isaacullah
2886 posts
Nov 26, 2014
9:15 AM
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We always seem to talk about "modern" blues in terms of musicality (i.e., tones that sound modern, phrasing that's modern, etc.), but there's another way to achieve modernity while still maintaining a fairly classical blues musicality: sing about the moment. Framing your lyrics around contemporary issues makes your Blues sound "modern", even if you are working within the traditional Blues idiom. This is not something I'd really consciously thought about until last week when I checked my YouTube feed to see that Todd Park Mohr (of Big Head Todd and the Monsters) has decided to do a thing he calls his "Daily Donut". That is, it's a brand new blues tune, each week, about issues pulled from todays headlines. He's got two of them up so far, and does a remarkable job assembling and delivering these tunes. They don't sound forced, they aren't "stretched" to fit the Blues form or delivery, and they each have a compelling message. They've really reached me, so I thought I'd share them here for those of you who don't subscribe to his feed (which you should).
"Rosetta, Rossetta"
"Feguson Thanksgivin' Blues"
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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isaacullah
2887 posts
Nov 26, 2014
10:08 AM
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Are the videos showing up for everyone? For some reason, they show up for me for just a second as the page loads, and then disappear? This is weird, and never has happened before. I'm using Chrome.
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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nacoran
8136 posts
Nov 26, 2014
10:39 AM
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They are showing up for me fine (in Chrome).
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Nate
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Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
First Post- May 8, 2009
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isaacullah
2888 posts
Nov 26, 2014
11:44 AM
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Apparently Chrome was updating itself while I posted, so that's probably what caused it. It's working fine now after the update.
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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Martic
118 posts
Nov 26, 2014
12:48 PM
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I love blues with my life and soul, but sometimes I'm tired of the old whisky and "my baby left me" blues lyrics. It's great to hear some today's blues.
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Jim Rumbaugh
1053 posts
Nov 26, 2014
8:52 PM
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This stuff is better than good. I do agree with Isaculla when he says this i s"modern blues".
I found a strange similarity to Walter Tore's sound. Maybe it's the blues ????
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theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
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mastercaster
99 posts
Nov 27, 2014
12:57 AM
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Nice tunes , Thanks for posting
And,
Peace this Thanksgiving
Last Edited by mastercaster on Nov 27, 2014 1:03 AM
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A440
256 posts
Nov 27, 2014
7:17 AM
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I really like Rosetta, Rosetta. But I would not call it "modern" - lyrics aside, it sounds very similar to the songs on Bob Dylan's debut album (which happens to be my favorite Dylan album).
Last Edited by A440 on Nov 27, 2014 7:20 AM
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jbone
1812 posts
Nov 27, 2014
7:17 AM
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To me blues as a form has been something of a constant, although it has evolved over even just my life of about 60 years.
What has REALLY changed is the human consciousness, and technology.
In all literature there are only 3 underlying themes: Man against man, man against nature, man against self. I believe music can be framed like this as well, and with that in mind, what each of us has, is our own unique experience and response to life. How we couch that experience is what makes satisfying music.
Todd is definitely onto something here.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTwvU-EN1Q
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kudzurunner
5158 posts
Nov 27, 2014
7:43 AM
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I like 'em both and I really like the Ferguson blues. I've heard of Big Head Todd but I didn't realize he had this kind of vibe. He gets the feel of early Bob Dylan and "Oxford Town" in that Ferguson song. That kind of dry irony. I like it. Thanks. I shared on FB.
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isaacullah
2889 posts
Nov 27, 2014
5:15 PM
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Right on, man! Happy thanksgiving, and peace to all!
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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hvyj
2597 posts
Nov 27, 2014
5:30 PM
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The concept sorta reminds me of Sugar Blue's "Gucci Gucci Man"
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waltertore
2764 posts
Nov 28, 2014
5:16 AM
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I was happy to read this. It gets very lonesome living in my world of spontaneously created music. People don't call me modern. They tend to call me anything but that even though my lyrics often are about the modern conditions of suffering. Maybe a new trend is on the way and this is a entry level step towards spontaneously created music as an accepted way to do music. That would be nice because I have lived in pretty much musical isolation for near 60 years. The music industry has been stagnant in the write, rehearse, repeat, record, tour the songs, concept for so long and profits so easy that it has yet to allow other approaches to succeed. I can talk with musicians on gear, road stories, the business side, but when it comes to how one creates their music I have yet to meet anyone that does spontaneously created music(words and music) full time. Thanks Jim for the compliment. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
my videos
Last Edited by waltertore on Nov 28, 2014 5:25 AM
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