I think what a lot of people might find especially appealing is finding the familiar in the new setting.
Yeah, I'm starting to understand what "canon" might mean for bandom, which I was clueless about before. As I've read more/listened more/learned more about MCR, I'm recognizing things from your stories that draw from what band members reveal about themselves in real life/what fans notice and appreciate about them/the personae that they create in their songs or on stage . . . like Elena and her importance to Gerard, Frank's annoying laugh, "I remember when you broke your foot," etc. And the interplay of all these things is really interesting to watch, because I'm used to the stricter canon/fanon/AU delineations of writing in a book- or movie-based fandom. So it's fascinating to watch what you do, and to imagine where the inspirations might have come from. (I watched the old school video of "I'm Not Okay" and was like "OMG! It's basement!Gerard!" So now I have this whole other set of images that, for me, inform the world of your story.) I can definitely see how it would be easiest to go AU for RPF.
And, um, it's very much the fault of your stories that I'm suddenly in love with this band that's a little bit out of my age range. So thanks for spreading the love around, I guess.
The line between canon and fanon can get pretty blurred, because a lot of canon 'facts' are hearsay from fans who talked to the guys, or from friends of the guys posting on the internet... or from the guys themselves posting on the internet (cue tons of annoyingly oblique emo posts with bad punctuation from Pete Wentz...) or from their bitter ex-girlfriends talking shit about them in locked MySpace posts that get leaked by the bitter ex-girlfriends' backstabbing scene friends.
I don't know about the age range thing as such. They appeal to teenagers because of the I'm Not OK video, and because teenagers love angst and woe and boys in eyeliner, but they didn't start out as a band that aimed for a teenage demographic, and they weren't a young band even at the beginning (Gerard was 24 at the time, and they tend to get asked about this because it's a pretty advanced age to be starting your first band.)
Then again, they do have a lot of really loud teenie fans. I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them. :/
(cue tons of annoyingly oblique emo posts with bad punctuation from Pete Wentz...) Oh, help! This sounds really funny!
I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them.
Um, yeah. I totally hear you on the need to explain. I'm struggling with it myself. But, of course, you're completely right about their roots and the "not for a teen demographic" background, which I forget because their look seems such the teenage style right now and my mind just rolls all of it together and then I feel old. So thanks for reminding. (I believe I'll be making the same argument when I try to get my husband and friends to come with me to see them in April.)
But honestly, part of what I love is the teenaged outlook--"teenaged" insofar as it has all this fierce passion and disillusionment and idealism that our culture associates primarily with teenagers. The type of stuff that made you feel that life was somehow more vibrant when you were in high school with all your friends than it is now . . .
Pete has about fifty billion different blogs. He probably has a livejournal, too, but if he does it's secret. He deleted his old one when p33ngate hit and he got overwhelmed with mocking comments from ONTD.
Mikey used to have a MySpace, afaik, and he and his wife Alicia would get into flamewars with people and end up on fandom_wank... He's not all that shiny at spelling either, at least not when he's pissed off.
If you want to know more about Pete's blogging habits, icecreamhdaches posts all his updates.
Yeah, I'm starting to understand what "canon" might mean for bandom, which I was clueless about before. As I've read more/listened more/learned more about MCR, I'm recognizing things from your stories that draw from what band members reveal about themselves in real life/what fans notice and appreciate about them/the personae that they create in their songs or on stage . . . like Elena and her importance to Gerard, Frank's annoying laugh, "I remember when you broke your foot," etc. And the interplay of all these things is really interesting to watch, because I'm used to the stricter canon/fanon/AU delineations of writing in a book- or movie-based fandom. So it's fascinating to watch what you do, and to imagine where the inspirations might have come from. (I watched the old school video of "I'm Not Okay" and was like "OMG! It's basement!Gerard!" So now I have this whole other set of images that, for me, inform the world of your story.) I can definitely see how it would be easiest to go AU for RPF.
And, um, it's very much the fault of your stories that I'm suddenly in love with this band that's a little bit out of my age range. So thanks for spreading the love around, I guess.
Also, thanks for the rec! I'll check it out.
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I don't know about the age range thing as such. They appeal to teenagers because of the I'm Not OK video, and because teenagers love angst and woe and boys in eyeliner, but they didn't start out as a band that aimed for a teenage demographic, and they weren't a young band even at the beginning (Gerard was 24 at the time, and they tend to get asked about this because it's a pretty advanced age to be starting your first band.)
Then again, they do have a lot of really loud teenie fans. I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them. :/
Reply
Oh, help! This sounds really funny!
I'm just here trying to explain away that cause I'm older than all of them.
Um, yeah. I totally hear you on the need to explain. I'm struggling with it myself. But, of course, you're completely right about their roots and the "not for a teen demographic" background, which I forget because their look seems such the teenage style right now and my mind just rolls all of it together and then I feel old. So thanks for reminding. (I believe I'll be making the same argument when I try to get my husband and friends to come with me to see them in April.)
But honestly, part of what I love is the teenaged outlook--"teenaged" insofar as it has all this fierce passion and disillusionment and idealism that our culture associates primarily with teenagers. The type of stuff that made you feel that life was somehow more vibrant when you were in high school with all your friends than it is now . . .
Reply
Mikey used to have a MySpace, afaik, and he and his wife Alicia would get into flamewars with people and end up on fandom_wank... He's not all that shiny at spelling either, at least not when he's pissed off.
If you want to know more about Pete's blogging habits, icecreamhdaches posts all his updates.
Reply
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