The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread dedicated to Folk music.



Folk music is a term for musical folklore.

The term, which originated in the 19th century, has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by word of mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers.

It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. Since the middle of the 20th century, the term has also been used to describe a kind of popular music that is based on traditional music.

Fusion genres include folk rock, electric folk, folk metal, and progressive folk music.

Source: Wikipedia

This thread includes folk music from around the world indigenous to any global community, country, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music

I will throw my hat in the ring yet again. When it comes to folk music I can not go past Irish folk music. From the tradional's like the Dubliners to the likes of the Pogues and the Tossers I love it all. A pint or two of Kilkenny and a good sing-a-long is what Irish Folk music is all about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46EXY4...

The Dubliners on youtube.

My favourite Dubliners song is Seven Nights Drunk and Mont, links soon to follow.

Looking forward to it. Thanks.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Pogues frontman here is a link
http://j-walkblog.com/images/shanex9.jpg

This is what to much Irish Folk music does to you.

Thanks. Great link.

Heres some great Irish Folk songs

The Dubliners Seven Nights Drunk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CWIIo...

The Pogues Dirty Old Town http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CWIIo... not the best sang version, but it show Shane Macgowan in his natural state drunk.

The Tossers Good mornin' Da http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV_L6T....

The Dreadnoughts Eliza Lee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV_L6T...

The Saw Doctors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtAxF3...

And finally another one from the Pogues and the Dubliners The Irish Rover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au30c9...

The first clip seems to keep buffering; here is another link:

The Dubliners Seven Nights Drunk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RCnV0...

The second link was to the same one as the Dubliners; I have attached a copy that does not buffer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMMgIq...

Thanks for that Bentley

The third one was uplifting (smile). The Tossers Good Mornin Da - sad at the end when he said (No one).

I think the Dreadnoughts one is the same as Tossers; be sure to do a preview before posting and check your links; if they look the same you have a duplicate. You would be able to find it before doing a post.

Here is a link for Eliza Lee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN4k_y...

That one wasn't too bad...good beat.

Michael, you have somehow copied the same links and duplicated them in your post.

Make sure to check your links by doing a preview making sure that each link is different and corresponds to the song or video you are posting above. Another good idea is after you have posted; just go in and check your links and make sure you have the right ones in the right places. Then you can do an edit and fix up the ones which are wrong.

The Saw Doctors I could not fix because I was not sure what you were referring to.

In terms of the Dubliners; their lead singer was Ronnie Drew who has passed away:

About Ronnie Drew:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Drew

What is Shane MacGowan doing now; is he still performing? It sounds like he had quite a few issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Ma...

Shane MacGowan is still kicking about here is a link to his official Website http://www.shanemacgowan.com/. He has a new band and is touring. Still drinking like a fish though, he did try to sober up once, apparently he is terrible sober.

Oh dear. I do hope he has at least stopped the binge drinking. A real shame.

When I think of folk music, I think of Bob Dylan:

I think of Mr. Tamborine Man:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vd...

Bob Dylan and Just Like a Woman:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbmp...

About the song:

Dylan wrote "Just Like a Woman" on November 25, 1965 (Thanksgiving Day) in Kansas City while on tour.

It was allegedly inspired by New York socialite Edie Sedgwick, who frequented Andy Warhol's Factory at around the same time that Dylan was introduced to Warhol. Sedgewick had a tendency to catch the attention of musicians; The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed wrote "Femme Fatale", released on 1967's The Velvet Underground & Nico album, about Sedgwick at roughly the same time.

"Just Like a Woman" has also been rumored to have been written about Dylan's relationship with fellow folk singer Joan Baez.

In particular, the lines "Please don't let on that you knew me when/I was hungry and it was your world" seem to refer to the early days of their relationship, when Baez was more famous than Dylan.

The master take of "Just Like a Woman" was produced by Bob Johnston and recorded at Columbia Studios, Nashville, Tennessee on March 8, 1966, during the recording sessions for Blonde on Blonde.

The song features a lilting melody, backed by delicately picked nylon-string guitar and piano instrumentation, resulting in arguably the most commercial track on the album.

The musicians on the track include Dylan himself on guitar and harmonica, along with a host of top Nashville session musicians, including Charlie McCoy, Joseph A. Souter Jr., and Wayne Moss on guitar, Henry Strzelecki on bass, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, and Kenny Buttrey on drums.

Although Dylan's frequent sidemen, Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson, were both present at the recording session, they didn't actually play on the song.

Their task at the session was to act as intermediaries between Dylan and the hired studio musicians.

In addition to its appearance on Blonde on Blonde, "Just Like a Woman" also appears on several Dylan compilations, including Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Masterpieces, Biograph, The Best of Bob Dylan, Vol. 1, The Essential Bob Dylan, and Dylan.

