Sort of a 'Dictionary' site

Subject: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: Sorcha
Date: 21 Jul 01 - 05:01 PM

Don't know if any of you have stumbled across this one, but it's neat!! Click Me, baby!

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jul 01 - 05:56 PM

Thank you, Sorcha, I think that's great.

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: Jande
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 03:45 PM

Wow! That's pretty cool, Sorcha.

APPENDIX A, Songs And Tunes.

Bookmarked, thanks!

~ Jande

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 03:48 PM

I like THIS PART of the site even better! What a hoot!

~S~

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 03:51 PM

Oh darn, this was the part I thought the link would give, and it IS there but you gotta look, so here:

Folkie Profile: some of the common characteristics to be found throughout the subculture.

*Dress - strictly informal, although some are neater than others. Definitely more conservative than the flamboyant 60s. Only the occasional image-artist. There is no pressure to conform to a dress code - they just like it loose and comfortable, which you usually aren't in conservative clothing.

Long hair and beards are popular with men. Women show a much wider variety of hair styles. They may or may not wear makeup. There are no rules, only a general tendency towards the relaxed.

*Education - almost all are highly-skilled, either through formal education or a burning curiousity (or both). Someone once remarked that folk music had been taken over by academics, which isn't quite true, but does reflect on the intelligence of the participants.

This results in an oddity: well-educated middle- and upper-middle class folkies singing about ploughboys, miners, fishers, and so on, while the workers themselves are more likely listening to pop music on the radio. See Never-Never Land.

*Diet - eclectic, for the most part, though some of the meat-'n- potatoes types will never change. Ethnic foods of all types are always a hit. The trend to wholesome, real foods began in earnest with the underground in the 60s (not to be confused with media "hippies" and others who were used to flavor the news). There is a fairly high percentage of vegetarians. All folkie events provide vegetarian food. There is also a high percentage of very good cooks of both sexes. See potluck. See also real ale.

*Entertainment Interests - this is so mixed that it's difficult to say anything for sure. Sports, television, movies, all are possibilities. The hardest of hardcore traditionalists may be a fan of heavy metal rock, or sitcoms, or football, or what have you. To generalize, there's a preference for off-the-beaten-track cult favorites rather than mass entertainment. Science fiction is a big hit, especially the old and new "Star Trek" (and see filk). "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "Blackadder", and "Monty Python's Flying Circus" would be prime examples of the offbeat. Most folkies have memorized all the good bits. Classic cartoon shorts from the 40s and 50s and modern versions such as "Ren & Stimpy" are popular, though this might be a male preference.

While there may be a certain amount of consumption of the pop media, many spend far less time at this than the average (which is said to be 24 hours a week of TV watching), preferring something that requires active participation.

*Other Interests - tend to vary widely. Most are voracious readers and music listeners. Not surprisingly, a large percentage play instruments of some kind, ranging in expertise from beginner to virtuoso. It would be instructive to have statistics on this. Many (probably most) can sing, although the thought of a solo would intimidate the majority. Group singing (as in filling out a chorus song) is extremely popular, and singers rarely have trouble getting an audience going.

Many have considerable talent in some area outside the job. This is quite different from a hobby - they show remarkable abilities in professional-quality instrument making, textile crafts, drawing/painting, cabinetmaking, etc. All tend to love the art of conversation. This includes a love of wordplay, complex humor, etc.

It should be pointed out that an interest in folk music is almost never seen as a "hobby" - more often than not, it's an all-encompassing lifestyle. As someone once put it, "You don't take up folk music. It takes you up."

Oddly, few take the bother to learn to read music once they start playing folk music; in general, only those who had previous training ( paper-trained musicians) are musically literate. There are some who feel that notation has no place in folk, since the music is at its best in oral tradition. While this may be true, there's no reason you can't have it both ways.

Many folkies have an interest in (or participate in) related activities such as morris dancing, country dancing and/or mummers plays.

*Politics - almost all are left to left-of-center. Some are apolitical. There may be a few rightists, but they're rarely encountered (or keep it quiet to avoid heated discussions). Nearly all are anti-bureaucratic, anti-authoritarian, and very much against stupidity in the ruling classes. Almost all are against the military-industrial complex, yet almost all would be in favor of unseating a cruel dictator who abuses his people, though the heavy-handedness of Desert Storm might be an exception.

The many peace songs created by the folkies were against ignorant wars carried out by ignorant politicians, with Vietnam being the prime target.

Folk music fans have always been concerned with worker's rights, civil rights, feminist issues, and in general, the hope of a united world free of prejudice (we're still working on it - results ASAP).

Today's Green movement had its public start among folk audiences in the late 1950s, and reached a peak in the 1960s. Many songs about the environment were turned out in the 70s, and the trend continues, although today many songwriters are wary of the commercial exploitation of the environmental movement.

*Racism - if there's any racism in the subculture, it keeps a very low profile. Most folkies are utterly devoid of it, and in fact, folkies have always been in the forefront of civil rights movements, efforts to bring other cultures to the fore and so on.

*Technology - although the public perception of folkies (which may hark back to the live-off-the-landers of the 60s) is as Luddites, the majority are conversant with technology to some extent. A surprising number of computer hackers turn up in folk music, and many of them play instruments. Even the 60s minimalists now have mortgages, cars, CD players, etc.

There are no songs in favor of the nuclear industry, and many songs against it. Despite this, no anti-nuke song (in the sense of power plants) has ever become really popular. The majority may realize that there are no easy answers when it comes to generating the energy that everybody wants.

*One Other Thing - all folkies seem to own a Swiss Army knife or a variation.

Hardi of course is paper trained! All his dots land on the paper!

~S~

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 03:54 PM

We really oughtta have a link to this in the FAQ, ain't?

~S~

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: Sorcha
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 04:47 PM

Looks like you and I are the only ones interested, sis. Don't know about the FAQ, but it ought to go in the links. I found it, I guess I could do that.......

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: GUEST,BowRegards
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 06:04 PM

Personally, I find the stereotyped rant above insulting in the extreme. A fucking insult to people who are descended from living American music traditions. It makes it sound as if folk music first originated in 1966.

College educated Anglo American middle class first discovering mountain music that year notwithstanding, I find it particularly insulting to the myriad ethnic folk traditions, the vast majority of whom wouldn't fit this description at all.

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: Jande
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 06:56 PM

Well, I rather enjoyed it... ;`)

It's good to see that we all can give our varied opinions here, yes?

~ Jande

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 08:29 PM

Nice site, I didn't feel insulted at all, and yes I've got a swiss army knife!

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: GUEST,rangeroger
Date: 22 Jul 01 - 09:48 PM

Sorcha, I bookmarked it immediately when you posted it.Love it.

I think all-purpose belt utility tools,ala Leatherman, should be added to the Swiss Army knife.

rr

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 10:06 AM

Guest BR, do you think some of the humor of it may have been the irony of exactly what you just described?

~Susan

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: JenEllen
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 10:21 AM

They forgot to put the glitter-hamsters between 'Girl From North Country' and 'Gnu'...aside from that, a much loved site Sorch. Outdone yersailf lassie!
~J

Subject: RE: Sort of a 'Dictionary' site
From: Alice
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 10:29 PM

The "folkies dictionary" has been on my page of music links for quite some time (a couple of years?) and I thought I had added it to the Mudcat in an earlier thread (or maybe it is on the links page? Fun stuff. Too easy to get absorbed in reading it while the time speeds by.

Alice