33 years after first hearing this on the Signals album, the combination of one of mankind's greatest achievements set to a brilliant narrative and music by one of the greatest bands still sends shivers down my spine
Still remember that January day in 1986, it was surreal, at first I thought people were kidding when I heard on campus that the shuttle exploded. I was in Tampa at USF on that day and some of my friends noticed the flash of the explosion while walking between classes, normally you could only see night launches from Tampa so evreyone suspected something bad happened. That is one day I will never forget like my parents would never forget Pearl Harbor or the day in November 63 when Kennedy was assassinated. God speed to those brave astronauts indeed!
Agreed Randy. The Challenger disaster could have been avoided if the launch was simply delayed to where the temperatures were not so cold and with the other incidents it was also an oversight that led to the horrible outcomes.... Hard to believe something as simple as an o-ring hardening when exposed to below 30 weather could lead to such a tragedy....
@Jason Minton Oh you trolls are a piece of work. Rush were fooled when they watched it in person? They named a song "Red Sector A" (which has nothing to do with space shuttle launches) because that's the VIP area they were in when they watched it launch. Best thing about science, math, and facts is that they're still true whether you can understand them or not. Science doesn't care that you're stupid, it's still reality, and historical facts don't care if you don't believe they happened, either, because they did. Take a picture of the edge of the world for me, because I'm sure you're a flat-Earther. Be well.
@@TampaFanatic1 I remember the day the Challenger disaster happened. I was 7 years old, in grade 2. Our teachers brought our classes together after we came in from lunch time recess, and said that there had been a terrible accident with the space shuttle, and that the "teacher in space" had died.
@John Beare Well, compared to Moving Pictures what album of Rush's isn't underrated. Still, all in all, Signals was a huge seller and fairly popular at the time and still is.
I was 14 when Columbia launched into Space. I was 15 when Signals was released. It's like looking back at a different world. Hard to believe so much has changed since then. Godspeed Columbia, Challenger, and Peart.
1983 - A USMC hard charger stationed in Iwakuni, JAPAN.... Just joined the "100 Mile Club" Runners of 100 miles per month... I would listen to this on my newly bought Japanese Stereo, Loud.... And then Run the Seawall... This song charged my battery ! Then I would run 4.5 miles on the Seawall !!! Within 2 minutes I was running 6 minute miles for at least three of them. I did not know the lyrics at the time,,, but the song launched me. I was high tech Avionics for A6 and A4 Aircraft... A member of Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 12... During a Field Meet I was dubbed... King of the Bull Ring. Thanks for reminding of the best physical prowess of Me. All the while providing elite service to our aircraft. Back then, I had Wings, and WE COULD FLY! At the Age of 54 I long the motivation to Lift Off. Semper Fidelis !
This video was always very emotional to me, and makes me wonder if i ever going to fall in love with anorther band such as Rush, because these 3 humans are so ethic intelligent and modern, and the original video aired on MTV showed that Rush was not going to become another prog band dynossaur, like all the others, their use of synths was well thought of, and it shows how really smart they always were. Long live Rush!
I remember watching Columbia take off for the first time when I was a kid. My Mom let me take the day off school. It wasn't long after that I bought Signals by Rush. What a great time that was to be a kid. You did a great job with this video.
We had just moved to a new town in 1982. A small town and I couldn't get any descent radio. I worked it out with some awesome antennas and what not - but my Mom knew the struggles I was facing. I'll never forget when she brought home the Signals album for me. I was blown away. Thanks, Mom.
This Rush song is actually of the Columbia first launch in 1981. If you look for the original footage on YT you will see the count down from NASA match what Rush has in their song. Pretty cool! :)
Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, Rush was present to personally witness the first shuttle launch - and were so moved by it, they created this song to document the experience. If you listen closely you can hear the words, "Young and Crippen are really moving out now". They were the Columbia's two pilots on that maiden flight in April '81 when the central tank was still being painted white. (That paint added a ton of weight to the vehicle and since that tank was always destroyed by the heat during re-entry - it wasn't cost-effective to continue making it look pretty on the launch pad.)
@@LordHasenpfeffer Yes they were there, in the VIP section. I was right next to the VIP section, outside the firing room. My aunt was a founding member of the NASA administration. She dated the shuttle test director Al sofgie, who you here doing the countdown.
***** You know it!..Signals..that is a great disc.it had some BIG shoes to fill coming after the masterpiece that is Moving Pictures..even though it was more keyboards heavy..it was a great follow up..song after song after song..real cool....I like Chemistry (one of Alexs fave solos) & Digital Man..Gedds bassline in that is just killer...
Janitor989 Yep Yep..hear ya..I 've listened to those 3 discs frontwards backwards..up down..left right as well..MY first contact with the 3 coolest dudes on the planet...1981..my girlfriends brother plopped in Mov Pictures in his 2 speaker boombox...and when Tom Sawyer started with the growling synthesizer..hearing Gedd ...Modern day Warrior..Mean mean pride ..Todays Tom Sawyer...I was like " Who in the hell is this?"..suffice to say. been an admirer ever since...))
