Springsteen Fandom argues that we should take fandom seriously. Instead of dismissing the sense of connection between artist and audience as merely imaginary — or even delusional — the book explores the ways artists and audiences actually interact without ever meeting in person. The main point I am trying to make is that popular music could never have become such a fundamental part of modern culture without the mutual expectations that exist between performers and listeners. Or more precisely: both making and listening to music are shaped by what each side hopes for, projects onto, and receives from the other. These expectations influence not only how audiences respond to songs and performances, but also how artists create them in the first place. That ongoing exchange is what I describe as "communication" through Rock'n'Roll music.

As an artist who projects warmth – rather than the equally popular code of "coolness" –, Bruce Springsteen is a perfect example of this kind of exchange through music. His concerts create a physical form of interaction — fans sing, dance, and respond in many ways to the energy coming from the stage. At the same time, Springsteen's songs cover virtually every stage of life, from adolescence and youthful escape to work, family, aging, and loss, so that fans experience his music as the soundtrack of their lives. That's why Springsteen once described his relationship with his audience, in a 2012 interview with John Stuart, as a "lifetime conversation," or as I put it in the book: "The identificatory potential of the various aspects and directions of Springsteen's music lies in its ability to offer his audience the chance to grow up with it, age alongside it, and develop their own perspective on the biographical and social issues reflected in it."

What fascinated me while writing about all this were the different dimensions of this interaction. One central aspect is storytelling. Many of Springsteen's songs are built around characters caught in situations where it's difficult to know what the right decision is. These aren't "big" heroic stories — they're stories about failure, exclusion, disappointment, and hope that often goes nowhere, all grounded in very concrete everyday situations. Just listen to any song on "Nebraska" or "The Ghost of Tom Joad", and you will immediately be drawn into these emotions. And because Springsteen brings these characters and conflicts to life so vividly, people hear these songs and suddenly feel: yes, that's exactly what I've been trying to say. They recognize themselves in these experiences and emotions, even if they may never have found the words to express them themselves.

I think that's also the real reason why so many people sing along to Springsteen's songs — whether alone in the car or together with thousands of others in a stadium. Fans own these songs. And of course, Springsteen doesn't just tell stories in the songs themselves; he also introduces them with stories onstage — sometimes autobiographical, sometimes invented, but always emotionally direct and engaging. You could really see how powerful and community-building that exchange with the audience became in moments of collective or personal crisis: during the tour for "The Rising" after 9/11, for example, or later, after the deaths of bandmates Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, when parts of the concerts turned into shared rituals of remembrance and Springsteen included the audience in his call: "Are we missing anybody?"

Ongoing thread. More from Nicolas Pethes to follow.