Choral Fixation

Jacqui Clydesdale, Liz Walker
  • 4.8 (21)
  • MUSIC COMMENTARY

Why do people love singing together? And how do we get the non-singers to join in?

Episodes

  1. Protest Singing, Part 3: Black Lives Matter

    2021-07-16

    Protest Singing, Part 3: Black Lives Matter

    Jacqui and Liz are extremely grateful to their guests for the rich and illuminating discussion of the current state of protest singing within the Black Lives Matter movement. Thank you Micah Hendler, Nikki Nesbary, Caullen Hudson, and Patrice Rhone.  Micah Hendler is a musical changemaker, and covers music and social change for Forbes. He is the founder and artistic director of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus. Nikki Nesbary is an experienced facilitator, trainer, and program manager. She is a singer and leadership team member with SongRise, a DC-based women's social justice a cappella group. Caullen Hudson is a filmmaker, activist, and founder of SoapBox productions and organizing. He is a scholar and producer of the feature documentary Chicago Drill ‘n’ Activism, and produces and co-hosts the Bourbon ‘n BrownTown podcast. Check out their Collective Freedom Project,  a four-part series highlighting grassroots efforts in Chicago, Atlanta, Texas, and California to fight crimmigration. In addition to her digital activism, Patrice Rhone is a fashion fanatic, marketing professional, and blogger. She will also be rocking some classic 80s Madonna and Whitney with Jacqui and Liz at our next karaoke party. Many, many thanks to Buffy Childerhose for help in producing this episode. Their storytelling instincts, interviewing recommendations and social justice background were invaluable. LINKS On the march: is communal protest singing poised for a comeback? by Micah Hendler, Jun 13, 2020  https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahhendler/2020/06/13/on-the-march-is-communal-protest-singing-poised-for-a-comeback/?sh=639ce5157372 Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell https://www.ymbarnwell.com/ Marching and Singing with Ysaye Barnwell - Black Lives Matter, YouTube, uploaded Jun 9, 2020 Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXV9c0-JZcg Lift Every Voice and Sing by the Spellman College Glee Club, YouTube, Feb 28, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRF9FOPgLpw Lift Every Voice and Sing by SongRise, Juneteenth Solidarity Sing, YouTube, Premiered Jun 20, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko9I9d8Zu68 Tupac interview about food in hotel, YouTube, uploaded Dec 29, 2012 (from Tupac: Resurrection) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuBWjhEax3g This is what protest sounds like by Breeanna Hare, November 19, 2017 https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/us/soundtracks-protest-music-evolution/index.html Anti-maskers, the alt-right, and leftist messaging by Paula Ethans, October 20, 2020 https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/anti-maskers-the-alt-right-and-leftist-messaging Anti-vaccine protesters are likening themselves to civil rights activists by Mackenzie Mays, Sep 18, 2019 https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/18/california-anti-vaccine-civil-rights-1500976 Justice Choir https://www.justicechoir.org/ Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" chanted by protesters during Cleveland police altercation by Jeremy Gordon July 29, 2015 https://pitchfork.com/news/60568-kendrick-lamars-alright-chanted-by-protesters-during-cleveland-police-altercation/ Has Kendrick Lamar recorded the new Black national anthem? by Aisha Harris, Aug 3, 2015 https://slate.com/culture/2015/08/black-lives-matter-protesters-chant-kendrick-lamars-alright-what-makes-it-the-perfect-protest-song-video.html Kendrick Lamar - Alright https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-48u_uWMHY Reverend Gary Davis ~ I'll Be Alright Someday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovZZL_-SWTE Pete Seeger - We Shall Overcome (Live) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1yQcIEFAFc You About to Lose Your Job (Original Remix), YouTube, uploaded Jun 4, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cDyvJu05bc Chief Keef "Faneto" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuEx6lNHZjM Ludacris - Move Bitch https://youtu.be/3oIbztWsY8g Black Lives Matter and Music: Protest, Intervention, Reflection,  Edited by Fernando Orejuela and Stephanie Shonekan, from Indiana University Press https://iupress.org/9780253038425/black-lives-matter-and-music/ The World in Six Songs by Daniel J. Levitin, from Penguin Random House I'm Gon' Stand sung by Nikki Nesbary I'm Gon' Stand by Bernice Johnson Reagon of Sweet Honey In The Rock, SongRise, YouTube, uploaded Nov 23, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weuKNknUbqw

