Song Installment #1

OK. Here's a gathering of songs/artists/genres that come up through Chapter One of It Still Moves. I'm doing my best to a. give you as wide a sampling as I can and b. use what I already own (If I were rich I'd own even more than the 800+ cds and albums that I already have). I am going to do my best in all these posts to span as many generations as I can. I will supply recording dates when I can, too, though these are sometimes sketchy, especially for the really old songs. If you have trouble discerning the lyrics they are a quick Google search away. Also, the artists mentioned here will come up again throughout the book and our course. Embrace the overlap and don't be afraid to refer back to older posts. To download the songs, just click on the titles.

First, I'll start with a rather generic "representative" song or two for each of the genres mentioned.

Folk:

Woody Guthrie is usually one of the first names mentioned when people mention folk music. Leadbelly, too. I have some Leadbelly, but I don't currently have it loaded on my computer. I will add him at a later date.

Woodie Guthrie:

Going Down the Road Feeling Bad (1944)

This Land is Your Land (Written in 1940, recording date unknown)
(You probably sang this in school. Search for the complete lyrics--there are some lyrics that are kept out of the school books.)

Bluegrass:

Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys:

Blue Moon of Kentucky (Written in 1946)

Flatt & Scruggs:

Foggy Mountain Breakdown (1949)

The Stanley Brothers:

Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet (sometime between 1949-1952)

Country:

This is a hard one, though it feels weird to not start with Hank Williams Sr.

Hank Williams Sr. :

Cold, Cold Heart (1951)
This is maybe the ultimate break-up song.

Lost Highway (1949)
"I was just a lad/nearly twenty-two/neither good nor bad/just a kid like you"

Gospel:

Reverend I.B. Ware w/ wife & son:

You Better Quit Drinking Shine (1928)

Petrusich says, the primal opposition of sin versus piety "is, in many ways, the most central American dilemma: We are an ostensibly devout country--one of the most religious in the world--that is also preoccupied with temptation" (4). Well, here's a good example of that--a reverend and his family warning against drinking (moon)shine.

Blues:

Blind Willie McTell:

Dark Night Blues (1928)

Robert Johnson:

Me and the Devil Blues ( btwn 1936-37)

Ok. That takes care of genre, more or less. It's really hard for me to not post hundreds of songs.

Now, some of the specific names named in these chapters.

Here are two Bob Dylan songs. The first is before he "went electric." The second, obviously, is after.

Bob Dylan:

Don't Think Twice It's Alright (1963)

Well, maybe this is the ultimate break-up song. It's always good to have many to choose from.

Like A Rolling Stone (1965)

Gilian Welch:

I'm Not Afraid to Die (1998)

Iron & Wine:

Southern Anthem (2002)

My Morning Jacket:

At Dawn (2001)
"All your life/Is obscene" (referenced on pg. 12)

Golden (2003)
From their album It Still Moves. You better recognize that title.


That does it for now. If ever you're curious about artists mentioned in the book (or personal research) that I don't post, feel free to ask and I'll post them if I can. Or visit your local record store. Or, if you must, iTunes. Stay tuned.

PC