It's LIKE....DOUCHE,...and technically Neil is using a simile, not a metaphor (simile being a Latin word describing a LIKEness or parallel). He is describing what the shuttle and vapors look LIKE at a (hazy) distance. "LIKE the breath of a sleeping white dragon". Wait, maybe Neil means lighting sleeping dragon farts? Later in the song he writes "A thunderous roar shakes the air, LIKE the whole world exploding". How does he describe the lingering smoke? "LIKE a pillar of cloud". You call K K an idiot for not understanding the (not) metaphor? Nowhere in his reply does he indicate, in any way, that he doesn't understand what Neil is trying to say. Then, you tell him he has a BIG mouth and a condescending tone?! gdub454, you're special.
I saw rush on the singles tour. When they did this song , they had the video of shuttle on a giant screen behind them . When the shuttle takes off they had fog pouring out under the screen. To enhance the feeling of the engines at the launch .
Here's the text of the conversation between Mission Control and the Space Shuttle Columbia (on her maiden voyage), as it appears at the end of Rush's "Countdown": "We're coming up on the 45 minute point in our countdown. Everything's going smoothly." "T minus 45 minutes and counting." "T minus 40 minutes, minus 40 minutes and counting..." "This is shuttle launch control." "We have a, uh, report from the orbiter test center, they are go for launch at the present time... no major problems... engine final hold." "T minus 27 seconds; we have sequencer start." "T minus 20 seconds and counting, T minus 15, 14, 13, T minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4; we've got the main engine start-we have it." "America's first space shuttle." "And the shuttle has cleared the tower." "T plus 30 seconds, 35..." "Columbia, Houston, you're going 40..." "Columbia is now clearing for its precise window in space for main engine cutoff." "Launch plus 240 seconds, Columbia now 39 nautical miles altitude, 42 nautical miles down range." "Columbia, you're lookin' a little hot and all your calls will be a little early." "Young and Crippen really moving out now, velocity reading of 6200 feet per second." "What a view, what a view." "Glad you're enjoying it." "Columbia, Houston, we have 40 seconds to LOS, after LOS you're looking good for an over-the-hill; we'll see you in Madrid." (Note: LOS = Loss Of Signal. As the orbiter passes over the horizon, US listening posts lose signal. Antennas in Madrid relay signals to Mission Control in Houston.) "And we enjoyed the music, Bob; thank ya'." "Ah, we enjoyed it; we just wanted to share somethin' with you." (Note: First US space shuttle launch)
Only the greatness and sensitivity of a man of the caliber of Neal Peart can produce such lyrics to describe such event. Awesomeness does not explain it enough.
Neil's wordly works should be make available in a book so future generations would know what a free spirited genius he was, a one of a kind man born every thousand years or so
"I can only hope that the song comes even close to capturing the excitement and awe that we felt that morning" - Neil Peart en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countdown_(Rush_song)
Great presentation. I worked at Cape Canaveral from 1960 to 1998 and was priviliged to work on the Space Shuttle Program for 18 years until I retired in 1998. I worked a total of 98 Shuttle launches over the 18 year period.
I'm 51, major fan/follower of the shuttle project since 10, and have been a Rush fan/concert-goer since 1980. Am I the only one who cried uncontrollably while watching this? RIP Neal 9/12/1952 - 1/7/2021
I wish we in America (US and Canada) did this again. Back when America was truly great! By the way, folks like Rush (Canadians) made the amazing robot arm that was on the shuttle. Since one of the perks of the shuttle was to bring back satellites to earth for relaunch after repairs/upgrades the arm was crucial to shuttle's success.
I watched the SpaceX lift-of live on the internet in school. Some classmates watched it with me. It of course started as a joke, but we all found ourselves mesmerised and even counting down along. Something I used to ridicule when I heard about other people doing so. It was awesome. This song words my feelings of that moment.
Great song by Rush. It brings back good and bad memories. I still remember that cold day in January when the Challenger exploded. I was a student at USF in Tampa at the time and it was a cold day, we a hard freeze that morning, around 25 in Tampa and possibly colder over at the Space Center and between classes one of my friends noticed the flash in the sky, a few minutes later the news was spreading on campus that the shuttle blew up..... That night Reagan made that speech to the country. Horrible day and it was an accident that could have been avoided as the extended freeze had caused the rubber o-rings to harden and lose their ability to seal.... Thanks for posting this...
And in Reagan's speech, perhaps his second most famous quote, "The crew of the Challenger never flew so high as when they slipped the surly bonds of Earth, and touched the face of God"
Nothing compares to the raw power of these launches and the raw emotion that people feel while watching it!! Proud to be an American!! 🇺🇲🚀🇺🇸🚀🇺🇲🚀🇺🇸 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
I have goosebumps while watching this...the human genius, able to look away from his inmediate problems and stare at the sky,wishing to cruise it at full speed, a trip to infinity.Thank you Rush!!
