This is the anniversary of the Illfolks blog.
"And so it was," (to borrow Mr. Brooker's towering voice for a moment) that since 2006, on the 9th, 19th and 29th of every month, unusual and often obscure music began turning up here. Five solid years of music. Some folks even noticed:
"Highly original blog; obscure pop/folk/indie/retro cuts/mixes of all sorts; a real smorgasbord" (Gravybread) and "...Weird and wacky and a lot of underappreciated stuff. Mostly oldies from all kinds of genres…." (Totally Fuzzy) and "So many ill folks, so little time - great neglected artists, celebrity recordings, themed collections, the occasionally weird, & more." (Youdonthavetovisit). Some artists left encouraging remarks, and there's been individual perception from a small circle of music fans and angels of the odd. But, enough looking back on what's happened here since February 19th of 2006.
The choice of celebratory song is "I've Aged Twenty Years in Five," because it's a funny title, not because the blog has driven me to drink. George Jones is offering a drinking song here, and whatever's happened to me in the past five years, good or bad, has not been the result of reckless usage of spirits fermenti, or such vices as smoking, doing illegal drugs, or consuming animals that walk the planet same as I do. George isn't exactly your typical Illfolks "unknown," but he gets sampled here because he's not nearly as respected as he should be. Frank Sinatra thought him the greatest singer in America (except for a guy named Frank Sinatra). George is a too traditional C&W for some tastes (abetted by musical arrangements that often include a squeamy violin) but his phrasing on ballads is hard to beat, and like Jolson he got better as he got older. He also has a good sense of humor. Which means "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Wino the Clown" are balanced by "White Lightning" and "No Show Jones."
George has had some health problems lately, but what can you expect? If he's aged twenty years in five, the guy is actually about 395 years old.
I'VE AGED TWENTY YEARS IN FIVE
Well much congratulations on your anniversary.
ReplyDeleteIf you're feeling uninspired, how about a search for some international covers that are impossible to find in the States?
Italian Beat Queen Caterina Caselli's 1966 English language cover of Ray Charles "I Believe to My Soul" is only available here on a poor quality You Tube clip from a movie.
French looker Marie Laforet did a French cover of Speak Softly Love from the original Godafather movie known as Parle Plus Bas circa 1972. That version is completely unavailable here other than image posts of the 45 cover.
Would these qualify for the "ill folks" banner? In any case thanks for your contributions and making me laugh the past few years!
Well done, ill folks! Thank you for your entertaining blog, and congratulations on this landmark.
ReplyDelete-- redmars
Is this blog dead?
ReplyDeleteThe links all work, I think. That makes it alive. On hiatus? Retired?
ReplyDeleteDon't know about the blog, but Andrew Gold is... I didn't even know he was ill.
ReplyDeleteI miss this blog. The commentary has always been entertaining, as has the music. Here's hoping you'll be back soon.
ReplyDeleteNice article, thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteHello there:
ReplyDeleteI work for The Oxford American magazine, and we're currently researching our forthcoming Southern Music Issue. This year, we're focusing on artists from the state of Mississippi. We're huge fans of your blog, and were hoping you might be able to recommend a few pop/garage/bubblegum artists you think we should check out.
Thanks for your input on this!
All best,
Natalie Elliott
nelliott@oxfordamerican.org
"Here's to the State of Mississippi..." oh wait, that's Phil Ochs.
ReplyDeleteIll Folks notes that this was the birthplace for plenty o' Delta blues musicians, including Mose Allison, Tommy Bankhead, R.L. Burnside, James Cotton, Honeyboy Edwards, etc.
Not sure how many of this blog's obscure vocalists were born there. Certainly a lot of people that have done just fine without a mention here...Buffett, BB, Elmore, Elvis...
I love George Jones music. Very clean.
ReplyDeleteCassy from Learn How To Play Lead Guitar
That's funny - I've often had that thought that I aged 25 years in 5! Never knew somebody else had written a song about this thought.
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Where ahave you been?
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I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what you've got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better.
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ReplyDeleteI know where I'm going and l know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.Thankyou i really love it.....
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