Modern Folk Music

usually done with sneers or self-pity, (2) uncontrollable sexual drive, ex pressed with beggings and assorted grunts, indicative of a Passion that is supposed to be love, and (3) com mentary on social or political thought that is occasionally soundly based but too often expressed with ModERNFolk Music sentiment that makes one rush to the intellectual vomitorium. The ama teur lyric-writers have little regard for rhyme; they join mind with wine, pain with gained, and speak with by John Muri feet, to quote examples from three touted "great songs of the seventies." Take the words away and the musi cian finds little or no melody, only Folk music is a term rarely used in snakes, women smoking or drinking, two or maybe three chords. All that's connection with modern popular fervid love-making, or violence was left is a beat. A beat makes noises for music, although pop tunes make up strictly in effect. By the late twenties, dancing, but it does not represent about all we have of what may now many of the restrictions were relaxed, "man thinking"; it represents "man be called "music of the people." The and the trend was observable in even feeling," which, for a human being, disappearance of people singing at the song-lyrics. Television took over puts him on a low animal level. their work (the piped music systems in 1948, almost destroying its prede Much radio and television music won't let them) and of latter-day cessors as it tried to get away with (even background material) is now troubadors (we'd call them strolling everything it could morally and com expressed in simplistic terms, musicians or vaudevillians) makes mercially. It carried violence in en intended to excite or to pacify. modern pop music the property of tertainment to new limits while giv If music can "sooth the savage relatively few singers, whose profes ing scant attention to music of all breast," it can also excite. Assuming sional careers in saloons are bewil types because of the cost. Its nearest ( 1) that music can stimulate us to deringly short. Their material is approaches to folk-musical influence action, and (2) that music can be evil often weak. but it is widely dissemi have been Hee Haw and the Law as well as good on its influence, we nated on records, radio, movies, tele renc e Welk Show. may try jumping to the conclusion vision, and Muzak-style speaker sys Critics with no catholicity of taste that the message of an awful lot of tems. It deserves preservation. Since have labeled popular music inferior modern pop music is dangerous, if the fourteenth century. scholars have and not worth scholarly attention. not harmful. If childishness in adults endeavored to collect and preserve People differ so materially and emo is unbecoming, if imbecile mum popular tunes. They are still doing it. tionally on matters of art and taste bling or screaming is abhorrent, if Numerous good books about modern that it is not worth the effort to vacuity of the soul is shocking, if sex popular music keep appearing, and argue, particularly with someone ual excitation for profit is evil. then libraries are saving copies of faded who swears that he doesn't know the great body of pop rock (rock-a and recent tunes. mus ic but knows what he likes. It billy, acid rock, punk rock, etc.) is In the days of practicing full-time may be fighting windmills like Don sending a bad message. I have been theatre organists, the course of Quixote, but certain things need to informed that much of this music is American folk music was determined be said about current music. intended for listening in a hypnotic by movie theatres, provincial dance The most serious defects in mod or drug-saturated environment. If orchestras. and phonograph records. ern pop-rock (in common with much that is what it really is, at best we The theatre organist was a very im old folk material) are casualness of hope it will have limited influence; portant person in the eyes of music emotion and shallowness of musical at worst we may be justified in being publishers. His choices of new tunes form. Trivial sequences of sound pessimistic. If Gresham's Law (that to feature every week and his happy (scarcely to be called tunes) made up bad quality will drive away good) is situation of being able to pick from of a single repeated four-bar figure operative, then modern commercial the cornucopia of popular music that that fails to develop and trails off music is sending out more than flooded a profitable market made into silence after three or four min warning signals. him king for about ten years. This is utes are stupefying. When the lyrics Folk music has always been pretty not to suggest that the music of the make sense, they portray a few stock rough stuff. After 1720 the bawdy twenties was unremittingly excellent; emotional situations, namely (1) re popular music of the English music junk tunes abounded. After 1923, actions to a faithless lover or mate, halls and drinking clubs was almost radio became the major dissemi without exception suppressed, cen nating power. In 1927, sound movies sored, and expurgated by collectors joined radio in the competition for Mr . Muri's opinions expressed herein who set out "to purify the English listeners. During the early movie are his own and do not necessardy re language." They concentrated upon years (1908 through 1916) a morality flect the policies of ATOS or THE style as the important medium to ATRE ORGAN Magazine . code that forbade the showing of live carry subject-matter. Musicians 22 THEATRE ORGAN AUGUST / SEPTEMBER, 1978 came to the same view in the nine Cover Photo ... teenth century. By 1920, theatre organists tried to become stylists, emulating the flashier pianists and violinists of the previous half-century. THE ANDERSON Flourishes and poses at the console with distorted dynamics and liberties with melodies became common. PARAMOUNT Popular folk music of our time emphasizes style at least as much as by John W. Landon it does in content. Witness the work of Kate Smith, Peggy Lee, Bing Originally planned as the Palace and Tibia in the solo. The console Crosby (whose stock in trade was de Theatre, Anderson, Indiana, the was loaded with bric-a-brac and fin laying entrances into phrases and 1700-seat John Eberson atmospheric ished originally in green and gold. clipping subsequent notes to catch house was leased before construction The Anderson Paramount opened up), and Elvis Presley, who made his was finished and opened as the "Par August 14, 1929 with a sound film. style physical. Early stylistic organ amount - A Publix Theatre." Built It never showed silents. The opening ists were C. Sharpe Minor, Milt at a cost of $800,000 in 1929, it was program included an address by Herth, and Crawford. Later moderns the grandest thing most of the citi Sam Katz, president of Paramount are using personal charm and exotic zens of this modest-sized Indiana Publix, a newsreel, a novelty song clothing, but few of them are pure community had ever seen. The audi cartoon and the feature picture, stylists; too many are copying other torium was done in a Spanish decor Coconuts with the four Marx Broth organists' devices. with copies of famous statuary in the ers. For many years the organist was Perhaps the day of style is over. various coves and niches including Hilda Lindstrom who came from El Blame television for it. A funny event Venus de Milo. It also boasted the wood. Indiana, every day by inter occurred at the end of the Bolshoi usual twinkling stars and drifting urban to do the honors at the con Ballet's Nutcracker on NBC last clouds, stuffed parrots and artifical sole. She also broadcast the Para December 18. As the dancers, with hanging vines. The ceiling of the mount organ over a local radio sta Mrs. Gerald Ford as narrator, were main lobby was hand-painted in five tion. taking their bows, NBC broke in colors and thousands of tiles in the The organ was idle for several with a commercial for peanut butter. original design of the lobby floor years in the 1940's and 1950's ex I don't know whether there was any were set by hand. The terra-cotta cept for accompanying an occasional political significance or not. but I facade on the building facing was so stage show. The writer discovered it howled. A few days earlier, CBS had detailed that it merited its own blue in t 955 while a college freshman at presented a much finer Nutcrack prints. nearby Taylor University and has er, done by the American Ballet John Eberson had designed a been playing it ever since. In 1964-65 Company. The ballet came to a number of theatres in the midwest. the instrument was completely re beautiful close, but then what did particularly in Ohio and Indiana stored by Lewis Hodson and Rex CBS do? They threw on the crawl equipped with Page pipe organs Hoppes of Anderson. For several (the list of credits) at a speed that which were built in Lima, Ohio. Per years thereafter, the writer played tore through the list of perform haps the best known of these today is organ intermissions before the fea ers, slowing down for the names of the 4/ 15 Page in the Embassy The ture picture on Friday and Saturday the faceless producers. assistants. atre. Fort Wayne.

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