Yeah - But I drive the "Trad" forum as well. Showbiz is showbiz!

They respond more to stick than carrot. It makes them feel like martyrs to a cause.

For the record, this all has a LOT of cross-over w/ collecting records (and other subcultures as GS pointed out). For those of us who are hardcore music junkies, I'm sure we can remember first getting into music, probably via a rather listless band lifting its act wholesale off of some much better, earlier band and being treated like a jerk by record store clerks b/c we thought said band was the shit.

Of course, if you care enough about the stuff, eventually you develop better taste and suddenly you're the guy at the shop they make insider jokes with about what others are buying. No doubt there is a much-appreciated acceptance there and that acceptance is hard-earned but is the whole progression necessary?

I always hear from my more casual music buddies how annoyed they get by the music shops. I think there is a more to be said for the guy who points newcomers to the good stuff and realizes that taste isn't (a) an all or nothing thing (frankly, who doesn't have some much beloved nonsense in their collection) and (b) takes time to develop.

Interesting thread by the way.

If you can't work in The Look, get laid in The Look, make lunch in The Look, and go play catch in The Look, then it ain't The Look, it's The Schnook.