Fangirl Chic

-Jim Derogatis, Kill Your Idols

I just pulled this from one of my favorite books to post as a Facebook rebuttal and felt like it needed to be posted here. I suspect this one is also long over do for a reread, despite the giant “to be read” stack.

And this song.

I knew it was bad but I didn’t realize how much so until I synched Roxie*.

I’ve had a mental block on Fall Out Boy for a while for a few reasons, but this is damn good record. It’s not going to “save rock and roll”, but it’s a good pop record… and I didn’t think rock and roll needed saving. I did need a record to run into the ground, though. It’s what I do.

*Yes, my iPod is named Roxie.

I wrote about Record Store Day on Record Store Day but then I napped watched Doctor Who and Nerdist instead of posting it. Better late than never….

Today I got up at 6 am to go stand in line for 3 hours at Criminal Records.

Why?

Because it’s Record Store Day and that is just what I do on Record Store Day.

I’m not alone. There were about 50 people in front of me and at least a hundred behind me, that I could see.

Yes, I really wanted to get the Fitz and the Tantrums 10” of “Out Of My League” (success!), the Shangri-La’s “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” 45 (success!) and Garbage “Because the Night” 10” (no success). But like I said, that’s just what I do on Record Store Day.

According to RecordStoreDay.com it was created as a way to “celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture” of indie record stores. Call me naïve, but I actually buy into it, and that’s without pressing it into a limited run 7” on clear vinyl with an alternate version on the B-side. Even with all of the Ebayers getting in line ahead of us and buying up all of the stuff with the highest projected resell value before the fans could (like the David Bowie picture disk the BFF was after). Even with plenty of people all too happy to preach that it’s just a bunch of record labels taking advantage of completest collectors. Even after I earned my degree in recording industry management, learning all of the shady dealings of the industry, followed by working with severely jaded industry people. Even when I paid a hell of a lot more than the iTunes price for a piece of music that I already own on CD. Yes, I still buy into the notion that it’s about the culture and the experience.

I’m an idealist. I completely own up to it. I will argue that music has a purpose and power from here to eternity, but for all of its commercialism, Record Store Day is distinct fan experience.

Bear with me…

Once upon a time fans would wait for record stores to open on release day to buy their favorite band’s new record and would spend all night in line to get the best concert tickets. We don’t do that now. We don’t have to. We buy concert tickets online and can preorder downloads to be delivered to our inbox at 12:01 am on release day. We can acquire without the same level of effort and therefore not the same level of anticipation and is a different type of fandom.

Because it lacks the line.

Fandom needs the line.

The line is a social club. If you’re dedicated you show that dedication by parking yourself where you need to be to see/meet/acquire that which you seek. How else do you meet other people who are as crazy dedicated as you?

Yes, there are countless fan communities online for meeting people who like the same stuff as you, and I’ve met gobs of awesome Butch Walker fans that way (We all still refer to each other as boardies, despite the message board dying about 8 years ago). And yes, everyone can write a blog about how much they love one thing or another (eh-hem). What about the face to face of meeting someone at the store excitedly holding the same coveted item as us?

Then there are those of us who by our tickets online but spend all day on the curb to make sure that we have a front row spot and do the “were you at ____ show?” with the others in line. We go to the instore appearances to meet the object of our adoration and get our copy of the record signed and talk about our favorite song on the record with the people in line behind us.

And we get up at 6 am to stand in front of a record store with our friends while people drive by looking confused, random pedestrians make faces when you say “record store day”, and we talk about how it was last year while wondering how things will work this year.

There is also the badge of honor. In exchange for the time spent in line you get more than just the items on your wish list. You get the bag with the special RSD artwork full of goodies. You get to carry that bag for the next year and silently tell everyone that you see that you are one of the dedicated few who put in your time on the pavement, maybe starting a few not so silent conversations in the process.

So yes, I planned to get up and be in line stupid early before I ever looked at the list of RSD releases. I was still planning to get up and be in line stupid early after I scanned the list and was only vaguely interested in a Joan Jett reissue. And I’m planning to do the same in 364 days.

Because that I what I do.