Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown (Profiles in Popular Music)

270 Pages·2009·1.4 MB·English

by  Christopher J. McDonald

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suburbia
“McDonald has produced a smart, probing, and illumi-
nating scholarly work that deserves a place alongside
Susan Fast’s In the Houses of the Holy as one of the
best musicological studies of a single rock band.”
—Theo Cateforis, Syracuse University, editor of
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The Rock History Reader
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“This book should be welcomed not only by those
with an interest in hard and progressive rock, but
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also by anyone who wishes to understand the

role of social class in recent popular culture.” h
—William Echard, Carleton University, author of
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Neil Young and the Poetics of Energy r
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Canadian progressive rock band Rush became the voice of the suburban middle M Rock Music

class in the seventies and eighties. In this book, Chris McDonald assesses the u
band’s impact on popular music and its legacy for legions of fans. McDonald s
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explores the ways in which Rush’s critique of suburban life—and its strategies C

for escape—reflected middle-class aspirations and anxieties, while its perform-
. anD the
ances manifested the dialectic in prog rock between discipline and austerity, a
Middle
and the desire for spectacle and excess. McDonald’s wide-ranging musical and n
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cultural analysis sheds light on one of the most successful and enduring rock

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bands of the last half-century.
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e class
ChRIS MCDonalD is an ethnomusicologist who specializes in popular music M
studies. he teaches at Cape Breton University.
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Cover photograph by Brian Raygor. Used by permission.
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$22.95 l
a Dreaming in miDD letown
INDIANA
s
University Press Profiles in PoPular music s
Bloomington & Indianapolis Glenn Gass and Jeffrey Magee, Chris MCDonalD
www.iupress.indiana.edu editors inDiana
1-800-842-6796
R u s h
Rock Music and the Middle class
R u s h

Profiles in Popular Music
Glenn Gass and Jeffrey Magee, editors
Unlocking the Groove: Jazzwomen: Five Percenter Rap:
Rhythm, Meter, and Conversations with God Hop’s Music, Dreaming in miDD letown
Musical Design in Twenty-One Musicians Message, and Black
Electronic Dance Music Wayne Enstice and Muslim Mission
Mark J. Butler Janis Stockhouse Felicia M. Miyakawa
Chris MCDonalD
Neil Young and the Choro: A Social The Songs of Jimmie
Poetics of Energy History of a Brazilian Rodgers: A Legacy in
William Echard Popular Music Country Music
Tamara Elena Jocelyn R. Neal
Johnny Cash and the
Livingston-Isenhour IndIana UnIversIty Press
Paradox of American The Megamusical
and Thomas George
Identity Jessica Sternfeld Bloomington and Indianapolis
Caracas Garcia
Leigh H. Edwards
R u s h

Rock Music and the Middle class
Dreaming in miDD letown
Chris MCDonalD
IndIana UnIversIty Press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of Manufactured in the United States of
America
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA Publication Data
www.iupress.indiana.edu McDonald, Chris, date
Rush, rock music, and the middle
Telephone orders 800-842-6796 class : dreaming in Middletown / Chris
Fax orders 812-855-7931 McDonald.
Orders by e-mail [email protected] p. cm. — (Profiles in popular music)
Includes bibliographical references and
© 2009 by Christopher McDonald index.
All rights reserved ISBN 978-0-253-35408-2 (cloth : alk.
paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-22149-0 (pbk.
No part of this book may be reproduced : alk. paper)
or utilized in any form or by any means, 1. Rush (Musical group)—Criticism and
electronic or mechanical, including photo- interpretation. 2. Rock music—History
copying and recording, or by any informa- and criticism. I. Title.
tion storage and retrieval system, without ML421.R87M34 2009
permission in writing from the publisher. 782.42166092’2—dc22
The Association of American University
Presses’ Resolution on Permissions consti- 2009019548
tutes the only exception to this prohibition.
1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10 09
∞ The paper used in this publication
meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Infor-
mation Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI
Z39.48-1992.
To
R o b
C o n t e n t s
vi
Acknowledgments ix
C o n t e n t s
Introduction 1
1 “Anywhere But Here”
Rush and Suburban Desires for Escape 27
2 “Swimming Against the Stream”
Individualism and Middle-Class Subjectivity in Rush 62
3 “The Work of Gifted Hands”
Professionalism and Virtuosity in Rush’s Style 101
4 “Experience to Extremes”
Discipline, Detachment, and Excess in Rush 134
5 “Reflected in Another Pair of Eyes”
Representations of Rush Fandom 157
6 “Scoffing at the Wise?”
Rush, Rock Criticism, and the Middlebrow 185
Notes 209
Works Cited 233
Selected Discography 247
Index 249
aCk n o w l e d g m e n t s
viii
aCk n o w l e d g m e n t s there are many people whose input, time, and generosity helped this
project to develop, and I want to acknowledge as many of them here
as I can. Thank you to my instructors, mentors, and colleagues, who
helped shape the intellectual trajectory of my research. In particular, I
thank Rob Bowman, Beverley Diamond, Bob Witmer, Susan Fast, Robert
Walser, Daniel Yon, Kip Pegley, Austin Clarkson, and David Lidov for their
instruction and counsel. Thank you to my colleagues and friends, with
whom I shared, and in many cases continue to share, ideas, advice, and
feedback, including Marcia Ostashewski, William Echard, Jonathon Ba-
kan, Sherry Johnson, Jacqueline Warwick, Charity Marsh, Simon Wood,
Brad Klump, Geoff Whittall, Durrell Bowman, Colette Simonot, Anna
Hoefnagels, and Kim Morris.
Special thanks to those who participated in this research as inter-
viewed consultants and questionnaire respondents. Your time and candid
responses made this book so much more than it would have been without
the voices of fans. Thanks especially to Cat Ashton, Larry Carter, Dave
Crothers, John Crothers, Paul M. Fournier, Alisa Frohlinger, Anthony
Guida, Alex Hofstrom, William Johnston, Mark Joseph, Tanya Keenan,
Joe Kositsky, Allen Kwan, Tim Smith, Laura Sypien, Kes Theodosiou, and
Dave Ward. Thanks to those who helped with questionnaire distribution
in various venues, including Ed Stenger at Rush Is a Band, Anthony Guida
at The Rush Interactive Network, and Terry Pidsadny in Toronto.
Many thanks to Alex Lifeson, who agreed to an interview in December
2001, and whose candid and articulate answers to my questions provided
valuable primary data for this project. The interview took place during a
very busy time in Rush’s career, and I very much appreciate Lifeson’s will-
ingness to speak to me, even as Rush prepared for a new album and tour.