The Fandom - An Objective Retrospective Look on EVERYTHING

[Musicman408]

Good Evening:

I'm sitting here on my comfy couch, in my apartment here on the water on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. A lot has happened since last I was a very active poster here on the Ledge, or any other online forum. A lot changes with all of us, as not only events transpire in our individual lives as people, but for the tempestuous band that brings us together in discussion. It has been a whirlwind of a decade (plus an additional year) of fandom, and it's hard to believe, as in my own mind, I hardly feel any older than a youngster myself.

This coming Friday I will be seeing Fleetwood Mac just outside Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I have seats in the first section just off to the side of the stage, in the 8th or 9th row. They should be fairly decent seats, though I have never had seats on the stage like this, so it will be a new experience.

I think about all the events of fandom that have transpired between 2003, and that fateful day in Barnes and Noble when my father picked up the new release of Say You Will. Instantly a new love was born. But it was a love in true retrospect - Fleetwood Mac was a band which was vastly different than the days that brought them massive fame, popularity (and fortune). But at the same time - were they still worthwhile? They had released "The Dance" 6 years before - was that enough time to where they were still technically the same people and the same band, or was it some sort of re-definition where they were no longer considered the same band?

It's an interesting thing. Becoming a fan or some thing, ANY THING, after their "prime" is a tricky thing. Do you gravitate toward the prime that made them remarkable famous and brought them to millions during a period of peak prosperity? Or are you drawn to the new definition, with an appreciation for the vast success and fame from ages long ago, but acknowledging things are no longer the same? It is a question that I am sure plenty - if not all of us - have at least contemplated at some point or another over the course of the last couple of decades.

For me, it goes a little like this. The family was in Florida. The family was on vacation. The family was still in tact and seemingly perfect (before the years of divorce and other seemingly petulant personal matters that strived to rip things apart). We happened to step into a bookstore and father purchased a new CD. "Oh boy - another CD of another old band that my parents listened to back in their hayday..... Nothing new here." Yet somehow the lyrics were mystifying. The name Fleetwood Mac wasn't something that was completely foreign, but I couldn't consciously name you a song.... or a member.... or anything....

But a couple of months passed where I adored this CD. And my sister adored this CD. And we would hear two of the songs on the radio and get excited when we figured out which tracks they were on the album.... This was summer of 2003.

Christmas of 2003 followed with Fleetwood Mac Greatest hits, and possibly the Timespace album. It is obvious that the whole event of fandom carries some significant weight when one can literally order out the order in which albums were received. The FM greatest hits album served as some kind of stark realization. You ABSOLUTELY do know much more Fleetwood Mac than you were aware of. Yes, SYW was where everything mattered, but most of their famous songs you had hear of.

And then there was the falling in love with Stevie's solo catalog. It was all absorbed completely objectively. There was no realization as to what was the most popular single at the time, Or which song came before which. It was simply a compilation of songs, accumulating into a beautiful knowledge of characters that you discovered you cared about.

I remember Easter of 2004. I received FM's BTM album. Again - this was all before "my time" so I simply took things as they were. And I LOVE it. It's almost like being a toddler, and discovering how the world works.... What's there and what is important. What is current, and what is a thing of the past.

Over the next several months, all FM and Stevie Nicks solo albums are collected... and appreciated... and loved.... and cherished to a point where they become a deep enough part of your life that you feel them in your bones. That you think about them every moment of every day. That they become a part of your very being. To the point where relationships are equated to specific songs. And your daily activities are dictated by songs you either want to listen to, or songs you want to write yourself which are strongly based off of songs you love.

Everything is considered new. Everything is considered fresh. There is no overanalyization of everything.

But this period can only last for so long. I was fortunate enough to see FM twice during SYW..... but what happens when it's over. There is no new music being released.... but still everything feels fresh. So what is real and what isn't.

This ridiculously passionate fandom where FM/SN is ALLLLL you can talk about can only last for a couple of years. But then there is nothing new..... so is everything some awkward mirage of long times past where all things are dead? I remember Stevie touring in 2005/2006, but we didn't go to see her. It just didn't seem active.

Then things started picking back up with Stevie, just in terms of her going back on the road in 2007/2008, and my fandom picking back up. And we saw her.... and it was great....

2009 hit and we got 3rd row seats for FM. It was an amazing night. It was a dream come true. It was something I had waited 6 years on..... but it was something that wasn't new. It was just a rehash.

Over the course of fandom, one has some kind of crazy debate over what's real, what's current, what's worthwhile, and what's going to last over the course of time.

FM is touring with Chris in 2014. If you had made that proposition 5 years ago, people would have either jizzed their pants, or called you crazy. But nobody would have actually thought it would happen. But now it is..... So is it a new chapter in a band we have held dear for so long? Or is it another reflection soon to be forgotten in the wind.... much like SYW (since unfortunately they aren't doing ANY songs from that beautiful record).

As I sit here, I am reflecting.... I am sure the second I press "submit new thread" I will have another 35 pages of things worth discussing, but the thing that is FM/SN fandom is nearly impossible to quantify in a few paragraphs of reflection. I suppose it is something that is worthwhile in reflecting over the course of days.... or weeks..... or even years.... It is constantly evolving. Are they any good any more? Will they produce anything new and worthwhile. Do they still even SOUND good anymore?

It's a question worth contemplating. And it's a question worth it, as I see FM for possibly the final time this coming Friday!

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by Musicman408

Do they still even SOUND good anymore?

{just totally taking the question out of context}


Yes...yes, they do. With Christine back, they sound better (this five, I mean) than they have since 1980. Christine sounds better than...well, EVER!

I'm permanently DONE with Nicks & Buckingham, but seeing the effect that Christine's return has had on them this tour, they're now once again bearable.

[Musicman408]

Last night's concert was great!!