MetaFilter posts tagged with Americana

An Alternative Version of Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead"

jason's_planet — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:11:35 -0800

Good morning. It's Monday. I know that it sucks to have to come back to work after a holiday weekend. So I am going to share with you this alternative version of Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" mixed with archival footage of old-timey American dancing. I hope this brightens your day a little bit.

Baking the Cherpumple

gyusan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:06:29 -0800

Renound "Histo-Tainer" Charles Phoenix, who gives slide shows of found 35mm slides, bakes a Cherpumple. (think turducken, but with cake.)

A loving look back on Dixieland Jazz

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:08:16 -0800

"Men working on the river would move in time to the beat of the music. It was everywhere: on the street, in the church. In the tonks and barrelhouses where people went to be together. Like the beating of a big heart. It gave everyone a good feeling." The Cradle is Rocking is a delightful 12-minute film that, though somewhat damaged (Folkstreams has found what may be the only surviving print), is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in American roots music: in this case, New Orleans jazz. The film's thoughtful and affable narrator is trumpeter George "Kid Sheik" Cola, who can be heard along with Captain John Handy serving up some fine old-school Dixieland jazz here and here.

bluestab's blog meets AfricanAfrican aka NegroArtist.com

y2karl — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:20:15 -0800

Chanteur puissant à la voix rocailleuse. And here is bluestab's blog And here, via Babelfish is bluestab's blog in an English of sorts. Then, while, looking for mp3s to match the tabs, I came across the universe of African American history and culture that is AfricanAfrican aka NegroArtist.com, a site so big it has two URLs. [Billy Mays] But, wait--that's not all! [/Billy Mays] Then, while looking for in the commons mp3s for any of the titles in bluestab's blog , I stumble upon a treasure trove of such in the 5000 series pages at Document Records. , the completist's completist pre-war jazz and blues label, And found even more even more in the Rare Recordings and Video page of AfricanAfrican, a small universe of texts, music and motion pictures of and on the African American experience. I am overwhelmed. Yoda says I: Truly a Labor of Love this is. And between the two--voila! We have a post!

I found some found photos

dersins — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:45:06 -0800

Stateside, Wild Youth, Motor Life, Roberta's World, Memento, and Sidewalks. Six collections of found vernacular photographs from reservatory.net. More found photos at Phoundfotographs, Accidental Mysteries, and Other People's Pictures. In the same vein as the better known (and previously posted) Shorpy and Square America.

Times of our lives indeed

dersins — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:38:26 -0800

Hiking, biking, boating, fishing, shooting and more: "The Times of Our Lives." Wonderful scans of vintage photos of the 1950's and 1960's (uh, and 80's) from flickr user aroid. [via]

Always been a rambler....

signalandnoise — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:53:48 -0800

Mike Seeger, folk musician and folklorist, passed away on August 7, 2009. Half-brother to Pete Seeger, Mike Seeger was self-taught at banjo, fiddle, guitar, autoharp, and dulcimer, among other instruments. Additionally, Seeger spent decades traveling the country to collect and document American folk musicians, many of whom would have been forgotten were it not for his efforts. In the late 50's, Seeger, Tom Paley, and John Cohen founded the old-time string band The New Lost City Ramblers. The Ramblers countered the rising tide of bluegrass music with a return to old-time traditionals and were a significant influence on the mid-century folk revival. Seeger's death coincides with the upcoming release of an Arhoolie Foundation documentary about the Ramblers (warning: the documentary link contains an embedded video). On Youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Bob Dylan said of NLCR: "The New Lost City Ramblers was Mike Seeger, John Cohen, and Tom Paley. They never made the big time like the Kingston Trio, but they never did wear striped shirts. One of the things that the New Lost City Ramblers did was uncover great old songs -- songs that you could only find in those days, in piles of 78s in somebody's barn. They breathed new life into those songs, and their records stand the test of time, just like the originals." Here's Bob Dylan and Mike Seeger performing a duet of "The Ballad of Hollis Brown." And just because it gives me a chance to bring up another favorite old-time musician of mine, here's Mike Seeger performing and chatting with Roscoe Holcomb. - Radio Interview with Mike Seeger - Seeger discussing and performing the song "Walking Boss." - New Lost City Ramblers Discography

Perambulating Penthouse

dersins — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:21:31 -0800

The Ford Treasury of Station Wagon Living blogged. (Vol 2). Downloadable at the Internet Archive. Scans of drawings here. [Via (well, shamelessly stolen from) 10Engines.]

WangDangSweetPoonTwang

ArgentineBlonde — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:36:47 -0800

Twangfest 13 is underway in St. Louis. A multi-day festival of Americana music, past editions have featured artists such as the Bottle Rockets, Neko Case, and Jason Ringenberg. Several of this year's featured artists will be playing live on KDHX during the festival, live streaming audio available.

Black and White People Furniture

alms — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:12:37 -0800

The Red House sells black and white people furniture (youtube). (via bookofjoe)

Modulating for the Lord!

