--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always been a fan first and foremost…" description: "\"I've always been a fan first and foremost - obsessing over bands and seeking out bands, and spending hours and hours listening. When I played music, th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/carrie-brownstein-1580_cynical_i-ve-always-been-a-fan-first-and-foremos_3161607.png" --- # I've always been a fan first and foremost - obsessing over… ![“I've always been a fan first and foremost - obsessing over bands and seeking out bands, and spending hours and hours listening. When I played music, the scope of my fandom became more myopic; I was focusing on the bands we were touring with, or the bands on the label. And you're always positing…” quote by Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/carrie-brownstein-1580_cynical_i-ve-always-been-a-fan-first-and-foremos_3161607.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/carrie-brownstein-1580_cynical_i-ve-always-been-a-fan-first-and-foremos_3161607.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/carrie-brownstein-1580_cynical_i-ve-always-been-a-fan-first-and-foremos_3161607.png) > “I've always been a fan first and foremost - obsessing over bands and seeking out bands, and spending hours and hours listening. When I played music, the scope of my fandom became more myopic; I was focusing on the bands we were touring with, or the bands on the label. And you're always positing yourself in relation to other bands. Since I haven't been playing, I feel a little less cynical. I'm able to seek out music and approach it strictly as a fan.” [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fandom narrows focus; stepping back lets one enjoy music without comparative bias. **In simple terms:** Stepping back from comparison restores pure enjoyment. Key Takeaway Enjoy music without comparing to others. Themes music fandom perspective Mood reflective nostalgic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - listening habits - music discovery - creative inspiration Key Concepts comparison purity growth Questions to Reflect On - How does stepping back change your music taste? - Can you stay a fan without any comparison? A Different Perspective Some may argue comparison fuels deeper appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [Fandom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fandom/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a fan first and foremost. I get caught up in the drama, the emotion of what is happening, whether it's a boxing match,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauro-ranallo/i-m-a-fan-first-and-foremost-i-get-caught-up-in-the-drama-the-emotion/) [Mauro Ranallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauro-ranallo/) > [I mean, I'm a fan of Eminem. I'm a fan first and foremost. Maybe before I wouldn't have challenged him, but I'm contemplating it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/i-mean-i-m-a-fan-of-eminem-i-m-a-fan-first-and-foremost-maybe-before/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [I like how blogging emulates fandom because it's so completist and spontaneous. It really mirrors the way people listen to music, and I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-like-how-blogging-emulates-fandom-because-it-s-so-completist-and/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [There's something that feels very timeless about fandom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/there-s-something-that-feels-very-timeless-about-fandom/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [So many things can be filtered through fandom - joy, compassion, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/so-many-things-can-be-filtered-through-fandom-joy-compassion-love/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [To be a fan is to be curious, and to be curious is to have openness... Part of being a fan is to allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/to-be-a-fan-is-to-be-curious-and-to-be-curious-is-to-have-openness/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [For film and television, it's interesting how fans feel that their particular ways of manifesting their affections are the correct ones. It's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/for-film-and-television-it-s-interesting-how-fans-feel-that-their/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I don't think I realized right away that I was switching from being a fan into being a performer. I've always tried to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-don-t-think-i-realized-right-away-that-i-was-switching-from-being-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [My playing is all about feel. I'm completely self taught: I never took any lessons or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-kramer/my-playing-is-all-about-feel-i-m-completely-self-taught-i-never-took/) [Joey Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-kramer/) > [I like more of the club mentality, where we're playing, and if we feel like we want to play a cover, we'll switch to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-stapleton/i-like-more-of-the-club-mentality-where-we-re-playing-and-if-we-feel/) [Chris Stapleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-stapleton/) > [In the beginning I wasn't playing as well and had to feel the court and got better and better as I tried to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-bertens/in-the-beginning-i-wasn-t-playing-as-well-and-had-to-feel-the-court/) [Kiki Bertens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-bertens/) > [The way I feel today, as long as my health is good and I can handle myself well and people still come to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-b-king/the-way-i-feel-today-as-long-as-my-health-is-good-and-i-can-handle/) [B. B. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-b-king/) > [I'm happy to be wherever I'm playing, because I feel blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-semien/i-m-happy-to-be-wherever-i-m-playing-because-i-feel-blessed/) [Marcus Semien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-semien/) > [The main problem is to free your mind when you play. I find that in my own playing, whenever I feel any kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-farmer/the-main-problem-is-to-free-your-mind-when-you-play-i-find-that-in-my/) Art Farmer > [Football is so barbaric. