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SRFN: Newsletter: Number 24 Autumn 1999: The young perspective
All views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily constitute SRFN policy.
Alien-Nation
Rosie Huzzard asserts the right to be different
To most people my age (12), I'm an alien, or some kind of weird being who's from another time period.
Being into folk music, or in fact any music other than pop is pretty hard when you're a child, and
(for instance) if you said that you listened to classical music every so often, within five minutes
you're a world famous conductor who does concerts every Saturday at the Royal Albert Hall!
Most of my friends are into Boyzone, All Saints and 911. Frankly, I don't think any of these people have
any talent that's worth shouting about. They can't sing or play any instruments, and their dance routines
are bit, well, routine if you ask me. Kids can't take the fact that you might have different tastes in music
to them, and whenever you mention the word folk, they treat you as an outsider. Pop music can be fun to
dance to, but mostly, I have to say, it's complete drivel. If you say to somebody "I went to a ceilidh at
the weekend," they'd probably give you a funny look and say, "I didn't know you spoke Spanish."
It's hard to be a folkie if all your friends go to discos and listen to pop all the time, but some of my
normal friends are quite interested now.
I don't think it's fair that children should be embarrassed because they're into different music from most.
A large percentage of the population listen to the same music as each other and expect everyone else to as
well. Folk music isn't encouraged much in schools either, the only sign of anything remotely folk-like in
our school music room is a grimy old accordion at the back of the storage room that looks like it was made
in the early 1920s.
I am not an alien, or a strange being from another time period. I'm just a normal 12 year old girl, apart
from the fact that I have some variety in my life and don't do what everyone else is doing just because
everyone else is doing it. It's good to be different and individual, what would the world be like if
everyone did the same things? Get Folk music into schools and people will think twice about it!
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