Wednesday, January 8, 2014

I Will Wait (Open Thread)


The banjo is pretty rare in British folk music. Probably for good reason. The Pogues were obvious exceptions. And so were good olde Led Zeppelin who used it to good effect in "Gallows Pole" (wait for it at around the 2 minute mark with the drums):


The banjo is an American instrument.

20 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

I don't get tired of Led Zep the way I get tired of the Eagles.

The Doobie Brothers often have a banjo buried down in the mix.

It's a surprisingly effective rhythm instrument.

chickelit said...

I read somewhere once that David Crosby detested the sound of the banjo. I've been unable to corroborate that however.

chickelit said...

Of course I'm dying to know the answer because I want to think of Crosby as a proxy for urban hostility towards things country. But I also want to be proven wrong.

Paddy O said...

So, for the first time in five years or so, I got an actual break. Finished all the grading for my 5 classes the weekend before Christmas. Had a great week of rest. It was a crazy, crazy Fall for me, and I finally caught my breath.

Then we went to Oregon to visit my wife's family. While there, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary by staying at one of the McMenamin's hotels.

The morning of our anniversary my wife surprised me with a video. A song she wrote and recorded over the last couple months.

Here it is.

She learned to play ukelele for it.

deborah said...

That's wonderful, Paddy. What a pretty wife, what a pretty voice. You two have what so many people long for. Congratulations on five years and one beautiful baby girl.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

The NYT is fooling around with the internet font. It look like a boutique, or some such.

As if they couldn't suck engulf.

Known Unknown said...

M&S have one huge drawback: No drummer.

That foot-kick bass drum is why all of their songs inevitably sound the same.

Shouting Thomas said...

@Paddy,

I dig love.

bagoh20 said...

Just fantastic. Lucky couple.

I'm trying to create some songs right now, and I can only hope they get somewhere close to that. Really nice.

sakredkow said...

Good wishes Paddy O

Paddy O said...

ST, nice!

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

April is an Insta sensation.

She was voted to the top comments 2 days in a row.

The Dude said...

I liked that first cut. The lyrics reminded me of this.

But the music and the culture that created it could not be more different.

I try to avoid the Zep whenever possible.

Now pardon me while I resume my march with the Wild Tchoupitoulas.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Lem - just speaking my mind. :)
It's nice to have an outlet.

Unknown said...

Paddy O - What a thoughtful and sweet sentiment. Just lovely. What an adorable family you have. You must be proud.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I thought Bela Fleck way over-rated, a novelty act, a dog walking on its hind legs.

Although, in all fairness, I should add that mamma's got a squeeze box.

The Dude said...

I saw Bela Fleck in concert and it was awful - he was awful, the "drummer" he had with him was pathetic and arrhythmic, and the tunes were worse than the stuff that gets posted on the internet. Truly bad stuff.

Around that same time I also saw Marcus Roberts and his trio - now there is a talented musician. That man is gifted.

Paddy O said...

Thanks for the kind words all. I've not been around here much, but thought it'd be nice to show some of the reasons.

Paddy O said...

I tried liking Bela Fleck. Couldn't do it.