No Words

Best Folk Albums of 2011 / Best Folk Songs of 2011

2011-12-22T23:00:00.000Z

Top Folk Albums of 2011: Year of the rabbit

1) Fleet Foxes • Helplessness Blues • Bella Union/Sub Pop
2) Marissa Nadler • Self-Titled • Box of Cedar — stream
3) Meg Baird • Seasons on Earth • Drag City
4) Hip Hatchet • Men Who Share My Name • Gravitation — stream
5) Frank Fairfield • Out on the Open West • Tompkins Square
6) Angel Olsen • Strange Cacti • Bathetic
7) Lia Ices • Grown Unknown • Jagjaguwar
8) James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg • Avos • Tompkins Square
9) Various Artists • The Watchbird Alluminate • Bird
10) Marissa Nadler • Covers, Vol. II • self-released
11) Magic Trick • The Glad Birth of Love • Empty Cellar
12) TwinSisterMoon • Then Fell the Ashes... • Primary Numbers/Blackest Rainbow — stream
13) Birds of Passage • Winter Lady • Denovali
14) Paper Dollhouse • A Box Painted Black • Bird
15) 200 Years • Self-Titled • Drag City

Honourable Mentions: Electric albums, EPs, etc. (in no particular order)

John Fahey • Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You: The Fontone Years, 1958-1965 • Dust-to-Digital
The Dark Sky Singers • The Harrowing EP • Static Caravan
Birds of Passage • Highwaymen in Midnight Masks EP • Denovali
Grouper • A I A : Alien Observer/A I A : Dream Loss • Yellow Electric
Various Artists • Never a Pal Like Mother • Dust-to-Digital
Various Artists • To What Strange Place • Tompkins Square

MMXI: Ursell's 2011 Folksong Picks (in no particular order)

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1) The Dark Sky Singers • "Quintain" • Static Caravan
2) Hip Hatchet • "Tyrant" • Gravitation
3) Emma Tricca • "Turning in Circles" • Bird
4) Beth Jeans Houghton • "Dodecahedron" • Mute
5) Frank Fairfield • "Poor Old Lance" • Tompkins Square
6) Puzzle Muteson • "En Garde" • Bedroom Community
7) Fleet Foxes • "The Cascades" • Bella Union/Sub Pop
8) TwinSisterMoon • "Desert Prophecy" • Primary Numbers/Blackest Rainbow
9) Meg Baird • "Share" • Drag City
10) Angel Olsen • "If It's Alive, It Will" • Bathetic
11) Magpahi • "My Soul Was Lost, My Soul Was Lost & No One Saved Me" • Bird
12) Paper Dollhouse • "William" • Bird
13) James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg • "Marjoram" • Tompkins Square
14) Angel Olsen • "In the Morning" • Twosyllable
15) Marissa Nadler • "In Your Lair, Bear" • Box of Cedar
16) Lee Noble • "Doesn't Matter What's Right" • Sweat Lodge Guru
17) Tula • "Don't Say a Word" • Static Caravan
18) Lia Ices • "Daphne" • Jagjaguwar
19) Weyes Blood • "Romneydale" • Not Not Fun
20) Fleet Foxes • "Montezuma" • Bella Union/Sub Pop....................

Please enjoy other No Words collections here.

Paper Dollhouse • "William" • 2011

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000Z

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Death Mask: Another No Words Halloween

2011-10-26T08:45:00.000+01:00

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This has a similar format to last year's Halloween playlist: poetry, sound effects, bizarro classical, vocal exercises, and a folksong for good measure.

