In the discussion of this topic, a while ago Jon Johanning had said, in
reply to a remark I made about the price of concerts:

>...if you think classical concerts are more expensive than rock concerts,
>you don't have kids who frequently hit you up for the requisite cash.

No, I think both are out of the reach of most, and thus overpriced.  I
also grant that I'm bound to get my turn:  I married late, so they're still
young.  (Murray Peraiha was in town recently, and around my birthday.  But
at $40 a ticket, minimum, times two, plus parking and a babysitter, maybe
a coffee & pastry later, plus all those complicated logistics, I settled
for 5 or 6 CDs instead.  If Costello came to town I might have to settle
for the same -- provided I could use the excuse of another birthday again.)

>In terms of quantity, the overwhelming majority of what is broadcast on
>the most popular rock stations is just not "crafted" at all, it seems to
>me.  And this is what most people listen to most of the time, so it ipso
>facto sets the standard for popular music.

As you know, to droves of music-lovers that music is put together just
right, and the addition of "craft" would likely ruin it.  Jailhouse Rock,
In My Room, Happiness is a Warm Gun, and Rock 'n Roll Suicide were probably
dumped on by many for lacking craft and high-falutin' technique too.  Ditto
for Fats Waller's Sposin', the output of Sinatra, Crosby, etc.

Brian Wilson, Fats Waller and Elvis P and C are/were no slouches in
'crafting' their works just as they want/ed them.  Of course, it's a
different sort of craft, less learned, etc.  -- but no less worthy.
Why not, instead, dump on Mozart for failing to inspire us to shimmy and
shake, or Bingen and Schnittke for not knowing, I dunno, how to rap? Unmet
expectations like these amount to something very like a category confusion,
IMO.

You also addressed a point I was trying to make about CM's widespread
access for non-fans of CM by saying:

>Classical CDs generally cost exactly as much as popular ones.

Assuming that this was so (and I'd side with Ray Bayles's posting that it's
not) I don't think it has a bearing on the issue of wide vs narrow access
to all.

As a youth, I only bought music I already loved, or after hearing it on
the radio or at a friend's, say, or if I was pretty sure I'd like it (Beach
Boys, Beatles).  This is still true today:  I only rarely buy blind:  after
hearing a piece on the radio, about it through this list, say, after
borrowing it from a library, etc.  Some kind of _free_ access, in short,
is prior to most any purchase, even for the reasonably affluent.

So, IMO "widespread access" for the novice is can't-help-but-bump-into-it
availability, at _no_ cost.  'Problem is, CM's all but absent for those who
don't already dig it.  Our attention as members of the public or as
citizens ('consumers,' really) is so over-marketed that nothing's there
gratuitously, it's all there through someone's effort.  And CM labels make
a pathetic effort with the unconverted; CM is really *out there* only in a
few commercials and movies.

Its affordability to you and me -- or even to middle-class kids who can buy
pop CDs -- is beside the point.  If it's not *out there* for all, and for
free, it won't entice.  But on this I know we don't disagree, since you
also say:

>...the average American certainly would find it a lot harder to be exposed
>to CM on radio and TV than pop music, so it's not something that they will
>accidentally stumble upon.  They have to seek it out, and TV junkies are
>not the sort of folks who make a habit of seeking out unusual art forms.

This is an excellent point that I think bears further exploring.

I doubt if it's a simple causal relationship: TV or not TV, there lies
our narrowed attention.  Nah.

My money, instead, is on some kind of reciprocity:  TV arose within a
world view that no longer holds in very high regard CM (and some other
harder-earned pleasures).  All the same, how so? Just what's the connection
between the much less widespread access for all of CM *out there* and TV
now being a key determinant of what becomes part of the public attention?

Mr. J?  Anyone?

Bert Bailey