LAURIE LEWIS Skippinâ And Flyinâ Spruce And Maple 2006 www.spruceandmaplemusic.com Though virtually unknown east of the Mississippi until the mid-1980s, the past three decades have seen Laurie Lewis establish herself as one of the … Continue reading →
ANDY STATMAN Old Brooklyn Shefa 3004/5 www.andystatman.org Andy Statman, a bluegrass mandolin and klezmer clarinet virtuoso, blends elements of bluegrass and klezmer with elements of jazz, blues, rock and roll, folk, country, world music … Continue reading →
Tim Eriksen – from his Facebook fan page Our initial post this week took up the first of our two goals; to look more closely at Tim Eriksen‘s work and place it in the context of how we experience murder … Continue reading →
Tim Eriksen – hardcore americana This week at Murder Ballad Monday will be a mix of celebration and reflection, with a bit of correction thrown in for balance.Celebration? Quite simply, we’re still here and still finding plenty to write about even after … Continue reading →
Mariner’s Revenge Song (photo by Alicia J. Rose) In its epic sweep and scope, and with its literary shades of Poe, Dickens, Shakespeare, and Melville, “The Mariner’s Revenge Song,” by The Decemberists could probably give us enough material for a … Continue reading →
Macy Gray We continue this week’s “Vengeance of the ‘Inner Child’” series with Macy Gray‘s “My Fondest Childhood Memories.” Â Earlier this week, we gave a listen to Jim White’s “The Wound That Never Heals,” the musically-framed story of a damaged … Continue reading →
Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992) We have discussed here and there in previous weeks how children encounter murder ballads–what role such songs may have played in children’s upbringing in earlier times, and how that role may or may not be … Continue reading →
DIUNNA GREENLEAF Trying To Hold On Blue Mercy 930 www.diunna.com This fourteen track project is ex-gospel singer Diunna Greenleafâs stunning, originals-studded follow-up to her 2007 Cotton Field To Coffee House masterpiece. Accompanied by a … Continue reading →
Hell’s Half-Acre, a small badland in Wyoming (Note: This is the third post about Bruce Springsteenâs song âNebraska.â The first post explored the songâs relationship to the case of spree killers Charlie Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. The second post … Continue reading →
In a previous post on Bruce Springsteenâs âNebraskaâ (the song, not the album), we saw how The Boss ripped the song from the headlines, chronicling the murder spree, conviction, and pending execution of the killer Charlie Starkweather and his girlfriend, … Continue reading →