    58 min
  2. Protest Singing, Part 2: We Shall Overcome

    2021-03-19

    Protest Singing, Part 2: We Shall Overcome

    The books and songs discussed in this episode include: O Sanctissima performed by the Daughters of Saint Paul, 2010 The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe, performed by the Canadian Brass The History of We Shall Overcome uploaded to YouTube by creator Genie Deez, June 15, 2020 I’ll be Alright performed by The Angelic Gospel Singers I’ll Be Alright Someday performed by Rev. Gary Davis, reissued 1972 Pete Seeger Talks about the History of We Shall Overcome, uploaded to YouTube by folkarchivist, Dec 29, 2010 We Shall Overcome (Live) performed by Pete Seeger, 1963 We Shall Overcome performed by the Freedom Singers, Sing For Freedom Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (1990) We Shall Overcome (Live) performed by Mahalia Jackson The Nashville Sit-In Story from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (1960) We Shall Overcome, Jail Sequence We Shall Overcome performed by Peter Yarrow, Mary Travers, Paul Stookey, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Bernice Reagon, Cordell Reagon, Charles Neblett, Rutha Harris, Pete Seeger, and Theodore Bikel, Newport Folk Festival, July 1963 Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan, performed by Cliff Richards (1966) Malcolm X, The Ballot or the Bullet, from Say It Plain, Say It Loud: A Century of Great African American Speeches (original recording King Solomon Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan - April 12, 1964) We Gonna Be Alright Crowd Chanting, Black Lives Matter, Downtown Los Angeles July 7, 2016 #AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile Making Movement Sounds: The Cultural Organizing Behind the Freedom Songs of the Civil Rights Movement by Elizabeth Davis-Cooper (2017) Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:39987965 Sit In, Stand Up and Sing Out!: Black Gospel Music and the Civil Rights Movement by Michael Castellini (2013) Georgia State University https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses/76 From Sit-ins to SNCC : The Student Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, edited by Iwan Morgan and Philip Davies. 2014.   Thank you, Buffy Childerhose, for helping to produce this episode, and for the research tips and tricks. Thanks, as always, to Aaron P and Jeffrey Christian for reviewing the episode.

    47 min
  3. Spotlight Song #2: Barrett's Privateers (and Other Sea Shanties)

    2021-02-01

    Spotlight Song #2: Barrett's Privateers (and Other Sea Shanties)

    Big thanks go out to Canadian folk music icon Garnet Rogers. He kindly shared with us some amazing stories and fantastic music recommendations. Go to his website to purchase his memoir Night Drive: Travels with My Brother about his time on the road with Stan and check out his music on his website, or wherever you get your tunes.  Thanks also to Sam Pope, ShantyTok leading light, and lead vocals on The Wellerman’s Official TikTok version of, well, The Wellerman. He gave us great insight into the current sea shanty phenomenon and was extremely charming and generous with his time. Find him on TikTok (of course), YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and wherever you get your tunes. Thanks, as always, to our unofficial co-producer, Aaron P. Just FYI: There's a bit of salty language in this ep, which makes sense when you think about it. Here are the songs, articles, and that one podcast you'll hear about in this episode: The Wellerman (Sea Shanty) - From TikTok to Epic Remix, Nathan Phillips and others (Thanks to The Kifness for putting it up on YouTube) Barrett’s Privateers by Stan Rogers, 1977 Fogarty's Cove Music The Canadian Encyclopedia Stan Rogers, by Chris Gudgeon, Andrew McIntosh, August 29, 2013 Hail to You, Santa Claus by Stan Rogers, 1970 RCA (Thanks to Nick Spacek for putting it on YouTube) STAN ROGERS: An Interview at Mariposa, 1978, Reprinted from The Folk Life Quarterly, Vol. III, No 1, Summer, 1978 Stan Rogers intros & sings "Barrett's Privateers" in One Warm Line produced by Kensington Communications Stan Rogers shows off his first guitar from the CBC Digital Archives. Stan explains privateering to the host of Canada After Dark, Paul Soles. Broadcast Date: Nov. 30, 1978  The Maritime Cultural Resource Center Is the Stan Rogers song "Barrett's Privateers" true? by Dan Conlin Sloop John B. by The Kingston Trio. 1958 Universal Music Group. Stand by Your Band Tom Thakkar and Tommy McNamara talk about the bands that Pitchfork attacks and your friends make fun of). The October 10, 2019 featuring Charlie Bury is all about Stan Rogers. Ordinary Day Great Big Sea 2011 WMG (This is the song Liz heard in a Scarborough bar) Four Strong Winds by Neil Young. 1978 album Comes a Time, written by Ian Tyson. Sea Shanty TikTok is the perfect expression of masculinity for 2021 MSNBC opinion piece by Hayes Brown Michael Row the Boat Ashore by Pete Seeger. Live in 1963. (Thanks to Evan for putting it on YouTube) In the Moment of Zen clip at the end, Jacqui is singing Bluenose by Stan Rogers. It is waaaaaaay out of her range.

