Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with folkmusic

What makes this lyric particularly "English"?

Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:48:54 -0800

Folk-music-filter: Is there something particularly "English" about the 1-2-3-4 construction I'm hearing in the song Roots by the group Show of Hands? The song is a sort of lament over the fact that English music & traditions are not particularly admired or practiced in favor of more exotic musical fare. That the music that people listen to and dance all night to isn't particularly "English".

And it's done not in a horrible, racist BNP sort of way, but as the lyric reads,
what have they got and we've got wrong?

I really dig the song because it's not saying "Other people's music is shit", or even "Our music is better than other people's". It comes across to me as saying "Our music is worth enjoying and it's been neglected".

And as the song is about "Englishness", the line Seed, plant, flower, fruit, never gonna grow without their roots stuck in my ear.

The first thing I thought of was Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman from "Jack and the Beanstalk". Then I thought parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme

That 1-2-3-4 construction brings the thought of England to mind. Seed, plant, flower, and fruit sounds like something one of Prof. Tolkien's hobbits would have said.

Is what I'm noticing something that is particularly "English"? Any other similar examples?

Lend me your dirty mind.

ctmf — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:35:07 -0800

Help me make 'Cripple Creek' more R-rated. So this song is fun.

I can't help thinking, though, that it could be better. I need YOU to help me write rated-R verses for it.

Premise: Cripple Creek is kind of far away and a pain in the ass to get to. There is one good reason to go there, though: the girls in Cripple Creek are, let's say, easy. When you go to Cripple Creek, you'll get some action. Tell me what YOU'RE going to do in Cripple Creek, or maybe about the last time you went, or about the girl you have there.

Or, maybe you're a girl from Cripple Creek, tell me about yourself.

Bonus points for subtle innuendo, but that's not required. Yes, it's sexist. You can reverse the genders if you like.

16 Tons of Number 9 Coal

RussHy — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:24:08 -0800

What is Number 9 coal? It is mentioned in the song 16 Tons:

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
Picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I hauled Sixteen Tons of number 9 coal
And the store boss said, "Well, bless my soul"

New Ones To Love?

1f2frfbf — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:56:11 -0800

Searching for good versions of Stephen Foster songs. Having been reintroduced to the works of Stephen Foster through the Beautiful Dreamer compilation, I now want to hear more of his music, and in new and different ways. Searching for his song titles brings an overwhelming wealth of options (even on this here site). Help me narrow it down and recommend me some artists and tracks.

What are some specific venues a solo acoustic musician should try to perform at in or around NYC?

bingwah — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:28:04 -0800

I'm a solo, acoustic, folk/alt-country musician. What are some specific venues I should try to perform at in or around NYC? I've finished recording my album and want to play out. What are some specific venues in or around NYC I should try to perform at? I'm looking for venues where I could play solo and it wouldn't seem out of place. My music is pretty mellow folk, alt-country type of stuff.

I live in Rockland County, work in NYC and I'm originally from Long Island so it can be anywhere close to the city as well. It could even just be an open mic night or something. I really just want to get my feet wet as I've never performed anywhere before.

Looking for British Folk Music

interrobang — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:37:23 -0800

Where can I find old recordings of British folk music? Is there a British Isles equivalent to the Smithsonian Folkways series of recordings? I'm interested in hearing real folk music--maybe from the 1900s to 1930s--not Fairport Convention-type bands that were influenced by old folk music. I'd love it if this music were freely downloadable online, but any suggestions for albums to buy would be appreciated, too. I'm hoping that there's something like this online, but for English music. Thanks!

Ethnomusicology equipment recommendations

iamck — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:10:28 -0800

I'm headed out to travel rural developing areas on a folk music field recording expedition. Can I get some advice on what equipment to use? I'm traveling rural, likely North and Sub-Saharan Africa. I like to travel rugged and lightweight. Which means no powered mic and a lightweight recording device.

I'm not super concerned with quality, but also don't want to squander the opportunity to get good recordings.

Vermont folklife has a good equipment guide, and I've looked quite a bit through this. But I would love any firsthand experience, stories, ideas.

And her name was Polly Ann

Pants! — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:05:55 -0800

I'm looking for as many different recordings or versions of John Henry as possible (ie Johnny Cash at Folsom). I'd like to get dozens of copies of this song sung in different ways or by different people. The more obscure the better, but don't assume that I know about a common recording.

Help me find moody mountain music

Roman Graves — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:00:51 -0800

Looking for moody old-time/Appalachian folk music. I'm on the hunt for some great old-time/Appalachian folk music, but not just any. Specifically, I'm looking for darker, more atmospheric tracks. Fire and brimstone themes are very welcome. In the vain of latter 16 Horsepower, but more traditional. Maybe something you'd expect to hear if Sergio Leone had made a film in Eastern Kentucky. Specific album and/or song recommendations appreciated.

The old, weird Uganda?

1f2frfbf — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:27:41 -0800

What is your country's equivalent of The Anthology of American Folk Music? I'm looking for traditional folk music (ie. vocal and instrumental indigenous music, preferably from the first half of the twentieth centry) from various countries with multiple artists in various genres all together on one disc or in one box.

