And The Crowd Goes Mild

After weeks of talking about doing so in a threatening manner, I have finally gone live with my blog. For a long time, I have been averse to blogs, primarily because I do see them as a platform for indulgent self-examination and proselytizing for one thing or another, but after two months of subjecting a co-worker to the same I decided that a blog couldn't be much worse. Welcome to The Electric End, my new venue for exploring fanaticism, obsessions, and fetishes regarding (but not limited to) music.

For as long as I can remember, I've always had obsessions of one kind or another, and I've always been interested in music. My first musical obsession was probably Aerosmith, after watching their music video for "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)". Immediately, I needed to know everything about the band - not just the music, but everything. I now own all of Aerosmith's studio albums, and know more about them than any mortal should. (Okay, stop laughing.) Since then, I've never been without one or two musical obsessions.  I'm currently stuck on Jandek, Wilco and Sleater-Kinney.

On February 15, 2001, my desire to woo a classmate led me to a message board for Ani Difranco  fans, and from that moment forward my relationship with my obsessions was never the same. I found out more about Ani in 10 minutes on anidifranco.org than I had in all of my previous hours scouring the internet for information about her. More than that, I was now privy to a sea of other fans' lives, interests and obsessions.

My experiences with anidifranco.org changed me profoundly - as a person, a scholar and a fan. I formed relationships with people I had never met before, some of whom I still haven't met and one whom I stole my parents car and drove to Iowa to meet. I experienced Ani's music privately and maybe even spiritually, but the connection I had with other fans was undeniable.  I engaged in a lot of behaviors and rituals that I later found out were textbook behaviors for most fans. In fact, the more time I spent on the boards, I became less interested in Ani and more interested in her fans.

While studying Anthropology at St. Olaf College, I began to examine my own obsessions through an academic lens. Somewhere in either the library stacks or the classroom, I was disappointed to find that fans of popular music had yet to become the object of many academic pursuits. The academy's seeming lack of interest and dismissive tone regarding obsessive hobbyists was a bit disconcerting. What is a pastime for many becomes an all-consuming way of life for others; the truly devoted engulf themselves in their obsessions the same way Lutherans and 12-steppers do.  Why haven't more people been studying this?

A little effort and a lot of interest have revealed to me legions of scholars, writers, musicians and otherwise boring people whose ideas I would love to share in this blog. The majority of my posts will relate to music fans, obsessions and fetishes, though I will deviate from music occasionally to cover other hobbies and interests. I'll try to draw from observations of others as frequently as (or more than) I talk about myself; I do not want this to be a me-blog. As a frame of reference, I'll generally try to post specific songs I mention in my posts. 

While my initial goal was to post once a week, I seem to have a lot of ideas in the queue, so you may see a fair amount of action initially (more than I can say for myself). To kick things off, I will be posting an adaptation of an essay I wrote in 2006 regarding the fans of Houston-based musician Jandek. The essay conveys many of my opinions about music fans, and provides concise explanations of many of my favorite theories. 

Thanks for tuning in! Feedback is always welcome, though I imagine I'll have to amass some sort of readership before I am able to garner any criticism. And now, the music video that changed my life: 

Aerosmith - Falling In Love (Is Hard on the Knees):