Tramps like us : music & meaning among Springsteen fans / Daniel Cavicchi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cavicchi, Daniel.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Springsteen, Bruce.

Rock music fans.

Springsteen, Bruce--Appreciation.

Physical Description:

xiii, 222 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1998.

Summary:

Based on three years of ethnographic research amid Springsteen's fans, and informed by the author's own experiences and impressions as a fan, Daniel Cavicchi's Tramps Like Us is an interdisciplinary study of the ways in which ordinary people form special, sustained attachments to a particular singer/songwriter and his songs, and of how these attachments function in people's lives. An "insider's narrative" about Springsteen fans--who they are, what they do, and why they do it--this book also investigates the phenomenon of fandom in general. The text oscillates between fans' stories and ideas and Cavicchi's own anecdotes, commentary, and analysis. It challenges the stereotypes of fans as obsessive, delusional, and even mentally ill, and explores fandom as a normal sociocultural activity. Ultimately, this book argues that music fandom is a useful and meaningful behavior that enables us to shape identities, create communities, and make sense of the world--both Bruce's and our own.

Contents:

Introduction: Studying Fandom 3

1 Does Anybody Have Any Faith Out There Tonight?: Seeing Bruce in Concert 22

2 Touched by the Music: Defining Fandom 38

3 Ignoring the Music Business 60

4 Fans in the Audience: Performance and the Politics of Participation 86

5 Listening and Learning 108

6 Musically Shaping the Self 134

7 Belonging Together: Fandom, Community, and Connection 158

Conclusion: Toward an Experience-Near Understanding of Popular Music 184.

Notes:

Revised version of the author's doctoral dissertation, Brown University.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-215) and index.

ISBN:

0195118332

0195125649

OCLC:

37878644