My definition? that sounds like fuel for a fire... somewhere between that preChild ballad that has been handed down, unchanged, forever...and a contemporary broadside, written and performed in the "folk style", is folk music. I think the definition has to fit certain criteria, that is it must conform to the oral tradition... I think that the music must have an element of continuity, with what has been done before... The music should be acoustic, on traditional instruments...you know, the banjo, accordion, bagpipes, and those others that we all love to hate... And most importantly, the music must challenge the concept of the marketplace...I do not believe that music is good because it is marketable, nor do I think that the marketplace is useful to maintain an atmosphere in which music can be maintained from mouth to ear, through the generations...As Charlie King says, I hope this is enough, "to inflame the fans of discontent!"