Some Questions I've Been Meaning to Ask

[Jack]

•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."

Sheryl Crow plays accordion.

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

The same people who taught him English?

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

2005?

• 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?

Andrea Corr, probably on a LBW

[happyturkeyman]

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.)

Oh, good, you gave me an excuse to go through my extensive collection of Farside boks (4 galleries and 12 others). I shall see if I can hunt up any more accordian or Tarzan comics.

[mvhplank]

Oh, well, just another example of my swimming against the current. I love accordion music. I'm starting to be able to tell who's playing based on the style.

Here are some of my favorites:

David DiGuiseppe (http://www.daviddg.com/) of contra dance fame has a CD called "Welcome to Heaven" as a direct result of too many people giving him a copy of that Far Side cartoon. I first heard David at a contra dance at Glen Echo outside of CD--it was just him and a piano player, Pete Campbell. I thought at first it was going to be a very weird dance, but they really rocked the joint.

Sharon Shannon--don't be put off by the strange titles she gives her sets. Many of them are trad tune medleys but you don't know that until you get into the liner notes or after you've listened a little bit.

Phil Cunningham--I always liked him better than his late and dearly missed brother Johnny. I'm just not into Scottish fiddle.

Bob McQuillen & Laurie Andres have a contra dance CD "Hand it Down" that's sitting in my car player right now.
That's Laurie with the "stomach Steinway":


Jackie Daley of Patrick Street, Joe Derrane, the list goes on. I don't listen to nearly as many flute players. Just strange, I guess.

M

[chas]

Oh, well, just another example of my swimming against the current. I love accordion music. I'm starting to be able to tell who's playing based on the style.

Here are some of my favorites:

You might also want to check out Maria Kalaniemi. I never liked the accordion till I heard her. She's from Finland, classically educated, and does some incredibly hot folk music and music that she wrote (as well as some classical, which I haven't heard). She plays mostly free bass 5-row.

[Steven]

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.

Not an exception at all! The piano accordion is very popular in Scottish music, which of course is different from ITM. In fact, in music for Scottish country dancing, it's the predominant instrument, more common in most places than the fiddle, and many bands even have TWO accordion players! In fact, Jimmy Shand, who was one of the most popular players, now has a statue in his home town (I forget exactly where).

I think the reason piano accordion is used more than button accordion in Scottish music is that the music comes in all different keys, as opposed to ITM, which mostly stays in a couple of keys. You really need to be fully chromatic to play for Scottish....


Steven

[amar]

My friends, i have posted this a few times before, concerning accordian. I have a friend in edinburgh, sandy brechin, he plays the accordian and his band's name is burach, they've got a few albums out, but his best material by far is his solo-stuff, this is accordian music, but not "as you know it". Check his official website:
www.squeeze.demon.co.uk/

and be sure to check out this older website of his where you can hear a full album of his:
www.harenet.co.uk/sims/sandy/

this is the website of burach:
www.burach.net/

best, amar.

[dubhlinn]

It's accordion music amar but not as we know it!!!

Sounds to me like your mate has been heavily influenced by the 70's band Horslips,so beloved by teenage wannabe hippy Dublin boys of the time,allegedly.

http://www.horslipsrecords.com/


Slan,
D.

[boomerang]

Walden,
Re Tarzan
You try swing through the trees on a cold morning with only a loin cloth on and get your kahoolies snagged on a branch,
I bet you would soon learn to yodel too
ouch!!
Regards
David

[No E]

Piano accordions became uncool on April 13, 1962 at 6:24pm, GMT

-No E

[Nanohedron]

For me, accordions regained their cool status with Ry Cooder.

[Walden]

I love accordion music.

Me too.

[Caj]

The American public's negative view of the accordion goes far beyond mere nerdiness. People almost seem conditioned to feel physical pain at the prospect of someone playing an accordion, as if the thing sprays the room with mace if you squeeze it.

My ma once found me a PA at a garage sale for 35$. It'd be worth $500 if I paid for about $300 in repairs. Anyway, my brother and I were home for the holidays, and he took one look at the thing and said, "if you even take that thing out of its case I'll shove it up your" etc etc.

It's a weird stigma, because even people who are fans of accordion-laden music (e.g., the Pogues) will react like my brother upon actually seeing one. It's like they never make the connection in their heads. When someone makes a crack at accordion, you can really get some confused responses by asking what they don't like about it.

On a barely related note, I was just reading a book about bread, which mentioned the "Cornell loaf" --- a type of high-protein bread that was popular during WWII as meat became scarcer. Supposedly nobody bakes it nowadays because it developed the stigma of being something you eat when you don't have "real" food. I imagine: why would that kind of stigma persist into the year 2000? Most people alive today weren't even around then, and half the bread in the supermarket is fortified anyway.

Caj

[Nanohedron]

On a barely related note, I was just reading a book about bread, which mentioned the "Cornell loaf" --- a type of high-protein bread that was popular during WWII as meat became scarcer. Supposedly nobody bakes it nowadays because it developed the stigma of being something you eat when you don't have "real" food. I imagine: why would that kind of stigma persist into the year 2000? Most people alive today weren't even around then, and half the bread in the supermarket is fortified anyway.

...which brings to mind the analogy that accordions could be called the lutefisk or Spam of instruments.

[Walden]

...which brings to mind the analogy that accordions could be called the lutefisk or Spam of instruments.

Which, of course, is ludicrous.

[chas]

I was just listening to the first Solas album last night. There's one reel on which John Williams is two-tracked on accordion and concertina (I had never noticed the dubbing before). That is SUCH a cool sound! Anyone who doesn't like accordion hasn't heard John play.