Heartwarming / Rush (Band)

aka: Rush

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• The Clockwork Angels tour includes a video dedication to astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, who died on August 25, 2012.
• Every single thing Neil says about his second daughter, Olivia, born in August 2009. Every. Single. Thing. He made her a picture book explaining why he was away from home so often and that he'd always come back because he hates being away from her when she asked questions about why daddy wasn't home much. He loves her so much, he is willing to write her her own children's book to help her deal with him not being there. Awww!
  • His news story, The Ballad of Larry and Suzy, detailing his nervousness and apprehension towards Olivia's impending arrival and how he worked through the anxiety by watching a hummingbird nest on the side of his house, published on his website in September of 2009, is equally heartwarming, both because of his protectiveness toward the nest and baby birds and his constant worry about becoming a father again. His February 2014 installment, Bubba and the Professor, speaks mostly about his apparent Split Personalities, but also includes a tooth-rottingly sweet few lines where he talks about spending time with Olivia and writing a cute song about how much the two of them love each other, complete with goofy choreography. Got cavities yet?
    • If you don't, you will after reading his March 2014 update, Not All Days Are Sundays, featuring tales of snowshoeing, sledding, and other wintry family fun in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec in February 2014. (Beware of the Mood Whiplash straight into Tear Jerker territory about midway through, though.)
• The ending to Cygnus X-1. When the protagonist sees the two gods fighting, he convinces them to resolve their differences and work together. In response, they make him Cygnus, God of Balance. Not only does it prove that these gods are more noble than their original counterparts, but it's also great to see the protagonist having that kind of reward after being sucked through a black hole. What's more, it has a happy ending unlike 2112.
  • The ending part of the song, "The Sphere: A Kind of Dream", is also this, as well as a great example of Sweet Dreams Fuel.invoked
• "Distant Early Warning" is, in essence, a Cold War progressive rock love song from Canada to the United States about how the former had the latter's back in case the Soviet Union tried to launch nuclear weapons. ^note Distant Early Warning was the name of Canada's nuclear weapons detection system, functioning as America's first line of defense in case such an attack was carried out.
  • At the end of the song, Geddy Lee sings "Absalom, Absalom, Absalom!", which is the name of King David's eldest son, who died fighting his father for the throne. Neil added these lyrics after reading a novel about Absalom by William Faulkner. Geddy's own son appears in the official music video, riding a missile in homage to Dr. Strangelove. All of this adds further meaning to the song when it hits you that the lyrics can also be about parental concern over nuclear weapons:
  The world weighs on my shoulders
  But what am I to do?
  You sometimes drive me crazy
  But I worry about you
  I know it makes no difference
  To what you're going through
  But I see the tip of the iceberg
  And I worry about you
• It's a bit of a recondite one, but — for any fan of the band who found it difficult to understand what exactly Neil saw in the works of Ayn Rand, to hear or read him talk about her now in terms of "Yeah, I was in my early twenties and I lacked confidence and I needed someone to confirm that it was okay for me to be doing what I was doing and not selling out, but basically I'm over that now, because I can see, having grown up, that that philosophy lacks compassion and brings out some of the worst in people" is genuinely heartwarming.
• The last verse of Everyday Glory:
  If the future's looking dark, we're the ones who have to shine
  If there's no one in control, we're the ones who draw the line
  Though we live in trying times, we're the ones who have to try
  Though we know that time has wings, we're the ones who have to fly
• The song "One Little Victory". It's the band's first song after Neil's family tragedies, and it's Neil telling listeners that absolutely no matter what happens to you, you absolutely can get past it; all you have to do is look at even small victories as... well, that, a victory. It's worth noting too that this message is coming from a man who lost his teenage daughter in a horrific auto accident and his wife to cancer in the same year. It's Neil's message to everyone in a total pit of despair, saying, "You got out of bed? Good. Keep going. Fight every challenge that comes your way. You've got this."
• This. O.O.C. Is Serious Business, indeed.
  • For those who want more context: Neil was known for being notoriously shy, and at the end of every other concert up to R40, he had always gotten up from the drums, immediately exited, and drove off on his motorcycle without so much as taking a bow for the audience. At the end of R40, however, taking a bow for the audience is exactly what he did. Yeah, Rush fans were in shock that day. Doubles as a Tear Jerker.
• All of the tributes Neil Peart got from fellow musicians, ranging from Gene Simmons, Brian Wilson, Lol Tolhurst of The Cure, even Chuck D of Public Enemy, and fans on social media when his death was announced in 2020, which shows how much he was loved.
  • Another unlikely source of unity came from the National Football League. All three networks broadcasting NFL playoff games on the weekend after Peart's death frequently played snippets of Rush songs leading into commercial breaks. One could also clearly hear "Tom Sawyer" playing over the Baltimore Ravens' public address system in their game versus the Tennessee Titans.
• In August 2022, Geddy & Alex got back together to make a surprise performance at the South Park 25th anniversary concert, with Matt Stone as their drummer. Matt, who is a huge fan of the band and was not in on the surprise, was grinning from ear to ear for basically the entire performance. Not to mention all of the audience members who thought they would never get another chance to see Rush perform in-person.

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