Folk music emanates from the "volk," from the people. Pop music is similar since it comes from the populace, but whereas pop enjoys a certain flitting about amongst the masses (it is, after all, popular), it is not of the people... [more]

Folk music emanates from the "volk," from the people. Pop music is similar since it comes from the populace, but whereas pop enjoys a certain flitting about amongst the masses (it is, after all, popular), it is not of the people per se. Folk surges forth from collectivity, from that place common to all people (at least all people of a certain place; Indian folk music is certainly different from, say, Irish folk music; and yet there are even striking commonalities between vastly different folk musics). The difference between folk and pop can perhaps best be illustrated by the difference in Bob Dylan's voice on "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Like a Rolling Stone." With the former, he seems to speak from the earth itself, like a stone gasping for air. But once he picked up an electric guitar, his voice turned more particular, more knowing -- more urban, if you will: it resonates with concrete rather than the earth. Folk is not a complicated musical form; it doesn't swirl the way pop can, nor does it utilize the time changes and rhythmic complexities of other musical forms like jazz, classical, or electronica. It is made to be sung collectively about struggles common to all people -' poverty, war, loneliness. There's a reason we sing Woody Gurthrie songs around a campfire and not, say, The Pixies. Folk swells with sadness, righteousness, and desperation. The folk singer stands forth not as a pop star but as a kind of mouthpiece for everyone: she has an ability to express what needs to be expressed. Perhaps the folk singer is not as much an artist per se as much as she's gifted, an angel amongst humans. [show less]