I work in a college and get to see a lot of kids coming through who like Happy Hardcore... but they also like RnB and Drum and Bass in equal measure. Usually through the sound of tinny sony ericson speakers.

The hardcore scene is MAHOOSIVE and i get the impression its a well run, commercially viable form of entertainment. But then the people who run it obviously realised YEARS ago that it was entertainment - not really an underground scene, but a way for people to enjoy themselves. They started out doing massive events and stuck with it - pleasure island, doncaster dome, destruxion etc etc. Its the dance music equivalent of stadium rock.

@Jay - dont you think most genres of music are stuck in time, one way or another? I do - but thats why people like them i think.

Minimal? - i like it, it works, people enjoy it, there's crap tunes and great tunes. Good production is what counts, vibe and spirit and you'll always get that when a group of musicians get into a sound.