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:07:17 -0800

The foot bone connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone connected to the leg bone, the leg bone connected to the knee bone, the knee bone connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone connected to the hip bone, the hip bone connected to the back bone, the back bone connected to the shoulder bone, the shoulder bone connected to the neck bone, the neck bone connected to the head bone, now hear the word of the lord...and be sure to check the hover-overs for link details on all this bony business,

Bradley Walker

BitterOldPunk — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:17:05 -0800

Perhaps the greatest country baritone since George Jones is confined to a wheelchair by muscular dystrophy and has a day job at a nuclear power plant. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bradley Walker. But it ain't all slow mournful stuff like "When I'm Hurtin'" -- Bradley can straight-up tear it up, too. Here's the video for the single "A Little Change" off Walker's excellent 2008 release "Highway of Dreams" (link goes to NPR audio review). Here's Bradley covering Merle Haggard's "Back to the Barrooms". And here's a somewhat mawkish video bio put together by his record company. WARNING: This post contains unapologetic, unironic, heartfelt country music that may contain sentiments about Jesus, patriotism, and other topics that may run counter to prevailing MetaFilter opinions. It also features poor audio quality, shaky amateur video, and blatant boosterism for a performing artist that I like. I am aware that almost everything I like does, in fact, suck.

Tampa Red

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:05:40 -0800

Hey kids, let's go way back, and spend a little quality time with Tampa Red, shall we? Cause, you know, you can't get that stuff no more, and if you missed him, you missed a good man.

You like vinyl? I've got your vinyl right here.

msalt — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:55:31 -0800

Desperate Man Blues Edward Gillen's documentary about Joe Bussard, renowned collector of 25,000+ blues, folk and gospel 78rpm records from the 20s and 30s. It's about the hunt and the hunter, as much as what he found. One week only on Pitchfork TV As plugged by UbuRoivas previously.

Why Does Hollywood Hate the Suburbs?

kliuless — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:01:35 -0800

In defense of suburbs: "Revolutionary Road," based on Richard Yates's 1961 novel of the same name, is the latest entry in a long stream of art that portrays the American suburbs as the physical correlative to spiritual and mental death.

'Where Yesterday Began' --More about Edith Macefield and the Little House In Ballard

y2karl — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:05:34 -0800

'Where Yesterday Began'

More about Edith Macefield and the Little House in Ballard. See also The Little House in Ballard is now empty..

...Ms. Macefield had little time for trendy food or fitness. Her interests were opera and Sinatra, Garbo on videotape or the classics in dusty hardback. She had history, too. If she let you in the door, she might recount her escape from a concentration camp while she was an undercover agent for the British during World War II. ...'She was just full of stories and stories and stories about her past,' said Charlie Peck, whose friendship with Ms. Macefield began more than 20 years ago, after she gave him a collection of recordings of Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman and other bandleaders on old 78s. ...'Everybody that’s come in and tried to talk about this has tried to create that image of her,' said Mike Semandiris, whose family has owned a chili parlor around the corner for more than 70 years. 'But she didn’t give a damn about preserving old Ballard. The lady just wanted to live in her house.' Ms. Macefield was 86 when she died in June of pancreatic cancer. Six months later, her 108-year-old bungalow is cloaked by what will soon become an LA Fitness club and a Trader Joe’s, set to open next year. Inside, bed sheets are still on the living room sofa where Ms. Macefield slept when she could no longer climb the stairs. Ceramic cows ornament the top of every appliance. A few copies of 'The Little House,' the children’s tale by Virginia Lee Burton of a country cabin swallowed by sprawling development, are in one corner. People she did not know would drop them off. In a bookcase in a dark hallway there is another book, not well known like the others. In fact, it is unclear whether anyone other than its author has ever read 'Where Yesterday Began.' Ms. Macefield paid to have her novel published in 1994, under the pen name Domilini. It is set against the backdrop of post-World War I Europe. An introductory page begins, 'This story is for all those who have ever loved -- truly, deeply, irrevocably -- and in the thrust of disaster. For some, love simply dies -- and one moves on. But for a few, love is as lasting as the ages -- despite the impossibilities, the separation, the insured loneliness.' The book is 1,138 pages long, not counting the musical references, from Scottish folk songs to a 1915 work by the English composer Albert W. Ketelbey, and a 16-page glossary of the French, German and Italian phrases sprinkled throughout. 'I think it was kind of a love story,' said Mr. Peck, the longtime friend. 'I never did read it.'

A fascinating back story emerges, complete with potential probate drama. My solution: the city takes it over, nominates it a historic site and turns it into a two story cubic paperweight made out of a suitable clear polymer or such. You know--like varathane.

Walk on Water

Ogre Lawless — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:43:49 -0800

Walk on Water: OH Napier is a living piece of Americana and performing a conceptual piece with guitar, river, .25-.38 cal pistol and disquieted camera woman. You may get as many as three songs for your 2:31 of youtubery, I can't say for certain if they are individual pieces or just movements in a larger piece. Also, spirit liquor may have played a part in the creative act.

