i ) John Cage never wrote a piece called 'Silence' - he wrote a piece called 4'.33" which is to do with concentrated listening to whatever sounds one actually hears within the time-frame of four minutes thirty-three seconds. I once read he got the idea when standing in a totally sound-proofed chamber, realising he could still hear the various sounds of his inner-body (blood, nervous system etc), so in effect there was no such thing as silence, hence 4'.33".

ii) Maybe if folk CDs were more realistically priced none of this would be an issue anyway? Go to any web-site offering full CD production then do the math.

iii) I recently forked out top dollar for a Shirley Collins CD the experience of which was marred by a consistently mis-rendered 'Staines Norris'. No doubt Norris is a relative of the 'Tim Lin' as found on a shoddily realised CD re-issue of a Fairport Convention LP (the name of which presently escapes me) which no doubt retailed for top dollar too.

iv) If there are people out there prepared to blog your work, then get down on your knees and give thanks; if they are bootlegging your concerts too then so much the better. Recently I was given the task of transfering to CD-R concert bootlegs of Peter Bellamy (Keele University 1972 and Newcastle Bridge FC 1974) which wouldn't have existed if everyone applied the same prissy holier-than-thou ethical so-called standards that have been a feature of the thread.

v) In a word of total commodification of music, where even the humblest of folkies are flogging their overpriced CD-R albums around festival singarounds, it's refreshing to know that at least the bloggers are doing it for the love of it.

vi) So blog away ye bloggers all - God knows you might be the life of this music yet.