Happy St. Patrick's Day. Right-click and download files!

[dragonlady7]

I'm going to do a music post.

First I'm starting off with a follow-up to my post of yesterday wherein I dissed Jackdaw.

To listen to some Jackdaw, go here and click on the picture.

Bah, Z changed it since yesterday. Now it's a video of a live performance, which isn't bad at all-- I am amused by the background shot that has a local political poster which is sadly out of date (Giambra, go to hell)-- but I am going to have to post a more typical mp3 to illustrate my point. Gimme a minute while I go find one.

Well. To oppose that video, which is an example of the use of traditional Celtic instruments in rock music, I propose Dropkick Murphy's version of
Amazing Grace,
which is one of the best uses of bagpipes in rock that I have ever heard. You see? It's been done better. (And yes I've seen this live, and it's good.)

And here's a more typical mp3 of Jackdaw's: Hit The Floor. This song is about... drinking. Yes. It's about drinking to unconsciousness.

Versus a more typical Dropkick Murphy's song:
Blood and Whiskey.
This song is about the legendary fighter John L. Sullivan, one of the first important Irish-American figures. He was a world heavyweight champion boxer in the days before gloves were strictly necessary, and before his premature death of alcohol-related illness, he reformed and became a great advocate of temperance. He was called "The hand that shook the world"-- at that point, the Irish in America were a downtrodden lot, and he did a great deal for their spirit and sense of community.

I don't think it's terribly hard to see which I appreciate more. Both songs deal with alcoholism and its impact on the Irish-American community, I suppose... Neither's a bad listen, but I've got a definite preference. I might mention that the one that refers to itself as "brick-throwing Celtic rock" actually rocks a lot less hard than the one whose slogan is "THE POWER OF YOUR EXAMPLE IS FAR GREATER THAN WHAT YOU SAY".

Huh-- maybe I'm a conscience whore?

I've obsessed about that long enough. Jackdaw's playing downtown at the Crocodile Bar tonight, and I gave point three seconds' consideration to going and seeing them-- they can't suck live, Buffalo's more discerning (and spoilt for choice) than that-- but Crocodile Bar's one of those venues on Chippewa that is filled with... not my sort of people. See, I like to wear an entire shirt when I go out, so I wouldn't fit in there.

On to the rest of the post:

I have a big collection of Irish music. Nobody should have to listen to crappy Irish music on St. Patrick's Day. Here's my contribution, sorted by genre. Links are to mp3 files on my own server, which I shall leave up for some time, for unlimited downloads. There's no reason not to download them even if you think you might not like them. (I always feel guilty if I download somebody's YSI links and then don't like them.)

One genre I don't have much of is the Irish-American, post-Clancy-Brothers, beer-hall band type, which I know is much in demand around this time of the year. Usually it features a lot of accordions, an electric bass guitar, and a guy with a Midwestern accent attempting to "put on a bit o' a brogue". I'm sorry, I was forced to take Irish dancing lessons to that crap and I can't deal with it. I am sorry. You'll find it almost everywhere else. I am sure it has merit, I've just had plenty of it.

If you ignore the rest of this, at least right-click and download Si Bheag Si Mhor by Planxty and The Parting Glass by the Clancy Brothers.

The rest of this entry has been reduplicated on my website here: St. Patrick's Day Music Posting Bonanza in case you want to share it with anyone else, since it took me so God-Damned long to finish it. (It's ok, my novel's climax is percolating in my head meanwhile. I tell myself.)

1: Vocal Tracks

subsection: Love Songs

The Generous Lover, by Dolores Keane
Of the "sad, deceived women" sub-subgenre. I used to use this song to audition for things. I sing it very well, I'll have you know.

Fair and Tender Ladies, old Danú
Another example of the above. Let me here make a side note that it is very common in traditional circles for men to sing songs that have female narrators, and when I was a child I always found this hysterical. Once my mother sarcastically responded to a recording, "You never were a maid," which twenty years later still gives me the giggles.

Do You Love An Apple, by The Bothy Band
This is a slightly different take on the above: in this case, the bastard actually married her and while she can't quite bring herself to regret that, it's still not exactly peaches and cream.

Bean Phaidin, by Planxty
It is a terrible shame
That I am not Patrick's woman
And the one that he has
is not dead
Light-hearted black jealousy, again sung by a man, which makes it that much better in this day and age.

subsection: Drinking/Parting/Mourning

The Parting Glass, by the Clancy Brothers
So fill to me the parting glass:
Good night, and joy be with you.
I have sung this song very well too, I'll have you know. This one also has made me cry. More than once.

Beannacht o Ri na hAione, by new Danú
When I saw this performed live, they said it was a blessing song sung to an old home that was being vacated-- as I recall, because one of the islands was being evacuated. But I am not sure and Google is not cooperating.

subsection: Political

Bobby Sands MP, by Black 47. (genre: rock)
I'm goin' back to Belfast city
You can't cage my spirit in!
This is about the 1981 hunger strike of IRA prisoners against Margaret Thatcher's policy of treating political prisoners in Ireland the same way as common criminals. Several of the strikers were elected to Parliament. Many died, Sands among them. A more traditional lament is here; (lyrics only).
Irish history is not all old.

The Big Fellah, by Black 47. (genre: rock)
And we beat them in the cities, and we whipped them in the streets
and the world hailed Michael Collins, our commander and our chief
This song is about Michael Collins. I have always found this song interesting because it addresses the fact that the heroes of the Irish people are not entirely unambiguous. Collins participated in the Easter Rising and was a key figure in the Irish Civil War, but he helped negotiate the deal that ended the war-- and was partly responsible for the partition of Ireland. It is said that when he signed the deal, he told the then-Prime Minister that this signature made him a dead man, and sure enough, when he returned to Ireland he was assassinated.
Irish history is not simple.

