And i'm wondering, would the musical landscape be a better, worse or not-really-that-different place if it had never existed?

i'm thinking what it might be like if it had never had happened. Maybe it would still be like 2000 was, which in some respects was exciting (a more varied approach by the mainstream to 'alternative' music, bands being given longer than one album to make an impression on the music industry) but in other respects was pushing turgid or bland 'scenes' and bands like NAM, Papa Roach and Coldplay (remember them?) And was it 'Is This It' that made all the difference?

Then again, i was thinking of what i believe wouldn't have existed without 'Is This It', and a lot of them are really quite horrid. Transmission With T Mobile. Conor McNichols (or whatever) becoming famous. Razorlight (ho?), The Horrors, Arctic Monkeys and whole swathes of vom-prompters finding the impetus to be bands. Was it worth it?

What was the question again?

(It's still an album i like though.)