The top single of 1982 was "Africa" by TOTO, one of the greatest songs ever written. Gorgeous word painting "As sure as Kilamanjaro rises like an emperess over the Serengeti" and though I WAS around then, I was not listening to the radio at age 3. It's one of the few songs my entire family loves...and WHY? Because *I* introduced it to them 2 years ago, when I discovered it. Hmmm...taking something forgotten or never-heard before and exposing it to a new audience who instantly loves it...sounds a lot like folk to me.

And I would have to disagree about folkies smarter or more intelligent than lovers of other kinds of music. Folk just LOVES those long drawn out story songs. Rock/pop does not. I'm taking a photography class, and our teacher said the ONE mistake photographers make is to take a photo of something obvious. A picture of a field with some trees in the background, say. YAWN. We know instantly what it is...NEXT! The BEST compositions are when you have to sit and THINK about what it is...to get the grey cells going. They are the ones that people will enjoy more. Recently we had a huge thread trying to interpret "Don't Think Twice" by Dylan. WHY? Because Dylan doesn't give us the whole story...he makes you think and try to interpret. Some "diddle-iddle-aye" song just ain't gonna do it. So, now you all know that folk music is artistically JEJEUNE!!!