Mountain Music

Soon I will go to the mountains.. these are the songs I’m excited to listen to there.

Last week I watched Without Getting Killed or Caught and was struck again at how the songwriters who write these stories of immense sadness and joy have such a lore that surrounds them which makes these stories even more vivid and compelling, and all the more heart-rending. Often the real-life stories are even more heartbreaking than the ones in the songs… and some are still living and smiling through it all, creating beauty despite tremendous pain. To me, this is the essence of folk music… as you’ll hear discussed in an upcoming interview, it’s processing and presenting it in a way that’s perhaps easier to deal with.

Anyway, I always say that every genre is the one I love the most, but a lot of folk songs so close to my heart because they’re also my earliest musical memories. I love the endless branches that span through history, inviting endless exploration of roots, influences, all the various interpretations of the word “folk” itself, and of course, I love the revivals most of all – or in some cases, revivals of revivals.

And yes, I realize “The Maker” is on here twice – but come on, man.

As Bill Callahan sings, “writing mountain music, yeah.”