If people want to listen to "world" music, of course I would not stop them. However, my gripe against this title is: 1) folk music, which I love, has been swallowed up by this category- look at fRoots; 2) By putting this music onto a shelf and labelling it "World Music", you are creating a genre; and 3) there is something a little self-righteous about these listeners who give themselves a moral superiority which they do not in any way deserve.

I am not narrow minded. Someone asked me exactly what sort of music I like: well, I like a lot, mostly music from the west, but that is a broad sweep that includes Afro American-music. I like folk music and we all know what I mean by it. In Pakistan, it may mean something else, which is fine, but it is different. If someone wants to listen to music from Zimbabwe-also fine; but do not plonk it into the artificial melting pot of World Music where it does not belong.