Re: NewOperaTwinkle

["Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> As a rock fan, I have been to 4 Tom Petty shows over the past 20 years 
> and I couldn't tell you the names of the other band members.  Own 7 
> albums of his, know a majority of his songs, don't know who plays or 
> played bass on what.

Perfect example.  Thanks, Jo.  And I really should stop calling that
behavior (?) stupid.  You're not stupid for not knowing the bass player
in Tom Petty's band; you're just indifferent.  That's the word: indiffer-
ent.  I'm sorry if I was insulting.  Or stupid.  ;-)

So, you see, KEVIN!, some fans of groups *do* buy the albums, go to the
shows, yet don't really care to know certain information, such as names
of bass players, etc.  That's just the way it is.  

> *But*, The Who are different.  The Who, from day one were not just a 
> band I listened to.  I have studied their music and the men that created 
> it.  

True, yes, for you, but there must be many Who fans who take your Tom
Petty approach to the band.  They buy the CDs, play the music, go to the
concerts, but don't care about the history, or the trivia, or the details
of the band.  Their fandom stops after the CD is ejected & after the con-
cert ends. 

> So, in one way, I am just your average, stupid rock fan, ie: Tom Petty,

Indifferent.  Not stupid.  I'm stupid.

> but when it comes to the Who, it is not the same.

Because you're more into The Who than Tom Petty.  But if some Tom Petty
freak - some nutso Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers worshipper - met you &
found out you own *seven* Tom Petty albums & have seen him live *four* 
times, he or she would get very excited & probably start pummeling you 
with questions in order to dig further.  And that person may indeed be
quite shocked when they find out you can't name most of the Heartbreakers.

> Let's take it one step further......what percentage, out of Scott's 
> proposed 40% of the Who fans that attend their shows, that know who John 
> is, do I fall in?...........a majority or minority?  Or, in other words, 
> using percentages again, what percentage of the people that know who John 
> Entwistle is are, A.) your average hard core *rock/music* fan (who knows 
> John because of their appreciation and knowledge of good music in general?
> or, B.) a hard core *Who* supporter, like myself.

I think you're taking the mick (have I got that expression right, John
Hughes?) but I'll try to answer anyway.

People at a Who concert who know who John Entwistle is:  How many are just
hardcore *rock* fans & how many are hardcore *Who* fans?  I would estimate
out of those people, 75% are just *rock* freaks & 25% are *Who* freaks.

People like us (Who freaks) aren't a dime a dozen.  We're a rare breed.
We sit & communicate with each other all day & start to develop tunnel-
vision.  We start to think that *most* Who fans are like us: knowledgeable
on all sorts of Who matters.  But that just isn't the case.

We talk Who nonstop to our local friends & family & then start to believe
that they've learned all this Who information on their own, because they
are interested fans, as well.  This is where Cousin Kevin has made his
error.  He has an acute case of Who tunnelvision.  He assumes everyone else
who knows of The Who is as knowledgeable about the basic facts as he is.
He has erred in his thinking, I'm afraid.


- SCHRADE in Akron

The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists -
that is why they invented hell.
	- Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)