I haven't been checking this site out for a while. I don't want to become addicted, but you guys have been putting down some really good stuff.

Maybe this is the answer to, "Why recorded music."

About thirty years ago there was a World's Fair in New Delhi, India. A German couple with cameras and recording equipment decided to drive a VW bug from Berlin to New Delhi. After being slowed down by some mis-adventures in Greece and the Middle East they got to around India or Kashmir just about the time that the monsoons arrived, and they realized that they would be bogged down there for a couple of months.

Making the best of a bad situation they went out into a street of the little town and started to try and interview the locals. None of the people there had ever seen recording equipment. They struggled with the language for a while, and then played back the tape. The looks on the people's faces when they heard their voices played back was wonderful. At first, they were stunned. Then they laughed, and then, suddenly one man got very excited. He got his friends together around him and spoke to them excitedly, and they scattered.

The couple was left alone in the middle of the street, bewildered. Then, in just a few minutes, the townspeople returned. All carrying musical instruments.