A Space Too Large

Dear Folk Music, 

We’ve been going steady for a while now. I first noticed you when I was in Prince Edward Island by myself, watching Martin Scorsese’s Bob Dylan documentary. I was transfixed by how Dylan managed to say so much with just an acoustic guitar, holding people silent and spellbound with nothing but chords and words. 

I went backwards and forwards in your history, from Woody Guthrie to Dan Mangan. One thing I’ve noticed is that you’ve never ceased to be accessible, and in fact seem to have become more popular with time. 

You’ve changed though. You used to take yourself a little too seriously, which is why Dylan left. I understand why you had to move away from that, but really it seems like you’ve just become a parody of yourself. 

I think that’s the issue: these days you’re everywhere and not saying that much. 

I set out at the beginning of this christmas break to find a bunch of new music, since my playlist hasn’t changed radically in three or so years. I scoured the CBC Radio 3 website, my friend’s playlists, even Pitchfork (ew). Do you know what I found? 

Hundreds of new folk musicians, all equally nice and inoffensive. Making matters worse, the great bulk of this new stuff is pretty mopey. My preferred term for you right now is “withery”.

I understand how hypocritical this critique might be, since I create my own withery folk music sometimes. I suppose this might be a good time to say that I love withery folk music sometimes, but it seems to have become the new rule. Bearded men with plaid shirts, wispy arrangments, glasses and acoustic guitars have become so ubiquitous that I could literally take all the acclaimed new singer-songwriter releases from the last few years, play them all end-to-end, and die at a ripe old age before they finish moping. 

Remember when you used to be about something other than emotions and relationships? Folk music could sometimes be quite rebellious, in a way Rock & Roll just can’t be.

I really can’t find any of that nowadays amidst the pointless yearning for a bygone era, or the attempts to find a cuter way to articulate sadness. 

This might be all in my head, but the thing that really upsets me is that you might just simply be reflecting this dispassionate generation we’re living in. That’s what really scares me. 

Please do something soon, 

-Chris