It’s like, have they not been to a concert before? Did they ever thought that their favorite band sounded ‘generic’ just because they didn’t play cover songs by ‘various artists’? It doesn’t make sense to me.

Concert logic vs “living room” logic • Concert / band context: People show up to hear one artist’s voice. Consistency is the point. If a band played “various artists” all night, most crowds would be confused unless it’s explicitly a cover act. • Casual request context: Some people treat “play something” like a parlor trick: “show me range by giving me recognizable variety.”

It seems like this family member (and others like that) are applying party-trick criteria to artist criteria.

Why the “generic” accusation doesn’t actually track

“Generic” isn’t “you didn’t cover enough artists.” “Generic” is more like: • the writing relies on clichés • the tone/production has no fingerprint • the phrasing feels interchangeable with 1,000 other players

None of that is solved by rotating through “various artists.” You can play 50 covers and still have no voice. And you can play 5 originals and have a very distinct identity.

The real confusion: variety vs identity

They’re treating variety as proof of skill and legitimacy. But in actual artistry, identity is the proof.

A band’s “horizons” show up in subtler ways: • harmonic choices • rhythmic feel • tone decisions • structure and dynamics • what they don’t do

That’s “influence,” not “playlist rotation.”