Some Questions I've Been Meaning to Ask

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 8:51 am

• When did accordions become "uncool" in the U.S.A.? They were once quite popular. They were used in mainstream pop music, and in country and western music. Accordions, whether chromatic or diatonic, are well established in folk musics the world over. They provide more musical possibilities than most acoustic instruments... a truly portable organ (backaches duly noted). Yet, at some point, the accordion acquired a stigma in the U.S.A. Accordion references in popular entertainments are as sure to draw a chuckle as a Dan Quayle reference (a great American, as Republicans go). You could point out Steve Urkel, but the accordion had already acquired the stigma by the time he came along. I think the accordion got typecast in a form of polka music popular among northern midwesterners. Maybe it was this association with guys in short overalls and funny hats at cheese and sausage festivals that tarnished the accordion's image. A bit like what Deliverance did to the banjo. I'm not sure though... alpenhorns are still considered "cool."

• If Tarzan was reared by apes, who taught him to yodel? Is yodeling common in Africa?

• When, do you reckon, will Clarke introduce their low whistles? Norman and Copeland have been teasing us about it for years.

• There's a horrible soap opera called "Passions." I've not watched it, but I've heard the theme music on several occasions. What is the soprano instrument in that theme song?

Okay (with regard to question before last), they haven't so much teased as given vague answers when I raised the question.

I've always liked the accordion, and I respect the degree of dedication required to become accomplished on this instrument which is definitely not for wimps.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 9:37 am

I think accordions started their descent into uncool aometime around the mid-fifties. When I was little (under ten) a lot of kids still took accordion, more or less willingly, Within ten years it was the ultimate nerd instrument and has remained the butt of jokes to this day -

********************************************************
Excerpt from a commercial for, I think, Boston Market frozen dinners:

Scene: Workaholic father gets to know his family over BM food.

FATHER: "And after dinner, we'll all get together and I'll play Feelings on the accordion."

FAMILY: <chorus of groans>

FATHER: "Or maybe I won't"
*********************************************************

If I were to guess, I'd say it was rock music and the guitar which did the squeezebox in in the US. All the kids suddenly wanted to play only guitar or drums.

I don't see Tarzan emitting a yodel, so much as an ululating howl, which I suppose he could have learned from listening to wolves - which also don't exist in the African forext, but hey, one paradox at a time.

Don't matter 'bout them Clarkes, I don't like them anyway.

Shouldn't you be working on weekday afternoons?

Rando7 · Post by **Rando7** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 9:52 am

Walden, I did a little poking around the internet regarding the Passions theme. One site said it was played by "wind instruments" (which really tells a lot) but another said it was a panpipe, whatever that is.

I'd have to agree with Chuck that Tarzan is not a true yodeler, but rather his yelling is based on animal sounds. Tarzan was raised mainly by the apes but the other animals chipped in (it takes a village to raise an ape-man you know) so I think his yell is an amalgam of animal cries.

I've been poking around on the accordion for a couple of years - now you're telling me it's not cool?

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 10:00 am

The button key Accordian has always been a major weapon in the ITM armoury,though anybody bringing a Piano Accordian to a session is letting themselves in for serious grief.
Phil Cunningham,the Scottish musician,has done some lovely work on the Piano accordian but he is an exception to the rule.
For me it has always been the sound of the bass on piano accordians that puts me off.It always seems to be very oomph pa,if you know what i mean.
As regards Tarzan,well I will have to think on that for a while

Slan,
D.

OutOfBreath · Post by **OutOfBreath** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 10:06 am

The piano accordian is still very popular in Tejano music.

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 10:14 am

Rando7 wrote:Walden, I did a little poking around the internet regarding the Passions theme. One site said it was played by "wind instruments" (which really tells a lot) but another said it was a panpipe, whatever that is.

I'd have to agree with Chuck that Tarzan is not a true yodeler, but rather his yelling is based on animal sounds. Tarzan was raised mainly by the apes but the other animals chipped in (it takes a village to raise an ape-man you know) so I think his yell is an amalgam of animal cries.

I've been poking around on the accordion for a couple of years - now you're telling me it's not cool?

