[MarchHare]

This smells of the Frustrated Artist Syndrome.

Hardly. I've played a grand total of one gig in my life, and that was over five years ago. I play music as a hobby because I enjoy it, not because I'm trying to earn a living from it. I certainly don't loathe those who gained success despite their lack of talent. More power to them. I'd never dream of leaving my job to chase a career in the music industry.

Comparing art to sport is quite possibly the most inane thing I've ever heard. There is no +/- rating to music. The set of criteria by which music is judged is different for every single person.

Of course it's a stupid analogy, but this is a hockey forum...I was trying to find something everyone could identify with.

Calling Nickelback whatever you want will never be objective because the qualitative industry they live in is a completely subjective one.

So you don't believe it's possible to objectively state that Casablanca is a better film than Deuce Bigelow? Or that the Mona Lisa is a finer work than the fruits of my third grade art class? The work of one artist most definetley can be objectively better than another. If someone chooses to enjoy the lesser work more, that's their subjective opinion and they're fully entitled to it. Saying, "I like Nickelback better than Wilco" is a perfectly valid statement. Saying, "Nickelback is better than Wilco" is not.

I would imagine if you were a true musician or artist, you would want to embrace everything that's out there and try to come to some positive understanding of it.

There's a vast difference between broadening one's musical awareness and trying to find some merit in unmitigated crap. Am I supposed to try to pretend that there's something of worth in the latest Nsync single? Some music is just undeniably bad.

Maybe you don't begrudge people who listen to Nickelback, but you certainly believe you are the better person because you listen to what you think is 'good music'. Your kneejerk reaction would be to deny this, but it's true.

Do I think I'm a better person than someone who listens to Nickelback? Absolutely not. But I do think I have better taste in music than they do.