Two short Neil Peart interviews
There are two short interviews with Neil Peart that are worth a read.
The first is in the Guardian, where Neil discusses the lyrical background of "Xanadu":
Neil Peart, Rush
In 1975 I was trying to write a song inspired by the dark mood and subtle psychology of the film Citizen Kane, which features the opening lines of Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I looked up the poem and was overwhelmed by its imagery and emotional power. The song Xanadu was taken over by the poem in a way that has never happened since. I added the "adventure travel" aspect to the song's story before I'd travelled further than the rock clubs of North America. I portrayed Coleridge's idea of immortality as a grim curse -- Citizen Kane is the opposite: mortality as a punishment. There's a joke that goes, "Rush is what happens when you let the drummer write the songs", which is funny, but of course I only write the lyrics. The line in the song Animate -- "daughter of a demon lover" -- pays homage to these powerful lines from Kubla Khan: "As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted/ By woman wailing for her demon lover." Now that's rock.
The second is part of author Mike Heppner's Man Talking Project. Neil's answers to questions are presented along with other writers in the "Talking" section.
Thanks to Rushisaband for the head's up.
Labels: interview