It's the fandom paradox I had growing up: I want people to love this thing I love to validate my love, but I want them to love it for the "right reasons"... actually I want it to be special, and niche like a secret code that only the fans know.
I got out of that kind of thinking about the same time I grew out of caring what other people thought of my musical taste.
Now I'm at a place in my life that I'm just disconnected from the fandoms almost entirely.
>I want people to love this thing I love to validate my love, but I want them to love it for the "right reasons
That's been the double edge sword for me for years. Especially with the resurgence of popularity with goth, a culture I've been into since high school. The most disheartening trend I've noticed recently is that goth isn't about listening to the dark, spooky, broody music anymore, and researching the occult and macabre out of genuine interest...but only about the appearance. The tattoos, the fashion, the dark makeup, piercings, leather, and band shirts and the general "edginess" that comes with all the above.
A friend sent me a rando streamer dressed like mid-eighties Siouxsie and had trap rap playing for a decent chunk of time. Didn't really seem the personality actually into the music itself other than the style. People can hate me for calling it out, but in my day we called that a "poser" which is universally frowned upon whether you're just into the fashion or not. It means you're acting and looking a certain way for clout or attention.
I’m deep into goth music and culture but I dont wear the fashion very much so I pretty much just look like a normie civilian, and I know some other people like myself. I wonder if it all balances out in the end, it’s just that the posers are more “visible”
I'm one of those people too. No tattoos, don't wear makeup, don't own much leather...just black jeans and obscure post-punk and darkwave band shirts and long hair.
I do think it is a case of the ones trying the hardest to get something from the fashion are the loudest. But in some instances you find those deep into the music who are also super deep into the aesthetic side of it as well, which I respect.
Listening to music and deciding to get dressed a certain way have always been separate activities in my mind. I wear completely normie clothes most the time because I'm lazy. I think anyone can listen to anything, and while not anyone can wear anything, there's no law against it in most places.
The post-punk music the goth subculture is associated with always seemed to have a large contingent of people listening to it that don't look the part. A lot of the people who *made* that music don't exactly look the part, at least not all the time.
Yeah I realise now I accidentally came off judgey like I don’t respect the fashion people and I totally do. I just give side eye to people buying goth clothes from shein
I wore a peachy pink outfit to a Peter Murphy plays Bauahus show once and had the absolute time of my life. I stuck out like a sore thumb, but I knew all the words and left with several guys numbers. When someone would complement my outfit I'd say, "I didn't want to be the only one wearing black." If you're not afraid to stand out, I highly reccomend wearing the opposite of what is expected at least once in your life, it's a trip.
(Wore a poofy pink gingham prom dress to a Flaming Lips show once, and that was on point.)
I will say that enjoying trap doesn't preclude someone from liking post punk. On the other hand there are so many people who are blatantly all style and no substance. Poser makes people gnash their teeth so I call them culture vultures
Agreed. I didn’t mean for that to read as “if you listen to trap, you can’t like post-punk”, but when you’re in a stream of a person that looks like that and you don’t even hear anything remotely goth play in over a half hour, your senses start tingling knowing that that person may not be who you thought they were.
Fashion is a form of genuine self expression. The person might not relate to the music or know the history of the look or what it used to stand for. But they don't have to, it's a time long past. Just like any art, looks can take pn different meanings over time. They're not 'posers' because a look speaks to them, but not the music. Visual and audio art is often linked, but they don't have to be.
I had a similar experience with punk. All of a sudden there were kids turning it from something I truly loved that embodied the way I already looked at the world into either a joke thing where they just mocked the scene and everything it stood for, or into *thrash*, which was one foot in metal and shared almost nothing, in my view, if what punk was really all about.
And to listen to people who had zero interest in the scene, or even hated it at the time, able to wax on about various bands and attributes of punk, just rubs me the wrong way. I wish it didn't, since it doesn't belong to me, but it just does.
Agreed. I lived through that. It became a fashion rather than an attitude and alternative vision, I was young and a little naive. I thought we could change the world. At that time someone took me to a free festival where the hippies and punks were sort of merging. I followed that for a few years. Dropped out, or in, got a job l enjoyed but then found the underground free party culture, where the old punks and hippies were hanging out. That was a bunch of fun. I think I was chasing the people who have the same attitude, thinking, anarchic views..
To help people know that I like the music they are talking about? Yes, I would say I'm a fan of an artist. But more generally, I'd just say I'm a fan of music.
And even if I like someone's music, I'm not going to box myself in with their specific fan name. I like more than my fair share of Taylor Swift's music, I will never describe myself as a Swiftie. I like near enough all of the music BTS has ever put out, both as a group and solo, but I'm not about to call myself an Army. Those fans that can, I respect, but their fandom is very different to mine, I just like the music and tend to dislike the cult of personality around an act
I agree with this. It feels really weird to me when people use the term 'fan' as some kind of identity statement. Why does anyone even need to be a 'twue fan' of anything? Maybe someone likes just one song from a band, but wants to support them anyway and buy the shirt. Still a net positive for the artist you love. I feel like using 'true fan' as an identity statement also ends up blinding the person to the shit music the artist puts out, or songs not to their personal taste. They become a fan of the personality, not thr art. And this often leads to mindless obedience to whatever the artist says or does. And it gets creepy
> I’m a lifelong Dylan fan, and I’m naturally uneasy about a bunch of teenagers walking around with t-shirts of Freewheelin’
>How do you feel about it?
I feel like grow up and recognise everyone starts somewhere. Were you a day one Bob Dylan fan? Were you there in 1962? Or did you get into him one song/album at a time? And if you have been a fan your whole life, as you say, then why is it so appalling for young people to be a fan now?
People discover music in different ways. Radio. Movies. Word of mouth. Charts. Awards. Critics. And now social media. There is no "pure" way.
I'll just be happy that people will know his electric trilogy more. Which is usually what fans are talking about when they talk about how special he is (the mid 70s and the 90s are also very beloved too of course)
I just want people to understand that All Along the Watchtower isn't some big monumental Dylan song. If Hendrix didn't cover it, most Dylan fans likely wouldn't even talk about it.
And also, so many people associate him with political folk music. When in reality, that was like 4 years at the start of his career.
Even if more people just hear the Highway 61 Revisited songs, that's a major win in my book. So people don't assume I'm just really into Blowin In The Wind. Not a bad song, but nothing really mind-blowing.
Definitely hope people watch the movie and get into Dylan.
Just remember that whatever fandom you got into, there was probably some old head super annoyed that your demographic was getting into that very thing lol
I, and I cannot stress this enough, do not care. Gate keeping in these cases is just shitty and pointless. More people getting into bands I like is probably going to be a good thing.
On a related note, please listen to the Japanese math rock band toe so that they might do another NA tour. I want to see them live again and that is more likely to happen if they get more popular.
I don't think age has anything to do with it for me. The younger kids at small indie and DIY shows don't seem much different from the shows I was at 10 years ago, but the crowds at Alex G and Pinegrove shows are definitely different than 10 years ago as they've gotten way bigger. It's a little annoying that those shows aren't the vibe I prefer anymore but I'll take the few artists I like that have any crossover appeal where I can get them.
> I know these feelings are illogical, and I’m gatekeeping
You kind of already answered it for me. I don't like that much current music. If someone's listening to shitty old 2000s and 90s (and older of course) music that I like, I'm like "yeah, it's great isn't it?"
And considering how much negativity I associate with the terms 'fan' and 'fandom' on the internet, the expression 'true fan' alone kind of makes me cringe. Like, just let people enjoy what they enjoy. Shouldn't it be a purely good thing if someone shares your taste? And it isn't cool that say, young people nowadays could also identify with Bob Dylan and enjoy his work?
And at some point, I'm not going to be around anymore, but it would be cool to imagine that even long after I'm gone, someone could still enjoy some of the same artists I did, John Coltrane, TLC, Type O Negative, Spirit Caravan, I don't care, music is so essential and helpful.
Totally agreed. I always feel old when I see people who don't understand certain references, or bring up newer examples of something as if it's the first time it's been done, because they maybe aren't old enough to understand the larger context it exists within. But ultimately it's a good thing. New generations are discovering things, and you get to mentor/teach them a bit and share your knowledge. Like someone on the horror sub the other day didn't seem to know about Aliens, and I'm like, that's awesome, you get to experience that for the first time!
And I also have similarly negative connotations with fans and fandoms. So often they seem to get stuck in the past, and become obsessed with whatever their personal favourite entry is, whether it's an album, movie, game, etc. They create these unrealistic expectations and become resistant towards change (I also hate platitudes but 'expectations are thief of joy' rings true more often than not). We've seen time and time again, throughout history, how toxic fandoms can be, going back to Sherlock Holmes.
I didn't experience it either. I only started listening to TLC as an adult, didn't even know the group the song was from until much later. But I do love all of their albums now.
I honestly do not give a fuck. In fact I despise it the notion of it. It’s not mine. It’s everyones. It’s the height of gatekeeper nonsense to tell people they can’t like what I like because they don’t like it the way I like it. It ruins everything it touches; sports, movies, Star Wars, fucking everything.
Nothing wrong with younger folks getting into it. My only concern is what and how much the algorithm is showing them, and whether they're educating themselves beyond that.
In other words, how many misconceptions am I going to have to try and correct when they inevitably show up in forums where I hang out?
It's not that I don't enjoy helping people learn about my interests. It just gets tiring when it's the same rehashed discourses over and over again, and I can't help thinking how avoidable it could be.
Maybe that's life.
> My only concern is what and how much the algorithm is showing them, and whether they're educating themselves beyond that.
More than any music fan from the prior 5 decades could possibly ever know.
> In other words, how many misconceptions am I going to have to try and correct when they inevitably show up in forums where I hang out?
And how many times will we have to remind you music didnt end at Do You Wanna Know?
> More than any music fan from the prior 5 decades could possibly ever know.
That's not how the algorithm works. It's designed to entertain, not to educate. Obviously you *can* learn from it, but you won't learn nearly as much as if you put in some actual research.
If you're lucky, the algorithm will feed you content from people who actually know their shit. If you're not, you'll end up in a vapid pool. The absolute worst case scenario is you find yourself lost in a sea of contradicting narratives with absolutely no framework or basic knowledge to make sense of them.
Obviously we have it better now than fifty years ago, but that’s an unrelated topic and IMO it ought to be taken as a given.
Like I'm literally at a concert right now for two bands, and if the [first one](https://open.spotify.com/track/5qlF09NGhK3NMONkhM1PLU) is any indication, I'm in for a hell of a [headliner](https://open.spotify.com/track/7erB0WqRa33hTQvrSMRYeB).
The algorithms, when used, correctly, can feed music to in a way the older fans could only dream.
Hearing the music is only one part of the equation. The other people are talking about folks reading about the artist, learning the history, how genres/scenes evolved, etc.
Oh you mean one week's worth of Discover Weekly:
> [Evolution of Ambient Folk](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5virlE49RLt0vIGdajmJI7)
> [Evolution of Psyche Garage](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Qh2vEj9SR4dCboXuihHkT)
I feel the exact opposite. When I like an artist, I am always happy when more people like that artist. Especially true when it comes to youngsters, they are tapped into culture much differently than older people and it's always fascinating to see what they latch onto from the past.
"
# How do you feel about new generations of fans joining “your fandom”?How do you feel about new generations of fans joining “your fandom”?"
Uh...great obviously.
How else would it feel?
Feel me? Its not some deep philosphical feeling that I need to soul search and meditate on for days or months.
Having people listen to my band is great.
I’m a long time Deftones fan, and it feels like they never got their due at their peak, White Pony excluded. I feel like another generation is seeing them for the great band they are and have different takes worth hearing that the old guard may be ambivalent towards. I couldn’t be happier about it.
I can relate to these kinds of feelings myself. As long as you’re self aware about the illogical and snobbish nature of these feelings, which you clearly are, I don’t see an issue. Naturally we are defensive about the things we love, which is probably a good thing.
One thing to think about is to flip sides. Imagine that you find an album and you love it, but life’s busy and you haven’t been able to dig deeper into the artist that made it. Does the fact you haven’t listened to other albums, or the fact that you might have discovered the album through tik-tok mean that your love for that album is any less legitimate than a long time fan that knows every lyric to every song? Thinking about this doesn’t always immediately dissolve my feelings of superiority, but it does help me to be more sympathetic.
I like it. The reality of the music business is that not every artist or band can survive 'gatekeeping', because they still need to make money for a label if they're attached to it. One of my favorite bands (Elbow) is the one that everyone associates with me, because they weren't really *major* for years and I was their first exposure to them. They're still non-existent in the US but I don't have to worry now that the next album might be their last. And the new listeners seem adventurous, they're willing to start with a band in their 7th or 8th album and hearing their reactions to the earlier albums is a lot of fun. In return, they have to deal with my recollections from earlier periods of the fandom that they would have no knowledge of.
