The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #155357 Message #3654038
Posted By: GUEST
25-Aug-14 - 07:09 PM
Thread Name: What makes a new song a folk song?
Subject: RE: What makes a new song a folk song?
Traditional folk songs are commercial songs which have been remembered after their authors have been forgotten. We remember Stephen Foster's name because so many of his songs remained popular for a long time, while songs composed by his less enduringly successful contemporaries are now called traditional.
Maybe one of the differences is that in the past popular songs had a different message than the ones Miley Cyrus sings. Or maybe we should borrow from Marshall McLuhan and say they have a different massage, one that massages the soul rather than the genitalia. Then maybe a new folk song is a new song that carries the older type of message, despite the fact that it's less likely to make a pot of money for somebody.