..well that leaves your rather wonderful monthly roundup of "what people are listening to" a little null and void, does it not?
It seems to me that musicians fall into two categories in regard to this subject.People who are musicians first and fans second or vice-versa.
I've been a professional musician most of my adult life, but I started as a diehard fan and will die as one.
Mark states on the podcast that musicians find it equally painful to hear brilliant music and awful music, but speaking for myself, when I heard Richard Thompson's "Beeswing," (one of the great songs of the last 50 years,) my heart leapt with joy that something so miraculous had come into being. As a songwriter, I felt no envy and no need to copy it (conciously or not)
Your magazine constantly features musicians who are first and foremost, (I beleive) fans: Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson, Robyn Hitchcock, Springsteen etc.
It doesn't mean they're incapable of creating great music (obviously) it just means they're that type.