Awesome Folk

If you’ve seen the Coen Brothers’ film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, you’ll immediately recognize the song I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, made famous by The Soggy Bottom Boys. Singer Geoff Castellucci sang all parts of the American folk classic and embellished the track with his impressive low bass vocals.

Musician Tom Rosenthal’s softly-voiced track All a Bit Too Loud is an emotive commentary on modern life and the sensory overload that all too often clutters our thoughts. For the music video, Tom was transformed into a giant ear by prop maker Jennifer Dingwall.

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin are back with a new series of Hanukkah Sessions for 2021. The kicked things off right with this very special performance of Lisa Loeb’s Stay. While it starts with the same folksy charm as the original, things escalate quickly as it turns into death metal. (Thanks Harriet!)

There I Ruined It manages to destroy two songs at the same time, turning John Denver’s (and later Peter, Paul, and Mary’s) folk classic Leaving on a Jet Plane into Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box. Or is it the other way around? Honestly, you can ruin any song in seconds just by adding a slide whistle.

Jeremy Messersmith’s heartfelt folk tune looks back fondly on his childhood days playing video games. The track is accompanied by a wonderful papercut animation by Eric Power that includes imagery from classic games like Joust, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Tetris, and Asteroids. From the album Mixtape for the Milky Way.

Singer-songwriter M. Ward sits down on his couch for a truly intimate acoustic guitar set that will transport you a kinder and gentler time and place. Along the way, you’ll enjoy classic tracks like Chinese Translation, and new ones like Coyote Mary’s Traveling Show from his 2020 album Migration Stories.

Yusuf / Cat Stevens teamed up with director Chris Hopewell and Black Dog Films to create an animated music video for his classic Where do the Children Play?, an ecological anthem which is as relevant today as ever. The revamped track will be featured on Tea for the Tillerman², which celebrates his acclaimed 1970 album.

Musicians Luna Lee and Han Oh teamed up to record an excellent cover version of the Stealers Wheel classic Stuck in the Middle, melding traditional asian sounds with ’70s folk rock. Of course, we can never hear this song without thinking of Reservoir Dogs.

Giangrande’s inspiring folk track Free to Roam is complemented beautifully by Gianluca Maruotti’s stop-motion music video. The claymation imagery was created using with the scenes playing out against a flattened backdrop. Be sure to watch the behind the scenes video too.

“Oh, but I can hear you, loud in the center. Aren’t we made to be crowded together, like leaves?” Fleet Foxes’ latest album pushes the boundaries of folk while conducting a hopeful exploration of the dull blades of life.

“…that no memory, no matter how sad, and no violence, no matter how bad, can darken the heart or tear it apart.” Indie folk artist Mike Hadreas aka Perfume Genius dropped by NPR Music to sing songs from his new album No Shape, as well as his 2012 hit Normal Song.

“This song is called ‘You Never Loved Me’ — it’s another extremely cheerful, optimistic number,” Aimee Mann offers up four tracks from her album Mental Illness on NPR’s consistently excellent concert series, accompanied by Jonathan Coulton, Paul Bryan & Jamie Edwards.

There’s nothing like an acoustic guitar and a powerful voice. Or three. The Closner sisters aka Joseph made their name with just that. Watch them perform a few of their wonderfully harmonized folk songs from their new album I’m Alone, No You’re Not.

Folk comedy musician Christopher White aka Isto made a charming ditty about literally undying love. It’s from his latest release, The Halloween Album. We’re not sure we’d buy the whole album, but this song is definitely worth a dollar.

A folksy, bluegrassy, and wonderfully fun cover version of Modest Mouse’s Float On, performed by the perfectly named Diablo Sandwich and the Dr. Peppers at Athens, Georgia hole in the wall The Lost Mirror.

La Blogotheque caught up with WU LYF bassist Tom McLung in Paris for a short outdoor set featuring songs from his indie folk alter ego, Francis Lung. He performed Back One Day and Where Life Come to Live, from his 2015 EP Vol. 1.

La Blogotheque presents indie folk artist Andy Shauf and his band performing a single from his upcoming album, The Party. If you like Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes and other sad bastard music, you’ll love Andy.

Remembering Mountains: Unheard Songs by Karen Dalton is a compilation of covers by various artists, featuring unreleased songs from the late blues and folk underground star. Also on Spotify. (Thanks Karlo!)

Folk duo The Sea The Sea’s intimate track Waiting is perfectly accompanied by this amazing music video by Zachary Johnson, who animated 3,454 individual oil paintings to create an evocative view of NYC by night.

Come for the animation, stay for the song in the official music video for Massimo Giangrande’s alt-folk Paper Plane, brilliantly animated by Gianluca Maruotti, with paper-cut illustrations by Felicita Sala. Go behind the scenes here.

Ever imagined what Brooklyn country music would sound like? NPR described it best: “Hem makes a homey, fireside kind of music, with songs that feel as if they’ve always been there.” Wonderful music to sleep or wake up to.

Folk rock singer 23-year-old Winston Yellen aka Night Beds adds to the stellar list of guest stars at NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts. You can download the audio of the performance at the link.

The music video for Gun-Shy, from Grizzly Bear’s album Shields. If you’ve ever felt insecure and unsatisfied with yourself, you’ll be able to relate to the various images of purging in the video.