Morlam styles

[thai3]

Can anyone list the main styles of morlam, I can think of ruen, cing and phoot thai, but I am sure there are two or three more styles. Did morlam styles originate in certain areas of Issan or are they ramdom? Is one style much older than others.Am I right in thinking that morlam pleun is not a style but just means a show and that morlam sao or sao morlam is also not a style but means unmarried singer? Anyone know of any books on morlam? I do have one published last year on cing from khorat university, but I have never seen another.
when it comes to thai music I am only really interested in luktung, lukrung and morlam. I don't consider bands playing western rock with thai lyrics, or pretty half thai boys and girls who got a contract for reasons other than talent, as worthy of much interest. Pop and rock does have the occassional talent, I would say Beau Sunita is a good example, but I cannot find a good reason to listen to it when there is so much more interesting thai music to experience.

[smiaw]

I guess you are right! The older ones sing with emotions that we may feel and sing along. The younger ones (most of them anyway) sing to entertain that we may laugh and forget our problems for a while. Personally, I prefer songs that deal with or describe our daily lives --- like luktung or morlam. However, I can't deny that there are some new pop that are really excellent. We only have 1 life , so live it!