For Heaven's sake - I couldn't even read more than 4 or 5 pieces of this thread - but: "Is Steve Earle folk?" ? I guarantee you he isn't sitting around wondering. He's probably writing, reading, conversing, or performing. He's damn good at what he does. This tendency to the overly-academic will make you nuts. In the words of Frank Zappa, "Shut up and play yer guitar." Go walk in the woods for a while and ponder whether Chuck Berry is "folk" then get back to me. What I've always liked is what I call "musical expression."