Well, to toss in a few things along the lines of my original argument, I'd like to say this. It is true that a lot of stuff that I see as crap is currently popular. Limp Bizkit fits into that category, as does Jerry Springer. (although, did you know that prior to his talk show, he was mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, and then he spent 6 years in Africa, helping out starving people?) But Madonna has kept up her popularity for nearly 20 years now, keeping a huge fan base despite dozens of complete image overhauls. I mean, who else in the music industry has been able to do that? David Bowie is the only one who immediately pops to mind. Maybe also Carlos Santana....in other words, she's in some pretty impressive company. It isn't necessarily a talent to please an audience once. But to do it continuously for decades....that is most definitely an enormous talent.