Now >don't get me wrong, the only ones listening to Riley, >Stockhausen and Cage are small nerdish niches as well, but >those nerdish niches are much bigger than the jazz ones today >if you omit the twencengen from the accounting.
Is that something you *reaqlly* belive? I like Riley and-to a lesser extent-Cage as much as the, um, "next" man (don't care too much for Stockhausen; he's ''interesting'' I guess...) but you are telling me that even *young* people (and yes, I'm ignoring the 20 century folks) care more for "music for prepared pianos" or "church of anthrax" than " alove supreme" or "Kind of blue" or "black saint and the sinner lady"? No offense but thatäs some bizarro world shit to me alternatively you have a very selective idea on the "who" that "matters"...
Not that I can prove it but I don't care, I think the burden of proof here is on you (and no, I can't motivate why I feel that way either; I just do)