adenning's blog
Is Folk the new Indie
Hi,
I was just thinking about this the other night whilst listening to a folk-compilation, 'folk-rising 2' on Navigator Records ( home to the mighty Bellowhead )
Strikes me that a lot of the most talented young singers and musicians aren't forming indie-rock bands now, they are forming folk groups. Remember how special indie-music seemed in the Eighties? Maybe a band like Cocteau Twins and nobody else would have heard of them, let alone be buying their records.
When such an act made number thirty-nine for a week in the singles charts, it was with a sense of real acheivement. The same can be said of today's folk groups. Seth Lakeman actually having a hit single and a hit album is almost unheard of for an act playing folk music.
As for also being truly independant, there's an artist Allison Crowe who releases her music on the legal and free downloading site Jamendo. Allison has released two or three acclaimed works through Jamendo and is sustaining a career completely outside of the mainstream. You can't say that for Kasabian!
So, two things really. Is folk the new indie and are you a former indie-fan ( like myself ) now searching other genres and styles and you're basically sick of the same old, same old?
Joe Meeks Master Tapes
Two thousand of Joe Meek's master tapes are going for sale if you have a spare 300 or 400k. Apparently they contain early David Bowie recordings among many other unearthly delights.
With his bio-pic coming anytime soon, does Meek actually mean anything to anyone not old enough to remember? I'm not old enough to remember myself but found my way to the works of Meek through frequent namechecks by acts such as Orbital.
Anybody interested in Meek and what might be contained in those famous tea-chests of his?
Rap Music.
I used to like Rap and Hip-Hop back in the day, circa 1986 to 1989. I then fell out of love with it as the lyrical content started to get darker, sexist and gangsta obsessed. I loved De La Soul circa 1988 to 1991.
Somehow, I gave up on Rap music too early.
What i'd like to know is what everyone's favourite rap artists actually are. I can't see beyond Eric B And Rakim. Nas is good, as are the Wu Tang guys.
