chris nightbird said, in part:

lately (as stated in the 'American Folk' thread) people from the U.S. have been ignoring the only real form of American music we have here.

I'm not sure just what you mean by "ignoring the only real form of American music"; but given the context of this thread I have to protest. There's Leadbelly's singing which is surely part of what you're speaking of, which is asserted by some in this thread to be ignored, but how about Dixieland jazz, soul, bluegrass, and on and on? These are real forms of American music, which "people from the U.S." have NOT been ignoring. In any case, Leadbelly is far from "the only real form of American music we have here," great as he was.

Or am I totally misunderstanding your meaning? If so, it may just be an unclear statement on your part.

Dave Oesterreich