Rather than think of the distinction between folk and pop as being authentic vs staged, I think of it as being about the eternal vs the fresh. Themes of death, marriage, birth, poverty, war — those are the folk side. Themes of innovation, immediacy, daily life, triviality — those are the pop side. If you write a country song about video games, it’s fresh. If you write a metal song about the death of a friend, it’s eternal.

My antique music is sometimes authentic and sometimes staged, but is almost always about eternal things.