Friday 31 July 2015

Music Will Save The World: Anna & Elizabeth

 
 
ADAM WHITE, long-time anarchist and music aficionado, alerted me to Anna & Elizabeth – and I’m so pleased that he did.
 
These two, superb, 25-year-old folk-singers, Elizabeth LaPrelle, from Virginia (she's the short one) and New Englander, Anna Roberts-Gevalt, have carved out an enviable reputation for themselves in the rich Appalachian musical tradition. Their voices produce the most fragile and poignant of acapella harmonies, while, in their highly educated hands, fiddle, banjo and guitar are persuaded to perform with equal emotional effect. Anna & Elizabeth’s monologues, illustrated by their “crankies” – illuminated cloth and paper scrolls – celebrate the lives of the men and women uncovered in the course of their musical-historical research. American music critics have described Elizabeth as possibly “the most sought-after ballad singer of her generation”. Their music is available from Free Dirt Records.
 
Enjoy.
 
Video courtesy of YouTube
 
 
This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road.

7 comments:

Guerilla Surgeon said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEEZsvSzG-4

This Scottish band, consisting of up to 50 members, takes its name from the Greek "Οι πολλοί" – a delicate pun on the ancient Greek word for common people. Their intricate Gaelic rhythms and instrumentation support such lyrics as "Bash the Fash" "Let the Boots do the Talking" and "Nazi Scum your Time has Come" and "Don't Burn the Witch , Burn the Rich". They don't do monologues, but they certainly are cranky.

Chris Trotter said...

Umm, yeah. Not really the music to save my world, Guerrilla.

For me, it's like someone shouting political slogans into my ear while banging my head up against a brick wall.

Five minutes of that and I'd be asking the BNP "Where do I sign up!"

I'll take "Anna & Elizabeth" over "Oi Polloi" any day.

Guerilla Surgeon said...

Perhaps, but they do have a certain energy. In which case you should possibly try "The Men they Couldn't Hang" a bit more musical, and a bit edgier than most folk singers. Called punk/ folk I do believe. :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zVmx709Nrg

markus said...

Very nice. Personally, I've become a fan of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings over recent years, well maybe not a "fan" exactly - I still tend to discriminate between the wheat and the chaff, the harrow and the harvest.

Sample Lyrics from Welch and Rawlings' 'Annabelle':

"Lease twenty acres and one Ginny mule
From the Alabama Trust
Half of the Cotton, third of the Corn
Get a handful of Dust....

....When I'm dead and buried, I'll take a hard life of tears
Everyday I've ever known
Anna's in the Churchyard, she's got no life at all
She's only got these words in stone..."

Could've been written in the 30s.

Guerilla Surgeon said...

Yeah cute. I prefer this.

"Gee, Scotland-It's so quaint
All this scenery makes me feel quite
faint

Clan chief looks so good in his kilt
We never think of the blood his family spilt"

"I'm the clan chief o.k. yah
I support Scotland when they play rugger
But an independent country? there I'd draw the line
I own this land it's mine all mine

FUCK YOU, You arrogant prick
You inbred rich bastard, YOU MAKE ME FUCKING SICK
You own fuck all-except in your head
One day the land will be ours-and you'll be dead

I won't beg permission to walk the land they claim to "own"
And I won't pay no fucker to gain access to THE STONES
The rich have stolen and buy and sell our earth
But it belongs to NO ONE-or to all by right of birth

or if you prefer more authentic and traditional.

Air a' bhàta: storas tasgaidh
Uisge-beatha saor 's an asgaidh
"Saoramaid an deoch an-dràsta!"
Gun chosgais tha e fiù 's nas blasta

SS Politician
:-)

Sideshow Bob said...

That was pretty bad Chris are you sure you didn't show us this just because the tall lady had such an impressive mullet and you are still trying to make some sort of a point about bogans? LoL

A O said...

Well, that was different...tickled my soul.