Patterico's Pontifications

1/23/2006

The Big Bang Disappears

Filed under: Music — Patterico @ 6:00 am



The L.A. Times has a nice piece on the disappearance of drum solos, featuring an interview with my favorite drummer, Neil Peart of Rush.

9 Responses to “The Big Bang Disappears”

  1. Does this ever bring back memories from the late 60’s and early 70’s. I attended many concert’s back in the day, but my first concert experience was at the Inglewood Forum, with Canned Heat and Iron Butterfly. The drum solo was much longer than two and a half minutes for Iron Butterfly, more like twelve minutes, and cover one side of their album.

    Peace,
    Ed

    Edward Padgett (d6d165)

  2. In keeping with the L.A. Times‘ history of issuing trivial corrections, I expect to see a correction of the statement that Neil Peart was in Rush’s original lineup. He wasn’t the drummer on their first album.

    Matto Ichiban (481d49)

  3. Good catch, Matto. I knew they had to get something factually wrong in the article. It’s just wouldn’t be Times-like, not to. Bonus points if someone can a political angle to the misstatement. I don’t know anything about John Rutsey’s political views, assuming he has (had?) any, but the smart money says that if he does, they are well to the left of Peart’s.

    Xrlq (6c76c4)

  4. I’m just sorry I didn’t happen to be in that coffee shop in Santa Monica. There aren’t many famous people I’d be thrilled to meet, but Neil is one of them.

    Patterico (7ca033)

  5. drums solos aren’t popular because they are usually just ego trips by the soloists.

    i.e. solos on any instrument tend to be best confined to about three minutes. and less is more. dances rarely go over that. and symphonic music has multiple themes which shift – contrary to popular opinion a entire movement seldom lasts over six minutes.

    even though there are a dozen percussion instruments the rock drum soloist wants to pound away forever on one or two. this is the sort of behavior that grows old very fast.

    small doses of music are best – Dixieland is nice but not continuously because it seldom uses harmony. drum percussion, which lacks melody and harmony is even more limited.

    K (8c6d12)

  6. Yeah, considering that much of Peart’s lyrical content comes from Ayn Rand (think “Anthem”), it is safe to assume that Rutsey would be to the left of him on most subjects.

    But then again, Peart’s written some songs about the environment (“Red Tide”), so it’s very possible he’s more of a moderate.

    otcconan (aff9fa)

  7. Rock drum solos?

    So-so, nice but not missed

    Listening to a great drumline in a college/high school field show?

    Priceless!

    (13 years as high school band mom now going through withdrawals)

    Darleen (f20213)

  8. But then again, Peart’s written some songs about the environment (”Red Tide”), so it’s very possible he’s more of a moderate.

    Nowadays, perhaps, but at the time that he replaced Rutsey, he was a true-blue Randroid.

    Xrlq (428dfd)

  9. Heh. From my vast collection of musician jokes:

    An anthropologist is visiting a primitive society. One night, he hears drums beating in the distance. Concerned, he asks one of the tribesmen what’s up with the drums. The native says “Drums ok, but if drums stop very bad–run away.”

    The drums beat on for an hour. Still uneasy, the anthropologist asks again if things are ok. Again, the native replies “Drums ok, but if drums stop very bad — run away.”

    After another hour, the drums stop. The native stops dead in his tracks and looks up and says “Drums stop! Very bad! Run away!!” Scared now, the anthropologist asks what happens next.

    The native replies “Bass solo!”

    Les Jones (514bb2)


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