“ I never think of the people who listen to my songs as “fans.” Something disagreeable about seeing people that way. I think of the activity as a kind of conversation, and now it’s my turn to talk. Expectations are out of place in the privacy of the occasion, and if I have them, it probably means the song isn’t any good.
—
Leonard Cohen, answering this question in 2001 online chat:
Sometimes ‘fans’ tend to put a poet/artist on such a high pedestal that our expectations may seem overwhelming. Hopefully you have never felt such pressure. Do you have any expectations of your ‘fans’? Is there such a thing as ‘the perfect fan’? What has the ultimate reward been for you?
