is several things. First off, I do want the artist to bring something new to the table. If you listen to pop music, all you hear is the same formula used and recycled repetitively. This gets very old, and I believe this is why most people on this sight despise the pop culture with a passion. Not to mention that most pop artists lack even half of the actual skill that the Okayplayer artists bring consistantly. Then I look at the artists background. What is their lifestyle like? How many people do you think this person kicked down to get where they're at now? Things like that. And does this person really put a piece of themselves into their work? Do they have a writing style that shows actual signs of talent? Did they even write their music, or is some ghostwriter the one to be credited? After I filter out these aspects, then I look for things that I can relate to in the songs. Is this song one that can bring up some old memories? Can I relate some future occasion? How does the song make me feel on first listen? I could go through all of these things, or I could just hear a good song, crave more, and go looking for the artist. Either way, I've never heard Toshi yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to his stuff. (Damn, I even bored myself with this one LOL! Sorry, ya'll!)
-B