I'm not really *getting* these responses Mr.  Schwartz made to my original
statements...

Steve Schwartz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>>What I'm wondering about, though, for Peggy's sake, is, if it weren't for
>>the RC/standard rep (which, y'all must admit, is what CM radio stations
>>almost exclusively play), where could she possibly start?
>
>Anywhere she likes.

What I meant in my original post was that, without the samplings a
beginner-to-CM receives from CM radio stations or concerts...  which
overwhelmingly play the RC/standard rep...  then the beginner is presented
with a vast, and consequently totally undifferentiated, mass of *expensive*
recordings...  If not for those sampler media formats, newcomers wouldn't
know Brahms from Bugaboogie...  they'd all just be names on a CD cover
(just with some of those names being a little more familiar-sounding, and
thus more comforting, to the regular newcomer...  i.e.  the RC/standard rep
composers)...  and one too many purchases of turn-off CDs will lose another
potential CM lover.

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."

*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.

>>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? I simply presented the only (to my knowledge) fiscally sane
approach to sampling music completely at random, along with the obvious
obstacle to its successful and continued practice by an individual...  But
if you're absolutely determined to still try the totally random approach,
but at the same time poopoo looking through libraries, then how? "One
doesn't have to look at all"?? Perhaps one's recording choices shall then
come to them through divine interventions?

Albie