Harry Smith's Old Weird America: Anthology of American Folk
One of my favorite CD sets is the 6-CD set, Anthology of American Folk Music, edited by Harry Smith.
Aaron says:
Yes, I work for [Ovation TV], but this is something I think all loyal BB readers, like myself would enjoy.Link | Another clip hereIt's a documentary we are putting up this month on the history of folk music starting with "Old Weird America." It's a great treasure for both docu's and American folk music.
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I could listen to Son House all day.
And I often do.
I've caught this film 1.5 times now and its a treat. Thank you Ovation for presenting this on your channel.
The guy is amazing and the performers and commentators are excellent (and it includes some great bits with folks who are no longer around including Harry Smith, Alan Ginsburg and Percy Heath) A treat on many levels and not just for folkies by any means. Bravo (oh wait thats a different channel)
I don't understand. I think the gist of it is that those old musicians, like the fellow who was being interviewed and said he was born in 1895, that they are supposed to be "old and weird". Saying that that kind of Appalachian folk music is supposed to be old & weird. Old, yes- but weird? I don't find it weird at all. I thought the second guy that was trying to sing some version of "John the Revelator" was weird.
Something tells me I must not be a hipster or cool or whatever, I don't understand this at all.
I think it's bizarre that this clip features less than 20 seconds of Son House and a minute and a half of Nick Cave. Very Blueshammer. Kinda depressing.
Not that I mind seeing Nick Cave, but I am missing the connection. And does this Harry Smith have anything to do with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths?
@mikelotus David Johansen is a big fan of Harry Smith and performs in the documentary.
This is a very good doc for both those familiar with Harry Smith and the recordings he archived and for newbies as well. When I discovered these CDs in the late 90s I was completely floored by the music on them and that I had never come across the records before then. John the Revelator is still one of my favorite recordings of all time. Harry Smith was a one of a kind.
I believe that the "Old and Weird" title came from music writer Greil Marcus. The music is old in the sense that it comes from a long tradition -- some of the Appalachian songs have roots in Scottish music from 300 or 400 years old. Every generation interpreted it in its own way, though, and the songs spread through the oral tradition. That evolutionary process led to some strange lyrics as people misheard things or as some details became less relevant. Hence the 'Weird'. Its great music, but sometimes the lyrics really do make you scratch your head.
I think that Marcus also called the music weird because a lot of it really sounded like it came from another world to people raised on popular recorded music. If all you've heard is classical music and Perry Como, "John the Revelator" would certainly come as a shock.
I do wish the clip had more Son House and less Nick Cave. Blueshammer -- ouch, and true.
You should all check out this collection of films on the history and culture of american folk music: http://www.folkstreams.net/
Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music was one of the more famous recordings published and kept in print by Folkways (now Smithsonian Folkways). Fore those interested, there is a 24 part series on the history of Folkways that the Smithsonian has made freely available as a podcast. It includes 3 episodes (approx. 1 hour each) on Harry Smith and his Anthology.
One thing mentioned during the podcast, perhaps of interest to readers of this blog, is that the Anthology was made from the personal record collection of Harry Smith without securing permission from the copyright owners (the recordings were generally from the 20s and 30s, the Anthology was released in the 50s). These were not new recordings done to preserve the music (something Folkways was wont to do), but rather commercial recordings that had been made for profit and subsequently more or less forgotten.
It wasn't made clear in the podcast whether permission has been subsequently sought and in all cases granted, the music has lapsed into the public domain, or this tremendously influential collection remains, in some sense, a pirate bootleg.