Sickest Shit Ever

sickest shit ever... http://www.slate.com/id/2139026/?nav=tap3

Well, maybe not as sick as the Gestapo.

That is all.

MF

John Henry is one of the best songs ever.

In the interest in resuscitating a near-dead corner of the internet, I'm going to devote this long-overdue entry to my simmering [what's a milder word for obsession?] with the song John Henry.

...Not sure what got me going on this, but I've been accumulating several different versions of this song from different artists. For me, the song is just about one of the best American songs around. Its' got the man-versus-machine/man-beats-machine/man-dies-from-exhaustion storyline that really resonates with the kids these days. [Kind of like an early folksie version of the Matrix or the Terminator - only without all the suck-ass sequels]. John really pokes a finger in the eye of technocrats, so the theme is timeless. Its' even got a side story about his woman who also takes-names-and-kicks-ass. Given the right interpretation, the whole story plays itself out on top of a hard-driving train-inspired rhythm and melody. What more could you ask of a song?

Anyway, so far I've put together a collection of this song performed by:
- Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry. …came across this song while a DJ at WUVT. These guys tear it up.
- John Cephas and Phill Wiggins. …two great contemporary (aka living) piedmont blues artists from Virginia that play the same instruments as Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry (guitar and harmonica), but a smoother delivery.
- Doc Watson. Not bad, perhaps a bit too laid back for me, but that's just Doc Watson's delivery. This guy has one of the mellowest deliveries around - he could turn a Napalm Death tune into a lullaby.
- Paul Robeson. …not sure what to make of this one. Very formal. Sounds like a funeral. Still, this guy is kind of a legend. ...got it from the Corvallis Public Library.

The deliveries are pretty contrasting.

In Time (the Revelator), Gillian Welch doesn't take on the song explicitly, but her Elvis Presley Blues incorporates its elements and links them to the Elvis very creatively.

I kind of want to keep diggin and find the best version out there...