I got the wandering blues

This song has been stuck in my head recently. I love folk/roots old-timey songs, and it feels like that kind of Sunday afternoon to me today. Love the notion of young people embracing the classics - you can be hot young and armed with every modern convenience, but the world still is full of misery! Some things never change. Something about the sad soulfulness of strings (and their happy furious joy at times as well)... resonates with me (I know, bad string pun, sorry I had to do it).


"The Littlest Birds" - The Be Good Tanyas






Also by The Be Good Tanyas:
I also like this one (no official video) -  "Only in the Past"






And then there's - "Scattered Leaves"






Even an animated video - "Human Thing" - it's so calm and quiet...





A more modern take on this style can be found in The Civil Wars (I can't decide whether I give them point for the name or points off for it... LOL).

"Birds of a Feather" - her kind of leaning-stompiness in this really bugs me. But she can sing!




"Forget Me Not" - Love the old-fashioned feel of the song... But not a fan of the just walking along thing.





"Barton Hollow" -  I do feel like they could have done more with this video, but at least it comes across very visually striking (and nicely, a little bit menacing), and has more than just them standing around!





They also cover Elliott Smith's "Between The Bars" which is one of my favorite songs. I think they do a good job. Nowhere near as good as the original, of course! But their folksy take allows for a lot of melancholy/misery to shine through. However, I can't bear to look at their smug faces singing this.




Old Crow Medicine Show also cranks out charming folk rock. I could listen to them forever... I saw them in Seattle and it was quite the show, much more energetic and wildly delightful than I would have guessed (you can see glimpses of that in the Cocaine song below). It was a pleasant surprise.

"Wagon Wheel" - This song was originally written (unfinished, the chorus part) by Bob Dylan, and then they filled it in and made it their own. I don't know about the video's sideshow setting and scantily clad ladies, but the song is great. (This video abruptly cuts off towards the end, click here to see them perform it at Coachella in full). Truly, some people were born to be fiddlers in old-time stringbands...






"Cocaine Habit" - The best YT comment on this video is:

The base player looks like a shark and the six string banjo player looks like a clown but it sounds great
IantheSuperSaiyan 

"New Virginia Creeper" - a hilarious song, but at its best when performed live (when I saw it there was much in the way of crazy train impressions, shaking about, etc... I can't really even describe it, but it was magic. MAGIC.) Partial live video:




And finally, I humbly submit that there is not much better in life than reallllllly hot string playing. Exhibit A: the classic American song "Soldier's Joy" -









"I Hear Them All" - I guess if you're old-timey, you are obligated to do a video with shots of like New Orleans streets and cemeteries? But again, great song.






I know there's TONS more great young bands out there rocking the old-time vibe - I just started with my current earworm and went from there...
But do feel free to hit the comments with your favorites/links to great songs! Bonus gold stars to anyone who digs up more hot fiddling (preferably by good looking young men, but I won't discriminate).

Covers: Ben Folds covers Elliott Smith

Since I did just talk about Elliott Smith, here's a little cover action, from a tweet today from The Onion , A.V. Club. They have a covers thing going on, and I'm glad that of all the people who could have picked this song to cover, it was Ben Folds.


Ben Folds covers Elliott Smith

Bonus: a fun site to explore: The Covers Project

Profile songs Pt. 1

What, if any, music videos are currently set to display on your Myspace/Facebook/whatever page? Was it a hard decision, or you did you just know you had to have the song up because it's your jam?

My Myspace page, back in the day, had a long list of bands (alphabetized, naturally) that I was into, with the 'major' ones in bold (Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, Morrissey, and so forth), with some videos thrown in. I didn't really agonize over the list though, I just put in all the stuff I most often listened to, and tried to pick a good video that showcased a great artist, or a beloved song, or a cool concept.

Later in life, I removed most of that kind of thing, as well as a lot of other personal information. But my Facebook page still has a Music tab, that I don't really pay that much attention to. I say that, yet I have 29 videos on that tab, and have 'iLike'd 120 artists and 99 songs... but I am pretty sure that absolutely nobody ever clicks on that tab, and I rarely add to it anymore.

So does it matter? Does it do anybody any good to have it? I say yes. Music choices on social media let us share a little of ourselves with the public. Whether the public cares or not is irrelevant. If a friend of mine wants to catch a tiny glimpse of what makes me tick, they can click. (This would also apply to things like Goodreads shelves, except I don't use that because I read a lot of everything, and I don't think it would say much of anything useful for people except that I am a giant nerd, which my friends already know.)

Since this project is still beginning, what better to introduce myself with than videos that have been displayed on my profile pages (at one time or another).



Here goes:

"Coming Up Roses" - Elliott Smith: An early song, an early video - nothing too thrilling video-wise, but it has a stripped down charm. Elliott Smith is a huge artist for me. I still count seeing him play live as one of my best show memories (even though, or because of the fact that my concert buddy and I almost didn't make it to the show).




"Apply Some Pressure" - Maximo Park: Again, a simple video. I picked this because at the time they didn't have that much stuff out that I could find in video, and I happen to just adore this song. You might not be able to tell just from his toe-tapping, but this man can *dance* like a maniac.




"Closer" - Travis: This one might be considered trying too hard, as it is a little dreamy and twee, but A)part of the reason I like Travis is for their dedicated earnestness B) who hasn't wanted to dance in a grocery store at some point? And C)I have been in this grocery store!




"Tomorrow" - Morrissey: A lot of his videos are him randomly walking about. Not a thrilling visual, but works considering the theme of most of his body of work (loneliness, etc.). And the young Moz is adorable.



And this post is getting too long, but for last - with more of a theme this time - "Dani California" - Red Hot Chili Peppers: a super fun video featuring costumes! And, *excellent face making* by the band.

Red Hot Cili Peppers-Dani California Music video

MySpace Video


Part two, with a couple more, may come sometime later.


***
Side note related to Elliott Smith - Roger Waters apologizes for his people pasting an ad over Elliott Smith memorial wall. As he should! Even if you don't know the artist, it's clearly a memorial wall and the wrong place for ads.