Tag Archive: harry smith


Take a walk on the weird side

Filed under: Books, Health and fitness, Music, Poetry, Travel — Leave a comment
December 2, 2019

The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane (Penguin Books, 2013)
The Old Weird Albion by Justin Hopper (Penned In The Margins,2017)

Screen shot 2019-12-02 at 21.59.29If Robert MacFarlane were to say “I’m just poppng out for a walk”, chances are you wouldn’t see him again for days, weeks, even months. Not for him a gentle stroll in the park. We’re talking serious trekking here. He tells us nothing about the equipment or supplies he takes with him, but it’s plain that he sets off prepared to sleep rough and scavenge for food if necessary.

Being fully immersed in the natural world is what drives him and gives him sustenance. In ‘The Old Ways’ the writer wanders around England and Scotland and also roams abroad (Palestine,Spain and Tibet). Some of these adventures border on the reckless as he challenges himself against the elements or strikes out onto what he knows full well to be inhospitable terrain. MacFarlane regards “walking as enabling sight and thought rather than encouraging retreat and escape”. In other words, it’s a serious business and not just a gentle recreational pursuit. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

Mercury Rev: How does that old song go?

Filed under: Italy, Music — 2 Comments
September 16, 2018

MERCURY REV live at Teatro Moderna,

Savignano sul Rubicone, Italy 13th September 2018

Mercury_RevThis is one of a limited series of concerts to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mercury Rev’s breakthrough album ‘Deserter’s Songs’.

At the time of release, this band from Buffalo, New York were at the point of imploding due to rapidly depleting sales. The songs were therefore composed with no real expectation that they would reach a wider audience and there was even some doubt that they’d even find a record label to put them out. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

NO DEPRESSION IN HEAVEN AND ON SONY

Filed under: Music — Leave a comment
January 26, 2014

Just enjoyed reviewing Uncle Tupelo’s No Depression which is reissued tomorrow for the second time.

This time around it has gained the prestigious status of a Sony Legacy Edition and is bulked out to a hefty 35 track double CD.

Many of such releases aim to get punters to buy records they already have, often with some scrappy outtakes that never made the final cut for a good reason. This Sony product, however, includes tracks that any true fan of Alternative Country (whatever that is) needs to hear.

The rough around the edges demos prove what a dynamic band UT were in their day – full of  youthful punk attitude yet had a healthy respect for the rebel music of the past. Blues Die Hard is particularly great and ,for once, the alternate takes merit inclusion.

The whole package had me listening again to Uncle Tupelo’s back catalogue along with The Flying Burrito Brothers & Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. Alt.Country’s not Dead.

Check out the grainy quality of Uncle Tupelo’s first TV appearance and feel the energy:

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment

LAPTOP CAMPFIRE SPEED SAMPLES

Filed under: Music — Leave a comment
June 27, 2010

 

Portland Oregon based singer songwriter Marco Mahler  has a great new album out on June 29th 2010 entitled Laptop Campfire Speed.

You can read my glowing review of it on Whisperin’ & Hollerin’ here.

Marco has kindly offered three free downloads from the album to be posted. These are the tracks I have chosen:

James Alley Blues

The masterstroke of this record is a brilliant cover version of Richard ‘Rabbit’ Brown’s  double-edged love song dates from 1927 which featured on Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music and here takes on a highly contemporary and kindlier resonance.

Cell Phone Antenna Trophy

The quirky album title comes from a line in this song : “you stare at your laptop like it’s a campfire”.  Marco’s lyrics betray hints of a scepticism towards what poetically dubs the “entertainment transport machines”, but should not be construed as misanthropic or technophobic. The campfire is, after all, quite a comforting image – we gather around it for warmth, company and communication.

Jump This Fan

A kind of wayward nursery rhyme which opens with the line “nip nap where’s the bubble at” and, on first hearing at least , appears to be taking pleasure in its own absurdity. But there is method in this apparent madness. Marco says “The whole bubble idea came from the economic bubbles that we keep going through and then I thought about how we all have our own personal bubbles that we keep creating then popping”.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

HARRY SMITH VOLUME 4

Filed under: Music — 2 Comments
May 21, 2010

Good to see that the 4th Volume of Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music will be re-released by  Cargo Records at the attractive knock down price of £12.99 on 7th June 2010.

It is nothing short of a scandal that it was out of print in the first place.

This is a genuine bargain especially as it sounds as if they have retained the original format of  the packaging with 96 pages , including info about each of the 28 tracks. There are 5 informative mini essays including pieces by Greil Marcus and John Fahey.

I think Marcus is right to say that this volume lacks the magic and mystery of the 84 recordings that make up the first three volumes but it is still a fascinating and essential collection.

A word of warning, though – if you get hooked on this you won’t be able to resist shelling out on Smithsonian’s handsome box set of the original anthology.

But, then again, every household should have this!

Tags: , , ,
Comment