Beyond killer song real lyrics beyond real singing real musicians hand's down saw This tour beyond awesome 🤘🤘🤘 rip professor 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 u are missed everyday ❤️
Loved this song when I first heard it. I remember when my oldest brother turned 16 at the time and just got his drivers permit, I, him, and my other brother one spring day back in 1985 went cruising around playing a Rush cassette tape that had this song on it. This was my oldest brothers cassette for Rush was one of his favorite bands at the time. Still love Rush and this song 34 years later! This song gets me fired up and exited now just as much as it did 34 years ago when I was 12 and oldest brother here was 16 at time! Now, sadly, my oldest brother is not into Rush and the likes of such bands anymore preferring country music. I will also say at the age of 12, I was fascinated with aerospace, space, science fiction, airplanes, rockets, jets and the likes. Loving all these things and loving Rush and bands like it with their space age sounding rock and synthesizers I feel is what got me loving this song getting fired up to song at age 12 and still getting me fired up to song loving it now. I still love aerospace stuff and science fiction to this day still.
Fantastic video synced perfectly with one of my favourite Rush tracks. Brings back memories of excitedly running home from school at lunch-time to watch the Shuttle launches on TV. I dreamed of being a cosmonaut or astronaut from the age of 3. Still dreaming....
The first time I ever heard this song, and the rest of Signals, I had bought a cassette tape of it and was listening to it on Amtrak going from Chicago to San Francisco. I think I listened to it for the whole trip. I had bought a pack of 12 AAA batteries in Chicago for my cassette player, a Sony Walkman, which was the latest big thing in 1980, and I went through all of them on the train.
I had to seek out this song today 7/8/11 to send off our shuttle program, thank you for creating such a beautiful video to go along with it. It still breaks my heart to hear them send Columbia such good wishes at the end. XOXO Challenger and Columbia, never forget.
one /of my favorites!!!!!!!!!!I rember it was 81-82 I was in highschool...my mom and I got upa t like 5am...to watch ..it was Great awesome!!!!!and this song says it exactly as I remember as a lifer rush super fan... I feel this is one of Neils greatest story telling songs...and I would like to say to the Èprophets of WillodaleÈ that I too enjoyed ALL of your music...thank you RUSH for the soundtrack of my life........... And Iwill always Hold the Red Star of RUSHProudly HIGH in Hand"""!!!RUSHROCKSSS
MAN, WHAT A AWESOME VIDEO AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE RUSH SONGS. YOU'RE LOOKING GOOD BURNING OVER THE HILL, WE'LL SEE YA IN MADRID. WE ENJOYED THE MUSIC BOB. THANK YA. WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE SOMETHING WITH YA. MISS RUSH. RIP NEIL.
Fantastic music and video. So well done, the music fits the pictures perfectly. I've been a Rush fan since 1974, and this song still gives me chills -- it's like I'm 5 years old watching that beautiful creation go up in the sky...what a great achievement !!!
I had a bit of shell-shock going from MP to Signals in my Rush journey. As Signals grew on me I learned to expect nothing from Rush as they released each album thereafter....expect nothing but great music. Signals is an incredible masterpiece of music, created by a band who were always operating levels above everyone else.
Very well done video! I had not heard this song since it first came out when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I remember the original video so well but this updated one is perfect!
This era is the most technological era in our history?? What happened to the Mars run or another Moon landing? To me it was the late 60's, 70's and the Space Shuttle that showed America what we COULD do.
I love how Rush was able to capture the feeling of the launch. Though the space shuttle never achieved it goals of making space travel cheap and eoutine, it did acheive the proof of concept of a reusuable spacecraft. Thank goofness it didn't become routine, as we saw what complacency did (RIP the Challenger and Columbia crews). The STS program is eclipsed only by the Apollo program. And until Orion gets off the ground, what Space X is doig is wonderful. What a time to be alive. I saw the Signals tour in 1984 (I believe), and "Countdown" was the closing song. What impressed be most was the mutimedia of the performance, and seeing the launch on the screen behind Neil as they played the song. That was such an awesome show.
I remember watching STS-1 launch on that Sunday morning in April of 1981...all the neighbor kids were over, and you couldn't pry us from the tube! Rush released the video on MTV later that year, if memory serves me...It had footage of STS-1 throughout, and they played it around the clock (back when MTV was actually music television)
As I watch the launch for SpaceX it reminds me of watching the first shuttle mission in the library with my 5th grade class back in 1981. Rush captured this so well, and this keyboard solo was Geddy's finest.
Incredible music Incredible band thank God I grew up with rush no band is a class act like these guys thank you for 40 years of growing up with you guys ❤
LUV this video!! Really miss the Space Shuttle Program, but this awesome footage helps keep the spirit alive!! As for Rush who dedicated their song to the Space Shuttle Program will be touring the USA that they will be in my area, Irvine Meadows on July 30th!! I'm going to buy a ticket to see them!! Can't wait!!
Superb! You do this brilliant piece of music absolute justice. This wonderful combination of sound and video tells you everything you need to know about the aspirations af mankind If watching this doesn't move you then you are officially D.E.A.D
At 3:11 watching the orbiter main engines start is incredible! Also the view of the orbiter continueing on it's journey to orbit when the boosters are released is surreal. I miss the shuttle.
awesome, I get chills running down my spine every time I see the shuttle make that half roll on to its back. I dont know where those guys/gals come up with the testicular fortitude to want to take that ride!!!!!
