It’s not the listening - it is the sheer volume. If you track backward you know there will be a connection. If, however, you attempt to start with the past you’

It’s not the listening - it is the sheer volume. If you track backward you know there will be a connection. If, however, you attempt to start with the past you’ll need to go pretty wide to get to all the things heavily influencing modern work. I guess you could recommend a list. Start with medieval madrigals and then work your way to Stax records anthology? Haha