The only difference is that there's no widespread commercial market for songs/recordings like those.

That's not to say that there aren't important songs being written and sung, nor is it to say that there are not important relationships and connections being made by people who still give a damn.

I, for one, am a member of the IWW, and am working on a campaign to organize the musicians and artists in my region and stop the profiteering of the venue owners who refuse to subsidize arts offerings.

There are plenty of thoughtful, aware, active people out there who can, will and do listen to important, relevant songs. They just won't be going to the mega-mall CD store to find them.