Anti-folk

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Anti-folk (or antifolk) is a genre of music related to punk rock and American folk music that originated in the mid-1980s in New York City.

Anti-folk had its roots in punk rock, and is still considered by some to be an active subgenre within that scene. By a loose definition, Anti-folk combines the raw, abrasive, and frequently politically charged attitudes of the punk scene with the sounds of American folk tradition.

This genre takes the earnestness of politically charged '60s hippie music and subverts it into something else: music that sounds raw and authentic, but mocks the seriousness and pretension of the established mainstream folk scene and also mocks itself. In Anti-folk, self-mockery and self-aggrandizement have somehow fused, just as political commentary fused with poppy love songs in the sixties.

Contents

1 Influences
2 Recent developments
3 Criticism
4 External links
5 See also

Influences

The Moldy Peaches and Ani DiFranco are considered influential artists in this genre, and are primarily responsible for its popularity. On the West Coast, S.P.A.M. Records' Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits made their own contributions to the genre with vulgar acoustic rock. Contemporary anti-folk music is popular in many parts of United States and has also made its mark in the UK and Europe, chiefly because of Rough Trade Records, the Moldy Peaches, and Jeffrey Lewis, but also in large part due to self-sufficient music communities, venues, and many touring international acts building friendships and musical partnerships. The New York City anti-folk scene mostly revolves around the Sidewalk Cafe, a club in the East Village that hosts shows and an open mike night called the Anti-Hootenanny, hosted by songwriter and seminal Anti-folker Lach. Also notable in the community is Olive Juice Music, a collective and label centered around a recording studio run by Major Matt Mason USA, and Luv-A-Lot, a homemade label run by the prolific Dashan Coram.

Anti-folk is a parent genre of other microbrew classifications such as Urban Folk and Counterfolk. Some performers, such as Dufus, Need New Body, and Man Man, have split with the scene and moved on. But is it a "genre," a "scene," a "community," or just a bunch of songwriters that like to hang out with each other? Most people involved would say it's a frankenstein combination of all of the above.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Recent developments

In recent years Antifolk has spread beyond the US. The UK antifolk scene (largely centred around London and Brighton) is rapidly developing its own identity. The London scene first came to prominence in 2004 with shows promoted by the dirty lo-fi humour of Filthy Pedro and the disturbingly humorous David Cronenberg's Wife. The Brighton scene was quick to follow, set up and run primarily by Larry Pickleman it includes the creators of Tweecore the Bobby Mcgees and the Queen of AFUK Mertle. Other major players are JJ Crash with his political undercurrents, Spinmaster Plantpot with his a capella 30 second rants / bluesey wailings and Paul Hawkins' edgy and tragicomic tales of social alienation. AFUK-affiliated acts such as the Mink Troubadour Kamikaze Squadron and Emmy the Great have begun to gain national radio airplay while AFUK favourites Milk Kan seem well-placed to break through into the mainstream consciousness.

There is arguably an active Anti-Folk scene in Australia. Centred around inner-city Melbourne, a collection of artists including The Lucksmiths, Darren Hanlon, Jodi Phillis and The Mabels play bitingly witty songs with accessible melodies that take a lot from 60's pop. The most internationally successful is The Lucksmiths. The Australian breed of anti-folk differs from the American in that the themes are often more ironic and self-refferential and tangible. In this respect, they bridge anti-folk with post-modern music. Melbourne's Candle Records is the home of many of these artists.

The singer-songwriter Beck (who has reached a greater level of popularity than most anti-folk acts) has been influenced, to at least some extent, by the New York anti-folk scene, though one would not really consider his music actual anti-folk.

Criticism

Some critics say that anti-folk is 'childish' and 'talentless'. While the anti-folk lifestyle and mindset is typically do it yourself, it is important to realize that anti-folk artists have much diversity. For example, Kimya Dawson writes with surrealistic lyrics and focuses many of her songs from a childish viewpoint to show the hurt and fear many children face when going through difficult situations. Lach pokes fun at many popular musical styles, especially in songs such as Drinking Beers with Mom (Antifolk Compilation 1) which parodies and both includes itself in the gusto teenagers present when confronted with drugs and beer.

External links

Folk music
American folk music - Anti-folk - Celtic music - Counterfolk - Filk music - Folk metal - Folk punk Folk-rock - Folktronica - Neofolk - Pop-folk - Psych folk - Roots revival - Urban Folk
Festivals - Folk dance - Folk clubs - Instrumentation - Protest song - Singer-songwriter - Traditions - World music

Punk rock
2 Tone - Afro-punk - Anarcho-punk - Anti-folk - Art punk - Celtic punk - Christian punk - Cowpunk - Crust punk - Dance-punk - Dark Cabaret - Deathcountry - Death pop - Deathrock - Digital hardcore - Electro rock - Emo - Folk punk - Funny punk - Gaelic punk - Garage punk - Glam punk - Gothabilly - Hardcore punk - Post-hardcore - Honky punk - Horror punk - Jazz punk - Mod revival - Nazi punk - New Wave - No Wave - Noise rock - Oi! - Pop punk - Positive punk - Post-punk - Protopunk - Psychobilly - Punkabilly - Punk blues - Punk Pathetique - Queercore - Riot grrrl - Rock Against Communism - Scum punk - Ska punk - Skate punk - Streetpunk - Synthpunk - Taqwacore
Other topics
DIY ethic - Punk pioneers - First wave - Second wave - Punk subculture - Punk movies - Punk fashion - Punk ideology - Punk visual art - Punk dance - Punk literature -Punk zine

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Anti-folk

Influences

Recent developments

Criticism

External links

See also