On this episode, we discuss American Folk music. Related to Blues and Country, what is commonly thought of as "folk music" is, perhaps, the last genre to gain significant popularity before Rock & Roll took over American air waves.
We discuss the music as "atavistic" in that it, often, seeks to reject modernity, industrialization, and instead emphasizes the romantic value of nature, simplicity, and traditional lifeways which have, in many places, been sacrificed to automation and depersonalization. It therefore is backward looking, and could be described as "right of center music".
This, however, does not mean that Folk music is without social content or critique. In many ways, folk music as a form is indeed a critique of what inevitably came after it, and many of the most prominent folk artists often hold, and espouse, progressive political beliefs. This continues today in the "indie folk scene" and alt-folk music of bands like Old Crow Medicine Show and musicians like Ani DiFranco and William Elliot Whitmore.
Doc Recommends:
Elvis - directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. In theaters now, check out the trailer below.
Greg Recommends:
Boston punk rock stalwarts The Dropkick Murphys recently released the first single (“Two 6’s Upside Down” included in the episode as a bonus track) from their upcoming album This Machine Still Kills Fascists, a collection of songs created from a selection of previously unused lyrics taken from the archive of American folk music legend, and OG punk, Woody Guthrie. They also announced a theater tour this fall to support the album, so check them out if they visit a city near you. Check out the album trailer below:
Songs played during this Episode
1) The Band- "The Weight"
2) Bob Dylan- "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"
3) Indigo Girls- "Three Hits"
4) William Elliot Whitmore- "Johnny Law"
5) (Bonus Track) Dropkick Murphys- "Two 6's Upside Down"
Beds utilized in this Episode
* Bad Brains- "Raga Dub" (segment)
* Boz Scaggs- "Dirty Lowdown" (segment)
Production elements used in this Episode (no samples cleared)
* Mili Vanilli- "Girl You Know its True" (Sample)
* Eric B and Rakim- "Paid in Full" (Sample)
* Victor Allen (Voice)