Quote Originally Posted by Born To Stone
I think originality of the lyrics and music plays a part, but it is hard to attach objective qualities to music when some people enjoy music that I cannot bare or find any appeal for.

Then again a lot of commercial hip hop is very similar from my point of view (self affirmative 'gangster' rap) but that doesn't stop it from being the widest selling musical genre. Not to say that there is not other good hip hop but I'm sure this makes up a good portion of the sales. I think that because some people aren't that genuinely interested in music or have very open opinions they don't mind being told what to listen to. Also, some people just seem to want something with a beat to dance to and don't want much more from their music.

I don't think simplicity is always a bad thing though. Punk often consists of basic riffs, but at least they replaced some of the complicity with attitude, a unique style and some amount of ideology.

On another note I have found very few people who dislike Bob Marley... :rastasmoke:
Yeah, I think that's it, pretty much--a lot of people never have thoughts of artistic integrity go into their listening or anything like that.

It is a tricky thing, isn't it--as you said, rap/hip-hop is the most popular genre out there, and I loathe it with every fibre of my being. By that I mean that of the several thousand songs I've been forced to listen to when with friends (and yes, that includes the acclaimed underground stuff), I have not been able to stand, let alone enjoy, a single one.