Folkways Collection-Episode 3

I was definitely dreading having to listen to three one-hour long episodes for FYS, but after one episode it's not looking quite so bad. One of the first quotes in this episode is Moe Asch saying, "[of music pieces] becomes a museum piece or it becomes something that is a documentation. Well you don't take a documentation off the market do you?" He was talking about how music is meant to be preserved whether it is popular at the time or not. He took this quote and formed it into his career of searching for unknown or not popular music and musicians that show the roots of music. His discoveries have formed the backbone of the music that we listen to today. Many of the recordings that he includes in his archives have been covered a countless number of times and unbeknownst to us, they are what we listen to still-in their original lyrics, rhythm, tune, or not. They have affected what music has become and will continue to do so as music continues to evolve in the future. The episode continued on playing several pieces and clips of poetry, music, and speeches.

Most of the clips included in the episode were familiar to me--it started off with Led Belly's "(Goodnight) Irene" which is a song that my mom used to sing to me and my sisters when we were younger. It continued on for a while and later came up with "Which Side Are You On?" by the Almanac Singers which is covered by the Dropkick Murphys, an Irish punk band. It is originally a song from a miner strike in the 50s. The episode ended with a song done by Bob Dylan under the pseudonym Blind Boy Grunt. (I always love a good Bob Dylan song!)

The quote "Science began when man began to observe and to make note of his observation," by Richie Caldran helps explain Moe Asch's motivation for recording and organizing collections of music.