&gt;I can enjoy music who&#x27;s rules I am not familiar with. I don&#x27;t need to know the rules to enjoy tonal and rythmic arrangements.<p>You don&#x27;t need to know the rules, but most people will enjoy music whose rules they are familiar with. It&#x27;s entirely possible I can put on some Mahori music or <i>Trout Mask Replica</i> and you will enjoy it, but I strongly suspect you are in the minority. Most people (myself included) will need time to adapt to music that is radically different than what they are used to.<p>Which is why I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s fair to call Bowie a &quot;consummate outsider&quot;. There is no question he became a beacon for those who were outside of cultural norms, but he achieved that by working in one of the most culturally constricted artistic mediums available.