Folk Music: Past and Present
Living through a harrowing period in our lives, music can be the salve that heals our damaged wounds.
One particular genre of music stands out in engendering peace of mind.
By turning to the undemanding nature of folk music, you are provided refuge in moments of distress and solitude.
When I talk about “folk,” I describe contemporary folk music — American folk that was “revived” around the mid-20th century, and its evolution and branching out into the present.
Think of what music might have sounded like in the 40’s — then think of Dylan and Young in the 60's — then imagine what could unfold in 60 years.
This is not a comprehensive account of folk music by any means, as any genre today will encompass a broad array of expression. Still, I chose to share my own understanding of the genre and the artists associated with it that should be presented.
Doing additional research for this article was also my attempt at filling the holes in my knowledge of folk.
Folk History
Today’s form of folk music still has its roots in the use of the acoustic guitar, the banjo, the accordion and a vocal accompaniment, but its development into more contemporary experimentation with the utilization of present-day production techniques provides a more eclectic array of sounds entirely different from its foundational roots.
The word “folk” comes from the German word “volk,” which means “the people.”
During its early conception in Europe, it had its place among the common people, separating them from the elites’ traditional European concert music, which was held to a standard different from the music of the lower class.
Historically, folk music was transmitted orally, but the development of radio and recorded music later spawned a wider fanbase all over America and now across the globe.
Early Beginnings
When people think about the genesis of contemporary folk music, most think about Bob Dylan, Joan Baez or Neil Young.
But before them came Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Jean Ritchie, Odetta, and Woody Guthrie, who is often seen as the first significant contributor to the genre.
In 1940, he wrote “This Land Is Your Land,” a socialist dream in response to the overplaying of the song “God Bless America” in a time of hardship during the Dust Bowl period in the Midwest.
The song is in all substance folk music — one guitar, one singer. Its grainy recording reveals its age, yet the sincerity it evokes with a minimalist setup captures folk music’s pure essence.
An early fixture in folk music was Odetta Holmes. Known as just Odetta, the “Voice of the Civil Rights Movement” grew up around music her whole life.
She stands out of the folk music scene, with a voice powerful and evocative enough to carry across a large venue. Martin Luther King Jr. even called her “The Queen of American Folk Music.”
On “Waterboy,” she covers the 1920’s jazz tune of African-American convicts in Jim Crow Georgia, translating it into a folk/blues rendition. The track is built on the lyric “Water boy, where are you hidin’?” — one of the water boy calls used in cotton plantations.
With only a guitar on hand, Odetta sings the track in soul-stirring dejection, occasionally punctuating each line with a vocal roar.
In one popular foundational folk song, Malvina Reynolds’ “Little Boxes” — a song covered multiple times as the TV series Weed’s theme song — is a social commentary on suburban conformity.
Reynolds’ banjo and quaint vocals evoke a simpler time. It imagines sitting on the porch on a rocking chair, probably chewing on a wheat stem, yet its lyrics suggest more antagonism than nonchalance.
Like many early traditional folk songs, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” was orally passed on from generation to generation.
Popularized by the blues/folk musician Lead Belly in the 1940’s, and covered later by Kurt Cobain in the 1990s, the song’s blues influence carries an undeniable sadness, not just from Lead Belly’s performance, but from the songwriting itself: “In the pines, in the pines / Where the sun don’t ever shine / I would shiver the whole night through.”
Protest Music
Most of the folk music in the 1940s all the way up to the 1960s was intertwined with labour movements.
In 1963, Bob Dylan wrote “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” a ballad relevant to — as most have been calling — our new normal.
At that time, The Civil Rights movement was at its peak, and Dylan even had to perform the song the same night that JFK was murdered. During a tumultuous time, the sweeping track carried a lot of weight, signifying an era of radical change.
Canadian Folk
In Canada, there is Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Neil Young — all celebrated folk musicians that broke out in the United States.
Leonard Cohen’s “Winter Lady” is a song of masterful storytelling while sticking to its folk roots.
