I thought that was an interesting story and enjoyed reading it. Thanks.

There were a couple of your points I agreed with completely. The comparison to being a fan of a sports team is one that's occurred to me in the past. No matter how many times you've seen them play, I still want to be at all the others. I still want to hear bootlegs and read about what people thought and be in a stadium where it feels like 70,000 people feel the same way I do. (It's fanciful but it's there). If you'll forgive me for stretching the analogy, I want to discuss who's playing in the team (Bobby, Lorenza), I want to hear live commentary (play by play discussions online), I want to see how they progress through the season/tour...

The second was the fact that people lower their expectations with every passing album. Much as I love the songs, I have to admit that it's probably partly because I am sentimental about the band. And it's the strength of this sentimentality that keeps me coming back. If any other band had released The Circle I don't know if I'd give a shit. But it's Bon Jovi, it's the next part of the story. So I knew I'd buy it whatever you guys said. (The only thing I won't buy is TLFR, I've listened to it and can't bring myself to spend anything on it). I give these albums much more of my time than other records, apart from the ones that click instantly (Emmy the Great's album, for instance)

So yes, I recognise I'm guilty of both of these daft vices. These aren't the only reason I call myself a fan. They're just the easiest to explain.