Blog: Tikun Olam: World Music

I've loved the folk music tradition ever since I was a teenager and bought my first LP, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme in 1968. I especially love songs of every kind which make knowing references to prior songs. Another thing I find fascinating is how folk songs and stories evolve and change through repetitive performance. Words, scenes and motifs are added according to the imagination and needs of various performers. If these changes resonate with the audience, then the changes are accepted as part of the normative experience. If not, they are discarded. [...]

Johnny Cash The Man in Black is gone. There isn't much more that I can say that hasn't already been eloquently said in Stephen Holden's obituary in the New York Times , Johnny Cash, Country Music Bedrock, Dies at 71 . If you are a fan or if you're merely intrigued by his music, I commend to you an extraordinary 1998 TNT special, An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash . I bought it at either half.com or ebay this past year, but I couldn't [...]

Jiddische Lieder is a remarkable, if somewhat flawed recording of old Yiddish folk standards and lesser known gems. It is remarkable because the Yiddish ballads are performed with a deft and beautiful touch. At their best, the arrangements are simple and understated. Dem Milners Trern ("The Miller's Tears") alone makes the album worthwhile. Listen to the beautiful mandolin playing on this cut ( Listen Here ) in which a few notes waft across the interval between the vocal stanzas: gorgeous! On Dortn, Dortn and [...]

by Mark Warschawski Originally published in the Jewish Daily Forward, the caption said: "Mekhl, a peddler, posing with his horse-drawn cart on a mountain path" (credit: YIVO Institute/People of 1,000 Towns photo catalog ) Click on the title above to hear this wonderful song. Oy, vifl yorn zenen farforn Oh how many years have passed Zayt ikh bin a [...]

(credit: Andrzej Dudzinski/NYT ) This is a remarkable film on the War Symphonies of Shostakovitch & covers roughly the period 1936-1952. There is a seamless quality to the music & interview footage with each commenting incisively on the other. Shostakovich is in my opinion the greatest composer of the 20th century. I rank him so highly not merely for the power and quality of his music; but because of the firestorm of political and artistic controversy through which he not merely survived, but actually lived a good and decent life. [...]

Orchestra Baobab, the seminal Senegal musical ensemble, played Seattle's EMP Museum in the Sky Church (The Church of Rock 'n Roll-get it?) tonight before an audience of about 300 people. I've seen many African bands, but I'd never seen this group, since they disbanded in 1982 and reunited for a world tour in 2001. On a sultry, sweaty Seattle night, they were inspiring. Orchestra Baobab is an all-male ten-piece ensemble with lead, rhythm & bass guitars, alto & baritone sax, three percussionists and two singers. They sing in French and Senegalese. The playing [...]

If your kids have been listening to too much Raffi and watching too much Teletubbies and you're going glassy eyed & eared, then try some intelligent and entertaining music for kids. Here are my recommendations (along with those of the Rootsworld discussion group): Arlo & Woody Guthrie, This Land is Your Land . A beautiful picture book which recounts Woody's musical life and hard times through the lyrics of the song. The companion CD is a Natalie & Nat King Cole-style collaboration between father and son which is quite good. [...]

There are so many songs one likes. But what distinghishes a song you merely like, from one that absolutely mesmerizes you upon hearing it? For me, there is a subtle interaction between melody and lyrics. A beautiful melody with mundane lyrics is merely a pleasant song. But the songs below have that rare quality that marries the two in perfect harmony (so to speak). Here are some of my favorite songs currently (most of which I heard on KBCS FM [Bellevue, WA]): Music from Mud Acres) [...]

Over the past week, both June Carter Cash & Freyda Epstein passed away. Everyone knows who June Cash is...the writer of Wheel of Fire . I am a writer (though not a songwriter) & I sometimes think that if I could've written anything as powerful, vivid & profound as that song, I'd be a happy man & consider my life worthwhile. See this wonderful New York Times obituary cum music review describing the music performed at her funeral. Kieran Kane, a founder of the O'Kanes [...]

As someone who suffered from parental child abuse and who is the father of a 2 year-old son, this song is a very powerful reminder of how wonderful and precious our children are (or should be) to us all. I know this sounds a little sentimental, but when you grow up missing a parent's love, witnessing it in a song like this is a very profound experience. My son's second birthday approaches on March 20th. the rascal himself Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) [...]

After several nominations in previous years, the wunderkinds of Nickel Creek finally won this year in the Best Contemporary Folk category. It's a bit odd they were nominated in this category since they seem to me to be more country than folk. Allison Krauss is their producer & patron after all. But it doesn't really matter, since they are greatly deserving of this award. If you like thoughtful, literate, original songwriting talent combined with remarkable musicianship-then buy their new CD and enjoy!