Comments on: We Are the Dying World

By: bigditchman

bigditchman — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:01:00 +0000

This is Max from Terra Incognita, lo these many years hence. Thanks for noticing our version of Rank Stranger. For more info, go to http://www.eohippus.com/arts/music_ti.html.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:20:00 +0000

btw, by "here" I meant nap, not this post. I really don't expect anything from this post and actually do feel like my head is spinning from interaction with this site. And from the fact that painting a garage by oneself leaves one lots of time to ponder stuff like this.

And I actually appreciate the spinning, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Unless of course I'm up on a ladder or something. I did almost fall today.

I do plan to read Carlos' post today but as it turns out it won't be right this moment. Work beckons.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:07:00 +0000

Yes Baleen that is how I feel too. I don't think you have to come to a conclusion about it either.

When I think about the times I have come together with my peers around a campfire or at a wedding or maybe at the bar after close - a time when everybody just spontaneously sings. Well what do we sing? The answer, whatever it else it is, would be folk music. The other answer is Journey, the Go Go's, Iron Maiden, Prince, etc...

What is karoake?

What do you want folk to be? What do you want anti-folk to be?

Don't answer that. My head is spinning as it is from too much engagement here. I better go read Carlos' post.

By: baleen

baleen — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:02:00 +0000

Thanks for the clarification. My musical vocabulary is less than stellar.

By: Carlos Anaconda

Carlos Anaconda — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:23:00 +0000

In the early days, Beck would've considered himself Anti-Folk.

By: baleen

baleen — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:59:00 +0000

Had touble logging on. I remember that music “critics” considered Beck a folk artist before “Loser” launched his career. I was just wondering where to draw the lines. Is it wholly derived from lyrical content? Honestly, I don’t know much about folk music.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:35:00 +0000

That is tricky about Beck. I would say if his concert costs fifty bucks that wouldn't be folk. But also Beck's lyrics are so odd, like some sort of post-modern commentary that I have trouble finding it folk on any level.

I think the Negativland Perfect Scrambled Eggs track is folk and it doesn't have any acoustic guitar.

Anyway I don't want this topic discussed. I want you to put it back on the internet please.

By: baleen

baleen — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 05:49:00 +0000

So is Beck still folk?
Was he ever folk?
Is this a question of context?
Does an acoustic guitar make it folk?
Discuss.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:03:00 +0000

I think the shift in question has more to do with social context than anything else really. The idea of folk has changed as much if not more so than the music.

Now that any old country bumkin can get himself a guitar and Garage Band, why not consider his musical doings folk?

The opera guy in question is actually my pop. It's from a comment I left on Justin's post.

What I was saying there is that this guy is not a trained singer, he's not doing it for money and he's not doing it in a high-culture center. If he was going to the Met to sing, he would be all of the above.

It's a stretch I agree. I could go on but I won't.

Do go on with your post. Look forward to it.

By: Carlos Anaconda

Carlos Anaconda — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:50:00 +0000

Defining folk music is an interesting topic kilian. maybe i’ll come back to discuss it more, but for now between Justin and my post for tomorrow i’m a little worn out. I will say this, it seems the definition of folk has been redefined in recent years under the ‘outsider art’ perspective. which has to do more with the social context in which the art/music is created and less with anything strictly musical/visual about it (your operatic singer example points to that same redefinition). This shift to me is problematic in various ways, beyond the fact that it has little reference to the music being made.

There are some very uncomfortable issues with appropriation and recontextualization that just reek. for example, we only know about the opera guy cause justin mentioned it. But what would it have been like to hear a record of the guy. who would’ve recorded it? justin? what about taking the guy and recreating his living room, young justin stand in and all, and putting it in lincoln center and then having him sing there wihtout him being fully aware of whats going on? And if he is aware, does it then loose its ‘folkiness’? so then one is left with defining folk music in the most narrowly regional way. something like that…

gotta get back to my post it’s chock full of home town!