Romanian folk used to be about haidouks (some sort of Robin Hood outlaws) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vnxemB0D6s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NBX_hlkocc Then in the 80's-90's it switched towards jazzy, postmodernist, romantic motifs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNDrZPctw1E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt5Zsgsbmp4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKlxWA3xEgE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NDouPzwG9w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOJ_FM4rAaA Folk music was the accompanying voice of the 1989 Eastern Bloc Fell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eiQ4sLsC00 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E19EPlofKcY although even the Communist Party used to dig it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UejMK3xTwV8 As of recently, new-school folk has mostly to do with satire and sarcasm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuXIYVyKh18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r-Kkd-w5Tk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXqFAbtg8gk bonus: Karma band bestly represents casual Romanian folk - the song of the mountaineers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87uWR3Jo4yc also, it is important to realize that folk music is not to be confounded, at least in Romanian, with folklore music, also known as "popular music", or traditional. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8XCOLDbtY A link between folk and folklore is this living legend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4rCfkyB_X8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VfW0B1YP7w "Folk You" is currently the main promoting platform: http://www.romania-insider.com/folk-you-alternative-music-fe.../
We have a running gag with my Romanian friends where we put this song on repeat at parties until someone notices it's been playing for 10 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAJ9RxfvvtU After a weekend at the country house it's the go to song to annoy locals who made the mistake to come with us ;)
Have you ever seen this stand up by Jon Mulaney? It's hysterical. Enjoy.