I also find it strange that this aesthetic is big right now. Is it just freak-folk reaching the mainstream? ― o. nate, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 16:06 (47 minutes ago) Permalink
I used to think that the way these things worked was that a sound would become popular in the "underground" or "indie" scenes and then gradually bubble up to the surface, becoming steadily more popular, but now I have a different theory that there's kind of a death and rebirth cycle where something (like vintagey freakfolk) gets played out beyond belief, has a dormant period, and THEN explodes into the mainstream
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 16:57 (eleven years ago) link
interesting idea. i remember when the italians do it better style was big for a while, then disappeared for a few years, then reappeared in the drive soundtrack. no idea if it ever took off from there.
― Spectrum, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 16:59 (eleven years ago) link
i kind of dismiss people as having indie goggles on if they think that the inevitable return of acoustic guitars to the pop charts every decade or so has anything to do with 'freak folk'
― the legend of bigger yansh (some dude), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:01 (eleven years ago) link
for me this thing ties in completely with the old timey handicraft fetish that's all over Pinterest
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:03 (eleven years ago) link
yeah it def feels of a piece with old timey zooey deschanel "i like to listen to vinyl while i knit my bangs" culture
― the legend of bigger yansh (some dude), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:06 (eleven years ago) link
Anyway, I might of mentioned this elsewhere but I'm a huge fan or I guess more "serious" stuff that is somewhat related to this recent epidemic of Mumfordsarcoma; like Joe Buck Yourself, Those Poor Bastards, Johnny Flynn, Band of Horses, Mason Jennings, Avett Brothers, etc...
What about bands that straddle this fence between earnest folk/alt-country expressions and indie/emo/pop stuff like First Aid Kit, Tallest Man on Earth, Fleet Foxes, Bowerbirds, etc?
If you hate all this kind of stuff (Edward III!) you can go ahead and not engage with this line of inquiry. TIA!
Also, in a very rare occurence: some dude OTM.
― Frobisher the (Viceroy), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:06 (eleven years ago) link
― the legend of bigger yansh (some dude), Tuesday, January 22, 2013 12:01 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
It's not "acoustic guitars," it's guys in turn-of-the-century garb playing acoustic guitars. No one is accusing Jason Mraz of being descended from freak folk.
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:09 (eleven years ago) link
Because with the overall collapse of old music biz models, shows are so important for exposure; collegetowns have venues on and off campus. schools aren't that big on booking death metal etc.
This makes sense to me. It seems this style has been bubbling under for a while on small stages, summer festivals, busking at street fairs, etc. Over the past few years, I've seen more and more of these old-timey acoustic bands around. I guess there's something to be said for the versatility of a small-ensemble format that doesn't require amplification. The Two Man Gentleman Band were one of the forerunners, I think. I like some of these groups, like Tuba Skinny.
Fair point. Though I think these bands did help to make the neo-Appalachian aesthetic fashionable. The axis of influence probably runs more through fashion mags and photo spreads, which are usually controlled by big-city hipster taste, rather than through people actually hearing the music.
― o. nate, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:11 (eleven years ago) link
I don't hate all this kind of stuff but imo we can pack the decemberists on the same rocketship used to shoot the lumineers and mumford & w/e into space
― son of telegram sam (Edward III), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:13 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah I'm a bit like Viceroy, I dig Band of Horses and Avett Brothers...on one level that Ho Hey song is kinda catch but that then they just drag an aesthetic that I like all the way into ukeleles/mandolins/banjos and suddenly you're up to your eyeballs in vests and petticoats and pennyfarthing bicycles and I just have to draw the line
Not as offensive as Mumford by any stretch, but definitely need to be punted off the nearest pier
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:19 (eleven years ago) link
*catchy
yeah and even though for instance young Bobby Dylan took a chance on his major label debut by covering Charlie Patton, who was considered too rough even by some fans of vintage blues, not to mention programmers of folk-pop, he always had some cute pop appeal, with the squeaky talkin' blues etc. The Byrds certainly had radio-aimed folk pop appeal, covering Dylan, and even/especially Seeger's (and whichever Old Testament prophet's) "Turn Turn Turn", ditto Judy Collins, especially when she folded in Dylan, Donovan, Beatles, early Cohen, Mitchell, Newman etc.
― dow, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:21 (eleven years ago) link
that's the college in the collegiate of course, but still.
― dow, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:22 (eleven years ago) link
It's not "acoustic guitars," it's guys in turn-of-the-century garb playing acoustic guitars.
― space phwoar (Hurting 2)
Aside from how terrible the music is I don't see how this is any different than the impulse towards Steampunk or Victorian-era-fetishization in general. It's more than a bit ignorant -- given that it was a horrible time to live in for most everyone, but a lot of the trappings I think are arguable quite attractive -- horse drawn carriages, the clothes, moonshining, fancy beards...
I dunno tho, I've always argued that 20th century fashion is an abomination and we should still be dressing like we did 100/200 years ago. Elmo Argument has argued with me extensively about this.
― Frobisher the (Viceroy), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:22 (eleven years ago) link
xp cant imagine any folk less freaky than The Lumineers
I blame Arcade Fire for all this anthemic "Hey!" bullshit
― llurk, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:24 (eleven years ago) link
maybe that's the part I like
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:24 (eleven years ago) link
My problem with Ho Hey is mostly how generic the underlying song is. Like just stick a rock beat under it instead of a corny mandolin chunk and you have a standard issue soft rock radio song, which is not to say soft-rock radio is inherently bad, I just feel like the ratio of folky schtick to actual folk influence on this song is very, very high.
