I need to listen to more African music, honestly! I love Paul Simon's Graceland, which was heavily influenced by South African music (esp the rhythms), but I haven't really sought actual African music out like I'd like to. I agree, world music can totally be hard to get into at first, especially since its availability is really limited here in the US!

Oh that's awesome. I'm only slightly familiar with Gershwin's works... I know Porgy and Bess! But Summertime has been covered about a billion times, so that's not saying much.

Ahh, harpsichord is totally cool! Music from that time period is so interesting. Have you ever heard the hurdy-gurdy? It's not a good instrument, but it is a really unique one, to say the least.

Yeah, agreed! I still feel like the world is pretty huge, but the internet definitely makes the world more accessible.