00:00: Marita Günther • "Lend Me Your Ears: Phonotation of Words" ~WITH~ David Talcott • "Loop No. 3"
01:13: Heinrich Heine read by Claire Luce • "Why Are All the Roses So Pale?" ~WITH~ University of Toronto Electronic Music Studio • "Summer Idyl"
02:29: Kenneth Patchen • "The Wolf of Winter" ~WITH~ Jim Nollman w/ wolf • "Silent Night"
03:15: Vernon Scannell • "Dead Dog" ~WITH~ Nadi Qamar • "Finger Dance #2"
04:29: Peggy Seeger • "Lammikin" • Child Ballad #93 ~WITH~ sounds issuing from the Oklawaha River east of Orange Spring recorded by Charles M. Bogert
09:00: Norman Rosten • "The Spider" ~WITH~ Tod Dockstader • "Piece #7"
09:51: St. John of the Cross read by Khigh Dhiegh • "Dark Night" ~WITH~ barking treefrog, pine woods treefrog, and cricket frogs recorded by Charles M. Bogert
12:04: Heinrich Heine read by Claire Luce • "Death Brings the End" ~WITH~ Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky under Alfred Wolfsohn • a theme from "Chanson Trieste" ~WITH~ thunderstorm recorded by Dr. Peter Paul Kellogg
13:24: Frédéric Chopin performed by Clara Rockmore • "Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor"
17:15: an excerpt from "The High Cost of Dying!" from A Double Barrel Blast

Meg Baird • "Share" • 2011

2011-10-18T22:15:00.001+01:00

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Brilliancy Medley

2011-10-14T08:00:00.002+01:00

My parents recently became acquainted with a family overseas through Ancestry.com. This is how I came to know Derek Jenkins, my alleged distant cousin, who has since become my spirit animal. He is an Arkansas native but has spent the past few years in Hamilton, Ontario, where he just picked up a weekly radio show/podcast dubbed "Brilliancy Medley." It is a broadly themed affair of vernacular music and spoken recordings, and I consider it No Words' spiritual kin. I assisted Mr. Jenkins with the website—you can take a gander here. The following tunes were culled from his first broadcast, which aired October 2, 2011.

Jean Ritchie • "Wife of Usher's Well" • Child Ballad #79 • 1961
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Download / Procure British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains, Vol. 2 / Request Immediate Removal

Jacques Labrecque • "À la Claire Fontaine" • 1957
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Download / Download Canadian Folk Songs: Centennial Collection / Request Immediate Removal

Hambone Willie Newbern • "Way Down in Arkansas" • 1929
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Download / Download Songsters & Saints, Vol 1.: Songsters / Request Immediate Removal

Peregrinations: No Words Salutes Bert Jansch

2011-10-09T18:00:00.002+01:00

No Words would likely not exist without the output and reaching influence of Glasgow-born Herbert Jansch, founding member of The Pentangle, who passed away only four days ago. Below I have collected mostly instrumental pieces by Jansch and his Pentangling contemporaries staggered with a few vocal pieces and traditional ballads.

R.I.P. Bert Jansch, 1943 — 2011

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00:00: John Renbourn • "The Earle of Salisbury" • 1968
01:19: The Pentangle • "Lord Franklin" • 1970
04:39: Bert Jansch • "The Wheel" • 1965
06:22: Bert Jansch • "Henry Martin" • Child Ballad #167 • 1966
09:33: Bert Jansch w/ John Renbourn • "Peregrinations" • 1971
11:17: Bert Jansch & John Renbourn • "East Wind" • 1966
12:38: Bert Jansch • "Wishing Well" • 1969
14:51: Bert Jansch • "Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell" • 1969
16:57: Bert Jansch • "Bridge" • 1980
19:27: Bert Jansch • "High Days" • 2006
23:10: The Pentangle • "Willie o Winsbury (Live)" • Child Ballad #100 • 1972
28:45: Bert Jansch • "Needle of Death" • 1965
32:02: Bert Jansch & John Renbourn • "Orlando" • 1966

MCML: A No Words 1950s Reel

2011-08-13T18:00:00.004+01:00

Here's a playlist of folksongs recorded in the 1950s. Enjoy.