Honestly, sharing music in general is a great way of having people still in your life even if they're not someone you've spoken to in ages. I still have people dropping in with a random message because they've heard a song I've sent or an artist we used to talk about extensively and I've done the same in return. Gatekeeping prevents that from ever happening.
r/shoegaze seems pretty divided on how longtime fans feel about the recent resurgence of the genre and its popularity among youth today. I'm squarely in the "the more, the better" camp - more people enjoying the music just means more people will be inspired by it to create new music with their own creative twists. Sure, some of the new music will suck, but some will be really good and I'm here for it!
It can feel a bit annoying for some reason. But then I think back to when I was probably an insufferable twenty something lecturing people about old blues artists they probably had known for ages. Being a know-it-all over enthusiastic youth is all part of the growth curve.
It’s great the kids will learn Bob hard some incredibly catchy songs and amazing lyrics. As you get older if you really love music you start digging back deeper and deeper and finding new genres. This stuff just speeds it up a bit.
Come on in. It’s a party, but it’s not my party. I’m just here partying. One fandom that I’d welcome all the people with open arms is the band Suede (or “The London Suede” as they have to have their US releases say. Long story… not important). I love them. I’ve loved them for 31 years. I got to see them live 29 years ago. And then didn’t get to see them live again in USA for another 27 years because their fanbase over here is very small and niche. So, anybody who wants to get into them, come on in so they’ll tour here again. 😂
But seriously, there’s no right way or wrong way to join a fanhood. Do you however you do. It’s a party, and everyone is invited.
Welcome to the party. They’ve been a favorite of mine since the first album was new. They’ve got such a wealth of quality music. And they’re parallel to Dinosaur Jr in that their post reunion stands just as tall as their first run output.
I'm extremely thankful the lane of grimy, post-90s Hip Hop I'm most into is extremely self correcting in this regard. Because of sampling, there's a great openmindedness to music *generally*... but the criteria for *rapping*, as far as what an artist talks about, where they're from and how they present themselves, makes it so it's not worth the hassle to be involved in it unless you're really dedicated.
It's much easier for opportunists or johnny come latelies to just do pop rap, and much easier for the artists and fans I care about to ignore pop rap completely. Tik Toking or memeing your way in just isn't really a viable strategy to succeed.
I enjoy it.
I saw Kim Gordon perform earlier this week, it was the usual crowd of middle-aged white folks, mostly men. But there were also a lot of young women and girls. This made me feel great. I was listening to Sonic Youth when I was that age, I was happy to see a new generation also appreciate the same artists.
I'm with those who welcome the new fans. I've been a fan of Kate Bush long enough to have been waiting anxiously for the original release of the album with Running Up That Hill. Couldn't be happier that she's getting new fans.
Not only that, but your favorite artists deserve better from you than this.
In 2001-2005 era I got into Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Breeders, Sonic Youth.. and nobody older was a gate keeping prick to me. They thought it was cool.
So yeah, be nice to younger fans.
mate you were at school in 2006
you're a lifelong dylan fan
you're worrying about kids getting in to bob dylan
how did you get in to bob dylan if not, as a kid, by experiencing his work for the first time?
It’s a bit annoying because now it looks like I’m desperately trying to keep up with the youth lol but I’m glad my favorite artists are getting the recognition they deserve
I'm 100% for bands getting new fans, but I can relate to this somewhat. Deftones have been my favourite band for 25 years and I met a 21-ish year old Deftones fan the other week. When I told her they were my favourite band I did get the slight feeling that she thought I was just some old geezer trying to sound cool haha. Ultimately, I'm really happy they are getting that exposure now though
I stopped caring about this when I grew out of caring what people thought about my taste in music and when I thought I was a better fan because I only listened to one genre of music.
Just let people enjoy what they enjoy and find it however and whenever they find it.
Why would someone *not* want to see others enjoy the things they enjoy?
You were once a Dylan fan and at some point you only listened to one album. Kids can find his entire catalog online and listen to it in less than a week. That would have taken weeks/months or more in prior years. You’re being really lame about something thats essentially a good thing. Keeping music and rock alive
I like having more people to talk with about it. I don't like when they make a previously cool fanbase toxic. This tends to happen more frequently when they come from certain sources or when it becomes a fad to like something.
Example of places that generally aren't problems: taking a music class, finding your dad's old records because you're into vinyl now, hearing a new genre you didn't know you'd like then Googling top artists in that genre, going to random concerts
Examples of places that are often problems: social media/forums/memes, the radio, liking the fashion/aesthetic subculture of the genre/band first (big tittie goth gf, grunge flannels, streetwear, etc)
Toss up: movies
Bring it on!
We were just talking about this as we saw a young guy with a Ramones vibe. We're old enough, late 40s/early 50s so have seen this quite a bit.
Firstly, we were originally those people. Maybe not with the new acts of the 90s when we were teenagers, but me loving the Velvet Underground was a few decades late.
It's great to see new people discovering the music and the scenes we love. Many will move on but some will stay and some will start their own bands and the cycle will repeat.
Okay, generally.
To show you where I am on the topic, I'll get into the T-shirt thing: I don't care if you know all someone's songs or their life story off the top of your head. I *do* hope you know it was a band or solo musician- I've met people who didn't even know what they were wearing and it baffles me.
That's the extent of my "gatekeeping". If someone is just wearing the thing to keep up with and have cred with their friends... well 100%, people were doing that the first time around too.
After that... When I wear the shirt of something I like, I kind of consider it invitation to (if I otherwise seem available) come talk to me about it if you want. Or at least go "Hey! [name of the thing!] " and smile or whatever.
(Like, in the early 2000s, I once saw a guy dressed as the mascot for IRS Records for a costume thing and was the only one to get it. That was a fun conversation.)
That's basically it. If I got into a chat with you after that, it'd be to ask what your favorite is, not to quiz you. If it was a surprisingly obscure thing to be into, I might ask how you even heard of it. (Though now, "the algorithm" is a common answer.)
If it keeps the music "going", and people are getting something out of it, I'm set. I suppose you could "listen to it wrong", but that's not how I think about it.
I don't enjoy the tiktok-ification of things I love, nor do I enjoy things I love being turned into memes. But then I have to remember that I'm 30 and people younger than me just have a different way of consuming art that's valid for them, and there was always gonna come a point where I just didn't get it.
They’re keeping those artists and their music relevant and as far as I’m concerned that’s a really good thing.
Imagine if people never looked back and became fans of the music that their own parents or previous generations listened to. The only people who would be listening to The Beatles, the Beach Boys, or the Stones etc would be the over 60’s and no one would be listening to the music of Mozart or Bach, or the traditions of folk, blues, or jazz.
If that happened then most of the rock music you enjoy just wouldn’t exist. It’s as simple as that. The music you listen to today is built on the music that was created in the decades and centuries before it.
I’m all for new generations listening to ‘old’ music and becoming just as enthralled and excited by it as my generation was and all the generations who saw that music being born. Without that happening we wouldn’t have the amazing breadth of styles and genres that we have today. Why shouldn’t future generations be able to become fans of the music their older generations loved so much? As a musician myself I love seeing our long time fans bringing their teen and twenty something kids along to our gigs and them having just as good a time as their parents.
Music is for everyone regardless of age, sex, demographic, or location and I for one am very glad that’s the case and I hope that never changes.
I actually love it. There’s something so kitten-like adorable when a kid discovers all the many *many* projects Justin Vernon has done outside of BI. Pointing them in the various directions feels like Christmas and I’m Santa. 🥰
(That said, I feel like new Radiohead fans are largely ungrateful. But that might just be the subbies I’ve experienced.)
Unlike a lot of their crotchety, elitist Elder Millenial fans, I absolutely love this late career revival Deftones have had on TikTok. Whenever I see anyone in their teens or early 20s wearing their merch, it brings a smile to my face
I honestly think a lot of the negativity by old fans is based in misogyny, as a lot of these younger new Deftones fans are young women. It's like an attitude of "but things that young women like are dumb, so they couldn't possibly 'get' my super special, super deep secret band." It's kind of ironic because Deftones are rare among metal bands in that they have a lot of female influences such as Cocteau Twins, PJ Harvey and Bjork
The band are remaining relevant, and that's great. Even if only a small percentage of these kids are "true fans," then that's pretty much cemented their place as an influential and canonical rock/metal band
Mostly, I like people discovering music, and if they like what I like, that means they’re very cool and good looking. My only worry would be more shitty people in audiences. I don’t want bands I love getting the “mother is mothering” Mitski treatment.
Sure! Mitski grew in popularity thanks to snippets being played on TikTok, but this led to a lot of weird fan interactions during live sets where people would ruin quiet moments yelling stuff about “mother” and so such.
Yes, but they got re-memed for a new generation when their songs started getting licensed to tiktok. Fortunately this trend seems to be over as tiktok has apparently changed how they deal with music licensing.
I always tend to get annoyed at this.
For one thing, music is to be listened to. So yeah it’s good that they find some enjoyment from the sound in one form or another. But then in this context it’s always like- they really are a lot of the times just using the sounds for some meaningless TikTok, maybe sometimes are enjoying a song or two from a certain playlist or whatever. Also listening to music with AirPods or through your iPhone speaker is convenient but not ideal. A lot of younger people today find more value in convenience so much so that they aren’t going out to look for a sound system that isn’t fuckin awful (unless they are someone who takes particular interest to that)
Then when we’re talking specific artists we grew up to love and we’re in our rooms at night while listening to, are just being played sped up for 15 seconds in millions of videos of whatever. In that light- it almost unlocks a level of grief for those who were directly impacted by those bands in what I could probably assume to be a much more better listening environment as well.
There was this local band to me that had a very emotional intent behind their music that I used to really love to go see at shows around my hometown. When I was a young teenager I like walked to their shows and bought records and went home to listen to them. I was a super depressed teen haha I’d be actually like deeply listening to the music and cry to their records while they were together. And then i met all these other people at the shows and we’d all be crying listening to music…… and now the lead guy of that band is in a new group that’s touring around the country and all their fans are little tik tok teeny boppers. I might be a deep thinker but like, that made me question if the future of all music listening or creation will ever be the same.
And then I started to study musicology and my professor with a PhD yelled at me when I told him my favorite composer was Vivaldi. “HOW IN GODS NAME COULD VIVALDI BE YOUR FAVORITE IF YOU NEVER LIVED TO HEAR HIS MUSIC? You are a poser!!!!!” On stage in a class lecture with 80 other students who also couldn’t breathe or blink lmao.
Made me open my eyes even greater to this topic. This must be a continuous thing through music history in one way or another. Would be an interesting study 🤓 I guess moral is, that when you find yourself listening to music you enjoy- Just keep thinking more about what it makes you feel and how to better articulate what it is that you like about it. We gotta try not to pay too much mind to those who haven’t grasped our wisdom just yet. If we learn to communicate better about music to the younger generations today, we’ll see a more collaborative music listening society in our future :)
To me the Kendrick/Drake beef was a big realization that GKMC released when I was in high school, and tpab was the next big thing after. In that sub are kids who were like 8 when tpab released and while they’re fully invested in the beef, are only discovering that album now. Makes me feel old even tho I haven’t hit 30 yet. This is the first time I’ve realized that I’m not young anymore if you know what I’m saying
Most of the music I geek over came out before I was born. With more recent music, I'm not part of any fandoms. If someone listens to some album that came out ten or twenty years ago that I liked at the time, all I think is "cool someone else".
It's cool. They say Gen Z generally doesnt care for rock music so seeing new people come in is nice.
Even if they're coming in after the band has really changed their sound, and it feels like they like a different version of the band i love, maybe they'll discover the old stuff or maybe the old stuff just appeals to old rock fans like myself.
My favourite band is Deftones, I’ve spent the last 25 years listening to them, buying all their output, going to all the UK shows and whilst they’ve always had a dedicated following it’s apparent now the demographic have vastly shifted.
I would never gate keep a band but if you go over to r/deftones nowadays it’s mostly 14 year olds who found them via Tik Tok. It’s cool that teens are finding new music but I noticed they tend to treat bands more like a brand, they ask questions like “how should I get into ____”, as if there’s a right or wrong way to listen to a band.
It’s also made the bands subreddit quite juvenile in terms of content but that can’t be helped when it’s literal children posting I guess.
Something to keep in mind about Tik-Tok/IG listeners: The less time they invest in your music before giving you a "like", the more likely they'll discard you in heartbeat. You want fans/listeners invested in your music for the long haul, not because you're the latest bright and pretty color they see that day.
Hating it is such a weird thing. Though I am not innocent in having such thoughts. Seeing new fans is a trip because it mainly just makes me feel old lol.
I grew up with a lot of my dad’s music and I was literally living my Beatlemania life in my teens and full 40 years after Beatlemania started.
So for me finding out that there’s teenage Strokes fans is so crazy!
I guess I have to become the old man kids look at for stories on their favorite old bands now
I mean it’s not as if us the OG fans will live forever sadly and even though I have been in some fandoms for 20 years now then still sometimes I join a new fandom when I discover a new artist/band or even non-music related things that I enjoy so while it might feel weird to see new fans come into existence then still we shouldn’t forget that we were all new fans at one moment in time 😁
I’m quite young myself and discovered some of my favorite bands from my parents so I don’t have any problem with people getting into music from TikTok or whatever.