Just three old blues tunes, that's all.

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:00:38 -0800

Ramblin' Thomas: No Job Blues (1928), J.D. Short: Lonesome Swamp Rattlesnake (1930), Bo Carter: My Baby (1940). Ramblin' Thomas. J.D. Short. Bo Carter. And one more for the road: a little of that trademark suggestiveness from Bo Carter: All Around Man.

Dock Boggs, 1966

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 05:15:05 -0800

As a young man in the 1920s, Dock Boggs [previously] recorded some songs that were released as 78s, and they are wonderful treasures of southern Americana, but I was always even more fond of his recordings from the 1960s, when, as an old man, he was rediscovered during the folk boom. So I was delighted to find that three of his 60s-period performances have recently shown up on YouTube. Here's Pretty Polly, Country Blues and I Hope I Live, all from 1966. Just one more thing here, for the [more inside]... I came across this clip from a YouTuber called banjochris, and his rendition of Dock Bogg's "Drunkard's Lone Child" is really beautiful. Check it out.

How do you do! I am the little book that you have made.

anastasiav — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:30:17 -0800

Book of Short Stories :: Short stories written by New York State 5th graders in 1931. (Be sure to read the About page to get a sense of the setting of the times.) (via Thingamababy)

Not-so-faded glory

madamjujujive — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:07:54 -0800

Perhaps you think you've had your fill of photographs of decaying architecture and abandoned buildings. If so, the rich color and play of light in Michael Eastman's beautiful body of work from Cuba, Europe, and the U.S. may change your mind. His site is flash - for non-flash folks, the Duane Reed Gallery has additional works, including his B&W portfolios on horses, landscapes, and succulents. (no relation to the Kodak family; via BB-Blog)

A barber came to Bristol...

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:25:04 -0800

Eighty one years ago to the day, barber, banjoist and balladeer B.F. Shelton travelled from his home in Kentucky to take part in a recording session in Bristol Tennessee. Now referred to as the "Bristol Sessions", these recordings are widely viewed as some of the most important and influential in American music history. The four songs Shelton recorded that day, stark, simple and immensely powerful in their unadorned honesty, can all be heard here. After Bristol, Shelton never recorded again. I'd like to note here that the Wiki page and the various articles linked to on the Bristol page (both linked under Bristol sessions of this FPP) offer some fascinating insights into the history of not only these particular recordings but also the early development of the record industry, and particularly the royalty system, which was, according to some, essentially inaugurated by Bristol recordist and entrepreneur Ralph Peer, working for Victor Records. Here's a blog entry from a fellow who's thoughtfully included audio files of "Pretty Polly" by BF Shelton and the great Dock Boggs, for your listening and comparison pleasure. Bare bones (ain't a whole lot known about the man, after all) bio of BF Shelton. Though not in complete versions, the Bristol Sessions recordings are available to purchase, in this volume and/or this volume.

Lookin' for a home...

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:49:52 -0800

In the little town of Enterprise, Alabama, there stands a bizarre statue that would make any card-carrying surrealist proud: an archetypical Greek goddess raises her arms toward heaven and holds high above her head... an enormous insect. Of course, it's the boll weevil. That cotton-eatin' critter inspired not only the world's only monument to an agricultural pest, but some great tunes as well, from a wide range of artists. [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] The Doc Pomus-penned tune (sung by Elvis) Little Sister refers to the boll weevil in one of its lines. MeFier Astro Zombie's tune A Man is Coming, right here at MetaFilter Music, opens with a line addressed to a boll weevil.

Gone, like a train...

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:26:00 -0800

There's just something so pleasing about watching a mixed freight train go by. Here are several versions of the classic train number, "Wreck of the Old 97": Hank Snow Johnny Cash Roy Acuff Boxcar Willie The Seekers Flatt & Scruggs with... the Beverly Hillbillies! This clip features Johnny Cash once again, but the video is a crude CG reenactment of the crash. and finally, this old recording by ??? features yet another curious (and even more crude) CG reenactment of the crash... Train song lovers might also want to check out my FPP from earlier this month on The Wabash Cannonball.

Eck Robertson drew a mean bow.

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:35:54 -0800

Alexander "Eck" Robertson (1886 - 1975) was one hell of a fine fiddler, friend. He made, in 1922, what many country music historians consider the first commercial recording of country music. And now some kind soul has made ol' Eck a MySpace page where you can get a taste (five tastes, actually) of some of that bodacious bowing. Then head over to Ragtime Annie's place. What? She's Done Gone? She must've run off with the Arkansaw Traveler. Guess you'll have to make do with that Turkey In The Straw. Three tunes from Eck at the Internet Archive. This page has a capsule bio and a great photo of Eck in later life, with a cool goatee and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. While fiddling, of course. This article goes into some detail in analyzing Eck's style and old-time fiddling in general. Eck's Wikipedia page. Eck's "Sally Gooden" was included in y2karl's FPP on Folktunes.org last year, which is where I first heard him. Thanks, y2karl!