i saw that there was already some discussion of this a little while ago, but it struck a chord with me so i wanted to add my 2 cents.
i've been pondering and from time to time ranting about the absurdity we facin the the fac that the underround music scene has started to demand sound quality that exceeds what can be done on an underground budget.
once upon a time, kids with next to nothing got real excited about hearing other kids with next to nothing make some terrible racket on stage. punk rock. it sounded bad, but it meant something.
acid techno, same story, but injected with alien technology from another dimension (hidden inside the tb303). raw energy that really spoke to people who were open to it at an emotional level.
no complicate things with progressive, psytrance, sexy french house, etc. music that has enough in common with the underground that they recognize it as being their music, yet also appeals to a big enough market to actually make some money, and gets produced in big ass, wicked sounding studios. (i love psytrance, btw)
now all of a sudden if the production doesn't sound like it came from a super pro studio, it's no good, even if the composition and arrangement are stellar.
it's like the ravers are spoiled, and have forgotten their roots. alas, not much i can do about it except whine and complain! :)