Elizabeth Zharoff provides a vocal and musical analysis of “The Spirit of Radio” by the progressive rock band, RUSH. This was actually her first of the four RUSH songs that she analyzed. The sheer joy, surprise, and deep analysis she provides with all four of these four RUSH songs are PERFECT. Yes, there are a couple of imperfections or song lyrics she misses. But remember, while she studied the lyrics ahead of time, she has not seen the performances ahead of time. She really reacts to them. You can see there are no jump cuts or heavy editing. The slight, very slight imperfections are testaments to the authenticity of what she is doing. Check out her website, charismaticvoice.com

“The Spirit of Radio” by RUSH from YouTube

I resonate with this song so much. When I was little, I listened to the local rock stations in Kansas City, MO. At night, I would secretly listen to an alternative rock program broadcast from Little Rock, AR. The following is from Wikipedia. Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. The station's signal carried far and wide. In early 1967 Beaker Street was a staple for adherents to the burgeoning underground communities in the upper Mid-West especially in Des Moines, Iowa, where it was the only access to Dr. Demento and Firesign Theatre. Beaker Street began on Little Rock, Arkansas 50,000 watt AM radio station KAAY late in 1966 and ran through 1972. The show's original announcer, Clyde Clifford, moved to FM in 1974 as the rise in popularity of FM radio began to impact the operations of many AM stations. Beaker Street pre-dated the FM radio boom of the mid-1970s and foretold the rise of album-oriented Rock and Classic rock formats.

Maybe this love of radio led me to be a radio station DJ while attending Emporia State University. The radio transmitters only carried the signal through the residence halls, but we were spinning albums and having a great time. Following is the music video that Elizabeth reacted to for her joyous episode. Notice the homage to the RUSH drummer at the end of the video. He died of brain cancer. As did his wife. RIP. Also, notice the names of important historical figures who helped invent radio and the progressive DJs who boldly supported RUSH and other progressive artists when other radio stations shunned them.

Here is the Animated Version of The Spirit of Radio.