Thursday, 24 February 2022

Shirley Collins, America Over The Water

 I'm in a bit of a dark place at the moment. Struggling to sleep, loss of appetite and an emptiness in the pit of my stomach. Work is a bit stressful but I think on the whole it is due to the horrific situation in Eastern Europe, as Putin has just invaded Ukraine. He is just not going to stop. He's prepared to go to war and will sooner or later come directly into conflict with a NATO country and then it could be the end of humanity. There's no-one in Russia that can stand up to him and no amount of sanctions will affect him. Hard to see a good outcome at the moment

I saw Shirley Collins speak at Hay a few years ago, purely because Stewart Lee was introducing her. I didn't know very much about her, but as a socialist, folklorist and folk singer she should be right up my alley. I found her fascinating and her love of music and folkways shone through when she spoke and in the book. Incredible that she was accompanying Alan Lomax on those field recordings to capture a hidden centuries-old tradition. where I differed from her was in her insistence that contemporary artists not innovate and perform songs only as the would have been performed in the 15th, 16th, etc century and they be venerated. It seems so odd to me to think that way - the songs themselves have evolved and changed over the centuries, why halt that evolution? I guess I see what Shirley Collins is getting at when you hear samples of long-forgotten folk singers resurrected by Moby and used to sell cars, but on the other hand it is bringing old music to a new audience and allowing those songs to be heard and appreciated again

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