..but you know -- being able to say one is "apart" from the mainstream is practically a badge of honor to fanboy types. I don't believe there is a band on earth who would refuse some mainstream cash.
While I CAN understand that sort of mentality, it can get quite lonely, depending on your community. I mean, when I went to the DT concert, being around a total group of strangers, and still be able to discuss the band and have them know exactly what you're talking about felt extremely rewarding.
I'm sure those hipster bands are out there. But chances are, they're not coming out of the slums anyway.
it's kinda like the convo several pages back and its spin-off thread about "musical superiority in taste". everyone likes to feel that their musical preferences are just a bit more "exclusive" and non-sell-out-ish than the unwashed masses. Hence, the rant from that dude we're talking about.
Except that rant was really baseless. I mean, it didn't even have anything to do with the music, or DT reaching out to anyone. I mean, the party they had, it's not like they organized this big event for the masses in Times Square, and gave free stuff to millions of strangers, just to get them to listen to the album.
I can understand the cool feeling of being a fan of a band from its inception and perhaps the entitlement that one feels should come along with it. But it seems a bit immature to get offended because a band chooses ways to market its product in a way "you" don't approve.
This is their bread and butter. They should make their money however they see fit. IMO.
Not only that, but this is Dream Theater we're talking about. Sure, there are some people here who talk about how they checked out Images and Words when it came out and fell in love with it. But Dream Theater has a lot of fairly younger fans, and I guarantee you that these people probably weren't listening to Images and Words when they were 3 - 7 years old. Let alone When Dream and Day Unite. Which basically means that DT has a huge part of its fanbase who haven't been there since the band's inception, anyway. So to try and claim this entitlement, this exclusivity for the band is a little hypocritical. How would they feel if they were discovering DT for the first time, and a bunch of snobby fans said, "You weren't there from the beginning, so we don't want you now." Dream Theater wouldn't be nearly as successful as they are now if they didn't constantly hook in new fans.