"according to rankins.com, it ranks 19,516 of all sites on the web in popularity. "

You are forgetting that some of us log onto this site 5 to 10 times a day. No wonder the numbes are skewed! You would be hard pressed to find 19,516 individuals posting on these threads - it is always the usual suspects.

Hey, I'm not knocking Mudcat by any stretch of the imagination. It is an extremely important site, and I do agree that it is the #1 site for serious (and nonsensical) discussion of TRADITIONAL music.   However, when it comes to what many people consider "contemporary folk music", this is NOT the place. You do not see people debating Ellis Paul's new CD or debates on whether Falcon Ridge should go back to a 4 day festival or who were the hot new songwriters to emerge from Kerrville. This ain't the place!

Sure, you can dismiss that by saying "if Mudcat says it isn't folk, then it isn't folk", but try telling the thousands of people who are attending the events and supporting THIS tradition.

Sure, you can also dismiss "contemporary folk music" as a bastardized entertainment fueled genre that lacks connection with folk roots, and I realize that I will not convince the altercockers that this style of music is "folk".   Yet if you are truely objective and look at the factors that the early pioneers of collecting used to gather their songs, you will see similarities and reasons why this music fits the criteria - filtered through the technological and social changes of our times, the same factors that musicilogists used.

One of the defintions that I found of canon is "A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field". The songs I mentioned, and many others, are considered to be part of the canon of contemporary folk music. You just need to stand in the right field to realize it.

The bottom line is this - when all of us are taking our dirt naps, this music will remain and thrive. Traditional music is still alive and thriving, regardless of the lack of interest by commercial entities.   Songwriters are writing in both old and new traditions and serving a community. Folk music ain't dead - the living tradition moves on.