The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #95495 Message #1857897
Posted By: WFDU - Ron Olesko
13-Oct-06 - 11:39 AM
Thread Name: So what is *Traditional* Folk Music?
Subject: RE: So what is 'TRADITIONAL' Folk Music ?
Mick, the point I was trying to make is that "traditional" is almost a misnomer - perhaps "unknown" is more appropriate. What I was trying to say is that we are calling these "traditional" because as you say they were passed down through generations and the author is unknown, but that is a reflection on the tools that were available to "transmit" these songs.
Yes, I guess I did prove your point that "traditional" is dead in the respect that modern technology will enable us to better trace the authors of songs - sort of like how DNA enables us to identify human remains which could make it impossible to have unidentified bodies in the future.
However, "traditional" is merely a label that is more of a reflection of "dead-ends" in our research.