The Shuttle is just SO bada$$. Just look at that thing. From Kitty Hawk to the Moon and beyond in less than a hundred years...I was born in '65, so I'm a "Mercury/Gemini/Apollo" child. All of us (girls too) wanted to grow up to be astronauts (the "outer space" stuff was BIG when I was a kid, being that we had Star Trek, Buck Rogers, the first Star Wars, Space Family Robinson, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Battlestar Galactica, etc, etc). I can vaguely remember the Moon Landings on TV, but I have a good memory of the Apollo 13 debacle. Vietnam had turned into a mess...the OPEC Oil Crisis was ramping up, the Cold War still had all us students practicing "Duck and Cover" every day in "Home Room," and that stuff pretty much dominated the news until Apollo 13 got into trouble...then, the whole world tuned in on it. Good times, lol...
Only Neil could make you FEEL what this feels like without actually being there. Then Alex with the music and of course Geddy singing it. Just perfect!
Great Edit, the only thing missing is the "Cars full of spectators pass." I always see a woman with horned rimmed glasses and a roof rack on a Sky Blue car. Some internal footage of the dialogue by the Control and Astronauts would have been nice as well. And Neils Kit on top of the Fuel Tank and Alex and Geddy riding the boosters. I wonder why Neil wrote "The spreading of a low Black Cloud", I wonder how close they were, they were invited by NASA.
I remember when this vid in the heyday of MTV, they world stopped for me every time this song came on. I don’t remember if it was the band itself or the shuttle launch. Great job tying a launch of the Discovery to this great song!
"This magic day when the super science mingle with the bright stuff of dreams"...Who writes better lyrics then Neil Peart ?? RUSH 4 EVER !!
FUCKING nobody writes lyrics like THE PEARTSTER
Amen, Daniel. Amen. Nobody better.
Timeless stuff
@@frase1234 lol
only Neil
33 years after first hearing this on the Signals album, the combination of one of mankind's greatest achievements set to a brilliant narrative and music by one of the greatest bands still sends shivers down my spine
Yes it does.
i dont know why but this song always sends tears streaming down my face from the very first time i heard it (1982?3?)
With this Song Rush got me...
🎯 still wets the dreams
Mark Seery ....same with me.....outstanding video and band
Godspeed the crews of STS-51-L (Challenger) and STS-107 (Columbia).
Heroes, never forgotten.
Do not read up on these incidents ,it will piss you off as it did me..
Still remember that January day in 1986, it was surreal, at first I thought people were kidding when I heard on campus that the shuttle exploded. I was in Tampa at USF on that day and some of my friends noticed the flash of the explosion while walking between classes, normally you could only see night launches from Tampa so evreyone suspected something bad happened. That is one day I will never forget like my parents would never forget Pearl Harbor or the day in November 63 when Kennedy was assassinated. God speed to those brave astronauts indeed!
Agreed Randy. The Challenger disaster could have been avoided if the launch was simply delayed to where the temperatures were not so cold and with the other incidents it was also an oversight that led to the horrible outcomes.... Hard to believe something as simple as an o-ring hardening when exposed to below 30 weather could lead to such a tragedy....
@Jason Minton Oh you trolls are a piece of work. Rush were fooled when they watched it in person? They named a song "Red Sector A" (which has nothing to do with space shuttle launches) because that's the VIP area they were in when they watched it launch. Best thing about science, math, and facts is that they're still true whether you can understand them or not. Science doesn't care that you're stupid, it's still reality, and historical facts don't care if you don't believe they happened, either, because they did. Take a picture of the edge of the world for me, because I'm sure you're a flat-Earther. Be well.
@@TampaFanatic1 I remember the day the Challenger disaster happened. I was 7 years old, in grade 2. Our teachers brought our classes together after we came in from lunch time recess, and said that there had been a terrible accident with the space shuttle, and that the "teacher in space" had died.
I love this Signals CD. So underrated.
A super banda Rush ! extra terrestres
th-cam.com/video/FAjf9QctaTg/w-d-xo.html
Oh no doubt!
@John Beare Well, compared to Moving Pictures what album of Rush's isn't underrated. Still, all in all, Signals was a huge seller and fairly popular at the time and still is.
The LP is even better!
Not underrated amongst true Rush Fans!
A co-mingling of shuttle nerds and Rush nerds in here. Awesome.
Are you sure is a comingling? I always thought, put it in math Symb the following:Nerds(shuttle)=Nerds(Rush) :)
@@calito44 Yes, quite sure this is the definition of a co-mingling. None superior to any other.
@@HiVizCamo equality in terms that if you love shuttle and space stuff very probably you are also a Rush fan 😉
Hey, geeks hear! Tesla girl, soon to get her ears on!
.....and in 2021 as well. It was Rush that made me a shuttle nerd. :)
I was 14 when Columbia launched into Space. I was 15 when Signals was released. It's like looking back at a different world. Hard to believe so much has changed since then. Godspeed Columbia, Challenger, and Peart.
He's up there with the crew now
Yeah nice words and I for one second that 🇺🇸🙏🇨🇦🙏🇬🇧
1983 - A USMC hard charger stationed in Iwakuni, JAPAN....
Just joined the "100 Mile Club" Runners of 100 miles per month...
I would listen to this on my newly bought Japanese Stereo, Loud....
And then Run the Seawall...
This song charged my battery !
Then I would run 4.5 miles on the Seawall !!!
Within 2 minutes I was running 6 minute miles for at least three of them.
