Letters to the Editor
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The eye of the beholder
Music works in our ears and brains in an idiosyncratic way that is different for every person. You like this but can't stand that, while I adore that but think this is shit. Everyone has his own standard, and that's as it should be.
It's ridiculous to say one kind of music is "bad" and another is "good", especially since the vast majority of people who say so use "good" to mean "what I like and understand, whether I had to learn to do so or not" and "bad" to mean "crap I could never like". That's elitism, no matter what kind of music you're talking about. The idea that there's "good" art and "bad" art mainly goes towards giving critics a way to make a living, and viewers and audiences a way to feel good about themselves and look down on people who don't agree with them.
I've never liked atonal music, but I can't say that it's "bad". I just know I don't like it. Likewise, I think Brahms and Chopin are beautiful (just as I think the music of Paul Simon and the Beatles are beautiful), but that's my own taste. I'm sure there people who think they suck, and they're perfectly right. For them.
The bottom line is, if you like it, it's good music for you, and the opposite as well. Sweeping pronouncements about what constitutes quality in music (other than knowing how to play your instrument) only serves to separate people, and can alienate some from appreciating the music under discussion.