"It seems to me that unless you provide a viable alternative definition you throw our music to the media wolves (Time Out included) and let them decide what it is ."

Jim, the part I am having difficulty with in this discussion is the danger people like youself see in the term as applied to the style of contemporary music.

Even the 1954 "definition" as created by the international Folk Council has some wiggle room that is open to interpreation. They stated that the term "folk music" could be "applied to music which has originated with an individual composer and subsequently has been absorbed into the unwritten living tradition of a community."

I truly believe that our communities and traditions have evolved since 1954, and as the esteemed commmittee recognized, it is a "living tradition".

What also concerns me in this conversation is what seems to be a link to ONE tradition - a tradition that starts with a British tradition and splinters toward cultures in the North America and elswhere, but it completely different from other cultures. To use a term such as "folk music" is perfectly acceptable to me if it includes music from the Balkans, Italy, Spain, China, Nigeria and other countries of the world - and the various regions and traditions in each.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I get the impression that those of you who are arguing against the "looser" interpretation of the words "folk music" have a sterotyped image of a singular tradition.