That said…

As odd as this may sound, I would rather have a conversation with someone who has their own, independently-developed appreciation for even something wildly popular (read: crap) than someone who rejects popular things simply because they ARE popular.

There’s no crime in liking Journey because you genuinely feel they make good music. The problem is when you like Journey because you have no idea what else is out there, or when you read Dan Brown because that’s the outer limits of what you can think of as a decent book.

There’s a term, “middlebrow,” that perfectly sums up what Brown and people like him are putting out. It gives you the feeling of being an intellectual without actually forcing you to rethink anything.