Isn’t that basically the definition of “mainstream” in most walks of life? I.e. the narrow lane in the middle that most people get exposed to via commercial popularity. I think that’s why I’ve always been decidedly “out of the mainstream”, not because there are not some good stuff in the mainstream, but because it becomes so boring in it’s endless, dominant, repetitive narrowness, and there is so much more outside the mainstream, that is interesting and inspiring. If one even wants to enjoy music, be inspired by it, having it open up things to you. Many people probably just consume music as background sound, or for dancing and parties. My favorite example from the electronic music world is “Switched on Bach”. People raved about it and it sold like millions of copies. I find it profoundly boring and uninteresting, and the only thing it’s good for, and can be admired for IMHO, is as a historical technological demo in relation to using early synthesizers. I think it has zero relevance today, unlike say, the Beatles. If I want to hear Bach I’ll listen to Bach, not this rubbish. I know, I’m sounding like a grumpy old man 
Absolutely! This is what I find so inspiring about modular, you can explore pretty much any track you want to go down, and that’s also what makes Rack such an inspiring ecosystem, because there is the readily available platform to experiment with pretty much any technique and technology you want to make, pretty much only limited by your imagination.
In my wet dreams, besides practicing and enjoying the techniques of the masters, I would love to find a little niche to explore and open up, something with a unique signature that really appeals to me. Not for fame and fortune but just for the idea of moving the needle, pushing the envelope just a little bit forwards. I suppose in a small way every little piece we make is an attempted stab into that niche. But whilst I’m waiting for my revelation I also know that the real secret is practice, practice practice, and it’ll open up and yield when you’re ready
Oh boy… yeah, that makes me want to write a big article about the classic, big synth artists, and why they’re great, maybe here in the lounge(?). Revealing how I haven’t kept up with what’s popular amongst young people today, I have no idea who “Coil” is or if it’s any good. I do know that the predominant electronic music amongst younger people seems to (still) be hiphop/house/techno and their derivatives, and I have absolutely zero interest in that, so boring 99.999% of it. But hey, there’s hope. All the time I also hear stories about how young people discover the greats, and really dig it, opening up a new universe to them, which they incorporate into their own taste. It’s probably like that for every generation I suppose.
I probably heard them once and discarded it quickly. Maybe I was lucky when I was young, being in a circle of friends who were always into discovering new music, and introducing it to each other. By the time I was 20 I had already been introduced to a vast array of artists and music, and had a well-honed taste in music and a big record collection. But that probably was far from the norm. As other people might put it - I was never that interested in normal people or normal music, and I always hung out with the freaks 
