All,
this is a fantastic site, and I love it here. But one thing that has constantly irritated me for years is comments about "sucking up", "being a TRUE fan", "not being allowed a negative opinion". I don't do "personal attack" type posts, but I got mad as hell reading some of the comments on here recently, and so to get it off my chest without having to hurl something, I decided to write down how I see myself as a fan.
I suspect this is different for everyone, so you can agree or not, but this is my definition of what being a fan means to me.
YES - it means that I am positively disposed to whatever Meat does. I look forward with optimism to any new projects announced, and have faith that he will throw his whole heart and soul into it, even (perhaps especially) when it is radically different to what has been done before.
NO - this does not necessarily mean I end up loving or even necessarily liking every single thing that he does, although his batting average is pretty damn high so far!
YES - I love this site, and I love the fact that Meat logs on for direct interaction with people here
NO - it means that if I don't like something he has done, I will not come here and bash it, and will always try to find something positive to say, because to do otherwise...
1. Would be disrespectful / hurtfull to Meat
2. Would be disrespectful to other Meat fans
3. Would be a very strange concept to come on a fan site and post savagely critical remarks
4. May lead to Meat not coming here any more
YES - there are lots of other artists I like but don't particularly consider myself to be a fan of, because I do not feel as strongly about them as I do about Meat Loaf.
NO - I don't believe in "true fans", "proper fans", or degrees of "fan-ness". You are a fan or you are not as far as I am concerned. If you are not a fan, you merely like the artist. This still leaves plenty of room for varying degrees of how much you like an artist or their output. But for me, being a fan means feeling very strongly positive about someone and their output in general, and all the other things I have written above.
YES - I feel much better now after my little essay thank you, but now I need a lie down
