That thread is really good. It is both surprising, and in another way completely unsurprising, to see Jet calling CT the blog on the net. I mean, s/he appears to disagree with every post, but s/he is always there.
I think Jet is the class of the conservative CT commentators. S/he actually responds to comments--some of the folks only comment to annoy, because they know it teases.
The first comment would make more sense (though Weiner understood it) if I had included the word "best" prior to blog.
Gary, my spam filter just blocked you for having too many URLs in your comment.
A link to your homepage might do the trick.
The great thing about Alasdair Roberts, whom I could theoretically see twice again (on the 14th in Oakland and the 15th in SF), is that, since he's tall and lanky, his grave and bed must perforce be long and narrow.
Dick Clark was right. The chorus really shouldn't sing "go stagger lee" . They are just egging him on. My suggestion for a revision: "oh! stagger lee".
Um, from the folks?
This whole "blogger linking to a co-blogger co-blogging at another blog" thing is a bit too self-referential though. Even if it's just via a "via."
Where can I find the folk? It's not like I mingle with them.
I'm more into American folk songs, but Fairport Convention is a good English folk-rock group. Fairportians, what would you recommend?
I've recommended Malinky (Scottish, not English) before. Both of their first two albums are very good (they've since changed lead singers, so I don't know about their upcoming third).
The canonical Fairport albums are Leige & Lief and Unhalfbricking. Also good in a similar vein are Steeleye Span (can't remember specific albums I've heard) and (less rocky, more folky and also more jazzy at times) Pentangle's albums Basket of Light, Cruel Sister, and Sweet Child.
One of the Steeleye Span albums I have contains a rendition under the name "Two Magicians" of the song performed by Current 93 under the name "Oh Coal Black Smith".
Also, as I've mentioned here and elsewhere, the work of Alasdair Roberts is, IMHO, estimable.
second that emotion on steeleye span; they are amazing. two or three gruesme deaths per song, guaranteed. also, the johnson mountain boys do a lot of great bluegrass songs (they are around now) or the louvin brothers (from the 50's/60's). louvin bros' "knoxville girl" is a thrilling tale of totally unmotivated murder. in knoxville.
I'm very fond of Steeleye Span. Nonetheless, Mr. Breath once described them as "Spinal Tap's folk period", and I can't argue with him all that hard. But I still like them.
(One problem is that my kids like the songs as lullabies, and then they want full explanations of what's going on in the words: "So, why did the squire's wife go with Black Jack Davy?")
Wait, you do like some music?
For Black Jack Davy/David--compare and contrast the versions of the Carter Family, Cliff Carlisle, and Buell Kazee. Instructive how the same song turns into three different things--the Carter Family is ominous, Carlisle is sexy--he sounds almost like Elvis--and Kazee (using a different melody and slightly different words) is high tragedy. Kazee's version reminded me (fortuitously) of the Ghost of Prior Walter Past in Angels in America who says he died of the "Black Jack"--it sounds like the wife is being carried off by the Angel of Death. "Will you forsake your husband dear, will you forsake your baby-o, will you forsake your warm feather bed, to go with the Black Jack Davy-o."
Maybe that'll make it easier to explain to the kids. (What do they think of "Pop Goes the Weasel"?)
(Discography--Carter family is on I think the second JSP box set and maybe the Revenant issue of vol. 4 of Harry Smith's anthology of American folk music; Carlisle is on the Smithsonian Collection of Country Music and I think one of those European labels did a CD of his collected recordings; Kazee is on his June Appal record, which I think is an obscure vinyl-only issue that you may not get to hear unless you come visit me in Lubbock.)
(What do they think of "Pop Goes the Weasel"?)
They don't listen to Third Bass yet.
And I do like some music (mostly stuff where I either think the lyrics are clever, or that I can sing), I just don't care much or know much about it.