Greg was sporting his latest Rush concert T-shirt. The marquee at Hershey advertised a date in mid-July. I haven't kept up with their albums and tours¹, but then it would seem I haven't missed much. That is, the last concert tour we saw was Test for Echo in '96.

It's a little surprising to find Peart listed second on a countdown of the 40 worst lyricists. Sting ranks number one. I don't know too many of the others, frankly.

Worst lyric:

I stand atop a spiral stair
An oracle confronts me there
He leads me on light years away
Through astral nights, galactic days

This is worse than The Moody Blues?

I expected Paul McCartney and found him. What has always saved him is his voice and the music:

Apparently born with neither self-examination nor introspection genes, McCartney is the king of cloying and superficial rock lyrics.

Less obvious while John Lennon was around to add acid edge to his mimsy musings, this became a big problem as soon as McCartney went solo—where he descended into weedhead whimsy and sentimental cotton candy like “La la la la la la lovely Linda/With the lovely flowers in her hair.”

Worst lyric:

“Ebony and ivory
Live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard
Oh, Lord, why don’t we”

No argument from this huge fan over here: McCartney belongs on the list, maybe even higher up.

Anyway, I suggested to Jeff that he catch the show at PNC Bank Arts Center next Sat. if he can get a ticket. A review of the show last summer at the same venue.

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¹ How appropriate, nearly all my favorite bands have, well, disbanded. Makes keeping up with them easier. And unlike Peart here, they're not likely to embarrass me.