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30 Jan 06 - 01:49 PM (#1657926) Subject: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: The Shambles According to this artcle in the Guardian - folk music is now cool again http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1697703,00.html The writer does point out the following - There's one problem though. When the government proposed new anti-binge licensing laws, it included a clause that would have made it difficult to make music in a pub without a music licence. Amendments were made, but the informal forum for songs and expression of ideas for centuries has been inhibited. So Gordon, in looking for British roots, may well find his party's new laws have cut off the branches. |
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30 Jan 06 - 02:15 PM (#1657957) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Folkiedave I have written to the Editor supporting this and pointing out absurdities in the Act. Dave |
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30 Jan 06 - 03:39 PM (#1658014) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Allan C. Let's play, "What if?" for a moment. What if folk music were once again considered cool in the USA? What are the odds? And while considering that, I wonder if the US govenment would even consider the sort of legislation currently in effect in the UK? Personally, I rather doubt it. Which brings me back to the issue at hand. What the hell were those people thinking? Frankly, I can't imagine! |
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31 Jan 06 - 10:40 AM (#1658301) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Mrs_Annie There's another one today: here |
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31 Jan 06 - 11:01 AM (#1658312) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: breezy sh, dont tell everyone. We dont want to be discovered Dont mention the political songs you can hear in St Albans on every Sunday night. |
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31 Jan 06 - 11:05 AM (#1658316) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: wysiwyg Here's the article Shambles linked. ~S~ ==================================================== Songs of experience Folk music might be cool again - but what matters more is that it's the voice of the people Mark Espiner Monday January 30, 2006 The Guardian Try everything once except incest and folk dancing. Arnold Bax articulated with wit the cultural embarrassment of morris dancing and folk music that many seem to share. But ridiculed though it may be, folk music is a strong force in defining and expressing what British culture is - and, as a political battleground between the left and the right, should not be overlooked. In fact, folk - songs that tap into the traditional roots of the nation's music - is enjoying a renaissance at the moment, with Lou Rhodes of drum'n'bass outfit Lamb pioneering a genre dubbed "folktronica". But however fashionable it might become, the politics it evokes still run deep. You're not convinced? Look at the storm stirred up by the threatened axing of a medley of folk tunes on Radio 4 - a cause Gordon Brown has taken up in his crusade to define our national identity. Give it a couple of days and the BNP will be joining his campaign. The fascist party reportedly ends its gatherings with "traditional culture" parties and there are essays on its website next to pictures of maypole dances and quaint villages about the importance of English folklore - including morris dancing. It wasn't such ugly nationalism that spurred the folksong collectors at the turn of last century. They held that the nation should purify its culture to regain its soul. And its soul lay in unsullied folk songs of rural life. But folk music isn't an articulation of purer past: it's the voice of the people. They aren't songs about "being English", they are unrestrained voices breaking out into cries of protest, dissent, love, betrayal, life. They are also an alternative social history. Songs about fishing in Grimsby; poaching from tyrannical landowners; army recruitment from the collieries; the Napoleonic wars. And doomed love is in there, too. A lot. Leftwing revivalists of the folk tradition in the 40s and 50s, such as Ewan MacColl, seized on that sensibility and rather than trying to cling to a nostalgic idea of the past swung the movement to the left with a progressive attitude. They opened up the definition of what a folk song was. Industrial workers' songs, songs of protest, observations of contemporary issues - all could be folk songs and many had a political edge. MacColl wrote them too. His Radio Ballads, commissioned by the BBC, cut music together with people's experiences to tell in a "folk ballad style" the story of, among other things, how the M1 was built and the working lives of the miners. This was postwar Britain being rebuilt and sung in a folk style with the people's voice. Now, the debate over traditional music, as the right would have it, extends beyond an idea of what "Britishness" is to who is allowed to be British. This week, Sheila Chandra - the first British Asian to appear on Top of the Pops - is singing Scarborough Fair with guitarist Martin Carthy, the singer who rediscovered the song and who Paul Simon heard play it before he copied it and sold it to millions. Chandra has been exploring elements of British folk in her songs. Her music, Billy Bragg's ballads and "folktronica" could be