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:26 (eleven years ago) link
maybe it's just romanticizing the past and looking to reclaim lost purity and all that garbage. there's a total antiseptic, disneyland vibe with the 19th century this style's going for. there's some pretty cool stuff from the past, but it sure as hell isn't pickling beets in a jar.
― Spectrum, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:27 (eleven years ago) link
they need to bring in dr folkenstein
― dell (del), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:32 (eleven years ago) link
more slavery, less beet-pickling
― dell (del), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:33 (eleven years ago) link
Django
― dow, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:35 (eleven years ago) link
xp if not beet pickling, then slavery. you make a good point.
― Spectrum, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:42 (eleven years ago) link
I think the old-time rural Appalachia fetishizing is a bit different from the Steampunk or Victorian-era fetishizing though. Steampunk is more like H.G. Wells or Jules Verne or something, with an element of sci-fi weirdness in it. Also, it's not the horse-drawn carriages, fancy beards, top hats and tails that are being fetishized. This look is a bit humbler, scruffy and worn, kind of hobo-chic. Not to get all Marxist here, but perhaps there's an element of economic consciousness manifesting itself in a generation that has not been able to catch a break. Plus these clothes are probably not hard to find in vintage thrift shops for reasonable prices.
― o. nate, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:55 (eleven years ago) link
"Vintage 90s. 1990s. Hahaha."
"Die."
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:59 (eleven years ago) link
hmmm... good points o. nate.
― Frobisher the (Viceroy), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:14 (eleven years ago) link
edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros have a lot to answer for imo
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:30 (eleven years ago) link
I pickle the hell outta some beets but this stuff makes me sick. EIII otm.
― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:45 (eleven years ago) link
Also I like ruffles and lace up boots but this home family sweetheart safety baloney makes me retch.
― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:48 (eleven years ago) link
there's something too cute and insincere about it
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
"Plus these clothes are probably not hard to find in vintage thrift shops for reasonable prices."
this certainly helps... Additionally, from a fashion point of view these guys are not exactly creating something new and interesting. The clothes in that Stereogum picture are just slightly less primped versions of outfits that have been in every J Crew catalog for 5 years.
― skip, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:51 (eleven years ago) link
suspenders = vintage never should have happened, imo
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:53 (eleven years ago) link
but perhaps there's an element of economic consciousness manifesting itself in a generation that has not been able to catch a break.
could be mistaken but i was under the impression that mumford & co are all old money
― tpp, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:56 (eleven years ago) link
Naw, most of that first record, at least, sounds like it's from the 60s.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:56 (eleven years ago) link
outfits that have been in every J Crew catalog for 5 years.
I've thought about this connection, too. Or Anthropologie, maybe.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
I mean so much wrong here.
http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/the-lumineers-on-their-two-grammy-nominations-is-this-a-joke-20121210/1000x600/20121210-the-lumineers-02-x600-1355172030.jpg
1) Suspenders with white tee shirt2) TWO guys wearing basically the same dumb hat3) guy on the right just needs a different face altogether, looks like woody harrelson after a very severe bar brawl4) girl is smiling like it's a camp photo
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
this home family sweetheart safety baloney
Coincidence that "Home" is the title of hits for both Edward Sharpe and Phillip Phillips?
― jaymc, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:59 (eleven years ago) link
I don't entirely hate this kind of music -- rousing sing-alongs can sometimes be catchy -- but the aesthetic as a whole is definitely hard to embrace.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20:09 (eleven years ago) link
most of that first record, at least, sounds like it's from the 60s. --Johnny Fever
are you suggesting that e.g. Lumineers/Of Monsters and Men sound old-timey? bc to these ears they sound a lot like "home"
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20:46 (eleven years ago) link
it's funny that there have now been 6 different posters using the phrase "old timey" itt but nobody has traced this trend back to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack at all yet.
― big yansh theory (some dude), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:05 (eleven years ago) link
6 different posters including me, i should say
[3) guy on the right just needs a different face altogether,
lol
― sleepingbag, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:08 (eleven years ago) link
― big yansh theory (some dude), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:05 (3 minutes ago) Permalink
Believe it or not, the following stream of thought went through my head "Haha, yeah, slavery. I should post something about how they should ironically drive railroad spikes or break rocks with hammers on the "hey / ho" part. Wait, does something like that happen in O Brother Where Art Thou? Oh yeah, O Brother Where Art Thou."
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:11 (eleven years ago) link
No, I'm saying that most of the Edward Sharpe debut doesn't sound like "Home".
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:13 (eleven years ago) link
No, I'm saying that most of the Edward Sharpe debut doesn't sound like "Home". --Johnny Fever
Oh. Right. Well, carry on then :)
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:16 (eleven years ago) link
The worst part is that I know and love lots of people who like music like this, and I can't explain to them why I hate it. I think we could also consider adding Ryan Gosling and his chorus of children to this group too.
― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:25 (eleven years ago) link
My friends and I have labeled this stuff "goat folk" due to the vocal stylings. I tend to parse the meaning of each song as "somebody took my mandolin and now I feel ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ad"
― Darin, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 22:48 (eleven years ago) link
hahah
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 23:03 (eleven years ago) link
lol looks like denver is officially the center of the faux-lk movement.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/arts/music/the-lumineers-strange-road-to-the-top-10.html?pagewanted=all"(Mr. Fraites had already begun wearing his trademark suspenders.)"
― tylerw, Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
Therefore I BLAME YOU.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:48 (eleven years ago) link
first the broncos now this
FUCK YOU DENVER
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:51 (eleven years ago) link