Starting his career as a novelist and poet, Cohen explored isolation, a constant theme in his writing. “Traveling lady, stay awhile / Until the night is over / I’m just a station on your way / I know I’m not your lover,” Cohen sings in delicate tones.
The writing feels mystical, but the guitar’s cadence is comfortable and patient, something folk readily provides.
Mainstream Significance
Turning away from protest music, we look to more mainstream singer-songwriters that weren’t involved within the traditional folk scene.
As the genre became more popular, folk was incorporated into other genres like rock, finally adapting to divergent musical styles and adding more engaging sounds.
Duo Simon & Garfunkel came to be prominent figures of mainstream American pop/rock music, but their sound is rooted in folk.
The song “Old Friends,” much like most of the album that it came from, Bookends, carries a quiet intimacy in spite of its orchestral flair that complements the proverbial acoustic guitar.
I was introduced to “Bookends Theme (Reprise),” thanks to the film 500 Days of Summer (your typical basic millennial’s favourite romantic-comedy), which led me to explore the duo’s music.
In a time that triggers intense nostalgia, it transports us to a less complicated time in our childhood. “Time it was, and what a time it was, it was / A time of innocence, A time of confidences,” sings Paul Simon, as strings float behind the hushed acoustic guitar.
Cult-Following Success
In less mainstream press at the time, but with a broader audience after his death, the young singer-songwriter prodigy Nick Drake died too young.
His album Pink Moon pushed folk into what could be achieved artistically. The self-titled track “Pink Moon” reflects the portrait of a young artist, playing his acoustic guitar slightly detuned but brilliantly performed by a musician capable of transforming an instrument into a magical device.
It’s the perfect song to go for a late-night walk, to watch the moon and the stars hover above, meditating on how we’re all just a speck of dust in this immense universe we struggle to live in.
Indie Folk
Fast-forward to the 1990s (I’m sorry, but 80’s folk sucked), and we now have what is known as “indie folk” in bands and musicians such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith, and Mazzy Star.
Today, contemporary musicians who don’t achieve much mainstream success despite a large following will often be described as indie folk artists or artists who play indie folk music (Think Phoebe Bridgers).
Also dying at a young age, Elliott Smith was a gifted songwriter with humble beginnings in the indie rock scene.
One of my favourite songs by Smith, “Clementine,” was inspired by a well-known traditional folk tune, “Oh My Darling Clementine.” Its woozy strums, in the beginning, signal a late night at the bar, but it's Smith’s soft vocals that keep you at bay.
Incorporating more stylings to folk, Mazzy Star’s folk influence gave way to what most can say is called dream pop.
The duo composed of Hope Sandoval and David Roback made hypnotizing folk music that made you romanticize your own love life in slow motion.
Their most famous song, “Fade Into You,” is a masterful stroke of songwriting. The band evokes a deep longing as you melt away into Sandoval’s heartwarming vocals.
Freak-Folk
In the 2000s, “freak-folk” emerged from a bunch of hippies, probably.
The folk subgenre bred experimentalism and psychedelia into the genre, showcasing more distinct and eccentric vocals as well as adding more peculiar sounds and instruments.
With artists such as Animal Collective, Devendra Banhart, and Joanna Newsom leading the charge, folk blossomed into a scene of creative wealth.
On “Winter’s Love,” Animal Collective impart a childlike playfulness, with vocal harmonies that make you want to join in on the fun.
The freedom of expression that Animal Collective often conveys elicits a sense of wonderment, making you feel like you’re a kid again watching a magic show at a birthday party.
Using a harp as her primary instrument, Joanna Newsom developed her own kind of folk music within the genre.
She sings in a quirky but elegant fashion, using her soprano to tip-toe over her enchanting harp-plucking.
On “Sprout and the Bean,” you’re effortlessly cradled into a dream of vivid metaphors and fantasies. The several interpretations of the song (abortion? Christianity? marriage?) reveal her imaginative mind as a lyricist and songwriter.
Contemporary Folk
Into the 2010s, musicians are now starting to disregard genre more and more. Although folk still has its place in everyday music, artists will often dismiss being called a genre artist, such as being called a folk musician.