Live recordings of the song have been included on Before the Flood, Bob Dylan at Budokan, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert, and The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue.

Dylan performed the song at George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 and consequently, a live recording of it is featured on the Concert for Bangladesh album.

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan in 1976 - Railroad Boy

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xuoz...

Bob Dylan is the King of Folk for sure. Here is a link to a great doco on Bob, No Direction Home http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367555/

Another classic folk act are Simon & Garfunkel with great songs like:

Cecilia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5_QV9...
Mrs Robinson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE1dz6...
Sound Of Silence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZGWQa...
Bridge over Troubled Water http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKJuD...

Bring back the skivvy I say.

The Weavers

Folk. Always fabulous!
When I first listened to this beautiful song, I was certain this was a man singing, but no: Tracy's a woman (well, the name should have turned her in...) - she is still great! You should know this song, if not love and enjoy it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPoH6p...

These folks are a must! I shall thank my grandmother for loving this great duo and letting me share this love. There is something so calming about his voice... And the songs/poems they pick to record, that's a great choice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKJuD...
or, if you like it a little less quiet, Mrs Robinson will make it bumpier!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C1BCA...

I fell in love with the cover of the album, and later I found the songs rather good! This is Brandi Carlile, if you're into a different aspect of folk music -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pQLt...

The Soundtracks of Shrek is incredible. One of the greatest non-original-scores soundtrack of an animated movie Ever! I mean, seriously: every single song is completely awesome. Is this even possible? Ask Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell, both of them are very talented! And the variety of genres! Wow. Just wow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1YuGm...

Another artist I have recently discovered and I really like is Davis Gray. Maybe the folk-ish answer to Craig David, but nonetherless - better (but only a little bit...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KMUP8...

Oh, and CELTIC! Of course! Another favorite!
I love Irish music groups, like The Cranberries and The Corrs, but the best album of an Irish group I have ever heard is Clannad's first complication album titled 'Rogha' -
At first, you need a catchy song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zP53E...
and then a deeper tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvgl5Y...

Danna, you have a knack for the music threads - I can see that you love music - are you a musician yourself.

I am not a musician, but I love good music! I really do, Truly, Madly, Deeply!
Plus, I think that music is a fascinating way to learn about history. Most people tend to forget this some time, unfortunately. From Ghanan tribal dances of hunt, through the (I forgot the name of that tribe in Tibet)'s Women Victory Poem, on to the Mozart era and to the newest electropop: it can teach us so much! It's a theory I shall prove someday, maybe through this group.

Well that is nice Danna and you joined and didn't even know we had a Music folder.

No, I had no idea we had a music folder, and I'm glad you do. Maybe we could add something about the research of history, the fields of anthropology and archaeology - as a very tiny part of the group. I mean, we have a 'Classical Opera' folder, why not open something that is even more directly connected to history? No, no. I take that back. I think the group is fine.

Danna we do have a suggestion box and we will always consider all suggestions. Your ideas are "very" worthy of consideration. But they are not really part of the Music folder. What we have here is a Music overall folder and different threads reflecting the various music genres or offshoots. Any member can recommend a thread and we take it under advisement and see where it plays in how the group is laid out.

But I love your ideas and posts. A bit acerbic touched with fun and frivolity like music itself. Please continue to journey your way around the Music folder at your leisure.

And here is the suggestion box for the music folder:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

You will find suggestion boxes all over our site.

Ðɑηηɑ wrote: "I am not a musician, but I love good music! I really do, Truly, Madly, Deeply!
Plus, I think that music is a fascinating way to learn about history. Most people tend to forget this some time, unfo..."

If you were trying to link to the Indian novel by that name here is how we do it:

by Faraaz Kazi - have you read that book or was it a coincidence.

You referred to a Women Victory Poem - was that a Tibetan poem - who wrote it?

There are some interesting poems in here from Tibet - some were sung by Nun's imprisoned and another was a Victory song from one of the prisons.

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/ealac/bar...

Bentley wrote: "Ðɑηηɑ wrote: "I am not a musician, but I love good music! I really do, Truly, Madly, Deeply!
Plus, I think that music is a fascinating way to learn about history. Most people tend to forget this s..."

There was a tribe somewhere along the border of Tibet (or some other country in that area), a matriarchal society in which women were warrior, so they had a victory poem that they wrote and also sang. I am not even sure if this tribe still exists...

It probably doesn't but if you come across what you were referring to - let us know. I was trying to follow the lead.

I think it was the Mosuo, but it doesn't mention anything about the Poem. Maybe I confused... I'll see.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosuo#Ro...
I probably referred to what today we call 'The Amazon Women' (which were from Causasus-area...).

The Mosuo are not really warriors so maybe you were thinking of the Amazon Women.

