Why explore art broadly? So that you get the references.
I remember when I read enough Ernest Hemingway to learn that he had coined the expression “moment of truth.” It made me listen to Tom Lehrer’s “Old Mexico” differently – it was a parody song about bullfighting, which is a Hemingway topic, and includes the line “In that moment of truth, I suddenly knew…that someone had stolen my wallet.”
The same for Ella’s introduction to “Just Squeeze Me” on the Duke Ellington Songbook. It includes a direct reference to another Duke tune, “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be.” Without hearing that song, you think it’s just a scat melody. With it, you understand the reference that Ella is making.
Art is, by its nature, referential. It takes what came before and remixes it.
Without knowledge of what came before, it is impossible to appreciate the full scope and artistry of a work. That’s why I listen broadly and deeply, why I read broadly and deeply, why I consume as much art as I can find time to. It helps inform my own art and helps me understand the art around me more fully.