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1. Connie Converse • "Talkin' Like You (Two Tall Mountains)"
2. Peggy Seeger • "When I Was Single"
3. unspecified Russian choir • "The Gusli Serenade"
4. Elizabeth Cotten • "Freight Train"
5. Molly Drake • "Poor Mum"
6. Jean Ritchie & Paul Clayton • "The Devil's Questions"
7. Dan Haugaard • "Byssan Lull"
8. unspecified Thai can player • "Suksanaen"
9. Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger • "The Elfin Knight" • Child Ballad #2
10. Odetta • "'Buked and Scorned"
11. Jeannie Robertson • "Go Away From My Window"
12. unspecified Javanese gamelan ensemble • "Lagu Srihardjono"
13. Ed McCurdy • "Colorado Trail"
14. Shirley Collins • "Sweet England"
15. Umeno Tajima w/ Eikichi Kazari • "Shima Sodachi"
16. Emerante de Pradines • "Soleil"
17. Herta Marshall • "Down in the Willow Garden"

TwinSisterMoon • "Desert Prophecy" • 2010

2011-08-03T20:00:00.004+01:00

Via / Procure the 2011 reissue of Then Fell the Ashes...

Roof Light w/ Alicia Merz • "Gable Larch" • 2011

2011-07-20T04:00:00.003+01:00

Via

Mike Waterson • "The Scarecrow" • 1972

2011-07-16T12:00:00.002+01:00

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R.I.P. Mike Waterson, 1941 — 2011

Frank Fairfield • "Poor Old Lance" • 2011

2011-05-31T22:30:00.000+01:00

Grouper • "Dragging the Streets (First Heart Tone)" • 2011

2011-04-11T09:30:00.003+01:00

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Download / Procure A I A : Dream Loss / Request Immediate Removal

Peggy Seeger • "When I Was Single" • 1955

2011-03-16T06:30:00.001Z

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Lakis Pappas & Popi Asteriadi • "Paei Ki Auth H Kuriakh" • 1969

2011-03-04T07:30:00.001Z

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Mattias Bärjed • "Himlen 12" • 2010

2011-01-09T10:00:00.001Z

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Best Folk Albums of 2010 / Best Folk Songs of 2010 (Second Half)

2011-01-05T05:00:00.005Z

Top 15 Folk Albums of 2010: Year of the tiger

1) Joanna Newsom • Have One on Me • Drag City
2) Mountain Man • Made the Harbor • Bella Union/Partisan
3) Ólöf Arnalds • Innundir Skinni • One Little Indian
4) Elisa Randazzo • Bruises & Butterflies • Drag City
5) Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté • Ali & Toumani • Nonesuch
6) Clogs • Veil Waltz • Brassland
7) Alasdair Roberts • The Daemon Lover • Drag City
8) Various Artists • Imaginational Anthem IV • Tompkins Square
9) Jane Weaver • The Fallen by Watch Bird • Bird
10) James Blackshaw • All Is Falling • Young God
11) The Tallest Man on Earth • The Wild Hunt • Dead Oceans
12) Josephine Foster & The Victor Herrero Band • Anda Jaleo • Stillwater Limited/Fire
13) William Tyler • Behold the Spirit • Tompkins Square
14) Fursaxa • Mycorrhizae Realm • ATP
15) Faun Fables • Light of a Vaster Dark • Drag City

Honourable Mentions: Electric albums, EPs, etc. (in no particular order)

Mattias Bärjed • Himlen Är Oskyldigt Blå • Gravitation
Whalebone Polly • Taproot and Sill EP • Dreamboat
Various Artists • Bird Songs 10-Inch • Bird
The Tallest Man on Earth • Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird EP • Dead Oceans
Mountain Man • Sun Dog 10-Inch • Underwater Peoples

MMX II/II: Ursell's 2010 Folksong Picks (in no particular order)

Most of these selections were culled from albums and EPs released during the second half of 2010. Get the first half's selections here.

