From: bogul@nospambog.net   
      
   John Albert  wrote in   
   news:428CABBF.2A442B80@snet.net:   
      
   > In an earlier posting, Steve Daniels wrote:   
   > << Folk music in general, and bluegrass in particular are genres   
   > attractive to the most liberal of our citizens.  Not to say that there   
   > are no Christian conservative people that like it, but in general   
   > folkies are pretty liberal. >>   
   >   
   > Folk music is liberal, of course, but bluegrass? Of course NOT!   
   >   
   > I will take it that you are _not_ from America, right?   
   >   
      
   be nice.   
      
   > Bluegrass is probably one of the more _conservative_ American musical   
   > genres out there. Bluegrass is more than just music; it's a   
   > philosophy, a culture, a declaration that one believes in a particular   
   > way of life. This is why the Gospel tradition is one of the most   
   > important parts of the music, as well. Bands always seem to be at   
   > their best when singing Gospel - as if they were reaching out to a   
   > higher cause.   
   >   
      
   Ok... Let's reign it in a bit. For SOME artists it's a "philosophy, a   
   culture, a declaration that one believes". Some folks like the musical   
   form of bluegrass. I know cause I'm one of them. I get a kick out of   
   bluegrass instrumental numbers. Awesome stuff.   
      
   Gospel bands are at their best when they sing Gospel songs... that's   
   kinda why they're know as gospel bands. To say that that is the ONLY time   
   ANY band is at it's best is over the top.   
      
   Historicly, bluegrass themes have tended toward religion. But this is   
   changing for the betterment of bluegrass as a music form. I'm not against   
   nor taking a stance that the gospel stuff isn't good stuff. But it's not   
   the total fan base of the music.   
      
      
   > To fully embrace Bluegrass is to embrace the culture it represents.   
   > I'm not saying one can't be a liberal and like it - of course one can.   
   > But if one doesn't _believe_ the message that Bluegrass is singing   
   > about, well, that's being nothing more than a Bluegrass dilettante.   
   >   
      
   I couldn't disagree more. Perhaps I'm not a "real" bluegrass fan.   
   Whatever that really means. And I think you'd be hard pressed to define   
   that the "bluegrass culture" truly is. Unless you define a culture and   
   then only accept bands which represent that as being "real" bluegrass".   
      
   Music is typically classified by it's musical makeup rather than its   
   lyrical content... except for specifically religous music... and those   
   are still classified somewhat based upon musical form.   
      
   > You can pick around the edges of Bluegrass as if you were nibbling   
   > from a plate of cheese and crackers. Or you can dig into a full meal.   
   >   
   > It's your choice.   
   >   
   > - John   
      
      
   Feel free to spit out the seeds... but by all means dig in.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)