join them and tell the world about your choice of listening.
None of this modern poppy muck for me. You can take your Cure and New Order, but give me trad. English song and trad. English singers and I'm a happy man. Oh yes, and radio 4 comedy. So, for the past few days I've had Kate Rusby, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, Nic Jones, Just a Minute and, um, an American rock band called The Rainmakers (consistency? What's that?) on heavy rotation. And it's been lovely.
Oh yes, and the odd burst of Peter Cook. (And on one, faintly bizarre, occasion XMMS served up Damian's Life, the Universe and Everything talk.)
I can't rave enough about Kate Rusby though. I first heard her sing at Beverley festival and I remember thinking that she had a pretty voice (and was gorgeous to look at), but she hadn't quite grown into her material. A few years later I heard Sleepless and oh boy, had she ever grown into the material. She has the most beautiful voice and a deep understanding and appreciation of the big ballads that she sings. Just lovely. Up there with June Tabor, Maddy Prior and Norma Waterson.
Ahem. Rave over.
Re:Cure
pdcawley on 2001-12-07T09:27:48
In the context I'm talking about 'Modern' means 'written this century'. A lot of the stuff that Rusby sings was old when J F Child started to publish his collection of border ballads in the late 1800s.
The Old Songs are just wonderful. Dark, gruesome shading into moments of staggering beauty. Listen to Pete Morton singing Tamlyn, Sinead O'Connor doing I am stretched on your grave (and going a long way over the top admittedly...) or (my favourite) Norma Waterson singing almost anything.
Or listen to some American traditional music. Stanley Carter's reading of O Death from the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack for instance is just stunning.
I confess I could go on about this for ever. Maybe I'll put a 'download this and blow your mind with traditional music' collection of MP3s together and let the address slip on IRC or something... But not quite yet.Re:Cure
koschei on 2001-12-07T11:57:31
Out of the stuff I have convenient, I do appear to have that Stanley Carter track (gf bought the CD).
It's nice - but not what I'd want to listen to except when listening *to* it. i.e. it's not stuff I'd work to, play to, whatever to. Doesn't mean it's shite though =) Just deserves special attention.
Actually my tastes are a little wider than just 80s indie bands (as Piers knows). The previous CD on heavy rotation was The History of Fairport Convention. For several mornings, my neighbours had to put up with me singing Matty Groves or The Bonny Black Hare (warning: adult content) on my walk to the tube station.
Now, I realise that Fairport Convention aren't completely traditional (they tend to take traditional songs and re-interpret them in a more modern setting) but I really like a lot of the more traditional stuff too. The aforementioned Ms. Rusby is one of my favourites, and I'm pretty much guaranteed to love anything by the Waterson/Carthy clan.
English folk music is sometimes overshadowed by it's Celtic neigbours, but there are some real gems if you look for them.
Re:Folk Music
pdcawley on 2001-12-07T12:19:13
I prefer Little Musgrave to Matty Groves to be honest. The tune seems to cut against the subject matter if that makes any sense.
