I think I realized a long time ago that the kinds of music I like are not shared by a large number of other people-- but that's OK. NEFFA is just about overflowing the Natick site-- and there is never time enough to see all the friends I would like to see there. To quote a different Heinlein story "if you only have a small bucket does it make a difference whether you fill it from a little pool or a big one?" Bartholomew, I agree with you-- prefer Ralph Stanley's O Death (and Dock Boggs to that!) to any version of it that Nashville might come up with.
but don't forget that the Golden Age of Country Music (1922-1941 IMHO) came about because record companies would record just about ANYTHING. . . with self-publishing and small companies this is going on now. . .again, check out the Camsco booth (Dick, if I keep doing this can I get a discount?) to get an appreciation of the incredible variety in traditional music today!
to return to Evy's original subject, it's kinda fun and subversive to think that a lot of people are hearing the clear-quill traditional music through the O Brother soundtrack in a way they've never heard it before. Maybe this is where the next generation is going to come from.