hi all, have read through many of the forums. very interesting although not being in the field the technical/ equipment stuff mostly eludes me. trying to learn more. some basic, probably strange questions-- any input helpful.
1) do musicians inevitably have to consider all the complexities of recording, like if they're trying to go idie or just get their music "out there" on myspace or youtube--or do they "just play" and let the wizards figure it all out? it seems like they'd almost have to educate themselves about this or it would quickly spin out of control expense and even sound-wise. does nearly every band out there work with an engineer or does someone inside get nominated to have to learn it all? (usually)

2)have heard musicians comment about a couple things and just want some feedback
--black keys recently stated they liked working with dangermouse because he knew what to leave alone and how to make things sound good and f__'d up (in a good way) i'm assuming this has something to do with compression or distortion??
--jack white commented that the beatles recorded all their stuff with only four tracks, seeming to imply a nostalgia for simplifying things a bit. any comments?
--taylor hawkins(foos) said in an interview that on "statues" they did away with close mic-ing and used room or overhead mics (sorry, not positive on details here) and he liked it because the drums sounded more like they do to his ear as he's playing. i've often wondered about this. is what comes through on recordings that different from what we'd hear live?
sounds really dumb i know--i always like how albums sound better than live performances, but assumed it was due to crowd noise, everything else in the room(glasses, tables etc)(or outdoors), playing maybe not being as tight, the over-amplification, etc. if you were in an ideal environment, like a live room, would the engineer have to do very much to the music? how does the engineer try to collaborate with the musicians then in terms of the signature sound etc? they must constantly need to be educating as well as engineering? any comments?
sorry so long. trying to incorporate my love of music into my writing in a somewhat informed way. thanks!