A Different Kind of Freedom: Remembering Neil Peart

I thought I was a casual Rush fan. With Neil Peart’s passing, I realize maybe I’m a little more than that.

As we all celebrate the late Neil Peart’s massive influence as the drummer and lyricist for Rush, equally inspiring, if easily overshadowed, is the sense of individuality and freedom that drove his music and — as we’re reminded by the way we all found out about his passing — his life.

His playing was almost as idiosyncratic as it was revered; his band was considered the oddball even among their weirdest peers.

And, as a lyricist, he managed to write celebrated rock songs based on Ayn Rand and libertarian ideas, typical subject matter and political fashions be damned.

Almost four years to the day from when David Bowie, another unique voice, passed away from an illness kept secret, Peart quietly left us.

It’s ironic to think that someone with a drumset that big and a band that loud would be described as quiet. And, that juxtaposition is a big part of what we’ll miss.

That final, sudden announcement, was proof that he lived so genuinely like the music he created — and of how rare and special that is.

Before we go any further, here’s a disclaimer: I’m far from the biggest Rush fan. I got into them back…