Yes, Scaramouche probably has hit the nail on the head. There seems to be a fair bit of folkie-bashing in the media at present (anyone seen that ad on British TV which shows folk as the epitome of bad taste?). Anyway, the assumption that academic study of any kind of popular culture is somehow a "Mickey Mouse degree" always makes me laugh - after all, if it wasn't for the pervasiveness of popular culture, the detractors would not have a name on which to hang such a witty (!) and original (!!) put-down.