BEP have their place. Not all music has to be enlightening or cathartic - and BEP is certainly entertaining at times. I have listened to a bunch of their older stuff (pre-Fergie and with) and some of it is outright great. Watching their evolution has been interesting. The BEP can be great in concert. Fergie has a great voice and it's a real treat when she uses it as in Shadorne's clip, and she can be a commanding presence on stage. And as a group, they really seem to enjoy making concerts special experiences for concert-goers.
Has anyone here who dismisses BEP decided 'against their better judgment' that someone else, also similarly dismissed, was actually worth listening to from time to time? For me it was Eminem, but after spending some time listening, I'm in the 'I'll listen' camp rather than the 'I'll dismiss' camp. Serious people over the past many decades have similarly dismissed jazz, Elvis, the Beatles, all manner of hip hop, punk, funk, you name it.
It is great to have an open mind... I've discovered so much interesting stuff that way that 'serious' people have tried to warn me off... Plus, it is so much better doing the Oprah block party dance in my living room to BEP than to Glen Gould... And geez... who in their right mind would not have wanted to be a part of that? That would have been so much fun, and the first time I saw it I got the shivers.
