3/26: Good News First
Two beautiful moments in a very angry song
What happened to your old
Benevolent universe?
You know, the one with stars
That revolved around you,
Beaming down full of promises
To bring good news.
A hauntingly lovely rock song, “Good News First” is also more than a little angry. Tension radiates from the distorted vocal and guitar riff, the minor keys, the complicated chord progression where each note in the sequence doesn’t always sound like the one that should come next. The melody builds and builds to this weird, strained place with little resolution, even in the chorus.
In the end, I always feel a little stressed out after listening to this song.
That’s the point, of course. “Good News First” is a song about an argument. What the argument is about, we don’t really know, except that there’s no resolution found, only a sense of grudging acceptance: “Time, if nothing else, will do its worst/ So give me the good news first.”
That said, I think this song contains two of the most beautiful moments on the Snakes And Arrows album.
At the 3:00 minute mark, Alex switches to an acoustic guitar—no fancy flamenco or finger-picking here, just some gentle strumming that peels back the din and recaptures the listener’s focus for what comes next. Then Geddy sings, “Some would say they never fear a thing/ Well, I do/ And I’m afraid enough for both of us/ For me and you.” Neil finishes out that phrase with a really lovely, understated fill. He could go big—we all know he could—but he chooses not to. I love that whole sequence so much; it’s a team effort that highlights how effortless Rush makes it seem to create beautiful music together.
The second beautiful moment is Alex’s solo, starting around the 3:35 minute mark. It’s not a long solo, but the notes are clear and confident in a way the rest of the song distinctively isn’t. Until, that is, the solo is swallowed up by the grinding rhythm guitar, itself a pretty genius creative choice that mirrors the lyrics.
In that way, “Good News First” feels like the prequel to some of the mid-album tracks on Clockwork Angels, like “The Wreckers.” It’s just a damn well-made song.