9/20: Instamatic (Vertical Horizon)
In a rare non-Rush musical side projects, Neil lends drums to this alt rock band.
Lost causes turn you on,
So I'm the perfect one.
Your eyes say it's okay now
Okay now
And I swore I’d never give
Until I began this blog, I had no idea that Neil worked with any other bands besides Rush. Imagine my surprise to discover that he had in fact recorded several songs with turn of the century alt-rock darlings Vertical Horizon, even co-writing lyrics for a few of their songs (but we’ll get to that another time).
To my knowledge, Neil didn’t write the lyrics for “Instamatic,” but he was deeply involved with the song’s rhythm and composition, as you can see in the below video. It’s a behind-the-scenes vid, one of many made during the recording of Echoes from the Underground, and it shows Neil laying down the drum track for this tune.
“Instamatic,” named for the first point-and-shoot Kodak cameras, is a lovely rock song, with some beautiful and haunting chord progressions. Guitarist/vocalist Matt Scannell has a truly lovely voice—it always seems to pluck at some hidden heart string deep in my chest. And that bridge…. augh. Rock can be so beautiful sometimes.
What do y’all think of this one?
As the guy said at the end, "I LOVE THAT!"