We Have SO Got The Beat

[Organized fandom carries many of the same advantages and drawbacks as organized religion. One of the few advantages that the former has that the latter has (historically) lacked is compulsion from without. While the Inquisition, for example, tried to compel people to be Catholic (or rather, to quit disrespecting those in power in the name of Catholicism), no one is forced by anyone else to be, oh for instance, a Go-Go's fan. One could compare the Inquisition (no, it's not pick on Catholics day, just laziness on my part) to the obvious corporate mind control of today's music industry (spoofed with mixed success by the recent "Josie and the Pussycats" flick); look at the hordes of teenage girls having to buy Everything Britney or Everything Ricky or Everything Destiny's Child.]

[However, Beyond Records doesn't stand to make a fortune issuing a new album by a quintet of middle-aged women. I'd be surprised if God Bless The Go-Go's goes gold. So this kind of fandom is somehow different. More than anything, the people lined up outside the Wherehouse in Colma yesterday evening reminded me of the people who used to line up outside the Fiesta Four cinema in Santa Barbara every Friday night for the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I like the homegrown atmosphere of the whole thing; people were there because they wanted to be, not because it was cool, or hip, or cutting-edge.]

[I was there because I do like them, though I probably wouldn't have made the trek (do you know what a pain it is to get around the Peninsula without a car?) if it weren't for John. Look at this page; find San Francisco? Yep, that's him. This is where the analogy to organized religion starts getting a little creepy again, the new album's iconography notwithstanding. But he so loves the whole process. The record label seems not to have too many resources to promote the album, so the fans have taken it upon themselves.]

[So, we met them. We stood in line with about 150 other fools, and got our CD booklets signed. John brought the flier he made for Tuesday's release day party, and the Go-Go's oohed and aahed and signed that as well. They looked good: surgery? fantastic products? genetics? clean living? I wanted to tell Belinda Carlisle that her current smooth skin should make craggy ol' Madonna eat her mocking words from that film, but refrained. I shook bassist Kathy Valentine's hand. Drummer Gina Schock looked hungover; I hear she was at Trannyshack the night before. John and I walked back to the BART station, rode the train back to civilization, and smiled at each other. It was enough.]

Previously Next