You hit that on the head, Matt. My first experience with hearing Jack Wright was probably the most powerful example of this. I just had to sit down, and admit I had no idea what was happening. I'm starting to understand what's going on much more now, but obviously, still a lot left to learn/understand.it's that kind of "puzzlement" that I really enjoy in this music.
I just finished reading through this whole thread, and I have to mention something about the street date/recording date thing... for me, the street date of the album is something I pay a bit of attention to-- I assume that these sounds will be influencing performances being recorded around this time... so you can match them, you see? So much of experimental music isn't widely distributed, though, that I think oftentimes a release from 50 years ago might be just as influential as something from last week. If it's "new to you" that's really all that matters. I'm very interested in those listeners who are in rural areas, or at least located more off the beaten path... I think these listeners have a cobbled-together aesthetic where new and old mingle with differing scenes and threads of sound... where listeners are influenced by this melange of what they've had access to, rather than by any coherent progression of a musical style.