I did not know the lyrics at the time,,, but the song launched me.
I was high tech Avionics for A6 and A4 Aircraft...
A member of Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 12...
During a Field Meet I was dubbed... King of the Bull Ring.
Thanks for reminding of the best physical prowess of Me.
All the while providing elite service to our aircraft.
Back then, I had Wings, and WE COULD FLY!
At the Age of 54 I long the motivation to Lift Off.
Semper Fidelis !
A fine reminder that even as a long term RUSH fan, there’s still more RUSH that I haven’t heard than RUSH that I have…
This video was always very emotional to me, and makes me wonder if i ever going to fall in love with anorther band such as Rush, because these 3 humans are so ethic intelligent and modern, and the original video aired on MTV showed that Rush was not going to become another prog band dynossaur, like all the others, their use of synths was well thought of, and it shows how really smart they always were. Long live Rush!
No, you will never fall in love with another band more than Rush, if you know what love really is and have very refined taste.
I’m glad to know I’m not alone. I always choke up watching this
I say the same thing to about RUSH.
I remember watching Columbia take off for the first time when I was a kid. My Mom let me take the day off school. It wasn't long after that I bought Signals by Rush. What a great time that was to be a kid.
You did a great job with this video.
We had just moved to a new town in 1982. A small town and I couldn't get any descent radio. I worked it out with some awesome antennas and what not - but my Mom knew the struggles I was facing. I'll never forget when she brought home the Signals album for me. I was blown away. Thanks, Mom.
My first Rush album
the best band on galaxy..no doubt abou it!! without RUSH, no existence!!! PERIOD!!!!!! Love you guys.!!!!
Rush is the best group in the galaxy. Greetings from Chile!!!
This Rush song is actually of the Columbia first launch in 1981. If you look for the original footage on YT you will see the count down from NASA match what Rush has in their song. Pretty cool! :)
I remember staying awake to watch the launch...at 11 yrs old we all cheered!
th-cam.com/video/FAjf9QctaTg/w-d-xo.html
Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, Rush was present to personally witness the first shuttle launch - and were so moved by it, they created this song to document the experience. If you listen closely you can hear the words, "Young and Crippen are really moving out now". They were the Columbia's two pilots on that maiden flight in April '81 when the central tank was still being painted white. (That paint added a ton of weight to the vehicle and since that tank was always destroyed by the heat during re-entry - it wasn't cost-effective to continue making it look pretty on the launch pad.)
@@LordHasenpfeffer Yes they were there, in the VIP section. I was right next to the VIP section, outside the firing room. My aunt was a founding member of the NASA administration. She dated the shuttle test director Al sofgie, who you here doing the countdown.
This is awesome. It makes me cry. The good kind of cry.
Venting vapors
Light the breath of a sleeping white dragon....
Neils choice of metaphor for the space shuttle....perfection
*****
No problem K.K..we all make mistakes...me included...its all good..laters
*****
You know it!..Signals..that is a great disc.it had some BIG shoes to fill coming after the masterpiece that is Moving Pictures..even though it was more keyboards heavy..it was a great follow up..song after song after song..real cool....I like Chemistry (one of Alexs fave solos) & Digital Man..Gedds bassline in that is just killer...
+gdub454 moving pictures, signals, and grace under pressure... my first contact with Rush. Listened to those 3 so many times I can't even count :D
Janitor989
Yep Yep..hear ya..I 've listened to those 3 discs frontwards backwards..up down..left right as well..MY first contact with the 3 coolest dudes on the planet...1981..my girlfriends brother plopped in Mov Pictures in his 2 speaker boombox...and when Tom Sawyer started with the growling synthesizer..hearing Gedd ...Modern day Warrior..Mean mean pride ..Todays Tom Sawyer...I was like " Who in the hell is this?"..suffice to say. been an admirer ever since...))
It's LIKE....DOUCHE,...and technically Neil is using a simile, not a metaphor (simile being a Latin word describing a LIKEness or parallel). He is describing what the shuttle and vapors look LIKE at a (hazy) distance. "LIKE the breath of a sleeping white dragon". Wait, maybe Neil means lighting sleeping dragon farts? Later in the song he writes "A thunderous roar shakes the air, LIKE the whole world exploding". How does he describe the lingering smoke? "LIKE a pillar of cloud".
You call K K an idiot for not understanding the (not) metaphor? Nowhere in his reply does he indicate, in any way, that he doesn't understand what Neil is trying to say. Then, you tell him he has a BIG mouth and a condescending tone?!
gdub454, you're special.
I saw rush on the singles tour. When they did this song , they had the video of shuttle on a giant screen behind them . When the shuttle takes off they had fog pouring out under the screen. To enhance the feeling of the engines at the launch .
Here's the text of the conversation between Mission Control and the
Space Shuttle Columbia (on her maiden voyage), as it appears at the
end of Rush's "Countdown":
"We're coming up on the 45 minute point in our countdown. Everything's
going smoothly."
"T minus 45 minutes and counting."
"T minus 40 minutes, minus 40 minutes and counting..."
"This is shuttle launch control."
"We have a, uh, report from the orbiter test center, they are go for
launch at the present time... no major problems... engine final
hold."
"T minus 27 seconds; we have sequencer start."
