Dyelirium

In recent weeks I have been paying close attention to how fans react to certain situations when it comes to the music they say they love. To be completely honest – it’s starting to piss me off.  The behavior of these alleged fans is appalling, to say the least. They seem to have become demanding, harassing and downright impossible to please. I feel sorry for a lot of the musicians out there right now. It seems that whatever they do – it will end up under a microscope and broken down, analyzed and blown out of proportion until it no longer resembles what it was originally meant to be – their music.

Allow me to give you an example. Let’s say fictional Band X has released a few albums and built up a good following…well, let’s say a crazed following. First you hear people say that they are just the biggest fans of Band X and that Band X means everything to them and that Band X’s music speaks to them, makes them feel better blahbitty blahbitty blah. You get my point, right? Then Band X seems to fall off the face of the earth. Maybe the members of the band were exhausted. Maybe they were creatively drained and afraid they can’t compete with the last album they put out. Maybe they don’t want to make a record that sounded like the last. Maybe they needed a break. Maybe they wanted to just get a fucking life outside of recording, shooting videos and touring.

Then, out of curiosity, you, a fan of Band X, begin to peruse the band’s website, the social networking sites, fan websites just to see if there’s any word on when something new can be expected. You see that the word on the street is that new stuff is in the works, and, if you’re like me, you’re happy to see that there’s something new to look forward to. You start reading other “fans’” comments to see what funny or ridiculous words of encouragement they have to offer the band. What if that’s not what you see? What if all you see are complaints regarding how long it’s taking? Demands for new material? Ominous overtures that the new music had better be worth the ridiculously long wait and had better not suck? Threats that if it does suck, then the band will lose a fan?

Well, I have seen this, and it left me seething. How can someone say that he’s a fan of a band, and then in the very next sentence say that he will no longer be a fan if said band doesn’t put out the product he feels they should put out? Who is this person to dictate their artistic direction? Is he in the damn band? No, he’s not. In my opinion, when a musician/songwriter/band puts out an album, he/she/they are putting part of themselves out there for the world to see and hear.  Personal experience – happy, sad, silly, angry, contemplative…whatever – is in each song you hear, and they are sharing it with you.

Bands are made up of human beings. I didn’t think that I would ever have to say that. It sounds so obvious and stupid, but it appears that some people need reminding. These are people that the greater percentage of you do not know, and you never will. I don’t care if you have read and memorized every speck of information regarding them or if they’ve replied to you via Face Book or Twitter or any other social networking entity or if you have met members a few times at a show or meet-and-greet. Maybe they even recognize you simply because you have seen them live so many times. It still doesn’t matter. Most of us will never truly know these people we have placed on a pedestal.

These are people who are going to grow and evolve. As time passes, they may begin to feel differently and their passions will change. What they were once so fanatical about may no longer hold as much importance as it once did, and they have set their sights on new interests. This is normal, people! You should expect it! If they turn out something you’re not into – well, that’s just the way it goes.

As I said before, the creativity just may not be there.  Art doesn’t happen on command. It needs to be inspired. Sometimes the muse is right where she needs to be. Sometimes she’s an evasive bitch.

So, lighten the Hell up all you hyper “superfans”. Give the musicians you make numerous overtures of love about a freaking break. Give them the time, space, and, most of all, the respect you say they deserve.