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krj
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British Folk
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Jul 13 20:57 UTC 2001 |
Folk music from Great Britain, not all of which is particularly Celtic;
this pigeonhole has largely disappeared in the US with the rise of the
Celtic Music marketing concept but it still exists across the pond, and
it still exerts a powerful fascination on some of us.
We'll start with the news which was long expected but only recently
confirmed, at least to me: Battlefield Band fiddler John McCusker
is indeed marrying English singer Kate Rusby. McCusker is leaving
the Battlefield Band; he's been in the group for about 10-12 years,
since he was 16 or so. One assumes that he and Kate will spend
all their time touring together; he was with her on Kate's Ark
appearance.
Kate's new album LITTLE LIGHTS came out in June, and Mickey and I
will crack open our copies and write reviews promptly.
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| 157 responses total. |
anderyn
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response 1 of 157:
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Jul 15 23:15 UTC 2001 |
On the new Battlefield Band album (which I finally got), there was a mention
in the liner notes that John and Kate own a house together, so I was kind of
expecting this news.
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dbratman
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response 2 of 157:
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Jul 24 05:50 UTC 2001 |
What exactly is the pigeonhole that has disappeared? English (i.e. non-
Celtic)?
I always thought the Battlefield Bank was some sort of Celtic outfit:
Scottish, IIRC.
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krj
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response 3 of 157:
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Jul 24 16:47 UTC 2001 |
Kate Rusby, on the other hand, is pretty English, from Yorkshire.
So is the work Kate and John will do together Celtic or not?
(*ahem*)
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orinoco
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response 4 of 157:
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Jul 24 20:50 UTC 2001 |
"Celtic" and "English" (or even "from the U.K.") aren't quite synonymous.
At one point, there were Celts all over Europe -- the Gauls that Caesar fought
were a Celtic tribe -- and there are still pockets of Celtic culture in
northern Spain and France. On the other hand, there's plenty of straight-up
English music with very little Celtic influence. (You were talking about "To
Anacreon in Heaven" a few items back -- there's an example. Also sea
shanties, ballads, English country dance tunes, and so on.)
So the "British" and "Celtic" pigeonholes aren't quite the same, and one has
replaced the other; a few artists have been left out who used to be included,
and a few have been included who used to be left out.
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krj
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response 5 of 157:
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Jul 24 23:50 UTC 2001 |
(...and I was hoping that some of us would actually get reviews written
of the Kate Rusby album, for starters, and not argue over the pigeonholes.)
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dbratman
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response 6 of 157:
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Jul 25 18:28 UTC 2001 |
resp:4 orinoco - were you addressing me? I know that "Celtic"
and "English" aren't the same! That was my point!! So let me repeat
my question: what's the pigeonhole that's disappeared? If "British"
(which presumably means English + Celtic) has been replaced
by "Celtic", then is English (i.e. non-Celtic British) folk music
disappearing? Or what's the story here?
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micklpkl
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response 7 of 157:
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Jul 26 01:13 UTC 2001 |
I agree that, as a pigeonhole, English(non-Celtic) music is being absorbed
into Celtic. (I believe that's what was asserted in #0) That certainly doesn't
mean that English music is disappearing, only that the marketing category has
expanded to include it. In my experience, it's proven useful having a more
general place to look --- I've discovered several wonderful bands and singers
because of this. Take Fernhill, for example: where does Welsh music fit in
a narrow category? What about a Welsh band with an English singer? I don't
think I would have realised how deeply I enjoy traditional Welsh music, if
I first didn't identify that I like Celtic music.
As for the Kate Rusby, LITTLE LIGHTS is her newest, and I consider it *very*
English, despite being produced by John McCusker. (as an aside, isn't John
from the Border country of Scotland? That could explain why he and Kate mix
so easily.) It's a wonderful collection of songs, a mixture of traditional
folk songs arranged by Kate and John and originals that sound like folk songs.
Oh, and she's kept with her tradition of including a cover of a modern song,
on this CD it's Richard Thompson's "Withered and Died."
As you might be able to tell, I love this CD --- though it's still rather
new in my collection, and thus getting played a lot. All evening, I've been
replaying Rusby's earlier discs, in order to compare. The past couple of times
through LITTLE LIGHTS had left me wondering if there were such *sad*
undertones in the rest of her work. I still can't formulate a definite
opinion. Many of the old folk songs have morose subject matter, so that might
play a part in this. It would be a question better answered by Ms. Rusby
herself --- to what degree the death of Davy Steele influenced the final mood
of this CD. She dedicates the song, "Who Will Sing Me Lullabies" to him in
the liner notes, with the line: "For Davy Steele --- the first man to break
my heart, he was an inspiration to us all." I find it a deeply affecting song,
and I loved it from the first listen. (I am notoriously fond of sad, but
sincere, music)
I'd like to comment more, but I'm not sure my thoughts are coming out clear
enough, yet. I need more listens. :-)
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orinoco
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response 8 of 157:
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Jul 26 03:04 UTC 2001 |
Ah. Misunderstood your question, David. As far as the question you were
_really_ asking goes, I have no idea. :)
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krj
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response 9 of 157:
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Jul 26 06:23 UTC 2001 |
I've been advancing a theory that the world is divided into Kate Rusby
fans and Eliza Carthy fans. (*ahem*) I've bought literally every
album Eliza has released, but the only ones getting any repeat plays
are the Waterson:Carthy albums, where Eliza sings with her parents,
Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson.
Eliza has been getting plenty of buildup, for a folkie, in mainstream
media: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY gave a best-of-year page to her previous
album, RED RICE. And she jumped from Topic to Warner, and put out a
new album, ANGELS AND CIGARETTES. Reviews were, to say the least,
controversial and mixed. I finally had a chance to listen to some
of the album -- an $8 used copy at the Elderly shop, open for
previewing. And I couldn't bring myself to buy it. I didn't want
it in the house. It just struck me as a drab pop album dressed
up in folk instrumentation.
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happyboy
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response 10 of 157:
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Jul 27 12:09 UTC 2001 |
what is *celtic*?
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krj
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response 11 of 157:
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Jul 27 16:46 UTC 2001 |
It's a bin in a record store, to paraphrase Ian Anderson, the Folk Roots
magazine editor.
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dbratman
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response 12 of 157:
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Jul 27 16:47 UTC 2001 |
Indeed, but that begs the question. What gets put in that bin, and why?
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