[KilgoreTrout]

Pharcyde,

I think you're reading too much into my post. When I said, "Not to break any crayons" what I meant was "Not to piss anyone off." Apologies for annoying you.

I guess I don't know enough about the genre, but I'm also not sure I want to know more. My one rap cd, Ice Cube's The Predator, has exactly two cuts that I can enjoy (Can't Trust Em and Now I Gotta Wet Ya). The hip hop my friends listen to all seems to be variations on the themes in these two cuts.

I also said that the only difference between "high" and "low" music is how it is approached. I'm listening to a damn 311 tune as I type this. Intellectually stimulating? No. Fun? Yes.

To put it another way, I can't listen to a symphony or to a complex jazz record while I'm doing something else. It's too distracting. The music grabs my attention. Just the same, I find a good ST or Slackers or Aggrolites record to be the perfect compliment for writing, playing cards, driving, etc. because it helps me tune out other distractions without interfering with my thought process.

I's not just hip hop that the lables are producing assembly-line style, and it's certainly not a recent phenomenon for the labels to be manufacturing songs and talent. I remember well the hair bands of the 80s, and the Stonetemplesmashingpearlvanaofthedoginchains me too bands of the 90's. I'd love to have the money back that I spent on that stuff. I didn't realize that I was being marketed to and that the bands really weren't that good or original. I was too caught up in the trend. Yes, I feel stupid for blowing money on an inferior form.

I see your point that just like with any commercially successful genre there are degrees of goodness in hip hop. I probably haven't heard the best of the bands.

I have similar dislike for country music, but I won't get into that because I've already offended enough here.