48:35 So true, I'm only 20 years old, but I've been listening to this music all my life thanks to my Dad. Hearing things like "what if the static on the tv screens symbolized shutters" is a great example of how we can look at rush from a new perspective this many years later! I love this series so much, its basically Rush Book Club.
Emotion Detector is probably my favorite on this album. I started listening to Rush in ‘86, and purchased this album second, after Grace Under Pressure. Thanks for this Deep Dive into the POWER of Rush!
I don't know that there is a "least popular" song on this record for those who embrace "the synthesizer period." Top-to-bottom, this album is flawless. I quite enjoyed Donna's discussion of "Territories." I especially have enjoyed hearing about Donna's personal conversations/interactions with Neil and the band, getting a, uh, "window" into how they were and how they thought. For a handful of years or more, my mind has been preoccupied by the divide in the United States of America and how we're moving further and further apart from one another. And it's due to the divide in echo chambers, galvanized by the power, the cult of personality, and the insecurities of one man, basically, and - as a result - the fears that have been created by that very powerful base of operations. How very "The Weapon" / "Witch Hunt" of our country. In retrospect, in commenting on what he saw and how he felt at the time, Neil has very much become a prophet of sorts - though, clearly, I'm sure he'd shrug that off and it would only make him feel uncomfortable. I love this album - it's the only one that compares, for me, with upper echelon of the "Exit...Stage Left" (AFTK, Hemispheres, Waves and Pictures) era.
I believe the back of the album covered was inspired by a guy at a rush concert in St Louis MO, during their Grace Under Pressure tour in 1984, he was sitting on the side of the Stage 5 rows up he had a giant pair of military binoculars staring at the band, he told me he saw "Getty take a double-take at him, and then possibly make a motion at Alex".
My favorite Rush album hands down. I almost never listen to this album without jamming it front-to-back in one sitting. Middletown Dreams changed my life.
My favourite record ever. I've got something to say regarding "Territories" and what's been discussed here. The sentiment of the song is noble and right from the get-go I'll say I've never been a nationalist (I'm from Argentina). In fact my musical activity actually took off when I started making use of the power of the Internet and its international possibilities when I was eighteen (thirty-three as I write this). While being a kid and a teenager computers never really grabbed me, it was all about guitar and riding bicycle for me. It was only when I took a deep interest in Rush's lyrics that I figured I'd look them up online and for that I had to visit a cyber-café about ten blocks from home. To make a story short, since 2009 that I've been making friends with people all around the world and collaborating on both, covers and originals. I even got to visit Canada and see Rush live in Toronto during the R40 tour thanks to a woman who I invited to play the synth part in "The Trees" for one of these international collaborations. This should mean that I'm all for the song's content, doesn't it? Well, it does... but there's another side that I mustn't willfully skip anymore. Now I understand that there's no ideal state of things that will ever be reached in any aspect of life. In this particular case, globalism isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to those problems that come with a nationalistic behavior. I've come to believe that people with a more patriotic spirit may have a point when globalism (different from globalisation) comes like an unstoppable monster telling everyone everywhere that people's way of living will radically change because "its will be done" whether one accepts it or not. And since 2020 I can't help but see that protecting my own space, and with this I mean reducing everything almost exclusively to my own house playing the role of an independent nation, is somewhat the way to go. There's a lot of people nowadays being strictly limited in their freedom of circulation and attendance to either public or private places (concerts is the first thing that comes to mind) if they decide to go against the (new) norm, if you get my meaning. Donna calls for integrity instead of division, echoing Neil's whole point in "Territories," and I'm all for it as I've been since my beginnings here on the web. But at the risk of sounding coo-coo, the dreaded elites that run everything (let's be honest, the ones with a globalistic agenda) have already gone too far. And the ones who don't comply cannot avoid becoming careful and not as trustful as they naturally were up until this crossing of the line. Never a fan of "the drunken and the passionate pride." It's just that this song, as relevant as it is nowadays, doesn't lyrically resonate with me as it used to... if it is that it's taken as a globalist anthem by people who are more inclined to that kind of political views of the current world. That said, I still listen to the song because the music just rocks; killer track.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and engaging chat over one of my favorite Rush albums. All of you had very significant points of view. Donna’s thoughts on Territories gave me chills in its wisdom, especially in light of the current war in Ukraine. Brilliant.
