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Good question, Elspeth.

My enjoyment of anything, including Clay, can be affected by others' opinions, but it depends heavily on the presentation of those opinions. Anyone reading what I am about to say, PLEASE do not assume I am referring to you or take my comments personally, okay?

When I read an articulate, well reasoned negative opinion of something Clay has said or done on camera, it does make me examine the issue in question more carefully (whether it is a video, his wardrobe, his voice on a particular song, or an entire performance). Sometimes I will come to the conclusion that the negative opinion is nonsense. Sometimes I will find it has merit. I might even change my earlier positive opinion if the negative comments make me see things I missed or view things in a new perspective. I don't think this makes me fickle, just open to reason.

If I read a positive opinion of something I don't like about Clay (shocking I know, I actually don't think he's Jesus!) I may shift my opinion toward the positive if given a valid reason to do so. Except when it comes to those baggy butt jeans. Nothing anyone ever says will make me like them.

However, when someone posts comments that are purely subjective, they do not sway me, though they may tend to irritate me if they are repeated often enough without any further substantiation, as though the writer believes repeating "I hate it!" or "I love it!" will somehow convince everyone else that they should do the same. This does not affect my appreciation of Clay or his musical artistry at all.

Example: If you're going to say you hate The Way video because it doesn't have Clay kissing a girl/dancing with a girl/it's not hot/it's not sexy, okay that's your taste, you are welcome to it, but I don't necessarily share it and if you keep shoving it at me in an effort to get my agreement I'm going to become testy.

If you are going to point out (for example) the roughness in the video's scene transitions, that you think the directing and editing are flawed, or you question whether the scenes adequately represent the song, okay, I'm hearing you. I'll look at the video again and see if I agree with you. And I'll respect the effort you make to do more than just say "I hate this."

Any way around it, what other people say will not ruin my appreciation of Clay and his music. He's not going to bullseye everything he does; pointing out reality (like the fact that some songs are better vehicles for his voice than others) only helps me see his artistry more clearly and appreciate true excellence when he acheives it.

By the way, (no pun intended) I liked your Sushi metaphor, Elspeth. I used to hate sushi on principle (it being raw fish). Then I finally listened to someone explain what they liked about it and their recommendations to introduce my palate to it. Using their suggestions I tried it myself and found that I really do enjoy some varieties. I relied on intelligent input balanced with my own tastes...much the way I approach Clay's music.

Edited to better answer the actual question.

In rereading this thread, I realize I was approaching the concept with an eye to whether I would dialogue with someone who expressed an opinion about Clay that differed from mine. I do think it comes down ultimately to taste, and that's not something that can be objectively discussed.

I completely agree that some people are insecure in their tastes and may feel threatened when another person disagrees with them. In the case of their Clay enjoyment, such disagreeing points of view might well ruin their experience if they lack belief in their own taste as being valid.

My mother never trusted her own ability to pick out any home furnishings, believing that if she paid someone who did it for a living (but who did not have the least concept of what instinctively appealed to my mother) she'd get a house that was decorated much more "tastefully" than if she just chose what she liked. I still can't quite get my head around that. And our formal living room and dining rooms ended up being, IMHO, expensive nightmares.