BARBELITH underground
 

Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.


Underground > Radio & Music >

Utah Phillips

  
 
petunia
23:04 / 10.04.06
I've been deeply in love with the album "the past didn't go anywhere" for a few years now. It's a collection of his onstage musings and monologues as mixed by Ani DiFranco. I love it for the guy's voice, for his wisdom and for the lovely early 90's hip-hoppy strange (if slightly bad at times) mixing. Its the kind of thing you can listen to and feel warm, if you know what i mean...

My head seems to space it in the same territory as DJ Shadow's 'Endtroducing'; not really for musical similarity, but for a strange kind of nostalgia it builds up in me. Kind of like a forest in 1920s US or something. Hard to explain really...

It also contains my favourite two sentences EVA:

"The peripatetic ruminations of the Tibetan ruling class" - whilst talking about the Dalai Lama and his cohorts..

"It don't matter how damn New Age you are, Old Age gonna kick your ass" - when talking about; you guessed it - New Agers.

I just wanted to say how good the album is and how everybody should listen to it at least once in their lifetime.

I also want to know if anybody knows anything about him, and if they can recommend any good albums of his.

thanks
x
 
 
raggedman
09:40 / 13.04.06
I'm on your team. Heard this time ago, my best mate gave me a copy wittering about how this guy was really 'wise'. Of course I shuddered in fear at such words and held it with tongs but rapidly ate such sentiments.
I love his story about how and why he deserted during the Korean War
and that line about 'never letting anyone else decide who the enemy is' and his eamonn henesy (sp-apologies) story about becoming a pacifist meaning he needs to recognise the weapons he was born with as a white man in this time period and culture.
and his whole insistence on you must remember the past, you must know your history because the fuckers who rule this world want you to forget so they can screw you over the same way AGAIN'

To the graduating school class 'you are about to be told one more time that you are America's most valuable natural resource...have you seen what they do to valuable natural resources? have you seen a strip mine?' etc

Having just come from the overrated thread i know there's some Ani haters 'round these parts...give it a try anyway.

Thanks for reminding me of this-haven't listened to it in ages and look it all came flooding back
 
  
Add Your Reply