Alfons
Way of the future
I'm not sure that "ironic appreciation" is all about listening to things and going "oh this is so silly", though. Maybe I have too high an opinion of hipsters, but I can't imagine that listening to loads of records that you genuinely don't enjoy would stay interesting for very long. I think it has more to do with listening to things where you actually like the sounds but aren't supposed to like the record according to your friends / tastemakers / whatever because it doesn't fit in with your current conception of what 'cool' is. So you can get of on the bass and the energy and if anyone asks why you're listening to this and not po-faced indie you can give them a knowing "aaaah" and it's okay. This works for soft rock and cheesy pop as well as it does for rave.
Im not saying they don't like the tunes, but I think their appreciation for them is somewhat ironic. The "tastemakers" used to deem rave/ragga jungle as silly or dead, these nu rave hipsters take a liking to these tunes (old rave music isn't very demanding I guess?) but at the same time there is an ironic detachment; "its so 90's", "silly music" etc... I think a lot of the time these people aren't sure wether they genuinely like something or if it's just tongue in cheek, this goes for music, fashion, tv, movies, books... everything.
Im always reminded of the Homperpalooza Simspon episode when two teenagers are speaking of Homer as the cannonball guy:
Teen1: Oh, here comes that cannonball guy. He's cool.
Teen2: Are you being sarcastic, dude?
Teen1: I don't even know anymore.