"T minus 20 seconds and counting, T minus 15, 14, 13, T minus 10, 9,
8, 7, 6, 5, 4; we've got the main engine start-we have it."
"America's first space shuttle."
"And the shuttle has cleared the tower."
"T plus 30 seconds, 35..."
"Columbia, Houston, you're going 40..."
"Columbia is now clearing for its precise window in space for main
engine cutoff."
"Launch plus 240 seconds, Columbia now 39 nautical miles altitude, 42
nautical miles down range."
"Columbia, you're lookin' a little hot and all your calls will be a
little early."
"Young and Crippen really moving out now, velocity reading of 6200
feet per second."
"What a view, what a view."
"Glad you're enjoying it."
"Columbia, Houston, we have 40 seconds to LOS, after LOS you're
looking good for an over-the-hill; we'll see you in Madrid." (Note:
LOS = Loss Of Signal. As the orbiter passes over the horizon, US
listening posts lose signal. Antennas in Madrid relay signals to
Mission Control in Houston.)
"And we enjoyed the music, Bob; thank ya'."
"Ah, we enjoyed it; we just wanted to share somethin' with you."
(Note: First US space shuttle launch)
I love this video.I live right next door to NASA .
"Lit up in the hazy distance the star of this unearthly show" Wow
Only the greatness and sensitivity of a man of the caliber of Neal Peart can produce such lyrics to describe such event. Awesomeness does not explain it enough.
alex dornelli And only the greatness and sensitivity of Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee could write music to match the lyrics!
He will be missed but not forgotten
I love this song so much.
One of the coolest songs ever. EVER. The NASA voiceovers mixed with the song just gives me chills. It is very close to supernatural.
Neil's wordly works should be make available in a book so future generations would know what a free spirited genius he was, a one of a kind man born every thousand years or so
Neil is the greatest song writer ever, in my book!
"I can only hope that the song comes even close to capturing the excitement and awe that we felt that morning" - Neil Peart
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countdown_(Rush_song)
Sweetness
I get chills every time I hear this song. . . .
Ķ80⁰the
Great presentation. I worked at Cape Canaveral from 1960 to 1998 and was priviliged to work on the Space Shuttle Program for 18 years until I retired in 1998. I worked a total of 98 Shuttle launches over the 18 year period.
My Dad was a Configuration manager at Rockwell in
Canoga Park . Worked on the F-1 Engine and the Shuttle Engine . Love ya dad ❤
I'm thankful for the privilege of being able to work most tours from 1985 to 2009. Thank you, Ray Danniels and the boys! Miss you, Neil.
I'm 51, major fan/follower of the shuttle project since 10, and have been a Rush fan/concert-goer since 1980. Am I the only one who cried uncontrollably while watching this? RIP Neal 9/12/1952 - 1/7/2021
No band will ever be able to re-create the lyrical masterpieces of Neil Peart. None. He was truly a gifted (and overlooked) musician.
I'd agree with that
He was not overlooked as a drummer. Maybe somewhat as a lyricist.
I wish we in America (US and Canada) did this again. Back when America was truly great! By the way, folks like Rush (Canadians) made the amazing robot arm that was on the shuttle. Since one of the perks of the shuttle was to bring back satellites to earth for relaunch after repairs/upgrades the arm was crucial to shuttle's success.
A few months ago, America sent Bob and Doug into space. Not bad eh?
@@christopherfancy8155 Those hosers sure took off eh?! 😜 And that's the topic of today.
Fascinating
what a great time to live through .... both science and music was Glad i was there through it all !
I watched the SpaceX lift-of live on the internet in school. Some classmates watched it with me.
It of course started as a joke, but we all found ourselves mesmerised and even counting down along. Something I used to ridicule when I heard about other people doing so.
It was awesome. This song words my feelings of that moment.
Great song by Rush. It brings back good and bad memories. I still remember that cold day in January when the Challenger exploded. I was a student at USF in Tampa at the time and it was a cold day, we a hard freeze that morning, around 25 in Tampa and possibly colder over at the Space Center and between classes one of my friends noticed the flash in the sky, a few minutes later the news was spreading on campus that the shuttle blew up..... That night Reagan made that speech to the country. Horrible day and it was an accident that could have been avoided as the extended freeze had caused the rubber o-rings to harden and lose their ability to seal.... Thanks for posting this...
And in Reagan's speech, perhaps his second most famous quote, "The crew of the Challenger never flew so high as when they slipped the surly bonds of Earth, and touched the face of God"
Yep
Nothing compares to the raw power of these launches and the raw emotion that people feel while watching it!!
Proud to be an American!!
🇺🇲🚀🇺🇸🚀🇺🇲🚀🇺🇸
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
I have goosebumps while watching this...the human genius, able to look away from his inmediate problems and stare at the sky,wishing to cruise it at full speed, a trip to infinity.Thank you Rush!!
Magnificent song by a magnificent band!!!!!!
Gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes..the awesome technology and the sound of Rush!
