by Carrie Brownstein

I feel the need to write a bit more about my "Middle of the Road" blog post, which brought Collective Soul fans out in droves (much to my surprise and to the surprise of many MM readers).

I have no desire to respond directly to any one comment. In fact, that's not even the reason for this blog redux. Instead, I'd like to address the fact that, more than a week ago, I wrote a post called "Justify Your Love," wherein I asked people to defend their love for frequently unloved bands. (It was that post that got me thinking about Phish, and which inspired my weeklong journey toward potential Phish fandom.) But a lot of people, when thinking about the notion of justification, commented that their musical loves needed no defending. Really? Because apparently they do.

And then this Monday, I wrote a blog entry called "I'm With the Fans," asking people to name other bands aside from Phish who have intense and loyal followers. Everyone from Guided by Voices to Ween to Pearl Jam were mentioned.

So I am quite pleased that yesterday's seemingly innocuous blog about MOTR bands seems to have drummed up the themes of both the "Justify" and the "Fans" posts. Not only did Collective Soul fans feel the need to justify their love for the band; they also established themselves as the group's staunch defenders.

Awesome.

I'm very interested in what seems to be an implicit musical hierarchy, wherein it's acceptable to make derogatory comments about one band but not another. Don't all bands need defenders? Or are some bands just not worth it?

Here's another way of putting it: After reading all of the passionate comments, I'm left with only one question: Where are all the Great White fans?