Feature

One of the things I love about being a Browncoat is the rich and varied music that's out there. One of the first things I purchased after the show and the BDM was the Firefly and Serenity audio CD's, both of which I fully recommend getting if you don't already have them. Since then I have discovered so much fan created music, most of it of a standard to rival traditional studio releases. A lot of it via The Signal's Songs from the Black albums.

As a parent I can't wait to try and introduce and convert my children to being Browncoats, I did say try as they may not become fans. However for a while I thought that there has to be something I can do to introduce them to the verse without exposing them to the show. This is where the music comes in, I realised that you don't have to be a fan of the show to love the music. I often have different songs on in the car, Mal's Song being a favourite with my eldest. The great thing about this is that as he gets older he asks more and more questions about the music, the stories they are telling. I have had great fun trying to convince them that Jayne is a man! My hope being that when they first see the show it will be a verse that they already feel at home in.

However music as a tool for conversion actually can extend beyond those nearest to us. The music in my opinion is good enough that I am happy to have it playing in my car when giving colleagues a lift, and although I have had no conversion success of others yet with this approach I still feel that the potential is there, and maybe will work for you... so give it a go. As a conversion technique it's remarkably easy, free and enjoyable and unlike the show itself which needs to be purchased, albums like The Signal's Songs from the Black, can be downloaded by them for free!

So how did I come to think about music as a conversion tool, well as I alluded to before music converted me. I fell in love with the show as soon as I saw it; however that was only how I became a fan. It was as a fan I attended my first CSTS event, it was as a fan that I watched the BDM on a big screen for the first time and as a fan I joined the others for the shindig afterwards. However as I sat in the bar I realised I was surrounded by folk who all knew where I was coming from, understand why I loved the show. It was then that Nick got his guitar out and started playing songs and everyone joined in singing along. It was here I heard Mal's Song for the first time and as I sat there laughing, and joking, and singing along I realised that I was more than just a fan I was a Browncoat...

So if you are successful in converting any folk with the music of the verse, be sure to let us all know and don't forget to tell us which song did the trick!