Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009
Podpicks for November 5, 2009
This week we tap into the new folk explosion and recommend three new folk-y tracks you can download (legally, of course) to your iPod or other personal media device.
"Ticket Taker" by The Low Anthem - There is nothing dramatic about this track. It is just acoustic guitars, what sounds like a flute and a haunted voice. But it is enough, telling the story of ticket takers for the ark as the waters rise. It has two of the major themes of good folk - lost love and those left behind. These themes are displayed not only through the lyrics but the sparing use of instruments which usually come in a chaotic mix on the rest of the album. This track emphasizes the name, The Low Anthem, delivering a message through the low strum of an acoustic guitar.
"The Story I Heard" by Blind Pilot - This one displays one of the third major themes in folk music - traveling. This is the story of a hobo trying to settle down, told with a shuffle that makes you want to move - just get in your car and drive. The lyrics say it all: "thought I saw you, jump the Utah train ... heard you tried to keep your hat on a shelf ... whether you're dead or just still ... one of these mornings ... you disappear." This is a moral of motion and Blind Pilot tells tales in such a way that they will be stuck in your head for days.
"Black Wind Blowing" by Mason Jennings - Here in all its glory is the darkest of all folk themes - the murder song. Jennings has had quite the underground career with an unusual voice that could only survive in a folk world that has harbored other strange-sounding vocalists, from Bob Dylan to Neil Young. This is a revenge tale, disturbing and driven, with a chorus that is necessary but feels almost forced between verses filled with lyrics propelled by vengeance. This track comes from the first album (2009's "Blood of Man") where Jennings has infused electric guitars and big drums and they seem natural to this set of songs.