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1) Faun Fables • "Outro: Light" • Drag City
2) Chris Forsyth • "Paranoid Cat" • Tompkins Square
3) Whalebone Polly • "The Turnip Turned" • Dreamboat
4) Ólöf Arnalds • "Innudir Skinni" • One Little Indian
5) Sproatly Smith • "Spring Strathspey" • Reverb Worship
6) Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté • "Machengoidi" • Nonesuch
7) Marissa Nadler • "Daisy, Where Did You Go?" • self-released
8) Junip • "Chugga-Chugga" • Mute
9) Josephine Foster & The Victor Herrero Band • "Los Reyes de la Baraja" • Stillwater Limited/Fire
10) Highlife • "Wet Palm Trees" • Social Registry
11) William Tyler • "Ponotoc" • Tompkins Square
12) This Is the Kit • "Sometimes the Sea" • Dreamboat
13) Tyler Ramsey • "Our Home Beyond the River" • Tompkins Square
14) Mountain Man • "Honeybee (10-Inch Version)" • Underwater Peoples
15) Clogs • "Colony Theme" • Brassland
16) Horse Feathers • "Starving Robins" • Kill Rock Stars
17) James Blackshaw • "All Is Falling, Pt. 7 (Edit)" • Young God
18) Isengrind • "Night Dew Call" • Blackest Rainbow

Bert Jansch • "In the Bleak Midwinter (Live in Glasgow)" • 1974

2010-12-14T22:00:00.008Z

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I contemplated compiling a new Christmas-themed playlist this year, but I simply do not have the time, so here is a repost of last year's.

Miriam: A No Words Nativity

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1) The Harvesters • "Virgin Mary" • 1961
2) Shirley Collins • "The Cherry Tree Carol" • 1959
3) Alan Mills • "The Angel Gabriel" • 1957
4) Rakhel Hadass • "Sa'enu" • 1993
5) Pete Seeger • "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" • 1989
6) Rio en Medio & Israel Cilio • "Mary" • 2009
7) "Household" Regina • "Jingle Bells" • 1950
8) John Jacob Niles • "Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head" • 1957
9) The Young Tradition w/ Shirley & Dolly Collins • "The Coventry Carol" • 1955
10) John Fahey • "Good King Wenceslas" • 1975
11) Bert Jansch • "In the Bleak Midwinter" • 1974
12) Roger Sprung • "The Little Drummer Boy" • 1965
13) The Seeger Sisters • "Mary Had a Baby" • 1957
14) The Choir of the Bella Vista Children's Home • "El Niño Querido" • 1967
15) Leadbelly • "Chicken Crowing for Midnight (Christmas Song)" • 1944
16) John Fahey • "Christ's Saints of God Fantasy" • 1975
17) Swiss "Coffin" Box by Mermod • "Auld Lang Syne" • 1950

Jean Redpath • "Davy Faa" • Child Ballad #200 • 1977

2010-11-18T09:30:00.007Z

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Yoon Youn Sun • "My Heart of Sending You, Your Heart of Leaving Me" • 1972

2010-10-28T09:30:00.005+01:00

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Terse Tales and Uneasy Utterings: A No Words Halloween

2010-10-22T21:00:00.004+01:00

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Here's something altogether different for Halloween: poetry, prose, and medical essays.

00:00: John Ciardi • "In the Witch-Hunting Season" ~WITH~ Percy Grainger performed by Lydia Kavina • "Free Music, No. 2"
01:32: Edgar Allen Poe read by David Kurlan • excerpt from "The Pit and the Pendulum" ~WITH~ Malcom Goldstein • "Summer"
04:54: Sterling Brown • "Slim in Hell" ~WITH~ snapping shrimp and toadfish sounds, three meters deep
07:58: Bernard Barshay read by Henry Hamilton • "The Case of the Dream Murder" ~WITH~ Malcom
Goldstein • "Spring"
17:05: Rupert Brooke read by Richard Waring • "The Dead: I" ~WITH~ Vaclav Nelhybel • "Cosmic Fright"
18:21: esophageal voice from Speech After the Removal of the Larynx
22:08: Dr. H. E. Ulrich read by George E. Caraker • "Explanation of Various Body Cancer" ~WITH~ snapping shrimp and toadfish sounds, three meters deep
25:24: Robert Francis • "Burial" ~WITH~ Hillel and Aviva • "Twilight"

