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Read other letters about this article
I had no idea that all of this denunciation of deferring from ABBA would so quickly, seamlessly, and self-importantly sound the notes of the hatred of "elites" that the Republican Party has fostered. It's amazing.
From the letters so far, I learn that:
Intellect is bad.
Liking ABBA for being popular is good.
People who dislike ABBA are snobs.
People who like ABBA are fun.
It's rather like a McCain caucus all of a sudden. The truth is that we in the punk movement (I was one of them, and my Elvis was Costello), and all of the supposedly "unlistenable" "College rock" bands since, have been united by one thing: desiring to put the person above the corporation, mistrust of for-profit entities, and a belief that believing in one's music is better than designing it. ABBA was the negative of all of those beliefs, and their revival is, too.
If people want to praise the Big Mac for its popularity, that is fine, but if they want to claim that it is haut cuisine because it is popular, then they are misguided. If they want to have reminiscences of their first Whopper with Cheese, that's fine, too, but that has nothing to do with its culinary value.
Since I was a punk, I have gone on to be other things, and one of these is an analyst of culture. Saying that something is pleasurable is rather like saying that something has mass: it is meaningless by itself except to the one getting the pleasure. Ask why ABBA and ask how ABBA came to be the Chicken McNugget of the 1970's. You're not a fool for enjoying it, but you would be one if you let that convince you that it was good for you or the nation or the world.
