#Folk Music

[copperbadge]

[ID: Three elderly vinyl record covers with library tags; the first is labeled Soviet Army Chorus and Band, featuring a photo of a large military band. The second shows the rolling Welsh countryside and is labeled Traditional Welsh Songs; the third is a blue and red cover with an hourglass motif, and reads The American Jewish Experience in Song.]

The Chicago Public Library system recently weeded nine thousand vinyl records from its collection and announced a three-day sale; all records $1, cash only. I didn't imagine that there'd be a lot of LPs I wanted, but I do have a turntable and a reputation as a hipster to maintain, so today on the first day of the sale I strolled down to the Harold Washington Library to check it out.

It was startlingly popular -- each group of roughly 30 people they let in was limited to 15 minutes, and even with the time limit it took me 40 minutes to get in. Worth it, though; I came away with a dozen records all told, mostly a mixture of British and Jewish folk music, with a few soundtracks and other oddities thrown in.

But the piece de resistance, the prize find, was Rome With Love by Jo Basile and his orchestra: an album of accordion covers of Italian folk songs from 1957.

I hope it's half as good as the album cover suggests.

[ID: A fourth album cover reading "Rome with Love" and below that "Roma con Amore", labeled "The Italian Accordion of Jo Basile and his orchestra". The cover features a man and a woman on a scooter with Roma plates, dressed in the height of fifties beach fashion.]

#chicago #chicago public library #music #folk music #studying for conversion

[rhapsodynew]

Little-known facts about the cult rock band – part one.

Led Zeppelin – founded in England in 1968, the band was almost doomed to success because its founder, guitarist Jimmy Page, and his buddy, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, were already experienced session musicians. Adding a vocalist Robert Plant and the drummer John Bonham – both young but well versed in their shared local music scene – complemented the band perfectly.

An international sensation of the 1970s, Led Zeppelin remains one of the most successful and legendary bands in rock history, breaking records with their rousing live performances, diverse genre catalog, and refusal to play by the rules. Some of their songs, including the iconic "Stairway to Heaven" and "Whole Lotta Love", became classics of the time and genre.

However, over the years, the band's touring exploits – in particular, frequent fun with female fans, the destruction of hotel rooms and reckless use of substances and alcohol – have become a cautionary tale about the dark side of rock and fame in general. It may look colorful and interesting, but in fact the career of the Zeppelins was extremely dark and tragic... 

Below are some of the most unique and little-known facts.

Robert Plant plays the harmonica

Robert Plant was afraid of the stage – at first

While this may seem shocking, given that Robert Plant is now widely known as one of the most iconic rock frontmen of all time, the lion-maned singer once suffered from self-confidence issues. Plant was still literally a teenager (namely, he was 20 years old) when Led Zeppelin first hit the road in 1968, and the shouts of the crowd, as well as harsh media reviews, were initially unbearable for him...

At the beginning of their journey, critics were not kind to the Zeppelins, and Plant, being the face and voice of the group, often bore the brunt of their insults. Some accused Robert of affectation, others of "excessive femininity.".. The cruel words deeply hurt Plant, who was already prone to self-doubt.

Later, the group manager Peter Grant admitted that he had to hide bad reviews from Plant in every possible way, and even comfort the anxious vocalist just to bring him on stage. It was for this reason that Robert also hesitated to write lyrics, which is why many considered him the weak link of the group (again, at the initial stages).

John Paul Jones miraculously did not die in the fire.

John Paul Jones

During a tour of America in 1973, Led Zeppelin threw a party in New Orleans, Louisiana. The group stayed at a hotel in the French Quarter, known for its vibrant nightlife... And that night the bass player John Paul Jones will never forget!

The story goes how John met a certain Stephanie, and invited the girl to his room. The problem came up soon, and it was that Stephanie was actually a man! However, John later claimed that he knew this, and that Stephanie was his good friend, with whom they drank and had fun. In any case, it's not about what gender Stephanie was, and who she was to John. After entering the room, the two had a few drinks and smoked. They were so drunk that they forgot to put out their cigarette butts, and just fell asleep. Soon a fire broke out in the room, and John and his friend miraculously survived – they were found unconscious when the firefighters arrived! It was this incident that Robert Plant immortalized in the song "Royal Orleans".

"Everything is in perfect order on Bourbon Street –You can meet my friends, they hang out there all night long..."