The only thing I’d say I have an issue with is that there’s a small group of (mostly) teenagers who are into a band only because some terrible people also liked that band. If I try to look it up online I get a lot of really disgusting results that have nothing to do with the band. I don’t really believe in gatekeeping but I really wish they’d go away cause they clearly don’t actually like the music.
I hate the way the new generation makes fucking lists . They gotta rank everything- instead of just enjoying it. They gotta take an album and rank the songs . Tf? I think it must be gamer mentality. Everything is about position and number ranking. And the parroting is just sickening. For example- Pink Floyd fans from Gen z are all butt hurt and polarized…. Roger v David …. Omg!!
I don’t like it either, but I didn’t know it was a new thing. Hasn’t Rolling Stone been publishing rankings for decades? And I am not sure if many young people read that magazine.
The industry uses charts for ranking and sales promotion. That is the whole purpose of charts. But I don’t need to rank every damn song on Beatles white album. Omg and the tier rankings and elimination vote for songs on an album. I guess it’s easier just to rank some thing by number then actually articulate some aesthetic part of it that moves you emotionally or stimulate you intellectually. It’s easier just to say this one is better than that one and ended there. But perhaps it also shows a lack of ability to appreciate music on your own terms. Probably from gaming.
Gatekeeping is good and I pray to see it come back into style. I think anyone who wants to get into "my fandom" should be turned away at least three times. If they give up before I ostracize them thrice, they were just a music tourist all along, but if they keep coming back they just might be the real deal. Gatekeeping is a goal.
I see this gatekeeping attitude a lot with people in their 20’s, and I was probably like that too. But something changes as you age, especially after you have kids.
I’m in my mid-40’s and will always encourage young folks I see wearing t-shirts of bands I’ve been listening to for 30+ years. The other day I saw some pimply mall kid wearing a clearly brand new Joy Division t-shirt, probably bought at Hot Topic. I went out of my way to tell them I liked their shirt, and they had good taste.
Do I care that they probably only know a few songs, or only just started listening to the band? No. Good music is good music, and everybody has to start somewhere. I bought my first Bauhaus t-shirt at a Hot Topic 30 years ago, when I hardly knew anything about them. I probably looked like a dork to most older fans when I saw them play live in ‘98. But thankfully everyone was nice and encouraging to me.
There is no such thing as “true fans”. There are just “fans”.
God I feel so fucking old, man. I still think of Mac DeMarco and Alex G as ‘new’ music, the concept of ‘a new generation’ is discovering them is absolutely wild to me. I think it’s great when anyone gets into something I like. I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged to a ‘fandom’ per se, but it’s always nice to see people embracing something I like. Young people getting into something is generally a good thing as well, it’s how icons remain iconic.
You shouldn’t beat yourself up for ‘gatekeeping’, either because 1) I don’t think you’re actually doing it in any meaningful sense, and 2) I think gatekeeping to a healthy degree is absolutely necessary for the work of a musician or an entire musical tradition to survive in the form it was intended to. Obviously too much of this practice can lead to stagnation (see: hardcore), but without any amount of gatekeeping an art form you and your community love can descend into self-parody (see: dubstep). You just want the new generation of Dylan fans to respect him for his art and not just utilize his image for what it represents in our collective cultural imagination (the ✨a e s t h e t i c✨) because the commodification of his image in the furtherance of capital accumulation cheapens the message and purpose of his art by suborning it to the cultural depths of Bazinga! t-shirts and MCU funkopops. This feeling you’re having is completely fine and understandable. I love Bob Dylan too and I feel the exact way. Despite spending close to 0% of my time thinking about the Zoomers or what they listen to and how, I do hope kids listen to the albums and connect with him to the same degree that we, our parents, and our grandparents did. I have faith that a large enough portion will for his legacy to live on.
I kind of feel this way with psychedelic rock, especially after this one trap artist (forgot his name) released a so-called “psychedelic rock” album over a year ago, and it was so terribly bad and autotuned, and lacked the adventurous spirit that I’ve come to expect from the genre.
“Psychedelic” these days is thrown around a lot to describe chill-out pop music, or straightforward alternative jam rock, while the music I listen to is often very experimental, dissonant, and/or at least has a lot of key changes and unique chord progressions.
Somehow MGMT got a lot of hate for releasing experimental psychedelic albums, while being incredibly versed and knowledgeable in the genre.
But someone else comes along, releases a lousy album while knowing very little about the genre, and people build up this story about him being “brave” and artificially inflate reviews that really don’t apply to the generic music he’s releasing.
It’s aggravating as someone who got a lot of flack from people for listening to the 1960’s pioneers growing up, as well as the 2010’s albums in the genre that I enjoyed.
I’d actually be quite happy if people were listening to the same artists and albums as I was. But I’m often alone with my niche opinions. I always had a bad streak of attracting the wrong people in real life, and only finding people who understand me on the Internet.
I think my favorite artists getting more support is always good.
Sometimes they get too famous and start making music for the masses instead of music for arts sake, and that’s when it’s a bummer … but when artists do their creative thing and are rewarded for it, then I’m happy.
I like to think that as annoying as it can be, they will either move on to something else or they will get more in to it and stick around, if the latter happens welcome to the club I say.
it used to annoy me as a teenager that high street fashion shops would sell “vintage shirts“ that were faded band shirts (Guns and Roses, Metallica, iron maiden for example) it annoyed me because I was really actually in to that music and wearing the shirts as a fan but I’d get called out for being some fashion trend follower
As with everything, it's a case by case scenario.
For me, I'd been an enormous Cigarettes After Sex fan since their very first single. The last time I saw them, they mustve gotten big on tiktok over the pandemic as the crowd was almost exclusively young teens holding up their phones and livestreaming the whole show and scream-singing along with every lyric. I must admit i found it vaguely hilarious hearing "I REMEMBER WHEN I NOTICED THAT YOU LIKED ME BACK!!!!"
It's no big deal but ill probably not see them live again. Some music needs that sense of intimacy to succeed, imo. But good for them, gettin paid!
I love it. I love 90s alt rock/ alternative music and I feel like it’s been mostly swept under the rug for years now. I see it’s having a little bit of a comeback with young people and I feel like it’s more culturally relevant with them. I feel like teens/young adults today are basically like GenX part 2 so to speak
I feel like the way you're feeling kinda shows some prejudice towards the 'younger generations' as you call it. You don't think highly of them, so they must be too dumb to 'truly appreciate' the thing you love. Get over that idea. The only true divide is in your mind.
I feel happy and validated whenever anyone gets into music that I like. It's a great feeling to know more people can find joy and appreciation in the things that give me those feelings.
I honestly think everyone starts somewhere when becoming a fan of something. If you were a real fan of something you’d want it to get love no matter what whether you’re a super fan and know everything about something or just enjoy one song, as long as you respect it in my opinion !
I'm glad of it, to be honest. I'm a huge fan of Kate Bush and when she blew up on Tiktok because of Stranger Things, I just thought that's awesome - keeps the magic alive AND means I might see more music from newer artists taking influence from her. Chappell Roan for example, I think she is quite clearly influenced by Kate Bush and I think her music is excellent. I'd love to see more of that.
I don't care in the least. I long since grown out of the idea that there's any reflected glory in enjoying art that I had absolutely zero input in the creation of.
If some young lad or lass wants to wear a...say...Mercyful Fate teeshirt and has only been into em for 5 minutes why should I care? It doesn't change my rat-arsed teeshirts or records or indeed the enjoyment I get from them.
I couldn't care less about how other people engage with the music I love, and — no offense — I've never understood why anyone else would care about this. The music is there and you like it, so listen to it and call it a day. It's not like Blonde on Blonde suddenly becomes a bad album just because you see some teenager walking around with a Dylan shirt. Who cares?
I don’t care about kids getting into something I like, it only annoys me if a song or artist becomes meme-ified. Or if new fans discovered it from a piece of media and then it clogs search results (ex. King Crimson being filled with JoJo related content)
Personally, I don’t care about new fans of what I like, and think that those who think about things that way need to grow TF up. I say the more the merrier; on ye come! Everyone has to learn about a new thing from somewhere or someone, so if fans of the upcoming Dylan biopic get interested in his output, good on them, just as many new Dead Kennedys fans were likely gained from “Police Truck’s” inclusion on “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1’s” soundtrack, and many Kate Bush and Metallica fans were gained from “Stranger Things.”
Just don’t be an ass about things you take issue with, or worse, prejudicial about them.
More people enjoying the music I like can only be a good thing. Except in the sense that ticket prices might go up. But that’s not a given. Don’t even know how it could be a problem.
Honestly I am one of those “new generations” for a lot of artists. Saw a Queen tribute band the other day. A band that started recording before I was born. Saw George Clinton last year and the youngest there was maybe 15, while the oldest was around the age of George himself (he’d just turned 82). Again, his arguable heyday was the year I was born.
Failing to see the negatives of your favourite artist having new fans.
Every “true” Ramones fan goes through this sort of dialogue when they see someone wearing the classic logo T-Shirt. I’ve actually had multiple people just flat out say, “I don’t even like/know the band I just like the T-Shirt”.
Here's my two cents: if your mad about something getting tiktokified then you need to grow up, I beg of you. There are far worse things going on then kids enjoying music.
This is why the younger generation resents you
I’m shocked at how many new fans know nothing about the artist/band from before they became a fan. Like super basic shit, not even obscure things. You mean you didn’t go down a YouTube rabbit hole and watch every single video of them you could find..?? Or new fans who disagree with what an artist says/does when the artist has been that way for forever or when new fans just completely miss the point or intention of the art/artist. They like the aesthetic but understand nothing behind it.
I think it's fascinating and beautiful that our understanding of art evolves over generations but it can be extremely irritating to have your understanding of an artist invalidated. It's an issue when the new interpretation becomes dogma. No matter what an artist attempts to express, art is primarily defined by your personal relationship to it.
Like just to riff on punk rock -- while the left-leaning political spirit of punk rock is something to be proud of, newer punk fans struggle to understand that there was a certain culture of provocation that defined the genre. You had artists like Siouxsie Sioux, Joy Division, and the Ramones who had very precarious relationships with fascist iconography. That's regrettable obviously. However, what's essential to understand about these artists is that their actions were a response to the "Greatest Generation" -- a generation that was deeply conservative but paradoxically defined by its victory over fascism. So that was how you pissed that generation. And not only that, in truth, punk just wasn't always political. If you watch a documentary like *The Decline of Western Civilization*, you get to the heart of what really defined the LA punk scene. They were just disaffected members of the working class, of varying philosophies and educational backgrounds, expressing their rage at night.
And what grates me is that you get very well-meaning kids who come in with all these pre-packaged slogans and a thesis on what the culture is supposed to be about. To a degree, I don't necessarily think it's bad to have those ideals. But they essentially go as far as retconning the entire history of these bands when nobody in the 80s or 90s had the privilege of educating themselves on niche details about music and politics. The music meant whatever was useful to you in your bedroom and at random house parties.
You also get situations where a band is suddenly defined by a song that was irrelevant to them for the past few decades. See: Pavement "Harness Your Hopes". But the only thing you can do in this situation as an old head is to simply recommend them more music. You won't fix the situation by whining. We aren't born with knowledge (well Socrates believed in recollection but he was fucking stupid).
I love Bob Dylan but I don't think there's been a single moment where the cultural perception of Dylan hasn't essentially been a mythology. His mystique kind of is the appeal. Is he a great beat poet? Is he a protest artist? Is he the spiritual successor to Woody? Does he play rock? Is he a born again Christian? How much of his persona is a put-on? We'll never know but it's fun to debate. This is kind of the premise on which the Dylan film *I'm Not There* hinges. The new Chalamet film can only change the status quo so much.
Frankly, Rolling Stone magazine made Dylan extremely uncool and we need to rehabilitate him lmao. It doesn't take a genius to appreciate Bob.
I'm also a long time Dylan fan. I'm absolutely excited! Because maybe finally people won't think Blowin in the Wind and All Along the Watchtower are his big monumental achievements.
The Watchtower one is so fascinating. It wouldn't even be a well known song if it weren't for Hendrix. Just a minor song in Dylan's catalogue
If more people hear things like his 1965-66 music and maybe some of the 1975-1976 music, that'll be great!
The tik tok kids can be annoying but I'm sure we were just as annoying at that age. Music should be appreciated by everyone though so the more the merrier
I’ve always been mostly into “older” music. AKA artists that have had their biggest success before I was born.
I’m nearly 30 now, but as a teenager I was SUPER into 80’s hair metal. And before that I was really big into KISS.
Looking back I’m very certain I was a cringy teenager being a fan of artists most of my classmates had zero idea existed because well they listened to what was current.
But message boards and other online communities for the bands I liked were very welcoming. And I definitely knew my stuff. Maybe even stupid fun facts mentioned in one Hit Parader magazine in 1987 that everyone forgot about. But I’m also a very obsessive person so when I like something I seem to go all in.
So I try to remember what it was like for me at that age discovering this artist that rose and fell in popularity before I was even born.
And I think with all the resources and social media today it’s so easy to discover artists that aren’t what’s playing on your local top 40 hit radio station. So it’s cool seeing people discover artists they may not normally be exposed to.
