@downshift.eth
something i have learned from studying and making music over the years: the audience is still affected by creative choices they don't explicitly notice.
there are so many layers and flourishes to things that almost no one without ear training could point out, but they fill out the character, atmosphere, groove, emotion etc. if you removed them, though, *then* people would notice, even if they're not sure about what
the level of detail in some of my favorite tracks kind of proves that they were made out of the artists' love for the craft. Rick Rubin is right about things so far as i can tell. and Pharrell