described as the progressive edge of folk music that help show us who we are today. There's one problem though. When the government proposed new anti-binge licensing laws, it included a clause that would have made it difficult to make music in a pub without a music licence. Amendments were made, but the informal forum for songs and expression of ideas for centuries has been inhibited. So Gordon, in looking for British roots, may well find his party's new laws have cut off the branches. · Folk Britannia is at the Barbican Feb 2-4 accompanied by BBC4 series starting on February 3; Mark Espiner is a music critic and theatre director. mark@espiner.com Related articles 30.03.2005: Jowell's pledge of arts access for all children remains vague 18.03.2005: Community arts lose out to big theatres 09.03.2005: Arts are crucial for UK economy, says opera chief 16.12.2004: Arts Council lying over £30m cut in funding, says minister 16.12.2004: Tessa Jowell: Artists, we believe in you 16.12.2004: English Heritage warns of dire consequences of cuts 15.12.2004: The big chill: theatre funding 14.12.2004: Arts funding freeze sparks fury 14.12.2004: English arts bodies face 'devastating' £30m subsidy cut 14.12.2004: Bleak future for heritage 14.12.2004: Leader: The beggar's opera 14.12.2004: Arts funding cutbacks: the view from backstage Graph Funding for the arts, 1987-2008 Special report Arts funding Useful links Department for Culture, Media and Sport Heritage Lottery Fund Arts Council England English Heritage More about the National Amenity Societies |
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01 Feb 06 - 04:57 AM (#1658821) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Paco Rabanne Refresh |
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01 Feb 06 - 05:38 AM (#1658843) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Strollin' Johnny It's never been anything else as far as I, and many others, are concerned. S:0) |
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01 Feb 06 - 06:02 AM (#1658857) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: GUEST,DB I dislike 'cool' things - not least because they tend to become 'uncool' very fast. |
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01 Feb 06 - 06:19 AM (#1658861) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Strollin' Johnny Depends on the attention-span of those who adjudge a thing to be 'cool'. Mine, with regard to folk music, has lasted forty years and I expect it to continue until I get my wooden overcoat. S:0) |
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01 Feb 06 - 08:04 AM (#1658931) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: George Papavgeris Betamax was cool. Pocket calculators were cool. Carphones that were the size of a breezeblock were cool. Flared trousers were cool. White-wall tyres and chrome fenders were cool. The Spice Girls were cool. Were are they now? |
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01 Feb 06 - 09:07 AM (#1658988) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: treewind Yeah - isn't "cool" a symptom of "dead"? Flared trousers came back, didn't they? There's so much artifical "music industry product" being pushed around now that the idea of actual people playing real musical instruments is acquiring rarity and novelty value. Anahata |
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01 Feb 06 - 09:08 AM (#1658989) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: GUEST,leeneia Thank God, Thank God! The media have blessed what I have been doing for 30 years. Next, the Red Queen ("Be what you seem to be.") will weigh in on our side. |
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01 Feb 06 - 10:17 AM (#1659059) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Strollin' Johnny Hey Leenia, I reckon 'cool' is nothing to do with what the media say or don't say, but rather it's a perception held by an individual or group of individuals. My introduction to folk music, back in 1960 or 61, was by a Scottish guy called Jack Whyte (later a poet and the writer of the 'Camulod' cycle of novels) who taught me a version of 'Twa Corbies', and his then American girlfriend (woooo-hoo!) who sang me 'All The Pretty Horses' and played the guitar. My perception was that this folk-stuff was 'cool' and, having a very long attention span (unlike the media!), that's still my perception. Jack and his lady did me a great favour. S:0) |
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01 Feb 06 - 10:19 AM (#1659061) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: mooman ...and there was me thinking it was "hot! Peace moo |
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01 Feb 06 - 10:34 AM (#1659080) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: George Papavgeris What? Flares are back? If only I could fit into mine, I'd be hip, man! Sizzling hot. Cool as a cuke. Yeah, baby! But I can't... Bugger... |
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01 Feb 06 - 10:53 AM (#1659098) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Ernest ....and I always thought being uncoool is very cool indeed.... ;0) Regards Ernest |
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01 Feb 06 - 10:54 AM (#1659100) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: beetle cat Theres a happening underground folk-punk scene in Boston and other parts of New England. Very happening and young. check out The Larkin Brigade: http://www.thelarkinbrigade.com/ or Bread And Roses, and go to a show if your in the area. It's not just cool, it's freaking awesome. mary. |
