This is the fourth of six blog posts in a series of female artists or female-fronted bands that will be published under 2024. This blog post deals with an obscure band called Ashcan Orchid. I consider myself skilled and competent when it comes to digging for information. If there is any information out there, I will find it, trust me. However, the only thing that I have found out is that Ashcan Orchid came from Portland, OR. It seems that they missed (or refrained) the second internet wave. One album can sometimes be enough for leaving a mark in music history (even more so in small subgenres that not many people know or care about). This is dark cabaret (which is a musical genre that draws on the aesthetics of burlesque, vaudeville and Weimar-era cabaret) mixed with gothic country. This should be mutually exclusive. It's dark cabaret or gothic country, not dark cabaret and gothic country. The end result could be disastrous as you probably can imagine. But this time it actually works. Their product declaration for their album caught my attention: "Cantillating scandalous hymns of carnage and lament; brutal, honest and timelessly out of time come the sordid tales of Ashcan Orchid. Their debut album "The Woods" was released in 2010. After that, they went into thin air. Let's indulge ourselves in counterfactual reasoning: what would have happened if they kept on going? We will never know and we can only speculate. I think that they would have made a bigger imprint. The best songs are "What Would My Mother Think", "Haunted", "La Bruja", "The Woods", "Stolen Ghost Waltz", and "When You're Dead". The arrangements are solid. This is so much better than all the copiers, fakers, imitators, impersonaters and imposters out there. "The Woods" isn't particularly rare. You can find an used copy here and there. 

This blog post isn't about the old saying about 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. It's about social interaction on the Internet. It started as a way for researchers to share information. The Internet later became a formidable tool for discussing and exchanging views. Not so much anymore. Some claim that social interaction is dead, while others claim that it has just changed. Anyway, I think we can agree that it's less social and more media. I started this website in 2014 when everybody else had moved on to the next level. The mission statement was (and is): "To explore and promote gothic country, southern gothic, gothic americana, american gothic and dark americana and ...whatever." What can I say? The written word is dying or at least in sharp decline. Instead, people invest their time and energy into sharing and liking. Nowadays, even this seems to be too demanding. Let me take an example. A couple a months ago I was invited to a group on Reddit (a social network in decline). It wasn't just any random group. It was a dedicated group for dark americana with 992 members (last time I checked). Great, a group of like-minded enthusiasts, I thought. I should have thought again. Every other week a Youtube video or a Spotify playlist gets posted. The responses are, to put it mildly, limited and restrained. I will give it to the end of the year and if it hasn't changed (not likely), I will delete my account. The internet is overflowing with dead websites and if they, for some reason, are still up - the latest update is from 2017. I have an ambition to post something every week. Since the activity level is low and regrowth in the genre is close to zero, I take the liberty to veer off into other subjects. After all, it's my website for which I pay for and I do as I please. Sometimes, I have to force myself to come up with anything to write. Still, a post is coming every week. Discipline starts where motivation ends.   

Do you live your life by design or by default? Living by design means living according to a plan in order to achieve your true purpose in life. Living by default means living without plans and letting things happen as you go. It's widely considered that living by design leads to success, while living by default leads to mediocrity. Most people can be placed in a spectrum between design and default. We all have a little of both in us. I think it's bad to be at the ends of the spectrum, especially the design extreme point. Planning is everything, but the plan is nothing. Not all things will go according to your plan. Even the best and elaborate plan will not make much difference. Instead, you should put your trust in people, circumstances and opportunities. When one door closes another one opens. It's a sliding doors moment, where you can look back several decades from now and see whether you chose the right or the wrong door. However, even in hindsight it will be difficult to determine whether it was the right or wrong door. Personally, I have always aimed at mediocrity. "Mediocrity is always praised" said my first boss and I marked his words. He met opposition and resistance with a cold steel approach. He also introduced me to the concept of repressive tolerance and how to master it. Because of his efforts, I was sent on a path for which I am grateful for.

There are situations where you need to cleanse your mind and re-start yourself. It's similar to computers; you need to reboot them when there is a problem. Music is a perfect tool for this. The best cleansing music is folkpunk. The term is made up of two words: folk and punk, seemingly a contradiction in terms. Folkpunk combines the instrumentation of traditional folk with the raw energy of punk. Same same, but different. Folk and punk have the simplicity and authenticity in common. Some characteristics: Non-bourgeoisie lifestyle including squatting, hard-charging vocals, political bent (socialism, anarchism and environmentalism) and lyrics without subtlety. No allegories whatsoever. What is said, is meant. Notable folkpunk bands are Blackbird Raum, Ramshackle Glory and Mischief Brew. I've got five Blackbird Raum albums in my collection: Purse-Seine (2007), Swidden (2008), Under The Starling Host (2009), False Weavers (2013) and Destroying (2015). I like folkpunk, but these are the only folkpunk albums that I've got. Any expansion of the collection needs to be nipped in the bud. Otherwise, there's an imminent risk that the floodgates will open and never close. And it's going to be costly. Paradoxically, used cdr are very expensive. It's supply and demand. The market forces tend to apply also in the folkpunk sector. A disclaimer, the folkpunk genre is crammed with talentless people who can't play and/or sing. It's not surprising. The level of entry is low, while the tolerance level for deficiencies is indefinite. However, if you take the time there are some nuggets out there. In my opinion, the best album for cleansing your mind is Douglas Für "The Dried Up Rivers Will Be The Mass Graves Of Tomorrow". The album is available on Bandcamp for your listening (dis)pleasure. Folkpunk may constitute a contradiction in terms. However, they work perfectly fine together.

This is the third of six blog posts in a series of female artists or female-fronted bands that will be published under 2024. This blog post deals with Elouise. The band name has nothing to do with the irrepressible Eloise who lives in the penthouse at the top of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The band Elousie is led by Elouise Walker on vocals, bandoneon and accordion. This is blackgrass, the antithesis to bluegrass. To be honest, it’s more of "included but not limited to" blackgrass. Elouise's music is varied. The common denominator is the darker side of folk, bluegrass and country. Over time, I have developed an ability to distinguish the wheat from the chaff. Contrary to popular belief, music doesn't start to grow on you. At least, not if you are a connoisseur as myself. In some cases, I find inspiration from a renowned writer and/or website. This is the case here. A review in American Roots UK caught my attention: "This incredible album takes deep dark old time hillbilly, gospel and blues (race music) to a depth of sinister unearthliness that has not been heard or even imagined for many decades and yet running counter to that it is also a recording of dark beauty." The debut album "Deep Water" was released in 2015. I's a creepy album with both covers and originals. The take on the covers are so different that they could be mistaken for originals. The best songs are "I'll Fly Away, "Amazing Grace", "Oh Lord", "I'll Be Good To You", "Black Horses", "East Jesus" and, last but not least, a cover of Link Wray's "Fire And Brimstone. The arrangements are spooky, hanted and haunting. This is so much better, than all the copiers, fakers, imitators, impersonaters and imposters out there. A cd copy can be bought from their website (opens in a new window).