Refer back to my earlier post of 01 Jun 13 - 02:37 PM, Blandiver, and you'll see that I already took that into account.

I didn't see that one, LH. I agree. I'd say religion and music are similar beasts & carry the same sort of passion & ubiquity the immediate manifestation of which is much diversity underpinned by conviction & devotion. Thus, to the religious I say : a) It's all a matter of personal taste, and b) They can't all be right, but they can all be wrong. Otherwise I'm naturally irked by those who have chosen carry around in their hearts the notion that humanity is damned / sinful by default just because they're not getting any.

Folkies look at me askance when I say I don't like Bob Dylan (though I loved his Theme Time Radio Hour) but I adore Michael Hurley. I spend much time immersed in the Max Hunter Folk Song Collection & the Harry Smith Anthology and I dare say the dreamy mystic awe I feel whilst listen to Hoyt Ming's Indian War Whoop is on account of its numninosity (or numinousness / numinescence). Similarly when I listen to Mrs Pearl Brewer of Pocahantas, Arkensas singing The Cruel Mother I'm in a space which no revival singer can take me to. I derive as much joy & serenity from these manifestations of a truly idiosyncratic vernacular craft as I do from tipping medieval misericords in out-of-the-way medieval churches in the English countryside and exploring the delights thereunder. Otherwise - I can go along with the trickster Sun Ra's Cosmic Philosophy, likewise in listening to Bitches Brew I can well believe that Miles Davis was truly a dark magus. I am regularly emotionally & spiritually wasted by Henry Purcell's sacred & secular writing, and (even though I despise the UK class-caste system) lament that I wasn't born a little higher up the social / cultural ladder (!) so might at least be able to play it.

The truly great thing is that it's different for all of us; the bad thing is when people arrive at a majority consensus and insist that it must be right for everyone else. Collectivity in terms of commonality is born from an appreciation of that uniqueness; it nurtures it, cherishes it, celebrates the fact that true unity must always exist in diversity. It begins when we're born, and it ends when die, hopefully smiling, thankful as we return back into the cosmic scheme from which we came.