For me, knowing "the secret", as you put it, almost always improves the thing for me. I love that, personally, because it means the more I get to know it or the person who created it the more I can enjoy it. Hip hop is a good example for me, too, actually. I never really enjoyed it until I started getting into different parts of the genre - Home Brew specifically. At first, I just enjoyed their lyrics and political content (*very* local) but then, the more I listened not just to them but to similar stuff the more I could appreciate the production and how it all works. It changes the way it "sounds" to me, too, because now I can tell when a track has been produced really well - or, even better, really interestingly - and I can enjoy it a lot more. Like I said, it's really interesting how this is different for you. Context and perspective is fascinating.