Lyrics & Knowledge Personal Pages Record Shop Auction Links Radio & Media Kids Membership Help
The Mudcat Cafesj



User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
GUEST,Matthew Baker Studying folk music (51* d) RE: Studying folk music 07 Nov 13


Wow, thanks for all the responses. I am obviously unfamiliar with the Mudcat community, and have been pleasantly surprised to get such a lively discussion going so quickly.

As far as the notion of a canon, I see clearly that it is a term with little value for discussing folk music. It is obviously a word with deep implications (a loaded canon if you will). I wasn't trying to suggest that any one of the collections by Lomax or others could constitute it, but perhaps 8or9or10 of such anthologies could begin to define a good place to start. But I agree that canon implies exclusivity, which leads to snobbery.

Even defining folk music is a fool's task: it's as constantly shifting and evolving as us primates are. One of the so called requirements seems to be producing music without a commercial bent. That would kick out Hank Williams Sr, Bob Dylan, and Pokey LaFarge out of the American folk music pantheon : no thank you! They're as authentically American as it gets. Another definition defines it as music of the people. Guess what Pete Seeger? Your dad went to Harvard, you're no folk musician! (in his defense he described himself as a singer or folk songs and not a folk singer, but still)

As for John Fahey, he was a folk musician responsible for the American Primitivism style of guitar picking. He later studied folklore and issued an anthology of the Mississippi bluesman Charlie Patton, "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues". His record label also released the final installment of the Harry Smith anthology.

That's all I got for now and thanks again to all that wrote back. I've gotten in email touch with Mick so I'll update any progress on that front for anyone interested. And I'll be sure to check this thread like a hawk and post new thoughts as they come to me!


Post to this Thread -

Back to the Main Forum Page

By clicking on the User Name, you will requery the forum for that user. You will see everything that he or she has posted with that Mudcat name.

By clicking on the Thread Name, you will be sent to the Forum on that thread as if you selected it from the main Mudcat Forum page.
   * Click on the linked number with * to view the thread split into pages (click "d" for chronologically descending).

By clicking on the Subject, you will also go to the thread as if you selected it from the original Forum page, but also go directly to that particular message.

By clicking on the Date (Posted), you will dig out every message posted that day.

Try it all, you will see.