See, Rated E has good taste in music. I know I should qualify that with an, "IMO", and at the risk of coming off like
J. Evans Pritchard here, it really is crystal clear to me what makes one music trash, another merely listenable, and yet another a quality track. I have a hard time subscribing to the notion that the value of a piece of music is subject to the listener's fancy. If you, the listener have heard and absorbed a very broad sampling of different styles and genres, it becomes possible to evaluate it with a well-tuned and discriminate ear.
For example, when I was 12 I liked Meat Loaf. I bought
Bat Out Of Hell II and played the casette to death. As I grew older, I discovered that Meat Loaf was appropriate music for 12-year-olds who hadn't been exposed to much in the way of art. It was accessible, and it made sense. When I was 18 I listened to vocal house and trance. As you can imagine, as I grew into my 20's, I discovered that this too was appropriate music for a teenager with my interests at the time. However, I grew up and so too did my interests mature.
Along the way, I've gone back and looked at Floyd, Blowie, The Beatles, T. Rex, The Beach Boys, and several other groups and added their contributions to my repertoire as well. Having not been alive, or of an age to benefit from their work, it's vitally important that I sample it.. All of it.. or atleast that which I can get my hands on.
To draw an analogy, as I've gotten older, I've discovered what separates good scotch from bad scotch, good cheese from bad cheese, good olives from bad olives, and good steak from bad steak. When I was younger, I hadn't yet acquired these tastes. Today, few would argue my assertion that a ribeye is better than a flank steak, or a Glenliver is better than a Johnny Walker Red. With music it's the same principle, but with a different sensation (hearing vs. taste)
Keep in mind, that through this time, I was introduced repeatedly to other styles of music. I've probably listened to Wu Tang's
36 Chambers more than 99% of the people who really enjoy rap, simply by being around people who listened to it constantly. Over the years I have gained an appreciation for many styles and genres, and others I have simply endured, but endured with an open enough mind to listen and evaluate. As a result, my taste in rap music has refined itself over the years. Ditto for rock, folk, pop, jazz, contemporary, and every possible flavor of electronic you could dream up.
Some other styles of music, or artists, cannot be refined. Country music (with a few notable exceptions such as Johnny Cash) is predicated on its simplicity and ease of accessibility. Whereas rap has escaped many of its boundaries with the fusion of electronics and lyrical open-mindedness, Country is and always has been ankle-deep by design. Therefore, one
could ostensibly assert that almost all Country music is inferior in its depth and refinement than other styles of music. To say that Country is the Seagrams vodka of music wouldn't be too far amiss.
That aside, I don't find genre a good criteria to judge music, as all genres have redeeming qualities and artistic value.
I see music appreciation as a wide progression that moves in one direction. You go deeper, you go darker, and you get more complex. That is the tragedy of good art. It just keeps getting darker. Now don't misunderstand dark with evil. Dark simply means that it must explore what is beyond normal, and beyond life.. that which is
dark to us. To achieve that, we must go beyond the Top 40, beyond the tried and true, and beyond what's currently playing on the radio. We're extremely lucky to be alive in such an age where this great art is
everywhere and is constantly being created. To anyone who says, "Good music died in the 60's or 70's", to that person I say, 'You are a deaf fool.'
I'll keep looking for related reading...