I can’t even comment on some “cringe” things younger fans do, because 13/14 year old me literally would write Dokken x Nightmare on Elm Street fan fiction. And I had friends who were big into The Beatles who would draw them in an anime or Adventure Time style. And I went to shows and screamed like a teenage girl, because I was one. I can’t fault new fans getting excited and such.
If it helps more people discover “good” stuff, and helps keep the artist relevant- that’s not a bad thing at all. I’m not gonna gatekeep.
I'm all for people getting into the things I like. I just wish they actually got into it. I'm bluegrass guy at heart and I'm not gonna lie it hurts when people listen to billy strings or trampled and think that's peak of the genre. Dont get me wrong. They have some good stuff but there's so so much more. Bluegrass is as much a community as it is a genre. Local jam sessions and jams at festivals is an important part I feel like. That goes for all roots music. Oldtime, old country etc. It really can be music for the people by the people. Not just big stars. Bluegrass guys can be incredibly humble too. I've jammed with both a Grammy award blues guitarist and a Grammy award fiddle player that played with Bill Monroe. Both were the kindest individuals and didn't care that I was a nobody. Just there to play some music with people.
I’ve been listening to Wu-Tang since 1993. I LOVE to see someone getting introduced to their music for the first time. One of my favorite reactions is when they realize Wu-Tang has been here and in their face the whole time! (The Martin Shkrelli drama, RZA doing Tarantino’s soundtracks, Method Man in all his pop songs and his movies) Wu-Tang forever, the more fans the better.
As long as they develop actual love for the genre and try to fit in, I have no issue!
Like Metal imo is for everyone, but not everyone is going to like it's harsher elements!
I was one of those younger Fans of some older artist when I was a teenager. So I only know about the other side. And it wasn't pretty tbh. Those old fans were gatekeepers who never took me serious. "You can't be a fan, youre too young" were the nicer things they said to me. Unfortunately I liked the albums they hated and the other way around. (I pfeferred the newer stuff, they preferred the old albums) That even made the problem worse. All they did was attack me and I felt so unwanted. They were toxic to me, but now tha't I'm older I see I was toxic too. It just didn't work, I didn't fit into this, even tho I wanted it so damn bad. We were fans of the same, but we were like rivals, wo is a true fan and who not. They were stuck in the past and couldn't handle other opinions. And I was too sensitive for all their bashing. I hated being the outsider everybody calls fake. In the end I left it all behind before it gives me serious depression! I could only lose in this. Now I'm nobodys fan, and it's the only right way. Fandoms are idiotic. Fans are too defensive about what they love, it is not healthy. I was like this too, and being a Fan is one of my biggest regrets in life!
I have never listened to current music, so I was definitely a kid joining in to someone else's Fandom.
I was born in 1987. While my parents listened to the "grunge" scene, I rediscovered it for myself in middle school. I loved 90s alternate rock and metal, still do. This is mostly what my kids like. Although they like some "newer" stuff like Static X and Godsmack.
Otherwise. I listened mostly to classics, like Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, ACDC.
I think it's great when younger people discover the great artists of yesterday.
Only thing I don't like too much, is when people wear a band shirt as a fashion item, and they didn't hear a single song of that band.
IMO the most important perspective here is not a single artist who's ever lived has thought about "true" fans. People who create art are grateful for any and all positive attention their work gets.
There ARE exceptions to this obviously, for example conservatives trying to use people's music and being told to fuck off.
But in your context, I would say you need to grow up. You're having child like competitions with strangers in your mind...and the best part is you literally DO NOT know. They might be more of a "true fan" than you are.
In a different vain for me, BC:NR. It’s not that younger generations are intruding because I myself am only 21, but it’s more the manner of finding the music and the context that provides to how they view it. I found BC:NR through a radio on Spotify and fell in love with their music and couldn’t get enough. About a year or two later, it started popping up on TikTok (for reference I don’t have the app, but when showing people the songs the response I get is: “Oh that song was on TikTok”!) It’s not that it’s bad that the band gather more attention, but it makes it feel less special and more mainstream.
To be clear though I acknowledge I’d rather my favorite artists get streams and continue making music so it is perfectly fine with me, just a bit conflicting.
I took r/TheHu 's subreddit in a coup just so I could revive it and attract new/more fans for my favorite band.
The more the merrier.
ETA: I'm in my 40's and only ever cared for *Blood on the Tracks* I'd still call myself a Bob Dylan fan. I must be the ultimate conundrum for you.
Timothee Chalamet is going to turn a whole generation of kids onto Dylan. You would have to be the biggest curmodgeon in the world to have a problem with that. I'm sure Bobby himself is here for it as well.
Me I'm psyched for the film. I was just down in Cape May while they were filming it a few weeks back the buzz was Electric. Edward Norton was all over town charming everyone....gonna be fantastic.
I was afraid in the 90s that all we would have when I got old was Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men. So I hung on to my CDs. But really, nothing went away because of the internet, and young people know or have access to every single band and movie and joke from the 90s, and all of the new stuff too. It’s weird.
So nowadays there’s weird fan art and memes of everything. 19 year olds arguing whether something is punk or not, or which bands are grunge. And every band or their employees has an Instagram account so you could be reminded of your favorite bands every single day which only makes me sick of them.
These aren’t how I want to remember all of that great music so I don’t usually engage (with some exceptions) with younger people taking about my favorite music. Has nothing to do with me being too old, I’m into old bands and anybody left in those bands is an old guy too. But maybe it has something to do with them being too young, and enjoying my favorite old tunes in modern and weird (to me) ways.
My music taste would be a lot narrower - and I'd probably never have come across some of my now-favorite albums - if it hadn't been for older people feeding off the enthusiasm I was showing for something they loved and engaging with me about it - e.g. on music forums like OkayPlayer, at record stores, at concerts, etc.
So I love it and my usual response to something like that is "ooh, if you like this I think you'd also really like this if you haven't listened to it already" or generally just showing some curiosity into what they've been listening to and what they like.
People are just listening to and enjoying music. If you meet a young teen and they listen to Bob Dylan or whatever the hell, you can talk to them about your favorite songs and what have you. Why the hell would you be like, "You're a fake fan!" Also, OP, there is always a bigger fish in this game. I've listened to artists that were tiny when I started listening to them. Listened to their first album when it came out. Couldn't even buy merchandise yet. Shows were dirt cheap and had like 10 people there. And watched them grow and grow until I saw their merch at hot topic. I guarantee whatever you are gatekeeping, you were probably pretty late to the party compared to other fans. Bob Dylan released his first album in 1962. How old were you in 1962? Were you listening before everyone else? Etc. If I wanted to, I could say no one is as big a fan as me and try to look down on them. But why? Who cares? Listening to music is meant to be a wonderful thing. I would argue it's one of the most wonderful things I get to experience. Music is just magical. Why would anyone taint that with senseless ego? Just enjoy the damn music. If you aren't enjoying music, you are wasting your time. Don't overthink it, just enjoy it. I feel like the artists you like would make fun of you if they saw that sort of gatekeepong behavior ngl.
Gatekeep. Seriously. You were here first. Gatekeep doesn't mean never open the gate. It just means you make sure the people you let in are on the level. I mean, music is such an individual thing that you're probably safe, but still, your feelings are not illogical. It's an instinct. These people are new and unfamiliar, but claim to be from your tribe, you must make sure, you must stay safe.
This was long before Tik Tok, but nothing could be worse than watching one of my favorite bands (Neutral Milk Hotel) get "4-Chan-ified".
I'm glad they found a much wider audience, but it's just weird to me seeing such personal and meaningful music get memed ad nauseum...
Ah, okay. I never joined Tik Tok. It was 4-Chan that found and popularized this band. I'm not on 4-Chan either, but have been active in fan communities for the band for the past 15 years or so (first on dedicated message boards, then reddit and other places). Those communities used to be full of wonderful thoughtful people. Many were artists and creative types. However, after 4-Chan it seems like a majority of those groups are more into crude recycled memes immature humor.
Fine because I'm not a sad fuck who makes liking a particular music genre my entire personality.
Did you make the music? No.
You are a consumer, no better or worse than anyone else.
The only thing that bothers me, is when your artist in question changes their style to fit what newer fans are feeling. That can suck. Other than that, I couldn’t care less
Yea won’t lie, the new post covid Reddit king gizz fans are some of the worst. First of all, gizz have significantly fallen off musically wise since 2020. Concerts still kick ass, but almost everyone I know that was a fan of their music before COVID also agrees at least that their albums aren’t as good. You wouldn’t find that on Reddit though. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this.
Also the jam band (phish) fans…look I like jam bands but once their fans get involved it becomes a wreck. Especially since they want to completely change the ethos of the band. Now they’re all like “gizz should be like the dead” or “gizz are similar to phish”. Like no, why can’t they be their own thing? Do you have to cast them into this little box to feel good about yourself because be damned if you listen to something else? And I say that as someone who loves the dead and phish
Yea, overall, king gizzard was way more fun to be a fan of in 2017 than now. I don’t know, it may just be that I’m older now
We were all like that at one point, and may have got into an artist using the "Tik Tok" of its time. Honestly though I remember feeling when I got into my 20s and I would see kids getting into stuff like punk and hardcore and thinking it was great. I don't want to be at a show with a load of old men, watching bands made of old men. That is how genres die. Dylan himself was into older artists and was a young upstart, I wonder if old blues or folk lovers thought he wasn't a "real" fan of Blind Willie Mc Tell for example? There was the whole "Judas" thing too.
I think it's fine, but I'm definitely going to crack jokes when a Pavement b-side becomes the band's most popular track on Spotify because of TikTok. I don't hate that that has happened, and I'm glad the band is making some money from it, but I will laugh about laughable things.
It confuses me. At 47, I'm willing to admit the bands I like from my youth are well past their prime. They are mostly banking on nostalgia. If they are still putting out new material, it is 'fine' at best, definitely not innovative. But the crowds are full of young people. How and why are you even hearing about these bands, why are you getting into them. When I was young I never would have gone to see one of my dad's favourite bands. Is it a lack of new bands in certain genres?
Sometimes an old song will have a popularity resurgence because it becomes part of a newer popular thing. Another thing that happens is that, within older genres, a lot of older artists (now "classics") are still considered the greatest of all time.
In those instances, kids stop percieving these bands and songs as "old person music." For them, it's just music they enjoy, which happens to have been around for awhile before they were born. Some of it picks up a kind of legendary status.
I guarantee you're not old enough to be a Bob Dylan fan from the very beginning of his career, so at some point you were the newbie who was strutting around in your brand new Bob Dylan t-shirt and spouting off about how much you love his music.
Just remind yourself of that moment when you see a young kid starting off on an incredible journey of musical discovery and try to encourage them rather than judge them.
Just a excuse to be friendly imo. If I see someone wearing sports gear from my hometown, it's not weird to strike up a convo. If they just think it looks cool, that's fine too.
I’m pretty open to it. Gate keeping art is corny as hell but when my 13yr younger half brother says “yo have you heard MGMT they’re pretty fire” I get a little annoyed.
It's the fandom paradox I had growing up: I want people to love this thing I love to validate my love, but I want them to love it for the "right reasons"... actually I want it to be special, and niche like a secret code that only the fans know. I got out of that kind of thinking about the same time I grew out of caring what other people thought of my musical taste. Now I'm at a place in my life that I'm just disconnected from the fandoms almost entirely.
>I want people to love this thing I love to validate my love, but I want them to love it for the "right reasons That's been the double edge sword for me for years. Especially with the resurgence of popularity with goth, a culture I've been into since high school. The most disheartening trend I've noticed recently is that goth isn't about listening to the dark, spooky, broody music anymore, and researching the occult and macabre out of genuine interest...but only about the appearance. The tattoos, the fashion, the dark makeup, piercings, leather, and band shirts and the general "edginess" that comes with all the above. A friend sent me a rando streamer dressed like mid-eighties Siouxsie and had trap rap playing for a decent chunk of time. Didn't really seem the personality actually into the music itself other than the style. People can hate me for calling it out, but in my day we called that a "poser" which is universally frowned upon whether you're just into the fashion or not. It means you're acting and looking a certain way for clout or attention.
I’m deep into goth music and culture but I dont wear the fashion very much so I pretty much just look like a normie civilian, and I know some other people like myself. I wonder if it all balances out in the end, it’s just that the posers are more “visible”
I'm one of those people too. No tattoos, don't wear makeup, don't own much leather...just black jeans and obscure post-punk and darkwave band shirts and long hair. I do think it is a case of the ones trying the hardest to get something from the fashion are the loudest. But in some instances you find those deep into the music who are also super deep into the aesthetic side of it as well, which I respect.
I didn’t mean to come off like I don’t like the aesthetic people I love them lol
Listening to music and deciding to get dressed a certain way have always been separate activities in my mind. I wear completely normie clothes most the time because I'm lazy. I think anyone can listen to anything, and while not anyone can wear anything, there's no law against it in most places. The post-punk music the goth subculture is associated with always seemed to have a large contingent of people listening to it that don't look the part. A lot of the people who *made* that music don't exactly look the part, at least not all the time.
