music collection review, more, again
Jan. 24th, 2026 04:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thedarlingoneokay, where did I leave off... right, Big Band Hits of the '30s, for which Sovay has helped me identify the correct artist but I do not have the energy right now to match instrumental tracks by ear. I can tackle that at some other point.
* Big Beautiful Planet, Raffi. Not one of the ones I grew up with, probably too environmentally conscious or something. It's pretty but I can't help listening for why it was Unapproved so I probably won't keep it around.
* Big River, Johnny Cash. Perfectly cromulent Johnny Cash song with the backing ostinato, and I do love a song that follows a geography. Probably keep it around a ways.
* Big Rock Candy Mountain, Great American String Band. Very solid cover, female vocalist over the fiddle and banjo combo that most of the songs from this album have.
* Big Things Too, VeggieTales. I didn't realize I had this, but it's a fun song.
* Bilbo's Bath Song, JRR Tolkien (spoken word). I love this one, as I do most of Tolkien's recordings.
* Bile 'Em Cabbage Down, Great American String Band. Instrumental cover with too many twiddles for me to follow the tune; I wish I had the vocal-and-jug-band covers of some of these Appalachian songs off The Beverly Hillbillies that introduced me to them, but I don't think those have ever been available anywhere in music track format, and I don't feel like digging through episodes of the show for them.
* Billy Boy, Great American String Band. Men's choral cover with string backing, perfectly reasonable version of what it is, which is true of the vast majority of songs on this album. It doesn't try to be fancy or embroider what the basic folk songs are, which I appreciate.
* Billy Green, Stan Rogers. A ballad in traditional style telling the story of Billy Green the Scout at a battle in the War of 1812; I think Stan Rogers wrote an assortment of these songs about Canadian history over the years, which is really cool.
* Bird On a Wire, Johnny Cash. I seem to have two identical copies of this with slightly different metadata. I'm not entirely sure I want either one? It's certainly a song... ah, I see, Leonard Cohen, that makes sense. Well, it works well as a Johnny Cash song, but I don't think I need it on rotation.
* Birthday Polka, Pete Seeger. Very cute little song.
* Black Lung, Kathy Mattea. Kathy Mattea does traditional-styled coal mine songs, I really like her voice but obviously many of the songs are very depressing in that angry bluecollar way (positive). These were all from Soph.
* Black-Eyed Susan, Wind in the Rigging. Instrumental cover like all the songs on this album, not a song I know the lyrics to, but I've had it on rotation for... oh god, at least fifteen years now, so I know it about as well as any instrumental (which are always harder for me to remember).
* Blow the Man Down. I have three covers, from 200 Years of American Heritage In Song (Great American String Band), Wind in the Rigging, and Pete Seeger. The first one has vocals and some of the more violent historical lyrics I'm in favor of preserving, like "for kicking Jack Williams commands the Black Ball", which I'd actually read quoted somewhere years before encountering the album. The Wind in the Rigging cover is harmonica-led, I think? Also very solid in an instrumental way. I haven't usually been keeping multiple covers of most songs but this might be an exception. The Seeger version has a little spoken introduction about working songs, but it's done for a children's album so it's dialed down a little bit, and it's also a studio recording so it doesn't have his best energy.
* Blow to the Heart, Tanglefoot. Like Stan Rogers, Tanglefoot has a spread of rollicking and depressing work; this one is depressing-angry in a very catchy way. I'll probably remove it from shuffle eventually but not immediately.
* Blow Ye Winds, Wind in the Rigging. Another one I don't know all the lyrics to but it's fun and twiddly. Also I think someone is playing the spoons.
* Blowin' In the Wind. I have two Bob Dylan versions that I'm not sure if they're the same recording, one by Peter Paul and Mary, and the one from Great American String Band that was the first one I heard and will probably win out on familiarity. (I didn't remember Bob Dylan's voice was so high though. Maybe because the first time I heard him was on I think the soundtrack for Gettysburg or Gods and Generals? When he was obviously much older and scratchier.) I'm not sure I've heard the Peter Paul and Mary cover before; their polyphony is interesting, it's on the very edge of my ability to parse. Very pretty though. I might keep both this one and the GASB cover; I'm not sold on the Dylan (although I have confirmed that they're the same track so I only need one, anyway).
* Blue Diamond Mines, Kathy Mattea. Not sure how I feel about it.
* Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain, Great American String Band. Not a song I'm super familiar with. Can't say it's grabbing me.
* Blue Light of the Flame, Dar Williams. I don't know if it's just I'm having a weird day, but I feel like a lot of these are hitting a point of like "it's a song from X album, I feel the same way about it as about the others". This one appears to be about global warming in an allusive way somehow? I don't think I get it.
* Blue Moon of Kentucky, Great American String Band. Female vocalist with a belting-y sort of voice that fits the song well.
* Blue Suede Shoes, Elvis Presley. That is certainly an Elvis song all right (not derogatory).
* Bluebells of Scotland, Ballad to Scotland. Do you remember when VHS tapes of music from a country over picturesque video of that country were a thing? We taped some songs off one of those, called Ballad to Scotland. The quality is absolutely terrible because it was literally a microphone pointed at the TV, but I've never found the album on YouTube or anywhere to rip a better copy. (Occasionally I see the VHS for sale, but I have no TV or VCR to do anything about it.) Anyway most of the tracks are instrumental, including this one.
* Bluenose, Stan Rogers. I have a live copy from Home in Halifax and an album version from Turnaround. I love the way his voice *thrums* on this one, I don't know how else to say it. I had to listen through a couple times to decide which version I like, they're very close, but I think Home in Halifax has the edge because the audio quality may not be quite as good but it has that live energy.
