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"Americana" defined?


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Posted (edited)

After reading this article, I am no closer too seeing this as a legitimate genre. You just cannot lump Johnnie Cash, Tom Petty,  Bob Dylan, and the Lumineers in the same grouping.

Edited by dclaassen
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4 hours ago, dclaassen said:

Okay, but, to me, “Country” is most pre-1970’s artists of the genre, and ending with George Strait and Scotty McCreary. Bluegrass is different…Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs, Allison Krause…Folk is way different…Dylan, Kingston Trio, Weavers…

 

Most new country is really pop music. The best definition of country music I’ve heard is “three chords and the truth.”

Oh god, I'd forgotten about George Strait. The missus is something of a fan which means I've listened to him a lot more than I'd have ever wanted to. If I have to listen to him sing about his oceanfront property in Ah-Ri-Zoooor-Na one more time I'll go postal - Lee Sklar playing on that track is its only redeeming feature.

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4 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

After reading this article, I am no closer too seeing this as a legitimate genre. You just cannot lump Johnnie Cash, Tom Petty,  Bob Dylan, and the Lumineers in the same grouping.

As someone has mentioned above it's kind of an umbrella term for lots of different styles, rather than a rigidly defined singular genre.

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Posted (edited)
15 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

After reading this article, I am no closer too seeing this as a legitimate genre. You just cannot lump Johnnie Cash, Tom Petty,  Bob Dylan, and the Lumineers in the same grouping.

 

I completely agree! I used to think of Americana as a catch-all term for American popular music that I don't particularly like, but the definition seems to be so loose to the point of being completely meaningless. 

 

If you look at the Wikipedia article, one minute it's talking about banjos, mandolins and fiddles then the next it is putting forward an urban rock and roll act like Bob Seger as an example of Americana! That makes no sense to me whatsoever. 

 

Edited by peteb
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1 hour ago, Mickeyboro said:

Most bands who use the term Americana seem to be British!😂

Ironical, isn't it.....:) 

 

Maybe I should start a Britannia-a group...we could play stuff that is vaguely British, or English, or, heck maybe even Irish...oh and French cause 1066.... :)  

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Posted (edited)
36 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

Ironical, isn't it.....:) 

 

Maybe I should start a Britannia-a group...we could play stuff that is vaguely British, or English, or, heck maybe even Irish...oh and French cause 1066.... :)  

 

Remember to make sure that this new genre covers both Mumford & Sons and Judas Priest...! 

 

Edited by peteb
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The orchestral music of Aaron Copland is also described by some experts (experts in orchestral music that is) as Americana, reinforcing the view that Americana is music that has one or more qualities that link it to America by which ever criterion the person making the link chooses to use. I guess a defining question re whether music does or does not meet the criterion might be 'Does it sound American?', which in my view much of the music of Copland certainly does.  

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https://americana-uk.com/interview-ralph-brookfield-on-the-trail-of-americana-music

 

I played bass for Ralph for years - in fact he was the guy who persuaded me to learn to play DB precisely so that I could accompany him.

 

Some time after I left his band (King Ralph) he brought out this book. It's not a coffee table jobby or a piece of "rock journalism", it's a pretty serious attempt to work out WTF this music really is. 

 

After a couple of hundred pages I was no wiser, and I rather suspect that's also true of Ralph. 😉

 

Final analysis = Americana means precisely whatever you want it to.

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31 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

https://americana-uk.com/interview-ralph-brookfield-on-the-trail-of-americana-music

 

I played bass for Ralph for years - in fact he was the guy who persuaded me to learn to play DB precisely so that I could accompany him.

 

Some time after I left his band (King Ralph) he brought out this book. It's not a coffee table jobby or a piece of "rock journalism", it's a pretty serious attempt to work out WTF this music really is. 

 

After a couple of hundred pages I was no wiser, and I rather suspect that's also true of Ralph. 😉

 

Final analysis = Americana means precisely whatever you want it to.

And once it's been worked out we can start on RnB.

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