Ask the indie professor: What do we mean by 'folk'?

Devendra Banhart? James Yorkston? Mumford and Sons?! Our indie prof asks who is the folkiest of them allIs the folk thing finished yet?Alex Kapranos via TwitterFolk originates from the German word "volk", meaning people, and therefore a fairly inclusive term. The word most commonly used by a culture to refer to itself is "people". But as the meanings of words change, folk came to be associated with the "common people". Currently, the use of "folk" is deeply enmeshed in American political discou...

Read full article Share article