<> I actually think this is an interesting discussion, though I can obviously see the powder-keg possibilities that are inherent... I've often wondered about these things myself. First off, I disagree with Zappa: music, like all art, is a form of expression, and it's often at its best when it has social relevance, when it acts as a commentary of the world around us. This doesn't mean it has to be explicitly political, but I appreciate music and art that are relevant; I appreciate deriving an additional understanding of the world around me from the music I listen to. For example, Blur and Fountains of Wayne are my two favorite bands. Neither is truly "political," but both wrote a great deal of songs that looked at small, everyday issues of everyday people and tried to extrapolate details and assign meaning to these events. While some may accuse either of being condescending (and it's true at times, especially for the latter), I never got that: I think the songs of both are genuine, heart-felt, and almost poignant portraits of the almost-real-life of someone you could know, in the world we currently live. Personally, I enjoy when the music that I listen to has some sort of meaning or purpose, whether that be social or political or emotional or whatever other reason... I don't really disqualify any one category. However, I also have the benefit of having a good many musicians ascribe to a similar set of ideologies of my own, at least in the realm of music that I tend to listen to. Granted, I do listen to some people who are often thought of as conservatives--Graham Parker, The Kinks, and to bring this to Audities-land, The Elms--and while it generally doesn't bother me because I enjoy the music itself, sometimes I do wonder: Am I being preached against? Am I endorsing a message that is not only in opposition to my own beliefs, but often is dismissive at best or hateful at worst to me as a person (I don't mean to be hyperbolic about it; this could very well be the case). For the same reason, an awful lot of mainstream hip-hop is completely off the radar for me, though truth be told I wouldn't listen to a majority of it anyway. (There's PLENTY of good hip-hop, but 50 Cent ain't it). So anyway, I guess my point is that it's a tricky thing to pin down on all sides. At the least, however, I think that music has the ability to make us understand things we wouldn't normally understand, and that's why I haven't shut out the (admittedly limited) number of conservative musicians that I have in my collection. I suspect from her initial email that Sarah and I probably sit at far sides of the political spectrum, but I can also understand how she might feel alienated by a greater share of our form of indie-power-pop than I would, too. --J