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Open Secrets: Individualism and Middle‐Class Identity in the Songs of Rush

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 31; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03007760701214195

1740-1712

Christopher L. McDonald,

Canadian Identity and History

Abstract This article examines how the songs of the progressive rock group Rush can be understood as a manifestation of North American middle‐class identity, and considers how individualism and escapism play integral roles in the formation of a largely male, middle‐class, suburban world view. The article contextualizes and critiques the individualistic nature of middle‐class identity, as it is presented by Rush in songs such as “Subdivisions” and “Tom Sawyer.” Acknowledgments I want to thank sincerely the people who provided feedback on various drafts of this article, including Heather Sparling, Jonnie Bakan, Marcia Ostashewski, Peter Narvaez, and other participants at the 2005 IASPM Canada conference in St. John's, Newfoundland, as well as the two anonymous peer reviewers at Popular Music and Society. I also want to acknowledge the past guidance with this topic which I received from Rob Bowman, Bob Witmer, Susan Fast, and Robert Walser. Notes 1. Given the limitations of space, a small number of representative songs were chosen for this article. “Anthem” (1975) and “2112” and “Something for Nothing” (both 1976) are early songs drawing directly from individualist‐libertarian author Ayn Rand, whose influence on Peart's lyric writing is well‐acknowledged (see Price; Harrigan), and the importance of these songs in Rush's repertoire is reflected in their inclusion on the group's live albums and retrospective compilations. “Tom Sawyer” (1981) and “Subdivisions” (1982) were chosen from Rush's most commercially successful phase as easily accessible examples of Rush's individualist and suburban concerns. Similar themes are approached in a variety of other tracks from this period and later, such as “The Analog Kid” (1982), “Grand Designs” (1985), “Middletown Dreams” (1985), “War Paint” (1989), and many others. 2. The ethnographic component of this research involved 215 Internet questionnaires and in‐depth interviews with 15 Rush fan consultants. Both questionnaires and interviews broached the musical and lyrical meaning of Rush's music for these fans, and the interviews included a component in which four Rush songs were listened to by the interviewer and consultant and discussed in depth. The consultants' names provided here are, at their request, pseudonyms.