Joanna
Michael Pollak wrote:
> Anyone interested in our discussion of folk music a few weeks back might
> enjoy an article in the current New Yorker: "The Last Verse: Is there any
> folk music still out there?" by Burkhard Bilger, esp. pp. 52-56, which is
> a very smart, very well-written, and very funny summary of the rise,
> discovery and obliteration of American folk music -- and a great
> description of the essence of a great folk song, and what makes is a
> cultural meme.
>
> It's unfortunately not online, but I'll be glad to send a pdf of the
> relevant first half to anyone interested.
>
> BTW, in the second half, the article deals with the most recent
> re-re-anthologizers. While discussing some colorful obsessive collectors,
> it notes just how rare listeners to this music now are:
>
> <quote>
>
> Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan don't bother to track folk music as a
> separate category -- the numbers are so low. ("We don't put out reissues
> anymore -- none," Yazoo's owner, Richard Nevins, told me. "There are no
> sales.")
>
> <unquote>
>
> Michael
>
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