32:08 Exactly Donna! Regardless of everybody's world views, it really doesn't matter. Neil also said we all must deviate from the norm. We're all individual and different. But we can still put stuff aside and enjoy Rush music or enjoy a ballgame or great movie or whatever. You're so right, it's important not to lose that.
Great job guys. Very positive about this channel and your work. Nice to hear that Power Windows is also one of the best Rush records. I personally think that the trilogy PW, Hold Your Fire and Presto are the very best Rush albums, where they really defined who they are. Thanks
My favorite album too. It was also my first of 20 Rush shows. My drum teacher took me (no further proof needed that he was an amazing teacher!!). Middletown Dreams has such an incredible sound. Neil's fills using snare, bass drum, and cymbals at the end are phenomenal. The cassette was played daily in my Walkman while on the school bus when it came out. Wore that tape out. 😀
I forgot to mention this during the recording, but I love the play on words in the beginning verse of Middletown Dreams. The use of “stout” which can be used as a term for beer as in “the hidden bottle came out” but also describing the salesman’s mannerisms. Brilliant!
Fantastic watch , thank you for covering my favorite rush album. I wish there could’ve been some discussion about The Big Money, which I think is the perfect opener for the album. But you did talk Grand Designs which is probably my favorite song off of it. Great video💯
We each pick a song that is a deeper cut so we’ve avoided the hit songs with the Deep Dive series. We will cover The Big Money in our Rush Roundtable series once we get to Power Windows.
In reference to Middletown Dreams, it’s interesting that the man in the first verse seems to have lost his dreams and joined the “rat race and ticking traps” of adult achievement, while the boy in the second verse has yet to find his dreams. So many of us can relate to both figures. That’s the magic of Neil’s gift with words.
Emotion Detector’s open notes are the same as the disconnect device sound from windows operating systems. Often got that song spinning in my head when I’d disconnect a wireless mouse or something.
Regarding Territories, the internet kills nationalism. When you interact with different people in a human way, you realize that you are very much alike and the differences are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.
I’ve always thought “Emotion” Detector was a play on “Motion” Detector. Again, what has the “power” to move us, or don’t take your eye (electric eye; motion detector) off of what really touches you (love).
In Middletown Dreams lyrics A middle age Madonna calls her neighbor on the phone day by the seasons pass and leave her life alone but she will walking out that door to go and paint big cities from a lonely attic room. Is this a reference to V.C Andrews “Flowers In The Attic”?
Neil moved away from more right wing thinking because as their net worth grew, they moved away from their middle class roots and moved into the "bubble". Ironic as in the 1970's, middle America supported this band and the lefty jerks on the coast would not touch Rush until 1980-1981. Imagine trying to get into the liberal Rock and Roll Hall of Hippies, er I mean Fame with Neil expressing his admiration for Ayn Rand. lol. Never happen. So yes, they had to reiterate their liberal principles or they would have been the boy in the Subdivisions video. Outside looking in. As for their move left, well they had to publicly because otherwise, Jann Wenner and Co. would never have accepted them into their club. I do believe that the members of Rush are lefties but they can afford to be. The circles they moved in demanded that and they are isolated from the rest of society, the plebeians. I love Rush, their music is great, but let's be honest. They have their unique reasons for taking the path they did. They are human, not Gods.
My favorite Rush LP!!! Little trivia for you. PW is the only Rush studio Lp that all songs are over 5 minutes!!! RIP NEP
48:35 So true, I'm only 20 years old, but I've been listening to this music all my life thanks to my Dad. Hearing things like "what if the static on the tv screens symbolized shutters" is a great example of how we can look at rush from a new perspective this many years later! I love this series so much, its basically Rush Book Club.
