O wise one, please paint me a picture of "the real thing". You can't. There isn't one. The picture of the "real thing" changes from person to person. It's called subjectivity. I like Dominos. That doesn't make it any less of a real thing. I've had pizza at an Italian restaurant in Venice. I know its good and I know I like it. Dominos isn't the same thing, but that doesn't mean I can't like it because its not the same as Venetian pizza. Even suggesting that you know what the "real thing" is is arrogance because there is no "real thing". There's only you and me and we just disagree.

The Cure, Doves, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Massive Attack and whatever bands you're into at the moment are no more relevant than 3d Blind or BTE. Know why? Because they are relevant to me or to us. That's the bottom line and is all that matters. I'm not about to call the stuff you listen to "trite" or "pablum" or "farts in the wind", and I could easily say that about any of the bands you've listed off and/or talked about, but won't. They're relevant to you and that's all that matters. Every band you listen to arrived in your CD player or on your Ipod through the miracle of marketing at some level--major label, indie or local rock. It doesn't matter. They all go through spin cycle. That's what I do for a living. Spinning so people spend their money and purchase the product I want them to. If you are a fan of any band, you've been spun by marketing. I honestly dont care if the bands I like were liked by teenyboppers or if the lead singer thought the quickest route to acting was through music. I got into BTE when I was a freshman in college. I hooked into their song "Good" and became a fan. Have been ever since, including through their ride when they got dumped by a major, put albums out on their own labels, and were just picked up again by a mid-level major. That's all irrelevant; what's relevant is that I'm a fan. That I connect with the music on some level. You're welcome to your opinion about the music that I listen to, but denograting it without valid reason or explanation is hollow.

And, in regards to your condescending education comment. Just because you're an expert on a genre, doesn't make me an idiot. I could talk circles around you in other genres. The genres I support do just fine without your dollars pouring in. The money I spend at local gigs keeps many bands alive and furthering their craft. I don't listen to radio. I don't watch TV or MTV or VH1. I don't read blogs. I research. I develop my interests through alternate channels. So, don't give me the "well, if they're on the radio, they must be popular" line. Not applicable here. With all of the bands you've mentioned in the last few posts, you are FAR more trendy than I am.

Standards are subjective also. They don't apply similarly across the board. That's like reading 200 reviews of the same CD on Amazon.com. Not everyone will have the same opinion. Not every reviewer is going to like a CD. There is no universally-liked CD. Therefore, there are no true standards. In order to have true standards, you have to have an accepted example of something that is the high end of a standard range and something of the low end. Your standard spectrum is not the same as mine. The standard spectrum for MTV's review of Slayer's "God Hates Us All" is not the same as Kerrang!'s standards for the album. MTV would trash it and give it one star, while Kerrang! could give it four. Is someone really wrong? No because...

Opinions are like a-holes.... I started this thread in the spirit of community, to gather and collect all of the different band interests. Not to judge. Not to criticize. To understand and educate us all. An attempt by me to research what's out there in the different genres. Your welcome to your opinion about the music we listen to, but drop the condescending attitude. I appreciate your list and am interested in checking out what's on it, but I don't think any of us are here to have our interests put down by a self-important music critic.

In the end, it comes down to respect. Calling someone elses interests "trite" or "pablum" or "worthless" (farts in the wind) isn't a show of respect. Yes, I've posted here a bit since April 3. But, in my eyes, this thread, that I started, is dead. Maybe this response was just 3 weeks in the making.

tyler