It can be, but I think the best definition is music that appeals to filkers. This is circular, but I think it's the only way to actually cover the range, which includes songs about history and science as well as songs with science fiction and fantasy elements.
Part of what makes filk what it is that it's music for geeks-- there's overt mental content. Being able to hear the words is privileged over the instrumental part, and the lyrics have much more factual content than in other sorts of music.
The term "folk music" was originally a class-based folkloric term which referred to the music of the lower classes/working classes (aka "der Volk"). Before the advent of popular music, this type of music was contrasted with other genres such as classical music--folk usually had no notation system, was informal in nature, and was rarely documented except for weirdos like 19th century song collector John Childe (where the term "Childe ballad" came from) or Library of Congress archivist Alan Lomax.
After rock music blew up in the 50s, most popular music across the world became based on folk forms (the blues in particular) so the whole difference between "folk music" and other musics became hard or even impossible to delineate. IMHO, only singer-songwriters who are interested in preserving the original "folk music" or are creating songs in these traditions tend to use the term now.
I used to write abstracts for the International Index for Music Periodicals so I know a few things. :)
Well, probably not in the strictest original sense of the term.
However, times and the lingo change, right? I only talked about the term's origins--what was "folk music" in the 19th century certainly is not "folk music" now (and would be another post entirely).
IMHO, if a musician in 2012 performed and sang a version of "Age of Aquarius" on acoustic guitar with minimal percussion and the audience for today's folk music accepted it as part of the genre, it would be 21st century folk music to me.
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zvi and
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 08:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 08:00 pm (UTC)By that logic, all music is folk music.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 11:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 03:03 pm (UTC)Part of what makes filk what it is that it's music for geeks-- there's overt mental content. Being able to hear the words is privileged over the instrumental part, and the lyrics have much more factual content than in other sorts of music.
hmm, a little history for you
Date: 2012-10-24 11:34 pm (UTC)After rock music blew up in the 50s, most popular music across the world became based on folk forms (the blues in particular) so the whole difference between "folk music" and other musics became hard or even impossible to delineate. IMHO, only singer-songwriters who are interested in preserving the original "folk music" or are creating songs in these traditions tend to use the term now.
I used to write abstracts for the International Index for Music Periodicals so I know a few things. :)
Re: hmm, a little history for you
Date: 2012-10-25 10:09 am (UTC)Re: hmm, a little history for you
Date: 2012-10-25 01:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 03:21 am (UTC)Age of Aquarius and folk
Date: 2012-10-25 02:09 pm (UTC)However, times and the lingo change, right? I only talked about the term's origins--what was "folk music" in the 19th century certainly is not "folk music" now (and would be another post entirely).
IMHO, if a musician in 2012 performed and sang a version of "Age of Aquarius" on acoustic guitar with minimal percussion and the audience for today's folk music accepted it as part of the genre, it would be 21st century folk music to me.
Re: Age of Aquarius and folk
Date: 2012-10-25 03:05 pm (UTC)Re: Age of Aquarius and folk
Date: 2012-10-25 03:22 pm (UTC)