>But to your post... if you really want to equate a rapper
>putting together various mix tapes with acts touring the old
>Chitlin' Circuit and West coast venues like the Lions Den
>we're pretty much seeing things through different prisms.

I'm not going to say that they are *exactly* the same thing, but then again... why should they be?

In any case, I don't think that we're talking about different things. You're suggesting that cats look for an image before they develop a sound and I'm saying it's not true. Seeing as the image is one of the most transient things, it's usually the last thing the artist really finds... A lot of acts go through loads of different images during their grinding period before they find the one that catches on.