Progarchives.com has always (since 2002) relied on banners ads to cover web hosting fees and all. Please consider supporting us by giving monthly PayPal donations and help keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.
Tarkus for all its greatness, epicness, horness.......its just not that great, epic yes.....but not great. 2112 has a much better storyline than Tarkus and forget about Side 2 of this ELP release......complete rubbish! I think my needle has touched that side maybe twice in the past 20 yrs.
Because I play 2112 much more than Tarkus....Rush has my vote.
Doesn't 2112 just have a plot stolen from Ayn Rand? Don't they butcher the philosophical aspect of it?
"oh no, I live in a magic world where music is EVIL AND ILLEGAL but I found this thing - a guitar! But the priests, they banned it and broke it, so I'm gonna go to a cave, hallucinate and kill myself!"
Some pig...er storyline.
Inspired by Ayn Rand is probably more accurate. I have a hard time beliving Neil Peart would have butchered this in any way.But then i'm far from an expert on this concept or the novel that Rand wrote.
There's no possible way to make Ayn Rand any worse.
Joined: June 13 2010
Location: Long Island, NY
Status: Offline
Points: 19
Posted: August 11 2011 at 17:26
still can't vote - but 2112 by quite a good distance.
Side A & Side B are both better than Side A & Side B of Tarkus....and this takes nothing away from Tarkus - which does, in fact, rule.....but it doesn't rule as much as 2112 rules.
From a purely - "wow - how did they play that???" perspective - sure - Tarkus probably wins.
But from a purely - "what do I feel like listening to?" perspective - Rush wins the day - which is probably why the band, in general, is more popular and more consistent than ELP.
What makes Rush great isn't just the technical prowess.....but their skills as songwriters - and that includes Peart's lyrics.
I'm also not sure that 2112 is directly lifted from an actual piece of Ayn Rand's writing - but it most certainly is lifted from her philosophy of Objectivism....the strength of the individual. The character - the hero, in the end, loses to the authorities....and clearly the song is about an individual's will to be - well - an individual - being stomped on by the authorities.
The Rand influence is even clearer in the first song we ever heard Peart play on - "Anthem" from 'Fly By Night'....the title being directly lifted from a Rand novel...
"Live for yourself...there's no one else
More worth living for
Begging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more"
and
"Well, I know they've always told you
Selfishness was wrong
Yet it was for me, not you, I came to write this song"
I am the ocean Lit by the flame I am the mountain Peace is my name I am the river Touched by the wind I am the story I never end.
Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 3595
Posted: August 11 2011 at 17:56
Obviously you haven't read Anthem.
The plot of 2112:
A man in a future society lives in a world without music. He discovers a guitar and plays it and falls in love with it. He takes it to the priests that rule his elder council. The deem it as an evil creation and destroy it. The man, fraught with despair, runs off and hides in a cave and dies.
The plot of Anthem:
A man in a future society lives in a world without electricity. He discovers the materials to make a working lightbulb and plays with it and falls in love with it. He takes it to the priests that rule his elder council. They deem it as an evil creation and attempt to destroy it. He escapes with it and runs off into the woods to create a new society based on the technology.
Joined: June 13 2010
Location: Long Island, NY
Status: Offline
Points: 19
Posted: August 11 2011 at 19:33
Alitare wrote:
Obviously you haven't read Anthem.
The plot of 2112:
A man in a future society lives in a world without music. He discovers a guitar and plays it and falls in love with it. He takes it to the priests that rule his elder council. The deem it as an evil creation and destroy it. The man, fraught with despair, runs off and hides in a cave and dies.
The plot of Anthem:
A man in a future society lives in a world without electricity. He discovers the materials to make a working lightbulb and plays with it and falls in love with it. He takes it to the priests that rule his elder council. They deem it as an evil creation and attempt to destroy it. He escapes with it and runs off into the woods to create a new society based on the technology.
EDIT: I friggin' hate Rush's lyrics.
You're right...never read it. Thanks for the education, though.
The lyrics from the song "Anthem" are clearly influenced by Rand's philosophy.
The only Rand book I ever read was her first one (We the Living) - which I liked quite a bit....very readable even if you weren't down with reading a philosophy book in the guise of a work of fiction.
Also made it through the first 3/4's of The Fountainhead.....but then my band's tour ended, I put it down and never picked it back up again....lame on my part.
I am the ocean Lit by the flame I am the mountain Peace is my name I am the river Touched by the wind I am the story I never end.
Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
Status: Offline
Points: 64350
Posted: August 12 2011 at 03:45
^ it's a good job but the levels could be better, and more familiarity with the piece; that trumpet player was having a hell of a time with Keith's chops..ouch
Joined: April 13 2010
Location: Dorset, England
Status: Offline
Points: 1433
Posted: August 12 2011 at 05:38
Atavachron wrote:
^ it's a good job but the levels could be better, and more familiarity with the piece; that trumpet player was having a hell of a time with Keith's chops..ouch
Well the levels are nothing to do with the orchestra or conductor.
As far as I'm aware, trumpets are more suited to notes being close together (e.g. scales), so giving Keith's crazy, keyboard spanning, super-fast melody parts to that instrument was a bit of a mistake!
Joined: October 16 2006
Location: FL, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 17493
Posted: August 12 2011 at 14:38
Alitare wrote:
Obviously you haven't read Anthem.
The plot of 2112:
A man in a future society lives in a world without music. He discovers a guitar and plays it and falls in love with it. He takes it to the priests that rule his elder council. The deem it as an evil creation and destroy it. The man, fraught with despair, runs off and hides in a cave and dies.
The plot of Anthem:
A man in a future society lives in a world without electricity. He discovers the materials to make a working lightbulb and plays with it and falls in love with it. He takes it to the priests that rule his elder council. They deem it as an evil creation and attempt to destroy it. He escapes with it and runs off into the woods to create a new society based on the technology.
EDIT: I friggin' hate Rush's lyrics.
Anthem is a superb little piece.
I love Rush lyrics. More so now that I've been made to realize this connection.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
This page was generated in 0.270 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.
/PAlogo_v2.gif "Progarchives.com Homepage")
2112 vs. Tarkus
Topic Options
thehallway wrote:
