And here's some folk stuff, this guy is one of my favorite artists at the moment. His songs aren't necessarily the most complicated works, but his voice is great, he writes some good lyrics and his songs are just so goddamn comforting and lovely to listen to... and LOOK AT THAT BRILLIANT BEARD!
This reminds me I love Terry Callier's version of 900 Miles:
But folk is such a huge and diverse category of music, so I'll take this chance to introduce some Estonian folk. Most of these use the traditional Estonian singing style called the runic or runo-song, but with some modern twist. In runo-song, one person sings first and the others repeat after him/her. Thanks to this structure, back in the day the songleaders would be able to make up the song as they went along.
Not sure if it's been posted yet. It's one of my current favourites. It's a pointless and silly "live-in-the-moment" song but it's incredibly uplifting too. And I sometimes find uplifting songs saddening because 1) they don't last long, and 2) the are often about living a carefree life (or they were released during a period on my life where I could afford to be) and I'll likely never experience anything like that again.
MisterKrinkle wrote:I love me some monsters of folk
I do too, but after a lot of consideration, I think I do like the album version with Conor Oberst on lead vocals better. It took me a while to decide that though. Also holy crap! Jim James has amazing falsetto.
Speaking of Conor Oberst...
This song hits a really raw nerve for me. I miss playing music with friends in basements...
EDIT: Dammit, from the same album... you guys should really listen to this song if you never listen to any other song I ever post anywhere.
Jesca Hoop is the most intriguing indie folksy artist I've heard in a long while. The first three songs from her most recent (brilliant) album, each unique in their own way:
Memories Are Now
The Lost Sky
Animal Kingdom Chaotic
And now for something heavier, I present you Cut Connection:
And here's an older song that is just sung so beautifully: Murder of Birds
So I realize this post is overflowing with links, but I feel like putting any less wouldn't do justice to the variety in her songwriting.