Richard and Linda Thompson’s ‘I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight’
Musically and lyrically, Richard Thompson’s I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is a provocative album that marks a radical advance in English folk rock.
Laurence Coupe
A former lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, my published books include: Beat Sound, Beat Vision: The Beat Spirit and Popular Song (2007); Myth (2009); The Green Studies Reader(2000); Marina Warner (2006); Kenneth Burke: From Myth to Ecology (2013). See also: www.laurencecoupe.co.uk
The 20 Best Harry Chapin Songs
In his brief folk singer-songwriter career, Harry Chapin’s philosophy of symbolic action challenged the American status quo on behalf of those suffering from indifference.
Beyond The Incredible String Band: Seven Songs by Mike Heron
Mike Heron went his own way to take a holiday from the Incredible String Band, known for its folk roots, and experimented with rock. Here are seven of his best songs.
Songs of the Earth: Woody Guthrie to Neil Young
How American folk songs of the Earth, from Woody Guthrie to Neil Young, tilled the soil for the rise of ‘Green Pop’.
What Was So Incredible About The Incredible String Band?
What was it about the humble Scottish folk group the Incredible String Band that moved the Beatles, David Bowie, and even the Archbishop of Canterbury?
What We Can Learn From a Simple Tale About a Donkey, ‘Au Hasard Balthazar’
As we see in Au Hasard Balthzazr, director Robert Bresson is no world-hater or sanctimonious moralizer. His spirituality is inseparable from his reverence for the material world.
When Popular Music Left Love Songs for Gurus
As popular music grew tired of love songs and became more philosophical in the 1960s, it began celebrating a figure not previously considered: the guru.
Same Song Different Readings: Bob Dylan’s ‘Visions of Johanna’
Bob Dylan’s 1966 song, “Visions of Johanna”, stirred Germaine Greer, Greil Marcus, and other notable critics to argue the song’s meaning and influences. Who is right?
The Case for Country Music and Its Poetry of Pain
One has to go along with the flow of existence, no matter what suffering it brings. These country music artists give form to sadness and beauty to despair.