[FM] waterbug CD

[Dannielle Spindler-Swart]

     When I first began singing in public and working with other musicians, 
I paired up with a guy whose main genre is bluegrass, followed by Celtic 
music.  When we'd run through each other's repertoire to see where we had 
songs in common, he assessed me as a "folk" musician.
     Now, I never set out to be anything in particular, but I know (like 
everyone else) my choice of songs to sing was based upon liking the melody, 
liking what the song had to say, and being comforatble as the person singing 
those words.  It just happened that most of the time the songs that seemed 
to be saying something important, and saying it well, get shoved into the 
"Folk" category.  This bluegrass guy said folk music was too political for 
him.
    That got me into this FM list and several other discussion groups, and 
it seems to come out that everyone associates "folk" with "protest", and 
they equate "protest" with "politics/anti-war".
     There are many kinds of politics, and *social* politics is really where 
folk music shines, from "We Shall Overcome" to "Deportee" to "Hello in 
There".  Folk music seems to be the well-stated position songs, and the (now 
disbanded) Rage Against the Machine, despite all its electronics, was every 
bit a folk band in its statements.
     The Waterbug CD serves in that same function of providing us with a 
strong voice on an important topic for our times.  As such, discussion of 
the CD and its music is highly appropriate, no matter what stance you take.  
The CD will still be out there, making its statement.  We may as well be 
aware of it and see what it has to say.  As folk musicians, we'll be 
shouldering responsibility for it either way.  My copies are on their way to 
me already..

Dannielle
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/