I agree, this is just how I go about it. Not defending it on any general grounds whatsoever.

I acknowledge that a lot of the media I consume ends up being just part of a genre, and that I often don't even know the originals and only have access to simulacra.

But when I think about what I wanna read next, what albums to buy records of and so on, I prefer to go as far upstream as I can or know about.