Why Is Folks Music Depressing or Maudlin?

[Splicer]

My wife loves folk music both old and new. Every year I get dragged along to some weekend festival that I absolutely can't stand. I do it to be a good husband. But act after act, song after song is either depressing, melancholy, downright maudlin or angry about something. Even the faster tempo songs are not entirely uplifting in their lyrical content. Dar Williams epitomizes this music for me. For goodness sake, every song is some sort of tear-jerker reminiscence about her childhood or a lost love or someone who didn't understand her or something I don't understand that seemed to upset her as well. She's not the only one. I have no idea who 90% of these artists are but one after another they come up there and depress me. I just don't get the appeal.

[Facelift]

Because folk music is the music of regular people, and the lives of regular people are maudlin and depressing. Since folk music puts a premium on authenticity... there you have it.

Would you rather they sing about vending machine malfunctions wherein two bags of Fritos are dispensed for the price of one, getting an awesome parking space, or other such "wins?"

[GuitarGeek]

I noticed that sometime back, not just with folk music, but country, too. There's a lot of songs about people dying. Keep in mind, there's also songs about people dying (or almost dying) in rock n roll and pop music too. Remember Seasons In The Sun? Or Earth Angel?

Mind you progressive rock has it's share of depressing stuff. You've got things like Marillion's Brave (a concept album about a girl who ends up jumping off a bridge), and depending on how you interpret it, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway could be seen as Rael's death dream. Van Der Graaf Generator tend to be a bit on the depressing side too.

[mozo-pg]

Count yourself lucky that the wife doesn't like polka music.

[GuitarGeek]

Count yourself lucky that the wife doesn't like polka music.

Or smoooooooth jazz.

[Banquo]

"Folk" used to be about the human condition and overcoming adversity. Now it's about baby car seats and styrofoam cups.

[Reginod]

Consider yourself lucky. My wife has taken a shine to contemporary Christian rock.

[AcousticWalden]

I noticed that sometime back, not just with folk music, but country, too. There's a lot of songs about people dying. Keep in mind, there's also songs about people dying (or almost dying) in rock n roll and pop music too. Remember Seasons In The Sun? Or Earth Angel?

Mind you progressive rock has it's share of depressing stuff. You've got things like Marillion's Brave (a concept album about a girl who ends up jumping off a bridge), and depending on how you interpret it, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway could be seen as Rael's death dream. Van Der Graaf Generator tend to be a bit on the depressing side too.

So I guess it speaks volumes that I listen to folk and my favorite prog albums are Lamb and Brave.

[Dave (in MA)]

My wife likes Barry Manilow. I win this thread. No, I lose this thread.

[Rufus]

Or smoooooooth jazz.

Or fusion jazz or come to think of it , just JAZZ !

[ChrisXymphonia]

Things is indeed that in subject matter a lot of folk dwells on hard times / adversity / death etc. but with there are cases where I simply don't pick that up because the music is uplifting:

Bellowhead



or what about this one, Treacherous Orchestra which has quite a few proggy overtones on their debutalbum:



and how about this one by The Imagined Village, mixing up various folk traditions in a Martin Carthy song he wrote for Steeleye Span:

[iguana]

"Folk" used to be about the human condition and overcoming adversity. Now it's about baby car seats and styrofoam cups.

Q: how many folkies does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: two. one to change the lighbulb and one to write a song about how good the old one was.

[PeterG]

Ceilidh music is far from depressing, it is happy folk music to dance to.
Saying all folk music is depressing is like saying all prog uses synths.
Folk covers a HUGE range of music and from all over the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjFJO-VjIkI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO2OfJ7qtW0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfkykplPAjg

[Splicer]

Because folk music is the music of regular people, and the lives of regular people are maudlin and depressing.

Mine used to be until I went to therapy and let go of the past.

[NogbadTheBad]

Guess it's one of the reason's I like Folk & Blues, I'm not really into uplifting music & certainly not Christian uplifting music. My wife's into Celine Dion, Barry Manilow & Neil Diamond so think yourself lucky.

As others have said traditionally it was about the human condition and for those singing it they were usually hard times, not the modern 20th Century type issues.