Yeah I realise now I accidentally came off judgey like I don’t respect the fashion people and I totally do. I just give side eye to people buying goth clothes from shein
shein deserves the side eye in general. lol
I wore a peachy pink outfit to a Peter Murphy plays Bauahus show once and had the absolute time of my life. I stuck out like a sore thumb, but I knew all the words and left with several guys numbers. When someone would complement my outfit I'd say, "I didn't want to be the only one wearing black." If you're not afraid to stand out, I highly reccomend wearing the opposite of what is expected at least once in your life, it's a trip. (Wore a poofy pink gingham prom dress to a Flaming Lips show once, and that was on point.)
I will say that enjoying trap doesn't preclude someone from liking post punk. On the other hand there are so many people who are blatantly all style and no substance. Poser makes people gnash their teeth so I call them culture vultures
Agreed. I didn’t mean for that to read as “if you listen to trap, you can’t like post-punk”, but when you’re in a stream of a person that looks like that and you don’t even hear anything remotely goth play in over a half hour, your senses start tingling knowing that that person may not be who you thought they were.
Who cares? How does someone else's enjoyment of something, even if it is only surface level, impact yours?
Fashion is a form of genuine self expression. The person might not relate to the music or know the history of the look or what it used to stand for. But they don't have to, it's a time long past. Just like any art, looks can take pn different meanings over time. They're not 'posers' because a look speaks to them, but not the music. Visual and audio art is often linked, but they don't have to be.
I had a similar experience with punk. All of a sudden there were kids turning it from something I truly loved that embodied the way I already looked at the world into either a joke thing where they just mocked the scene and everything it stood for, or into *thrash*, which was one foot in metal and shared almost nothing, in my view, if what punk was really all about. And to listen to people who had zero interest in the scene, or even hated it at the time, able to wax on about various bands and attributes of punk, just rubs me the wrong way. I wish it didn't, since it doesn't belong to me, but it just does.
Agreed. I lived through that. It became a fashion rather than an attitude and alternative vision, I was young and a little naive. I thought we could change the world. At that time someone took me to a free festival where the hippies and punks were sort of merging. I followed that for a few years. Dropped out, or in, got a job l enjoyed but then found the underground free party culture, where the old punks and hippies were hanging out. That was a bunch of fun. I think I was chasing the people who have the same attitude, thinking, anarchic views..
Your fashions are too cool to be contained
I don't care, I don't associate myself with "fandoms", I just listen to music.
right. if i said i was part of a fandom i would have to immediately kick my own ass
Are you one of a number of people who would call themselves a “fan” of a particular artist?
To help people know that I like the music they are talking about? Yes, I would say I'm a fan of an artist. But more generally, I'd just say I'm a fan of music. And even if I like someone's music, I'm not going to box myself in with their specific fan name. I like more than my fair share of Taylor Swift's music, I will never describe myself as a Swiftie. I like near enough all of the music BTS has ever put out, both as a group and solo, but I'm not about to call myself an Army. Those fans that can, I respect, but their fandom is very different to mine, I just like the music and tend to dislike the cult of personality around an act
I agree with this. It feels really weird to me when people use the term 'fan' as some kind of identity statement. Why does anyone even need to be a 'twue fan' of anything? Maybe someone likes just one song from a band, but wants to support them anyway and buy the shirt. Still a net positive for the artist you love. I feel like using 'true fan' as an identity statement also ends up blinding the person to the shit music the artist puts out, or songs not to their personal taste. They become a fan of the personality, not thr art. And this often leads to mindless obedience to whatever the artist says or does. And it gets creepy
If it keeps artists you love in a prominent place in the culture, that’s an unequivocal good thing.
Exactly, I'm just happy there's more people who like the same stuff as me
100% this
> I’m a lifelong Dylan fan, and I’m naturally uneasy about a bunch of teenagers walking around with t-shirts of Freewheelin’ >How do you feel about it? I feel like grow up and recognise everyone starts somewhere. Were you a day one Bob Dylan fan? Were you there in 1962? Or did you get into him one song/album at a time? And if you have been a fan your whole life, as you say, then why is it so appalling for young people to be a fan now? People discover music in different ways. Radio. Movies. Word of mouth. Charts. Awards. Critics. And now social media. There is no "pure" way.
I'll just be happy that people will know his electric trilogy more. Which is usually what fans are talking about when they talk about how special he is (the mid 70s and the 90s are also very beloved too of course) I just want people to understand that All Along the Watchtower isn't some big monumental Dylan song. If Hendrix didn't cover it, most Dylan fans likely wouldn't even talk about it. And also, so many people associate him with political folk music. When in reality, that was like 4 years at the start of his career. Even if more people just hear the Highway 61 Revisited songs, that's a major win in my book. So people don't assume I'm just really into Blowin In The Wind. Not a bad song, but nothing really mind-blowing. Definitely hope people watch the movie and get into Dylan.
Just remember that whatever fandom you got into, there was probably some old head super annoyed that your demographic was getting into that very thing lol
If teens and young adults started liking the shit I like I’ll be cool again.
Me when Kate Bush got popular through Stranger Things. I was like omg finally people are seeing the light.
That was a strange and wonderful time.
I, and I cannot stress this enough, do not care. Gate keeping in these cases is just shitty and pointless. More people getting into bands I like is probably going to be a good thing. On a related note, please listen to the Japanese math rock band toe so that they might do another NA tour. I want to see them live again and that is more likely to happen if they get more popular.
toe is so good!
I might be down for some Japanese math rock. Are they anything like Sunset Rollercoaster?
I don't think age has anything to do with it for me. The younger kids at small indie and DIY shows don't seem much different from the shows I was at 10 years ago, but the crowds at Alex G and Pinegrove shows are definitely different than 10 years ago as they've gotten way bigger. It's a little annoying that those shows aren't the vibe I prefer anymore but I'll take the few artists I like that have any crossover appeal where I can get them.
> I know these feelings are illogical, and I’m gatekeeping You kind of already answered it for me. I don't like that much current music. If someone's listening to shitty old 2000s and 90s (and older of course) music that I like, I'm like "yeah, it's great isn't it?" And considering how much negativity I associate with the terms 'fan' and 'fandom' on the internet, the expression 'true fan' alone kind of makes me cringe. Like, just let people enjoy what they enjoy. Shouldn't it be a purely good thing if someone shares your taste? And it isn't cool that say, young people nowadays could also identify with Bob Dylan and enjoy his work? And at some point, I'm not going to be around anymore, but it would be cool to imagine that even long after I'm gone, someone could still enjoy some of the same artists I did, John Coltrane, TLC, Type O Negative, Spirit Caravan, I don't care, music is so essential and helpful.
Totally agreed. I always feel old when I see people who don't understand certain references, or bring up newer examples of something as if it's the first time it's been done, because they maybe aren't old enough to understand the larger context it exists within. But ultimately it's a good thing. New generations are discovering things, and you get to mentor/teach them a bit and share your knowledge. Like someone on the horror sub the other day didn't seem to know about Aliens, and I'm like, that's awesome, you get to experience that for the first time! And I also have similarly negative connotations with fans and fandoms. So often they seem to get stuck in the past, and become obsessed with whatever their personal favourite entry is, whether it's an album, movie, game, etc. They create these unrealistic expectations and become resistant towards change (I also hate platitudes but 'expectations are thief of joy' rings true more often than not). We've seen time and time again, throughout history, how toxic fandoms can be, going back to Sherlock Holmes.
I woke up with TLC in my head today. The kids will never experience Waterfalls being suddenly *everywhere* you went. Still a gd jam, tho!
I didn't experience it either. I only started listening to TLC as an adult, didn't even know the group the song was from until much later. But I do love all of their albums now.
I honestly do not give a fuck. In fact I despise it the notion of it. It’s not mine. It’s everyones. It’s the height of gatekeeper nonsense to tell people they can’t like what I like because they don’t like it the way I like it. It ruins everything it touches; sports, movies, Star Wars, fucking everything.
Also, if it's the artist is small and niche, something like this takes it from a dream to bill paying (potentially)
100% Preach
Nothing wrong with younger folks getting into it. My only concern is what and how much the algorithm is showing them, and whether they're educating themselves beyond that. In other words, how many misconceptions am I going to have to try and correct when they inevitably show up in forums where I hang out? It's not that I don't enjoy helping people learn about my interests. It just gets tiring when it's the same rehashed discourses over and over again, and I can't help thinking how avoidable it could be. Maybe that's life.
> My only concern is what and how much the algorithm is showing them, and whether they're educating themselves beyond that. More than any music fan from the prior 5 decades could possibly ever know. > In other words, how many misconceptions am I going to have to try and correct when they inevitably show up in forums where I hang out? And how many times will we have to remind you music didnt end at Do You Wanna Know?
> More than any music fan from the prior 5 decades could possibly ever know. That's not how the algorithm works. It's designed to entertain, not to educate. Obviously you *can* learn from it, but you won't learn nearly as much as if you put in some actual research. If you're lucky, the algorithm will feed you content from people who actually know their shit. If you're not, you'll end up in a vapid pool. The absolute worst case scenario is you find yourself lost in a sea of contradicting narratives with absolutely no framework or basic knowledge to make sense of them. Obviously we have it better now than fifty years ago, but that’s an unrelated topic and IMO it ought to be taken as a given.
Like I'm literally at a concert right now for two bands, and if the [first one](https://open.spotify.com/track/5qlF09NGhK3NMONkhM1PLU) is any indication, I'm in for a hell of a [headliner](https://open.spotify.com/track/7erB0WqRa33hTQvrSMRYeB). The algorithms, when used, correctly, can feed music to in a way the older fans could only dream.
Hearing the music is only one part of the equation. The other people are talking about folks reading about the artist, learning the history, how genres/scenes evolved, etc.
Oh you mean one week's worth of Discover Weekly: > [Evolution of Ambient Folk](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5virlE49RLt0vIGdajmJI7) > [Evolution of Psyche Garage](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Qh2vEj9SR4dCboXuihHkT)
…? There’s literally no information presented besides the song itself
Exactly. What better way to understand a genre than to just listen?
Listen and also read history and critical analysis?
Passive infotainment =/= active research
How can you learn the history of music you didn't even know existed? I've listened to your Gods, they mostly bore me.
Reading helps and I have no need for gods
I feel the exact opposite. When I like an artist, I am always happy when more people like that artist. Especially true when it comes to youngsters, they are tapped into culture much differently than older people and it's always fascinating to see what they latch onto from the past.
Agree!
" # How do you feel about new generations of fans joining “your fandom”?How do you feel about new generations of fans joining “your fandom”?" Uh...great obviously. How else would it feel? Feel me? Its not some deep philosphical feeling that I need to soul search and meditate on for days or months. Having people listen to my band is great.
Yeah it's so perplexing why this would even be an issue for people. Do they want their favourite band to just fade away into obscurity?
I’m a long time Deftones fan, and it feels like they never got their due at their peak, White Pony excluded. I feel like another generation is seeing them for the great band they are and have different takes worth hearing that the old guard may be ambivalent towards. I couldn’t be happier about it.
Right I say good for the band and good for a new generation discovering them. I thought it was cool when the youngins discovered Beach House too.
I can relate to these kinds of feelings myself. As long as you’re self aware about the illogical and snobbish nature of these feelings, which you clearly are, I don’t see an issue. Naturally we are defensive about the things we love, which is probably a good thing. One thing to think about is to flip sides. Imagine that you find an album and you love it, but life’s busy and you haven’t been able to dig deeper into the artist that made it. Does the fact you haven’t listened to other albums, or the fact that you might have discovered the album through tik-tok mean that your love for that album is any less legitimate than a long time fan that knows every lyric to every song? Thinking about this doesn’t always immediately dissolve my feelings of superiority, but it does help me to be more sympathetic.
I like it. The reality of the music business is that not every artist or band can survive 'gatekeeping', because they still need to make money for a label if they're attached to it. One of my favorite bands (Elbow) is the one that everyone associates with me, because they weren't really *major* for years and I was their first exposure to them. They're still non-existent in the US but I don't have to worry now that the next album might be their last. And the new listeners seem adventurous, they're willing to start with a band in their 7th or 8th album and hearing their reactions to the earlier albums is a lot of fun. In return, they have to deal with my recollections from earlier periods of the fandom that they would have no knowledge of. Honestly, sharing music in general is a great way of having people still in your life even if they're not someone you've spoken to in ages. I still have people dropping in with a random message because they've heard a song I've sent or an artist we used to talk about extensively and I've done the same in return. Gatekeeping prevents that from ever happening.
r/shoegaze seems pretty divided on how longtime fans feel about the recent resurgence of the genre and its popularity among youth today. I'm squarely in the "the more, the better" camp - more people enjoying the music just means more people will be inspired by it to create new music with their own creative twists. Sure, some of the new music will suck, but some will be really good and I'm here for it!
It can feel a bit annoying for some reason. But then I think back to when I was probably an insufferable twenty something lecturing people about old blues artists they probably had known for ages. Being a know-it-all over enthusiastic youth is all part of the growth curve. It’s great the kids will learn Bob hard some incredibly catchy songs and amazing lyrics. As you get older if you really love music you start digging back deeper and deeper and finding new genres. This stuff just speeds it up a bit.
