Since we had an extra post for whatever we like I decided to talk more about fandom and what comes to mind when I think I am a fan of. I guess I would say I am a fan of the band Streetlight Manifesto. For those who have never heard of the band the genre of music they fall under is Ska. According to Wikipedia Ska is defined as “Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat.” I am a huge fan of this band. I guess I would fall under a few categories as the Trekkie according to Jenson. I have purchased many different merchandise from them and I sometimes feel that some of it is pointless. I have all their cds pins, posters, t-shirts and stickers their set list, guitar picks. I guess I am a “brainless consumer” according to Jenson. Also I have seen them more than 5 times when they have come to town. I might be said to have a “cultivation of worthless knowledge” to the band because I actually had the chance to meet them and talk to them multiple times. Maybe that is why I am such a fan it’s because I have connected on a personal level. But what is so wrong with being devoted to such a thing. I really do not see what’s wrong with being a Trekkie nor do I see what’s wrong with being a giant Streetlight Manifesto fan. They are almost the same although the Trekkies are looked as lame and any fan of a band is not perceived as lame. Just because the media decides what is lame and what is not Trekkie have always been ridiculed but I think that there is no reason to make fun of someone’s interest. Being a fan of something allows you to be connected to a group of people who have the same interest. I know whenever I run into someone who is also a fan of Streetlight Manifesto we have always had something to talk about and you sort of develop a bond because we have common interest and friendship usually comes from it. The point I’m trying to make is that there is nothing wrong with being a fan of something. It give you a chance to have friendships a be connect to a group of pop culture.