    58 min
  4. Protest Singing, Part 1: A Little Bit of History

    2021-01-19

    Protest Singing, Part 1: A Little Bit of History

    The books, songs and Saturday morning cartoon discussed in this episode include: The World in Six Songs by Daniel J. Levitin, from Penguin Random House The World in Six Songs: Dr. Daniel Levitin at TEDxUSC 2012 The Power of Grayskull by Prince Adam, aka He-Man The "Tenore Ulianesu" singing Sardinian Pastoral Songs in an Irish Pub 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day by Dorian Lynskey, from HarperCollins Yankee Doodle by The Robert Shaw Chorale (note: This isn’t actually played in the episode, but we wanted to note that Jacqui slightly misrepresents the origins of this song. The original lyrics, pre-dandy talk, were mostly nonsense words in English and Dutch). John Brown’s Body by Pete Seeger Tubthumping by Chumbawamba The Diggers’ Song Chumbawamba Captain Kidd by Great Big Sea Bonus hymn based on a song about a pirate: Precious Name performed by Dr. Terry Morris, First United Methodist, Downtown, Houston TX Special thanks to Aaron P, Ian D and Jeffrey C for listening and giving feedback. Much appreciated!   7ytjdniKj7BDQpXZ2GtF

    39 min
  5. Spotlight Song #1: Hasselhoff's Looking for Freedom

    2020-11-11

    Spotlight Song #1: Hasselhoff's Looking for Freedom

    This episode, we’re doing a deep dive on a song that means a lot to Germans who remember the heady days of reunification in 1989. If you want to do your own exploration of the earworm that may* have ended the Cold War, check out:   David Hasselhoff - Looking For Freedom Official Music Video: https://youtu.be/h2f9dumn8DM (We’re listening to this at 9:10 in the episode)David Hasselhoff - Looking For Freedom Live in Berlin (1989): https://youtu.be/dYVi7n7aoB4 (Starting at 14:52 in the episode)David Hasselhoff & André Rieu - Knight Rider Theme Song & Looking For Freedom: https://youtu.be/BSeWA8f0Qv0 (We start watching this at 23:16 in the episode)Special thanks to Aaron P for listening and giving feedback. Much appreciated. * It absolutely did not.

    28 min
  6. Choir! Choir! Choir! and Pop-up Pub Choirs

    2020-06-12

    Choir! Choir! Choir! and Pop-up Pub Choirs

    This episode, we ask: why do (lots of) people (who might not normally join a choir) love singing (everything from AM radio classics to Handel's Messiah) together (in pubs and bars)?  Find us on Facebook and Twitter Email us at choralfixationS@gmail.com *ADDITIONAL THANKS WE FORGOT TO INCLUDE IN THE EPISODE: Thanks to Aaron P for his eagle ear (?) when it comes to providing QA. Thanks to Paul McDougall for help with our original logo. Individual episode logos are all us, though. Don't blame him. Thanks to Emilie Boucek for her sound sound engineering assistance. Both sounds intentional. Massive, MASSIVE thanks to the wonderful Katie Jensen of Vocal Fry Studios. Her guidance was an absolute lifesaver. Hire VFS to make you a podcast or teach you some podcasting skills! You will not regret it.

    50 min
  7. Why do we love singing Christmas songs? (Holiday Special!)

    2019-12-13 · BONUS

    Why do we love singing Christmas songs? (Holiday Special!)

    Music Notes & Special Guest Stars Ep. 1 December 12, 2019 We Wish You A Merry Merry Christmas Traditional English Folksong Adapted and Arranged by Kirby Shaw (Hal Leonard)Jingle Bells https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWJNqyub3oIn the Bleak Midwinter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExZbY-zPh9k"Noël, C'est L'amour" by Henri Contet & Norbert Glanzberg From "Le Choeur des Enfants Chante Noël"(2005). Sung by Le Chouer Des Enfants de Sherbrooke. (C) Distribution SelectIncidental music from TRG Banks' Christmas Album: “Snowfall”, ‘A Christmas Adventure Part 4”, “The Star of Bethlehem” (Free Music Archive, Public Domain)Many thanks to these legends: Morgan Russell Damaris Schmucker Mike Flint Laurie Sanderson Rachel Ellis

    20 min
  8. What is Choral Fixation?

    SEASON 1 TRAILER

    What is Choral Fixation?

    We’re using choirs and group singing to talk about emotional discovery. Singing is an intimate experience rooted in our bodies, and when people share their songs with others, choirs can create a powerful sense of solidarity, unity and identity. We’re exploring how people are doing that in 2020, and aim to inspire people to find their voice.

    1 min

Trailer

4.8
out of 5
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About

Why do people love singing together? And how do we get the non-singers to join in?

Information

  • Creator
    Jacqui Clydesdale, Liz Walker
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2021
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2019 - Choral Fixation
  • Show Website
    Choral Fixation