Ólöf Arnalds • "Crazy Car" • 2010

2010-09-16T16:00:00.002+01:00

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Download / Procure Innundir Skinni / Request Immediate Removal

Polk Miller • "Oysters and Wine at 2 a.m." • 1928

2010-08-23T09:30:00.002+01:00

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Marissa Nadler • "Daisy, Where Did You Go?" • 2010

2010-08-10T12:00:00.003+01:00

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Whalebone Polly • "The Turnip Turned" • 2010

2010-07-29T10:00:00.001+01:00

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Download / Procure the Taproot and Sill EP / Request Immediate Removal

Mountain Man • "Honeybee (10-Inch Version)" • 2010

2010-07-06T16:00:00.004+01:00

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Download / Via / Procure the Sun Dog EP / Request Immediate Removal

"All My Trials"

2010-06-25T08:30:00.001+01:00

Pete Seeger • "All My Trials" • 1961

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Odetta • "All My Trials" • 1963

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Marissa Nadler • "All My Trials" • 2009

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Nick & Gabrielle Drake • "All My Trials" • 196?

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Best Folk Songs of 2010 (First Half)

2010-06-16T06:30:00.010+01:00

MMX I/II: Ursell's 2010 Folksong Picks (in no particular order)

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1) Janelle Monáe w/ Deep Cotton • "57821" • Bad Boy/Wondaland
2) Sam McLoughlin & Alison Cooper • "Lantern" • Disposable
3) Mountain Man • "Soft Skin" • Bella Union/Partisan
4) Alasdair Roberts • "The Daemon Lover" • Drag City
5) Fursaxa • "Lunaria Exits the Blue Lodge" • ATP
6) Joanna Newsom • "'81" • Drag City
7) Emma Tricca • "Coming Into Los Angeles" • Bird
8) Chuck Johnson • "A Struggle, Not a Thought" • Tompkins Square
9) Jane Weaver • "Silver Chord" • Bird
10) Meg Baird • "Moving Up a Ways" • Important
11) A Broken Consort • "Beneath" • Tompkins Square
12) Marissa Nadler • "I Love My Man" • Buffetlibre
13) Languis • "Para Marta" • Plug Research
14) Shawn David McMillen • "For Carrie Brown" • Tompkins Square
15) Magpahi • "Tired and Weary Traveller" • Bird
16) The Tallest Man on Earth • "Love Is All" • Dead Oceans
17) Jack Rose • "Tree in the Valley" • Thrill Jockey
18) Elisa Randazzo • "Remember May" • Drag City

Honourable Mentions: Solid tunes that did not quite make the cut for one reason or another

Ólöf Arnalds • "Innudir Skinni" • One Little Indian
Ólöf Arnalds w/ Björk • "Surrender" • One Little Indian
James Blackshaw • "All Is Falling (Part 7 Edit)" • Young God

P.S. Check out Lord Franklin, the No Words Tumblr companion:

Ólöf Arnalds w/ Björk • "Surrender" • 2010

2010-06-09T01:30:00.008+01:00

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~~Download~~ / Via / Procure Innundir Skinni / ~~Request Immediate Removal~~

Mountain Man • "Babylon" • 2010

2010-06-07T20:00:00.001+01:00

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Download / Procure Made the Harbor / Request Immediate Removal

Connie Converse • "Talkin' Like You (Two Tall Mountains)" • 195?

2010-06-07T19:30:00.008+01:00

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Download / Via / Procure How Sad, How Lovely / Request Immediate Removal

Wishwander: Ursell's Vashti Tape

2010-06-06T13:00:00.003+01:00

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A Vashti Bunyan spotlight is perhaps the most obvious post I could make here, but I can no longer help it. Without Vashti, there would be no No Words, so I'm paying my respects at long last. Above is a quick reel of new and old Vashti favourites, collaborations, and rarities, including a 2010 demo, which you can download below in the track list.

