Audience participation

[sophia_sol]

It seems clear of late that I am capable of enjoying music that I wouldn't have expected of myself. Which means there is a whole wide world of music out there that I could be enjoying but am not (yet). SO. This is where you come in!

I am sure that you, Dear Readers, listen to music, and have opinions about the music you listen to. I am sure you have musicians or singers or bands that you particularly like. And it is entirely possible you enjoy proselytizing on behalf of these music groups. If that is you, then, well! I have a request!

Please tell me the name of a musician/band that you think I should listen to (no matter how well-known or not)*, what CD of theirs I should start with, and, for in case it's a style of music I'm not very experienced at listening to yet, which one song from that CD I should listen to several times on repeat so I can learn how to like it before tackling the whole CD.

Please don't load up a comment with tons of recs, because then I will just get overwhelmed! Stick to one a person (mmmmmaaaaaybe two), and we'll all be happy.

And do not hesitate even if you are a lurker or don't talk to me very often or whatever. My journal is always open!

And then, over the course of however long it takes me, I WILL give a good honest try to the things I get recced in this post, even if it's something I'm skeptical about, because if you like it then it must have something about it worth liking. And then it is entirely possible (nay, probable, given my tendency towards verbosity WHICH YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED *COUGH*) that I will write up posts on my opinions.

Okay? Okay!


*And make no assumptions about what I must already know. I mean, yes, I'm familiar with the Beatles, but ANYTHING ELSE is fair game. My friends are always laughing at me for how utterly clueless I am about popular stuff.

Comments

[sophia_sol]

Things everyone knows! This not actually the bit that I'm best at, but I'll do my best! Pete Seeger is one of those everybody-knows sorts, but I don't actually have his best-known albums, so I don't know which of those to recommend you. Although "Precious Friends" I and II are excellent, these being live recordings of a concert shared by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie (another well-known folky type; you could look him up too) but I don't know how likely a library is to have those. But you probably can't go wrong with any Pete Seeger cd.

Uh, Peter, Paul & Mary! Although I have trouble believing you've never heard of them before. Probably if nothing else you've heard their children's song "Puff the Magic Dragon"... but their proper folk music, that isn't from their children's albums, is a lot awesomer. I like their albums "No Easy Walk To Freedom" and "Peter, Paul and Mary". (well, these are the two albums of theirs that I've listened to the most, so that's probs why I like them best....) (And I sometimes do roll my eyes at their songs. Like "Lemon Tree" -- pretty song, but the point of the song is that love is like lemon trees: pretty, but the fruit is impossible to eat. WHATEVER, lemons are delicious and so is love. But most of their songs aren't stupid like that.)

Seeger, Guthrie, and PP&M are all American folk, ftr.

Canadian folk that everyone knows (for a value of "everyone" that equals "canadian", at least): Gordon Lightfoot, as previously mentioned (although he's more folk-rock than straight-up folk), and Stan Rogers. LISTEN TO STAN ROGERS, IF NOTHING ELSE. He's got lots of history-based songs, and lots of just-plain-awesome songs. And his love songs are great too, and not just straight up Twu Wuv. And his voice is spectacular. Mmmmmm. ANY of his CDs is guaranteed awesomesauce. (cds for Gordon Lightfoot -- again, any.)

Okay, that's what I can do for you in terms of popular folk music. Less popular but super-awesome? I CAN DO THAT TOO.

Kathy Mattea's really great. I particularly recommend the album "Coal", which has nothing on it but super-depressing songs about coal-mining in the USA. BUT IT'S GREAT.

If I haven't talked up Tanglefoot somewhere in the comments to this post then it's a huge oversight because TANGLEFOOT <333333. They do funny songs, history songs, awesome songs, songs that make me cry, ALL THE GOOD THINGS. (including a werewolf romance, if that's up your alley! Hee!) Albums: ANY OF THEM YOU CAN FIND, no seriously. But I particularly like "Dance Like Flames" and "The Music In The Wood".

Uh I'D BETTER STOP MYSELF NOW before I end up quoting like half the folk artists I know at you. I just can't choose between them! There's so much awesome in the world! And I've probably already given you enough to be plenty overwhelming! Shutting up now!

[curuchamion]

Okay, so I finally got to the library! :D Things:

* PETE SEEGER. I'd heard (of) some of his songs, of course - We Shall Overcome, Turn Turn Turn, Where Have All the Flowers Gone - but I managed to find, among other things, a live recording of a Greenwich Village "greatest hits" performance he did, and EEEEEEE. :DDDDD There is nothing to beat live folk music (except maaaaybe some live jazz). Audience participation! Simple accompaniments! (I have trouble following complex music-y stuff; I'm sort of weirdly not-exactly-tone-deaf.) HIS ACCENT. THE BANJO. Especially the banjo - me and banjo, it's a thing. I ought to learn, someday.

* All the Peter Paul and Mary was checked out. :-( I shall have to try again someday, because I'm fairly certain the version of Blowin' in the Wind that I fell in love with a few years ago was theirs.

* I found the Seeger/Guthrie concert you mentioned. :D This library does have some fairly rare stuff. There were also half a dozen Gordon Lightfoot CDs - I haven't listened to any of those yet.

* But there was NO STAN ROGERS and no Tanglefoot. :-( I foresee some looking for faster wireless in my future, so I can stalk YT videos. ;P

[sophia_sol]

Eee, I am so happy to hear you enjoyed Pete Seeger! He's so great. And yeah, banjos are awesome and not appreciated enough.

Peter Paul and Mary do indeed do an excellent version of Blowin' in the Wind! I hope you do manage to find soemthing of theirs

It is TRAGIC though that you couldn't find Stan Rogers or Tanglefoot, though, because those are my favourites of the things I recced. But they're relatively limited to a Canadian audience, and afaik you're not Canadian, so it doesn't entirely surprise me that your library doesn't have them. (also, even more tragically, there isn't much of Tanglefoot up on YT either for once you do have faster wireless....)