Music of the Day, 24 September 2024

it's my turn to ...

Drive!¹

I have my car back, and it’s drivable. The story of what happened is long and pretty stupid: suffice it to say that vandals drove it to a more secluded place in our apartment complex and went through it for anything worth stealing. They ended up taking the CD player/radio, which was on its last legs so I doubt they got enough cash to buy even one hit of their preferred illegal substance. Other than the battery being drained, nothing else was damaged. I just drove it home from the shop,² and it’s fine.

“Driven” by Rush is also mighty fine. It is very likely my favorite song off their 1996 album Test for Echo. That was a pivotal time for me, as I had just ended my marriage and was feeling driven to discover who I was and what was important to me.

My brother and I saw the fourth show on that tour, with the best seats I’d ever had—within the first 20 rows on the floor, and on Geddy’s side. He used “Driven” as the launch pad for an off-the-chain bass solo that was one of the best I’ve heard from him. There are videos from the tour that include it, but I’ve not seen any from the show I saw, and they seem a little different … but that could be my memory playing tricks on me.

It is an enormous relief to have our ride back. However, I’m also nervous about it being stolen again—maybe that’s irrational, but since the thieves didn’t bust the locks or the ignition to enter and drive it off, it’s clearly vulnerable. Gonna have to think about this for a bit.

1. Yes, drive my car. I was sorely tempted to use that Beatles tune, but I didn’t want to steal

Peter Saint-Andre

’s clever suggestion

2. the battery was still under warranty, so I didn’t have to pay a penny