The band was robbed during a US tour.

Led Zeppelin. Early 70s

On July 29, 1973 – the last night of the American tour – Led Zeppelin became the victim of a strange crime. The story goes that tour manager Richard Cole opened the band's safe while at the hotel and found it empty!

"I opened this thing, and there's nothing there–it's empty! Only passports! I burst out swearing because nothing else came to mind at that moment..."

To understand the full range of Cole's emotions, it's worth emphasizing that there were more than $200,000 in the safe– a significant portion of their income from the tour. Not wanting to disturb the band before they went on stage, Cole proceeded to resolve the issue as confidentially as possible. While the Zeppelins were performing, the FBI guys searched the hotel. There were no signs of forced entry on the safe, indicating that whoever stole the money had used the key. Cole was the first to come under suspicion, and he even had to undergo a lie detector test (which, by the way, did not reveal a lie in his words).

After the show, the FBI also questioned the band members, but found no leads. The next day, the robbery made national news. Although the crime remains unsolved to this day, many believe that Peter Grant is responsible for the theft.

John Bonham struggled with depression.

Despite the fact that he looked brave and fearless on stage, the drummer John Bonham had great difficulties on the road. A family man at heart, Bonham, known to his bandmates as Bonzo, often missed his wife and two young children who stayed in England when he toured. At the beginning of his career with Led Zeppelin, he started drinking a lot to fight his depression and homesickness, which most often led only to chaos...

A friendly and gentle man when sober, Bonham was prone to anger, recklessness and outbursts of rage when intoxicated. He often took out his alcohol-induced rage on hotel rooms and anyone unlucky enough to be near him at the time of his rampage. Over the years, this behavior earned him the nickname "The Beast".

"Bonzo drank because he hated being away from home, it's true. Between performances, it was difficult for him to cope with emotions ...", – said John Paul Jones.

John Bonham

The tour also aggravated Bonzo's mental state. He began to be afraid of flights, and also suffered from constant panic attacks before performing. One day he confessed to a journalist:

"Every year it gets worse for me. I have terribly bad nerves all the time... It's even worse at festivals."

Zeppelin concerts have become dangerous.

As their popularity grew, Led Zeppelin began to give larger-scale concerts, which led to new problems. On July 5, 1971, the band performed in front of a boisterous crowd of about 15,000 people at the stadium Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan, Italy. The promoters begged the band to ask the public to stop lighting the fire, which frontman Robert Plant repeatedly did, but to no avail. The situation escalated, and hundreds of police used tear gas, water cannons and batons to subdue the crowd. Many were injured.

Led Zeppelin

Disoriented by the blinding smoke, panicked onlookers rushed onto the stage, causing the band to drop their gear in the middle of the performance and flee. In the confusion, one of the Zeppelin roadies was hit on the head with a broken bottle and was hospitalized. Page later recalled:

"It was absolutely terrible..."

And this was just the first of many dangerous performances by the Zeppelins. During the band's 1977 American tour, fans without tickets burst through the gates at several concerts, leading to hundreds of arrests. That same year, violent riots broke out in Tampa, Florida, among a crowd of 70,000 when the show was interrupted due to rain, leaving the police outnumbered and powerless. Then, during a concert in Cincinnati, Ohio, a fan fell from an upper floor. It was the last concert in his life...

The extension follows....

#not made-up stories #led zeppelin #robert plant #jimmy page #john paul jones #john bonham #hard rock #folk music #music story #hustory music #music #my music #music love #musica #history music #rock music #rock #rock photography #stadium rock #music youtube #video youtube #heavy metal #Youtube

[sixty-silver-wishes]

folk music: "I have faced generations of oppression and mourn my lost love and country, but my culture will persist and survive"

also folk music: "I am going to drink so much alcohol you don't understand. literally So much alcohol"

also folk music: "oops I killed my husband lol"

also folk music: "shit I should have married that girl. too bad she keeps ignoring me every time I try to break into her house"

also folk music: "I feel an unimaginable grief for a past I can never return to" also folk music: "fiddle dee doodle diddle deedle deedle dee"

#folk music #I love it all

[defleftist]

Thrilled to see someone carrying on the tradition of protest folk music. Keep fighting the good fight!