00:00: Vashti • "Here (Demo)" • 2010
02:58: Vashti • "Wishwanderer (Demo)" • 1967
04:49: Vashti • "Wayward Hum" • 2005
09:00: Vashti • "Glow Worms" • 1970
11:17: Piano Magic w/ Vashti • "Dark Ages" • 2004
14:53: Vashti • "Here Before" • 2005
16:59: Vashti • "Train Song (Single Version)" • 1966
19:07: Vashti • "Come Wind Come Rain" • 1970
22:12: Vashti • "Where I Like to Stand" • 1970
23:33: Vashti • "Homesick 1972 Gibson From Los Angeles" • 2007
24:31: Vetiver w/ Vashti • "Sleep a Million Years" • 2008

Mountain Man • "River" • 2010

2010-06-03T21:00:00.002+01:00

Live in Hell's Kitchen, NYC. Filmed by Vincent Galgano. Via.

Sam McLoughlin & Alison Cooper • "Lantern" • 2010

2010-05-25T06:30:00.000+01:00

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Bo Hansson • "Day & Night" • 1975

2010-05-18T06:00:00.002+01:00

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R.I.P. Bo Hansson, 1943 — 2010

Janelle Monáe & Deep Cotton • "57821" • 2010

2010-05-16T01:30:00.001+01:00

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Joanna Newsom • "Jackrabbits" • 2010

2010-02-20T02:30:00.001Z

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Download / Procure Have One on Me / Request Immediate Removal

Joanna Newsom • "Kingfisher" • 2010

2010-02-09T20:00:00.000Z

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Download / Procure Have One on Me / Request Immediate Removal

Joanna Newsom • "81" • 2010

2010-01-26T19:30:00.004Z

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Best Folk Albums of 2009

2009-12-20T23:00:00.008Z

Top 10 Folk Albums of 2009: Year of the ox

1) Tiny Vipers • Life on Earth • Sub Pop
2) Emma Tricca • Minor White • Bird
3) Blue Roses • Self-Titled • XL
4) James Blackshaw • The Glass Bead Game • Young God
5) Mattias Bärjed • Familjen Babajou OST • Gravitation
6) Frank Fairfield • Self-Titled • Tompkins Square
7) Various Artists • Leaves of Life • Borne!
8) Green Blossoms • Whiskey Leaves • Digitalis
9) C Joynes • Revenants, Prodigies & the Restless Dead • Bo' Weavil
10) Josephine Foster • Graphic As a Star • Fire

Honourable Mentions: Electric albums, EPs, etc. (in no particular order)

Mountain Man • Self-Titled EP • Self-Released — Name your price.
A Hawk and a Hacksaw • Délivrance • Leaf
Beth Jeans Houghton • "Golden" 7-Inch • Static Caravan
Le B • Good Fortune Sounds EP • Bird
Bill Callahan • Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle • Drag City
Julianna Barwick • Florine EP • eMusic Selects
Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny • Hot Toast, Vol. 1 EP • Static Caravan
Espers • III • Drag City
Marissa Nadler • Little Hells • Kemado

MMIX: Ursell's 2009 Picks

"MMIX" is 2009 in Roman numerals. Will this tidbit inspire a slew of year-end mixes?

