I've just been idly wondering -- why does everyone seem to prefer singer/songwriters to good singers? My ideas are:

-it's easy to prefer a song the way one first learned it. -we've an instinct to value the original -- heck, even I'd value an original Van Gogh *slightly* more than a good copy -there's the attraction of conformity -- that is, since in North America singer/songwriters are more highly esteemed than straight singers, good feelings one has for particular singer/songwriters are more likely to be reinforced by the community -there's attraction in uniqueness -- if you only have the money to buy the recording/go out and see *one* performer do the song, why not go and see the writer at the same time and there's only one way to do that... -many great singers are good enough that they're pleasant even when singing their own mediochre songs. -many great songwriters write so well that a collection of their songs is pleasant even when they sing it. -there is a certain pleasure in seeing a difficult task done well and singer/songwriting is more difficult. -there is some pleasure in finding good music, and perhaps more pleasure still in being among the first to find music that others will soon learn to appreciate -- that is more likely to happen with new songs from singer/songwriters.

some things I don't agree with: -one hears a lot about the authenticity of emotion expressed by singers singing songs they've written...and while there is some truth to the idea, I don't think most good songs are that *exact* that there can only be one "authentic" set of emotions for each song. For example, Prince's recorded "Nothing Compares to U" may be exactly what Prince wanted, but that doesn't mean that Sinead's interpretation doesn't contain "authentic" emotions true to the song.