"James Joyce once said that the sentimentalist is someone who indulges in an emotion without having earned it."

This quote that Peter brought up...
That's the main reason I have given up any hope of writing. (that...and the number of people out there critical enough to understand Joyce's point :^)......)

I agree with Jeri's initial premise (echoed many times) that the element of forced as opposed to natural is true to my sense of taste.

I get shivers when I play "Butcher's Girl" and hold the word "grave"

I sometimes can't finish "Wasn't Suppose to Be Like This" by Mallett.

Still, I find sappy tunes like "Save Your Heart For Me" (by that great folk group -- Gary Lewis and the Playboys) to be a great source of untapped, terrific melodies to do fingerstyle -- and people suddenly react sentimentally almost unawares, as the melody, but not the familiar arrangement, allows them to feel it differently.

so, I guess I'm also in the camp that says a performance or arrangement can make ALL the difference.