#16
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When I was rebooting my solo career back around Y2K, what is referred to today as “indie folk” was called “alt-folk.” IOW, freer-form, acoustic (including plugged-in) guitar-driven, unconventional (for the time) strum/picking patterns, chord forms & progressions, song structure--and usually performed by singer-songwriters under 30. Lyrical subject matter usually barely differed from that of “original classic folk” or rock, for that matter.
“Indie” came into vogue when Labelmageddon began--even famous artists were being dropped by their labels, and a folkie of any stripe signed to a label (s)he didn’t own or wasn’t a co-op/collective/“boutique” was a rare breed. It signaled a “bleep-you, Establishment, we don’t need no stinkin’ label” attitude that resonated with people sick of paying top dollar for filler-laden major-label albums, as well as with the (free) Napster generation. More and more rock acts, especially college-radio-oriented, decided to forego chasing label contracts as well. Remaining labels got wise to this, and started slapping the “indie” label on similar-sounding acts in their one-to-three-deep subsidiaries’ stables regardless of genre (as well as calling anything using primarily acoustic instruments or harmony vocals “folk,” which caught on with the music press & radio as well). The apex of this phenomenon was when no-longer-label-affiliated Warren Zevon’s “The Wind” (his brilliant, swan song rock masterpiece of an album) was nominated in and won the Grammy for the “Best Contemporary Folk Album” category. By then, and thereafter, very, very few winners of that Grammy (later folded into the single descriptor “Folk”) could be called “folk” in any sense of the word. To me, any folk act not signed to a label--whether alt-folk, original classic or even trad--is “indie.” So I find the “indie” label in folk less meaningful than I do in rock. Then there’s “Americana.” It’s one of those you can’t really define by descriptors, but more by examples of artists and songs/recordings. More of an “I can’t tell you what it is but I know it when I hear it.” (an expression that is the late Justice Potter Stewart’s legacy).
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Sandy http://www.sandyandina.com ------------------------- Gramann Rapahannock, 7 Taylors, 4 Martins, 2 Gibsons, 2 V-A, Larrivee Parlour, Gretsch Way Out West, Fender P-J Bass & Mustang, Danelectro U2, Peavey fretless bass, 8 dulcimers, 2 autoharps, 2 banjos, 2 mandolins, 3 ukes I cried because I had no shoes.....but then I realized I won’t get blisters. |
#17
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I really really like indie folk (and other indie forms).
To me, it just means folk music that is not tied to traditional form and/or traditional lyrical content. There were a lot of rules around folk... I don't like rules.
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Music: http://mfassett.com Taylor 710 sunburst Epiphone ef-500m ...a few electrics |
#18
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Music: http://mfassett.com Taylor 710 sunburst Epiphone ef-500m ...a few electrics |
#19
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Well said, Sandy. I would add that the "folk" label itself has undergone considerable revision in the past several decades. Originally the term referred to the musical version of "folk art" - traditional, untutored in the formal schools, rarely original but never the same from one sample to another. Then people performing with styles and instruments associated with folk music started to concentrate on original writing, and the instrumentation broadened with the introduction of the electric guitar. A modern folk festival such as Winnipeg's (which is widely regarded as one of the best, and one which I've attended as a performer, as a patron, and as a volunteer) will showcase an amazing diversity of music, some of it very modern in approach with samplers and beats and manipulated sound, some of it very traditional in instrumentation and material.
The term seems to have a very loose meaning these days - sometimes it just seems to mean "mostly acoustic" or "played on instruments associated with folk music", but I've seen what I would call rock or country bands headline a folk festival to ecstatic welcomes.
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merry irreverent freerange omnivorous intellect |
#20
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I'd say that's the old alt thing (in this case, alt-country) rather than a manifestation of "indieness"... which I would trace to punk's influence on popular genres. Where the DIY/punk ethic crossed tracks with country, you got alt-country; ditto folk.
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merry irreverent freerange omnivorous intellect |
#21
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Sandy http://www.sandyandina.com ------------------------- Gramann Rapahannock, 7 Taylors, 4 Martins, 2 Gibsons, 2 V-A, Larrivee Parlour, Gretsch Way Out West, Fender P-J Bass & Mustang, Danelectro U2, Peavey fretless bass, 8 dulcimers, 2 autoharps, 2 banjos, 2 mandolins, 3 ukes I cried because I had no shoes.....but then I realized I won’t get blisters. |
#22
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merry irreverent freerange omnivorous intellect |
#23
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Ron Sexsmith is great.. Is he Indie folk? I dunno.. He kind of defies definition.. but I've only heard one of his recordings so maybe I have a small sample..
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Fender "58" Re-Issue American Precision Bass, , , 2014 Martin D-18, 2009 Rickenbacker 330 Mapleglo.. 1967 Fender Bassman with 2x12 Cabinet,.. Fender Tweed Lacquer Blues Junior. "And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain"? |
#24
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You can define or categorize them any way you please.
They are musicians who typically have their own record labels. A couple of them are actually on folk-labels that have nothing to do with what most consider the Pop music record industry, of course...independent labels, if you will. I have my own label, Guitar Odyssey. You can put me, also, in any category you please... ...it doesn't really matter. You can also create a "Larry Pattis channel" on Pandora, and I will benefit from that...as would most of my friends. My stuff is also on iTunes, Spotify, and nearly all of the digital download or streaming services.
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Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner |
#25
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I love indie rock! Here is a cover of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. Guitar is a Martin D-35, played with a ton of restraint lol.
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#26
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What I wish we had were more artists willing to challenge the status quo, lyrically. Protest music. Folk, with a purpose. That said, I like all forms of "folk", modern, and "past".
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1978 Yamaha FG-331 2020 Recording King ROS-09-TS 2007 Alvarez RF20SM 1936 Supertone 233 "Hawaiian Belle" 1930s Harmony Mandolin Instagram: new_york_albertan |
#27
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Was nice to see Larry posting again but this is a zombie thread from 2015!
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#28
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Seems like only yesterday.
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#29
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To each his own of course.
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Nothing bothers me unless I let it. Martin D18 Gibson J45 Gibson J15 Fender Copperburst Telecaster Squier CV 50 Stratocaster Squier CV 50 Telecaster |
#30
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🤣 Still vertical.
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Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner |