YYZ (song)
| "YYZ" | |
|---|---|
| Instrumental by Rush | |
| from the album Moving Pictures | |
| Released | February 12, 1981 |
| Recorded | 1980 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:25 |
| Label | Mercury |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Audio sample | |
| Music video | |
| "YYZ" on YouTube | |
"YYZ" (natively pronounced why-why-zed) is an instrumental rock composition by the Canadian rock band Rush from their 1981 album Moving Pictures. It is one of the band's most popular pieces and was a staple of the band's live performances. The live album Exit... Stage Left (1981) and the concert video recording A Show of Hands (1989) both include versions in which Neil Peart incorporates a drum solo – as an interlude on the former, and as a segue out of the piece on the latter.[2][3]
Title and composition[edit]
YYZ is the IATA airport identification code of Toronto Pearson International Airport, near Rush's hometown. The band was introduced to the rhythm as Alex Lifeson flew them into the airport. A VHF omnidirectional range system at the airport broadcasts the YYZ identifier code in Morse code. Peart said in interviews later that the rhythm stuck with them.[4] Peart and Geddy Lee have both said "It's always a happy day when YYZ appears on our luggage tags."[5]
The piece's introduction, played in a time signature of 10
8, repeatedly renders "Y-Y-Z" in Morse Code using various musical arrangements.[6][7]
| "YYZ" rendered in Morse code | ||
|---|---|---|
| Y | Y | Z |
| - . - - | - . - - | - - . . |
Music video[edit]
An official animated music video was released on YouTube on March 11, 2022. The video contains elements from the album cover for Moving Pictures, and depicts a heist in Toronto. It also contains various Easter eggs to Rush's other work, such as a fast food chain named Fried by Night, a reference to their album Fly by Night.
Awards and nominations[edit]
"YYZ" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rock Instrumental category in 1982. It lost to "Behind My Camel" by The Police, from their album Zenyatta Mondatta.[8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Popoff, Martin (January 5, 2024). "The Top 20 unlikely Progressive Rock hits, ranked". Goldmine. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ "Neil Peart Solo Number 4 – Exit... Stage Left, 1981". theparadiddler.com. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
- ^ "Neil Peart Solo Number Six – A Show of Hands, 1988". theparadiddler.com. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
- ^ Martin Smith (2010). Rush: Classic Albums: 2112 & Moving Pictures (DVD). Eagle Rock Entertainment. Event occurs at 122 minutes.
- ^ "Rush by Brian Harrigan from Power Windows". 2112.net. Archived from the original on 2004-06-17. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
- ^ Raggo, Michael T.; Hosmer, Chet (31 December 2012). Data Hiding Exposing Concealed Data in Multimedia, Operating Systems, Mobile Devices and Network Protocols (1st ed (Online-Ausg.). ed.). Rockland, MA: Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-1597497411.
- ^ Berti, Jim; Bowman, Durrell, eds. (2011). Rush and philosophy : heart and mind united. Popular Culture & Philosophy. Vol. 57. Chicago: Open Court. ISBN 978-0812697162. OCLC 670481677.
- ^ "24th Annual Grammy Awards Final Nominations". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 3. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 23, 1982. p. 90. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
