Extending your argument, I would say there is at least one other area where minimalists can be a bit snobby - technique. There have been really explosive threads on here in which technique minimalists claim creative superiority. Numerous posters have called for me to leave the forums for pointing out that very often the minimalists in question are claiming artistic credit for not using an ability they don't possess. I really really really got into hot water when I mentioned a certain fable by Aesop. OK I'm running now.
LOL - back to that old chestnut, eh? Average, I believe the term that got you in bother was saying some people here "can't play for crap" while suggesting that they claim artistic credit for not using an ability they don't possess.
However, when ordinary drummers take a minimalist approach it could be could be said they are just making lemonade from a lemon. IMO it's a whole lot better than trying to make a
Lemon Elaborer Plat Au-delà de la Capacité de Chacun et Finit par Sonner Désordre when one only has a lemon at one's disposal. That just results in a messy kitchen and a meal that's hard to digest.
Of course, someone with the fish, vegetables and sauces at their disposal can make a fabulous dish (eg. Vinnie, Joey Baron, all the old jazz guys etc etc etc) - to stretch the metaphor to breaking point ... but IMO those with drumming "lemons" are better off making "lemonade".
That was always the point. What you saw as minimalist snobbery was basically a pep talk for us primitive drummers to remind ourselves not to overstep our abilities and get sloppy. And, of course, we were looking at the bright side. ... that is, flawed music played by flawed musicians can have appeal ... as long as we don't play in such a way that we aren't trying to convince ourselves and others that we're "good drummers" and just play the music with passion and a spirit of fun. Sorry, that was a convoluted sentence. Does it make sense?
In short, that argument was just another big, fat misunderstanding with no participants having as sinister motives as made out by the "opposing camp". That fight's over as far as I'm concerned. Truce?
When it comes to minimalism I've always wanted to be as resourceful as I can with the bare minimum. That probably comes from being raised by a refugee who grew up through the Great Depression and WWII and a mother who grew up in a very rough, working class home. A frugal drumming approach seems to work nicely for someone with slow paradiddles like me, so I'm happy.
It doesn't stop me from being a fan of all those fab players in my
YouTube Favourites that I posted earlier, though.