Ok, so all y'all British people can yell at me if I'm way off with this but it seems to me that for the past couple of years (maybe as early as '08), there's been this huge amount of indie/folk music that resembles old Americana folk music. Folk is a very broad term I know but I think I mean something along the lines of perhaps Johnny Cash and blues grass.The huge pop example that comes to mind for this "resurgence" is of course Mumford and Sons but there's also Johnny Flynn and a whole slew of others. Could someone fill me in more about this and how it started? Obviously Brits and Americans have been swapping musical styles since America was founded practically but am I off base in saying that that the Americana thing is a fairly new thing like say around '07-'08?
Also, gotta say right now that I'm liking a lot more British folk artists than American ones. Ben Howard's great

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what i mean by that is, everybody is still trying to be these (arrow pointed up) guys and failing miserably.

pop guys these days listen to the band, the beatles, the rolling stones.

but those guys back then listened to johnny cash, martha and the vandellas, and chuck berry.

pop guys these days don't know about rock and roll. they make fad pap pop that won't be remembered next year, let alone in 30 years.

the white stripes are about as close as it got to rock and roll, if my memory serves me well.

am i my father now?

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i feel like the shadow of fleet foxes and bon iver looms large over mumford etc. (maybe sufjan too?) both have had a surprising amount of success here.

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pop guys these days don't know about rock and roll. they make fad pap pop that won't be remembered next year, let alone in 30 years.

mike is on the mark here btw. Stornoway are one of the good ones though.

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[kidsteel.bandcamp.com]

[www.youtube.com]

all there is to say.

one more thing to say: if anyone ever asks you why richard manuel hung himself, the answer is here: [www.youtube.com]

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The first thing that distinguishes a writer is that he is most alive when alone. - Martin Amis



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2011 02:25PM by Wild Creature.

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Wild Creature


one more thing to say: if anyone ever asks you why richard manuel hung himself, the answer is here: [www.youtube.com]

HAHAHAHA!!!! That made me laugh so hard. Ah yes, classic folk and bluesgrass at it's finest. Oh the eigthties. Some of that eighties pop was amazing. But some of it feel flat on it's face like this one.
Obviously this new appearance of Americana folk in England is a fad. Perhaps "Resurgence" makes it sound too much like some kinda movement? Yes, I agree with you Mike that most of it's just a buncha wannabe garbage but I do think there are some good singers coming out of this new fad in England. Have to say I really don't like Mumford and Sons. I just think that they've got some good sound but underneath, there's not too much.

jeez, garbage?

harsh!

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mike5998
jeez, garbage?

harsh!

Hahahaha! Yeah, mayhaps that is a bit harsh.

that video i posted is really poignant, because it was shot shortly before Manuel killed himself. He killed himself because, as one of the most soulful singers and musicians out there, the 80's were not kind to him and he was relegated to playing drums on a crappy john sebastian video session for a few bucks to buy his junk. you can see him in the background of that crap video, bearded and jaded and crying through his smile. poor Richard Manuel. What a talent he would be if he made it to today.

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The first thing that distinguishes a writer is that he is most alive when alone. - Martin Amis

I think 30 years longevity is quite ambitous for any band these days, so it's not fair to level that accusation at the folk-resurgence (nu-folk, i believe it was horribly labelled). It's been around for a little while but, like most things, started off small. Noah and the Whale, Mumford, Laura Marling et al all hung out together, played in each others bands and worked hard at the music of which they're clearly fond, so it's not so much a 'fad', i don't think.

The overwhelming popularity of Mumford (to use the obvious example) may be a fad, but that's more due to the fickleness of people, than the music itself.

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let's get dressed up in costumes and dance by the bar.

I dunno, I think it's more about a general folk-revival. I tend to move in pretty folky circles, so Mumford were no surprise to me. They're folk musos, so they know how to perform live. They're really tight, which is a novelty to a lot of the audience. You can dance to them like nobody's business. They know about performance energy. It all makes total sense to me, and I can't understand why it didn't happen sooner.

Betamax is right, it's been coming on for a while..there's a band called The Waifs, who made their name at folk festivals here, before they cracked the mainstream. For at least 15 years the Woodford folk festival has tried to meld trad folk with the mainstream by getting some big Indie names to play at their NYE gig - Paul Kelly; Midnight Oil...can't remember who else, sorry.

(trying to get out of lurker mode)

two very awesome posts!

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Thanks so much clare and beta I must confess that my post above was pretty harsh to "nu-folk" bands. Even the purest in our ranks get infected by pretension from time to time. I have to say that nu-folk is very refreshing. All that blues grass and old folk adds a little more bit to things. A lot of indie bands are just too mellow for me. Yeah, from what you guys say, nu-folk seems to be more of a presence than a "fad." Sheesh, didn't know it had been at least fifteen years in the making but I suppose that makes sense.

I quite like it. I wouldn't say it's my favourite genre but part of why i like the movement is because it might also turn people towards the likes of The Band or Fairport, etc where the roots lie. The same way that the White Stripes, Black Keys etc. helped (i hope) turn people to the roots of that music.

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let's get dressed up in costumes and dance by the bar.