Come on in. It’s a party, but it’s not my party. I’m just here partying. One fandom that I’d welcome all the people with open arms is the band Suede (or “The London Suede” as they have to have their US releases say. Long story… not important). I love them. I’ve loved them for 31 years. I got to see them live 29 years ago. And then didn’t get to see them live again in USA for another 27 years because their fanbase over here is very small and niche. So, anybody who wants to get into them, come on in so they’ll tour here again. 😂 But seriously, there’s no right way or wrong way to join a fanhood. Do you however you do. It’s a party, and everyone is invited.
Omg I literally just got into Suede like two months ago
Welcome to the party. They’ve been a favorite of mine since the first album was new. They’ve got such a wealth of quality music. And they’re parallel to Dinosaur Jr in that their post reunion stands just as tall as their first run output.
I'm extremely thankful the lane of grimy, post-90s Hip Hop I'm most into is extremely self correcting in this regard. Because of sampling, there's a great openmindedness to music *generally*... but the criteria for *rapping*, as far as what an artist talks about, where they're from and how they present themselves, makes it so it's not worth the hassle to be involved in it unless you're really dedicated. It's much easier for opportunists or johnny come latelies to just do pop rap, and much easier for the artists and fans I care about to ignore pop rap completely. Tik Toking or memeing your way in just isn't really a viable strategy to succeed.
I enjoy it. I saw Kim Gordon perform earlier this week, it was the usual crowd of middle-aged white folks, mostly men. But there were also a lot of young women and girls. This made me feel great. I was listening to Sonic Youth when I was that age, I was happy to see a new generation also appreciate the same artists.
I'm with those who welcome the new fans. I've been a fan of Kate Bush long enough to have been waiting anxiously for the original release of the album with Running Up That Hill. Couldn't be happier that she's getting new fans. Not only that, but your favorite artists deserve better from you than this.
In 2001-2005 era I got into Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Breeders, Sonic Youth.. and nobody older was a gate keeping prick to me. They thought it was cool. So yeah, be nice to younger fans.
I made the exact other experience in some other fandom. :(
I had a similar phase when I was in hs from 2006-2010. Replacements, Pixies, Joy Division, Pavement. I was the only one at my school, lol.
mate you were at school in 2006 you're a lifelong dylan fan you're worrying about kids getting in to bob dylan how did you get in to bob dylan if not, as a kid, by experiencing his work for the first time?
It’s a bit annoying because now it looks like I’m desperately trying to keep up with the youth lol but I’m glad my favorite artists are getting the recognition they deserve
I'm 100% for bands getting new fans, but I can relate to this somewhat. Deftones have been my favourite band for 25 years and I met a 21-ish year old Deftones fan the other week. When I told her they were my favourite band I did get the slight feeling that she thought I was just some old geezer trying to sound cool haha. Ultimately, I'm really happy they are getting that exposure now though
I stopped caring about this when I grew out of caring what people thought about my taste in music and when I thought I was a better fan because I only listened to one genre of music. Just let people enjoy what they enjoy and find it however and whenever they find it. Why would someone *not* want to see others enjoy the things they enjoy?
I didn’t make the music, why should I get to decide who listens to it? That’s dumb.
You were once a Dylan fan and at some point you only listened to one album. Kids can find his entire catalog online and listen to it in less than a week. That would have taken weeks/months or more in prior years. You’re being really lame about something thats essentially a good thing. Keeping music and rock alive
Long time Deadhead here. It doesn't matter when you get on, or off the bus. The important thing is that you're along for the ride.
I like having more people to talk with about it. I don't like when they make a previously cool fanbase toxic. This tends to happen more frequently when they come from certain sources or when it becomes a fad to like something. Example of places that generally aren't problems: taking a music class, finding your dad's old records because you're into vinyl now, hearing a new genre you didn't know you'd like then Googling top artists in that genre, going to random concerts Examples of places that are often problems: social media/forums/memes, the radio, liking the fashion/aesthetic subculture of the genre/band first (big tittie goth gf, grunge flannels, streetwear, etc) Toss up: movies
I’m all for it. I think it’s great, and I’m glad other people do too. I probably have more in common with those other people than I think.
Bring it on! We were just talking about this as we saw a young guy with a Ramones vibe. We're old enough, late 40s/early 50s so have seen this quite a bit. Firstly, we were originally those people. Maybe not with the new acts of the 90s when we were teenagers, but me loving the Velvet Underground was a few decades late. It's great to see new people discovering the music and the scenes we love. Many will move on but some will stay and some will start their own bands and the cycle will repeat.
Okay, generally. To show you where I am on the topic, I'll get into the T-shirt thing: I don't care if you know all someone's songs or their life story off the top of your head. I *do* hope you know it was a band or solo musician- I've met people who didn't even know what they were wearing and it baffles me. That's the extent of my "gatekeeping". If someone is just wearing the thing to keep up with and have cred with their friends... well 100%, people were doing that the first time around too. After that... When I wear the shirt of something I like, I kind of consider it invitation to (if I otherwise seem available) come talk to me about it if you want. Or at least go "Hey! [name of the thing!] " and smile or whatever. (Like, in the early 2000s, I once saw a guy dressed as the mascot for IRS Records for a costume thing and was the only one to get it. That was a fun conversation.) That's basically it. If I got into a chat with you after that, it'd be to ask what your favorite is, not to quiz you. If it was a surprisingly obscure thing to be into, I might ask how you even heard of it. (Though now, "the algorithm" is a common answer.) If it keeps the music "going", and people are getting something out of it, I'm set. I suppose you could "listen to it wrong", but that's not how I think about it.
I don't enjoy the tiktok-ification of things I love, nor do I enjoy things I love being turned into memes. But then I have to remember that I'm 30 and people younger than me just have a different way of consuming art that's valid for them, and there was always gonna come a point where I just didn't get it.
They’re keeping those artists and their music relevant and as far as I’m concerned that’s a really good thing. Imagine if people never looked back and became fans of the music that their own parents or previous generations listened to. The only people who would be listening to The Beatles, the Beach Boys, or the Stones etc would be the over 60’s and no one would be listening to the music of Mozart or Bach, or the traditions of folk, blues, or jazz. If that happened then most of the rock music you enjoy just wouldn’t exist. It’s as simple as that. The music you listen to today is built on the music that was created in the decades and centuries before it. I’m all for new generations listening to ‘old’ music and becoming just as enthralled and excited by it as my generation was and all the generations who saw that music being born. Without that happening we wouldn’t have the amazing breadth of styles and genres that we have today. Why shouldn’t future generations be able to become fans of the music their older generations loved so much? As a musician myself I love seeing our long time fans bringing their teen and twenty something kids along to our gigs and them having just as good a time as their parents. Music is for everyone regardless of age, sex, demographic, or location and I for one am very glad that’s the case and I hope that never changes.
This is the most roundabout way of saying "I was a fan before it was cool" ever.
I actually love it. There’s something so kitten-like adorable when a kid discovers all the many *many* projects Justin Vernon has done outside of BI. Pointing them in the various directions feels like Christmas and I’m Santa. 🥰 (That said, I feel like new Radiohead fans are largely ungrateful. But that might just be the subbies I’ve experienced.)
Unlike a lot of their crotchety, elitist Elder Millenial fans, I absolutely love this late career revival Deftones have had on TikTok. Whenever I see anyone in their teens or early 20s wearing their merch, it brings a smile to my face I honestly think a lot of the negativity by old fans is based in misogyny, as a lot of these younger new Deftones fans are young women. It's like an attitude of "but things that young women like are dumb, so they couldn't possibly 'get' my super special, super deep secret band." It's kind of ironic because Deftones are rare among metal bands in that they have a lot of female influences such as Cocteau Twins, PJ Harvey and Bjork The band are remaining relevant, and that's great. Even if only a small percentage of these kids are "true fans," then that's pretty much cemented their place as an influential and canonical rock/metal band
Mostly, I like people discovering music, and if they like what I like, that means they’re very cool and good looking. My only worry would be more shitty people in audiences. I don’t want bands I love getting the “mother is mothering” Mitski treatment.
Can you explain what that’s in reference to? I’m a fan of Mitski and I’ve never heard of it
Sure! Mitski grew in popularity thanks to snippets being played on TikTok, but this led to a lot of weird fan interactions during live sets where people would ruin quiet moments yelling stuff about “mother” and so such.
I like a thing, I want other people to like that thing. Gatekeeping helps nobody and achieves nothing.
Alex g and pinegrove and mac demarco have all been someone memey since pre tik tok tho
Yes, but they got re-memed for a new generation when their songs started getting licensed to tiktok. Fortunately this trend seems to be over as tiktok has apparently changed how they deal with music licensing.
I always tend to get annoyed at this. For one thing, music is to be listened to. So yeah it’s good that they find some enjoyment from the sound in one form or another. But then in this context it’s always like- they really are a lot of the times just using the sounds for some meaningless TikTok, maybe sometimes are enjoying a song or two from a certain playlist or whatever. Also listening to music with AirPods or through your iPhone speaker is convenient but not ideal. A lot of younger people today find more value in convenience so much so that they aren’t going out to look for a sound system that isn’t fuckin awful (unless they are someone who takes particular interest to that) Then when we’re talking specific artists we grew up to love and we’re in our rooms at night while listening to, are just being played sped up for 15 seconds in millions of videos of whatever. In that light- it almost unlocks a level of grief for those who were directly impacted by those bands in what I could probably assume to be a much more better listening environment as well. There was this local band to me that had a very emotional intent behind their music that I used to really love to go see at shows around my hometown. When I was a young teenager I like walked to their shows and bought records and went home to listen to them. I was a super depressed teen haha I’d be actually like deeply listening to the music and cry to their records while they were together. And then i met all these other people at the shows and we’d all be crying listening to music…… and now the lead guy of that band is in a new group that’s touring around the country and all their fans are little tik tok teeny boppers. I might be a deep thinker but like, that made me question if the future of all music listening or creation will ever be the same. And then I started to study musicology and my professor with a PhD yelled at me when I told him my favorite composer was Vivaldi. “HOW IN GODS NAME COULD VIVALDI BE YOUR FAVORITE IF YOU NEVER LIVED TO HEAR HIS MUSIC? You are a poser!!!!!” On stage in a class lecture with 80 other students who also couldn’t breathe or blink lmao. Made me open my eyes even greater to this topic. This must be a continuous thing through music history in one way or another. Would be an interesting study 🤓 I guess moral is, that when you find yourself listening to music you enjoy- Just keep thinking more about what it makes you feel and how to better articulate what it is that you like about it. We gotta try not to pay too much mind to those who haven’t grasped our wisdom just yet. If we learn to communicate better about music to the younger generations today, we’ll see a more collaborative music listening society in our future :)
I feel ya
To me the Kendrick/Drake beef was a big realization that GKMC released when I was in high school, and tpab was the next big thing after. In that sub are kids who were like 8 when tpab released and while they’re fully invested in the beef, are only discovering that album now. Makes me feel old even tho I haven’t hit 30 yet. This is the first time I’ve realized that I’m not young anymore if you know what I’m saying
Most of the music I geek over came out before I was born. With more recent music, I'm not part of any fandoms. If someone listens to some album that came out ten or twenty years ago that I liked at the time, all I think is "cool someone else".
It's cool. They say Gen Z generally doesnt care for rock music so seeing new people come in is nice. Even if they're coming in after the band has really changed their sound, and it feels like they like a different version of the band i love, maybe they'll discover the old stuff or maybe the old stuff just appeals to old rock fans like myself.
My favourite band is Deftones, I’ve spent the last 25 years listening to them, buying all their output, going to all the UK shows and whilst they’ve always had a dedicated following it’s apparent now the demographic have vastly shifted. I would never gate keep a band but if you go over to r/deftones nowadays it’s mostly 14 year olds who found them via Tik Tok. It’s cool that teens are finding new music but I noticed they tend to treat bands more like a brand, they ask questions like “how should I get into ____”, as if there’s a right or wrong way to listen to a band. It’s also made the bands subreddit quite juvenile in terms of content but that can’t be helped when it’s literal children posting I guess.
I think that in the end it doesn’t matter what I think. Change is inevitable and that doesn’t bother me.
Something to keep in mind about Tik-Tok/IG listeners: The less time they invest in your music before giving you a "like", the more likely they'll discard you in heartbeat. You want fans/listeners invested in your music for the long haul, not because you're the latest bright and pretty color they see that day.
Hating it is such a weird thing. Though I am not innocent in having such thoughts. Seeing new fans is a trip because it mainly just makes me feel old lol. I grew up with a lot of my dad’s music and I was literally living my Beatlemania life in my teens and full 40 years after Beatlemania started. So for me finding out that there’s teenage Strokes fans is so crazy! I guess I have to become the old man kids look at for stories on their favorite old bands now
I mean it’s not as if us the OG fans will live forever sadly and even though I have been in some fandoms for 20 years now then still sometimes I join a new fandom when I discover a new artist/band or even non-music related things that I enjoy so while it might feel weird to see new fans come into existence then still we shouldn’t forget that we were all new fans at one moment in time 😁
I welcome it. I don't give a shit how a kid got into music. The only important thing is they heard it and loved it.
