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Observations and CommentFolkWords 'Observations and Comment' - our personal observations and comments plus occasional input from other people. The aim is to examine and discuss folk music 'roots-to-branches' without boundaries or restrictions. FolkWords presents differing opinions, many of them strongly held, hundreds of questions and thousands of answers (maybe not answers at all, just different views) we hope you enjoy reading them. The most recent observations and comments are shown below - click on the individual Read more ... links to see the full text. To read previous views just scroll down the page - you will find them in date order. "Making progress, but not necessarily progressive – are we folk or are we rock?" Bolting random or even precise adjectives to the front of a noun or coupling separate nouns together to create a new hybrid is a popular enough pastime, especially in music, but it’s also open to misuse and misdirection. The additional word may add more meaning to some, to others it may obscure. Append any word that take your fancy (with or without a hyphen) to the front or back of ‘folk’, ‘rock’, ‘punk’, ‘metal’ – the list is endless and arguably you have a more accurate or refined description than you did before. The problem is that using these ‘accurate’ descriptions can lead to confusion or furious debate. "The voices, the voices ... it's the voices" Some singers bring song to life while others seem to just trot out the words. Some repeat what has gone before or turn out a poor imitation of an original. Some take the song and make it ‘live’ like never before – those my friends are true singers. The voice is a wonderful instrument and although many singers use it to great effect, some voices (and not always the clinically pure) give the lyrics an indefinable edge. What makes the song – the melody, the lyric or the vocals? Whatever it might be the voice can make it or break it. And it’s not always the ‘clinically perfect’ voice that cuts the best. "Some stories and themes remain immutable whatever happens ..." When any song makes the tenuous and sometimes perilous journey from the writer’s head into hundreds of others and remains, it’s generally because there’s an infectious hook or a captivating melody but often it’s because the lyric either tells a story or makes a point. That statement can apply equally to music from three hundred years ago or to music written yesterday. "Music, the universal communicator" If music is a universal communicator that means it transcends language and culture. If folk music is ‘music for folk by folk’ does that mean the communication is any clearer? Does it reach out on some primordial level to offer a connection that other forms lack? The answer is, on the face of it, probably not. However, the premise that music communicates universally is potentially incorrect. Communication by conveying meaning and understanding (after all the basis of language) is missing if the method of transmission and the content are lost on its potential recipients. And too much ‘musical communication’ either goes unheard or is deliberately ignored, derided or misheard. “The question of authenticity” With folk lyrics there's often a question over authenticity. How close to the original version is today's rendition of a one or two-hundred year old lyric? Does it really matter and should we even care? The answers are either labelled ‘inquisitive development’ or ‘heretical sacrilege’ – depending of course on your point of view. Indeed, we may ask the same question of the tune. How many variations are there from when a song was first written to today? The answer is probably dozens as subsequent musicians alter the tune and tinker with the melody. So does this tinkering and adjustment have any bearing on the genre? There are divided camps with strong opinions coming from each but is there some case for middle ground? ******************** More Observations and Comment: Making progress, but not necessarily progressive – are we folk or are we rock? January 23, 2012 The voices, the voices ... it’s the voices December 05, 2011 Some stories and themes remain immutable whatever happens October 28, 2011 Music, the universal communicator October 07, 2011 The question of authenticity September 26, 2011 “Folk is only for old folk” ... a less than tolerant view July 04, 2011 Folk artist or folk artisan? May 25, 2011 “Old grumpy guy having a rant as yet another poorly constructed press release arrives ...” May 23, 2011 ... ‘ghost-folk with English pastoral, fantastical, medieval roots April 27, 2011 Folk music is neither current nor contemporary March 14, 2011 Delve into online avenues and pathways to discover treasure February 11, 2011 Accents of folk - your own or from somewhere else? January 08, 2011 Riding a wave of aural acceptance through the 21st century December 21, 2010 Commercial gain or something to say? November 26, 2010 Stopping the tradition from remaining current and relevant? November 05, 2010 Pointless prejudices remain with us from the cradle September 24, 2010 It’s all in the lyric ... (Part 1.) August 10, 2010 Turning imitation into emulation and slightly sycophantic-tinged mimicry May 10, 2010 We are heading for a day when the music could well die April 02, 2010 Reworking tradition or forging a new one? March 05, 2010 The CD is dead - long live the CD February 11, 2010 Horror of horrors folk music is not politically correct! December 14, 2009 Searching for songs for Halloween November 11, 2009 The timeless appeal inherent in natural sounds November 02, 2009 How about a new programme - 'The Niche Factor' October 22, 2009 Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery ... September 28, 2009 Folk on the rocks July 09, 2009 Folk music revives and revives June 16, 2009 Reflecting the world or commenting on it? May 31, 2009 Electric folk – what and why? May 20, 2009 Questions, questions ... but are there any answers? March 23, 2009 And then there’s folk-punk ... March 06, 2009 Medieval folk – something more than dressing up in costume February 24, 2009 Folk metal – a genre, a fashion or an anachronism? February 20, 2009 Web-folk, network-folk ... and whatever comes out of the interaction January 19, 2009 Spelling mistake or art form? December 22, 2008 What do we protest about now? November 11, 2008 Why do so many English singers persist in singing with an American accent all the time? October 08, 2008 If music says nothing then all it offers is noise – pleasant though that noise may be September 25, 2008 Who’s going to be the first folk musician to write a song about the credit crunch? September 14, 2008 After all - what's in a name? August 04, 2008 Folk to rock to psych to thrash – a journey of experience July 14, 2008 Folk is just another ‘F’ word June 12, 2008 ‘Live folk music is dead’ June 11, 2008 Morris on and on - English folk dance May 28, 2008 More life and less cash – true probably, unfortunate definitely. May 12, 2008 Folk in the year 3000..... April 23, 2008 Folk resurgent and revived - again. And so the wheel goes round. March 21, 2008 Music - victim of fad and fashion March 04, 2008 ...'the sea shanty isn’t folk music' February 07, 2008 Tradition is good - for without it where would ‘new’ be? January 11, 2008 Ethnic, roots or world - or just folk? January 10, 2008 How hard is music? January 10, 2008 Song writers and song writing - folk or not December 20, 2007 Consider psych-folk ... November 25, 2007 A tribe losing its head? November 01, 2007 “It’s the definitions, it’s the definitions.” October 09, 2007 Afraid or too embarrased to speak? September 15, 2007 "Are folk songs manufactured or do they just happen?" July 05, 2007 Folk or pop - your choice May 07, 2007 A view from a hill April 03, 2007 Finding a place in the heap March 21, 2007 ‘Cool folk’ – looking for the ‘cool-factor’ in folk March 06, 2007 |
