• Track: Subdivisions
• Artist: Rush
• Album: Signals
• Year: 1982

Lyrics:

Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown

Growing up it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass production zone
Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone

Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone

[Chorus:]
(Subdivisions)
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
(Subdivisions)
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth

Drawn like moths we drift into the city
The timeless old attraction
Cruising for the action
Lit up like a firefly
Just to feel the living night

Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights…

[Chorus]

(Subdivisions)
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
(Subdivisions)
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth

If there’s one thing that we here at Dances with Bass Radio are struggling to explain, it’s that it took us until now to feature a track from a little Canadian prog-rocking trio known as Rush. Believe us, the oversight isn’t because we don’t like Rush. In fact, Rush easily is a top 10 band here with most of the staff (Mrs. Dances with Bass notwithstanding). It’s just that originally we felt that Rush was a little too obvious. We started with—and still lean heavily upon—under-the-radar artists and deep cuts from known artists. Sometimes, we feature radio hits when we’re feeling mainstream, but we’ve largely ignored some of the mega-artists because we felt as though featuring those artists was just pandering.

Well, we were wrong, and we’ve realized that we’re okay with pandering.

Rush is quite possibly the most technically sound band to ever step on a stage. In most bands, there’s a frontman (or woman) who gets all the attention. In some bands, there’s one musician who stands above the rest of his or her peers as a vocalist or player. Rush, however, features three of the best musicians in the world at their respective instruments. There can be no legitimate discussion about bass playing that doesn’t involve Geddy Lee. There can be no talk of the best drummer that doesn’t involve Neil Peart. And though he often doesn’t get the love he’s due, true music fans know Alex Lifeson easily is in the discussion when it comes to the world’s best rock guitarists. 

I could have picked any number of Rush tracks to feature here, but I chose Subdivisions because as a misfit who was far from cool and who endured years of torment from bullies when I was young, these lyrics have always spoken to me. To this day, this song reminds me to be myself and not to care about fitting in. I needed that wisdom in the early 1980s and thankfully, Rush was there to provide it.

At present, Rush is taking a hiatus from stadium touring, and the jury is still out on whether Peart has retired, but regardless of its future, Rush’s past is a rock and roll juggernaut. During its nearly 50-year career, Rush released 19 studio albums, 11 live albums, 9 compilation albums, 10 videos (DVDs), 32 music videos, 1 EP, 6 box sets, and 78 singles.

Rush has produced 24 gold records and 14 platinum records—three of which were multi-platinum. Rush ranks third behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones or the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. The band has sold well in excess of 25 million albums.

Video:

Here is the original 1982 video for Subdivisions:

And here is a live version, which was recorded in Dallas, Texas in 2013:

Lastly, because we’re BIG Rush fans here at the Dances with Bass tri-level, here is their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, led by none other than the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins:

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