Beyond killer song real lyrics beyond real singing real musicians hand's down saw This tour beyond awesome 🤘🤘🤘 rip professor 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 u are missed everyday ❤️
It hasn't been. a year yet and I still am crying..damn
Loved this song when I first heard it. I remember when my oldest brother turned 16 at the time and just got his drivers permit, I, him, and my other brother one spring day back in 1985 went cruising around playing a Rush cassette tape that had this song on it. This was my oldest brothers cassette for Rush was one of his favorite bands at the time. Still love Rush and this song 34 years later! This song gets me fired up and exited now just as much as it did 34 years ago when I was 12 and oldest brother here was 16 at time! Now, sadly, my oldest brother is not into Rush and the likes of such bands anymore preferring country music. I will also say at the age of 12, I was fascinated with aerospace, space, science fiction, airplanes, rockets, jets and the likes. Loving all these things and loving Rush and bands like it with their space age sounding rock and synthesizers I feel is what got me loving this song getting fired up to song at age 12 and still getting me fired up to song loving it now. I still love aerospace stuff and science fiction to this day still.
@ 3:30 i just got major gooes bumps omg so awesome! rush rule!!!!!!!!! been a fan since 80!
This brings back so many memories living on the space coast back in the late 90s. Seeing the shuttles and satellites blasting into the sky!
Geddy Lee on voice, bass guitar and synthesizers...Damn.
Thank you neil. The happiest greiving i have ever done. What a legacy!!!
Fantastic video synced perfectly with one of my favourite Rush tracks. Brings back memories of excitedly running home from school at lunch-time to watch the Shuttle launches on TV. I dreamed of being a cosmonaut or astronaut from the age of 3. Still dreaming....
Canadian art.
American exceptionalism.
Thank you.
You are correct on both counts.
The first time I ever heard this song, and the rest of Signals, I had bought a cassette tape of it and was listening to it on Amtrak going from Chicago to San Francisco. I think I listened to it for the whole trip. I had bought a pack of 12 AAA batteries in Chicago for my cassette player, a Sony Walkman, which was the latest big thing in 1980, and I went through all of them on the train.
I had to seek out this song today 7/8/11 to send off our shuttle program, thank you for creating such a beautiful video to go along with it. It still breaks my heart to hear them send Columbia such good wishes at the end. XOXO Challenger and Columbia, never forget.
On the 58th anniversary of Ed White making America’s first spacewalk, RIP Apollo I crew.
And Godspeed Brigadier Commander Peart.
See you in the drift…
Got to do the tour down there. When I got to see the shuttle, gotta say, I teared up. The presentation they have and the big reveal for it was.awesome
one /of my favorites!!!!!!!!!!I rember it was 81-82 I was in highschool...my mom and I got upa t like 5am...to watch ..it was Great awesome!!!!!and this song says it exactly as I remember as a lifer rush super fan... I feel this is one of Neils greatest story telling songs...and I would like to say to the Èprophets of WillodaleÈ that I too enjoyed ALL of your music...thank you RUSH for the soundtrack of my life........... And Iwill always Hold the Red Star of RUSHProudly HIGH in Hand"""!!!RUSHROCKSSS
My favorite Bass player, and the best bass tone of all Rush songs. Man, the grit and growl of that Rickenbacker on this song...
MAN, WHAT A AWESOME VIDEO AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE RUSH SONGS. YOU'RE LOOKING GOOD BURNING OVER THE HILL, WE'LL SEE YA IN MADRID. WE ENJOYED THE MUSIC BOB. THANK YA. WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE SOMETHING WITH YA. MISS RUSH. RIP NEIL.
The magic day when super-science
mingles with the bright stuff of dreams...
Those lines are just sublime. Still gets me to this day.
FlyingPiper13 That awesome sound
The whole song is awesome, but "Floodlit in the hazy distance: the star of this unearthly show" gets me every time. I don't know why.
“With the eyes of the world we stare.”
This is awesome! The band, the song, the editing, the shuttle program, everything!
I always feel smarter after listening to a playlist of RUSH. You think about deep stuff for hours after that.
Fantastic music and video. So well done, the music fits the pictures perfectly. I've been a Rush fan since 1974, and this song still gives me chills -- it's like I'm 5 years old watching that beautiful creation go up in the sky...what a great achievement !!!
one of the greatest RUSH songs ever.
Greetings from Holland
I had a bit of shell-shock going from MP to Signals in my Rush journey. As Signals grew on me I learned to expect nothing from Rush as they released each album thereafter....expect nothing but great music.
Signals is an incredible masterpiece of music, created by a band who were always operating levels above everyone else.
One of my favorite songs ever. Great job gentlemen.
Very well done video! I had not heard this song since it first came out when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I remember the original video so well but this updated one is perfect!
Rush rocks with countdown!!This video is close to my heart.Its bad-ass!
This era is the most technological era in our history?? What happened to the Mars run or another Moon landing? To me it was the late 60's, 70's and the Space Shuttle that showed America what we COULD do.
This song comes to mind after seeing the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels over NYC today. Thank You , I salute you all. 👍🙏
I cry every time I hear this song because RUSH has so perfectly encapsulated the excitement and wonder of watching a Space Launch!
I love how Rush was able to capture the feeling of the launch. Though the space shuttle never achieved it goals of making space travel cheap and eoutine, it did acheive the proof of concept of a reusuable spacecraft. Thank goofness it didn't become routine, as we saw what complacency did (RIP the Challenger and Columbia crews). The STS program is eclipsed only by the Apollo program. And until Orion gets off the ground, what Space X is doig is wonderful. What a time to be alive.
