d***@yahoo.com
2007-01-28 20:21:22 UTC
"Behind my little desk in Elora, looking out at the beginnings of
spring. Patches of brown grass and plowed earth show through the
snow. And that special smell is in the air. Manure."
-- Neil Peart, late March, 1985
"A strange thing happened on our first day back," Neil confessed in
his essay on the making of Power Windows. The "first day back" refers
to Rush's return to Canada from Miami, where they had played a few
shows; the "strange thing" refers to the birth of the song "Emotion
Detector." In contrast to the other songs the band had been working
on, "Emotion Detector" appeared virtually overnight. Neil penned the
lyrics with unusual rapidity; and when he presented them to his
bandmates, the trio found that the words perfectly fit the music Geddy
and Alex had been working on. "Et voila!" Neil exulted in the
language of love, "'Emotion Detector' was born."
Pleased as Neil was with his new progeny, "Emotion Detector" would
prove puzzling in some respects. "When we lift our covers from out
feelings," the lyric begins, "We expose our insecure spots/Trust is
just as rare as devotion/Forgive us our cynical thoughts." Neil went
out of his way to keep the song's viewpoint vague. He used the plural
pronoun "we" instead of the first person singular pronoun "I" in spite
of, or -- more likely, given Neil's secretiveness -- *because of* the
intimate nature of what he recounts. The lyric depicts a fascinating
transition on Neil's part. Initially, he's in the company of a
mysterious stranger, unsure of what he can safely divulge to this
person. But by the end of the lyric, Neil has conquered his
inhibitions. He is confident and high-spirited; his previously
repressed feelings now "run high." He's a veritable one-man parade!
But what effected this remarkable change? A hint of an answer is
found in the song's chorus, where we find that the "heart of the
matter" has been penetrated; the "beautiful part" has been exposed;
and "secret wells" have been plumbed. But what exactly is this all
that about? What is an "emotion detector," anyway? It sounds like
the name of some arcane gadget. The lyric sheds no explicit light on
this question. Perhaps careful scrutiny of the circumstances
surrounding the inception of "Emotion Detector" will illuminate these
things.
It's been noted that the lyric to "Emotion Detector" emerged
immediately in late March of 1985; it practically spilled from Neil, a
spontaneous emission. The lyric was *inspired* -- but by what? Let's
review the facts. According to Neil's essay on the making of PoW, he
and his colleagues had been working together on the album since
February. However, one gets the sense from Neil's essay that the trio
were plodding along listlessly. In early March, they flew to Miami to
play a few gigs -- but Neil doesn't say a word about how these
performances went. Afterward the trio headed to Lakeland, FL. -- and
this is where things start to get interesting; this is where Neil's
notes abruptly start to exhibit signs of life. And it was during his
stay in Lakeland that Neil first came face to face with one James
"Jimbo" Barton -- a man recruited nominally as Rush's new engineer.
Up to this point in his essay, Neil had declined to utter *one word*
about the character or appearance of his bandmates or of anyone else
involved in the album. But Neil reversed this policy when it came to
Jimbo Barton. Jimbo, Neil divulges, is an "irrepressible
Australian." Jimbo is "full of high spirits and confidence." And
Neil could not resist adding a further detail about Jimbo: "He is a
nice dresser."
For now let's put aside Neil's praise for Jimbo's flash to fashion.
Jimbo is irrepressible, confident, and high-spirited. Don't these
qualities sound oddly familiar? Indeed, aren't these precisely the
characteristics Neil celebrates at the end of "Emotion Detector"? It
cannot be a coincidence. "Emotion Detector" was penned immediately
after Neil's encounter with Jimbo; and it celebrates Jimbo's
qualities. "Emotion Detector" was inspired by Jimbo, and it depicts
Jimbo's liberating influence on Neil.
How did Jimbo transmit his irrepressibleness, his confidence, his high
spirits to Neil? By becoming his lover, of course. Hailing from
Australia, that bastion of gayness, Jimbo employed his confidence to
wear down Neil's resistances. Blunt and direct, Jimbo got right to
the heart of the matter, gripping Neil's beautiful part in his
calloused palms. Finally, Jimbo consummated the relationship,
gleefully probing Neil secret well, passing on his high feelings (not
to mention copious quantities of fluif) in the process. And on
returning to Elora in late March, Neil simply *had* to immortalize
this affair in a song, confident Rush fans were too stupid to ever
have any inkling what he was really going on about. Neil's memories
of his homosexual liaison were intensified by the scent of manure in
the air -- an odor Neil now regarded as "special."
Just one mystery in Neil's lyric remains unraveled. What *is* an
emotion detector? Remember that the feelings, the emotions celebrated
in this song aren't any feelings; they are gay feelings. Now let's
return to Neil's description of Jimbo as a "nice dresser." In a
sense, this comment of Neil's is a red herring, intended to throw Rush
fans off the fact that, during their time together, Neil and Jimbo
were stark raving naked. But on first meeting Neil, Jimbo was surely
dressed -- if only in the ridiculous attire of the flamboyantly gay
Aussie bushman (necklaces of crocodile teeth, patches of kangaroo fur,
etc.). It was thanks to this primitive if affected dress that Neil
detected Jimbo's homosexuality. And there's our answer: The
mysterious "emotion detector" is simply Neil's term for gaydar! Et
voila!
spring. Patches of brown grass and plowed earth show through the
snow. And that special smell is in the air. Manure."
