In a way, 2112’s message isn’t all that different from the rebellious ideology that characterized the burgeoning punk movement at the time. Bands like The Ramones and the Sex Pistols were nearing the apex of their cultural influence in 1976, turning wholly away from the bombast of mainstream rock and embracing the power of the individual to create music — no matter that individual’s musical skill. Punk represented the resentment by the masses of a commercial music apparatus that had abandoned its populist roots; it was a sort of taking back music itself. In this regard, Rush’s mentality going into the creation of 2112 — “fuck it, we’re doing this our way” — matched the rising tide of artistic protest against the “rock establishment,” propelling the band firmly out of the fantastical bubble they’d constructed with Caress of Steel and bringing them before a receptive audience in the real world. In the process, they established themselves as heroes of the misfits, the young people who feel left behind by society. Many of their later standout efforts, from “Tom Sawyer” to “Subdivisions”, express the challenges of individualism first heard in 2112.

Tags: Rush