Elseblog @ Mainstream Isn’t So Bad…Is It?
On “public” as the opposite of “mainstream”
I’m guest hosting today over at the ever-diverse Mainstream Isn’t So Bad…Is It?, where host Sean has taken a break from his usual depth and diversity to invite a new blogger in every day for a week. In my own case, I’m using the request to sit in as an opportunity to consider the straw man dichotomy which so many genres have used to set themselves against the conceit of “mainstream”, and in doing so, claim a particular form of authenticity. Here’s the transitional nut:
…Indie is a relatively new term, which still speaks more to commercial production and label dynamics than anything, but I think the very way in which indie, like grunge and punk before it, is on the cusp of being co-opted by “mainstream” culture speaks to the limitation of defining oneself in opposition to that crass mass culture.
Instead, I’d propose that in the real and rapidly fading world of mass media markets, the “opposite” of mainstream is not underground or indie, but is and has always been “public”…
I’ve shared a few favorite indiefolk covers of songs from the public domain over at MISB, from Sam Amidon, The Avett Brothers, and Colin Meloy; there’s not a whit of copyright on these songs, so despite our past history with Blogger, I felt pretty confident posting them in a blogger-run space. Before you head over to snag ‘em, here’s a few roots-and-americana folk covers of relatively popular public domain tunes from the american folk tradition which have been stuck in my head for a while.
- Joy Kills Sorrow: Fall On My Knees (trad.)
(from Joy Kills Sorrow, 2006) - Dave Alvin: Railroad Bill (trad.)
(from Public Domain: Songs From the Wild Land, 2000) - Redbird: Moonshiner (trad.)
(from Redbird, 2003)
Category: Elseblog