Some years ago, I attended a Russian Orthodox church with a priest who came out of the “pre-hippie generation.” I was amazed to hear him tell how his generation detested the Sixties-era “folk music” performers, who had watered down the Stalinist history that had provided so much influence. The new performers tried to put a positive spin on it, but their musical ancestors knew how oppressive the Communist Objects of Worship really were.

One minor detail, however, was that the Clearwater, which had a diesel engine, and probably radar as well, had neglected to install holding tanks for its onboard toilets, and was illegally discharging the crew’s turds directly into the river. Not such a big deal, actually, given that the Hudson is a big river; and no doubt, most of the cities on its banks were vastly deficient in their own wastewater processing.

But this quintessential example of lefty enviro “do as we say, not as we do, provided a golden opportunity to the NY Dep’t of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to bust the Clearwater, engender a little publicity of their own, and embarrass Seeger, the Clearwater’s posturing righteous patron. Which indeed all occurred.

So I snarkily mentioned the episode to Seeger in the elevator and the snarling rage which that elicited was something to behold!

http://is.gd/y9WL

The thing that struck me about Pete is how lightly he deals with his own support for Stalin’s regime.

It’s painful to say you were wrong, especially in front of people you don’t respect, but he likes to talk about heroes.

I might have agreed with your dismissal of ersatz folkies when I was 18. I see no reason to do so now.

Few people are going to seek out music the purists love. So the people who mediate between the purists and the mass audience are the music’s best propagandists.

Pat Boone is a great example of this kind of thing. Little Richard must have derived a lot of profit from Pat’s version of Tutti Frutti.

Was that a bad thing?