[Jerjo]

My wife likes folk music (though I have never been to a folk festival), used to play a lot of Barry Manilow, LOVES James Taylor (I am sad to report that I have seen more James Taylor shows than any of my favorite artists), 70s-80s country, and has a disturbing fondness for 90s boy bands. She thinks Justine Timberlake is a real talented fellow. Next month I get to see the Bellamy Brothers. Whoop-de-fucking-do.

There are a lot of genres that seem fixated on the downside. Blues is the same way, country and bluegrass too. But there are plenty of uplifting blues, folk, and bluegrass songs. There is no such thing as an uplifting or even good, country song.

[Echoes]

I was (and will) post this in its own topic, but here's a folk singer who might interest a progger. Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun talks about the jazz influence in her dreamy, sound on Echoes tonight.
http://wp.me/pgATL-2jb

[Garden Dreamer]

song after song is either depressing, melancholy, downright maudlin or angry about something.

I thought this was a thread about metal!

[Vic2012]

Next month I get to see the Bellamy Brothers. Whoop-de-fucking-do.

I was married to a woman who was a trained pianist and vocalist. She grew up with rock & roll but her love of music was mainly classical and opera. It never crossed my mind to go to an opera or symphony with her. I feel bad about that now because she really was passionate about that stuff. Could never get her into prog though. She loved classical, symphonic music but "prog" did nothing for her. If I could turn back the hands of time .........

[Jefferson James]

There's a lot of songs about people dying.

One of my favorite lyrics is from the song, "We Are the World": "There are people dying..."

[jupiter0rjapan]

This is really beyond folk, as I hear this kind of wallowing in most music forms except dance and pop. As a songwriter, I can tell you that in my experience (and many other songwriters seem to agree with me) composing dark songs seems to be so easy and natural in comparison with writing uplifting material. The problem I used to have is writing a happy song was giving in to the honest emotion without feeling like I was being corny. It seems that being dark comes with an auto-cool factor. When I write a happy tune, there is the fear that I will be compared to Jon Anderson's or Paul McCartney's most derided work. I should be so lucky, I know, but still...

I have gotten over it, and now I just surrender to whatever emotion and avoid editing myself so much. If you bring honesty to the table, it speaks more to people and they take these things at face value. Yet my material continues to dwell more in the dark lands than in the light. I think that is just the human condition. A little joy spread over a lot of times filled with death, hardship and lost love. People seem to want to go to their artform when they are being pressed the hardest by life.

[Splicer]

I guess I'm just stuck listening to Dar Williams sing about gender issues or someone named Andrew Calhoun who sings these "Skeletons of Quinto" songs right out of A Mighty Wind. Apparently everyone also goes nuts for some group called Red Molly as well.

I tell you, the entire folk scene reminds me of the Prog scene because people talk about these obscure acts as if everyone should know them and act all surpised (butthurt) that you haven't.

[No Pride]

Or fusion jazz or come to think of it , just JAZZ !

I guess I can sort of understand how some prog fans wouldn't like jazz but fusion? I never could fathom that and I probably never will. To me, they're un-identical twins from different mothers, but they were born at the same time and they both had the same mission; basically mixing elements of rock, jazz and classical music into a unique stew. Maybe it's that fusion by and large eschews the pop factor that's present in most prog. Or maybe some people can't stand anything that's improvised, which is a damn shame if you ask me. And I know some people HAVE to have vocals and lyrics in their music and fusion usually doesn't; maudlin and depressing or otherwise.

Sorry for hijacking the thread, it just irks me when somebody comes around bashing something that's very close to my heart, like jazz and fusion is.

As far as folk and it's lyrics, well, I think life can be depressing and maudlin and artists feel compelled to express their thoughts and feelings about that. It's not just folk; you can find an abundance of that sort of thing in any music that has lyrics. My favorite folk artists aren't actually folk artists any more; they came from there but moved on to other kinds of music that could express those feelings and emotions more eloquently. I'm talking about the likes of Paul Simon or Joni Mitchell. Both fantastic lyricists! But when it comes down to it, it's still often depressing or maudlin content. It's not everyone that can write about mountains coming out of the sky and standing there.

[Jerjo]

[Jerjo]

I was (and will) post this in its own topic, but here's a folk singer who might interest a progger. Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun talks about the jazz influence in her dreamy, sound on Echoes tonight.
http://wp.me/pgATL-2jb

That is a VERY haunting voice. Thanks for this.