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THE SPIRIT OF RADIO – RUSH: This was the leadoff track from the album Permanent Waves, released on January 1st, 1980… thus making this song among the first 80’s songs ever released! The track, inspired by a Toronto radio station’s slogan (CFNY, The Spirit Of Radio) was an ode to the power of Marconi’s medium, and also marked the Canadian power trio's first foray into the world of pop songs (well, as pop as a progressive band like Rush was gonna get at the time). Bristling with electricity, and railing against the format-heavy philosophy of commercial radio – the song made no bones about it’s stance: “All this machinery making modern music / Can still be open-hearted / Not so coldly charted / It's really just a question of your honesty, yeah, your honesty / One likes to believe in the freedom of music / But glittering prizes and endless compromises / Shatter the illusion of integrity”. Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart commented about it to Billboard magazine: ''The Spirit of Radio was actually written as a tribute to all that was good about radio, celebrating my appreciation of magical moments I'd had since childhood, of hearing 'the right song at the right time.' However, the song's celebration of the ideals of radio necessarily seemed like an attack on the reality - on the formulaic, mercenary programming of most radio stations, with music the last of anyone's concerns. And yes, it was really ironic that such a song became popular on radio, though it was a kind of litmus test. Some radio guys who 'got it' could hear the song and think, 'That's the way it ought to be,' while others - the shallow, swaggering salesmen-of-the-air - could be oblivious to the song's meaning and proudly applaud themselves, 'That's about me!''' (credit: Getty Images)
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