> As it happens, I don't currently get hip-hop or the big orchestral sort of
> classical, but I'd like to. For all the classical music snobs on the list,
> how might one go about acquiring an ear for it? As an added bonus, this
> might allow me to reread Mann's Faustus and actually understand what was
> going on.
Well I'm only a neophyte as well but really starting to get into it. I think I mentioned here once before Alex Ross's history of 20th century classical 'The Rest is Noise', which has a great recommended listening section. It also happens to refer to Dr Faustus quite a bit in the early chapters.
I know it sounds incredibly naff, but I have found Fred Plotkin's 'Classical Music 101' a pretty good intro. It's serious (not 'for dummies') and works its way over 600 pages or so through hundreds of recordings with listening exercises, commentaries etc. As long as you have music library access and/or downloading time, it's great.
Cheers, Mike