I don't think we are back to the old lines of 'folk' versus 'traditional folk' here: I think Leadbottom is suggesting a definition of folk that is much, much wider than that. Leadbottom is suggesting that hip-hop, reggae and punk could be considered folk. I don't see the point of that. I don't think hip-hop, reggae and punk *want* to be considered folk - who does that help? Try flipping it round: is folk hip-hop? Is folk reggae? I think specific descriptive terms are extremely useful things. I don't understand the impulse to say that all dogs are labradors just because other dogs have doggy things in common with labradors. Shirley Collins performs a different genre of music to Kanye West and I don't see the usefulness of claiming otherwise.
|