The Irish Music Discussion from Agora Conference

Oct 24 18:54 UTC 2001

---- Cutting and pasting from the "Bummed" item in fall Agora conference
---- ( item:agora,7 ) ::
 
#191 of 208: by Bjorn Arnesen (vidar) on Mon, Oct 22, 2001 (16:54):
 IBB TV and Radio have been ruining Enya's song "Only Time".

#192 of 208: by S. Lynne Fremont (slynne) on Mon, Oct 22, 2001 (17:11):
 Yeah, it got really popular all of a sudden. I have the cd and still 
 like it but it is getting near the "overplayed" point 

#193 of 208: by Megan Heberlein (eeyore) on Mon, Oct 22, 2001 (23:16):
 Actually, Enya ruined "Only Time", just by doing it.
 
 You know, for as much as I tend to like the Irish-y stuff, I cannot stand
 her...

#194 of 208: by Ken Josenhans (krj) on Tue, Oct 23, 2001 (00:39):
 Apparently someone tied the Enya song in with an inspirational video
 about the attacks, and as a result the album rocketed to #2 on the 
 Billboard charts.  I don't have the details.

#195 of 208: by take off, eh? (beeswing) on Tue, Oct 23, 2001 (14:31):
 I also can't quite dig Enya.
 ...

#197 of 208: by Sarah Zamenski (michaela) on Tue, Oct 23, 2001 (20:30):
 Enya is new age, not Irish.  Even I'll admit that.
 
 Well, she's Irish, but her new album isn't.  "The Celts" was close, but still
 bordered on new age.

#199 of 208: by Mickey (micklpkl) on Tue, Oct 23, 2001 (21:41):
 I'm bummed to read so many folks dissin' Enya in the bummed item.

#200 of 208: by Twila Oxley Price (anderyn) on Tue, Oct 23, 2001 (22:02):
 Well, she's new age, but she's still Irish. After all, the woman WAS born
 there, and speaks Gaelic. I figure that it makes her Irish, even if her music
 isn't traditional.

#201 of 208: by Paul Kershaw (brighn) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (00:29):
 I believe that Sarah meant, "While enya is ethnically Irish, her music does
 not qualify as belonging to the genre 'Irish music.'"
 
 Anymore than U2's does.
 Or Therapy?'s.

#202 of 208: by Twila Oxley Price (anderyn) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (07:16):
 Well... what constitutes the genre? Singing in Gaelic? Using *only*
 traditional instruments and tunes? Enya certainly started out in Clannad, back
 when they were definitely an Irish band by any definition, and even now her
 music bears echos of that. Clannad certainly isn't traditional anymore, but
 are they still Irish music?

#203 of 208: by That Anne Person (mooncat) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (08:37):
 I like Clannad. :)

#204 of 208: by Christopher L Goosman (goose) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (09:32):
 Don't forget Thin Lizzy..they're Irish. (or were in the case of Phil Lynott)

#205 of 208: by Brooke Edmunds (edina) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (11:09):
 Clannad and Altan are Irish - and slightly uncommon trivia, Enya's sister is
 the lead singer of Clannad - and Enya used to be Clannad.
 
 And for the ultimate in Irish music, it hands-down goes to the wondrous boys
 of the Chieftains.  "Irish Heartbeat" - where they collaborated with Van
 Morrison is one of my favorite pieces of work.

#206 of 208: by Ken Josenhans (krj) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (11:49):
 Maybe we need an Irish Music item.  Or a Celtic Music item.  Or...    :)

#207 of 208: by Twila Oxley Price (anderyn) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (12:49):
 Grin. Maybe. Of course, I still don't like the Chieftans that much. (Twila
 admits it might be heresy, but they just never grabbed her. Christy Moore,
 uhm, Tommy Sands, and the Black Family are all more to her taste.)

#208 of 208: by Paul Kershaw (brighn) on Wed, Oct 24, 2001 (12:59):
 I can't give a detailed account of what qualifies a "Irish" music, but since
 I've heard some in English, I don't think "sings in Irish" is a requirement.
 I do understand that The Pogues are at least closer to Irish music than modern
 Enya is. Tori Amos used to be in a hard rock band, and Ministry's first album
 was pure New Wave, and David Bowie's first singles were heavily influenced
 by folk, but I don't think any of those artists belong to those genres now.

response 2 of 72:

Oct 24 19:07 UTC 2001

Thanks Ken. I have been wondering why folks dont like Enya. I think her 
voice is beautiful and it doesnt matter to me if her music is considered 
"authentic" Irish music or not. 

response 4 of 72:

Oct 24 19:49 UTC 2001

I like Enya's music pretty well. It doesn't matter to me that it may not be
considered "pure" Irish. 

response 6 of 72:

Oct 24 21:32 UTC 2001

  I wouldn't care for a constant diet of it, but I find Enya's music to
  be enjoyably atmospheric, making fine background music when I'm
  concentrating on a book or a programming project..

response 8 of 72:

Oct 24 23:07 UTC 2001

#7: Well, if you're going to be picky, The Pogues are/were (are they
still arond?) Londoners letting on to be Irish...  Enya is an Irish
woman playing "New Age" music , though she does come from an Irish
Folk background; just as U2 are an Irish band playing Rock 'n Roll
(or whatever it's called nowadays).

response 10 of 72:

Oct 25 01:23 UTC 2001

  The Pogues had occasional moments of brilliance (I've always liked
  "Fairytale of New York") and many less-inspired but still enjoyable
  songs (I have an inexplicable soft spot for some of the other songs
  on "If I Should Fall..", like "Bottle of Smoke" and "Turkish Song of
  the Damned")  Unfortunately, McGowan just disintegrated under the
  weight of his band's success..

response 12 of 72:

Oct 25 02:57 UTC 2001

Honestly, I don't think most people's issue with Enya is whether or not she's
'traditional.'  Some people like their music hard, and some like it soft, and
Enya's far enough on the soft end of the spectrum that she'll annoy the hell
out of anyone with harder tastes.  The Pogues (or, better yet, Dropkick
Murphys or Ashley MacIsaac) have the same problem in reverse -- their sound
is hard enough that it'll annoy anyone with softer tastes, no matter how good
or bad or 'real' or 'fake' their music is.

(Of course, Enya _isn't_ traditional, and neither are the Pogues.  My point
is, there are too many people who think that Enya is authentic but the Pogues
aren't (or vice versa -- sorry, Sarah) for me to think that anyone's really
talking about authenticity when they have this argument.)

response 14 of 72:

Oct 25 03:16 UTC 2001

I agree with Paul that The Pogues had but one moment of glory, but disagree
about what it is. "Fairytale of New York" is a classic, and it was only after
buying a Pogues album that I realized it was Kirsty that made that song a
classic, not The Pogues.

BTW, I don't *like* Irish music, so saying that Enya isn't Irish music is a
compliment to her, not an insult.

(I'm glad to see that Dan is going with the flow on this conversation...)