Free Thinker Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Does anyone understand what Rush's symbol means? (The "Starman"?) Here's a pic: http://www.intac.com/~pagano/rush/images/starman4.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnargtharst Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 The symbol is supposed to represent man resisting tyranny. The star (which is red in color versions) was the symbol of the bad guys on the album 2112. The man recoiling against it portrayed the hero from that album. (It always seemed to me that a red star as a symbol of oppression almost certainly referred to the Soviets. But that's just my opinion.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Thinker Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 The symbol is supposed to represent man resisting tyranny. The star (which is red in color versions) was the symbol of the bad guys on the album 2112. The man recoiling against it portrayed the hero from that album. (It always seemed to me that a red star as a symbol of oppression almost certainly referred to the Soviets. But that's just my opinion.) Thanks! I was a bit suspicious of the symbol at first...where did you find that out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles2112 Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 (edited) The Man is the Hero from 2112, which is, essentially, a regurgitated version of Anthem (which is another great Rush song) I also, believe that it is the same man, standing on the brains on the cover of "Hemispheres" I Love Rush album art. Edited May 10, 2005 by Styles2112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robp Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 The Man is the Hero from 2112, which is, essentially, a regurgitated version of Anthem (which is another great Rush song) I also, believe that it is the same man, standing on the brains on the cover of "Hemispheres"Â I Love Rush album art. Yes that is also the man from Hemispheres... I would say you're correct, that he represents "resistance against tyranny", at least in the context of the Star & Man logo. But -- just to make sure the Rush references are 100% correct -- I wanted to add that in the context of Hemispheres he represents the libido (the "Dionysus" section of the lyric), whereas the suit-and-tie man represents the rational, logical side of us (the "Apollo" section of the lyric). And of course the struggle between those two sides of our mind (and therefore many of the conflicting desires we encounter throughout life) is the entire premise behind Hemispheres.... AFAIK, Rush did not come up with that Star/Man logo until some time after Hemispheres (if I'm wrong on that feel free to correct me!), so I'm not really sure who/what they had in mind in regards to the Hero from 2112. Lastly (just an FYI), the link to that image is from my old ISP and apparently they're offline. At least every time I try to connect I get "CONNECTION REFUSED FROM INTAC.COM". Same image, new location: http://rush.robpagano.com/images/webring.jpg (You can find more Rush info at http://rush.robpagano.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studentofobjectivism Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 I am a HUGE Rush fan. It is weird, however, how they place the song "Passage to Bangkok" right after "2112". 2112 espouses Reason while Passage to Bangkok is just about looking for the best weed to get stoned off of. And isn't it ironic, don't ya think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles2112 Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 (edited) AFAIK, Rush did not come up with that Star/Man logo until some time after Hemispheres (if I'm wrong on that feel free to correct me!), so I'm not really sure who/what they had in mind in regards to the Hero from 2112. What? 2112 Came out in 76 and Hemishperes came out in 78. The Starman logo had been around for a couple years prior to Hemishperes. Edited June 9, 2005 by Styles2112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Thinker Posted June 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Interesting. Thanks for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robp Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 I am a HUGE Rush fan. It is weird, however, how they place the song "Passage to Bangkok" right after "2112". 2112 espouses Reason while Passage to Bangkok is just about looking for the best weed to get stoned off of. And isn't it ironic, don't ya think? Well.........that doesn't sound too different from the mental battle between "Reason" and "Pleasure" (i.e. Love) depicted in Hemispheres! ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robp Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 What? 2112 Came out in 76 and Hemishperes came out in 78. The Starman logo had been around for a couple years prior to Hemishperes. A-ha, I stand corrected!!! I'm glad you caught me on that -- now I did my research and sure enough, he was on the back cover of 2112. http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/Wallpaper1.htm http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/wallpaper/2112back.jpg The problem is, my cd doesn't have that on the back! It just has the track list, not the original album art....so that's why I didn't know he was on there (until now). Well if I was never wrong, then I'd never have the chance to learn anything new! So thanks for calling that to my attention! And he definitely does stand for the "man against the masses". Not sure if anyone posted these quotes yet: "All [the naked man] means is the abstract man against the masses. The red star symbolizes any collectivist mentality." - Neil Peart, Creem, 1982 "The man is the hero of the story. That he is nude is just a classic tradition ... the pureness of his person and creativity without the trappings of other elements such as clothing. The red star is the evil red star of the Federation, which was one of Neil's symbols. We basically based that cover around the red star and that hero." - Hugh Syme, "From Brainwaves to Tidal Waves: The Story Behind Rush's Album Covers", Creem, 1983 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacantLaugh Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Another thing about the "Starman". People often refer to the figure (having no real knowledge on the subject) as a pentagram, therefore accusing of Rush as satanic. I find it funny because he even claims "I don't believe in the old dirty bastard". I'm sure I misquoted but the Power Windows site is down for me. I am new to the forums here, and I am a huge Rush fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrocktor Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 It's the individual against the collective, that they chose a star to represent the collective is probably not a coincidence (red stars being a favorite of communists and socialists). mrocktor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottkursk Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 The star isn't a pentagram which is favored by satanists. The pentagram has to be inverted so that two "horns" are at the top with the "scruff" or single point is at the bottom. The star as Rush depicts it is actually a pentacle. Though the differences in the words are small, they do have a vast difference in meaning. The star as it is presented is actually the Star of Solomon. Solomon having five points and David having six. The modern new age and witchcraft movements coopted it into their use. It traditionally represented protection. That is why the satanists inverted it just like a cross. Heck, even Morrocco uses it in their flag. It's a common symbol in different parts of the world. In the old days it used to be more common than today thanks to the cooption of the symbol like the swastika. