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Smithsonian Folkways


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Well, I'm a Folkways collector (the vinyl variety) and I just recently revisited the Smithsonian Folkways website. The whole spirit of Mo Asch (founder of the label) was too never let the some 2000 titles to ever go out of print. Well you can go on the website and get digital downloads of alot of the albums for I Tunes prices. Anyway, cool site. My rule of thumb when at a record store. If I see a folkways record I buy it. (Even a Pete Seeger one)

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I used to work for Folklife which Folkways is a part of and got to have sneak previews of the recordings and helped with the design of some of the cd covers and catalogues. Folkways does a lot of good stuff. they get a thumbs up from me (even if the Folklife side of the organization was riddled with crazy).

 

and hey, what's wrong with Pete Seeger, :).

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and hey, what's wrong with Pete Seeger, :).

Yea, really?? I have tons of Pete on Folkways.

 

I buy them too. Some are kind of beat up since they were pretty popular in their day. The not going out of print is only semi true. You can request the files I guess, but not all the artwork. I think this is the way it works.

 

Somewhere along the way I ended up with a bunch of Ella Jenkins Folkways records....

 

LouieB

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Yea, really?? I have tons of Pete on Folkways.

 

I buy them too. Some are kind of beat up since they were pretty popular in their day. The not going out of print is only semi true. You can request the files I guess, but not all the artwork. I think this is the way it works.

 

Somewhere along the way I ended up with a bunch of Ella Jenkins Folkways records....

 

LouieB

 

 

On the website they have all the original artwork posted under folkways records. Most titles also have downloads of original liner note booklets.

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Well, I'm a Folkways collector (the vinyl variety) and I just recently revisited the Smithsonian Folkways website. The whole spirit of Mo Asch (founder of the label) was too never let the some 2000 titles to ever go out of print. Well you can go on the website and get digital downloads of alot of the albums for I Tunes prices. Anyway, cool site. My rule of thumb when at a record store. If I see a folkways record I buy it. (Even a Pete Seeger one)

 

In all my years of scrounging around garage sales and resale shops looking for vinyl, I've only come across one Folkways album........of harpsicord music. Ugh....totally unlistenable. I still have it....much to the chagrin of my lovely wife :lol

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In all my years of scrounging around garage sales and resale shops looking for vinyl, I've only come across one Folkways album........of harpsicord music. Ugh....totally unlistenable. I still have it....much to the chagrin of my lovely wife :lol

 

 

Yeah they are reclusive little buggers. I usually find at least one Folkways album in any decent used record store, but hands down, the best collection I have ever seen was in a record store in Chicago around 2003 (don't remember the name of store of course). They had a ton of New Lost City Ramblers and a few Woody Guthrie records. I picked up Bound For Glory and Songs of the Depression that day. Anyway, cool place and reasonably priced. Ebay has a decent amount usually available also. I just wish I was in to this back when all the public library's let go of their vinyl. Damn can you imagine.

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On the website they have all the original artwork posted under folkways records. Most titles also have downloads of original liner note booklets.

Whoa, you're right about that. You don't even need to buy the tracks to read the liner notes. A lot of that is just good reading right there.

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I just wish I was in to this back when all the public library's let go of their vinyl.

I did well on this too. There was a huge collection on the Air Force base where my Dad worked. I cleaned up. 10 cent records! I'd say 1/3 of what I have came from that library. Hardly anyone else went to the sale.

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I found an old beat up copy of Broadside Ballads by Pete Seeger way back. Lots of crazy good stuff on Folkways (Almanac Singers, Woody Guthrie, New Lost City Ramblers, etc.) that I have found since then, but also alot of ethomusicologist type stuff as well. Depends on what you like I suppose.

 

LouieB

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Lots of good children's music on Smithsonian Folkways, as well. My 2 yr old daughter loves to sing along with Woody.

I have two copies of that...one green one blue as I recall.

 

LouieB

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Lots of good children's music on Smithsonian Folkways, as well. My 2 yr old daughter loves to sing along with Woody.

 

 

The jewell of my record collection is a pristine copy of Woody's Folkways Songs To Grow On. I got for 20 bucks, went home and looked in a price guide "Wowee Zowee"

 

Little sack o sugar eat you up!

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The jewell of my record collection is a pristine copy of Woody's Folkways Songs To Grow On. I got for 20 bucks, went home and looked in a price guide "Wowee Zowee"

 

Little sack o sugar eat you up!

20 bucks? I think I paid a buck a copy. If the guide is saying their are worth a whole lot more (mine aren't pristine I don't think), it seems sort of over blown. Most copies were bought by commie parents for their pink diaper babies. The copies I got were in piles donated to resale shops when those babies probably grew up and became either music fans who forgot who Woody was or capitalists pigs.

 

LouieB

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