Emotion Detector is probably my favorite on this album. I started listening to Rush in ‘86, and purchased this album second, after Grace Under Pressure. Thanks for this Deep Dive into the POWER of Rush!
I don't know that there is a "least popular" song on this record for those who embrace "the synthesizer period." Top-to-bottom, this album is flawless.
I quite enjoyed Donna's discussion of "Territories." I especially have enjoyed hearing about Donna's personal conversations/interactions with Neil and the band, getting a, uh, "window" into how they were and how they thought. For a handful of years or more, my mind has been preoccupied by the divide in the United States of America and how we're moving further and further apart from one another. And it's due to the divide in echo chambers, galvanized by the power, the cult of personality, and the insecurities of one man, basically, and - as a result - the fears that have been created by that very powerful base of operations. How very "The Weapon" / "Witch Hunt" of our country.
In retrospect, in commenting on what he saw and how he felt at the time, Neil has very much become a prophet of sorts - though, clearly, I'm sure he'd shrug that off and it would only make him feel uncomfortable.
I love this album - it's the only one that compares, for me, with upper echelon of the "Exit...Stage Left" (AFTK, Hemispheres, Waves and Pictures) era.
I believe the back of the album covered was inspired by a guy at a rush concert in St Louis MO, during their Grace Under Pressure tour in 1984, he was sitting on the side of the Stage 5 rows up he had a giant pair of military binoculars staring at the band, he told me he saw "Getty take a double-take at him, and then possibly make a motion at Alex".
I’ve been on a major Power Windows kick since this episode! Well done everybody! 🤘🏻🔋🪟
Love how happy grand designs makes me
My favorite Rush album hands down. I almost never listen to this album without jamming it front-to-back in one sitting. Middletown Dreams changed my life.
My favourite record ever.
I've got something to say regarding "Territories" and what's been discussed here. The sentiment of the song is noble and right from the get-go I'll say I've never been a nationalist (I'm from Argentina). In fact my musical activity actually took off when I started making use of the power of the Internet and its international possibilities when I was eighteen (thirty-three as I write this). While being a kid and a teenager computers never really grabbed me, it was all about guitar and riding bicycle for me. It was only when I took a deep interest in Rush's lyrics that I figured I'd look them up online and for that I had to visit a cyber-café about ten blocks from home.
To make a story short, since 2009 that I've been making friends with people all around the world and collaborating on both, covers and originals. I even got to visit Canada and see Rush live in Toronto during the R40 tour thanks to a woman who I invited to play the synth part in "The Trees" for one of these international collaborations. This should mean that I'm all for the song's content, doesn't it? Well, it does... but there's another side that I mustn't willfully skip anymore.
Now I understand that there's no ideal state of things that will ever be reached in any aspect of life. In this particular case, globalism isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to those problems that come with a nationalistic behavior. I've come to believe that people with a more patriotic spirit may have a point when globalism (different from globalisation) comes like an unstoppable monster telling everyone everywhere that people's way of living will radically change because "its will be done" whether one accepts it or not. And since 2020 I can't help but see that protecting my own space, and with this I mean reducing everything almost exclusively to my own house playing the role of an independent nation, is somewhat the way to go.
There's a lot of people nowadays being strictly limited in their freedom of circulation and attendance to either public or private places (concerts is the first thing that comes to mind) if they decide to go against the (new) norm, if you get my meaning. Donna calls for integrity instead of division, echoing Neil's whole point in "Territories," and I'm all for it as I've been since my beginnings here on the web. But at the risk of sounding coo-coo, the dreaded elites that run everything (let's be honest, the ones with a globalistic agenda) have already gone too far. And the ones who don't comply cannot avoid becoming careful and not as trustful as they naturally were up until this crossing of the line.
Never a fan of "the drunken and the passionate pride." It's just that this song, as relevant as it is nowadays, doesn't lyrically resonate with me as it used to... if it is that it's taken as a globalist anthem by people who are more inclined to that kind of political views of the current world.
