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Re: (TV) OT: Random thoughts
Russ wrote:
Whats an artist to do ? You can't go roots - its been done to death, you
can go "arty" or avant-garde for the same reason. How can an artist be
truly original in this age ? What is true and sincere in rock music today
?
Has roots been done to death? I have to say that the album that has given me
most pleasure over the last few months, maybe over the last few years, is
one of folk music, or world music: Mozaik -- Live from the Powerhouse
(recorded in 2002). The sheer artistry of the music is stunning. It's mostly
old songs and tunes -- Irish, British, American old-time, and Eastern
European. Hearing Andy Irvine sing a Macedonian song, backed by his motley
but virtuoso friends (Donal Lunny, Bruce Molsky, Nikola Parov and Rens van
der Zalm), is, for me, a profound and thrilling musical experience. It's not
just old music played well; it's complex and innovative stuff, but also
incredibly emotional -- and all acoustic, and live.
I was at an Andy Irvine solo gig in August. A wonderful night. Andy is 63
(he doesn't look that age) but his voice and playing are better than ever.
Andy was reminiscing about how, inspired by Woody Guthrie, he started
performing in 1962 in a Dublin pub. He first achieved a measure of fame and
success in the mid-1960s with his short-lived group Sweeney's Men (who were
featured in Mojo a few months ago). Since then, Andy's influence on folk
music has been comparable to, dare I say it, Television's influence on rock
music.
Over the years, Andy's projects and collaborations have been central to what
is best in folk music: Sweeney's Men, Planxty, Patrick Street, with Paul
Brady, Davy Spillane, Bill Whelan, etc. (See www.andyirvine.com/about.html)
Andy was briefly a member of De Dannan, whom John Peel once referred to as
"the greatest little band in the world". The other members of Mozaik have
been similarly influential: Donal Lunny has played with just about
everybody, Bruce Molsky has been playing with Bill Frisell...
Mozaik are about to record a second album. They play occasional gigs in
various places (rather like Television) but haven't toured the U.S. because
of the difficulty of getting visas. Probably not just Andy Irvine's
left-wing leanings. I remember seeing one of his solo gigs back in 1987 in
Massachusetts, in the same venue in which I saw Pere Ubu shortly afterwards.
When you think about it, Bob Dylan never really forgot his folk roots; nor
did Richard Thompson. You could go on about Led Zep's folk connections, and
so on. Tom Verlaine's folk connections? Don't ask me; I just know he's been
listening to some folk music, as well as many other things.
--JoeT
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