44.4 F
Oxford

“Old Weird America”– An Intellectual Cliche that Should be Stomped Out

 

6519188003_14df9e2584_z

By: Tom Freeland, HottyToddy.com, Blogger

I was reading a local blog I’ve grown to like, Deep Fried Kudzu, and hit a phrase (from a press release) that sets my teeth on edge. Discussing a show of paintings by Memphian Carroll Cloar, the press release states that the Southern states are the “last guards of old, weird America ”

The world depicted in Cloar’s work (see above), which I like a lot, is no more “old weird America” than that in Norman Rockwell or Thornton Wilder (who Cloar directly references in a painting, Gibson Bayou Anthology).

cc3If you want to look at art that depicts this part of the world in a way that turns it on edge or is weird, check out the contemporary photographs of William Eggleston. Nothing old about it, and he can make a place you’ve known all your life suddenly strange (I know this because places I’ve known my whole life crop up in his pictures).

The “old weird America” phrase was created by the music writer Greil Marcus.  I’m not his biggest fan (this Wikipedia summary of his work captures a bit of why that is) and my reaction is crystalized in this term, which he used to describe the world of the commercial recorded music exemplified by Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, commercial recordings made between 1926 and 1931.  What Marcus wants you to understand is that this music represents a strange place nothing like the place where you reside.  Look how weird and freakish!

Marcus is looking inside himself and not making a real attempt to understand the subject of his writing.  The best example I can give you is the strange and insulting way he wrote about the singer and banjo player Doc Boggs, who was the ultimate exemplar of “old weird America” to Marcus, and featured in a major way in his book Invisible Empire, where the term originates.

Marcus writes that Boggs ”sounded as if his bones are coming through his skin every time he opened his mouth; that was the sound that drew people to him.” Like much of Marcus’s descriptions of what he has heard, I have no idea what he is talking about here. Can anyone else draw any meaning from that?

Marcus also makes a big point that the record label that recorded Boggs, Lonesome Ace, had a drawing of Lindbergh ‘s Spirit of St. Louis on its label:  ”[S]tore owner… W.E. Myer … [would] release the results on his own Lonesome Ace label, which feature both a picture of The Spirit of St. Louis and the slogan “WITHOUT A YODEL” because Myer loved Charles Lindbergh and he hated yodeling.”

This assertion is problematic given that the label depicts a biplane.

4349929

Marcus is supposed to be a tour-guide to unseen connections in American (and other) cultures and pop music.  Just how reliable is such a guide who has this kind of detail wrong?

This whole weird-America idea is a barrier rather than an aid to understanding both Boggs and the Harry Smith Anthology. Smith devised his anthology to use commercial recordings of the period roughly 1926-1931 to illustrate ideas Smith had about American music.  Smith had very interesting taste (it’s hard to say to what extent he anticipated the taste of the folk revival and to what extent he created it) but, to say the least, he was idiosyncratic.  I think there’d be a consensus that the weirdest thing about the Anthology was the anthologizer.

The body of recordings Smith drew on was a very large pool.  There was a sudden explosion of recording American music in the late twenties It included record companies setting up commercial recording studios in the field all across the South.  This all ground to a near halt by 1931 in the Great Depression.   During the 1926-1931 period, the record companies had no clear idea what was or was not commercial, and recorded an amazing range of stuff trying to figure out what might sell.  Some of the records on the Anthology are by musicians who became big stars (the Carter Family) and others remained and are pretty obscure (I suspect readers from Tupelo will likely not know their local contribution to the Anthology. Floyd Ming’s Pep Steppers).   Like many anthologists, what Smith was about was creating or demonstrating a view about that material, not anything remotely like a general survey of “old America,” weird or otherwise.

Sure, many of these ninety-year-old recordings can sound strange on a first listen.  You should at least listen to the point they aren’t strange any more.  Before that point, I’m not sure whether you can say you understand them.

I suppose a part of my reaction to this was my first reaction to what is now called an outsider artist, Theora Hamblett. The term “outsider” for these sorts of visionary folk artists is designed to set them apart– present them as weird or not a normal part of their communities.

I began visiting Miss Hamblett as a teenager, and continued through her death while I was in college.  She was the first true artist I’ve ever spent time around.

