Good points Greg.

One thing I think people misunderstand is the importance of history. We all make our own value judgements on any music - and measure how much we like it. That's purely subjective and based on an entirely personal reaction.

But there is a second element within folk - antiquity.

A lot of people ALSO notice and admire the age of a work - exactly as an admirer of a antique furniture is attracted by the patina of an old piece. Indeed there are many who are actually more intrigued by the provenance of a song or tune than by its quality - just as one might admire some old chair for its age even if it's uncomfortable to sit on.

Some people may not even be very interested in new music, precisely because it can't bring that connection to times past which is the very thing that excites them.

It's a shame that others misunderstand this.

Quite resonably, the fact that the gene-pool of old music we call The Tradition is under threat does sometimes make its champions rather more defensive at times than may be helpful. But as a writer of original and 'trad-style' material, I would never decry anyone for preferring the real thing.

It's unreasonable and reactionary to demand that a lover of folklore should have to admire modern culture.

Yes it's all just music - but some of it also happens to be something else. Which has value too.

Tom