Rosc Catha Na Mumhan, by the Wolfetones
This title translates to "The Battle-Cry of Munster". Most interestingly, the tune was previously a Protestant song called "Boyne Water." I included it partly because still other songs have been set to that tune and it's a good one.

An Raibh Tu Ag An Gcarraig, by the Chieftains with guest vocalist Sissel
This one's a bit New-Agey, which isn't precisely to my taste but a lot of people, justifiably, like it. Sissel is a favorite of mine-- she is a Norwegian, and I saw her perform in Bergen on New Year's Eve. She is an unearthly soprano and does Irish music very well.
This song asks "Were you at the rock?" and is about the times when Catholic masses were banned, and so congregations would hold their services outdoors by ancient holy rocks-- to hide from the authorities.

2: Instrumental Music

subsection: Solos

The PowerOut/The Dublin Reel, by Danú
Their flutist goes to town.

King of the Fairies/The New Policeman/ The Langstrom Pony, by Danú. (They've got a whole album of solos, see?)
Their fiddler rocks out with his, you know, out.

The Wounded Hussar, by Lúnasa.
This is a traditional pipe solo on uillean pipes, similar to the tradition of piobreacht on the highland pipes-- the point is embroidery, not dynamics.

Bodhran Solo / Donegal Reel, by Declan Folan & Junior Davey
The bodhran is a traditional Irish drum of goatskin on a wooden frame. It used to just be used for big hollow booming sounds, but by now people like my sister have learned how to play scales on it and make it talk and all sorts of wonderful things. It's much elevated now, and this is a prime example of its capabilities.

Si Bheag Si Mhor, by Planxty
If you download nothing else, download this song. It is pipes with a guitar backing and is a melancholily cheerful little tune, an uptempo little waltz smiling through its tears, said to be one of the legendary harper Turlogh O'Carolan's first compositions.
I haven't been able to translate the name, but "beag" means little and "mor" means big.

subsection: Jam Sessions / Ceili Dances

The Kilfenora Set, by the Chieftains
The Chieftains are one of the most famous Irish traditional groups ever, and while they are a bit too "world music" for the purists, their longevity cannot be denied. They tend to include at least one "jam session" per album, where they get together and just play something-- in one case, they did it with the Rolling Stones, and the result was an over-ten-minute cover of The Rocky Road to Dublin. This is them plus about fifty fiddlers on their album "Water From The Well".

If I Had Maggie In The Wood, by the Chieftains
If I had Maggie in the wood,
I'd do her all the good I could
If I had Maggie in the wood
I'd keep her there till morning
Sing along! This Chieftains jam session is distinguished by having been performed atop The Great Wall Of China.

Round The House and Mind the Dresser, by the Chieftains
This is one of their first jam sessions, off one of their albums from the 70s. (#6, Buonaparte's Retreat, 1976.) They actually had live dancers in the studio, and the tune is a traditional one so named for house dances wherein the hostess would cry "mind the dresser!" as they danced around her house's single room.
Significant in this one is the bodhran percussion-- the only part of the track that shows its age. Fascinatingly enough, modern bodhran playing only originated in the late seventies, and at this point it was almost unknown for it to be any more complex than it is in this track. See Declan Folan & Junior Davey, above, for what it is today.

Most Irish bands have jam sessions from time to time-- most of the mix tunes are generally performed that way, and in fact, my sister participated in a band that was nothing but jam sessions-- but nobody records them as well as the Chieftains because there are no better arrangers than Paddy Moloney.

Comments

[gypsum.livejournal.com]

But a "session" by definition is not arranged. ;) When bands do ensemble playing, it's a band playing a carefully arranged set of tunes and the chords and stuff played by the backers are predetermined.

I have some recordings of actual sessions (that include people like Tommy and Siobhan Peoples and Kevin Crawford) that are very cool, if you're interested.

I 'fess up to being purist, though I like Danu, Lunasa, et. al.

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

Right. Thanks for clarifying.

If you do have any sessions I'd love to hear them. My collection is certainly far, far from complete.

[cofax7]

Thank you! I took 3 songs.

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

Take as many as you like! :)

[reverend-dave.livejournal.com]

Thanks for these!

hit the floor

[(Anonymous)]

i don't quite agree with you that "hit the floor" is about drinking to unconciousness. it is at least in part about drinking, but there's greater meaning in it for anyone willing to look. there are those (myself included) for whom the name "duke burke" holds just as much significance as that of john sullivan. that's not at all meant to diminish the importance of sullivan, but the fact that duke never fought for the belt doesn't make this admittedly truncated portion of his story less worthy of telling.

as far as the other music, great stuff. the bothy band also does a nice version of "do you love an apple" on their bbc radio one live in concert cd (which also features some incredible pipe solos from paddy keenan).

-the bagpiper

Re: hit the floor

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

I admit, I was just looking for a song that was a reasonable-quality recording that people might like but that demonstrated the approximate depth of rockage of the band. I looked Duke up but he's not in Google for anything, so I figured he'd have to be one of the local boys or something. Not that DKM doesn't do songs about local boys-- "Noble" is about a "kid from the neighborhood" killed in a bar fight, and they have this whole thing about "the Chickenman" who was a dear departed buddy whose charity work they donate to, &c., &c., but I really couldn't make a parallel, and to be honest I was trying to move past the topic and on to the rest of the post. But I did think it would probably be unfair to simply say "N local Irish-related band sux" and then post four hundred mp3 files of other people's music and not give "N local band" a shot at letting their music stand for itself.

But, as I think I've said, obviously I got the wrong entry point for your music. Which is what happens when most of your new music listening experiences come via your boyfriend sending you whatever they're reviewing at work that he thinks you might like.