This dismissal of The Police as a lesser band is what I'm trying to get at. I chose Talking Heads because they were making music in the same time period and genre. The post is already mostly about The Police, but I just mentioned Talking Heads as a point of comparison. In my eyes at least, the bands are both great and they each offer something that the other does not. I think The Police are very underrated in the underground, especially compared to a similar band like Talking Heads, and I wanted to hear why people don't hold them to as high of a standard. I see The Police as being just as good.

I don't think their mainstream appeal is simply what disqualifies them. Ask anyone here what they think of The Beatles, or Radiohead, for example.

I'm sorry you feel my post is a "nondiscussion," because that's the opposite of what I was going for.