Test for Echo

I've liked the band Rush since I first heard them on the radio around 1990 and 91.  Radio air waves were the most accessible way to engage with popular and diverse music.  The classic rock stations would play Rush regularly, and I was especially impressed with Tom Sawyer, to begin with.  I was age 14 to 15 then, now in July 2025, I'm 49.  During these years I've listened to Rush sort of on and off, and remain loyal.  The band is one of many interests I hold, let alone musical.

Two interesting themes that aged well with the song Test for Echo (T4E) is our human need for mutual affirmation, and the competition for people's attention.  Also, the song has excellent anthemic drumming by "the Professor," lyricist Neil Peart, may he rest in peace.

1. Testing for Echo.

Everybody needs an "echo," some affirmation, to know they're not alone. Sometimes that can be life's most precious discovery -- somebody out there who feels the way you do. You ask yourself "Am I crazy?", "Am I weird?", and you need some affirmation: the echo. While the answer to those questions may still be "Yes!," it's good to know that you're not the only one. You are not alone... [ Peart, from Test for Echo Tour Book ]

2. Competition for people's attention.

We are bombarded with advertising, headlines, news articles, in the 1990s and more so in the present.  Nowadays clickbait and fake news can confound and keep us distracted, in fog, or too blue-pilled.  T4E lyrics mention criminal trials, and was written likely in aftermath of many absurd manifestations of the American justice system, the OJ Simpson trial being at the forefront in those times, with a theatrical, bizarre media spectacle.

In the OJ Simpson trial, the murder was June 1994 and the acquittal only 11 months later, October 1995.  I seem to recall much commentary that T4E was inspired by the dizzying, vertiginous amount of news articles and coverage.  Our attention is monetized, profited from.  Tabloids and click-bait exist in every domain of human interactions.  In nature there is camouflage, artful displays, and predatory ambushes.  Deception.  Who can you believe?  As Neil Peart wrote in their prior song "Show Don't Tell."

Our need for echo is often weaponized, such as when a person or group is ostracized, for a variety of reasons, or justifications.  In the bombardment and *rush* of life, predators often deceive and blend reality with fiction.

"We must defend the truth at all costs, even if we are reduced to just twelve again." - St. Pope John Paul II

Truth then becomes more important, at every level as necessary.  Critical thinking, wisdom, courage, discernment, experience, and stoicism become paramount to *resist* (another song from the T4E album) various levels of predation and propaganda.

Propaganda [merriam-webster.com], noun :

- the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.

- ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause.

Predators, whether in the physical or social realm, often go after the young and the elderly first, in many ways the easier targets.  Such predators aim to destabilize and profit, from the sheer destruction of good things that other people or beings build and represent.  T4E is a musical interpretation of many such themes.  It is also a critique of the justice system, often absurd and corruptible.  Follow the money.  OJ was acquitted after 11 months.  

Balance is key

Now almost 30 years after its release, T4E has aged well and is relevant.  Most of us have these pocket-size devices rife with clickbait and rabbit hole options.  Our attention is sought after, coveted, monetized, profited from.  We protect ourselves and our loved ones from deceit and false propaganda.  Envy and greed are unfortunate prime drivers in the malevolent component of deceptive enterprises.

Searching for information on T4E, I was pleased to come across an author who seems to share many interests of my own.  His and my posts are I hope, the positive aspect of social media, that we all sample and *test* every day, one day at a time.  Being a (myself happily retired) doctor, a father, and a camper as my username suggests.  An author, interested in the band Rush, the Rocky Mountains, religious wisdom, individual liberty, conservatism, history, hiking, and science fiction.  Maybe those of us who check many of the same boxes are not that rare after all.  Test for Echo.

There is a book called Neil Peart: Cultural Repercussions, a nice word play on the percussionist, and lyricist Peart, who is celebrated through his many contributions.  I hope to sample that book sometime.

Memory lane

I've gravitated recently to instrumental versions of songs, widely available on YouTube nowadays, including T4E.  These let us hear the musical instruments a little more, and double as great karaoke versions.  I find them more amenable to multi-tasking, when we train ourselves to do so responsibly.  Too much multi-tasking and you'd say "here we go, vertigo... video vertigo..."  

I dug up the ticket stubs of the Rush concerts I've been fortunate to have attended.  They were 8 shows altogether, starting with Counterparts tour at the Civic Arena in April 1994, and spanning to their last tour, "R40" in the summer of 2015.  A memorable one for me was their Time Machine show in Cleveland 2011, the performance was made into a major video release, a great keepsake, and my claim to say "I was there !"  [photos of my 8 concert show tickets below]

It seems I caught T4E twice, first in 1996 and again in June 1997.  In that timespan I obtained a T4E promo poster from a local record store, purchased a keepsake "Rush Limbo" pendant at one of the concerts, saved a local music periodical that featured T4E, I haven't re-read but may be of interest to another reader.  Photos below.

As an aside, there might be something special about years that end in 6. The USA, where my 2 children and I were all born and live, became independent in 1776.  My father was born in 1936.  I was born in 1976.  T4E was released in 1996.  My son was born in 2006.  I will stay on the main path from the "years that end in 6" rabbit hole though.

One more Rush moment, 37min into their Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary, Neil says about going their own way with their magnum opus "2112", and I strongly agree with this declaration when made by a competent responsible adult: "we did summon that strength of character to say 'no we won't do that, we're doing it our way and if this is the last hurrah fine' you know back to the farm equipment dealership for me.  It was a big no - 'No we're not doing any of that, no you can't tell us what to do, and no we don't care'." :)

Thanks for your attention.  I hope this edifies your perspectives, and I recommend videos of Neil Peart drumming to Test for Echo, and the T4E audio instrumental version, links below functional as of today.  Concepts of critical thinking and justice are also explored in their song Show Don't Tell.  All searchable on our widely available "sensory screens."  Grateful for Rush's masterful lyrical and musical contributions over so many decades, with endurance, persistence, authenticity, exploration, and dedication.

Happy Rushin', and be well everyone.
Mark "drdadcamp"
7/14/2025
I used zero AI in writing this essay, only my tiny shiny human brain at work, and in-line quotes.  I aim to inspire and motivate others, spread awareness, culture, and good authentic human stuff.

Rush - Test for Echo (Neil Peart drumming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hPGiJp6Yg
Rush - Test for Echo - Instrumental
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYjYVWl6xfI
Impressive list of Rush tour dates
https://cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/tourdates.php

[Below: poster, tickets to 8 shows, music publication articles, Rush Limbo, couple photos from 1996]