Ovation TV | Harry Smith’s Old Weird America

Posted by admin on June 6th, 2010 and filed under anthology records | 13 Comments »

The idiosyncratic experimental film artist Harry Smith began collecting one-of-a-kind folk recordings in the 1940’s. Shellac was a war material — supplies had been cut off, and these irreplaceable early recordings were being melted down and lost to the world forever. Smith amassed a huge collection, part of which was eventually released on Folkway Records in 1952 as the now-famous Anthology of American Folk Music. This release seeded the folk revival of the 1960’s, and has reverberated through popular music ever since. Old, Weird America tells Harry Smith’s story, complete with new performances of some of the folk songs he rescued by contemporary artists, including Beck, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed and Sonic Youth.

OVATION TV, ART LIKE
NEVER BEFORE. TV LIKE NOTHING ELSE
http://www.ovationtv.com

Duration : 0:5:36


[youtube 8Q60Gy_LCUU]

13 Responses

  1. Inhisbody Says:

    The movie as some …
    The movie as some are calling it just reappeared on ovation today, I am trying to get it into a couple videos, and I will try and get it all up here on u-tube.

  2. francfortois Says:

    “The butcher boy”, …
    “The butcher boy”, by Buell Kazee

  3. brayton34 Says:

    The Harry Smith …
    The Harry Smith Project – Live DVD. Available at reasonable price at Amazon.

  4. rugshort Says:

    Anyone know what …
    Anyone know what the song is?

  5. gilliemeister Says:

    try the library
    try the library

  6. iloveplcb Says:

    I really want to …
    I really want to see this!!! does anybody know how to get the movie or something?

  7. znhfan Says:

    I loved this show. …
    I loved this show. the archival footage was fabulous. congratulations to the filmmakers and to ovation.

  8. slobomotion Says:

    Great movie, Rani. …
    Great movie, Rani. Greetings from France. Harry was and is a treasure. Thank you for keeping his legacy alive.

  9. slobomotion Says:

    Knowing Harry Smith …
    Knowing Harry Smith changed my life. I spent hours chatting with him at the Breslin. He could “talk” with his thoughts, directly into my brain! Greetings from France.

  10. Tonyisabutcher Says:

    Just for the record …
    Just for the record, it’s an English folk song. I’ve heard many versions, this one is very refreshing, very passionate, very Elvis Costello.

  11. aztiff Says:

    Anybody know where …
    Anybody know where to get a hold of this movie? It was at the festivals but never released on DVD.

  12. 2panther5 Says:

    hi anyone want to …
    hi anyone want to chat

    SOMEONE TALK TO ME GB

  13. profhum Says:

    This looked so …
    This looked so promising, but Elvis Costello is hamming it up too much. Something condescending about the performance as if he thought an American folk song should sound off key. What about just playing the old tracks? Thanks.

Leave a Comment

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.