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1) Le B • "The Trees They Do Grow High" • Bird
2) Emma Tricca • "All Along the Hudson" • Bird
3) Frank Fairfield • "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" • Tompkins Square
4) Green Blossoms • "Hana-Akari" • Digitalis
5) Beth Jeans Houghton • "Night Swimmer" • Static Caravan
6) Fern Knight • "Our Mountain the Mother" • Borne!
7) Bruno Coulais, Mathilde Pellegrini & Hélène Breschand • "Exploration" • Koch
8) Mountain Man • "Animal Tracks" • Open Face
9) C Joynes • "Happy & Delightful" • Bo' Weavil
10) Arborea • "Son of the Moon, Daughter of the Sun" • Borne!
11) Blue Roses • "I Am Leaving" • XL
12) Mattias Bärjed • "Familjen Babajou Theme 2" • Gravitation
13) Ellie Goulding • "The Wolves" • blogs
14) Tiny Vipers • "Dreamer" • Sub Pop
15) Taken by Trees • "Tidens Gang" • Rough Trade
16) James Blackshaw • "Cross" • Young God
17) Julianna Barwick • "Bode" • eMusic Selects

Miriam: A No Words Nativity

2009-12-10T21:00:00.004Z

Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Neopagan Yule, my noble few. "Miriam" (מרים) is Hebrew for "Mary," the Blessed Virgin.

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1) The Harvesters • "Virgin Mary" • 1961
2) Shirley Collins • "The Cherry Tree Carol" • 1959
3) Alan Mills • "The Angel Gabriel" • 1957
4) Rakhel Hadass • "Sa'enu" • 1993
5) Pete Seeger • "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" • 1989
6) Rio en Medio & Israel Cilio • "Mary" • 2009
7) "Household" Regina • "Jingle Bells" • 1950
8) John Jacob Niles • "Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head" • 1957
9) The Young Tradition w/ Shirley & Dolly Collins • "The Coventry Carol" • 1955
10) John Fahey • "Good King Wenceslas" • 1975
11) Bert Jansch • "In the Bleak Midwinter" • 1974
12) Roger Sprung • "The Little Drummer Boy" • 1965
13) The Seeger Sisters • "Mary Had a Baby" • 1957
14) The Choir of the Bella Vista Children's Home • "El Niño Querido" • 1967
15) Leadbelly • "Chicken Crowing for Midnight (Christmas Song)" • 1944
16) John Fahey • "Christ's Saints of God Fantasy" • 1975
17) Swiss "Coffin" Box by Mermod • "Auld Lang Syne" • 1950

Hear my No Words mix from earlier this year: A Revelry of Piety & Custom in Song, and check back in a few weeks for a "Best Folk of 2009" list and mix.

Odetta • "'Buked and Scorned" • 1956

2009-10-02T17:30:00.012+01:00

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Josh White • "Jim Crow" • 1944

2009-10-02T17:30:00.011+01:00

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Mattias Bärjed • "Theme 2" • 2009

2009-10-02T17:30:00.008+01:00

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Rio en Medio & Israel Cilio • "Mary" • 2009

2009-09-11T18:00:00.007+01:00

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Fern Knight • "Our Mountain the Mother" • 2009

2009-09-11T18:00:00.006+01:00

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Arborea • "Son of the Moon, Daughter of the Sun" • 2009

2009-09-11T18:00:00.005+01:00

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Marissa Nadler • "Heart Paper Lover" • 2009

2009-03-04T08:00:00.014Z

No Words

Best Folk Albums of 2011 / Best Folk Songs of 2011

Paper Dollhouse • "William" • 2011

Death Mask: Another No Words Halloween

Meg Baird • "Share" • 2011

Brilliancy Medley

Peregrinations: No Words Salutes Bert Jansch

MCML: A No Words 1950s Reel

TwinSisterMoon • "Desert Prophecy" • 2010

Roof Light w/ Alicia Merz • "Gable Larch" • 2011

Mike Waterson • "The Scarecrow" • 1972

Frank Fairfield • "Poor Old Lance" • 2011

Grouper • "Dragging the Streets (First Heart Tone)" • 2011

Peggy Seeger • "When I Was Single" • 1955

Lakis Pappas & Popi Asteriadi • "Paei Ki Auth H Kuriakh" • 1969

Mattias Bärjed • "Himlen 12" • 2010

Best Folk Albums of 2010 / Best Folk Songs of 2010 (Second Half)