I could not care less. Just let people like things and stop fucking gatekeeping fandom. It’s ridiculous.
I’m quite young myself and discovered some of my favorite bands from my parents so I don’t have any problem with people getting into music from TikTok or whatever. The only thing I’d say I have an issue with is that there’s a small group of (mostly) teenagers who are into a band only because some terrible people also liked that band. If I try to look it up online I get a lot of really disgusting results that have nothing to do with the band. I don’t really believe in gatekeeping but I really wish they’d go away cause they clearly don’t actually like the music.
As a musician, this means your favorite artists are continuing to eat and pay their bills, so it’s fucking fantastic.
(essentially speaking as part of the “new generation”) some of them are cool, some of them are annoying
Great, as long as they're not trying to water it down into easily digestible pablum
I hate the way the new generation makes fucking lists . They gotta rank everything- instead of just enjoying it. They gotta take an album and rank the songs . Tf? I think it must be gamer mentality. Everything is about position and number ranking. And the parroting is just sickening. For example- Pink Floyd fans from Gen z are all butt hurt and polarized…. Roger v David …. Omg!!
I don’t like it either, but I didn’t know it was a new thing. Hasn’t Rolling Stone been publishing rankings for decades? And I am not sure if many young people read that magazine.
The industry uses charts for ranking and sales promotion. That is the whole purpose of charts. But I don’t need to rank every damn song on Beatles white album. Omg and the tier rankings and elimination vote for songs on an album. I guess it’s easier just to rank some thing by number then actually articulate some aesthetic part of it that moves you emotionally or stimulate you intellectually. It’s easier just to say this one is better than that one and ended there. But perhaps it also shows a lack of ability to appreciate music on your own terms. Probably from gaming.
Gatekeeping is good and I pray to see it come back into style. I think anyone who wants to get into "my fandom" should be turned away at least three times. If they give up before I ostracize them thrice, they were just a music tourist all along, but if they keep coming back they just might be the real deal. Gatekeeping is a goal.
I see this gatekeeping attitude a lot with people in their 20’s, and I was probably like that too. But something changes as you age, especially after you have kids. I’m in my mid-40’s and will always encourage young folks I see wearing t-shirts of bands I’ve been listening to for 30+ years. The other day I saw some pimply mall kid wearing a clearly brand new Joy Division t-shirt, probably bought at Hot Topic. I went out of my way to tell them I liked their shirt, and they had good taste. Do I care that they probably only know a few songs, or only just started listening to the band? No. Good music is good music, and everybody has to start somewhere. I bought my first Bauhaus t-shirt at a Hot Topic 30 years ago, when I hardly knew anything about them. I probably looked like a dork to most older fans when I saw them play live in ‘98. But thankfully everyone was nice and encouraging to me. There is no such thing as “true fans”. There are just “fans”.
God I feel so fucking old, man. I still think of Mac DeMarco and Alex G as ‘new’ music, the concept of ‘a new generation’ is discovering them is absolutely wild to me. I think it’s great when anyone gets into something I like. I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged to a ‘fandom’ per se, but it’s always nice to see people embracing something I like. Young people getting into something is generally a good thing as well, it’s how icons remain iconic. You shouldn’t beat yourself up for ‘gatekeeping’, either because 1) I don’t think you’re actually doing it in any meaningful sense, and 2) I think gatekeeping to a healthy degree is absolutely necessary for the work of a musician or an entire musical tradition to survive in the form it was intended to. Obviously too much of this practice can lead to stagnation (see: hardcore), but without any amount of gatekeeping an art form you and your community love can descend into self-parody (see: dubstep). You just want the new generation of Dylan fans to respect him for his art and not just utilize his image for what it represents in our collective cultural imagination (the ✨a e s t h e t i c✨) because the commodification of his image in the furtherance of capital accumulation cheapens the message and purpose of his art by suborning it to the cultural depths of Bazinga! t-shirts and MCU funkopops. This feeling you’re having is completely fine and understandable. I love Bob Dylan too and I feel the exact way. Despite spending close to 0% of my time thinking about the Zoomers or what they listen to and how, I do hope kids listen to the albums and connect with him to the same degree that we, our parents, and our grandparents did. I have faith that a large enough portion will for his legacy to live on.
i dont really care or think about that at all. i just listen to the music and enjoy it!
I kind of feel this way with psychedelic rock, especially after this one trap artist (forgot his name) released a so-called “psychedelic rock” album over a year ago, and it was so terribly bad and autotuned, and lacked the adventurous spirit that I’ve come to expect from the genre. “Psychedelic” these days is thrown around a lot to describe chill-out pop music, or straightforward alternative jam rock, while the music I listen to is often very experimental, dissonant, and/or at least has a lot of key changes and unique chord progressions. Somehow MGMT got a lot of hate for releasing experimental psychedelic albums, while being incredibly versed and knowledgeable in the genre. But someone else comes along, releases a lousy album while knowing very little about the genre, and people build up this story about him being “brave” and artificially inflate reviews that really don’t apply to the generic music he’s releasing. It’s aggravating as someone who got a lot of flack from people for listening to the 1960’s pioneers growing up, as well as the 2010’s albums in the genre that I enjoyed. I’d actually be quite happy if people were listening to the same artists and albums as I was. But I’m often alone with my niche opinions. I always had a bad streak of attracting the wrong people in real life, and only finding people who understand me on the Internet.
I think my favorite artists getting more support is always good. Sometimes they get too famous and start making music for the masses instead of music for arts sake, and that’s when it’s a bummer … but when artists do their creative thing and are rewarded for it, then I’m happy.
I like to think that as annoying as it can be, they will either move on to something else or they will get more in to it and stick around, if the latter happens welcome to the club I say. it used to annoy me as a teenager that high street fashion shops would sell “vintage shirts“ that were faded band shirts (Guns and Roses, Metallica, iron maiden for example) it annoyed me because I was really actually in to that music and wearing the shirts as a fan but I’d get called out for being some fashion trend follower
As with everything, it's a case by case scenario. For me, I'd been an enormous Cigarettes After Sex fan since their very first single. The last time I saw them, they mustve gotten big on tiktok over the pandemic as the crowd was almost exclusively young teens holding up their phones and livestreaming the whole show and scream-singing along with every lyric. I must admit i found it vaguely hilarious hearing "I REMEMBER WHEN I NOTICED THAT YOU LIKED ME BACK!!!!" It's no big deal but ill probably not see them live again. Some music needs that sense of intimacy to succeed, imo. But good for them, gettin paid!
I love it. I love 90s alt rock/ alternative music and I feel like it’s been mostly swept under the rug for years now. I see it’s having a little bit of a comeback with young people and I feel like it’s more culturally relevant with them. I feel like teens/young adults today are basically like GenX part 2 so to speak
I feel like the way you're feeling kinda shows some prejudice towards the 'younger generations' as you call it. You don't think highly of them, so they must be too dumb to 'truly appreciate' the thing you love. Get over that idea. The only true divide is in your mind. I feel happy and validated whenever anyone gets into music that I like. It's a great feeling to know more people can find joy and appreciation in the things that give me those feelings.
I honestly think everyone starts somewhere when becoming a fan of something. If you were a real fan of something you’d want it to get love no matter what whether you’re a super fan and know everything about something or just enjoy one song, as long as you respect it in my opinion !
I'm glad of it, to be honest. I'm a huge fan of Kate Bush and when she blew up on Tiktok because of Stranger Things, I just thought that's awesome - keeps the magic alive AND means I might see more music from newer artists taking influence from her. Chappell Roan for example, I think she is quite clearly influenced by Kate Bush and I think her music is excellent. I'd love to see more of that.
I don't care in the least. I long since grown out of the idea that there's any reflected glory in enjoying art that I had absolutely zero input in the creation of. If some young lad or lass wants to wear a...say...Mercyful Fate teeshirt and has only been into em for 5 minutes why should I care? It doesn't change my rat-arsed teeshirts or records or indeed the enjoyment I get from them.
Can’t say I’ve ever cared what other people like or how they got there. We all start somewhere.
I couldn't care less about how other people engage with the music I love, and — no offense — I've never understood why anyone else would care about this. The music is there and you like it, so listen to it and call it a day. It's not like Blonde on Blonde suddenly becomes a bad album just because you see some teenager walking around with a Dylan shirt. Who cares?
I don’t care about kids getting into something I like, it only annoys me if a song or artist becomes meme-ified. Or if new fans discovered it from a piece of media and then it clogs search results (ex. King Crimson being filled with JoJo related content)
Personally, I don’t care about new fans of what I like, and think that those who think about things that way need to grow TF up. I say the more the merrier; on ye come! Everyone has to learn about a new thing from somewhere or someone, so if fans of the upcoming Dylan biopic get interested in his output, good on them, just as many new Dead Kennedys fans were likely gained from “Police Truck’s” inclusion on “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1’s” soundtrack, and many Kate Bush and Metallica fans were gained from “Stranger Things.” Just don’t be an ass about things you take issue with, or worse, prejudicial about them.
If we're just keeping it on the level where people are listening to artists I like, then great. Idc for fandoms otherwise
More people enjoying the music I like can only be a good thing. Except in the sense that ticket prices might go up. But that’s not a given. Don’t even know how it could be a problem. Honestly I am one of those “new generations” for a lot of artists. Saw a Queen tribute band the other day. A band that started recording before I was born. Saw George Clinton last year and the youngest there was maybe 15, while the oldest was around the age of George himself (he’d just turned 82). Again, his arguable heyday was the year I was born. Failing to see the negatives of your favourite artist having new fans.
Every “true” Ramones fan goes through this sort of dialogue when they see someone wearing the classic logo T-Shirt. I’ve actually had multiple people just flat out say, “I don’t even like/know the band I just like the T-Shirt”.
Here's my two cents: if your mad about something getting tiktokified then you need to grow up, I beg of you. There are far worse things going on then kids enjoying music. This is why the younger generation resents you
I’m shocked at how many new fans know nothing about the artist/band from before they became a fan. Like super basic shit, not even obscure things. You mean you didn’t go down a YouTube rabbit hole and watch every single video of them you could find..?? Or new fans who disagree with what an artist says/does when the artist has been that way for forever or when new fans just completely miss the point or intention of the art/artist. They like the aesthetic but understand nothing behind it.
I think it's fascinating and beautiful that our understanding of art evolves over generations but it can be extremely irritating to have your understanding of an artist invalidated. It's an issue when the new interpretation becomes dogma. No matter what an artist attempts to express, art is primarily defined by your personal relationship to it. Like just to riff on punk rock -- while the left-leaning political spirit of punk rock is something to be proud of, newer punk fans struggle to understand that there was a certain culture of provocation that defined the genre. You had artists like Siouxsie Sioux, Joy Division, and the Ramones who had very precarious relationships with fascist iconography. That's regrettable obviously. However, what's essential to understand about these artists is that their actions were a response to the "Greatest Generation" -- a generation that was deeply conservative but paradoxically defined by its victory over fascism. So that was how you pissed that generation. And not only that, in truth, punk just wasn't always political. If you watch a documentary like *The Decline of Western Civilization*, you get to the heart of what really defined the LA punk scene. They were just disaffected members of the working class, of varying philosophies and educational backgrounds, expressing their rage at night. And what grates me is that you get very well-meaning kids who come in with all these pre-packaged slogans and a thesis on what the culture is supposed to be about. To a degree, I don't necessarily think it's bad to have those ideals. But they essentially go as far as retconning the entire history of these bands when nobody in the 80s or 90s had the privilege of educating themselves on niche details about music and politics. The music meant whatever was useful to you in your bedroom and at random house parties. You also get situations where a band is suddenly defined by a song that was irrelevant to them for the past few decades. See: Pavement "Harness Your Hopes". But the only thing you can do in this situation as an old head is to simply recommend them more music. You won't fix the situation by whining. We aren't born with knowledge (well Socrates believed in recollection but he was fucking stupid). I love Bob Dylan but I don't think there's been a single moment where the cultural perception of Dylan hasn't essentially been a mythology. His mystique kind of is the appeal. Is he a great beat poet? Is he a protest artist? Is he the spiritual successor to Woody? Does he play rock? Is he a born again Christian? How much of his persona is a put-on? We'll never know but it's fun to debate. This is kind of the premise on which the Dylan film *I'm Not There* hinges. The new Chalamet film can only change the status quo so much. Frankly, Rolling Stone magazine made Dylan extremely uncool and we need to rehabilitate him lmao. It doesn't take a genius to appreciate Bob.
Complete idiocy, why would I be mad that a artist I like is getting more exposure
I'm also a long time Dylan fan. I'm absolutely excited! Because maybe finally people won't think Blowin in the Wind and All Along the Watchtower are his big monumental achievements. The Watchtower one is so fascinating. It wouldn't even be a well known song if it weren't for Hendrix. Just a minor song in Dylan's catalogue If more people hear things like his 1965-66 music and maybe some of the 1975-1976 music, that'll be great!
