 I want to thank NordVPN for sponsoring this video. They felt like a really fitting sponsor given the nature of it. So if you want to show me some support go to nordvpn.com slash polyphonic and use the offer code polyphonic to start protecting your internet today. Rush have never been a band to go along with the norm. In many ways it's a miracle that they've had the mainstream success they have given their sound. They load their music with strange time signatures and complex musical phrasings and they're more than a little fond of 10 minute songs marinated in moral philosophy and science fiction. But this is exactly why people love them. Throughout their career Rush have been proudly anti conformist and anti-authoritarian and this philosophy is clearly reflected in many of their finest works. Let's take a closer look. In 1974 Neil Peart joined Rush taking over for John Rootsy on the drums. In addition to being an excellent drummer Peart also took over as the band's lyricist. Peart was a voracious reader and many of the texts he would devour made their way into his lyrics. Of all the authors he read though few impacted his lyrics like Ayn Rand. Rand was an influential philosopher and author. To dive into her would be an undertaking but a bit of context is necessary. Rand was the creator of the philosophy of objectivism. The idea that the most moral path is to pursue one's own happiness. It's easy to see this influence on Rush in a song like Anthem. That song was the first track of Peart's first album with Rush and it even shares a title with a Rand novella. In that song Rush succinctly sum up the crux of Rand's theory. While Rush have stated that they aren't objectivists the philosophy clearly influences them. In Anthem Peart takes the philosophy and applies it to the art world but the song also looks at the wider scope of things. Getty Lee sings of the impacts that people have had on the world and how they've bettered others lives by creating art that they wanted to create and seeking beauty by their own path. Rush lived by this philosophy within their own art. Their next album was a commercial failure due in large part to strange epic songs full of obscure lyrics. After its release Rush's label asked that they return to a more radio friendly sound for their next album. And their response? Opening their next album with a 20 minute high concept sci-fi epic. By pursuing the art that they felt would fulfill them Rush ended up creating one of the greatest albums ever made 2112. The epic song that drives that album continued to pull from Rand's Anthem. So much so that Peart credited her in the album's liner notes. Rand's novella tells the story of a dystopian future where the concept of individualism has been eradicated. In this world the main character discovers the suppressed secrets of electricity and helps spawn a revolution to bring back the concept of individualism and the self. Similarly 2112 is set in a dystopian future in the city of Megadon ruled by the temple of seerings. We open on an instrumental overture followed by a single biblical passage referring to those who are pure of heart and artistic. In the next section we are introduced to the priests that rule Megadon. They're an authoritarian theocracy built around the worship of technology claiming their interests are for the common good. By keeping technology away from the people however they've consolidated their power and rule the world a hypocritical inversion of their collectivist propaganda. The next section sees our hero discover a guitar in an abandoned cave. After learning to play the instrument he takes music to the priests and shows it to them. The priests realize the power that emotion and self expression can have on their subjects so they ban the hero from showing his music to the masses. Despondent the hero leaves and in the next section he's greeted with a prophetic dream of the elder race of men who left this world many years ago to create their own society built on hard work and beauty. The next section is a mournful soliloquy where the hero realizes he can't go on living now that he knows what the world could be and so we commit suicide. As our hero dies we get the ambiguous ending where a new voice comes in announcing that somebody has assumed control presumably the elder race coming back to claim their home. 2112 is a brilliant piece that shows why unfettered creativity is important and it paints a bleak picture of a world without it. Rush believed that art in its purest forms can truly save the world and this mentality didn't stop at 2112. 1980s permanent waves dives into the importance of individual freedoms with free will. The chorus of that song is a celebration of free will discussing the importance of being able to choose your own path and make your own beauty. Permanent waves also featured the spirit of radio which warned of what happens when corporations interfere with an artist's individuality. A year after permanent waves Rush released Moving Pictures, a milestone album in their career. That album featured more experimentation and was bookended by a pair of songs celebrating their individualism. The album's final track, Vital Signs talks about the importance of breaking free from conformity. The opener of Moving Pictures is perhaps Rush's best known song and it depicts another character who falls in line with Rush's philosophy on individualism, today's Tom Sawyer. Pierre wrote this song alongside Pie Dubois building on Dubois' lyrics that depicted a free-spirited modern rebel. The second verse of that song lays out the titular character's convictions. The chorus portrays today's Tom Sawyer as a mythic figure, an archetype through which you can see society. He is a reflection of the society he defies. By looking at all that he rebels against, you can see the ills of society. When you look at Rush's work, it's no surprise that they could never conform to the norm. They're just not made that way. And they were all the better for it. The reason Rush were able to achieve such greatness was because they knew what they wanted and they were able to pursue their own beauty fearlessly. And by creating the art that they wanted to create, Rush found true beauty that helps us appreciate our own lives and the world around us. I want to thank NordVPN for sponsoring this video. Go to nordvpn.com slash polyphonic and use the offer code polyphonic to save 77%. 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