- Is the Magic lost ? -

A lot of good points from everyone.

When I first listened to music, it was very rare to meet somone by accident who had heard of Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream, let alone had a record.

The only difference I expereince now is that some people I meet may know of Tangerine Dream. I am talking in daily life through work and social acquaintances.

However, on the internet and via independent record labels there is far more EM, and every other sort of music, than I could possibly listen to. It's hard enough listening to everything I already have let alone collecting even more.

For me the original shivers I felt when discovering EM in the first place was after a long long time of not listening to any music. Discovering Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana, Oophoi as well as both new and remembered KS and TD was brilliant. But I only have about 4 TD CDs now, selling some after I realised I was rarely going to listen to them.

I don't think the magic is lost, there is a lot out there. Whether I'll be able to find everything that is magical for me is another matter.....Perhaps not being able to know or hear it all is part of the modern magic

There's no question we've become over-saturated with the amount of music and information that is available to us. But, as it's been said, the amount of new artists and music I've discovered due to the Internet is amazing! The magic is rare, but that's how it should be anyway.

I think the key is to control the amount of new music you get (either purchasing or downloading) to a reasonable amount. If you get 10 new albums in one sitting, the amount of time it would take to truly appreciate each one would take too much time... and chances are you'll end up buying or downloading more before you finish with those first 10.

I generally get 2-3 CDs, and digest them over a week or two (mixing them in with my regularly played music). Doing that allows me to make a very easy decision whether I enjoyed it or not. This may take more time since we all know of those releases that take time to truly appreciate, but the key for me is mixing them with my usual favourites.

If I discover an artist that really makes an impact, I'll dedicate my usual purchases only to that artist. I find this also helps with the saturation problem.

This is something I often think about - I think it would be a tragedy if it were possible to discover all the wonders out there (and this applies to more than just music) - it's knowing that there is always something else waiting around the corner that makes life so fascinating.

That