I notice regularly on Mudcat that "singer-songwriter" is used as a term of abuse. I never understood this till I toured in Canada and heard a couple of sets from the introspectives, who appear to be a bit of a plague on the folk scene in North America. Now, as a man proud to be called a singer/songwriter for 38 years I resent us all being lumped together. Like many of my contemporaries I tell stories in song,a device that links me directly to the tradition and puts me in opposition to the constant drip of "lurve" songs sung by Brits in cod American accents that pervade our airwaves. I feel as though my job description has been hijacked. Can I have it back please? How about calling the introspectives "Oprah singers" and giving the singer/songwriter back their birthright?