I think I'll call it there at least for a bit. I'm having a very low energy day.
* Big Beautiful Planet, Raffi. Not one of the ones I grew up with, probably too environmentally conscious or something. It's pretty but I can't help listening for why it was Unapproved so I probably won't keep it around.
* Big River, Johnny Cash. Perfectly cromulent Johnny Cash song with the backing ostinato, and I do love a song that follows a geography. Probably keep it around a ways.
* Big Rock Candy Mountain, Great American String Band. Very solid cover, female vocalist over the fiddle and banjo combo that most of the songs from this album have.
* Big Things Too, VeggieTales. I didn't realize I had this, but it's a fun song.
* Bilbo's Bath Song, JRR Tolkien (spoken word). I love this one, as I do most of Tolkien's recordings.
* Bile 'Em Cabbage Down, Great American String Band. Instrumental cover with too many twiddles for me to follow the tune; I wish I had the vocal-and-jug-band covers of some of these Appalachian songs off The Beverly Hillbillies that introduced me to them, but I don't think those have ever been available anywhere in music track format, and I don't feel like digging through episodes of the show for them.
* Billy Boy, Great American String Band. Men's choral cover with string backing, perfectly reasonable version of what it is, which is true of the vast majority of songs on this album. It doesn't try to be fancy or embroider what the basic folk songs are, which I appreciate.
* Billy Green, Stan Rogers. A ballad in traditional style telling the story of Billy Green the Scout at a battle in the War of 1812; I think Stan Rogers wrote an assortment of these songs about Canadian history over the years, which is really cool.
* Bird On a Wire, Johnny Cash. I seem to have two identical copies of this with slightly different metadata. I'm not entirely sure I want either one? It's certainly a song... ah, I see, Leonard Cohen, that makes sense. Well, it works well as a Johnny Cash song, but I don't think I need it on rotation.
* Birthday Polka, Pete Seeger. Very cute little song.
* Black Lung, Kathy Mattea. Kathy Mattea does traditional-styled coal mine songs, I really like her voice but obviously many of the songs are very depressing in that angry bluecollar way (positive). These were all from Soph.
* Black-Eyed Susan, Wind in the Rigging. Instrumental cover like all the songs on this album, not a song I know the lyrics to, but I've had it on rotation for... oh god, at least fifteen years now, so I know it about as well as any instrumental (which are always harder for me to remember).
* Blow the Man Down. I have three covers, from 200 Years of American Heritage In Song (Great American String Band), Wind in the Rigging, and Pete Seeger. The first one has vocals and some of the more violent historical lyrics I'm in favor of preserving, like "for kicking Jack Williams commands the Black Ball", which I'd actually read quoted somewhere years before encountering the album. The Wind in the Rigging cover is harmonica-led, I think? Also very solid in an instrumental way. I haven't usually been keeping multiple covers of most songs but this might be an exception. The Seeger version has a little spoken introduction about working songs, but it's done for a children's album so it's dialed down a little bit, and it's also a studio recording so it doesn't have his best energy.
* Blow to the Heart, Tanglefoot. Like Stan Rogers, Tanglefoot has a spread of rollicking and depressing work; this one is depressing-angry in a very catchy way. I'll probably remove it from shuffle eventually but not immediately.
* Blow Ye Winds, Wind in the Rigging. Another one I don't know all the lyrics to but it's fun and twiddly. Also I think someone is playing the spoons.
* Blowin' In the Wind. I have two Bob Dylan versions that I'm not sure if they're the same recording, one by Peter Paul and Mary, and the one from Great American String Band that was the first one I heard and will probably win out on familiarity. (I didn't remember Bob Dylan's voice was so high though. Maybe because the first time I heard him was on I think the soundtrack for Gettysburg or Gods and Generals? When he was obviously much older and scratchier.) I'm not sure I've heard the Peter Paul and Mary cover before; their polyphony is interesting, it's on the very edge of my ability to parse. Very pretty though. I might keep both this one and the GASB cover; I'm not sold on the Dylan (although I have confirmed that they're the same track so I only need one, anyway).
* Blue Diamond Mines, Kathy Mattea. Not sure how I feel about it.
* Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain, Great American String Band. Not a song I'm super familiar with. Can't say it's grabbing me.
* Blue Light of the Flame, Dar Williams. I don't know if it's just I'm having a weird day, but I feel like a lot of these are hitting a point of like "it's a song from X album, I feel the same way about it as about the others". This one appears to be about global warming in an allusive way somehow? I don't think I get it.
* Blue Moon of Kentucky, Great American String Band. Female vocalist with a belting-y sort of voice that fits the song well.
* Blue Suede Shoes, Elvis Presley. That is certainly an Elvis song all right (not derogatory).
* Bluebells of Scotland, Ballad to Scotland. Do you remember when VHS tapes of music from a country over picturesque video of that country were a thing? We taped some songs off one of those, called Ballad to Scotland. The quality is absolutely terrible because it was literally a microphone pointed at the TV, but I've never found the album on YouTube or anywhere to rip a better copy. (Occasionally I see the VHS for sale, but I have no TV or VCR to do anything about it.) Anyway most of the tracks are instrumental, including this one.
* Bluenose, Stan Rogers. I have a live copy from Home in Halifax and an album version from Turnaround. I love the way his voice *thrums* on this one, I don't know how else to say it. I had to listen through a couple times to decide which version I like, they're very close, but I think Home in Halifax has the edge because the audio quality may not be quite as good but it has that live energy.
I think I'll call it there at least for a bit. I'm having a very low energy day.
