The who, what, and why of it all.
Hi, I’m Rodney, and this is the about page for my Substack. If you’d like to know more about me, The Obligatory Introductory Post is a long-winded self-introduction, where tell you who I am and discuss my lifelong passion for music.
Anthology Revisited
For the next… however many weeks it is, the primary focus of this Substack is Anthology Revisited, an ongoing song-by-song analysis of Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. Each Friday, I publish a new article examining a recording from the Anthology. In these pieces, I explore:
The Song - Where did it come from? What’s it about? Is there anything else to know?
The Performance - an examination of the song that appears on the Anthology, reporting notable information about the recording sessions, and any particulars of the performance that may be available.
The Performers - biographical and discographical information for each performer. For more obscure performers, the most comprehensive information currently available will be provided. For more well-documented individuals, a less comprehensive approach will be employed, with links to appropriate resources.
Connections - Within each volume, each song shares some trait with the preceding songs. These traits can vary in form (subject matter, performers, instrumentation, geography, etc.), and I hope to uncover as many connections between the songs as possible, so we can get a better understanding of exactly how Harry Smith created this set.
Other interpretations - Folk songs are usually recorded more than once, and in this section, we check out other recordings of the same song performed by other artists. Sometimes those selections are recommended by Harry Smith, and other times, they come from the author.
Sources - I label my speculation clearly, and it’s pretty obvious when I’m sharing my opinion. If it’s factual, it has a source, and you can find it in this section.
And the other stuff
So, I’m still working this out. Anthology Revisited is a monster. As I write this, it’s 2:00AM on a Monday. I’ve been working on research for several hours now, and am putting the finishing touches on this “About Page”. There is other stuff here, as you can plainly see. But what else can you expect from me?
Occasional ramblings about seemingly random music things not directly related to the Anthology. I like a lot of music. My tastes actually run far wider than the scope of my writing here would suggest, and this is assuming you’re already aware that I’m a Bob Dylan obsessive, a Deadhead, a Phish fan. Sometimes, when I’m not behind my self-imposed deadline, I’ll expound upon some non-Anthology topic.
Cochlear implant / robot ear stuff - I’ve written one piece on this so far, and part two is in progress, but not a current priority. It’s really not easy to write about because the experience of music through the cochlear implant is so unlike anything else I’ve experienced.
My own music and artistic work - I am a singer-songwriter. I’ve been at it for a while now, but I’ve never made any sort of push at self-promotion because it’s really out of my comfort zone. And I’m not sure if I want to poison the well of my Substack by adding my own work in here. If you are interested in learning more about my own music, my YouTube channel, and the 3twenty6 YouTube channel contain a number of performances. My ambient project Lucent Haze can be found on all streaming platforms.
