The Observer | UK News | It's cool, it's hip ... it's, er, folk:
Britain's ancient musical heritage has traditionally been a source of considerable embarrassment to the young and hip. Spain has bright red dresses and flamenco; Brazil has samba and thongs; we have, er, morris dancing and Arran sweaters. Folk music is simply not cool - but that could be changing.
I find this idea inexplicably pleasing. Perhaps it's the fact that I've interacted with the folk music of Argentina and Scotland, through tango and Scottish country dancing, but never really heard much else. I might even head along to the Barbican for this.
Part of me is delighted that folk is finally getting the attention it deserves. I have spent far too many years being able to stop conversations dead after someone asks me that fateful question; 'What kind of music do you like?'. The selfish part of me doesn't want it to become part of the mainstream since it's great being able to see these bands in small venues at reasonable prices. The Barbican gigs promise to be great, but you can't compare the atmosphere of the Barbican concert hall to that of the Union Chapel (and at double the ticket price...!)
To show support for the "10 items or fewer" guy, I'd like to point out to The Observer that the sweaters are from Aran, Galway Bay, not Arran, Firth of Clyde ;)
There's a great folk scene round here with a couple of good festivals too. Given that, I don't understand why there's so much rubbish on the radio...
This 3-parter looks interesting if you can get BBC4 TV - http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/folk-britannia.shtml
Oh, cool. Thank you. Watching it does rather depend if we have the living room reassembled in time, though.