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Showing posts with the label rory mcleod

Man's Tyrannical Dominion

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Man's Tyrannical Dominion Rocking folk music...  A selection of both old and contemporary broadsides and topical songs as we turn to musing on the state of the world and human development. A critique of the given civilisation  narrative & the key foundations/conclusions upon which that myth was built, that which shapes all our lives today. A dominance hierarchy, a security state that sanctions violence to protect who & what? Divide to rule. Organised and carefully sanitised religion which channels people away from spirituality towards worship of the great, all-powerful, all-seeing, most-unholy, generally patriarchal  God state  and its supreme currency - wealth . How did humanity lose all balance with nature and devalue, turn its back on higher knowledge to become obsessed only with self gratification? Taking a look at historical civilisations and prehistoric creation myths, how mankind seems to have travelled with a celestial procession from darkness to ligh...

Strike a Resilient Chord

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  Strike a Resilient Chord A fresh americana selection of songs old and new with a few celebrated UK artists joining a predominantly North American folk roster. Folk, country & bluegrass spiced up with a likkle contemporary reggae music and even a couple of hit avent-garde rock numbers. Resilience in times of trouble fortifies the mind and strengthens the spirit . Never give up hope.       ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^     Title inspired by a few of the track lyrics here. The long awaited album by Jamaican star  Chronixx  -  Exile  - finally dropped in 2025 to wide appreciation. Its a long and eclectic, often reflective collection of songs. Resilient is a long song in a league of its own. Stephen Marley 's most recent LP Old Soul (2024) is rooted semi-acoustic reggae with overall uplifting vibes as would be expected fro...

Everyday Folk

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Everyday Folk Jus' a selection of Scottish, Irish, English & American folk, late-1970's to present, for your musical enjoyment.    ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^   As usual the old run shoulders with the new. Songs from the brilliant new Seth Lakeman LP, The Granite Way . Spotlights also on amazing Scottish sangster Karine Polwart and a Dylan-inspired  Jesse Welles , including tracks from his latest album Devil's Den . Woman, America is a great protest song. Jake Blount brings something new to folk Americana and specialises in traditional African American sounds, his work has been described as as 'Afrofuturist folklore'. Tracks from his Spider Tales LP (2020). Two acapella songs are performed by folk historian  Angeline Morrison . Yorkshirewoman Kate Rusby has a stunning voice ad is an original songwriter. Some nice more recent tracks by sin...

Blues N Rags

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Blues N Rags  Just like it says.. good ol' southern ragtime and blues with a splash of southern rock n roll. Playlist runs beween the late 1950's & 2020. Many songs from the road, leaving songs, walkin' songs, returning songs... Rags with attitude!   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^    Thank you to Cristen Craven Bernard & Erika Litteral for the cover background artwork The Blue Rags were a fun, punky ragtime swing group outta North Carolina. Four romping tracks from their 1997 CD. Bluesman Abe Reid was with the band at around that time before putting his solo project, Basicly Dumb (sic) out in '99. I was lucky to catch them both live back then in Asheville on different nights, raucous and memorable (lets not even go into the blue lights haha). Guitarist & blues/ragtime specialist  Stefan Grossman is well known in the UK for his 1980's ...

Like A World Without End...

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Like A World Without End  and we though that this would go on forever... A wee reminder that nothing is eternal, everything is finite or goes through revolutionary change. All of the Earth's, our, resources must be protected & fostered if we are to look to a future but the capitalist mirage makers think only of today, paying little or no heed to long term sustainability, let alone the advancement of humanity and social justice. They can't see past the next $$$ or, rather, they don't give a hoot.  Listen to Like A World Without End by Old Timer in Isan on hearthis.at Selection of great protest songs old & new. Some cutting lyrics written by the legendary Leon Rosselson and a spotlight on vetaran campaigner & artist Eliza Gilkyson. Show of Hands are in serious militant mood. Touching also on the issue of homelessness and the exploding wealth gap.    Continuous mix 90mins. Download via the link above Thanks for dropping by!      ...

The Highs & The Woes

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  The Highs and the Woes Anglo-Celtic folk selection from around the British Isles. Highlights include songs from Martin Simpson 's amazing 2002 LP Bramble Briar while the irrepressible Dambert Nobacon returns with two well crafted & entertaining songs from his Woebegone album (2019), sung in duet with Miranda Zickler . Woes indeed! Our ongoing, perrenial tribute to the work of Dick Gaughan continues with four interesting tracks from different periods. His song Outlaws and Dreamers is a wonderful ode to folk musicians, bards & rebels across the ages. We also revisit some classics by Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention . Both halves Of Show Of Hands are represented with duets as well as solo projects. Stream/download here     Singer-guitarist Chris Brain broke through post-covid, & has proven to be is a real prospect for the future already putting out his third LP this year. Tracks from his Steady Away (2023) and brand new New Light  albums feat...

Spare Strings For A Winding Road

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One for the road... Musical collage featuring artists from across from the British Isles & North America with several collabs between musicians from both regions and a spotlight on Aly Bain's amazing Transatlantic Sessions from 1995 wich starred such luminaries as Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, Dick Gaughan and John Martyn. Stream/download here   Mix partly inspired by Rainbow Tribe vibes and golden memories of the national Rainbow Gathering in Montana 2000. Organic creative acoustic music.   Continuous mix 3hrs Download through the internet archives stream above  

Kathryn Tickell & Rory McLeod - Song For Busking Ronnie The Remember Me Hornpipe

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    Exceptional Northumbrian smallpipes-harmonica combination from two of the great champions of traditional music forms; Kathryn Tickell and Rory McLeod. Taken from the 1987 Compilation LP Square Roots on the Folk Roots label. Traditional arranged by Kathryn Tickell with lyrics by Rory McLeod. I fell in love with this tune on the very first listen! Such fine harmony in this unusual pairing of two instruments from generally disparate traditions. Warm, melodic & atmospheric vocal from Rory.    

Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief

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 Everyday lives of regular people reflected in their songs and melodies Listen to Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man by Old Timer in Isan on hearthis.at     Continuous mix 2hrs36  Download from the above hearthis stream Thanks for listening

Songs of Dissent Tales of Oppression

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    Songs of Dissent Tales of Oppression   Charting a timeline of popular revolt & rebellion through music & song. The legacy of these ancient songs and commentaries on the events they portray have long been championed by folk singers & musicians while politically-minded punk bands in turn looked to the them for inspiration, passing on the tradition & messages to wider audiences & subsequent generations Songs from as long back as the Great Revolt 1381 & Digger's Rebellion 1649, then the war years, Miners Strike 1984, Poll Tax 1990 & the CJB 1990s and songs that record numerous other events & atrocities. Not forgetting the current HOUSING CRISES & the unspeakable erosion of civil rights as exemplified by the current JUST STOP OIL strugges. Free the M25 Five! The legends & music of olden revolts crossed the Atlantic with the colonists where the protest tradition flourished, assimilating different styles and creating new ...