Pan Pipes are what the Peruvian guys play and can be heard to great effect on Paul Simons "EL Condor Pasa" and another of his songs called "Duncan"( at least i think thats what it is called)

Slan,
D.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 1:26 pm

Lawrence Welke did in the accordian, unless you're
Cajun and play zydyco.

Tarzan wasn't raised by apes; he was raised by
aristocratic brits, his real name is Lord someoneorother.
It is a well kept secret that aristocratic Brits
issue elulating howls when the tea is too sweet,
or whatever and only the servants are about.
The Code of Silence has begun
to crumble, however.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 1:48 pm

Cajun, zydeco, klezmer and tejano are as cool as it gets. It's the mainstream that is deeply uncool.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 1:49 pm

Re: Tarzan's yell ...

http://www.mergetel.com/~geostan/yells.html

Please note the links (below each photo) to sound clips.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Rando7 · Post by **Rando7** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 2:49 pm

jim stone wrote:
Tarzan wasn't raised by apes; he was raised by
aristocratic brits, his real name is Lord someoneorother.
It is a well kept secret that aristocratic Brits
issue elulating howls when the tea is too sweet,
or whatever and only the servants are about.
The Code of Silence has begun
to crumble, however.

This must have been in Tarzan, the Lost Episodes, I guess.

(BTW good to see you, Jim!)

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 8:12 pm

Chuck_Clark wrote: Scene: Workaholic father gets to know his family over BM food.

Heh heh... BM food.

Chuck_Clark wrote:If I were to guess, I'd say it was rock music and the guitar which did the squeezebox in in the US. All the kids suddenly wanted to play only guitar or drums.

Kind of a sad thought.

Chuck_Clark wrote:Shouldn't you be working on weekday afternoons?

Not a relevant question. One of my relatives used to record the NBC soap operas, and that's where I heard it.

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 8:17 pm

I know the accordion became unpopular before The Far side. I remember the calssic cartoon that had two escalators. The angel welcoming the person on the up escalator said, "Welcome to Heaven, here is your harp," while the devil "welcoming" the person on the down escalator said, "Welcome to Hell, here is your accordion."

The real question about Tarzan is, who or what taught him to say "Oongawa," and why does it convey so many different things to so many different animals depending on context. (There was also a Far Side cartoon that had Tarzan writing in his diary. Every day he wrot Oongawa.)

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 8:21 pm

Wombat wrote:Cajun, zydeco, klezmer and tejano are as cool as it gets.

Don't forget "cowboy music"!

Wombat wrote:It's the mainstream that is deeply uncool.

Except for Weird Al Yancovic. He's mainstream... well... he parodies the so-called mainstream, anyway.

BrassBlower · Post by **BrassBlower** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 8:29 pm

OutOfBreath wrote:The piano accordian is still very popular in Tejano music.

http://www.flacojimenez.com/

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 11:26 pm

BrassBlower wrote:
OutOfBreath wrote:The piano accordian is still very popular in Tejano music.
http://www.flacojimenez.com/

That's a button accordion, though--which is what I mostly see on TV. Lots of pictures under the Flaco and Friends link. There was a show a while back--probably on PBS--that discussed the development of the particular style of accordion used in Tejano music, but I don't really remember the details.

jim stone wrote:Lawrence Welke did in the accordian, unless you're
Cajun and play zydyco.

The first part is probably at least partly true, but (originally, at least) Zydeco is Creole music, not Cajun, per se. http://afgen.com/zydeco_definitions.html

The disappearance of the accordion (and fiddle) as Cajun and Zydeco moved to rock is mentioned at http://www.tabasco.com/music_stage/loui ... /index.cfm

The music discussed on this page is a big part of what I grew up with. I recall seeing Jivin' Gene, whose photo appears at the top of the page, with his band, the Jokers, at a roadhouse in the Galveston area back in the summer of 1959. Interestingly, the audience was mostly adults in Western boots and hats.

Tejano music seems to have maintained a larger audience than the Cajun/Creole stuff did, which may be why I can turn on the TV any night and find accordion players on at least one of the Spanish-language channels here.

Here are some good Cajun and Zydeco sound clips that include some accordion at http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/331.shtml and http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/332.shtml

In fact, I liked them so much that I just ordered both CDs. Now the only question is which of those songs will translate to the whistle...