What do you tools think of folk?

Generally speaking, I enjoy folk music.

"Folk" encompasses a lot of different sub-genres, really, so, while I quite enjoy most, there is some music out there that would be considered folk that I don't care for.

Example, I enjoy a lot of Irish/Scots-Irish folk music.
I don't really enjoy (or small doses, anyway) of Gospel-type folk music.
I enjoy bluegrass music (which I would consider folk).
I enjoy folk singers from the 60's (like Peter, Paul and Mary type stuff).
I would consider John Denver folk music, and I can only tolerate that in small doses, before I want him to die in a glider accident. Wait, did I say that out loud?

I would consider some of John Mayer's stuff to be folk music......which I like.
I would consider some of John Mayer's stuff to be self-indulgent, sexual dribble which isn't worth the plastic it is recorded on.

See what I'm saying?
 
I am more a bluegrass guy. I don't mind some folk, but I hate that they play Mumford and Sons and the lumineers on rock radio. I'll be in the car with my kids and they'll be playing Nine Inch Nails then the fucking Hey Ho song comes on for millionth fucking time.
 
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Nice...I tip my hat to you sir.

Love me some folk. Acoustic music is where my head is most at, but I also enjoy more electrified stuff.
 
Need I answer?

Yeah, Oh Brother was more old-time music, but great. The Down From the Mountain DVD was closer to country, but also great.

I, obviously, loved Pete Seeger's brand of folk, along with singers like Tom Paxton, Mark Spoelstra, Melanie, Richie Havens, and groups like Peter, Paul and Mary. I had little use for groups like Kingston Trio, New Christie Minstrels, The Rooftop Singers, and the like. I agree with Coralkong about John Denver (except for the glider bit).

The folk boom and then the folk-rock boom led into the singer/songwriter era, which is okay though it has a lot of self-indulgent moments. James Taylor has done some great stuff, as has Jackson Browne. Of course, the aforementioned John Denever fits there as well.

Little known John Denver fact is that he replaced Chad Mitchell in the Mitchell Trio under his real name, (Henry) John Deutschendorf, Jr.
 
For me growing up folk was Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell (at times), James Taylor (at times), Dylan, Neil's acoustic stuff...just loved it.
 
Dogsinotpalc said:
For me growing up folk was Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell (at times), James Taylor (at times), Dylan, Neil's acoustic stuff...just loved it.
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I forgot Mr. Dylan, probably because he wasn't folk for long. His album John Wesley Harding, however, was a nice blending of folk with more contemporary elements. Needless to say, songs like Blowin' In the Wind and The times They Are A Changing were staples of my early performances. I learned to play guitar with a book titled "12 Bob Dylan Songs Playable with 3 Magic Chords." I recently found a copy of it on EBay and bought it for the memories.
 
Folk...yes. But Celtic folk first....then a lot of the stuff I really like is really considered Americana right now (Emmylou Harris, Buddy & Julie Miller, Bruce Cockburn, David Wilcox, Nanci Griffith, etc).
 
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I have come to appreciate folk music (artists such as Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Utah Phillips, Dave Van Ronk, Phil Ochs, Greg Brown, etc. . .) much more over the past 3-4 years through some classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music here in Chicago. Growing up, I did not have much exposure to folk music, and it never appealed to me (it always seemed "simple" and "repetitive"). I liked rock, electric blues and jazz.

I still don't find myself listening to recordings of folk songs very often, but I really like playing the music in group settings - primarily because of the social aspects of it. The common "language" of the songs enables total strangers to get together and play music very easily. It's always fun, and it has helped me get better at picking out melodies by ear. Also, guitar solos in folk songs force you to think differently than soloing in rock or blues.
 
Deep Eddy said:
I still don't find myself listening to recordings of folk songs very often, but I really like playing the music in group settings - primarily because of the social aspects of it. The common "language" of the songs enables total strangers to get together and play music very easily. It's always fun, and it has helped me get better at picking out melodies by ear. Also, guitar solos in folk songs force you to think differently than soloing in rock or blues.
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I think a lot of music is like that, but folk music especially lends itself to playing in group settings.
 
Folk, bluegrass, old timely country, a lot of singer songwriter stuff, is where my heart has always been. Playing those standards around a campfire or living room is really how I learned musicianship.

And NOTHING beats real Bluegrass as far as I'm concerned.
 
I grew up on a lot of 60's/70's folk and bluegrass via my parents, and have always had a soft spot for it. A couple of years back, I started working part time at a recording studio that had a real focus on folk/roots/Americana type stuff. Recently I found myself on the board of directors for CT Folk, an organization that promotes folk concerts, a yearly music festival and green expo, and various other events throughout the year. We include various forms of Americana, folk-rock, bluegrass, old-timey, etc. in our concerts under the auspices that "folk music" means "music of the people" and therefore we can define it however we damn well please, as long as folks keep showing up, much to the chagrin of the hardcore folkies.
 
speakerjones said:
We include various forms of Americana, folk-rock, bluegrass, old-timey, etc. in our concerts under the auspices that "folk music" means "music of the people" and therefore we can define it however we damn well please, as long as folks keep showing up, much to the chagrin of the hardcore folkies.
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+1

One of my teachers had only one rule regarding music for folk jams - that the song must have a chorus that is easy for everyone to learn and join in on to sing. For him, it is all about people making music together. I like that philosophy.
 
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bsman said:
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That movie cracked me up so much. I loved when the Kingston Trioish group complained about how commercial the New Christie Minstrilish group was. That, and the record company that didn't provide the hole in the record, requiring people to drill their own hole to put it on the turntable.
 
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