Ken Bigger is a writer based in the Midwest. He co-founded Murder Ballad Monday in 2012.
I donât know, is it that after a week of a song thatâs dark, haunted, and tragic that Iâm up for some lighter fare? Is it that weâve reached March, and winter in the Midwest has me longing for something … Continue reading →
âMurder in the Red Barnâ by Jaya King ââŚI think the world is going to be here a whole lot longer after weâre gone. Iâm just waiting for the whole world to open up and swallow us all in, scrape … Continue reading →
This is the second post on âMaria Martenâ and other songs inspired by the Red Barn Murder in Polstead, England in 1827. The first is here. The third is here. It is time for my confession.  Donât worry. Itâs nowhere near as … Continue reading →
This is the first of three posts about songs more or less related to the infamous Red Barn Murder in Polstead, England in 1827. This post introduces the song and the background story. The next post explores the songâs âcareer.â … Continue reading →
Adam McCulloch (r) âA rip-roaring yarnâ Earlier this year, when researching my posts for âBabylonâ (Child 14), I came across a terrific Scottish recording of the tune, âThe Bonnie Banks of Airdrieâ by Adam McCulloch. Â McCullochâs album In These Times, … Continue reading →
Jeffrey Foucault and Mark Erelli This is the second post this week on Norman Blakeâs âBilly Gray.â  Read the first here. Outlaw Rhetoric That I havenât read Aristotleâs Poetics yet is a gap in my education.  Iâll need to get right … Continue reading →
Norman Blake (photo by Henry Horenstein) This is the first of three posts on âBilly Gray.â Read the second here, and the third here. Prelude:  But I regress⌠After last weekâs focus on re-thinking gender roles in both new murder … Continue reading →
Christine Stulik (photo by Logan Futej) This is part two of our interview with Eileen, and the third post of the week. Â You can read the first part of the interview here, and read our introduction to their song âIâll … Continue reading →
Becky Poole (photo by Logan Futej) Here is Part One of our interview with the Chicago-based duo, Eileen. Â Today, we meet the duo and dive more deeply into the song âIâll Lay You Down,â which we introduced in the previous … Continue reading →
Eileen, the band (Christine Stulik [l] and Becky Poole [r], photo by Logan Futej) Prelude (or Preamble, take your pick) âThe murders of men tend not to alarm us because, on a certain level, we perceive men as voluntarily accepting … Continue reading →