That said, I still listen to the song because the music just rocks; killer track.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and engaging chat over one of my favorite Rush albums. All of you had very significant points of view. Donna’s thoughts on Territories gave me chills in its wisdom, especially in light of the current war in Ukraine. Brilliant.
32:08 Exactly Donna! Regardless of everybody's world views, it really doesn't matter.
Neil also said we all must deviate from the norm. We're all individual and different. But we can still put stuff aside and enjoy Rush music or enjoy a ballgame or great movie or whatever. You're so right, it's important not to lose that.
Great job guys. Very positive about this channel and your work. Nice to hear that Power Windows is also one of the best Rush records. I personally think that the trilogy PW, Hold Your Fire and Presto are the very best Rush albums, where they really defined who they are. Thanks
It’s here! Best album deep dive!
Thank you!
My favorite album too. It was also my first of 20 Rush shows. My drum teacher took me (no further proof needed that he was an amazing teacher!!). Middletown Dreams has such an incredible sound. Neil's fills using snare, bass drum, and cymbals at the end are phenomenal. The cassette was played daily in my Walkman while on the school bus when it came out. Wore that tape out. 😀
I forgot to mention this during the recording, but I love the play on words in the beginning verse of Middletown Dreams. The use of “stout” which can be used as a term for beer as in “the hidden bottle came out” but also describing the salesman’s mannerisms. Brilliant!
Fantastic watch , thank you for covering my favorite rush album. I wish there could’ve been some discussion about The Big Money, which I think is the perfect opener for the album. But you did talk Grand Designs which is probably my favorite song off of it. Great video💯
We each pick a song that is a deeper cut so we’ve avoided the hit songs with the Deep Dive series. We will cover The Big Money in our Rush Roundtable series once we get to Power Windows.
@@Rushfans that makes sense , I forgot that big money was one of the singles from the album lol
In reference to Middletown Dreams, it’s interesting that the man in the first verse seems to have lost his dreams and joined the “rat race and ticking traps” of adult achievement, while the boy in the second verse has yet to find his dreams. So many of us can relate to both figures. That’s the magic of Neil’s gift with words.
Emotion Detector’s open notes are the same as the disconnect device sound from windows operating systems.
Often got that song spinning in my head when I’d disconnect a wireless mouse or something.
That’s brilliant 😂 clearly Windows stole from Rush!
Regarding Territories, the internet kills nationalism.
When you interact with different people in a human way, you realize that you are very much alike and the differences are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.
A faint binocular image is watermarked is in the 3rd TV.
I’ve always thought “Emotion” Detector was a play on “Motion” Detector. Again, what has the “power” to move us, or don’t take your eye (electric eye; motion detector) off of what really touches you (love).
In Middletown Dreams lyrics A middle age Madonna calls her neighbor on the phone day by the seasons pass and leave her life alone but she will walking out that door to go and paint big cities from a lonely attic room. Is this a reference to V.C Andrews “Flowers In The Attic”?
Neil moved away from more right wing thinking because as their net worth grew, they moved away from their middle class roots and moved into the "bubble". Ironic as in the 1970's, middle America supported this band and the lefty jerks on the coast would not touch Rush until 1980-1981. Imagine trying to get into the liberal Rock and Roll Hall of Hippies, er I mean Fame with Neil expressing his admiration for Ayn Rand. lol. Never happen. So yes, they had to reiterate their liberal principles or they would have been the boy in the Subdivisions video. Outside looking in. As for their move left, well they had to publicly because otherwise, Jann Wenner and Co. would never have accepted them into their club. I do believe that the members of Rush are lefties but they can afford to be. The circles they moved in demanded that and they are isolated from the rest of society, the plebeians. I love Rush, their music is great, but let's be honest. They have their unique reasons for taking the path they did. They are human, not Gods.
Rush TOTALLY seem like the kind of band that would compromise their integrity in order to join a club.