[luxinterior]

I think it goes beyond respect. When all I can say about an artist is that I respect them, it usually means that I don't listen to their music, but they can play well, or some other thing. Or maybe they influenced a lot of musicians that I do listen to. And what sort of thing counts? I mean, when I saw this topic, the first things that came to mind were Michael Jackson, Prince, Culture Club, and whatnot, because I love them, and they are all different kinds of popular music. But then I see other people listing Radiohead, and while although they are mainstream, no "indie" fan is going to tease you mercilessly for liking them. Maybe if you said Marilyn Manson or something, like I was going to say, then yes, the criticism will be there. But I treat him and his band the same way I do any other band I listen to. For instance, I will say something like "I don't like the band unless Twiggy is in it," which is true. But I say the same kind of thing about other bands that I listen to that aren't as popular. The difference is that most people already have a sort of concept of people who listen to Marilyn Manson, whatever it may be. So if I were to tell someone that I like to listen to Nick Cave, T. Rex, and Marilyn Manson, chances are that they will latch on to the Manson thing and try to peg me down by that alone, because it is the most recognizable, even though the other two are well-known enough to have their albums sold in most music-selling chain stores. And with T. Rex especially, they were at one point the biggest band in the world, but still no one I went to school with was familiar with them (even though they may have listened to David Bowie and things of that sort). So what I'm saying is that I think it's a cop-out to list bands that are indie rock favorites, even though they may be popular. So when I consider popular mainstream artists to list, obviously Michael Jackson is going to be infinitely more popular than Sonic Youth and bands with their degree of popularity.