ABSTRACT
As was indicated in the Introduction, various types of Greek urban folk music which are now commonly subsumed under the umbrella category ‘rebetiko’ have given rise to much controversy in Greece’s local and national press ever since they made their appearance, as a form of paid entertainment, on the stages of urban music cafés, during theatre performances and via the gramophone record.1 Only in part has this controversy – as perhaps any debate – been determined by rational intentions. The commentators upon rebetiko have seldom defined their concepts precisely. Quite the contrary, their remarks are usually characterized by inconsistencies, allusions, ambiguities and rather emotional diction. Lack in conceptual clarity and internal consistency has, however, not precluded the rebetiko debate from developing its own logic. This becomes particularly clear if we examine its central metaphors as well as some frequently recurring topoi created around these metaphors.
