One place we are definitely going wrong is the pompous idiocy of "Blandiver". Much as I love to be able to state the Child or Roud number of a song my band does, and preferably some collection detail including the source singer - (a) it's a battle with my band every time and (b) unless the audience are interested in that aspect it drives them away - it's part of what we are doing wrong. If it's not a folk song then I may well credit the composer. And if I've been "at" the tune or words I probably mention that to a folk audience.

At least twice we have been told "Oh, if that's folk, then I like it, must go to a festival to hear more". Once the remark came from an ambitious policeman. The point is that it's NOT art music nor pop music, and if you can understand that then the concept that there is an international common aspect (not one of form) makes sense. Which is why the 1954 definition (which is NOT ethnocentric), although maybe needing some fine tuning/updating, is still the best working definition we have. You don't have to reach for the bafflegab/managementspeak thesaurus, blind to the irony of using obfuscatory academic language to accuse others of blind academic obfuscation.


I think the first thing "Blandiver" has ever said that is correct is "The point is to find your own relationship with a song whilst acknowledging the sanctity of the source, not just to copy something". Denying that there is "folk music" is precisely the denial of that sanctity, and to set the tradition in aspic is to deny that relationship with the song. The language in which Blandiver's argument is couched makes it pretty obvious that his perspective cannot be due to stupidity, so it must be malice.   Perhaps a novel application of the concept of creative destruction.

Despite his obvious musical skill and knowledge it also seems that his sometimes deliberately pretentious choice of arrangement/accompaniment is rooted in a desire to obstruct access to the song, rather than facilitate it - just as much a conceit as the antics of Rihanna or Miley Cyrus. If you want to enable people more readily to relate to folk music a kaossilator (or even wavedrum) is a barrier not a gateway.