Bert makes a good point about folk music turning into commercial Country Western. Chet, your story about the jacket/tee shirt caught my eye. My business is souvenir/gift garment illustration. In other words, I do designs that are printed or machine embroidered on caps, tee shirts, sweat shirts, etc., and sold in the US and Canada resorts, national parks, and gift shops, and.... yes, WalMart. The problem of designing for young men is that all they really want to buy is a licensed logo, usually a sports manufacturer. This is a reflection of the "group think" you deal with, and the desire of that demographic group to find a "leader/hero" with whom to identify. Girls, women, and older men, on the other hand, are easy to do original designs for. They are just looking for something that makes them look good.... the right colors for them, and an aesthetically attractive design. I guess we got off track here a little, but it does relate to the idea of mass marketing music "leader/heros" as well. Some people just aren't interested in finding a leader to follow. They are secure in doing their own individual music. I think part of the what if?? idea for me is, what if people started making music more for themselves at home? What if imperfect amateur music became more common, and people turned off the CD or radio, and tv and listened to themselves/family/friends making music? Alice in MT