Yes, exactly. I suppose I confused between the Amazon Warriors and the matriarchal and slightly-misandrist ways of the Mosuo women.

The Mosuo women run everything and the men stay really with their matriarchal families and do not live with any wife. They have what is called "walking marriages". The men seem to be the food gatherers. I don't see in their history much of a need for a warrior or victory song.

Exactly, so I believe I mixed up The Caucasian Warrioresses and the Matriarchal Mosuo.

Yes, exactly (smile).

We have to admit, one way or another, both of them are interesting :)

Yes but of course - but here we were looking for their historical relevance to the music discussed (smile)

Folk goes in many directions. The book Electric Eden is meant to be an interesting exploration of the British folk boom of the 1960s and 1970s.

Another folk (folk-rock to be precise) artists I enjoy listening to is Suzanne Vega. I think that's she is a great example of a singer who has made it from the second milenium to the third. I mean, many good artists of the 20th century has struggled with their music, because the 21st century was the dawn of electropop, hip-hop and dance-pop music as the mainstream genre, and the "new crowd of listeners" (the 21st century teenagers) didn't like their sound, because they were brought up on a different kind of music, like Rihanna, Black Eyed Peas Gwen Stefani and so on (it depends what you're listening to). Better music was still around - but they never got to know it because it was out of the definition of 'mainstream' or 'popular'. So I'm just saying that Suzanne Vega is an artists whose fans today includes older people and teenagers as well, and it's really uplifting.
There's a piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHZV7N...
And
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZt7J0...
Enjoy!

Bentley wrote: "In terms of the Dubliners; their lead singer was Ronnie Drew who has passed away:

About Ronnie Drew:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Drew"

God bless Ronnie Drew, but he was always the "other" singer in the Dubliners, only really leaping into the limelight when their main main Luke Kelly popped his clogs. Have a look for a recording of Luke Kelly singing 'Raglan Road' (an adaptation of a Patrick Kavanagh poem) if you want to hear what the fuss was about.

RIP Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger, a 20th-century troubadour who inspired and led a renaissance of folk music in the United States with his trademark five-string banjo and songs of love, peace, brotherhood, work and protest, died Monday night after being hospitalized in New York for six days. He was 94.

For more than 50 years, Mr. Seeger roamed America, singing on street corners and in saloons, migrant labor camps, hobo jungles, union halls, schools, churches and concert auditoriums. He helped write, arrange or revive such perennial favorites as “If I Had a Hammer,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” and popularized the anthem of the civil rights movement, “We Shall Overcome.”

How sad, one of the all-time greats :-(

I love these songs Mr. Seeger helped write revive.

There is so much in this group. This is the first time I've actually seen the site. I'm a great fan and fretted stringed instrument musician. I'll be back and see what you guys are reading.

Autobiography of one of the giants of "freedom folk" music, Joan Baez......a social activist, she was a force to reckon with during the unrest of the 60s and 70s. I have seen her several times and her crystal clear voice can bring tears to the eyes.


And A Voice To Sing With

by Joan Baez

Synopsis:

A musical force and a catalyst for social change: At the age of eighteen Baez was an international star with a Time magazine cover story; fifty years later she has thirty-three albums to her credit. She also marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., was jailed for supporting the draft resistance, and sang in the first Amnesty International tour. An extraordinary woman who has led an eventful life, Baez’s memoir is as honest, unpretentious, and courageous as she is. .

Jill wrote: "Autobiography of one of the giants of "freedom folk" music, Joan Baez......a social activist, she was a force to reckon with during the unrest of the 60s and 70s. I have seen her several times and ..."

She was a role model for me when I performed as a folk singer. I learned all her songs.

Such a clear, lyrical voice.....wonderful artist.

I posted these comments as a review in my 50 Books in 2014 thread. I'm not sure what the policy is with this group (I'm still pretty new), but I thought I'd add these comments to this thread too since it seemed appropriate.

I've been a fan of folk and acoustic music in general for most of my life, but for some reason, I haven't done much to learn more about the people who made the music. I started to change that last year, reading biographies of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. This year so far, I've tackled Woody Guthrie and now the Kingston Trio, whose records my older brother played over and over.

The author is obviously a fan of the group, and admits to friendship with them so it's not a totally unbiased account. Still, he tries to stay as impartial as possible in describing weaknesses, especially in attempting to explain the breakup of the original trio in 1961.

Probably one of the biggest surprises to me was the casual attitude of singers in the 1950s and 1960s toward copyrights of songs. If a song was in the public domain and a writer changed or added verses, he would claim credit for that song from that point on. But if a later writer changed just a few things, they would often also claim copyright privileges. More than a few lawsuits ensued.

If you liked the music of the folk revival in the 50s and 60s, you'll enjoy some of the behind the scene stories.

by William J. Bush (no photo)