old weird america: harry smith’s anthology of american folk music
“i’m glad to say my dreams came true. i saw america changed by music. or whatever you people are saying…”
saw rani singh’s documentary on harry smith’s anthology of american folk music tonight. and like the recent anthology remixed exhibition i liked it but left me wanting more of him and the music rather than others and their music. it was a nice talky little doc and all the more charming and personal for it. the film follows the story of the anthology from the 78’s of the 1920’s & 30’s to the folk revival of the sixties and ultimately to the mans unheralded (isn’t it always) death, posthumous worship and hal willners concerts.
unfortunately elvis costello features frequently. more than harry himself for some reason. anyway a few things struck me:
lou reed
the predominantly white faces featured (with a few notable exceptions)
the ever increasingly cartoonish qualities of nick cave
how much more involved some of the artists seemed to be in the anthology songs than what i’ve seen of their own material
the highlight of the nineties concerts for me is beth orton singing mississippi john hurt’s frankie. first time i’ve seen it and has such grace and power i wonder why she’s never made that much of an impact on me before. at a guess the source material…
anyway a couple of songs from the anthology:
- buell kazee: the butcher’s boy
- mississippi john hurt: frankie
- prince albert hunt’s texas ramblers: wake up jacob
- rev. moses mason: john the baptist
- dock boggs: sugar baby
- blind lemon jefferson: see that my grave is kept clean
and you can see the start of the film here.
harry smith archives / smithsonian folkways
13 July 2008 at 10:34 pm
Fuck – I completely forgot about the film screening. (make mental note to self – you’re too old and mentally damaged to remember mental notes to self. Write things down!) Mind you, Costello does my head in.
On a slightly more serious note, why does every damned documentary have to have celebrity soundbites these days? Are the viewers deemed too stupid to form their own opinions without the bland guidance of a bunch of 50-something hasbeens? If you must have talking heads, make them relevant, not just famous. I realise that Mississippi John Hurt and Maybelle Carter aren’t returning the producers’ calls, but does that call for Elvis Costello? Have some pity, fer fuck’s sake.
14 July 2008 at 8:22 am
I always liked lou reed. The only elvis costello songs I ever got into were remixes by other artists. I’m going to check out this documentary, thanks,
15 July 2008 at 8:34 pm
christ knows where i’d be without a calender and notebook. (the wrong place, the wrong time probably)
it was worth a viewing even with the abundance of elvis, who last time i checked was no authority on harry smith or folk music. david johansen had a more interesting (ie less ponderous, pretentious, portentious) perspective. phillip glass and greil marcus were least irritating. not much from smith’s contemporaries though.
i’m guessing that advertising a documentary about the anthology using beck and sonic youth’s probably going to draw in more punters (sadly?) than blind lemon or mississippi or the carters.
15 July 2008 at 8:37 pm
harmonie, how did the world treat you on yr wanderings? well i hope. though the world is a fickle bitch/bastard.
the doc, the anthology, harry smiths work are all worth a mental visit.
oh yeah and yr comments are filling my spam box for some reason. you are a real person aintcha? not some russian gigcomputer emailing system? well? i’ve seen you but hell you could be any goddam person….