[Yorick]

Originally posted by Thorfinn: Yorick, the tone of virtually every post you make shows how you feel, far more than anything you said explicitly. Sting produced hit songs so that he could pour his heart into what others consider "filler". (The unwashed heathen scum! How could they not appreciate his art?) Artists who produce songs their fans want to hear are sellouts. The numerous references to "real" musicians. The "you will grow to appreciate it" mentality -- we artists know better than you mere listeners. Artists write albums with a complete picture in mind. To listen to the songs in any other order or to skip one or another is like skipping books in a trilogy. In virtually every post, you make it clear that you consider anyone who does not appreciate albums as you do to be inferior. That they need to develop a taste for the more experimental themes that give a deeper meaning. BTW, I have only downloaded a handful of songs, and only then when specifically invited to do so by the musician himself. My point is not to impugn your art, but that by your single-minded drive towards the gestalt of an album, you are ignoring the fact that the bulk of the buyers do not agree with you, and have a few favorite tracks to which they prefer to listen. They do consider certain tracks filler, whether or not you think growing to appreciate those tracks will lead one to some higher understanding. To that extent, you are ignoring your fanbase. Some of them may like just one song from a CD, and by making them buy the entire album for $20, you are providing an incredible boon to the piracy industry. Seriously, most musicians I know have no problem understanding how the War on (Some) Drugs increases the incentives for the black market, yet fail to understand how their bundling of music does the exact same thing.

You are forgetting that I am a listener and a fan of everyone elses music I like/buy other than my own. I am only an artist/creator of my own work. So I can speak as a consumer, and as an artist. It's not like there is an "us/them" situation.

However, with a slight change you hit a nail on the head.
We artists know our own music better than listeners. That is an indisputable statement.


Additionally "That they need to develop a taste for the more experimental themes that give a deeper meaning." is also true. Accessibility relies on familiarity. If something is new with no foundation of familiarity for a listener to draw on, repeated listenings must occur for truer appreciation to follow. The more familiarity the song contains, the more the song has to lure a listener in. This is a fact, not an elitist view. The scale works up to an inverse level, where if the song has too much familiarity it is boringly predictable.

It's a fine balance. Pop music is an incredibly fine balance.

Some music is indeed an "aquired taste" requiring more effort to appreciate, yes from US listeners, including myself and other artists not involved in the creative process. Again, a statement of inclusivity, not elitism.