Steve Schwartz:

>But non-utility strikes me as basic to any art, if not every media.
>
>The question for me is: Do birds sing just for the hell of it?

Why not? The resident cardinals near my house sing an awfully lot more
than seems strictly necessary for territoriality or any other purpose
I'm aware of.  We really don't know, but I think we can allow for the
possibility that they sometimes simply like the sounds of their own voice.
(I'd love to know what mockingbirds "think" they are doing with their
extended repertoire.) As for human music, clearly marches have utility.
So do love songs.  But I agree that generally classical music doesn't.

Jim Tobin