Detroit Reg. Semi Final 2 - Gong v. Rush

Oooh!  I wonder how many of our prog heroes have had a 'drug free existence'?  So the abstemious Rush over naughty Gong?  What a disingenuous argument to make!  It is neither here nor there.  Should we have a new prog genre called 'sensible prog' so at least Rush can be the undisputed champions?

The Bearded Bard wrote: qwiksand wrote: Saperlipopette! wrote: ˆI think you need to post 50 times first Ah, ok, thanks for the info. Pretty sure it's 40, not 50, so you're only 9 posts away from voting heaven.

Flight123 wrote: Oooh!  I wonder how many of our prog heroes have had a 'drug free existence'?  So the abstemious Rush over naughty Gong?  What a disingenuous argument to make!  It is neither here nor there.  Should we have a new prog genre called 'sensible prog' so at least Rush can be the undisputed champions?

Argonaught wrote: Flight123 wrote: Oooh!  I wonder how many of our prog heroes have had a 'drug free existence'?  So the abstemious Rush over naughty Gong?  What a disingenuous argument to make!  It is neither here nor there.  Should we have a new prog genre called 'sensible prog' so at least Rush can be the undisputed champions? That's a good point - a heartfelt honorable mention to the C-Prog flagship :) But really, all  the publicity Rush has ever received has to do with the music they make, which is kind of unique for such a popular band. I can't remember anything nasty; no messy divorces, no affiliations with unsavory characters or sinister cults, no pharmaceutical antics, no controversial "activism" etc ..

Alex Lifeson and his son had an altercation with a police officer in Miami, FL (I think) sometime in the past 10 years, and were arrested. But all sources I've read point to the fault of the officers.

But that's about it. When they were touring with KISS, Simmons and co. of course invited many groupies into their rooms after shows. On the other hand, Geddy, Neil, and Alex would go back to their rooms and watch TV.

Flight123 wrote: Oooh!  I wonder how many of our prog heroes have had a 'drug free existence'?  So the abstemious Rush over naughty Gong?  What a disingenuous argument to make!  It is neither here nor there.  Should we have a new prog genre called 'sensible prog' so at least Rush can be the undisputed champions?

Edited by Mellotron Storm - December 24 2014 at 12:08

Like mickey stated on another poll, seems this one is about voting against the other band, not sure why though. It's like the reverse of fanboyism, vote against the big prog band. We saw it with Caravan/ELP...really?? Caravan wins 

rogerthat wrote: Well, they were huge Ayn Rand fans so that kind of 'compensates' for their 'drug free' existence.  I love Rush, by the way, but I must say their dead serious attitude stands out, in a not so good way, compared to some of these older prog rock bands.

Neil was into Ayn Rand (not the other two, as far as I know) when he was in his twenties. He has long since turned his back to those ideas, as witnessed by some interviews.

As regards the whole drug question, I have never done any kind of drugs in my life, nor have I ever been interested in trying. In spite of that, I love many bands and artists who have never been shy about their use of various things of drugs - even the most dangerous ones, such as heroin or cocaine. In any case, there are a lot of musicians who don't do drugs, but drink like fish - and alcohol is as bad as drugs, if not even worse.

Catcher10 wrote: Like mickey stated on another poll, seems this one is about voting against the other band, not sure why though. It's like the reverse of fanboyism, vote against the big prog band. We saw it with Caravan/ELP...really?? Caravan wins  It's not just the impact a band has had on other prog bands, like I said before most new prog bands hardly are prog anymore, but what influence they may have on all of rock music. The problem I have with bands like Gong, is the volume of formations they went thru. The early classic lineup died after what 5-6yrs, a very long hiatus and all the motherGong, nyGong, planetGong variations that popped up, reunion shows....so on. Hey it is what it is for Gong.  Then we have bands like Rush, Marillion, ELP and even the Floyd, who kept and still are putting out material as the same group, there are no sub-groups helping them along, or pages of former members. My point is even if I wanted to vote for Gong I have no idea which group, subgroup I would be voting for......I know who I am voting for when it is Rush in this case.

The pothead pixies reference that I made was a tongue in cheek light hearted dig at the "enemy" band.  Apparently, it got a few of our "not-so-serious" band's fans panties in a bunch.  Oh the irony.  I am well aware that the Rush men partook of weed and if I were to dislike musicians for being drug addicts I could pretty much get rid of my entire collection. 

Edited by rushfan4 - December 25 2014 at 06:42

now that you all are 'even'.

Micky here,  Merry Chrismas everyone!!!

For disucussions sake. From the great McFerrien review site. A fan of prog rock, but not a fanatic. i.e. Like many of us, sees that when done best, nothing is better, but prog itself is no better or worse than any other style of music.

regarding the 'anti' Rush forces. Perhaps one can consider that the 'anti' votes as much for the fans, as it is the group.  It seems his less than loving thoughts on the group drew, and still continue TO draw legions of the fanboys to his site.

http://www.johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org/rush.html