Last year I wrote about attending my first Philadelphia Folk Festival in years. Last year I was incredibly huge and couldn't volunteer, but we'll be pulling our weight this year. It's 3 days (this year, August 17th to the 19th) of music and harmony (in every sense of the word) and I would say that it can be an almost religious experience. For 3 days a year on a farm in Schwenksville, everyone gets together (some camp, some don't) to enjoy amazing music (this year's theme is Through the Looking Glass!!!) by mostly independent artists. There are plenty of things for families to do together, and there are even children's music performers!
Last year a lot of people wrote me and said, 'Why didn't you tell us a month beforehand so that we could plan to go?" So, here's your warning. If you'd like to go and you don't want to camp, we're about a mile from the site. Bring your bike and you can ride up there (warning: there are hills in PA).
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Friday, May 05, 2006
And the Band Stopped Playing
I watched a documentary called "All We Are Saying" with my husband the other night about the fate of the music industry. There were several things that struck me, but the most disturbing is that Joni Mitchell has quit writing and playing music because of the process it had to go through with today's industry, which is run largely by people who know NOTHING about music.
Much of the film focused on the image associated with the music industry. Many musicians believe that they never would have made it by today's standards, and I tend to agree. I have a feeling Mick Jagger and Janis Joplin would not have stood up against Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake. Why? Because no one really cares about the lyrics anymore. People simply want to be entertained. They don't want music that really means anything. Think about it. When was the last time you were really moved by a song that's been written in the last 5 years? Country music doesn't count. We're talking about rock, folk, and punk here. Even alternative music isn't really an alternative. A least hip-hop gives a culture to a youth that is strongly without direction. The press is shallow, the critics don't really know anything about music, an no one has an attention span of more than a few minutes. If we're not careful, we will lose our music. We've already lost some of our best musicians.
Much of the film focused on the image associated with the music industry. Many musicians believe that they never would have made it by today's standards, and I tend to agree. I have a feeling Mick Jagger and Janis Joplin would not have stood up against Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake. Why? Because no one really cares about the lyrics anymore. People simply want to be entertained. They don't want music that really means anything. Think about it. When was the last time you were really moved by a song that's been written in the last 5 years? Country music doesn't count. We're talking about rock, folk, and punk here. Even alternative music isn't really an alternative. A least hip-hop gives a culture to a youth that is strongly without direction. The press is shallow, the critics don't really know anything about music, an no one has an attention span of more than a few minutes. If we're not careful, we will lose our music. We've already lost some of our best musicians.
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