Yes, I confirm what Tom Bliss says; we do not always agree. Nor do I agree that much with WLD, nor indeed with Ian A all the time. Yet we manage to discuss stuff without resorting to calling each other sanctimonious assholes.

Like WLD, Bob Davenport has this tinpot theory that folk music should be returned totally to the working class (whatever that is) and people like us (yes, all of us behind computers) wouldn't be allowed to have anything to do with it as it's not "our music".

And what would that mean? Just that the majority of quality trad music would disappear and we'd be left with the jolly singalongs, the dirty choruses, the music hall and Cushy Butterfield dominating the traditional repertoire. Ewan MacColl spent his artistic life trying to give 'the working class' back its cultural heritage. And what did these workers say? 'Stuff it, we'd rather listen to Tom Jones and boy bands and spice persons'.

Southern Rag, the forerunner to fRoots (which is emphatically not a 'glossy', Anahata!) published a lengthy interview with Peter Bellamy in the early 80s in which he quoted northerners with mud on their boots criticising the Coppers for allegedly removing all songs of discontent and protest from the family repertoire. And that it wasn't representative enough because Bob's grandad Brasser wasn't so much a labourer as a farm foreman. Yes, it is, all about class - in the form of inverted snobbery and wilful ignorance.

It defeats me why this thread is here, on Mudcat. It exists purely to slag off a magazine which no-one is forced to read if they don't want to, even though it is far and away the best we have currently on the market. No, fR doesn't cover every musical type or it would be the size of the Argos catalogue and may as well change its name to Mojo 2.

This mag has a forum which is currently running a thread entitled 'Does f*lk need professionals?' intended as an update of an insult hurled at one such 'professional', the agent Jean Oglesby, nearly 30 years ago. In other words, an industry review really. A 'where are we now'? Mudcat could have that debate too, if it wanted. Instead it is vilifying some of those taking part in a debate elswhere in cyberspace without even reading or comprehending what they are saying but churning out their old, tired prejudices. Weird.