I think there’s a better explanation here: it’s not that said consumer’s taste is not objectively good enough yet, it’s that for some people, getting to shit all over everyone else’s taste is *the whole point* (or at least, a substantial perk) of having good taste to begin with. If I could indulge in a little armchair psychology here, I’d be willing to bet that most music nerds and film buffs were not exactly quarterbacking their football teams back in high school, and it’s not unusual for people who come up short when judged by the standards of their peers to seek out alternative criteria by which they come out on top. Most of us hipster wanker types grow out of this eventually, but I think if we’re honest with ourselves we’ll admit that attitude was not exactly foreign to our way of thinking when we were younger. This is also why the “top-40 sucks!” guy tends to be on the young side, in my experience.

Well, I’m not so low on the scale of taste that I fail to recognize it in others, but I’m definitely in the category above. I’ve spent most of my life not listening to really good rock and pop music* (instead accepting whatever was plopped before me via radio) and as I’ve discovered more and more good music these last few years, I’ve only lifted myself to the rung on the ladder that permits me to be aware of the fact that 95% of the people who are into really good music know about way much more music and have infinitely more subtle taste than I. Frankly, it’s depressing, but the only alternative is to listen to crap again. Art and movies? I don’t even bother.

*P.S. No, I don’t just mean ‘indie’ music either. I just mean good music, of whatever taste.