Just thinking about a very short discussion I had on DIS earlier about like and dislike of 'fake' music. I was adamant then that 'fake' was wrong, and you would be missing something if you did not notice the passion/soul behind the songs.

Well, I'm going back on that!
I think I was missing the point totally. The analogy is between music and acting. If you see a good actor, you will believe in the sentiments he portrays. He 's not playing himself. He's got the skills to make you believe whatever he wants you to see/feel.

This explains why you can have wonderful musicians and yet, the music's not getting to you. It has missed its purpose and falls flat like a badly scripted play.
True that sometimes musicians will put a bit of their own soul in their songs, but they don't have to. What a musician needs is purpose.
If their purpose is for you to have a good time and enjoy yourself and they succeed - mission accomplished really.

I feel really foolish, it's like discovering you've been thinking all the time that Anthony Hopkins was really Norman Bates and killed all these women!

Yes, so sincerity has got nothing to do with it.