(07-07-2010 10:00 PM)PaulM Wrote:  

(07-07-2010 09:06 PM)Floydy Wrote:  Just like those big 3D things in Egypt

You mean... pyramids?

Yeah... 3D things

Pink Floyd? I like him!

*sighs*

Pink... FLOYD? I didn't know that was her last name!

Anyway, I was at work the other day and I noticed a customer wearing a DSOTM shirt. I complimented his shirt and I asked him what his favorite song is. He said, "Uhhhh... I'm not really sure." "You can't go wrong with Dogs, man," I replied. He just nodded his head and I walked away.

About an hour later he returned and came up to my register. "So are you seeing Roger Waters this November?" I asked. "Uhhhh... I didn't even know that was going on. I don't even know who that is." The transaction was pretty straightforward there on out. After he left, my fellow co-worker (also a classic rock fan) looked at me and said, "Did he really just say he didn't know who Roger Waters was? Wow."

(09-28-2010 09:58 PM)hunter21291 Wrote:  About an hour later he returned and came up to my register. "So are you seeing Roger Waters this November?" I asked. "Uhhhh... I didn't even know that was going on. I don't even know who that is." The transaction was pretty straightforward there on out. After he left, my fellow co-worker (also a classic rock fan) looked at me and said, "Did he really just say he didn't know who Roger Waters was? Wow."

Yeah.......that's pretty bad. However, they can't all be as knowledgeable as we are.

I think it's ok to not know the names of the band members in a group you like.
I like Porcupine Tree and have all their albums, but I have no idea who these guys are, or their names, nor do I care. I just enjoy the music.

I listened to Pink Floyd for years and years, without knowing who they were and what they looked like. It's only now, in the age of internet, that I've caught up with their identities.
I think we get "too much information" nowadays. The personalities and looks have become more important than the actual music, which is a bad thing, I think.
Would anybody listen to Lady Gaga if it weren't for her exhibitionism?

Not gonna lie, I actually enjoy listening to Lady Gaga. I'm a total classic rock elitist, but her songs are catchy and fun to listen to.

Ugh, Lady Gaga. You know how Andy Warhol said that everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame? Yeah, I'm hoping this broad's stopwatch is at 14:59.

Lady GaGa's songs alone are catchy and engaging enough, her image and distinct personality just add to that, I think. She's a all-round completely different of musical act here, however, and comparing pop music to prog rock is rather silly. I hope that she doesn't go away anytime soon, especially as she's pretty much at the top of her game right now.

However I'd be perfectly fine with it if Justin Bieber went away, but whatever.

On topic however, I really think people need to just lower their expectations of fans. Just because you raid Roger Waters' trash every Monday for his used underwear and junk mail doesn't mean everyone else should, gawd. I mean, some people aren't even aware of the band member's names. And that's okay. It's okay for someone to like a band or a song and not want to know every single detail about them. There's no such thing as a "true fan". If you like a band's song, I feel that's enough to be considered a fan.

Scolding people for not knowing these things is the sort of behaviour that puts me off bands.

For starters, I think you're getting a little more worked up about this than is warranted. No one here is going through Roger's trash or whatever the equivalent hyperbole would be for any other member of the band, nor does anyone expect someone else to do that either. I don't believe there is such a thing as a "true" fan, either at least not in the way you're describing it.

Take this for example. I'm a New York Yankees fan. If you asked me how the team was doing, or how Derek Jeter was doing this season and I looked at you with a blank face......you wouldn't think I was much of fan if I didn't know who was on the team or even how the team was doing, would you? I mean, it would stand to reason that if I claim to be a fan of X sports team, I would at the very least know how they're doing this season and who the players are, right?

I feel something similar when it comes to music. If you tell me you're a Pink Floyd fan but can't name anyone in the group or even more than 5 songs they did, I'm going to wonder if you're just saying you're a fan because they're popular and legendary and you don't want to be that person who has no clue who they are when everyone else around you does. That's not saying I expect people to know Nick Mason's shoe size or what color underwear Roger is wearing today. I don't know that about them nor would I ever care to, because it has nothing to do with the music.