Paparazzi tactics are fine too, since the two are one and the same.

Um ... yeah .... :confused:

Look. as kids we all collected autographs didn't we? Well, most of us anyway. It wasn't a crime and it wasn't considered a dangerous or bad thing to do. But none of us ever ran a car off the road and caused someone to be killed. I mean, you can widen the focus as much as you want and say it's all part of (as I've said many times already) celebrity worship, but that doesn't equate the two. There are so many differences, not least of which being the intention or goal of the latter, ie to exploit people's private lives for money, that it seems unbelievable and unsustainable that anyone would try to say they're the same thing.

A lot of paparazzi are also autograph hounds. There's pure fans. Professional autograph seekers, tabloid journalists, people who want to do selfies, people who want to goad you into doing anything that'll get hits on YouTube. People are constantly trying to run ideas or scam you and bother you constantly. It wouldn't take but one afternoon before most people would be like all y'all mother****ers need to to **** off. It's just a blur of people who don't let them live normal lives.

And look, Neil Peart isn't ****ing Justin Bieber. Like some 40 year old white dude is pissed he doesn't have all three autographs for his mancave. **** him. Bieber and these teenybopper stars are in a tighter situation. Still, they can hardly get to the real fans the way those professional autograph seekers get all over it. People even take their kids who aren't even fans to get the autographs to sell. I'd just get a big ass bodyguard and tell them no one gets within five feet of me and blast my earbuds and ignore all that ****.

Good points, though at the time I read that article I was about 17 so we're talking about Peart more or less at the height of his career. But sure leave him out. The point I guess is that the main differences between autograph hunters/seekers and scum journalists is that the former will give up or accept if they don't get what they want (generally) whereas the latter will hound you into an early grave. Scum, pure and simple. And those who read their scum press are somewhat complicit in their scummery (!) as, as Batty said, the scum press wouldn't exist without something to feed it.

Then of course, you have the other end of the spectrum...

Thanks for the compliment about the thread, Trollheart! As you must know, it's not always easy to come up with a new idea - though you have done so often enough.
^ Yeah, that whistling must've been another night. Poor Roger; persecuted night after night by people determined to enjoy his concerts !

^ Wow. That makes you a lot older than I had imagined, Occult H!

I'm with TH, by the way. I don't think it's polite to turn your back on the audience for long. Maybe sometimes band members want to watch each other to check where they're heading, to co-ordinate some complex changes or something, but other than that it's very rude, especially for a singer. If you talk to someone, you show them the courtesy of facing them so that your message and gestures are clear. Being famous shouldn't entitle you to be so rude as to turn your back on the people you are supposedly addressing.*

[ * Unless of course you're in some genuine melt-down mode, as Ms. Winehouse was on one or more occassions I believe.]

No mention of Elton John yet, I see. Isn't he notorious for being obnoxious? Has he ever written a song about how tough his life as a millionaire rock star is?

I don't know but I saw Elton John fairly recently and it was great. He's still got it. The ticket came with a notice that the show would start promptly at 7, there was no opening act. He played everything. His voice is still very good, maybe great. When he started up on Rocket Man, it was stunning. Chills. The whole place was like damn. You knew he was going to play it but still it was shocking. That song is that powerful. I thought damn how many times has done this? Made an entire arena orgasm like that.

**** autographs (and **** clapping along to songs).
I'm with elph, be happy the musicians are playing their music and just enjoy what you get.

None of this **** has anything to do with fans.