Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love & Karaoke

by Rob Sheffield

Geddycorns. These are the ladies who love Rush, and they are called Geddycorns because they are rare and mythical creatures rarely witnessed with your own eyes. If you spot a female fan at a concert, you will have a story to tell. I have known a few Geddycorns in my life, and part of why they love Rush is being part of that male audience. A friend read my book Talking to Girls About Duran Duran and said the story of her life would be called Talking to Boys About Rush. All my life, Rush has been emblematic of the kind of cultural phenomenon that only appeals to testicle-havers, but it’s only in recent years that Rush have come to symbolize maleness itself. Although Rush have been around for more than forty years, they’re more popular and beloved than ever, thanks to the documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage, which is constantly on VH1 Classic in the weekend-afternoon hangover slot. Everybody I know has watched this movie at least six times, whether they like the band already or not. (It’s pretty much impossible to watch it and not like the band.) Guitarist Alex Lifeson has the best line in the movie, on their fan base: “In the early stages, it was very young, almost one hundred percent male. And then, as the years went by, it remained one hundred percent male.”