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Why the song is good
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Why the song is good |
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Subject: Why the song is good From: steve t Date: 27 Apr 98 - 09:17 PM I just thought this line deserved its own thread: Art and Bruce wrote: The song isn't good because it's old, it's old because it's good. Wow. |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Bruce O. Date: 27 Apr 98 - 09:42 PM That's Art's, I just swiped it. Folk wisdom, as I noted on the other thread, sorts the wheat from the chaff, and they have done it so well for so long, that I don't want to see the job turned over to anyone else, under any circumstances. |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: PKD on Teesside Date: 28 Apr 98 - 02:26 AM Bruce, that's an excellent theory - nay, that is a truism. However, Folk Wisdom, when recorded, becomes cast in tablets of stone & ceases to develope. The more it's cast, the worse it gets. So we are in a cleft stick where the richness of the material can only be preserved in these current times by noting it down, but the very act of doing so damages the thing. Just think of how many songs are noted in collections (both written and recorded) which never see the light of day in live performance. I think (let's be contraversial) that I do not want to know the source. When I ask for a song I've heard someone do, I want THEIR version of it - not the source. If everyone learning a song refers to the sourece ( or to a "good" or "famous" recording) then the song will cease to develope & so will the tradition. Cheers Paul |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Bert Date: 28 Apr 98 - 09:45 AM Paul, You say..... Just think of how many songs are noted in collections (both written and recorded) which never see the light of day in live performance. I think that it isn't 'really' a song unless it is performed. It's just an archived representation. We need to keep singing the songs that WE think are good, Then maybe some of them will live to be old. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Martin Ryan Date: 28 Apr 98 - 12:37 PM ..... and be prepared to blow the dust of some "archived representations" and give them another chance! Regards |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Jon W. Date: 28 Apr 98 - 12:59 PM I like to hear as many versions, old and new, original and copied, as possible. That way I can pick and choose the elements of a song I like, maybe even add some of my own making, and perform (were I a performer) the new and preserve the old at the same time. |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Bill D Date: 28 Apr 98 - 06:44 PM every song on a record or tape was sung at a 'point in time', and was no doubt sung differently by the same performer at some OTHER point in time, and as long as we keep that in mind, it need not freeze the song in one mold...it is true that some folks get hung up on 'X' version as the ONLY version, but a lot of us don't--and that can be both good & bad! It is possible to do irreparable damage to a song--or to improve it, by messing with it, but that is the way it has always been and always will be. I DO thank heavens for those like Bruce O. who at least help us see what a song was like at or near its beginnings! Scholarship and archives need not be at odds with performance and creativity---they need each other to keep the process from going too far in either direction. |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Frank McGrath Date: 28 Apr 98 - 07:27 PM A song is good if somebody likes it. Even if the rest of the world thinks it's a shite song it's still a good song to that person. So that song should be archived and kept for posterity with all the related information because it's possible that someday it will be important to one other person or maybe even millions of our offspring. So, in my opinion, we should treat every song and every variation of that with reverence. Imagine yourself in the year 2098 having heated acedemic discussions on; "It was a teenie weenie itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini" and why nither "Radiohead" nor P. Domingo never did a cover version. Just because Radiohead, Plassy and meself think it's a shite song doesn't mean it is a shite song. Neil Sadaka and his bank manager think it's brilliant! Taste is subjective and there's nowt stranger than folk and folk music (Thank God). Good Night All Frank McGrath |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: steve t Date: 28 Apr 98 - 08:47 PM Frank! Great homepage! I printed out Nenagh's list of Irish song circles to a friend who was moving to Ireland. :-) There are many songs that I sing that for which I don't think I've ever heard a recorded version. I generally introduce them as, "This is a variation on..." and people seem to accept that right away and usually do a credible job of joining in. If I don't mention "variation" there's oft some helpful soul who tries like mad to lead me back to his or her favorite recorded version. But I gotta say this for static representations: it can be really eerie singing old songs. I've sung some Sacred Harp shape note songs 200 years old. A friend has sung Gregorian Chant and claims it's much eerier singing stuff from over 500 years ago. |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: McGrath Date: 29 Apr 98 - 03:32 AM Thanks for the kind comments steve t. There will be two or three more venues added to the singing clubs list very shortly. Frank McGrath |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Jon W. Date: 29 Apr 98 - 10:08 AM Frank, The only correct version of the song you referred to goes "itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini" and anyone who sings it any other way is a heretic...Ha ha, just stirring up trouble...grin |
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Subject: RE: Why the song is good From: Bill D Date: 29 Apr 98 - 10:35 AM However, I have heard that the original bikini that inspired the song was green...and although the author worked for weeks, he couldn't get 'greenie bikini' to scan, so he......(do you suppose those learned scholars in 2098 will be using THIS forum for their research..*wink*) "Will you guess I'm not just playing, That it's something that I'm saying? Can you make up answers I can tell are true? " from "You Gotta Talk My Language"
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