Miss Hamblett had two series of paintings:  Children’s games (which she sold, after she started painting after retirement as a school teacher.  There are children’s games paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among other places).  The others were dreams and visions, which she largely kept to herself and did not sell.  She had visions as a regular part of her life, would paint them, and tell the stories to anyone who visited her home and wanted to talk about them.

She would lean back and shut her eyes and describe how visions of angels came to her, and to her mother before her, ironing, or among the soup cans in the Jitney Jungle.

th1I’ll never forget my time with Miss Hamblett (and everyone I know who had that chance feels the same).  If you were going to view this as “weird,” or be unwilling to accept what Miss Hamblett said she’d experienced, you were creating a barrier to understanding her and the world that generated her paintings.  My reaction to her work was an introduction to what others might call “weird” or “old” has a large part in my reaction against this way of describing Southern art, whether music or paintings.

thmainFor some reason, this all draws me back to Flannery O’Connor’s remark when asked why Southern writers wrote about freaks: “Whenever I’m asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one.”

As an additional aside, noting the title of the post that started this whole tirade:  One should be cautious about that crossroad cliche, too.

Read more blog posts by Tom Freeland at his NMissCommentor blog page.

Adam Brown
Adam Brown
Sports Editor

Most Popular

Recent Comments

scamasdscamith on News Watch Ole Miss
Frances Phillips on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Grace Hudditon on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Millie Johnston on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Binary options + Bitcoin = $ 1643 per week: https://8000-usd-per-day.blogspot.com.tr?b=46 on Beta Upsilon Chi: A Christian Brotherhood
Jay Mitchell on Reflections: The Square
Terry Wilcox SFCV USA RET on Oxford's Five Guys Announces Opening Date
Stephanie on Throwback Summer
organized religion is mans downfall on VP of Palmer Home Devotes Life to Finding Homes for Children
Paige Williams on Boyer: Best 10 Books of 2018
Keith mansel on Cleveland On Medgar Evans
Debbie Nader McManus on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: The Last of His Kind
Richard Burns on A William Faulkner Sighting
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Ruby Begonia on Family Catching Rebel Fever
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
jeff the busy eater on Cooking With Kimme: Baked Brie
Travis Yarborough on Reflections: The Square
BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH on Oxford is About to Receive a Sweet Treat
baby travel systems australia on Heaton: 8 Southern Ways to Heckle in SEC Baseball
Rajka Radenkovich on Eating Oxford: Restaurant Watch
Richard Burns on Reflections: The Square
Guillermo Perez Arguello on Mississippi Quote Of The Day
A Friend with a Heavy Heart on Remembering Dr. Stacy Davidson
Harold M. "Hal" Frost, Ph.D. on UM Physical Acoustics Research Center Turns 30
Educated Citizen on Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving
Debbie Crenshaw on Trump’s Tough Road Ahead
Treadway Strickland on Wicker Looks Ahead to New Congress
Tony Ryals on parking
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
C. Scott Fischer on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Sylvia Williams on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Will Patterson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Rick Henderson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
George L Price on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
on
Morgan Shands on Cleveland: On Ed Reed
Richard McGraw on Cleveland: On Cissye Gallagher
Branan Southerland on Gameday RV Parking at HottyToddy.com
Tom and Randa Baddley on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
26 years and continuously learning on Ole Miss Puts History In Context With Plaque
a Paterson on Beyond Barton v. Barnett
Phil Higginbotham on ‘Unpublished’ by Shane Brown
Bettina Willie@www.yahoo.com.102Martinez St.Batesville,Ms.38606 on Bomb Threat: South Panola High School Evacuated This Morning
Anita M Fellenz, (Emilly Hoffman's CA grandmother on Ole Miss Spirit Groups Rank High in National Finals
Marilyn Moore Hughes on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
