NP

I'm not a fan of Rush, so I'm not really a fan of recently-deceased Neil Peart. (I guess you can like an instrumentalist in a band and not like the band, but it's not as easy as it sounds.)

Still, I recognize many thought he was a great drummer, so maybe I'll say a few things.  Actually, I don't have to--I just got an email from a drummer friend who had some interesting stuff to say. He explained that Peart's parts were very complex, but not improvised.  In other words, all those thousands of beats were done the same in concert every time.

My friend also noted that after decades of being considered one of the great rock drummers, Peart changed his style, which meant changing his grip from "match" to "traditional." It's pretty mind-boggling thing when you think about it.

Peart was also on my radar because he was a fan of Ayn Rand. Here's a pretty funny 1978 interview from Miles where he argues with the band over their politics.  Well, it's not really an argument. He quotes them, and then explains, in a hopelessly dishonest way, what their politics actually are and how they can't possibly work. (Not that Ayn Rand's politics would work--I just want them explained properly.)

Peart wrote the lyrics for the group. (I can't think of another case where the drummer was a band's lyricist.) His political leanings were often expressed in those lyrics.  This led to some weird songs.

For instance, one of their better known numbers is "Freewill." The song is about how others may believe outside forces control their fate, he the singer doesn't buy it--he is the author of his life.  Fair enough, but the way it's put is very strange:

You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose free will

This is not a great argument.  It assumes there's free will and says this is the way I'll go.  Either there's free will or not, regardless of what you'd like.  You may be able to choose a lot of things, but the one thing you can't choose is free will. (Though once you have free will, you can choose how you will deal with it.)

Anyway, here's to Neil Peart.  I just discovered he lived in Santa Monica.  I never ran into him.