"Knock on any door, any where, and you'll be able to talk to someone - anyone - who'll be able to give the same sort of impassioned & moving testimony about the music of their life and times."

Really? I'm not denying the importance of music in people's lives now, but for the majority of people I know outside folk circles it's music they listen to rather than perform themselves. These days people are permanently plugged into their mp3 players, but I don't know many who could sing a song all the way through.

I'm sure there are still families or other groups for whom a good old sing-song is still an important part of their lives, but I believe they're now a minority.