Released May 15, 1982 Length 5:34 | Format 7" single, 12" single Label Mercury | |
B-side "Red Barchetta" (live) (UK)
"Countdown" (US) Writer(s) Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | ||
"Subdivisions" is a song by Canadian progressive rock group, Rush, released as the second single from their 1982 album Signals.
Contents
The song has been a staple of the band's live performances, is played regularly on classic-rock radio, and appears on several greatest-hits compilations. It was released as a single in 1982, and despite limited success on the UK charts, the song had significant airplay in Great Britain. In the United States, it charted at No. 8 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. Played live prior to its release, numerous pre-release live versions have circulated among collectors for years.
Lyrics and background
The song is a commentary on societal pressure to adopt a certain lifestyle: the "cool" youth culture of a comfortable, mundane suburban existence in a housing subdivision. Anyone who does not conform to these expectations is regarded as an outcast.
"Subdivisions" was one of five Rush songs inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on March 28, 2010. The band asked Jacob Moon to perform his version of the song at the gala in their absence.
The song became available as downloadable content for the music video game Rock Band 3 on November 2, 2010, in Basic rhythm as well as PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar, bass guitar, and standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits in addition to vocals.
Personnel
Music video
The promotional video scenes were filmed in the Toronto, Ontario area. The downtown scenes were filmed in downtown Toronto, most notably the opening zoom out shot of the intersection of King and Bay St, while the suburbs scenes were filmed in Scarborough, Ontario, near Warden and Finch Avenues. The high school scenes were filmed at L'Amoreaux Collegiate Institute, in the same area. The video also features scenes of the Don Valley Parkway and a busy TTC subway station. The lead character is played by Dave Glover, a L'Amoreaux student at the time. The arcade game featured in the video is Atari's Tempest.