A Strange, Strange, Wonderful Folk Artist.

Devendra Banhart is a strange, strange, but wonderful folk artist. See below for more details...
The man behind "Pumpkin Seeds". A song that I came across on a friend's myspace. Its ability to move me through the lyrics and music combined was enormous. I LOVE this song.

Have fun soaking up the lyrics and if you feel compelled, listen to it on MySpace!

There's a lot of love

But not the kind I need

Y'ever made a soup out of a pumpkin seeds

There's a lot of skin and flesh

I never should have seen

There's too many half ways in betweens

There's a lot of stays,

I think I wish I done

There's a lot of leaves my true love gave to me

There's a lot of stays,

I think I wish I done

There's a lot of leaves my true love gave to me

There's a lot of birds people like to draw

There's a lot of sees

I wish I'd never saw

There's a lot of birds that people like to draw

There's a lot of sees

I wish I'd never saw

There's a lot of love

But not the kind I need

There's a lot of love

But not the kind I need

Spend An Evening With Saddle Creek. Go Ahead.

Spend An Evening With Saddle Creek is a documentary of the upbringings of the record label company Saddle Creek. The documentary is narrated by individuals involved in the record company such as the founders and even some of the artists... There are extensive interviews, rare performances and archival footage. It is a really great insight to how they got their start, and major accomplishments along the way.

It also shows what the music scene was like back when it started, and how they fit in, with the music they were putting out. Saddle Creek Record Company has launched the following bands:

Azure Ray
Bright Eyes
Cursive
Desaparecidos
The Faint
The Good Life
Mayday
Now It's Overhead
Rilo Kiley
Son, Ambulance
Sorry About Dresden

These are all really great bands! And my latest kick happens to be Azure Ray. This DVD is something that I am putting on my Christmas list, and I advise you to check it out yourself!

Epic Time Magazine Interview with Robert Zimmerman

'Tis the season for sharing videozzzz...

Robert Zimmerman, also known as Bob Dylan, in a Times magazine interview. He decided to turn the table and challenge the interviewer. I mean, interviewee? Ha ha. See for yourself. Take it all in. I have a tendency to stand by whatever Dylan says.

CHECK IT:



Thatta' boy, Bob!

I see my light come shining. From the west unto the east.

I would like to share a video. A video that I find very refreshing...

It is Wilco and the Fleet Foxes during a cover of the Bob Dylan song "I Shall Be Released"

ENJOY!



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Here are the lyrics to Bob Dylan's own, "I Shall Be Released":

They say ev'rything can be replaced,
Yet ev'ry distance is not near.
So I remember ev'ry face
Of ev'ry man who put me here.

I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

They say ev'ry man needs protection,
They say ev'ry man must fall.
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Some place so high above this wall.

I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.A
ny day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,
Is a man who swears he's not to blame.
All day long I hear him shout so loud,
Crying out that he was framed.

I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

Copyright ©1967; renewed 1995 Dwarf Music

I'm Not There, I'm Gone

Since this blog is all things folk considered, here's another item that is linked to the "folk world"

I'm Not There, the Todd Hayes movie. Complimentary to that is the soundtrack...

Bob Dylan once said:

All I can do is be me. Whoever that is.

The movie is basically a portrait of six distinguishable stages in Dylan's life. The music. The actors & actresses. It's all there in the formula for a great movie. And also happens to fit the formula for what equals one of my all time favorite movies.

Sidenote: I'm Not There is rated R. You may want to watch it without the kids.

American Folk Artists: Appreciation Edition

Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie

Which ones are folk artists that added important elements to the folk genre?

ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Through their endearing originality, these artists each defined what folk music is. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize each of their greatnesses. Most of them are just familiar names, with no face or credibility.

So I will start with the great Pete Seeger, and lead you down the path towards understanding their glorious accomplishments, ending with the son of the great Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie.

Pete Seeger, transformed American folk as a form of conscience, and had a lifetime commitment to peace, justice, and environmental issues. His hits include "Where Have All The Flowers Gone," "If I Had A Hammer," and "Turn, Turn, Turn".
Joan Baez, an individual committed to peace and non-violence, and who put a face on activism through music. Aside from activism through performing, she founded the Institute For The Study Of Non-Violence.
Peter, Paul, and Mary, a very successful folk act of the 60's that blended intricate harmonies, with fingerpicked guitar arrangements.
Richie Havens, added a unique dimension to folk music and remains popular today, with his original barre chord playing style, and highly rhythmic right-hand technique. (Interesting Fact No. 19933: I almost saw him perform, on my summer vacation up in Freeport, ME. It would have been epic, no doubt.)

& Last of the Greats is Mr. Arlo Guthrie.

Arlo has created a name for himself, aside from his father's high popularity. He plays between older and newer folk styles, and intertwines music and politics in his career.

Now that their recognition has been established in this blog, let's learn to appreciate them, and listen to what they speak in their music...

This information was taken from a book that I own, called Artists of American Folk Music: The Legends of Traditional Folk, the Stars of the Sixties, the Virtuosi of New Acoustic Music.
Check your local library to see if they carry it. Or go ahead and purchase it.

DYLAN: Visions, Portraits, and Back Pages

DYLAN: Visions, Portraits, and Back Pages is a great book to have in your own personal library at home. The book was put together by one of my favorite British magazines, MOJO.

It is a magazine devoted to music, and constantly guides me in discovering new GREAT music. It is also one that devotes itself to promoting under appreciated music, which is something that I sincerely appreciate.

That all goes to say that when I took one glance at the Bob Dylan book MOJO put out, I knew I could trust it to be intriguing and stellar.

And it is. The book tells countless stories of Bob Dylan, and calls for one heck-of-an eye opening experience. In the beginning it describes just how Dylan (his birth name being Robert Zimmerman) wowed the Beatles, and later of his tragic motorcycle accident...

BUY THE BOOK NOW! Read it, enjoy it, pass it on to a friend!