I'm with Matt on this one. This sanctimonious message that keeps repeating itself in these type of threads -- "we are the true folkies," basically -- gets pretty grating to some of us. Besides, it's kind of silly to write a song complaining about how "they" are not writing folk songs any more. Wouldn't your time be better spent writing the kind of songs you feel are lacking, rather than complaining that "they" aren't doing it for you? You think we need a song about OJ? Write one!

The beauty of "folk," in most people's definition (I believe), is that nobody gets to claim exclusive ownership of it -- not the navel-gazers, not the angst-ridden adolescents, and not the arch-traditionalists. We all write, sing and play what has the most meaning for us, and then we discover later what portions of it end up being added to the folk tradition. To put a different twist on an old saying, "folk is what happens to you when you're making other plans".