I've noted not a single Arhoolie label on the blog and I correct that so. The logo is better than that of any other folk label I know. County, Tradition and Shanachie all share a sort of "good old days" motif, which I've always found a little offensive, denying the dreams of rural people for the sake of a weirdly antagonistic romance. Though I suspect their project has regressed in recent years, Arhoolie seemed to understand the injurious possibility of this rhetoric of purity. The jittery guitar doodle and hepcat typeface suggest an embrace of urbanity, of the anxious proletary and the wild abandon of their New American Ethnic Music.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Joseph Falcon "Louisiana Cajun Music" (Arhoolie, 1968)
I've noted not a single Arhoolie label on the blog and I correct that so. The logo is better than that of any other folk label I know. County, Tradition and Shanachie all share a sort of "good old days" motif, which I've always found a little offensive, denying the dreams of rural people for the sake of a weirdly antagonistic romance. Though I suspect their project has regressed in recent years, Arhoolie seemed to understand the injurious possibility of this rhetoric of purity. The jittery guitar doodle and hepcat typeface suggest an embrace of urbanity, of the anxious proletary and the wild abandon of their New American Ethnic Music.
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Lovely image to see. This was quite late in Falcon's career. He recorded the first commercially-successful Cajun song, "Allons a Lafayette" (or "Let's go to Lafayette") with his wife of the time, Cleoma Breaux Falcon. By the time of this recording, she had died, and he remarried. His wife is the very enthusiastic drummer. As the cover says, "Recorded live at the Silver Star" by Chris Strachwitz. Wish I coulda been there.
ReplyDeleteAnd why only one label, since an LP has two?