Unless you're living totally off the grid, it's hard to ignore the signs. Church Christmas bazaars and crafts fairs pepper the New England landscape, their wreaths and wraps and wooden ornaments a constant temptation. Television relationships get warmer by the fire; the commercials all begin to come in red velvet and white fur trim. Even the older family down the street has gotten into the act, draping the gutters with fauxcicles, topping the old stump with a glittering wire angel, trimming the lawn with white plastic snowmen and skeletal reindeer that blink furiously into [...]
It's Spring, and that means rebirth: when the earth reemerges from the earth, covered in last year's leaves. When the morning is filled with brave still-chilled birds, proffering a soundtrack for our triumphant return. It's also school vacation, and that means our annual trip down to North Carolina's Outer Banks, where we join up with family members more typically spread far and wide across the country, enough to spill into two adjacent houses. In past years, as with most of our excursions to various and sundry parts of the world, [...]
Ronan Keating has teamed up with legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach for his seventh studio album.
This is a cut from The Girl Who Couldn't Fly. Have you noticed any day is a good Kate Rusby day?
One of my favorite Christmas themes is homecoming. The concentrated call for togetherness, whether wistful or wanton, is tied tightly to the seasonal trend towards family and friends, the desire for closeness around hearth and heart, a ward against the chill and the commercialism. The intimacy that results - just us and the tree, or perhaps the crowd brought into the home - frames a set of a songs that celebrate being home, or express a longing for it, depending on the narrative stance. But in all cases, the motif [...]
As a defining event at the heart of the Western world's most dominant religion, the Christmas story is perhaps the most sung-about narrative in history. But it's not just its religious importance which makes Christ's birth so present in the air and the airwaves. The prophecy foretold; the kings, the star, the road; Bethlehem and the manger; Mary and Joseph - as a text, the multifaceted story breaks down into a dozen moments, stretching far enough for a myriad of narrative approaches, from a multiplicity of perspectives. And whether we grow [...]
Kate Rusby : The Cobbler's Daughter [ purchase, priced in British pounds ] Kate Rusby is surely one of the leading voices of English folk music. The Cobbler's Daughter comes from Rusby's 1999 album Sleepless, which was her breakthrough album. Sleepless was nominated for a Mercury Prize. The Mercury Prize is the British equivalent of a Grammy. The Mercury goes to the best album of the year, and folk albums are almost never considered. But Rusby is that good. As far as I can tell, The Cobbler's Daughter [...]
Two weeks ago, I stayed overnight in the home of Bob Weiser , an old folkfest friend, community organizer, and long-time community radio mainstay with regular shows in two Massachusetts communities. As both a music publisher / distributer of sorts and an old radiohand myself - see below for more on that - it was inevitable that the conversation turn to radio, and we stayed up late chatting about the changes which digitalization has brought to both radio signal distribution and playlist management, not to mention the potential transformation of form, function, and fandom which the streamable [...]
In many respects acclaimed British folkie Kate Rusby could be described as the U.K.'s version of Alison Krauss: an exceptionally talented purist whose music has transcended the traditionalism that made her a critical and commercial success. Since her breakout second album Sleepless in 1999, Rusby has arguably become the leading female voice in English folk -- "a superstar of the British acoustic scene" hails The Guardian -- while still maintaining an indie crossover appeal into the modern singer/songwriter realm. Says British pop bible Q , "Folk music doesn't get any cooler than Kate [...]
Kate Rusby: The Wild Goose [ purchase ] I was introduced to Kate Rusby by one of our early contributors here at Star Maker Machine, the first female to join our little band; since then, I've become an avid, almost rabid fan of the singer-songwriter's well-crafted interpretations and originals, despite continued frustration that she will not tour in the states due to her fear of flying. Though Divinyl has long since ceased blogging with us, in her honor, I post this favorite take on [...]
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 's new brochure, announcing "the Phil's" exciting NEW listings for April-September 2010 is available this week. Including Elvis Costello - Jamie Cullum - Gil Scott-Heron - Mohamed Mounir - Rhod Gilbert - Kate Rusby - Bill Wyman - Bob Harris - Tony Bennett - Super-Freakonomics - Al Murray - an evening with the Liverpool 1965 FA Cup Winners - plus the return of Fresh ... there really is something for everyone! Michael Eakin , Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's Cheif Executive said "With [...]
This is from her album Awkward Annie released in 2007. She is joined by Chris Thile. MP3 File yousendit
It's been too long between Kate Rusby's songs. This is from The Girl Who Couldn't Fly released in 2005. MP3 File yousendit
I could listen to her all day. This is the title song from her Christmas album. MP3 File yousendit
Oddly, I was introduced to the music of Kate Rusby through my own blog, via a guest post during my first summer hiatus way back in 2007. Since then, I've fallen completely in love with the gentle songstress; this time of year, especially, her clear sweet voice and that Yorkshire accent cut through the chill like a searchlight to the heart. Exceptionally well-known in her native land, but much less so in the US - perhaps because, as the title track to her 2005 album The Girl Who Wouldn't Fly [...]
From 2001 and Little Lights MP3 File yousendit
Sweet William's Ghost is a folk song, collected by Francis James Child in 1868 as Child ballad number 77. It exists in many forms but all versions recount a similar story. A lover, usually named William or a variant, appears as a ghost to his love, usually Margaret or a variant. He asks her to release him from his promise to marry her. She may insist that he actually marry her, but he says that he is dead; she may insist that he kiss her, but he says that one kiss would kill her; she may insist on [...]
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