We return today withĀ the second part of our interview with Anna Shternshis and Psoy Korolenko about their rediscovery and redevelopment of songs written by Jewish Holocaust survivors in 1940s Ukraine. Read Part One here. With this post, weāll feature two … Continue reading →
Well itās that time of year again. With the start of Spring Training, just saying it makes me smile, we are once again assured that Winter is on the run and even better yet our favorite baseball team still has … Continue reading →
Introduction We have rarely strayed far from English language sources at Murder Ballad Monday. Whether the songs we explore pull from the British Isles or from African-American or Maritime traditions, for example, our idiom has typically been English, and our … Continue reading →
[soundcloud url=āhttps://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/146088004ā³ params=āauto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=trueā width=ā100%ā height=ā450ā³ iframe=ātrueā /] In the days of Youtube and Spotify, it can be hard to remember that not that long ago the only means of learning a song was via oral tradition or sheet music. It … Continue reading →
Update: Sadly, Ralph Stanley passed away on June 23 2016 at age 89. I believe itās important to give tribute while the subject is still with us. Ralph Stanley turned 89 on February 25th and although heās lost a step … Continue reading →
Introduction ā āThe Cruel Shipās Captainā Todayās ballad is notable both for its brevity and for the depravity it depicts. Ā The brevityĀ is mostly a product of the AnglophoneĀ seamenĀ and laborersĀ who worked the song over time to a fine edge like a … Continue reading →
[soundcloud url=āhttps://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/231734634ā³ params=āauto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=trueā width=ā100%ā height=ā450ā³ iframe=ātrueā /] Midwestern fiddler John Daniel Lane takes a panoramic high-definition view of American fiddle music and clearly enjoys experimenting with different styles. Thereās a distinct and acknowledged John Hartford influence to his playing and … Continue reading →
This week weāll conclude our two part feature celebrating Black History Month. Last week we heard some classic music from the early days of sound recording plus a set of tunes from the Civil Rights Movement. This week our program … Continue reading →
Murder ballads made for dancing The Corriesā performance of āThe Massacre of Glencoeā on our Facebook page several days ago prompted one reader to comment that older songs like it differed with more recent āhardcoreā musicĀ in that the tenderness of … Continue reading →
[soundcloud url=āhttps://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/90564026ā³ params=āauto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=trueā width=ā100%ā height=ā450ā³ iframe=ātrueā /] English harmonica wiz Mat Walklate is another incredibly versatile performer on his instrument. While his focus can vary depending on which of the several bands heās playing with, he works predominantly in Irish … Continue reading →