Whether it’s Bon Iver collaborating with Kanye West, Animal Collective making a purely electronic record, or Taylor Swift replicating the Bon Iver indie-folk sound, no artist can be put into a box anymore.
Artists like Fleet Foxes, Sufjan Stevens, and Angel Olsen come to mind in contemporary folk, but other lesser-known musicians use folk that differ from the mainstream.
First of all, I just want to get Bon Iver out of the way just because.
I’ve been in that mood lately, ya know?
Also known as Justin Vernon, Bon Iver makes folk music to cry to. In quarantine-like isolation, Justin Vernon recorded For Emma, Forever Ago in a cabin in the woods as a way to get over a past love.
This might be the purest break-up album of all time, and on “Skinny Love,” he pours everything onto the stark recording, a classic folk track for anyone in need of shelter.
From Britain, singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas makes soulful folk.
It’s tough to categorize her as a folk musician because her music encompasses more genres, namely: soul, pop, and alternative rock. Though her knack for folk melodies through her mastered acoustic-guitar gives her a pass.
On “Green Papaya,” her hushed fingerpicking gives way to her vulnerability. “I’m greedy with love, but my hunger to give is strong enough,” she sings in tenderly affection.
In a time of stress and disillusionment, Indian-Canadian Thanya Iyer’s experimental folk will heal and nurture.
Her incorporation of traditional Indian instruments, jazz, and electronica doesn’t really make her a folk musician per se, but her roots are embedded in the genre.
On her album KIND, she stresses the importance of self-care and the cultural roots that she came from. On “I Forget To Drink Water (Balance),” Iyer floats in the ether, contemplating on unanswered questions while in a trance.
Turning to more folkloric music outside of the American folk tradition, Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía uses flamenco, a genre rooted in Spanish music in Andalusia, to mesmerize.
Though now mixing in pop music with flamenco on her last album El Mal Querer, the spare design of folk is more apparent on her debut Los Ángeles, a showcase of her own modernization of the flamenco genre.
The record is raw yet austere, only featuring the artist and a guitar, similar to the American counterpart of the genre, but the intensity of her potent voice compels you to listen intently rather than mellow out in peace.
On “De Plata,” you're carried off into another world. The acoustic guitar immediately stirs you into a vigilant state, preparing you for Rosalía’s breathtaking performance.
In my beloved city, Vancouver, the artist known as Iceberg Ferg turns to country and folk roots. His throwback folk sound is reminiscent of its earlier origins as it circles back to Seeger.
From the album Let It Grow, the song “Jacqueline” uses the melody of the guitar to mimic Iceberg Ferg’s high-pitched vocals (or is it the other way around), creating an entrancing ditty of nostalgia, and imaginings of youth. Folk music can be cute and charming too.
Last but not least, we have Phoebe Bridgers, the breakout singer-songwriter of 2020. Through her haunting indie-folk, she dives into melancholy through her wit, humour and introspective nature.
On “Garden Song,” she sheds optimism bearing in mind the darkness we’re all enveloped by. “And when I grow up, I’m gonna look up / From my phone and see my life,” she sings. The way she plays her guitar feels feeble and sombre, with production that feels dark but totally consuming.
Her rise to the forefront of the mainstream music scene puts a spotlight on how folk‘s neverending evolution as a genre can be presented. Her take on folk music as a younger artist is only a sliver of what can be imagined.
It will be impossible to list out the diverse array of folk acts that exemplify the genre. There are too many musicians today that take influence from what’s been done in the past, giving it their own spin, and pushing the genre to new heights. The folk genre is just a piece of the whole board.
With that in mind, take some time to listen to these songs in solitude. Every folk artist in this article carries with them a kind of intimacy that can only be felt alone, whether it’s in your bed, cooking breakfast, or on an evening stroll.
Through experiencing folk music’s allure, the stresses of daily life might suddenly fade away, even for just a moment. You might even pick up an acoustic guitar yourself and start writing your own songs.
