We've had some technical difficulties over the past few days, with one of the servers that relays my Shoutcast streams. I've moved onto a new server, and everything seems to be OK now.
Thanks for your patience...
Aug 28, 2004
Aug 3, 2004
New playlist is up
I put up a new playlist last night, focusing on rags & blues. What do these words mean in an old-time context? I'm not even sure how to define it, except that you know it when you hear it. The beat is swing-ier, you'll hear lots of I-VI-II-V changes, and there's more of a noticable African-American influence evident. I've also included a few blues proper, including some from the great new Mississippi John Hurt reissue, many of which I've juxtaposed with other similar tunes to try to draw out connections between the blues & old-time traditions.
In a sense, these playlists are my attempt to learn more about this music. (I listen to Sugar in the Gourd too.) When I put several versions of "Lost Indian" back-to-back it helps me figure out which versions are different and how others may be related. I've often tried to figure out why certain tunes have "rag" or "blues" in the title. After listening to this playlist for awhile, I hope to have a better idea, and hopefully you will too.
There are also some tunes that have nothing to do with "rags and blues" -- just things that were new to my collection or that I thought were worth playing for one reason or another. As always, this initial playlist is a work in progress, and I plan on adding to it and moving things around over the next few days. If there's anything you'd especially like to hear, just let me know.
thanks,
John
In a sense, these playlists are my attempt to learn more about this music. (I listen to Sugar in the Gourd too.) When I put several versions of "Lost Indian" back-to-back it helps me figure out which versions are different and how others may be related. I've often tried to figure out why certain tunes have "rag" or "blues" in the title. After listening to this playlist for awhile, I hope to have a better idea, and hopefully you will too.
There are also some tunes that have nothing to do with "rags and blues" -- just things that were new to my collection or that I thought were worth playing for one reason or another. As always, this initial playlist is a work in progress, and I plan on adding to it and moving things around over the next few days. If there's anything you'd especially like to hear, just let me know.
thanks,
John