I think grotesque caricature constitutes representation, vs. music that just takes a single aspect from here and there perhaps, and sort of hodgepodges together a production that is representative of nothing at all.

My point was (I think, anyway ... this is an old thread, so I can't remember very clearly) that we aren't even seeing grotesque caricature very much anymore. There was a lot of it throughout the 90s, and sure, there are some "indie" bands now, but when I look at the top 40, I'm not sure I see a whole lot of direct representation of the contemporary underground going on (grotesque or not).

Isn't most of the top 40 grotesque caricature either of hip-hop/R&B or alternative/indie?