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01 Feb 06 - 11:06 AM (#1659112) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Folkiedave There are three letters which are relevant to the folk/Licensing Debate too. http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1699093,00.html One is from a 'catter - though modesty forbids............ Dave |
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01 Feb 06 - 11:46 AM (#1659152) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Bill D "cool" gets you The Limelighters and The Kingston Trio and "Puff, the Magic Dragon" and hundreds of young girls singing their diaries. I'd prefer to be part of a minority of cognoscenti exploring life and culture through traditional (and SLOW) development. (and of course, with freedom to sing in pubs with no stupid restrictions like the UK has been trying to enact in the name of the 'public good') |
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01 Feb 06 - 12:31 PM (#1659192) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Ernest Mee too, Bill D. - but then, everyone to his liking. And I even prefer the Kingston trio to much other things being played... |
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01 Feb 06 - 12:58 PM (#1659220) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: The Shambles The only people that words like 'cool' mean anything to or matter very much to - are music journalists and critics. They have to find things to write about music - rather than just listening to or making it. |
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01 Feb 06 - 02:14 PM (#1659308) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: George Papavgeris Agree Roger. So, let's get ahead of the game, and second-guess the next word they will use. I opt for "windy" (as in "mind blowing"). |
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01 Feb 06 - 02:40 PM (#1659337) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Cluin When something becomes "cool", the legions rush to it in hopes of making a buck or joining the crowd. At which point, the signal-to-noise ratio tends to drop way down and the crap factor rises exponentially. Hopefully, when the "cool" spotlight moves on, something of value, possibly an interesting new development can be salvaged from the refuse. |
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02 Feb 06 - 07:35 AM (#1659980) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: BanjoRay There's an excellent letter from Mike Harding in today's guardian (2-feb) Ray |
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02 Feb 06 - 07:44 AM (#1659982) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: treewind Mike Harding's letter Nice one. Well done Mike. Anahata |
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02 Feb 06 - 08:24 AM (#1660010) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: GUEST I think the problem is that people are working with different definitions of 'folk'. It seems like according to the Guardian et al, folk music is about having a rudimentary grasp of fingerstyle guitar, using bucolic/pastoral imagery and referencing 'The Wicker Man' (see Tunng, for example). I suspect that to most of the people here, it runs a little deeper than that. |
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02 Feb 06 - 09:32 AM (#1660043) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Roger the Skiffler Damn, I don't think I've still got my Aran sweater... RtS |
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02 Feb 06 - 09:48 AM (#1660060) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: mooman I have two Roger... would you like one? Peace moo |
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02 Feb 06 - 01:37 PM (#1660258) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: shepherdlass Yes, Mike Harding's letter hits the nail on the head. Any journalist still trotting out the tired old cliches about fingers in the ear and Aran sweaters really isn't that interested in anything other than promoting the "alternative" bands that claim to be too hip for the rest of us. What a shame. Seem to remember they did the same when Jazz Britannia was broadcast last year - loads of references to the Fast Show's Jazz Club, etc. Incidentally, have you listened to Tunng? They don't sound all that new or frightening. Maybe the journo's related to a band member? |
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02 Feb 06 - 02:39 PM (#1660306) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: BB Wow! That letter from Mike Harding couldn't be more true! it almost persuades me to listen to his programme again! I don't believe anyone could have put it better. Barbara |
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02 Feb 06 - 05:41 PM (#1660458) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Girl Friday Mike Harding told it like it is. Where I come from [Kent/London\ Surrey borders] folk encompasses anything that doesn't require electronic gadgetry to work it. Everything from acapella to zydeco,plainsong to blues and even "GLAM-FOLK" [TONE DEAF LEOPARD] Have you noticed all the folk creeping into tv and radio? Even those BBC 2's are now a troop of morris dancers !!!! |
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03 Feb 06 - 10:50 AM (#1661063) Subject: RE: Folk music is cool again. The Guardian From: Strollin' Johnny Yo de man Mike! |