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You almost lost me with "In a weird way, it wasn't that different from punk." - you have it backwards, punk in the way you're envisioning it isn't really that different from pop, which is what Journey started making once Perry joined the band - but still, dead on. Discerning authenticity is a fool's pastime, and I'll take "Don't Stop Believing" over "Smells Like Teen Spirit" any day. Sure, Kurt's lyrical banalities are tucked in further, but the emotionalism of Perry's delivery just kind of renders words moot. When that track comes on in the car, the iTunes, the strip club, wherever - I go nuts like the coke dealer in Boogie Nights. ("Sister Christian" - another ostensibly trite pop slayer!)
This is why I got so pissed that Paul Rudd didn't come up with a better argument for Steely Dan in Knocked Up... they're like the fucking Beatles for me, and they routinely get slagged as yacht rock. Sheen is sometimes the time-release portion of the song capsule. Sometimes I need Half Japanese, but sometimes I need Brutal Juice. Lo-fi as an end is a joke. Fantastic post, David.