Bert Jansch • "In the Bleak Midwinter (Live in Glasgow)" • 1974

Jean Redpath • "Davy Faa" • Child Ballad #200 • 1977

Yoon Youn Sun • "My Heart of Sending You, Your Heart of Leaving Me" • 1972

Terse Tales and Uneasy Utterings: A No Words Halloween

Ólöf Arnalds • "Crazy Car" • 2010

Polk Miller • "Oysters and Wine at 2 a.m." • 1928

Marissa Nadler • "Daisy, Where Did You Go?" • 2010

Whalebone Polly • "The Turnip Turned" • 2010

Mountain Man • "Honeybee (10-Inch Version)" • 2010

"All My Trials"

Best Folk Songs of 2010 (First Half)

Ólöf Arnalds w/ Björk • "Surrender" • 2010

Mountain Man • "Babylon" • 2010

Connie Converse • "Talkin' Like You (Two Tall Mountains)" • 195?

Wishwander: Ursell's Vashti Tape

Mountain Man • "River" • 2010

Sam McLoughlin & Alison Cooper • "Lantern" • 2010

Bo Hansson • "Day & Night" • 1975

Janelle Monáe & Deep Cotton • "57821" • 2010

Joanna Newsom • "Jackrabbits" • 2010

Joanna Newsom • "Kingfisher" • 2010

Joanna Newsom • "81" • 2010

Best Folk Albums of 2009

Miriam: A No Words Nativity

Odetta • "'Buked and Scorned" • 1956

Josh White • "Jim Crow" • 1944

Mattias Bärjed • "Theme 2" • 2009

Rio en Medio & Israel Cilio • "Mary" • 2009

Fern Knight • "Our Mountain the Mother" • 2009

Arborea • "Son of the Moon, Daughter of the Sun" • 2009

Marissa Nadler • "Heart Paper Lover" • 2009

Bruno Coulais, Mathilde Pellegrini & Hélène Breschand • "Exploration" • 2009

Rokia Traoré • "Kounandi" • 2008

No Words on Twitter

Every Song Has Been Reposted

Ursell's Top 10 Albums of 2008

Max Ochs • "In Christ, There Is No East nor West" • 2008

Horse Feathers • "Curs in the Weeds" • 2008

The Pennywhistlers • "Kak pa Moryu" • 1963

Joanna Newsom • "Heart to Task" [Working Title] • 2008

Max Richter • "Cradle Song for A (Interstate B3)" • 2008

James Blackshaw • "Past Has Not Passed" • 2008

James Blackshaw • "White Goddess" • 2005

Mary Lou Williams • "The Devil" • 1963

Luz Morales • "Ang Gatas at ang Itlog" • 1960

Beneath Fire & Smoke • "Songs From a Slipway" • 2007

Joanna Newsom, RF, Neil Morgan & Leah Sklar • "The Book of Right-On (Live in Amsterdam)" • 2007

Joanna Newsom, RF & Neil Morgan • "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie (Live on Jools Holland)" • 2008

Joanna Newsom, RF & Neil Morgan • "Inflammatory Writ" • 2007

Joanna Newsom • "Prepared Harp Improv" • 2004

Joanna Newsom, RF, Neil Morgan & The Austin Symphony Orchestra • "Emily" • 2007

Joanna Newsom • "Esame" [Working Title] • 2007

Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band • "Only Skin" • 2006

RF, Lili de la Mora & Joanna Newsom • "Lifetime" • 2007

Joanna Newsom • "Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes" • 2006

Judy Henske • "Baltimore Oriole" • 1964

The Song Swappers • "Abiyoyo" • 1955

Shirley Collins • "The Cherry Tree Carol" • Child Ballad #53 • 1959

John Fahey • "Good King Wenceslas" • 1982

Rakhel Hadass • "Sa'enu" • 1953

Tenniscoats • "Baibaba Bimba" • 2007

Fikret Kızılok • "Anadolu'yum" • 1973

Leadbelly • "Take This Hammer" • 1934