Why don't girls listen to RUSH?

[bob_32_116]

You all are the only folks I know that can take a joke and then have a long, deep talk about it as if it was serious. Bless yas!

I think what happens is, the first few people to read the thread read the first post and take the thread title in context. By the time the thread gets to 2 or more pages, many people don't bother reading the thread before they make their own post (as you can see by how often a post on PE repeats what was said in a previous post in the same thread). All they do is look at the subject heading and think "This guy says girls don't like Rush? Wow, I've got something to say about that". Before you know it, a thread that started with a light-hearted throwaway comment has turned into a heated debate about the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

[Sonia_Mota]

I think what happens is, the first few people to read the thread read the first post and take the thread title in context. By the time the thread gets to 2 or more pages, many people don't bother reading the thread before they make their own post (as you can see by how often a post on PE repeats what was said in a previous post in the same thread). All they do is look at the subject heading and think "This guy says girls don't like Rush? Wow, I've got something to say about that". Before you know it, a thread that started with a light-hearted throwaway comment has turned into a heated debate about the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

This thread became an interesting discussion and it's been relatively friendly, so far here.
I saw and comment about the humour of that youtube video and this made me realize, it seems, that all my girlfriends do like Rush

[Wounded Land]

I love the lyrics to Power Windows also but you have to admit some of the lyrics in Manhattan Project are a bit corny.

Those are some of my favorite Peart lyrics!

[Camelogue]

Corny to one is insightful to another.

[dropforge]

I love the lyrics to Power Windows also but you have to admit some of the lyrics in Manhattan Project are a bit corny.

Mike, you stop that!

[Sean]

Sean,
hahahaha! those lyrics on the video you posted was great reading/watching that! The vocals remind of Greenday and Blink 182, both punk bands
Contrary to what you said, every single female friend, I have who listens to prog, seems to love Rush and Steven Wilson.
Not sure how you came to this conclusion but in my case it's not true, excluding me I am not a fan of Rush.

I didn't come to any conclusions, to tell you the truth. Keep in mind I just posted it to share and thought it was amusing. I personally don't think about if girls like Rush and don't really care if they do or not.

[Digital_Man]

Mike, you stop that!

Touched a nerve have I? Get in line.

[Digital_Man]

I have spent enough time over at therushforum.com to know that there are plenty of female Rush fans. The thing is most of them are probably on there and not here. My observation has been that most of them are really not prog fans. Some of them like prog metal but rarely have I encountered many who are also fans of Yes and Genesis for example.

[avaron]

I think to a certain extent that you could say this about Rush fans in general. Amongst friends and acquaintances a number of them like Rush and perhaps some of the more commenly heard Yes songs but lose interest quick when I start spinning too much music that is perhaps a bit "higher on the prog-o-meter." I have also met some rabid Rush fans that strangely seem to like little else in general, as some strange form of purism. I am happy to say my wife does like Yes, Genesis, Camel, Eloy, Van Der Graff Beardfish, Thank You Scientist, Opeth and many others. Unfortunately she shares interest in bands of this ilk with exactly zero of her female friends.

[yesterdays]

About the actual Nerf Herder song at the start of this thread, their observations are actually dead on! As a female fan who visibly enjoys Rush music, knows the catalog and the lyrics, the rhythmical ins and outs, dances to the music, and headbangs occasionally, I was surprised to find that GENUINE Rush enjoyment by women does catch male attention. It was bizarre.

What interests me more is why they would actually write a song about this?

I don't know what it is about Rush but they seem to be a "nerd pop culture referential" band. Like The BareNaked Ladies have this song "Grade 9" - "This is me in Grade 9 baby" which quotes riffs from Ton Sawyer & The Spirit of Radio near the end. No way are they a prog band, in fact muscially they are closer to Nerf Herder or vice versa ... yet the Rush references persist.

[JKL2000]

What's her phone number ?

666-666-6666

[ytserush]

First album was released in 1974. They weren't even prog at that point.

It's debatable if they ever were. They are their own scene.

