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What book are you reading?

Just coming to the end of Michael Collins and the Making of a New Ireland and will probably re-read ,Planxty by Leagues O Toole.

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Permalink Reply by Jeanne Tripp on June 8, 2011 at 13:03

The Story of the Irish Race ~ Devin / Adair

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Permalink Reply by Doug Thrower on June 15, 2011 at 18:51

I've just started Morgan Llywelyn's "1921". I thoroughly enjoy her books and would love to see them as a mini series.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice Nyman on November 14, 2012 at 20:46

Reading Electric Eden.A good book on folk music.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Sheehan on November 14, 2012 at 21:26

Currently re-reading "Nature and Maddness" by Paul Shepard, I seem to re-read "Nature and Maddness" and "Home to the Pliestocene" alternately every couple of years. Lots of wisdom between those 2 books.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice Nyman on November 17, 2012 at 21:58

Irish folk,trad and blues by Colin Harper and Trevor Hodgett.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice Nyman on December 3, 2012 at 21:35

Seasons They Change.Great book on Acid Folk.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Sheehan on December 4, 2012 at 22:44

An interesting looking book, will have to get a copy. I am much more familar with acid inspired rock, a wide genra, but mostly California. LSD is something you can only comprehend experiantially, and never at a recreational level. Seeing sound, not something one can think about.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice Nyman on December 5, 2012 at 21:02

A fascinating read,it must be said.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Sheehan on December 14, 2012 at 18:36

Maurice

Thanks for the mention of "Seasons They Change". It is a different but very parallel track to the US. Lots of artists that I either don't remember or hadn't heard of before. You can go to //grooveshark.com and listen to most of the aritists in the book, so far Anne Briggs is my favorite. The folk scene here is somewhat older than over there. Has its roots in the depression and labour movments. Woody Gutherie and the Weavers(Pete Seger) stick in my mind, how could they not. The folk music peaked here in the early sixties and morphed with rock, psychedelic became associated with folk rock, the "Birds" and "Country Joe McDonald and the Fish",don't remeber an association with folk music as such. Dylan going electric kind of finalized the blending. LSD was introduced to the US courtesy of the US Army. Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert were researchers at Harvard, supposed to be using LSD in clinical research for the government when they started including themselves. Leary most celebrated in the Moody Blues Song of the same name. Richard Alpert, became Babba Ram Dass, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K6lD6EeGBU, and is still a spiritual mystic to many. The last really popular US folk muscian in my mind, and he still draws a crowd, is Arlo Gutherie. Only part way through the book and it is kind of a flash back.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice Nyman on December 15, 2012 at 21:54

Interesting reply,Sean.I like most kinds of folk but really enjoy the "acid" folk more.

Anne Briggs is great,btw.Generally,my favs are Pentangle,Trees,Fairport Convention,Donovan and Planxty.

Pearls Before Swine and the Incredible String Band are great too.

Love that Moodies song.:)

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Permalink Reply by Sean Sheehan on December 17, 2012 at 16:35

Maurice

Incredible String Band I have heard, will check out Pearls and Swine. I was in University in the mid "60s after Dylan went electic it seems we just didn't much bother with classification of music we just wrapped music around us that reflected the times. Over the weekend I was at a gathering at a freinds house, my wife is a professor in the art dept. of the locat college, and a ran into a friend whom is in the music dept. His specialty is folk and cultural music. I asked him about my not being familiar with the term "psychedelic folk" and he said it has never been used in the US, and agreed with me about music forms swirling around and through each other. The 60's were before his time and he is neutral about the music.

I think of the psychelic era really starting with the Jefferson Airplane, Dylan was still in his Woody Gutherie phase. To me the folk/rock/psychedelic reached a pinnacle with CSN, Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Anyone with experience listening to the 20+ minute track of the Doors "Light My Fire" can tell you how LSD inspired this song is.

My music preferances today are a mix of Irish and old rock. My wife was on the County Arts council the last few years and I have lobbied to get Irish muscians on the concert list, Saw Dervish in Billings a few years back, just missed getting them here. In March we will have Lunasa here. One of my favorite Irish groups at present is Bohinta.