Albie wonders at my previous posts:

>Popular music fans, BTW, don't simply walk into the CD store and pick up a
>random recording, either...  they either heard a song or two from an album
>over the radio or on MTV, enjoyed the musicians' previous recordings, or
>got recommendations along the lines of "If you liked so-and-so,
>then you'll love this-and-that."

You know, I've read that and fallen for it and have been sorry more times
than I care to count.  The only way I know whether I will love this or that
is to actually hear it.  Even so, I've been sorry, as I fall out of love
with these suggestions and realize I've been the pawn of evil advertisers
and of the cultural moment.

>*Routinely* plunking down $16-20 for one random and totally unknown item,
>from among millions of similar-appearing others, in hopes of striking
>gold...  that's just foolish.

That's why I suggested checking out the local library for recordings.
Others have suggested CM radio.  Granted, a lot of standard rep gets
played, but I never meant to suggest that standard rep is terrible or
old-hat or washed-up or uncool.  I *like* standard rep, after all.  On the
other hand, I didn't always, with certain exceptions.

You're trying to come up with a "safe" purchase.  There is no such thing,
because each person's taste is individual.  The point is, if money's a
significant problem, to hear as much for free as you can and take notes on
what you like and what you don't.  Buy on that basis.  You can throw away
your money on Beethoven's Fifth if you don't care for Beethoven's Fifth,
just as you can throw your money away on Stockhausen's Stimmung if that's
not your cup of tea.  When I started seriously listening, I found out I
didn't like Brahms (excepting certain pieces) and am only just coming
around to Chopin.  On the other hand, I loved Ives, Stravinsky, Gershwin,
Mussorgsky, Poulenc, Milhaud, Purcell, Josquin, Byrd, Morley, Weelkes,
Honegger, Cowell, a whole bunch of British composers, Weill, Bloch,
Schoenberg (after a couple of listens), none of which I would have gotten
to had I gone some "rational," predetermined route or confined myself to
what people told me was "sure-fire" repertoire, which in my case usually
failed to fire.

I went to the library, because my public library (Cleveland, Ohio) had
an extensive collection of classical albums.  I rummaged through the card
catalogue.  I chose on the basis of title.  If the title intrigued me, I
borrowed the album.  So my first trip, I took home Purcell's "Dido and
Aeneas" and "Saul and the Witch at Endor," Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue,"
Stravinsky's "Oedipus Rex," Weill's "Threepenny Opera" (which had an Ella
Fitzgerald tune on it), and the Bach English Suites.  If I liked the
recordings, I made a note of the composers and next time borrowed their
works sporting more abstract titles, with words like "symphony,"
"concerto," and "string quartet" in them.  I also wrote down performers
I liked and explored their albums.

I should stress, however, that this wasn't sure-fire either.  For example,
I didn't particularly like Piston's Incredible Flutist.  I eventually got
to Piston's wonderful symphonies because they were recorded by Hanson,
and I tended to enjoy Hanson's albums.  Also, I borrowed Brahms's Haydn
Variations, which led me to his first piano concerto, both of which I liked
very much.  However, the first concerto led me to the second, which bored
the snot out of me.  On the other hand, it was all free music.  I didn't
spend a dime, except for the streetcar.  It was a cheap good time and a lot
of fun during the week as I listened and re-listened to the albums I
borrowed.

>>>I suppose the library is a possibility, but still Sure part of the fun
>>>of CM is that it can be challenging...  but does finding what you really
>>>like have to be such a grind?
>>
>>No. One doesn't have to look at all.  Think of all the time one saves!
>
>This one loses me completely...  is there some good-humored sarcasm I'm
>missing?

"Sarcasm," yes.  I can't remember whether it was good-humored at the time,
but what the heck -- sure.

>I simply presented the only (to my knowledge) fiscally sane
>approach to sampling music completely at random

Well, I hope I've shown it's not the only way one can learn some music
without committing to buying something.  And it wasn't a grind to me.  It
was fun.  I was learning something on my own.  Sure, I took suggestions,
but I tested them at the library first.  Again, I wanted to find out *my*
taste, not someone else's.  It didn't -- and doesn't -- bother me that
people like and dislike different things.  I expect it.  This strikes me as
a glory of art, rather than a disadvantage.  I don't believe civilization
will collapse because you like Beethoven's op. whatever and I don't, just
as I don't believe that if everybody doesn't immediately change their
wicked ways and truly enjoy Babbitt's Relata, we're all going to hell.

Steve Schwartz