First off, a slight correction to mandotim-KT Tunstall is Scottish.

Ok, I'm going to say this again for WAV's benefit because when he says, "As a multiculturalist, I admire much more folks from around the world who are good at THEIR OWN culture," he gets me going, and not in a good way. On another thread of WAV's creation, I wrote this,

"On your website too I saw something about World Music-"World-music stalls and stages should be places where folkies of different nationality present different unfused music to each other. You do realize that word, unfused is a real difficult one to use in context of music. West African music does not follow a colonialism rule. You can say someone is from Guinea-Bissau, or Mali, or Senegal, but the music itself comes from an ancient source that predates those names for countries we now know. Thus someone like Toumani Diabate's lineage of griots comes from the area we now know to be Mali, but was not Mali until 1960, before he was even born. The same can be said in Europe. Ever hear regional European music WAV? Do you realize that there has been so much polinization in European music that you can have someone from regions of France singing in Italian, or someone from Sardinia singing in Catalan? See? unfused doesn't work when you have music that by a map says it belongs in one country, while culturally, actually belongs in another. So your stated belief that different nationalities should present their own native, unfused music to each other, is in actuality, a deluded belief that music stops at border checkpoints, even the ones that didn't exist until the 20th century."

I have also asked you repeatedly, on several threads now, to clarify when you say you admire folks doing music from their own culture. Does that mean that the old English, Scots, and Irish ballads that are found, and sung to this day in places like Kentucky, or Newfoundland should be abandoned? Because following your rules, one can say that those folk who do sing those songs, are abandoning the native culture of their own country. That's not what I think, I find it fascinating that, as for example Richard Thompson saying that an old ballad, King Henry, was found pretty much intact in rural Kentucky. So you have Americans singing about a tribute due to the king of France, and tennis balls, and all sorts of strange things that are in the original variants of the song.

I will also say that, in its most simplest explanation, Rock is an American form. Again, I say simple, because we know its roots go far deeper than that, if one wants to go there. But will you deny the effect rock can have at this point on all cultures? Case in point is Runrig. Using an American form, they have energized and in some way, revitalized Scottish Gaelic, in their 30 + years. Will you honestly stand here and tell me that there is something wrong with that, because they are using an "american" form? Rory Macdonald, and at the time Donnie Munro (Bruce Guthro actually has a lilt, but its not quite the same) have not, nor ever will be considered Americans in their singing style, they are Scots through and through. So would you dismiss them, and all they have accomplished because they are singing songs about their own culture and history and language (including singing in that language)simply because they use an American form to express it by?

Ponder this if you will please WAV. Please don't answer with a link to your website. I HAVE been on it, I have read most of it. I seek to understand, and I seek to debate your points, not be redirected to the source of the problem.