the audience

People always say the airwaves are polluted with junk.  Sometimes they are right, but people go way overboard in that notion.  I swear, every genre of popular music has been accused of being 'generic' - hair metal, folk-pop, modern (post-1999) emo, new wave, etc....
  I think a lot of these accusations come from people who are A) jaded and stone-hearted and B) people who are out of touch with their emotions and just want to hear sound rather than feel anything significant.
  What's really annoying is people saying "every song could be a hit" when they comment on a CD.  Cartel's CHROMA (2005) was a very energetic and emotional journey, but there's a good portion of that CD that either doesn't click when heard at random and/or just doesn't compare to a solid-gold pop song.  Even the two 'hits' on the album - "Honestly" and "Say Anything (Else)" were not highly successful.  Then there's people who review 80's albums written by a band who had some name recognition after having a hit or two but didn't want to or couldn't keep the fire burning.  Mr. Mister had an album in 1985 called "Welcome To The Real World" that had a couple songs that made them a household name - those two songs are still played on the radio to this day.  "Kyrie" and "Broken Wings" (especially the latter) are classic pop.  For whatever reason their follow up "Go On" (1986) had nothing half as good as the aforementioned hits.  And if it did, the songs would have been on the radio then fizzed out.  People don't want mediocrity on the radio.  At least back then they didn't.  Five year olds used to be treated like five year olds - that is, they've got a lot to learn.  I'm pretty sure the average request for "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" by the Backstreet Boys was made by an overprivilidged grade schooler.  Your average five year old is apt to think PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is genius.  They are the culprit for mediocrity on the radio.  It's not the "general public" that was/is DYING to hear some awkward example of shallow songwriting - it's the general public in the making forcing the general public to put up with it b/c not doing so is a waste of time in their eyes.
  Johny Hates Jazz also had a classic 80's song - "Shattered Dreams".  Very smooth, slick while also managing to be very melodious and heartfelt.  Your average review on Amazon will ignore TURN BACK THE CLOCK (1987)'s shortcomings, ie the fact that "Shattered Dreams" is the only song they're likely to remember a few+++ days after listening to it and that the only reason they'll ever put the album back in their CD player is b/c they paid $10++ for it and by golly they might as well use it.  After all, they can't remember the album being BAD.  Of course not.  They can't remember ANYTHING about the album - the word for the opposite would be "memorable".  If it's not memorable, why bother?  B/c you made the mistake of buying an album just for one song?
  Men At Work isn't really an example of mediocrity.  However, their music is a matter of taste, which varies from person to person.  I personally think the opening track from CARGO (1983) is a nicely wicked groove with some nice melodious moments, but it's not the kind of song that you run out to your local record store and buy.  It's more of the kind of song that you find at WalMart while you're buying groceries and you're just passing by the music department browsing idly; you find it for a good price and figure "why not?  I've got nothing better to do with my money" and you add it to your cart and keep moving.  Chances are you won't even listen to it when you get home.  It may very well sit there for weeks or maybe months.
  It seems a lot of people can't tell the difference between a solid gold pop song and album filler and songs that are awesome but don't appeal to most airwave listeners.  I don't know how to explain the difference.  All I know is Genesis' "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was a very good song before it got cut in half, but nonetheless it WAS cut in half, and in that form it became a Top 10 hit.  My tastes are kind of quirky, so naturally I like the 9 minute freeform expressionistic version, and I also like the 12" remix of "Land of Confusion" that it seems most people don't even know exist.  Those who bought INVISIBLE TOUCH (1986) didn't mind hearing a 10 minute suite with cryptic lyrics ("Domino"), but it is a select few who actually LIKE or LOVE that song.  I think the former attitude is where these four and five star customer reviews of albums like Mr. Mister's GO ON and Johny Hates Jazz's TURN BACK ON THE CLOCK come from.
  If people had to put up with whatever the DJ played on the radio, it probably wouldn't bother too many people.  It would bother the artists though - they expose their passions and work hard at getting the job done right and some random music snob gets to decide if they pulled it off?  That doesn't mean anything to them.  To know that a song is on the radio because millions of people across the country are taking the time out of their day to call up the radio station and tell the DJ that it must be heard I'm sure is a rewarding experience to the artists.  It lets the artists know that their passion is mutual and that the universal language of music has been translated well.