Last night I tossed back a few frothy libations at my local neighborhood watering hole. Over a period of a couple of hours I helped hold up the bar, I ended up shooting the shit with a guy who is a recently retired firefighter from Atlantic City. In the course of our conversation we ended up spending quite a bit of time talking about his work at the site of the World Trade Center. In fact, the three months he spent at ground zero was the last three months he spent as a firefighter. On the way back home walking up the beach I got to thinking about the conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 disaster. The stories about the Saudi family being flown out of the country within hours of the act (made top of mind again by the recent propaganda film of Michael Moore), the rumors swirling that 9/11 was a Zionist plot and the popular belief in Arab circles that the Mossad moved all the Jews out of the towers before the attacks. (Of course all of this is complete B.S.)
However, one rather conspicuous conspiracy that I have yet to see illuminated is the obvious death grip that Jewish Americans appear to hold over the folk music world. I’ve brought to light before the infatuation that the short haired, Birkenstock floppin, tie die tossin, open tuning guitar strummin lesbians have for folk music. And who could argue with the reach of the long tentacles of the socialist and liberal pinko, pansy, bed wetters have on contemporary folk music. Not to mention the tree huggers! But what’s the deal with all these Jews singing folk songs?
I once read an article by Taj Mahal where he comes to the conclusion that sooner or later you’ll be drawn to the music of your lineage and forefathers. He talked about how imersed into folk music he was, but that eventually your genetics kick in and you become attracted to the music of your forefathers. For Taj it was blues. Now my infatuation with folk music could be seen as somewhat genetic. I mean, at least you can understand why I would be attracted to it. My family comes from a proud line of hicks and sod busting drunks. My granny (who’s name was Elle, you know, like Elle May Clampett) was from the hills is Somerset, Kentucky. My Grandpa’ was from a family of coal miners in Harlan, Kentucky. I grew up listening to them singing this damn hick music that later won the title of Appalachian folk. On my dad’s side they were just poor Irish sods who got the hell out of Ireland to avoid the famine. And boy did they love that “hickety, dickety dow” music. So it might be obvious why an uneducated white boy like myself would be attracted to folk music.
But for the life of me I can’t understand whey the hell Jews would be so frikkin’ fascinated with folk music? Why would Jewish Americans be drawn to this music steeped in the traditions of the old south, mostly sung by uneducated hicks and sons of black slaves? If you don’t think that the Jews have an iron clad death grip on the rotting ghost of contemporary folk music, just check out the elected officials of the local chapter of folkies here in South Florida. Here’s the last names of the latest list I could find of the elected officials of the Broward Folk Club:
Bukstel, Cherkinsky, Cambest, Engels, Feldman, Glickstein, Kaplan, Leibowitz, McBurnett, Moses, Singer.
Now it’s been quite a while since I played “Jew/not a Jew” but it looks to me that at least 80% of the folks in charge of this group are not WASPS. And if you think it’s bad here, head up to Greenwich Village and try and find an Irishman or a honest to God redneck with a guitar.
Is this a real conspiricy on the same playing field as Oswald, Ruby Ridge or the X Files? Why do people of Jewish heritage have such a lopsided role in the recent history of the music of America’s rednecks? Shouldn’t they be listening to showtunes or hanging out with the Cantor? I have no real explanation. I’m not even sure if there is a real conspiracy or if it’s all just a huge, cosmic coincidence. I really wish someone would explain this to a simpleminded dumb ass white boy like myself.
*Yes, of course this is parody. But as with all humor, it contains a hint of truth-jf
Just for the record, here’s a rather bad pict I came across of me wearing my IDF teeshirt.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
{ 2 comments }
July 01, 2004
The great Jewish folk music conspiricy
[bla bla bla] …
“… what’s the deal with all these Jews singing folk songs?”
“Now my infatuation with folk music could be seen as somewhat genetic. I mean, at least you can understand why I would be attracted to it. My family comes from a proud line of hicks and sod busting drunks … I grew up listening to them singing this damn hick music that later won the title of Appalachian folk … So it might be obvious why an uneducated white boy like myself would be attracted to folk music.”