Jaqundacotten@gmail williams on HottyToddy Hometown: Hollandale, Mississippi
Finney moore on Can Ole Miss Grow Too Big?
diane faulkner cawlley on Oxford’s Olden Days: Miss Annie’s Yard
Phil Higginbotham on ‘November 24’ by Shane Brown
Maralyn Bullion on Neely-Dorsey: Hog Killing Time
Beth Carr on A Letter To Mom
Becky on A Letter To Mom
Marilyn Tinnnin on A Letter To Mom
Roger ulmer on UM Takes Down State Flag
Chris Pool on UM Takes Down State Flag
TampaRebel on UM Takes Down State Flag
david smith on UM Takes Down State Flag
Boyd Harris on UM Takes Down State Flag
Jim (Herc @ UM) on Cleveland: Fall Vacations
Robert Hollingsworth on Rebels on the Road: Memphis Eateries
David McCullough on Shepard Leaves Ole Miss Football
Gayle G. Henry on Meet Your 2015 Miss Ole Miss
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Neely-Dorsey: Elvis Presley’s Big Homecoming
Jennifer Mooneyham on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Wes McIngvale on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
BARRY MCCAMMON on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
Laughing out Loud on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Dr.Bill Priester on Cleveland: On Bob Priester
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
paulette holmes langbecker on Cofield on Oxford – Rising Ole Miss Rookie
Ruth Shipp Yarbrough on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Karllen Smith on ‘Rilee’ by Shane Brown
Jean Baker Pinion on ‘The Cool Pad’ by Shane Brown
Janet Hollingsworth (Cavanaugh) on John Cofield on Oxford: A Beacon
Proud Mississippi Voter on Gunn Calls for Change in Mississippi Flag
Deloris Brown-Thompson on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Sue Ellen Parker Stubbs on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Karen fowler on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Don't Go to Law School on Four Legal Rebels Rising in the Real World
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
Joanne and Mark Wilkinson on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Mary Ellen (Dring) Gamble on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Cyndy Carroll on Filming it Up in Mississippi
Dottie Dewberry on Top 10 Secret Southern Sayings
Brother Everett Childers on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Mark McElreath on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Bill Wilkes, UM '57, '58, '63 on A Letter from Chancellor Dan Jones
Sandra Caffey Neal on Mississippi Has Proud Irish Heritage
Teresa Enyeart, and Terry Enyeat on Death of Ole Miss Grad, U.S. Vet Stuns Rebel Nation
P. D. Fyke on Wells: Steelhead Run
Johnny Neumann on Freeze Staying with Rebels
Maralyn Bullion on On Cooking Southern: Chess Pie
Kaye Bryant on Henry: E. for Congress
charles Eichorn on Hotty Tamales, Gosh Almighty
Jack of All Trades on Roll Over Bear Bryant
w nadler on Roll Over Bear Bryant
Stacey Berryhill on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
John Appleton on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Charlotte Lamb on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Two True Mississippi Icons
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Jeanette Berryhill Wells on HottyToddy Hometown: Senatobia, Mississippi
Tire of the same ole news on 3 "Must Eat" Breakfast Spots in Oxford
gonna be a rebelution on Walking Rebel Fans Back Off the Ledge
Nora Jaccaud on Rickshaws in Oxford
Martha Marshall on Educating the Delta — Or Not
Nita McVeigh on 'I'm So Oxford' Goes Viral
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on How a Visit to the Magnolia State Can Inspire You
Charlie Fowler Jr. on Prawns? In the Mississippi Delta?
Martha Marshall on A Salute to 37 Years of Sparky
Sylvia Hartness Williams on Oxford Approves Diversity Resolution
Jerry Greenfield on Wine Tip: Problem Corks
Cheryl Obrentz on I Won the Lottery! Now What?
Bnogas on Food for the Soul
Barbeque Memphis on History of Tennessee Barbecue
Josephine Bass on The Delta and the Civil War
Nicolas Morrison on The Walking Man
Pete Williams on Blog: MPACT’s Future
Laurie Triplette on On Cooking Southern: Fall Veggies
Harvey Faust on The Kream Kup of the Krop
StarReb on The Hoka
Scott Whodatty Keetereaux Keet on Hip Hop — Yo or No, What’s Your Call
Johnathan Doeman on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
Andy McWilliams on The Warden & The Chief
Kathryn McElroy on Think Like A Writer
Claire Duff Sullivan on Alert Dogs Give Diabetics Peace of Mind
Jesse Yancy on The Hoka
Jennifer Thompson Walker on Ole Miss, Gameday From The Eyes of a Freshman
HottyToddy.com