Spleen: "well-crafted", "tasteful", "workmanlike" bloody pointless, pedestrian, dreary bollocks

glue: If I could account for a single reason to stay out of folk clubs ... it's a fear of hearing Streets of London played on a guitar.

Amen to that - I stayed well away from folk clubs for years because I thought what I'd hear would be either SoL or self-penned SoL wannabes: nice, well-meaning, moderately well-written, moderately tuneful, moderately memorable, extremely dull. And when I did venture into folk clubs I did hear quite a bit of that*, but I also heard some really good singer-songwriter stuff (there is some) and some traditional stuff, which I liked and found I could do myself. Six years later I found my way to a venue where the music is mostly (but not exclusively) traditional, and promptly became the mild-mannered traddie fanatic you see before you now. Pip to world: Folk doesn't have to mean Streets of sodding London! There is another way! If I can save one novice folkie from six years of listening to Ralph McTell songs*, it'll all be worthwhile.

*To be fair, I never actually heard anyone do SoL in that time (although someone did once do quite a good parody).