now that i think about it

[acamus]

this message board (like most i would guess) is interesting in that it becomes a collection of thoughts of a small subculture. i guess that seems obvious in a way, but hang widge me. so grandroyal magazine is gone, but in a way, the BBMB is better in that:

1) they don't have to do much, just sit back and let fans dig up the cool shit. they can always be on vacation, but due to their brand name, "publish" some interesting thoughts (and some drivel). in this way, they're always "doing" something.

2) it's totally punk in that all of us who post are adding to their product just like AIFST.

3) it has become all kinds of things like self-therapy. for example, i remember having this argument back-and-forth with Miramanee and Zora where i was grinding an axe i had at the time about porn. i came away from that with, if nothing else, realizing i was spoiling for a fight. i guess you reap what you sew no matter what the soil, but self-reflection is a good thing.

4) it makes a permanent record out of our thoughts. i always beat my students over the head about the importance of keeping a journal, but have to admit, i'm not too good at keeping one myself. unitl now. (funny that my own life isn't as important for me to document. maybe i should reconsider this.) however, i sometimes kinda wish i could erase some of my posts. oh well. at least i can be lazy and just come here instead of setting up my own. Hmm, that's an idea.

i gotta say, i love how star worship as warhol modeled it has turned into something that, on the surface (ha), seems superficial but turns out to actually add to art, political discussion, etc. when others balk at this idea, i always think, "imagine if picasso or [insert your favorite artist here] were to have had a site like this. years later students of his/her work would be reading the PPMB for insight into his influence and analysis of his work. this is not to pump up the beastie mythology more than it already is (as i myself have done), but just to make the point that we are fan-artists. (the small stars?) the times said something similar about them back in '98: "It's not that collector-musicians (they also include Beck, the Dust Brothers, Stereolab and Cornelius) are fans more than artists. It's that being a fan is part of their art."

[Kid Presentable]

It's full of brown-nosing and fanaticism.

[Documad]

What's funny to me is that this board caused me to meet dozens of people in real life who I have absolutely nothing in common with, and they've all been lovely people.

I think it's cool of the band to allow this site to exist with very little moderation. I agree that there's too much brown-nosing and because it's the band's own site, I don't criticize as much as I otherwise would, but they will allow us to say negative things about them, which takes some guts.

The best part has been watching for hints about upcoming shows -- especially over the past year or so when there were small shows. Even though the ticket situation isn't perfect (and I'll always criticize the way they roll out the schedule :p), it's worked so much better than with other bands. I especially appreciated the LA show last fall, where they tried to keep tickets away from brokers.

[acamus]

It's full of brown-nosing and fanaticism.

true dat, but the fanaticism is kinda cute ... er ... endearing?

[acamus]

What's funny to me is that this board caused me to meet dozens of people in real life who I have absolutely nothing in common with, and they've all been lovely people.

I think it's cool of the band to allow this site to exist with very little moderation. I agree that there's too much brown-nosing and because it's the band's own site, I don't criticize as much as I otherwise would, but they will allow us to say negative things about them, which takes some guts.

The best part has been watching for hints about upcoming shows -- especially over the past year or so when there were small shows. Even though the ticket situation isn't perfect (and I'll always criticize the way they roll out the schedule :p), it's worked so much better than with other bands. I especially appreciated the LA show last fall, where they tried to keep tickets away from brokers.

Yeah, they've collected a nice fan base. (at least most of the ones who post to the boards.)

[Kid Presentable]

Yeah, they've collected a nice fan base. (at least most of the ones who post to the boards.)

Truth be told, you're insulting the Beastie Boys when you liken this messageboard to any sort of Grand Royal movement. When they opened up to the net, that's when things started getting whacky for them. You've got people posting the locations of houses they've looked at, people following them to every show front-and-centre only to break down every detail of their facial expressions, people proclaiming how massive their fandom is by dissing everything they've done post-94, people who got into their DVD and came here to act like assholes about it, a soul-less community that only has no spine, no originality and no heart, people staying up all night to watch videos on MTV they've seen thousands of times already......Fuck, if you're telling me the fan community reflects the Boys, then they really did fall off. Shut us out, and do something mind-blowing again.

