I am a big Dave Van Ronk fan. After loving his music for a while, I finally got a hold of his "autobiography" (mainly in quotations since he died half-way through writing the book). He had a chapter dedicated to folk music and the history of the genre through the documented ages. He said that folk music (and I am paraphrasing here) was the art of story telling that was passed down from generation to generation. It was usually not written down, but instead, the younger generation learned it through hearing it and then adapting it to their own liking. It always told the story of love, or struggle, or some other monumentous task. Take a look at how many songs were sung about John Henry as a steel driving man.
Folk music is an oral history. Maybe not entirely accurate, but it usually describes the plight of the people. I appreciate that, both as a music lover, but also as someone who is very interested in music history and how it shaped our culture. The rhythmic devices used in the songs of those generations help paint a more complete picture of the struggles or hardships of the times. Whether it was a full piece band backing up Bessie Smith, or a plantation worker playing a set of spoons, these elements combined with the written word help us imagine the hardships that they faced and the type of audience they were trying to attract. I was not there, but every element of every song helps complete the story.
So where am I going with this? DVR continued the evolution of folk music to modern day street poets. This form of poetry, which described the hardships and inequalities of the streets, turned into hip-hop or rap music. It may be noise to some, but sometimes you have to read between the lines to understand the complete message. Prejudice. Inequality. The socio-economic class system that is there, but nobody wants to talk about. These are the messages that spurred rap and hip-hop, and the way that they are sung can bring about haunting vivid images if you just open your eyes. While more passive early groups such as Public Enemy, Run DMC, and Arrested Development were direct, the sub-genre of gangster rap (early to mid'90s) really started to become more aggressive with their message. So much that it did start to scare some suburbanites back into their homes. :wink: While every genre of music becomes diluted with garbage over time, you still hear the message of hardship in modern day hip-hop.
I just looked at my music collection. I have every genre of music from most decades of the last century. So I guess Ravon's assessment is correct. I will say that my interest in American music history and its impact in our culture is what eventually fueled me to pick up the guitar again after so many years.
EDIT: I do not have any country music from the past decade. The picture that stuff paints is shear crap. I will stick to Hank.
