thats funny cause my cousins who introduced me to them ended up lisening to rap too. Its a shame =hats funny cause my cousins who introduced me to them ended up lisening to rap too. Its a shame =[

Yeah, lots of good people are getting sucked in.

dougydarkangel link=topic=1487.msg24198#msg24198 date=1180417428]
Why is it that the older fans tend to be much more elitist?
Is it somehow our fault that we were born after you?
If it was my choice i would have been born in the early 80's, but its not so, so i cant choice it. If anything its a testament to the band that they can have just as loyal fans in people that werent a fan while they were an active band. It makes me realy sad when the older fans are critical of me and other new fans simply for being younger, we share the same connection to the band that you do.

thank you
it is sad...just because someone is...say...13 doesn't mean that they aren't as big a fan. i've had people be like "you're not old enough to like the pumpkins" when i've been able to understand them for 11 years, and that's longer than some of them who started liking them in the late 90's.
good thread *nod*
i've been listening to smashing pumpkins my entire life and i've always loved them. it shouldn't matter how old anyone who likes them is. that's bull.

I'm not as young as some people here (I'm 27) i know the pumpkins since 96 but i became a fan in 99 when they finally got me so i suppose that can relate me with the "crying babies" who think they could be mistreated by older fans or people who have listened to the band for longer than you or to put it simple: old school vs the rest

I understand, is not the same thing if you lived the band's early days and you're a fan since 91-92 or even since the 94-95-96 era than people who discovered them in 99 or later so that gives elitists the right to be elitists i get the point but what I'm not agree with is that some old school fans rubbing it in newer fan's faces everytime they can, nobody chooses to become a fan in the 99-2000-2007 era so it's unfair with younger-newer fans, they can be as fan as you're even if they discover the band after you did. If you're old school fine that's something to be proud of just don't bring it up everytime you can just because you're, we're all fans ... that's all

I simple don't think old school fans have the right to put you aside cause they're older or they have experienced the band far longer than you and with this i mean to be an asshole about it and think you're over the rest of us or you "understand" the band better cause you're older than me or have listened to them longer

Sorry if i have any misspellings, english is not my native language :]

Who knows you better...

A person you just met

or

your mother who's known you from birth???

Case Closed.

Believe link=topic=1487.msg29357#msg29357 date=1184073360]
Who knows you better...

A person you just met

or

your mother who's known you from birth???

Case Closed.


Whatever dude ... you're better and you know more then "mother"

Glad u see it my way.

you know whats scary? when u join a sp board at 21 and are considered one of the older fans. im 22 now, everythings flying by. i wish i was still 17. but thats great. it means there are heaps of new young fans. i remember what it was like to be a snotty teen on kittyradio. u say stupid shit when your that age sometimes so i guess ppl are quick to judge. i still do it i guess. ppl just need to get over thinking that theyre above anyone in general.

I just miss her

I find this topic fascinating, especially since I'm 36 and have been enchanted by the Pumpkins' music since I heard Gish for the first time (September 28, 1991, while working my first day at Wherehouse Records during college). I know it's ridiculous that I remember the date, but it is what it is. And for the record, my clinical obsession with everything "Pumpkins" wasn't official until I heard "Drown" for the first time. (Don't remember that date, but it was around the time I found "Lull" on vinyl.) Anyway, I'm considerably older than most current fans, so I suppose I technically fall within that group of so-called "old school elitists". But I would never begrudge anyone, of any age, the chance to enjoy the soul, spirit and beauty of the Pumpkins music. The reason for my post is simply to offer a glimpse of why some of the "old fans" may have some resentment toward "young fans". While an "elitist" attitude is certainly unnecessary, especially when discussing something we all care so much about, it does have a genesis which might provide an explanation. Or, at least this is my theory....

