When Rush were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, the Foo Fighters covered "2112" with such ease, it was like the song was permanently burned in their minds from thousands of listens. Artists as diverse as Les Claypool and Kirk Hammett name 2112 as one of their definitive albums, hammering home the fact that most musicians are nerds at heart, whether they play funk or metal. A young Billy Corgan made his chops learning to play "2112" in its entirety, and it's no stretch to see how its proggy sound and escapist lyrics made their way into The Smashing Pumpkins' discography. When it was released in 1976, 2112 opened up an entire world for so many young musicians, and its effect on rock can never be fully quantified. The band's legendary drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart, has spent his career pouring his heart onto the page, and his child-like earnestness is what makes Rush so much more than some dudes who can play bitchin' solos. With nothing else to do and nowhere to go, loneliness turns to escapism, escapism turns to fantasy, and fantasy turns to Rush. At some point growing up, everyone lived out a similar story in their daydreams, whether "The Priests" were their parents or their school principal or a small town that didn't get them. This is just about the nerdiest shit ever, but with Rush, that's the charm. The Priests disapprove, smash his guitar, and call his music a "silly whim" that "doesn't fit the plan." Then the man goes away determined to tear down the temples and the priests and all that. The man finds a guitar (or unnamed "ancient" instrument), teaches himself to play, and starts making music deviating that mandated by The Priests. The lyrics tell the story of a man living under a totalitarian government ruled by The Priests of the Temples of Syrnix, who control all reading material, pictures, and music among their subjects.
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