[Sonia_Mota]

666-666-6666

otherwise you can find her in the phonebook, under The Omen

[Yodelgoat]

My daughters really like the new Rush. I dont like it as much as their first dozen, but they are still so listenable. I think the one thing about them that has bothered me about their new stuff is that Geddy just kind of sings like its this third job - which it is, but I hear a lot of melodies that they could have used, and instead Geddy just stays in a bit of a rut, - Note wise. Im not saying he has to hit High E's regularly anymore, but his rather pleasant voice has become a little same-ish when with the music does not require it - Plenty pf space in there for a great melody and he takes the road most travelled.

I love Rush, but thats my rap on them My Daughters (3 of them) all really like new Rush.

[Digital_Man]

I was talking to at least one female RUSH fan last time I saw them which was last summer. Some really cool people in general are RUSH fans actually. Anyway, this one woman in particular didn't care for their last few albums but liked most of their catalog. Close enough. I'd say any big band will have a percentage of female fans regardless of genre. However, it gets a bit trickier with prog bands and for some reason RUSH probably have fewer female fans than most of the big name prog bands. Also, it seems to me that women in general don't get caught up on lables or styles as much as men do and therefore probably gravitate more towards individual bands(and in some circumstances albums and songs)more than men do. In other words men are much more likely to put in "best prog bands" or "best prog albums" in the search engine than women(unless those women are already fans and therein lies the paradox). I think men in general are just more obsessive about it than women. I've also noticed many musicians are RUSH fans(and prog fans in general)and since there aren't as many women as men who are musicians this could also partly explain women's absence in the genre. All my opinion of course.

[Hour Candle]

Interesting.. Some of my former girlfriends didn't like prog because the members of those bands weren't sexy. I never understood that. Plus they did find it impossible to dance to. Oh, just listen to the music!

[Rarebird]

Interesting.. Some of my former girlfriends didn't like prog because the members of those bands weren't sexy. I never understood that. Plus they did find it impossible to dance to. Oh, just listen to the music!

And you can play airguitar, or airbass.

[Crawford Glissadevil]

My wife is a huge Rush fan. Moving Pictures is her favorite Rush album. The album run from 2112 through Power Windows is her Rush sweet spot.

[Digital_Man]

Interesting.. Some of my former girlfriends didn't like prog because the members of those bands weren't sexy. I never understood that. Plus they did find it impossible to dance to. Oh, just listen to the music!

If they want "sexy" maybe they should stick to Bon Jovi. I know not all women are that shallow though and the ones who aren't are the real female Rush (or prog) fans. Rush actually probably has more female fans than other prog bands but that could be just because they have a much larger fanbase than most prog bands (the one exception being Pink Floyd). Genesis has a lot of female fans too but my guess would be most of them are only interested in the pop era.

[IMWeasel]

I like this song more

[Garden Dreamer]

If you're talkin' 1978, yeah you're not gonna see many women in the seats.

But look at any of the concert DVDs from the past 20 years and you'll see a fair number of women in attendance.

I was on the now-defunct Counterparts forum and they had women members, many of whom had a crush on Ged. A few went for Alex, none thought Neil was hot though.

Starting around Hold Your Fire they began to make some chick-friendly tunes.

[EBES]

I think to a certain extent that you could say this about Rush fans in general. Amongst friends and acquaintances a number of them like Rush and perhaps some of the more commenly heard Yes songs but lose interest quick when I start spinning too much music that is perhaps a bit "higher on the prog-o-meter."

Yeah my anecdotal experience would be that Rush has a high percentage of fans who don't especially like other prog bands, or even have a clear sense of the term "progressive rock." There's an episode of The Album Years where either Wilson or Bowness (can't remember which) observes that during the Moving Pictures era Rush somehow had prog fans, metalheads, REO Speedwagon AOR-lite types, and New Wave people all in their corner at the same time. Somewhat like Pink Floyd in that regard.

I like this song more

Or this one: https://markprindle.bandcamp.com/track/tarkus-is-boner

[IMWeasel]

Oh yeah Mark Prindle was where I learned about the dead milkmen back in the late 90s, lol

[3LockBox]

Oh yeah Mark Prindle was where I learned about the dead milkmen back in the late 90s, lol

Didn't know Mark Prindle was a musician but I used to read his album reviews and they were quite often hilarious

[Dan Maske]

When I was in college, the night club in the dorms had a “Rush Night” one night. That’s where I me up with my future [and current] wife.