Triskaidekaphobics: R.E.M. fans in pursuit of the ultimate first listen

Bennett, Lucy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2264-7596 2010. Triskaidekaphobics: R.E.M. fans in pursuit of the ultimate first listen. Presented at: Popular Music Fandom Symposium, Chester, 25 June 2010.

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Abstract

This article explores the processes that occur when music fans reject the up-to-date flow and download culture of the internet in favour of a more traditional first experience of listening to an album. Examining a sub-group within an online community for fans of rock band R.E.M., this article discusses how these fans assume non-normativity, due to their activities evading spoilers concerning the then forthcoming album. Driven by a nostalgic aim to recapture the experience of buying a new album without prior knowledge other than official information, this research shows how fans endeavour to resist technology and restore the experience of listening to and purchasing a new album as a singular event. The analysis shows how this pursuit of pleasure resulted in their cultural distinctiveness from the community and how it enabled them to create a form of inverted fan cultural capital, positioning them as a different, albeit temporary, interpretive community.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Journalism, Media and Culture
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2022 10:27
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/70437

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