I’ll admit it, loudly and proudly:  I am a huge Rush fan.  Rush is a band that rarely gets the respect it deserves.  And I like that.

If that sounds elitist, it’s because it is.  There are few things more depressing than seeing a band you love dearly sell out, changing who they are and the music they play in order to appeal to a wider audience, in order to make more money.  Rush never did that.

Even if you’re not a fan of Rush, you’re most likely a fan of someone who is.  This is why the documentary, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage is important.  The band has served as a source of inspiration to countless artists, scientists, writers, and musicians.  Not only for their music… their insanely complex, gloriously progressive,  ridiculously fantasy/sci-fi infused music… but also for their dedication to their music.  They operate very much on their own terms, and have managed to be far more successful than most people realize.  14 platinum records.  24 gold records.  Think about that.  24 gold albums, and you never hear them on the radio (unless you listen to a classic rock station).  24 gold records and they’ve done every one of them exactly the way they wanted to do them.  That’s a band that inspires artists.

And the most beautiful thing about it all?  It’s a true story about two kids who met in Junior High School and decided to form a band.  An awesome band that sings songs about elves and demons and spaceships.

That’s not entirely true.  Alex and Geddy did meet in Junior High.  And they didn’t initially want to sing songs about elves and demons and spaceships.  And yet, they did. Almost as if it had been foretold in ancient prophecy.  Tell me that’s not a geek wet dream right there.

Rush is not a band that people listen to casually.  People don’t buy Rush albums on a whim.  Rush is a band that people either hate, don’t care about, or love.  And we love them.  Deeply. Which brings me back to where we started.  I like that Rush does not get all the respect and attention they deserve.  Why?  Because it keeps away the hipster douchebag element.  Nothing puts a buzz kill on my enjoyment of a band as much as when it becomes “cool” to listen to the band.  It doesn’t cause me to like the band less, it just annoys me.  They say they like it, but they don’t get it.  If that sounds elitist, you don’t get it.  We love this band.  Imagine your wife, your husband, your partner of indeterminate marital status and gender, imagine that person in the arms of a hipster douchebag.  Kinda makes your blood boil, doesn’t it?  That’s why we, the real fans, don’t want Rush to become that sort of popular.  Because they are ours.  And we don’t want to share them with you. You wouldn’t love them like we do.

The trailer includes a scene in which Geddy Lee says that he’s always liked to think of Rush as “the world’s most popular cult band”.  As a member of the cult, I don’t think I could have said it any better myself.  I heartily encourage you to check out the doc.  It opens June 10, 2010, in selected cities.  Check the film’s website to see if your city was selected.  Austin, of course, is on.  I’ll see some of you there, yes?