#jesse welles #war isn’t murder #music #folk music #protest music #leftist #leftblr #communist #socialist #communism #socialism #anti capitalist #anti capitalism #leftist politics #human rights #anti war #anti war protest #free palestine #free gaza

[luthienne]

learning about the coded folk songs created by palestinian women and remembering again why folk music has my whole heart

#all that is musical in us is memory #ph #folk music #free palestine

[boysnberryfan]

snoopy s&g hehehehe

#classic rock #60s #60s music #paul simon #simon and garfunkel #art garfunkel #folk music #folk rock #s&g #snoopy #peanuts #woodstock

[simpledesultoryphilippic]

#simon and garfunkel #paul simon #art garfunkel #folk rock #folk music #die

[jasofthehollow]

just came across this beautiful rendition of siúil a rúin by irish-palestinian artist roisin el cherif. this song has always been close to my heart, especially after it's use in the nightingale, a film that explores the (ongoing) colonial violence on the island that i call home.

i really love the way that she weaves the arabic language into this song, as well as the influences from both irish and palestinian styles of music.

all the proceeds of the release are being donated to the doctors without borders gaza emergency regional fund so if you love her rendition as much as i do i would really recommend purchasing it on band-camp (i've linked it above).

#folk music #free palestine #free gaza #siúil a rún #Bandcamp

[lyssaofthevalley]

"What would your life be like without music?"

Miserable. I'd rather bite the sidewalk and have someone stomp on my skull than not have music.

#girlblogging #just girly things #girlhood #music #spotify #lana del rey #mitski #ethel cain #bôa #the crane wives #metallica #system of a down #rob zombie #hozier #crawlers #destroy boys #rock #metal #indie #folk music #yuh #florence and the machine

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

let's feel what is exactly a 山歌shan'ge (mountain songs) without explain

#china #douyin #music #sound on #audio #shange #folk music #genshin impact #a friend asked me what is shange #she plays genshin and the new map of chenyu vale has a boatman NPC singing shange #the second part of the video is that NPC singing #also that landscape in the first part is real it's in guilin of guangxi province

[whumpster-fire]

Stan Rogers Songs Categorized By Status Of The Boat

Northwest Passage: The Boat(s) sank a long time ago.

Barrett's Privateers: The Boat sank. It was a terrible boat anyway.

The Flowers Of Bermuda: The Boat sank.

Rolling Down To Old Maui: The Boat didn't sink.

Take It From Day To Day: The Boat didn't sink.

Bluenose: The Boat didn't sink.

White Squall: The Boat didn't sink, but somebody fell off.

The Mary Ellen Carter: The Boat sank, but goddamnit we're gonna unsink it!

Man With Blue Dolphin: The Boat sank again. This poor fool is going to waste his money unsinking it again. What an idiot. This boat is a piece of junk.

The Last Watch: The Boat didn't sink, but it's being broken up for scrap.

The Wreck of the Athens Queen: The Boat sank! Hooray, free stuff for us! (Also we almost sank the boat we used to grab stuff off the boat that sank because we were all drunk)

The Idiot: There are no boats in Edmonton or wherever. This sucks.

#shitpost #folk music #Stan Rogers

[lisamarie-vee]

#odetta #otto hagel #1960s #b&w #folk music

[retconicregular]

Folk music is the most human creation to ever exist and I believe it is a form of magic

#folk #folk music #anthropology #glass speaks

[sanantoniorose]

Melanie Safka • 1960s and '70s

#melanie safka #melanie #1960s music #music #folk music #folk #1970s #vintage #1960s #1970s music #1960s vintage

[hairtusk]

Appalachian folk musician Jean Ritchie, known as the 'Mother of Folk' (1922-2015)

#I'm so obsessed with her rn #I've had her renditions of one morning in may and shady grove on repeat #jean ritchie #folk music #folk culture #american folk #appalachia

[starry-eyed-psychopomp]

WHO was going to tell me that the Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird is set to the tune of Streets of Laredo/The Unfortunate Rake??!?!!? And it’s WRITTEN LIKE THAT IN THE BOOK?!?!???!

Like the fact that it’s supposed to be her lamenting her own impending death?? And she chose the most famous folk song about someone lamenting their impending death??? Hello?!??

#this fuckin book makes my special interests go WILD #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games #folk music #it’s the same tune! sing it to streets of Laredo it FITS #lucy gray baird #tbosas #babe wake up new unfortunate rake just dropped #it’s only been a hundred years