We had this discussion way back in the early months of this forum, but there was a different tone - there was a lot of intolerance toward those of us who aren't quite as "pure" in our definition of folk music. I like the tone of this discussion a lot better. I like the humor, friendliness, and mutual respect that the entire forum has had for most of the last year. We've had very few flames since last winter, and that has been wonderful.
I guess my preference is for songs that people, especially groups of people, can sing over and over again. Although I've never been much of an Elvis fan, I'll admit that a good number of his songs fall into that category. Some of them have endured for 40 years now, and that's a good way along the route to achieving "traditional" status. On the other hand, there are a lot of "folk" singer-songwriter songs that NOBODY remembers, and few people other than the songwriter will sing those songs a year after they were recorded. I'd rather not listen to that ephemeral sort of music, but that's my taste.
Whatever the case, I'm sure glad that the flaming has been gone from this forum for so long. I think we're all here to enjoy ourselves, not to fight battles. Happy holidays, everyone!
-Joe Offer-