-- Neil Peart, late March, 1985
"A strange thing happened on our first day back," Neil confessed in
his essay on the making of Power Windows. The "first day back" refers
to Rush's return to Canada from Miami, where they had played a few
shows; the "strange thing" refers to the birth of the song "Emotion
Detector." In contrast to the other songs the band had been working
on, "Emotion Detector" appeared virtually overnight. Neil penned the
lyrics with unusual rapidity; and when he presented them to his
bandmates, the trio found that the words perfectly fit the music Geddy
and Alex had been working on. "Et voila!" Neil exulted in the
language of love, "'Emotion Detector' was born."
Pleased as Neil was with his new progeny, "Emotion Detector" would
prove puzzling in some respects. "When we lift our covers from out
feelings," the lyric begins, "We expose our insecure spots/Trust is
just as rare as devotion/Forgive us our cynical thoughts." Neil went
out of his way to keep the song's viewpoint vague. He used the plural
pronoun "we" instead of the first person singular pronoun "I" in spite
of, or -- more likely, given Neil's secretiveness -- *because of* the
intimate nature of what he recounts. The lyric depicts a fascinating
transition on Neil's part. Initially, he's in the company of a
mysterious stranger, unsure of what he can safely divulge to this
person. But by the end of the lyric, Neil has conquered his
inhibitions. He is confident and high-spirited; his previously
repressed feelings now "run high." He's a veritable one-man parade!
But what effected this remarkable change? A hint of an answer is
found in the song's chorus, where we find that the "heart of the
matter" has been penetrated; the "beautiful part" has been exposed;
and "secret wells" have been plumbed. But what exactly is this all
that about? What is an "emotion detector," anyway? It sounds like
the name of some arcane gadget. The lyric sheds no explicit light on
this question. Perhaps careful scrutiny of the circumstances
surrounding the inception of "Emotion Detector" will illuminate these
things.
It's been noted that the lyric to "Emotion Detector" emerged
immediately in late March of 1985; it practically spilled from Neil, a
spontaneous emission. The lyric was *inspired* -- but by what? Let's
review the facts. According to Neil's essay on the making of PoW, he
and his colleagues had been working together on the album since
February. However, one gets the sense from Neil's essay that the trio
were plodding along listlessly. In early March, they flew to Miami to
play a few gigs -- but Neil doesn't say a word about how these
performances went. Afterward the trio headed to Lakeland, FL. -- and
this is where things start to get interesting; this is where Neil's
notes abruptly start to exhibit signs of life. And it was during his
stay in Lakeland that Neil first came face to face with one James
"Jimbo" Barton -- a man recruited nominally as Rush's new engineer.
Up to this point in his essay, Neil had declined to utter *one word*
about the character or appearance of his bandmates or of anyone else
involved in the album. But Neil reversed this policy when it came to
Jimbo Barton. Jimbo, Neil divulges, is an "irrepressible
Australian." Jimbo is "full of high spirits and confidence." And
Neil could not resist adding a further detail about Jimbo: "He is a
nice dresser."
For now let's put aside Neil's praise for Jimbo's flash to fashion.
Jimbo is irrepressible, confident, and high-spirited. Don't these
qualities sound oddly familiar? Indeed, aren't these precisely the
characteristics Neil celebrates at the end of "Emotion Detector"? It
cannot be a coincidence. "Emotion Detector" was penned immediately
after Neil's encounter with Jimbo; and it celebrates Jimbo's
qualities. "Emotion Detector" was inspired by Jimbo, and it depicts
Jimbo's liberating influence on Neil.
How did Jimbo transmit his irrepressibleness, his confidence, his high
spirits to Neil? By becoming his lover, of course. Hailing from
Australia, that bastion of gayness, Jimbo employed his confidence to
wear down Neil's resistances. Blunt and direct, Jimbo got right to
the heart of the matter, gripping Neil's beautiful part in his
calloused palms. Finally, Jimbo consummated the relationship,
gleefully probing Neil secret well, passing on his high feelings (not
to mention copious quantities of fluif) in the process. And on
returning to Elora in late March, Neil simply *had* to immortalize
this affair in a song, confident Rush fans were too stupid to ever
have any inkling what he was really going on about. Neil's memories
of his homosexual liaison were intensified by the scent of manure in
the air -- an odor Neil now regarded as "special."
Just one mystery in Neil's lyric remains unraveled. What *is* an
emotion detector? Remember that the feelings, the emotions celebrated
in this song aren't any feelings; they are gay feelings. Now let's
return to Neil's description of Jimbo as a "nice dresser." In a
sense, this comment of Neil's is a red herring, intended to throw Rush
fans off the fact that, during their time together, Neil and Jimbo
were stark raving naked. But on first meeting Neil, Jimbo was surely
dressed -- if only in the ridiculous attire of the flamboyantly gay
Aussie bushman (necklaces of crocodile teeth, patches of kangaroo fur,
etc.). It was thanks to this primitive if affected dress that Neil
detected Jimbo's homosexuality. And there's our answer: The
mysterious "emotion detector" is simply Neil's term for gaydar! Et
voila!