Melissa, all three of your posts on this thread - particularly the last two - are brimming with vitriol, so I don't think you have any room to point fingers... the last one was virtually an ad hominem attack!

Meanwhile, I repeat my earlier, politely phrased question - what is plasticised about properly funded, well played traditional music?

And there are more of us than you and Diane posting on this thread and most of the posts are pretty well mannered. The issue is bigger than the occasional lapses into pettiness, dontcha think?

Moving on to respond to Frank's post a while back, I don't believe recording should seek to replace or compete with live music - both are and should be very different experiences. However, I do feel that recordings should be far more than a memento or souvenir of a gig - and all too often in the folk world that's all they are. That's one of the reasons I'm so impressed with the current crop of young English traditional singers - they seem to have got their heads round the concept of the album as an artifact in its own right - and really know how to use the studio well. So for those of us - such as myself - who can't get out to gigs as often as we'd like to, the CD becomes a pleasure in its own right. Though according to Melissa's earlier post, such CD listening behaviour is a highly suspect activity!

Meanwhile, I wouldn't touch any CD by uncle Fred with a bargepole, though I may attempt tap his knowledge before he fries the last of his braincells. And make sure he gets the odd square meal, of course!

Cheers

Nigel