"Regarding point 3: It does seem that there is some contention between the academic community and the people banksie describes who frequent the 'typical pub'."
Hit and run comments I'm afraid - your "typical pub" don't give a toss one way or the other; we've failed to engage them in what I believe to be their heritage, to our eternal shame.
The very music that some here seek to claim as 'folk' or 'traditional' has disenfranchised them from their heritage and turned them into armchair recipients of a culture rather than makers and interpreters.
"spurious and arbitrary definition"
Flawed maybe, but neither S or A., but arrived at after a great deal of personal experience, thought and discussion. The didn't get all right first time round, pioneers seldom do, but they gave us something to work with, as well as enough beautiful songs to fill several lifetimes.
If you want 'arbitrary' try Johnny B Goode - why not Olbla Dee, Oobla Da, or Viva Espania, or Funiculi Funicula.
The oft repeated misinformation that traditional singers didn't discriminate between types continues to be arrant nonsense no matter how many times iyt is repeted.
They had their own identification tag for these songs, the claimed them as their own, they had a familiarity with the subject matter that no outsider could possibly have - AND THEY VISUALISED AND IDENTIFIED WITH THEM IN A WAY THEY NEVER DID OR COULD BY THE STORE BOUGHT PRODUCTS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED HERE AS 'FOLK AND TRADITIONAL.
Bye for now,
Jim Carroll