred Natural Science, Jacobs Ladder and Freewill, but to me that whole eight album stretch from Caress Of Steel to Grace Under Pressure is my favorite era of Rush and this was right in the middle of it. It's still not my favorite song but I've grown to appreciate it a lot more over the years. 😊

[@heyskipj]

Sohum’s really going to appreciate the song and video over more time-more groove. But overall solid first time reaction.

[@Michael-rm8xl]

Great channel!!! You need to take 20 minutes and listen to side 1 of their 4th album 2112! It’s right up your alley of individualism and oppression

[@gerryweed7697]

😎👍

[@TobyBaker-hz3rw]

😂

[@marks5263]

love this song, but I wish people wouldn't react to this dorky video. It takes away from the actual song and it just leaves people with the same questions.

[@mdu2112]

Peer-t, Pier-t, Pee-rt. Learn it, own it, propagate it.

[@surfeit5910]

You're youth is showing through in this reaction LOL. Most of the song is about FM radio, not streaming services or playlists. And a lot of those random little items scattered throughout the video, the cogs, etc. are all album covers from other Rush albums - the nuts and bolt Counterparts, the owl from Fly By Night, the rock totem from Test for Echo, and so on.

[@johnholland7369]

P-ear-t

[@Sohum]

Pier-t?

[@johnholland7369]

@Sohum yes

[@scottlaughlin9897]

Neil wrote the lyrics, not Geddy. And you’re pausing way too much on a 5 min. Song.

[@jamesanderson5268]

He was asked to raise his hand if he's the worse singer of all time.

[@wtritt5818]

Rush's first album with original drummer John Reutsey was a breakout sucsees The second album the first with Niel Peart as drummer and primary lyricist was also a success. however the third album which contained long progressive pieces was a flop. The label told them they needed short radio friendly songs this was their last chance, while touring with UFO they called it the down the tubes tour. They responded with 2112 a 20 minute epic masterpiece that took up an entire side of the album. I will request this next.

[@wtritt5818]

The opening and main riff is supposed to sound like turning the dial on an analog radio moving through the diferent stations.