I've bookmarked this thread, and I've consumed many of the Putumayo CDs, but I'm looking for new and specific recommendations to expand my musical horizons.

Folk Music about New York?

piratebowling — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:59:59 -0800

Recommendations for Folk song specifically abut New York City? I know on the album "Bleeker and MacDougal" Fred Neil had at least 2 songs directly referencing New York ("Bleeker and MacDougal" and "Handful of Gimme" are the songs). And recently at work I've been hearing Shannon McNally's Song "Pale Moon" also about New York. I have fallen in love with all of these songs. This is inspiring me to amass a collection of Folk songs about the city. Please give me any and all recommendations, no matter how obvious they may seem. My exploration of folk has been erratic and un-thorough, so there is a very decent chance I have missed some very obvious examples.

I need some good recommendations for folk songs that I can teach my 5th and 6th grade music classes.

doppler68 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:06:04 -0800

I need some good recommendations for folk songs that I can teach my 5th and 6th grade music classes. Maybe american, african american or celtic I am a 5th and 6th grade general music teacher. I need to get my students singing which is hard. Folk music is generally written well to be taught by rote rather then note. And in my opinion the melodies are hipper then choral music for this age. Does anyone have any recommendations for folk songs that would work well with this age? I have a pretty good selection for my 1st through 3rd graders but 4th 5th and 6th is harder. They can't be thought childish. Thanks

What royalties are owed for an arrangement of an old folk song?

Martin E. — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:39:18 -0800

My band are thinking of putting out a CD using a modified version of someone else's arrangement of a traditional folksong. What royalties, if any, do we owe them? This person has put out a CD-R of their solo guitar arrangements of traditional folk songs and made the guitar tab available online. We'd like to record and release a version of one of these. Their version was just guitar, and we'd be adding vocals and several other instruments, maybe a bridge or a guitar break that departs from their arrangement. But the the guitar part would basically be their tab almost verbatim. I'm somewhat familiar with the rates and process of recording a cover version of something that's not public-domain. But I have no idea what is the procedure for someone's copyrighted arrangement of a public-domain song.

I'll be contacting them directly saying "We'd like to take your arrangement and record it like this, and we'd be happy to pay you the going rate for this type of thing" but what is the going rate for this type of thing? And just because I'm curious, when it comes to traditional folk songs, at what point does it cease being a cover of someone's copyrighted arrangement and become your own original version of a song you learned from someone else? Is it when you add extra instruments, or add your own intro/outro/bridge, or what?

Seduced by Barbara Allen.

lustra — Tue, 02 May 2006 14:58:21 -0800

Help me understand the Scottish/Irish ballad tradition. Lately, I have been reading transcriptions of very old songs like "The Douglas Tragedy," "Barbara Allen," "Lord Randall," etc. and listening to the very weird old music on the Harry Smith anthology of American folk music. And, of course, I keep seeing derivations or inventions of all this old, weird, murderous stuff in the Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Ramblin' Jack Elliot music I've been listening to since I was a kid. So I would like to somehow track the high points in this old ballad tradition from the old UK songs to the American southeast folk music down to Guthrie and Dylan. I'd like to get a sense of a "map"--the greatest of these ballad songs at different times, and I'd eventually like to supplement the map with recordings of the songs. I guess what I'm asking for is the "greatest hits" of the Scots-Irish ballads, from the old sources, up through what we now call bluegrass, country, and folk. Assuming "Barbara Allen" is a song of greatness, what are the others I should find lyrics for, or listen to? And what books, CDs, MP3s, etc. would you recommend? Thanks.

Good upcoming folk music shows in the NYC area?

Dr. Wu — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 12:34:20 -0800

My mother's husband is a big folk music fan, and his birthday is coming up. I'd like to get them 2 tickets to a good folk music show that takes place somewhere in the NYC area before the end of 2005. I've searched sites like pollstar.com, but the amount of information is just too large; conversely, searching the sites of individual venues takes forever, and I don't have a comprehensive venue list, anyway. Any online resources or reliable venues you can recommend?

Muchas gracias!

No, it is not the theme to Tetris.

I EAT TAPAS — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 21:07:46 -0800

NameThatRussianFolkTuneFilter: a friend into shortwave radio picked up this song over the airwaves, recorded it to tape for posterity, and has been transfixed since -- but doesn't know what it is or who's singing. It's a long-shot, but can someone ID this?

Folk Music

Item — Sun, 11 Jan 2004 15:25:20 -0800

Recommend some good folk music, old or new, please.

Traditional Jewish Music

elphTeq — Wed, 07 Jan 2004 20:37:15 -0800

What is the type of traditional jewish music that uses clarinet-like instruments (and sometimes, violins, i think) called? An example of this music is heard in the "Snatch" soundtrack at the beginning of the movie, and this type of music is also often played in TV shows that focus on NY's Jewish quarter (Queens?) for their storylines.