I saw the Signals tour in 1984 (I believe), and "Countdown" was the closing song. What impressed be most was the mutimedia of the performance, and seeing the launch on the screen behind Neil as they played the song. That was such an awesome show.
hard to watch and not shed a tear or three. we've done some incredible things with science and this fantastic song puts it all right in the spotlight.
I remember watching STS-1 launch on that Sunday morning in April of 1981...all the neighbor kids were over, and you couldn't pry us from the tube! Rush released the video on MTV later that year, if memory serves me...It had footage of STS-1 throughout, and they played it around the clock (back when MTV was actually music television)
Emotional stuff , watching and listening to this again after all these years!
As I watch the launch for SpaceX it reminds me of watching the first shuttle mission in the library with my 5th grade class back in 1981. Rush captured this so well, and this keyboard solo was Geddy's finest.
I think this is actually the song Rush will be remembered for in the future.
Incredible music Incredible band thank God I grew up with rush no band is a class act like these guys thank you for 40 years of growing up with you guys ❤
Thanks for doing this video! I always wanted to see a shuttle live while listening to this song. Perfect!
LUV this video!! Really miss the Space Shuttle Program, but this awesome footage helps keep the spirit alive!! As for Rush who dedicated their song to the Space Shuttle Program will be touring the USA that they will be in my area, Irvine Meadows on July 30th!! I'm going to buy a ticket to see them!! Can't wait!!
I saw them at Irvine Meadows for their Presto tour. Great tour.
I was literally in tears watching this. This video is exactly what I would imagine what was going on, during "countdown" Incredible!
America IS Great!, Always will be, when we do things such as this.
Funny how it took the Canadians to commemorate this greatness.
Gives me goosebumps. Rush is awesome!
Remarkable work. Always seemed an unconscious concept album. Chapters of life.
Superb!
You do this brilliant piece of music absolute justice.
This wonderful combination of sound and video tells you everything you need to know about the aspirations af mankind
If watching this doesn't move you then you are officially D.E.A.D
Wow,a great event that was captured by a great band!!! Stan.
At 3:11 watching the orbiter main engines start is incredible! Also the view of the orbiter continueing on it's journey to orbit when the boosters are released is surreal. I miss the shuttle.
Caught the guys on the Signals tour. So cool how they used smoke machines to make it appear that the shuttle's exhaust was filling the stage.
Most Excellent! From a Rush fan that works across the street from JSC!
awesome, I get chills running down my spine every time I see the shuttle make that half roll on to its back. I dont know where those guys/gals come up with the testicular fortitude to want to take that ride!!!!!
The Shuttle is just SO bada$$. Just look at that thing. From Kitty Hawk to the Moon and beyond in less than a hundred years...I was born in '65, so I'm a "Mercury/Gemini/Apollo" child. All of us (girls too) wanted to grow up to be astronauts (the "outer space" stuff was BIG when I was a kid, being that we had Star Trek, Buck Rogers, the first Star Wars, Space Family Robinson, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Battlestar Galactica, etc, etc). I can vaguely remember the Moon Landings on TV, but I have a good memory of the Apollo 13 debacle. Vietnam had turned into a mess...the OPEC Oil Crisis was ramping up, the Cold War still had all us students practicing "Duck and Cover" every day in "Home Room," and that stuff pretty much dominated the news until Apollo 13 got into trouble...then, the whole world tuned in on it. Good times, lol...
perfect music with the last launch of endeavor today! thank you so much guy!!!!!
"In fascination, with the eyes of the world we stare." EX ASTRIS, SCIENTIA!
Outstanding. RUSH is so technical too!
lo estoy viendo 4 veces seguidas, es bestial este video, el transbordador va boca abajo, es brutal..... y con la cancion ya es lo mas.....
Like a pillar of cloud, a small finger’s high in the air: the stuff dreams are made of , RIP Neil , you guys are the greatest ever
After I moved to Florida, I see what this song was about.. It still rocks!!
Only Neil could make you FEEL what this feels like without actually being there. Then Alex with the music and of course Geddy singing it. Just perfect!
You captured the essence of the song beautifully! I love it!
msim93: I am in awe over this. This is the best song/video I've ever seen put together. Truely fucking fantastic!
I saw this concert and you're correct this song along with the video footage of the space shuttle launch gave us chills..Beautifully done by Rush.
Their music gives so much excitement to a shuttle launch and space exploration.
Great Edit, the only thing missing is the "Cars full of spectators pass." I always see a woman with horned rimmed glasses and a roof rack on a Sky Blue car.
Some internal footage of the dialogue by the Control and Astronauts would have been nice as well. And Neils Kit on top of the Fuel Tank and Alex and Geddy riding the boosters.
I wonder why Neil wrote "The spreading of a low Black Cloud", I wonder how close they were, they were invited by NASA.
Touched that sign entering the building every morning.
The best shuttle launch video song edit I've seen since someone did an edit using Boston's Launch/Cool The Engines
I remember when this vid in the heyday of MTV, they world stopped for me every time this song came on. I don’t remember if it was the band itself or the shuttle launch. Great job tying a launch of the Discovery to this great song!