[[JOHN FORD: July 14, 2004 / Why I hate folk music. Let's just say I've learned to hate it. A pretty perplexing statement for someone with my record collection. In fact what I hate is what it is perceived to be, not necissilarly what it is.]]
“But for the life of me I can’t understand whey the hell Jews would be so frikkin’ fascinated with folk music? Why would Jewish Americans be drawn to this music steeped in the traditions of the old south, mostly sung by uneducated hicks and sons of black slaves?”
[[John: I've noticed for a few years now that Jews are - statistically - overrepresented among those active in the folk music movements, whether the old traditional stuff, '60s crapola, or even the etthnographic efforts of the 20th century to record and document "old music" from Appalachia to Louisiana to New Mexico to ... But what does it mean - if anything?
You realize I hope that in the U.S., Jews often, historically speakin', have been drawn to the struggles of ethnic, religious, political and social minorities and the downtrodden. This is part of the reason. Same reason that many American Jews have historically been quite active in civil rights orgnaizations and the like. And so there was an instinctive affinity between Jewish immigrants - mostly working class stiffs, arriving "here" between 1880 and 1924 or so - and working class folks "already" here -- whether uneducated stiffs as you say, or sons and daughters of those who were slaves in the U.S.
[[This goes two ways - many African-American gospels are on Old Testament themes because some enslaved Africans and their free descendents identified with the ancient Jews and Israelites. "When Israel was in Egypt Land, let my people go ..."]]
“If you don’t think that the Jews have an iron clad death grip on the rotting ghost of contemporary folk music … ”
[[Fella, you are indeed a consipracy-monger, even if it was labeled a parody. You are confusing "Jews" with "the Jews" -- there are a lotta Jews in the U.S. interested in traditional folk music, but they are not "the Jews."
More: the question isn't why Jews - not "the Jews" are interested in and involved in the traditional folk music "movement," but why there are not more non-Jews involved. I'm sure there are answers - find them! And if you don't like the situation - change it!]]
“Is this a real conspiricy on the same playing field as Oswald, Ruby Ridge or the X Files?”
[[Hey. Oswald and Ruby Ridge were/are real. The X Files is a fictional TV show. Getting reality and fiction confused is a common feature of people who believe all manner of silly things about "the Jews" -- careful.]]
“Why do people of Jewish heritage have such a lopsided role in the recent history of the music of America’s rednecks? [[Hmmm, you mean Jews, I think - `people of Jewish heritage' sounds a bit ... peculiar.]] Shouldn’t they be listening to showtunes or hanging out with the Cantor? [[Cute: some Jews DO listen to showtunes, but so do non-Jews. And most Jews are not congregationally-affiliated, and the time of famous cantors is long past.]] I have no real explanation. I’m not even sure if there is a real conspiracy or if it’s all just a huge, cosmic coincidence. I really wish someone would explain this to a simpleminded dumb ass white boy like myself.”
[[Hey, you're not really a simpleminded dumb ass white boy, you're just a fella with a keyboard, a blog, a low self-regulator setting, and a bit too much tiem on your hands.
And it's neither a coincidence nor a conspiracy that American Jews are involved in many aspects of public life. They - we - have made quite good use of the possibilities of life in this country, from public education to social mobility. The freedom of the political and social arenas have made it possible for Jews to become involved in and active in various social "causes" as well as cultural "causes" and groups, etc. This isn't a conspiracy - but the historic Jewish commitments to education, literacy, curiosity, tradition as well as questioning authority all ... well, have consequences. There isn't a "conspiracy" that results in Jewish over-representation among Nobel Prize winners, for instance, but it is a statistical and perhaps sociological fact. ...]]
You mgith want to take a look at some mainstream websites to see what the mainstream Jewish communities are thinking about / talking about. Try, for instance, http://www.forward.com and/or http://www.jta.org and/or http://www.jewish.com
I could recommend other things to look at. Enuf for now.
Ask.
“Hey, you’re not really a simpleminded dumb ass white boy, you’re just a fella with a keyboard, a blog, a low self-regulator setting, and a bit too much tiem on your hands.”
Boy… ain’t it the truth.
Comments on this entry are closed.