Life holds no surprises for this tired old man. Thompson obviously partied too much one summer and never got over it. In the same way that there's nothing lasting about his contribution to culture, there is nothing of worth in his taste. The link between popular music and culture has been well documented. From Andy Warhol's Factory collaboration with the Velvet Underground in the '60s to clothes designer Vivienne Westwood's Sex shop shenanigans along the Chelsea Rd.
Pop music is ephemeral, throwaway.
It's there to be used one day, discarded the next. If their tastes are a reflection of their own selves, then surely most artists have the same inner, shallow selves as the rest of us. One look at his CD's track listing should warn you off from buying his unreadable novels.