A decade on, the Coen brothers' woefully underrated
O Brother, Where Art Thou? [alt] is remembered for
a lot of things: its sun-drenched, sepia-rich
cinematography (a pioneer of
digital color grading), its
whimsical humor,
fluid vernacular, and
many subtle references to Homer's
Odyssey. But one part of its legacy truly stands out:
the music.
Assembled by
T-Bone Burnett, the soundtrack is a cornucopia of American folk music, exhibiting everything from
cheery ballads and
angelic hymns to
wistful blues and
chain-gang anthems. Woven into the plot of the film through radio and live performances, the songs lent the story a
heartfelt, homespun feel that echoed its cultural heritage,
a paean and uchronia of the Old South.
Though the multiplatinum album was recently
reissued, the movie's medley is best heard via famed documentarian
D. A. Pennebaker's
Down from the Mountain, an
extraordinary yet
intimate concert film focused on a night of live music by the soundtrack's stars (among them
Gillian Welch,
Emmylou Harris,
Chris Thomas King, bluegrass legend
Dr. Ralph Stanley) and wryly hosted by
John Hartford, an accomplished
fiddler,
riverboat captain, and
raconteur whose struggle with terminal cancer made this his last major performance. The film is free in its entirety on
Hulu and
YouTube -- click inside for individual clips, song links, and breakdowns of
the set list's fascinating history.
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posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 22, 2011 -
107 comments
"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash played two concerts at
Folsom State Prison with June Carter, Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers, and his band, the Tennessee Three.
At Folsom Prison, drawn mainly from the first show, is often ranked as one of the best albums of all time and
turned Cash's career around. Reporter Gene Beley covered the concert and
recorded some songs from the audience.
[more inside]
posted by kirkaracha
on Oct 23, 2009 -
22 comments
Surely one of the most memorable musician photos ever is this one:
Johnny Cash, making his feelings known with customary aplomb. But did you ever notice he was wearing a jumpsuit in that photo, and not his more standard black shirt/trousers ensemble? Well,
that very jumpsuit just went for a handsome $120,000 at auction. Someone else just paid $300,000 for one of Elvis'
peacock-emblazoned jumpsuits. And remember that little
necklace John Lennon wore on the cover of
Two Virgins? Yep, the
only thing he wore. Fetched a cool $528,000. Meanwhile, in Japan, a
bunch of grapes just went for $910. What a bargain!
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Aug 11, 2008 -
21 comments
