[David]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Ah, but youI feel touching the lives of massive audiences with a very unconventional voice, abstruse lyrics and only limited musical ability is a true success.

I've said it before & I'll say it again: Stevie plays piano better than Christine does.

Anyone can appeal to the ears with bells, whistles and other technical wizardry.

No, actually anyone can't. A lot of people amass technique & facile tricks & then bombard you with them, but the resultant junk doesn't necessarily appeal to your eyes or any other part of your body.

I'm more impressed by someone who can appeal to the heart. And the hearts of hundreds of thousands, at that.

Stew, it's okay to prefer "The Sound of Music" (remember Kael's description of moisture being "squeezed out of millions of eyes & ears"?) to "Citizen Kane." Don't apologize for it!

It's unfair & inaccurate of you to make the Fleetwood Mac situation a zero sum game: either you're emotionally moving millions of people or you're nothing but a technician. Sometimes you're doing both & sometimes you're doing neither. The greatest of artists join feats of technique with that emotional strength that you find in Jean Renoir ("The Rules of the Game," "A Day in the Country"). In such artists, form & content truly become insoluble.

Furthermore, some of the greatest "emotional" artists never became widely known, let alone loved, until decades after their death -- if at all.

Finally, as regards my "Sound of Mucus" ... er "Music" mention, it's always been true that much of what appeals to people's emotions can be superficial, tearjerky, mawkish, trite, banal, sentimental, etc. Moving thousands or even millions of people can't in & of itself be considered an aesthetic virtue. The work still has to stand by itself & be judged in at least somewhat formalistic terms.

By the way, I reject that "emotional" label for art because it sets up a false dichotomy. All great & even good art has emotional impact -- otherwise, it wouldn't last by resonating with generation upon generation. Even a highly cerebral, technically complex Bach fugue connects with listeners emotionally -- often in a way that is much more lasting & powerful than the more syrupy sounds of, say, a Michel Legrand theme.