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Writes 'FolkWords Writes' - here you'll find personal observations, comment, argument and debate around folk music - 'telling folk about folk'. The aim is to discuss folk music roots-to-branches in the broadest sense (with no boundaries or restrictions) and examine the new, the old, the different, the strange, wierd and wonderful in folk music.
What does FolkWords write about?
To see what FolkWords has to say go to: Observations and Comment
To find other views we enjoy: FolkWords Blogroll
FolkWords writes about anything and everything involved with folk music. We explore burning issues and obscure facts, comment on traditional and modern folk, no corner of the folk music world is beyond our reach. FolkWords writes about the good points and the bad, the passion and the problems, the pathways and the corners of the folk genre. FolkWords is not afraid to voice opinion, our own and those from people at the centre, on the fringe of and from the far, dark reaches of folk music.
On FolkWords you’ll find observations on such diverse topics as the twists and turns of folk lyrics, commentary on the existence of folk as ‘niche music’, views on the place and position of protest folk and the possible set of ‘traditional’ against ‘new’ - some samples are shown below. There’s no fear here and a rampant desire to explore without boundaries. To see the full text of the samples below click the individual Read more ... links or go to Observations and Comment to see all FolkWords articles Tribalism in music is unavoidable: "Today we live in a tribalised society. Instincts that found form with Mods and Rockers, evolved into Hippies, Skinheads and Punks, then metamorphosed into a plethora of tiny tribes - each with their own dress, language, style and music. Fine though that may be, today’s tribes group people ‘out’ more than ‘in’. Read more ... Folk is ‘niche music: “There is no such thing as niche music. The truth is simple. Music hides in niches. That’s because of the so-called music that pours out of broadcast media. The unadulterated boiled pap that should cause universal vomiting, were not much of humanity sadly immune to its sound.” Read more ... Horror of horrors folk music is not politically correct!: "More precisely, songs such as ‘The Bonny Black Hare’, ‘Gentleman Soldier’, ‘The Ups and Downs’ and hundreds of others are apparently no longer acceptable for singing in pubs, clubs and other public places. They are not for public performance and in fact they are politically incorrect. Do we really have a political correctness lobby that dictates what people can sing – folk or otherwise?" Read more ... What do we protest about now?: “The type of song that takes on the role of protest ranges far and wide across the planet wherever anyone has something to protest against. Every major movement has spawned its own raft of protest songs, covering personal and global topics from slave emancipation to women's suffrage, through racial discrimination and civil rights, to anti-war songs and false imprisonment.” Read more ... For over five years, FolkWords has been 'telling folk about folk'. To agree or disagree, support or argue with anything written on FolkWords simply send us a message - it's easy, here's our email address. Put your thoughts down and hit 'send' - we look forward to your views: folkwords@hotmail.co.uk
On this journey FolkWords has encountered wildly differing opinions, many of them strongly held. There are hundreds of questions and probably thousands of answers - or maybe no answers at all, just different views. No matter, the point is the journey, not necessarily the destination. Research and influence for this project is wide and ranging. That means we may encounter one another on a web site, at a festival or a gig, in a pub or over a cup of strong tea - wherever and whenever - we meet we look forward to meeting you and talking to you. If you want to share and air your views, or you're passionate about folk music or if you've got something to say about it, don't restrain yourself get in touch with us. We might even publish your thoughts, along with ours, for the folk world to read.
"Somewhat like Victor Hugo’s hunchback driven insane by the bells, the debate about folk music definitions keeps ringing in my ears. And like the noises in Quasimodo’s deaf-eared head they refuse to go away. Ask two or more people to discuss folk and you’ll get twenty different opinions. Then soon you face another round in the definitions debate. So why bother listening to a debate, which in reality has no answers? Well, it’s pure interest in the differing views, nothing more. The genre doesn’t need defining but anyone can define it as they wish." "Defining music is nothing new. Most musical styles have individuals who strive to find or create definitions. Folk in all its guises from traditional to new has a wide and eclectic audience so maybe nobody cares. But if that’s the case why do I keep running into people desperate to put a label on folk? The definitions persist and differing views continue to ring out like another clang on an old bell." Tim Carroll 2007
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