The “Folk Problem”

This article examines the Village Voice's coverage of Greenwich Village's growing folk music scene. The Village's “folk problem” had three manifestations: the contentious role that folk played in changing the community dynamics of the Village; the issues of taste raised by folk as a new genre of music; and disputes within the folk community over commercialization, popularization, and electrification. The study argues that the Voice's approaches to folk expanded readers’ notions of popular music journalism and criticism, giving additional insight into the origins, purposes, and methods of critical consecration and serious writing about music. It also contends that the paper's popular music criticism deserves a more prominent place in journalism history, popular music studies, and mass communications.