First, it doesn't really have anything to do with knowing more about the band, or discovering the band before others did, or even the music itself. (Believe me, when Siamese Dream came out, there were a lot of fans then that were completely "Gish Elitist" in an indie-centric sort of way.) Rather, I think the root of that sentiment stems from a connection that existed between the old fans and the Pumpkins, and among the old fans themselves. It's very much like the connection so many fans now feel (no matter when they joined the legions) to the Pumpkins and their music and other fans. But back then, it was so much more difficult to share that connection because, if for no other reason (but there are many others), the technology didn't exist nearly like it does now to easily discuss (with people who cared as much as you did) the band, its music, and the incredible impact they were having on everyone who was a "Pumpkinhead". Especially in the early 90's with everything going on then and the Pumpkins being at the forefront of a music revolution, or so we believed. So, those who were the hardcore fans back then spent a lot of time searching for information, buying the original bootlegs (which meant spending a hard-earned $30 which you really couldn't afford on a CD for which you had no assurances about the recording quality), tracking down the import singles and vinyl, and really yearning to share the experiences with other fans who "got it". All of that really created an unspoken bond between the hardcore fans who did connect in a "we traveled so far to get here" kind of way.

And, unfortunately, now all of that sounds off in a "back in my day" sort of way. Truthfully, I can't tell you how much I wish I had "you tube" and mp3 file-sharing and myspace pages and fan websites and all of that. It certainly would've saved me a lot of money, "Mashed Potatoes" wouldn't have been an elusive rumor for so long, and I would've met a lot more people who felt the way I did about the Pumpkins. Now, while I have embraced the opportunities all the new media has presented to further my obsession, many have not. (We're getting old after all.) But, quite frankly, I also think a lot of that has pushed some of the old fans away because it really can be information overload, especially compared with "back then" when we couldn't share information globally. For example, the excitement of the Pumpkins on a magazine cover is unforgettable.

None of that should ever minimize the connection the "young fans" (whatever that means) share with each other and the music. In fact, I couldn't be happier that generations (literally) of new fans have found the same thing in this band that so many others have found over the years. That's the essence of music and how it touches people. (I worship Jimi Hendrix and I certainly wasn't there in the beginning.) But I think it does provide a framework to understand the perspective of the "old fans" who did share a truly special time with a truly special band that, if they weren't changing the world around us, they were certainly giving it a meaning we may not have found otherwise.

And one final thought for fans of the Pumpkins of all ages: when the masses do gather over the next several months (and hopefully years) to enjoy the Pumpkins at the live shows, take a moment to share your experiences and how the Pumpkins have touched your lives - musically, poetically, spiritually - through the good and the bad. You will probably find some strange yet comforting commonalities that in some way help define the love we all have for the Pumpkins. Love actively, and rawk on!

Exactly, well said.

I do understand why older fans feel and act the way they do, but it is completely unnessesary, and i find it realy hurtful, we should be talking about how much we all love the band, not where we each fit in some fucking hierarchy

Seriously.
But then again there are hypocrites...yesterday I ran into a girl I was (and still kind of am) friends with, she was walking with another friend and she ran up to me and hugged me saying. "OMG we were just talking about you!" and the other girl said, "So I hear your going to Smashing Pumpkins!" The first girl said to me, "OMG...Smashing Pumpkins, no one can explain their glory..." What the hell is she talking about? Because last year I remember sitting in her car telling her about SP and she said, "God that band is so lame-I just like that 1979 song, what's with them singing about rats?"
She's the type that likes bands such as, Panic at the disco, Fall out boy, etc. Oh and don't forget the pop music...
So do I have a right to think she's a complete hypocrite? She doesn't even know that Jeff and Ginger are new.

There are fans who liked them since childhood and early teenage years like myself. I don't care how long you have liked them as long it is a real, sincere love for the music. It is better to be a newcomer with passion than a flavour of the month scene kid. Anyway, we are here to show love to The Smashing Pumpkins , not to be comparing the lengths of time we have been fans.

....plus being an elitist REQUIRES you to hate ZEITGEIST.

efrim17s link=topic=1487.msg29912#msg29912 date=1184438340]
I don't care how long you have liked them as long it is a real, sincere love for the music.not to be comparing the lengths of time we have been fans.


Exactly, and for that reason i look foward to the influx of newer fans, of course there are going to be faker scene kids, but that is inevitable, i look foward to maybe actualy having pumpkins fans in my area that i can talk to.

its music. its there to be enjoyed. on any level. as frustrating as it can be when new fans carry on like experts, and when old fans carry on like experts, atleast theyre listening to the music.

i for one beat u all cos ive met God himself. and he was wearing electric blue jeans. so nerr