I don't understand...Why draw the line? Why stray away from mainstream music?

There're still good music being played on the radio, if you don't open your mind to it, you're never gonna experience it. When I say good I mean bands like Click 5, McFly, Busted, Oasis etc... and before you wanna point out that they're talentless muppets, ask yourself how much you know about songwriting.

My advice to ppl is, keep an open minded. Pop music is based on simple melodies and chords... the challenge is not to play as many notes as you could muster in a song, but to utilize these simple tools and capture the heart of the listener.