OMG Stephen Colbert & David Byrne...

[blogslut]

Just watched the replay of last night's show on Hulu.

That was the secksyiest geekfest I've seen in ages. :)

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. David Byrne is another of those unsung heroes of the music world.

The American Idol fanbase and pop music listeners should be bowing down in holy gratitude for the people they're too goddamned stupid to ever care: David Byrne, Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, Les Paul, David Bowie, Phil Specter, but without whom even their filthy musical tastes wouldn't be addressed today.

[WinkyDink]

2. Watch your pretensions. I am both a fan of "American Idol" and a worshipper of the ground Phil

Spector---with an "o"---walked on to create his Wall of Sound.
I had Mothers of Invention albums in college.

Interestingly, the only AI winner totally scorned is Taylor Hicks, who has the exact musical cred and heroes (Brother Ray and Ray LaMontagne, e.g.) that would seem to fit your criteria.

Frankly, I think everybody should bow down to Tom Paxton and the Chad Mitchell Trio, but that's just me.

[jpgray]

3. All those you mention are hardly unsung

Depending on the community you're looking at, Eno/Bowie/etc. are in the top frequency of name-checks and hero worship. And such communities are neither small nor lacking influence. If you're looking for Disney channel pop fans to pay homage to these guys, then yeah, you may be looking for too much. :D