"I'd rather keep professorial research away from the self-evident truth of my ears but terms like the people and the process serve to muddy the waters, not clear them."

"To be clear, some doctoral or post-doctoral research evidencing precisely how effective 'the process' is as a way of defining what's commonly described as folk music would be most welcome."

"I'd be extremely interested in a post modern theory of folk music if there's one available . . . . Or the role of the songwriter in folk, re-appraising the craft of Bert Lloyd, something on gender and if you have a psychoanalytic reading the folk revivalist I'm all ears."

Murky, yes. Particularly when you can't seem to decide whether you want quantitive proof of the 'folk process', a 'critical theory' of folk music, a psychoanalytic reading of the folk revivalist," a postmodern theory of folk music, or just the "self-evident truth of my ears".