Tom,

Allthough Z and Jean makes brilliant points, I still would not overanalyze the return from Taxi. Im not saying that Taxi are wrong about that particular point, but there seems to be some context missing from making a point of that particular statement.

Logically, obvious rhymes can work commercially because they are a known reference for the listener. They can also work as intertextual references (eg. the rhyme makes you intentionally/unintentionally think of another song/rhyme/text), or they can work to establish the genre you are writing in.

So, I think the obvious can work for the good too, especially if you make a point with it. I understand the critisism from a creative / artistic point of view, though, but I would not place my money on that avoiding repetition (in rhymes) is the standard in commercially oriented genres of music.