Music production advice

I'm an amateur musician, but what I really want to do is produce.  Since nobody cares, I will dish on some of my oblique strategies:

Part 1: Rock music

1. No creative drumming!  No excessive hardware usage, no excessive percussion, and no weird time signatures.  Same applies to bass.  The back beat should be spare and tight.
2. Serve the song and melody first. Guitar wankery will be abolished.  All keyboard solos will be destroyed (I'm looking at you, Ray Manzarek).  Effects pedals are permitted, but it'd better improve the song or piss off, Metal Zone.
3. Lyrical content and vocals are important.  Here's a short list of AVOIDS: Anything remotely Michael Stipe inspired (bad beat poetry), crybaby emo crap, cookie monster anything, and vintage bluesman posturing (unless you're ZZ Top or JJ Cale, notice the two-letter trend?). 
4.  Lastly, do not conceptualize the music upfront.  It can turn out good, but too much thought kills the artform.

Next up: Rap music