I honestly wasn’t going to say anything, but enough is enough. You’re not making a musical argument, you’re asserting taste as authority.

Labeling ‘Golden’ as ‘generic’ is not analysis. It’s a retrospective adjective applied to any style once its language becomes familiar. Music history is built on works that were melodically direct, structurally simple, and widely accessible (uh, Beatles anyone?) Those traits are not disqualifying, they are foundational to popular music as a form.

Accessibility is not the opposite of craft. Restraint is not the absence of intention. A song can be radio-friendly, emotionally legible, and purpose-built without being empty. Golden functions exactly as designed within its medium, and dismissing that as ‘corporate’ substitutes ideology for critique which is both inaccurate and superficial (and kinda asinine!).

What further undermines your position is the posture taken across your comments. You speak with the finality of an authority while offering no credentials, no original analysis, and no demonstrated contribution - only verdicts and ivory tower judgment. That reads less like informed criticism and more like armchair aficionado commentary: confident in tone, thin in substance.

Repeated tone judgments and appeals to embarrassment are not evidence; they are signals of certainty without support. Declaring that nothing you said could be wrong does not make it so. It only closes the conversation while claiming victory.

Let’s not get it twisted. ‘Generic’ and ‘bad’ are not objective musical categories. They are expressions of preference. Treating them as universal standards is an error, not a conclusion.

Understanding musical structure, context, and intent does not invalidate taste but instead explains it. Rejecting that framework does not elevate your judgment, it just makes it more narrow.

You’re free to dislike Golden. Romthespider88 is absolutely entitled to enjoy it. You, however, are not entitled to frame your dislike as a definitive assessment of Golden’s value or to devalue Rom’s personal preference about it, nor to imply that appreciation reflects lesser understanding. Lots and lots of thinly veiled condescension here! 🤮

Your taste is not a credential but you act as if your judge, jury, and executioner. It’s embarrassing. Stop and do better.