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking by playing it. I feel almost like I escaped from boot camp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-bosworth/football-is-so-barbaric-sometimes-i-wonder-what-i-was-thinking-by/) [Brian Bosworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-bosworth/) ## More by Carrie Brownstein > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Much of the music I remember from camp was unofficial: the songs a counselor would play for us on acoustic guitar or that an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/much-of-the-music-i-remember-from-camp-was-unofficial-the-songs-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Rihanna has guts and she always seems to be singing from someplace honest, dark and fierce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/rihanna-has-guts-and-she-always-seems-to-be-singing-from-someplace/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I think there's a lot of wonderful comics that leave you hanging in a state of apprehension or anxiety before alleviating that tension with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-wonderful-comics-that-leave-you-hanging-in-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Well, in some ways I had sort of the opposite experience of other people that are sort of dreaming of being in a rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/well-in-some-ways-i-had-sort-of-the-opposite-experience-of-other/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [There was a clarity to the Nineties. It was pre-9/11, before that anxiety kicked in that exists right now about the financial crisis or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/there-was-a-clarity-to-the-nineties-it-was-pre-9-11-before-that/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I think people would describe a lot of Sleater-Kinney as unsettling. And I don't think our best moments have sonic assonance to them. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-people-would-describe-a-lot-of-sleater-kinney-as-unsettling/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I'm always trying to encourage people not to limit themselves in the same way that many of our parents stayed with one job forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-m-always-trying-to-encourage-people-not-to-limit-themselves-in-the/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [The game Rock Band has been haunting me like a bad ring tone. It gets stuck in my head and momentarily effaces all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/the-game-rock-band-has-been-haunting-me-like-a-bad-ring-tone-it-gets/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I've mostly been focusing on writing, and I've really enjoyed not playing music. It will always be part of my life, but I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-ve-mostly-been-focusing-on-writing-and-i-ve-really-enjoyed-not/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [To me, curiosity is married to optimism. And that's where a lot of my motivation comes from. A lot of my way out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/to-me-curiosity-is-married-to-optimism-and-that-s-where-a-lot-of-my/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [ \[I hate\] the ways that people want their special needs to be met, whether it's their food allergies or their special lotions or shoes.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-hate-the-ways-that-people-want-their-special-needs-to-be-met/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [No matter what people are struggling with, or based on whatever. Sexuality, ethnicity, economic status, size. I don't wish smallness for anyone. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/no-matter-what-people-are-struggling-with-or-based-on-whatever/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I would not call myself an optimist, even though I would aspire to be. I am innately a skeptic. There's kind of an incessant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-would-not-call-myself-an-optimist-even-though-i-would-aspire-to-be/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I always find that nostalgia is sort of like memory without the pain. And that's why it feels so good to kind of bask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-always-find-that-nostalgia-is-sort-of-like-memory-without-the-pain/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Explore all 226 Carrie Brownstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) ## More Cynical quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I would say most comedians have a very cynical worldview of the way the world can work. It's almost like if you didn't, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-quinn/i-would-say-most-comedians-have-a-very-cynical-worldview-of-the-way/) [Colin Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-quinn/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [We're so immaturely cynical as a culture. We're not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/we-re-so-immaturely-cynical-as-a-culture-we-re-not-wise-enough-to/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [I'm not cynical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/i-m-not-cynical/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [A well governed people are generally a people who do not think much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-siegfried/a-well-governed-people-are-generally-a-people-who-do-not-think-much/) Andre Siegfried > [I love writers who are insightful enough to be cynical but choose not to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/i-love-writers-who-are-insightful-enough-to-be-cynical-but-choose-not/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [It is a very cynical, skeptical, foolish person that suggests Israel does not need a peace process to have a growing economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/it-is-a-very-cynical-skeptical-foolish-person-that-suggests-israel/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [Songwriters might write cynical, world-wise lyrics and constantly talk about money, but most of us are downright naive when it comes to business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/songwriters-might-write-cynical-world-wise-lyrics-and-constantly-talk/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [No one more cynical than an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/no-one-more-cynical-than-an-idealist/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I've actually always wanted to write like a one-person show that was sort of a romantic comedy - a show that was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/i-ve-actually-always-wanted-to-write-like-a-one-person-show-that-was/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/that-s-what-i-ve-never-been-able-to-get-about-religion-that-charmless/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [As the rain falls and the sun shines, they grow, grow, grow; minds so open, they go through life aware and accepting, seeing light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/as-the-rain-falls-and-the-sun-shines-they-grow-grow-grow-minds-so/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Browse all 968 Cynical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've always been a fan first and foremost - obsessing over bands and seeking out bands, and spending hours and hours listening. 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