Flutterby™! : John Philip Souza on recorded music

I'm reading David Byrne's "How Music Works", part memoir, part exploration of how the context of music changes the meaning we take from it. Lots of good stuff, chapter 8 was about making a music scene, with discussion of why CBGB worked, and now I'm hitting chapter 9, and even more good stuff. But this quote from John Philip Souza hit me, and (should we we ever really get back to square dancing) will influence my square dance calling:

"The country dance orchestra of violin, guitar, and melodeon had to rest at times, and the resultant interruption afforded the opportunity for general sociability and rest among the entire company. Now a tireless mechanism can keep everlastingly at it, and much of what made the dance wholesome recreation is eliminated."

This embellishes an observation made in chapter 8 about how a good scene enables casual listening and casual participation, and how scheduled shows and seats for an audience create a very different environment than pool tables and a broken up space.