The Museum vs. Galleries

I am curious about what percentage of your time is spent listening to music with which you are familiar, versus playing music that you do not know well, or at all. 

Sometimes, when I play an old, wonderful Coltrane album that I know like the back of my hand, or The Who, or Joni or Samuel Barber, I think of myself walking in an old familiar museum, like the Met, or the MFA here in Boston. I know where the pieces are that I have loved for decades, and I usually know how they will make me feel - though sometimes I am surprised. 

And sometimes, when I decide to do an investigation of Makaya McCraven, or Waxahatchee, or Vijay Iyer or others I do not yet know, or know nearly as well, I feel the excitement I remember from walking in Soho (in the old days) or Chelsea or wherever the newer galleries are that have contemporary work.

What percentage of time do you spend listening to the new as opposed to resting in the familiar? 

For the record, I don't think the museum is better than the galleries, or vice versa. But I am curious about how fellow listeners use their precious listening time. And if you are happy with it or want to change.