On one level, of course, traditional songs and tunes live among us dwellers in the 21st century as visitors from a parallel reality where the characters and situations, if generally recognizable, are set in a landscape removed from our own. To those who treasure the old songs and ballads of England, Ireland and Scotland, Flight is likely to be heard as a brilliantly conceived celebration of a communal sound far removed from the inward-gazing effusions of those whose art as often as not amounts to a sour narcissism: me music as opposed to people’s music. San Francisco-based Amelia Hogan, who effectively disqualified herself from the competition by being an actual folk singer (once upon a time defined as a performer whose repertoire consists of traditional and trad-influenced material), is the creator of Taking Flight. (Her stated influences, moreover, do not include a single folk musician, even by broad definition.) She does play an acoustic guitar, which I guess is all it takes to be a folk singer these days. When I sought out further information, I was unsurprised to learn that the artist is a young singer-songwriter who, from available evidence, has probably never heard an actual folk song in her life. I had never heard of it, likewise the artist responsible. Recently, for the benefit of those relative few who care about such matters, the Grammys announced the Best Folk Album of the past year.
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