[mathcart]

Truth be told, you're insulting the Beastie Boys when you liken this messageboard to any sort of Grand Royal movement. When they opened up to the net, that's when things started getting whacky for them. You've got people posting the locations of houses they've looked at, people following them to every show front-and-centre only to break down every detail of their facial expressions, people proclaiming how massive their fandom is by dissing everything they've done post-94, people who got into their DVD and came here to act like assholes about it, a soul-less community that only has no spine, no originality and no heart, people staying up all night to watch videos on MTV they've seen thousands of times already......Fuck, if you're telling me the fan community reflects the Boys, then they really did fall off. Shut us out, and do something mind-blowing again.

C'mon buddy! Thats not everyone here and you know it. Dwelling on the negative is something you can do (your absolutely right on on the majority of points in your rant) but there is other shit going on here, which was acamus point.
Most shit I'm just not moved to care about that I come across on here, but some times some one shares something pretty cool/rare or informational in a non-stalkerish way. Even more rare, but I find the coolest, is when people really get into engaging one another about something serious, or more fascinating to me how this community should be run/ exist in the cyber world.
You really see a diversity of voices (from the single issue esoteric to the absurdly silly and all reasoned to unreasoned positions in between). It's very reassuring to me to see that people can be passionately involved in defining the realities of a space they exist in, even if its only cyberspace. I feel like a lot of the evils of the world are caused because people seem so unwilling to fight to change their everyday realities and be a stakeholder in demanding fair treatment in their communities. Its nice to see people engage each other about how they should live together here, even if its on a much smaller scale. Going back to one of acamus original points about the self-therapy of chronicling your thoughts, I think my time is up.

[acamus]

Fuck, if you're telling me the fan community reflects the Boys, then they really did fall off. Shut us out, and do something mind-blowing again.

Nope, I'm not saying the fan community reflects the Boys. I'm saying, whether you like what the fans post or not, that they (the fans) get to add to the product, which in this case is the BBMB. Think of it like this, the shots in AIFST weren't professional, the color was off, they were jittery, bad composition, useless zooming, etc., but they used that raw material to make a product. Same here. I don't like everything that's posted or everyone who posts, but it becomes part of a larger hole ... uh, whole.

[acamus]

Going back to one of acamus original points about the self-therapy of chronicling your thoughts, I think my time is up.

:) I hate it when my therapist says that.

Yeah, I like your point about engaging serious topics, MC. KP, check the General Political Discussion section for great examples of this. Although I'm interested in politics I don't add to it, but I've skimmed some posts and think it's really cool that we (Ooo, we?) have posts that ogle Horovitz on the same board with discussion about the Middle East. In some way, its all valid.

[AceFace]

i just have a little chime in about the ogling. i think it's pretty neat to see younger girls, and older for that matter,interested in these handsome, smart, talented men. we're all human and we could ALL have a lot worse men to find attractive. sure we might talk about the hottness of our idols, but hell, who doesn't. they're famous musicians, i think they expect it.

but like you said, acamus, down in the general discussion we all post our opinions and really start getting to know each other for our stand on different things and that's amazing to me, as well.

i don't think the star worship is horrible or out of control. i think it's just normal for us to be attracted to such well rounded, amazing men.

i'll be the first to say that i think so and so is attractive and adorably cute, but i'll always keep my head and want to have bigger and better discussions down below.

don't be hating on the ladies for just being human. :)

[acamus]

i just have a little chime in about the ogling. i think it's pretty neat to see younger girls, and older for that matter, interested in these handsome, smart, talented men. we're all human and we could ALL have a lot worse men to find attractive. sure we might talk about the hottness of our idols, but hell, who doesn't. they're famous musicians, i think they expect it.

Even before I type this, I imagine what pressure it is to be considered a role model. Many celebs don't want the responsibility, but I agree with you AF, these guys are great role models, especially for the younger posters on here.