I published four posts on my Songs and Objects Substack in May. I summarise each below.
- Geordie: A Song Itinerary. I follow the routes of an old English ballad that, at various points from the mid-20th century onward, has been recorded as early music, art song, folk-rock, metal, Italian canzone, Italian EDM and more.
- Evidence. An appreciation of the early work of southern soul singer Candi Staton, as well as a reflection on how songs work as a kind of evidence.
- Tomorrow Will Be the 22nd Century. From plagues and goblins to the liberation of humans and animals. An account of the remarkable song ’22nd Century’, written and recorded by the Bahamian artist Exuma and covered by Nina Simone, Justin Vivian Bond and others.
- Be My Pips! I use the classic Gladys Knight and the Pips song ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ as a starting point to think about the role of the Pips and of backing singers more generally. What would a Pips-only version of ‘Midnight Train’ sound like? Turns out I’m not the first to have asked.
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Late Voice 