Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning among Springsteen Fans

by Daniel Cavicchi

Overview

Based on three years of ethnographic research with Bruce Springsteen fans, and informed by the author's own experiences as a fan, Tramps Like Us is an interdisciplinary study of the ways in which ordinary people form special, sustained attachments to Springsteen and his music and how those attachments function in people's daily lives. An insider's narrative about Springsteen fans—who they are, what they do, and why they do it—this book also explores the phenomenon of fandom in general. The text oscillates between fans' stories and ideas and the author's own anecdotes, commentary, and analysis. Cavicchi challenges the stereotypes of fans as obsessive, delusional, and even mentally ill, and explores fandom as a normal cultural and social phenomenon. He argues that music fandom is a useful and meaningful behavior that enables people to shape identity, create community, and make sense of the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195118339
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/29/1998
Pages:	11
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	1280L (what's this?)

About the Author

Daniel Cavicchi teaches American history and culture at the Rhode Island School of Design and is co-editor of My Music (1993).

Table of Contents

Introduction: Studying Fandom1. "Does Anybody Have Any Faith Out There Tonight?": Seeing Bruce in Concert2. Touched by the Music: Defining Fandom3. Ignoring the Music Business4. Fans in the Audience: Performance and the Politics of Participation5. Listening and Learning6. Musically Shaping the Self7. Belonging Together: Fandom, Community, and ConnectionConclusion: Toward an Experience-Near Understanding of Popular MusicPostscriptAppendix A: Springsteen Fan QuestionnaireAppendix B: Bruce Springsteen American Discography (Major Works)NotesReferences

Editorial Reviews

"A worthy addition to popular music scholarship....Cavicchi's dialogic and reflexive style of presentation is right at the heart of current cultural studies and ethnomusicological thinking....He is able to take complex theory and make it readily accessible for a nonacademic reader."—Rob Bowman, York University

"Cavicchi manages to convey enthusiasm [about] his subject without losing his critical stance...and he writes in an accessible, clear, and engaging style. It is a pleasurable and fascinating study that will make a significant contribution to the study of popular music."—Sara Cohen, Institute of Popular Music, University of Liverpool

"This is an original area in music studies [which] grows out of the author's pioneering work in popular music as people use it in daily life. Cavicchi takes a scholarly approach to understanding fandom as community, and his research among Springsteen fans has been quite thorough....The book's readability is a very impressive and appealing feature."—Jeff Titon, Brown University

From the Publisher