In this conversation, Alexander and Steve explore how music scenes were once built on physical infrastructure like record stores, college radio, and local venues, and what’s replaced that in the modern world of streaming and algorithmic discovery. Steve unpacks the close, reflective listening practice he calls “notebooking,” and considers whether today’s music culture carries that tradition forward or represents something new entirely. Steve also covers how institutions shape whose stories get told and preserved, both in the classroom and across music culture more broadly, and how listeners may bring more intention to the way they engage with music today.