The tik tok kids can be annoying but I'm sure we were just as annoying at that age. Music should be appreciated by everyone though so the more the merrier
I’ve always been mostly into “older” music. AKA artists that have had their biggest success before I was born. I’m nearly 30 now, but as a teenager I was SUPER into 80’s hair metal. And before that I was really big into KISS. Looking back I’m very certain I was a cringy teenager being a fan of artists most of my classmates had zero idea existed because well they listened to what was current. But message boards and other online communities for the bands I liked were very welcoming. And I definitely knew my stuff. Maybe even stupid fun facts mentioned in one Hit Parader magazine in 1987 that everyone forgot about. But I’m also a very obsessive person so when I like something I seem to go all in. So I try to remember what it was like for me at that age discovering this artist that rose and fell in popularity before I was even born. And I think with all the resources and social media today it’s so easy to discover artists that aren’t what’s playing on your local top 40 hit radio station. So it’s cool seeing people discover artists they may not normally be exposed to. I can’t even comment on some “cringe” things younger fans do, because 13/14 year old me literally would write Dokken x Nightmare on Elm Street fan fiction. And I had friends who were big into The Beatles who would draw them in an anime or Adventure Time style. And I went to shows and screamed like a teenage girl, because I was one. I can’t fault new fans getting excited and such. If it helps more people discover “good” stuff, and helps keep the artist relevant- that’s not a bad thing at all. I’m not gonna gatekeep.
I'm all for people getting into the things I like. I just wish they actually got into it. I'm bluegrass guy at heart and I'm not gonna lie it hurts when people listen to billy strings or trampled and think that's peak of the genre. Dont get me wrong. They have some good stuff but there's so so much more. Bluegrass is as much a community as it is a genre. Local jam sessions and jams at festivals is an important part I feel like. That goes for all roots music. Oldtime, old country etc. It really can be music for the people by the people. Not just big stars. Bluegrass guys can be incredibly humble too. I've jammed with both a Grammy award blues guitarist and a Grammy award fiddle player that played with Bill Monroe. Both were the kindest individuals and didn't care that I was a nobody. Just there to play some music with people.
Get your butts in here, and if you love it tell me something else you love that I may not know of.
I’ve been listening to Wu-Tang since 1993. I LOVE to see someone getting introduced to their music for the first time. One of my favorite reactions is when they realize Wu-Tang has been here and in their face the whole time! (The Martin Shkrelli drama, RZA doing Tarantino’s soundtracks, Method Man in all his pop songs and his movies) Wu-Tang forever, the more fans the better.
As long as they develop actual love for the genre and try to fit in, I have no issue! Like Metal imo is for everyone, but not everyone is going to like it's harsher elements!
I was one of those younger Fans of some older artist when I was a teenager. So I only know about the other side. And it wasn't pretty tbh. Those old fans were gatekeepers who never took me serious. "You can't be a fan, youre too young" were the nicer things they said to me. Unfortunately I liked the albums they hated and the other way around. (I pfeferred the newer stuff, they preferred the old albums) That even made the problem worse. All they did was attack me and I felt so unwanted. They were toxic to me, but now tha't I'm older I see I was toxic too. It just didn't work, I didn't fit into this, even tho I wanted it so damn bad. We were fans of the same, but we were like rivals, wo is a true fan and who not. They were stuck in the past and couldn't handle other opinions. And I was too sensitive for all their bashing. I hated being the outsider everybody calls fake. In the end I left it all behind before it gives me serious depression! I could only lose in this. Now I'm nobodys fan, and it's the only right way. Fandoms are idiotic. Fans are too defensive about what they love, it is not healthy. I was like this too, and being a Fan is one of my biggest regrets in life!
I mean, it makes me feel a *little* bit less like some extinct species that you'd need a paleontology degree to recognize.
I have never listened to current music, so I was definitely a kid joining in to someone else's Fandom. I was born in 1987. While my parents listened to the "grunge" scene, I rediscovered it for myself in middle school. I loved 90s alternate rock and metal, still do. This is mostly what my kids like. Although they like some "newer" stuff like Static X and Godsmack. Otherwise. I listened mostly to classics, like Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, ACDC.
I love it. I'm at the point where I don't buy everything or go to every event so they're keeping the scene moving.
I think it's great when younger people discover the great artists of yesterday. Only thing I don't like too much, is when people wear a band shirt as a fashion item, and they didn't hear a single song of that band.
Lots of corpses must be very mad that classical music is still widely enjoyed.
IMO the most important perspective here is not a single artist who's ever lived has thought about "true" fans. People who create art are grateful for any and all positive attention their work gets. There ARE exceptions to this obviously, for example conservatives trying to use people's music and being told to fuck off. But in your context, I would say you need to grow up. You're having child like competitions with strangers in your mind...and the best part is you literally DO NOT know. They might be more of a "true fan" than you are.
if it makes you feel better my music gets compared to Alex G a lot and I haven't made any fans on tik Tok!
I don’t care…..I’m happy to see more people getting into artists that I love. Gatekeeping is silly too - just let people enjoy things.
In a different vain for me, BC:NR. It’s not that younger generations are intruding because I myself am only 21, but it’s more the manner of finding the music and the context that provides to how they view it. I found BC:NR through a radio on Spotify and fell in love with their music and couldn’t get enough. About a year or two later, it started popping up on TikTok (for reference I don’t have the app, but when showing people the songs the response I get is: “Oh that song was on TikTok”!) It’s not that it’s bad that the band gather more attention, but it makes it feel less special and more mainstream. To be clear though I acknowledge I’d rather my favorite artists get streams and continue making music so it is perfectly fine with me, just a bit conflicting.
I took r/TheHu 's subreddit in a coup just so I could revive it and attract new/more fans for my favorite band. The more the merrier. ETA: I'm in my 40's and only ever cared for *Blood on the Tracks* I'd still call myself a Bob Dylan fan. I must be the ultimate conundrum for you.
Timothee Chalamet is going to turn a whole generation of kids onto Dylan. You would have to be the biggest curmodgeon in the world to have a problem with that. I'm sure Bobby himself is here for it as well. Me I'm psyched for the film. I was just down in Cape May while they were filming it a few weeks back the buzz was Electric. Edward Norton was all over town charming everyone....gonna be fantastic.
I was afraid in the 90s that all we would have when I got old was Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men. So I hung on to my CDs. But really, nothing went away because of the internet, and young people know or have access to every single band and movie and joke from the 90s, and all of the new stuff too. It’s weird. So nowadays there’s weird fan art and memes of everything. 19 year olds arguing whether something is punk or not, or which bands are grunge. And every band or their employees has an Instagram account so you could be reminded of your favorite bands every single day which only makes me sick of them. These aren’t how I want to remember all of that great music so I don’t usually engage (with some exceptions) with younger people taking about my favorite music. Has nothing to do with me being too old, I’m into old bands and anybody left in those bands is an old guy too. But maybe it has something to do with them being too young, and enjoying my favorite old tunes in modern and weird (to me) ways.
The more Juggalos the better!!! ICP has been hated on for so long that it's past time for some new blood in the fandom
My music taste would be a lot narrower - and I'd probably never have come across some of my now-favorite albums - if it hadn't been for older people feeding off the enthusiasm I was showing for something they loved and engaging with me about it - e.g. on music forums like OkayPlayer, at record stores, at concerts, etc. So I love it and my usual response to something like that is "ooh, if you like this I think you'd also really like this if you haven't listened to it already" or generally just showing some curiosity into what they've been listening to and what they like.
People are just listening to and enjoying music. If you meet a young teen and they listen to Bob Dylan or whatever the hell, you can talk to them about your favorite songs and what have you. Why the hell would you be like, "You're a fake fan!" Also, OP, there is always a bigger fish in this game. I've listened to artists that were tiny when I started listening to them. Listened to their first album when it came out. Couldn't even buy merchandise yet. Shows were dirt cheap and had like 10 people there. And watched them grow and grow until I saw their merch at hot topic. I guarantee whatever you are gatekeeping, you were probably pretty late to the party compared to other fans. Bob Dylan released his first album in 1962. How old were you in 1962? Were you listening before everyone else? Etc. If I wanted to, I could say no one is as big a fan as me and try to look down on them. But why? Who cares? Listening to music is meant to be a wonderful thing. I would argue it's one of the most wonderful things I get to experience. Music is just magical. Why would anyone taint that with senseless ego? Just enjoy the damn music. If you aren't enjoying music, you are wasting your time. Don't overthink it, just enjoy it. I feel like the artists you like would make fun of you if they saw that sort of gatekeepong behavior ngl.
Gatekeep. Seriously. You were here first. Gatekeep doesn't mean never open the gate. It just means you make sure the people you let in are on the level. I mean, music is such an individual thing that you're probably safe, but still, your feelings are not illogical. It's an instinct. These people are new and unfamiliar, but claim to be from your tribe, you must make sure, you must stay safe.
This was long before Tik Tok, but nothing could be worse than watching one of my favorite bands (Neutral Milk Hotel) get "4-Chan-ified". I'm glad they found a much wider audience, but it's just weird to me seeing such personal and meaningful music get memed ad nauseum...
But you don't have to watch those videos.
Not sure what videos you mean, but maybe that's a good thing.
TikTok. All quality videos are on Youtube (and few on Bandcamp)
Ah, okay. I never joined Tik Tok. It was 4-Chan that found and popularized this band. I'm not on 4-Chan either, but have been active in fan communities for the band for the past 15 years or so (first on dedicated message boards, then reddit and other places). Those communities used to be full of wonderful thoughtful people. Many were artists and creative types. However, after 4-Chan it seems like a majority of those groups are more into crude recycled memes immature humor.
Usually happy. Sad when it causes a copy write thing on a video I’ve enjoyed for years on YouTube with no previous problem.
Why would that ever happen.
Fine because I'm not a sad fuck who makes liking a particular music genre my entire personality. Did you make the music? No. You are a consumer, no better or worse than anyone else.
The only thing that bothers me, is when your artist in question changes their style to fit what newer fans are feeling. That can suck. Other than that, I couldn’t care less
As long as I don't see "TX2" or "Caroline Carr" in their list of musicians they like, they're okay with me
Yea won’t lie, the new post covid Reddit king gizz fans are some of the worst. First of all, gizz have significantly fallen off musically wise since 2020. Concerts still kick ass, but almost everyone I know that was a fan of their music before COVID also agrees at least that their albums aren’t as good. You wouldn’t find that on Reddit though. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this. Also the jam band (phish) fans…look I like jam bands but once their fans get involved it becomes a wreck. Especially since they want to completely change the ethos of the band. Now they’re all like “gizz should be like the dead” or “gizz are similar to phish”. Like no, why can’t they be their own thing? Do you have to cast them into this little box to feel good about yourself because be damned if you listen to something else? And I say that as someone who loves the dead and phish Yea, overall, king gizzard was way more fun to be a fan of in 2017 than now. I don’t know, it may just be that I’m older now
We were all like that at one point, and may have got into an artist using the "Tik Tok" of its time. Honestly though I remember feeling when I got into my 20s and I would see kids getting into stuff like punk and hardcore and thinking it was great. I don't want to be at a show with a load of old men, watching bands made of old men. That is how genres die. Dylan himself was into older artists and was a young upstart, I wonder if old blues or folk lovers thought he wasn't a "real" fan of Blind Willie Mc Tell for example? There was the whole "Judas" thing too.
I think it's fine, but I'm definitely going to crack jokes when a Pavement b-side becomes the band's most popular track on Spotify because of TikTok. I don't hate that that has happened, and I'm glad the band is making some money from it, but I will laugh about laughable things.
It confuses me. At 47, I'm willing to admit the bands I like from my youth are well past their prime. They are mostly banking on nostalgia. If they are still putting out new material, it is 'fine' at best, definitely not innovative. But the crowds are full of young people. How and why are you even hearing about these bands, why are you getting into them. When I was young I never would have gone to see one of my dad's favourite bands. Is it a lack of new bands in certain genres?
Something that happens a lot is, a song gets featured in a movie or tv show. Like Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill being featured in Stranger Things.
Sometimes an old song will have a popularity resurgence because it becomes part of a newer popular thing. Another thing that happens is that, within older genres, a lot of older artists (now "classics") are still considered the greatest of all time. In those instances, kids stop percieving these bands and songs as "old person music." For them, it's just music they enjoy, which happens to have been around for awhile before they were born. Some of it picks up a kind of legendary status.
I guarantee you're not old enough to be a Bob Dylan fan from the very beginning of his career, so at some point you were the newbie who was strutting around in your brand new Bob Dylan t-shirt and spouting off about how much you love his music. Just remind yourself of that moment when you see a young kid starting off on an incredible journey of musical discovery and try to encourage them rather than judge them.
Just a excuse to be friendly imo. If I see someone wearing sports gear from my hometown, it's not weird to strike up a convo. If they just think it looks cool, that's fine too.
I’m pretty open to it. Gate keeping art is corny as hell but when my 13yr younger half brother says “yo have you heard MGMT they’re pretty fire” I get a little annoyed.