"Relevant" - What The F Does it Mean?

Um, depends how "relevant" is being used?

How about - seems to be connected with, or offer insight into, or make sense of the world as the listener perceives it.

The other sense it gets used in assumes that music progresses, and that some bands at certain times feel more crucial to this progress than others, eg. Jimi Hendrix and Cream would have been seen as "relevant" in 1968 whereas Wild Honey by the Beach Boys would not. (NB I'm not saying I agree with this).

What makes a band etc relevant = making my best of year tracking lists.

Relevant = interesting. something innovative or something old done in an interesting way. relevant music tends to sound good. example: The Buzzcocks ///

Irrelevant = tired. boring. pandering. music that's made for the wrong reasons. maybe it sounds good, maybe it's catchy, but at the close of the day, it sucks. Example: Belle & Sebastian

i maybe would sometimes take it to be a band connected with contempary issues and culture...?

Yeah Tim OK but why not just use "interesting"?

Tom, good point... but take B&S for example. 'If You're Feeling Sinister' was an album I loved. What does B&S do to follow it up? They start handing everybody in the band a microphone. Are they still interesting? Yes. Are they interesting AND exciting AND crafting music that means something? No. They're simply trying their best to be obscure. They're irrelevant... in my opinion. Calling a certain band/artist relevant or irrelevant is subjective. There's a legion of B&S fans out there who disagree. They'll blabber on... B&S this, B&S that. Heck, they were the new Smiths a short time back, according to some. But they're now just a catchphrase for the kids out there who try to latch onto scenes. To me, B&S are irrelevant. They're only interesting as an example of how not to have a career in music.