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zack0891 Posted June 2, 2006 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 AFAIK, Rush did not come up with that Star/Man logo until some time after Hemispheres (if I'm wrong on that feel free to correct me!), so I'm not really sure who/what they had in mind in regards to the Hero from 2112. hemispheres came out in october 1978 by that time they already had 2 albums out with starman on it (all the worlds a stage 1976 and archives april 1978) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Renee Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 All of you are wrong. This is a quote from Neil Peart. "The Starman" logo first appeared on the cover of the 1976 album 2112. Neil Peart explained in 1982 "All it means is the abstract man against the masses. The red star symbolizes any collectivist mentality. Ok, so some of you were on the right track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrassDragon Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 I am a HUGE Rush fan. It is weird, however, how they place the song "Passage to Bangkok" right after "2112". 2112 espouses Reason while Passage to Bangkok is just about looking for the best weed to get stoned off of. And isn't it ironic, don't ya think? Sorry for being part of a revival of a year-old thread, but I just wanted to say in response to the quote above above - I was also bothered by that, until I decided the train in Bangkok which goes around the world could be symbolic of the transcontinental train in Atlas Shrugged. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but after a song like 2112, why not? I don't have the album, but I know Rush mentioned Rand as an inspiration on the album cover of 2112 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Cashdollar Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Does anyone understand what Rush's symbol means? (The "Starman"?) Here's a pic: http://www.intac.com/~pagano/rush/images/starman4.jpg Rush album art is great. Hunter Cashdollar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twalls Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 I did always wonder about that, but I wasn't bothered by it. I enjoy the song for the music and exotic imagery conjured up by the lyrics, not the fact that it's about being a globetrotter in search of "good smoke." I was a diehard fan of theirs for a while until my tastes drifted away from prog rock and towards roots, garage and alternative rock. I was quite intrigued by their recent Feedback EP, although I could have done without the Stephen Stills/Buffalo Springfield covers. I've always had a disdain for sappy, collectivist hippie music! T. Sorry for being part of a revival of a year-old thread, but I just wanted to say in response to the quote above above - I was also bothered by that, until I decided the train in Bangkok which goes around the world could be symbolic of the transcontinental train in Atlas Shrugged. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but after a song like 2112, why not? I don't have the album, but I know Rush mentioned Rand as an inspiration on the album cover of 2112 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time_Maker Posted November 19, 2006 Report Share Posted November 19, 2006 "A Passage to Bankok" was not designed, orginally, to come after "2112". On my copy (which is a Long Playing disk), Side "A" is 2112, and side "B" is all the other songs. In order to listen to "A Passage to Bankok" (or anything else), most people would have to flip the disk over and put the needle on the disk, and the songs don't play straight through. I don't know how long the gap is between "2112" and "A Passage to Bankok" on a CD, or how it feels to hear that song to be played right after "2112". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargormudshark Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 I think Bangkok serves Peart's views a little more, the best of both worlds is how he would probably put it. You have your "Apollo" track and then after you have your "Dionysus" track. You could also look at it as "ok, I just listened to a really serious song, now I need to give my head a rest and listen to a song about something stupid, like weed". It could have also been a lyric exercise "I can write an epic about Individualism and I can write a song about pot. I will also say, out of the thousands of rock songs (mostly in the 60's and 70's) "A Passage to Bangkok" is definantly the best song, musically and lyrically, about pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Mac Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 (edited) Man Against The Masses! I would think Neil fits in between that star perfectly... The guy has been through hell and back! Edited October 9, 2007 by Billy Mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalogKiD Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Rush Fan here, my fave song from Rush is Mission! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alethiometry Posted October 17, 2007 Report Share Posted October 17, 2007 For you Rush fans out there... What is the significance of the name of the Temple of Syrinx? Why choose the word syrinx? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Mac Posted October 17, 2007 Report Share Posted October 17, 2007 For you Rush fans out there... What is the significance of the name of the Temple of Syrinx? Why choose the word syrinx? i'ts 2062, it's greek, it sounded good! The Canadian rock band Rush wrote "The Temples of Syrinx", part of their twenty-minute epic track, 2112. The name is ironic because the Priests of the Temples in the dystopian society depicted in the lyrics are opposed to music and advocate the destruction of musical instruments. Rush also makes references to computers inside "The Temples of Syrinx" in their song "2112". Although the premise may seem ironic, Neil Peart, who titled the track and wrote the lyrics understood the history of the dystopian society. Upon listening to the lyrics it becomes obvious that it is the anthem of one man's legacy to fight the priests at all costs and bring music to the people. In the song "10001110101" by Clutch, The Temples of Syrinx is said to be 'having the bake sale of the year', probably in reference of Rush's 2112. Novelist Samuel R. Delany features an instrument called a "sensory syrinx" (a sound, scent, and hologram projector) in his science-fiction novel Nova. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yitzhak Finnegan Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) I saw the band 4 times! Sure beats popular cookie-cutters like The Backstreet Boys or InSync. I tried to hotlink to a site where you can read Rush lyrics (95% by Neil Peart), but it ended up saying the page wasn't found. So try typing the URL out at www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/9123/lyrics.html . Edited March 16, 2008 by Yitzhak Finnegan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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