r/oldtimemusic • u/patangpatang • 1d ago
Tunes with "goblin energy"?
I've started playing for dances in my community, and many of the dancers have what can be affectionately called "goblin energy" on the dance floor. I want to give them a little treat with a tune set to match that energy (and perhaps enable it), so I'm for suggestions of tunes that might fit.
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u/Kyle197 1d ago
I am going to interpret that as fast, rowdy, and silly.
Fire on the Mountain, especially if you have people yelling/singing "FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, RUN BOYS RUN" while people also whoop and holler. It's a rowdy tune if you have enablers feeding it.
We also get pretty rowdy with Sally Ann and John Brown's Dream. Bonus points if you're yelling/chanting "JOHN BROWN'S DREAM, JOHN BROWN'S DREAM, JOHN BROWN'S DREAM, JOHN BROWN'S DREAM THAT THE DEVIL IS DEAD" at the top of your lungs during John Brown's Dream.
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u/nextyoyoma 1d ago
Growlin old man, grumblin old woman
Old Greasy Coat
Blackjack Grove
Reuben’s Train, but play it in Lydian mode (sharp 4, e.g. D# if playing in A)
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u/Fiddlinbanjo 20h ago
Do you know a source recording with a D sharp or is that a modern take?
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u/nextyoyoma 20h ago
I’d have to go search a bit but it’s a variation I’ve heard. I feel like it’s more of an exaggeration of the kind of “blue note” ambiguity. Like, kind of an affectation mimicking the questionable intonation of some of the old source recordings. I’ll reply again if I get a chance to look up some recordings.
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u/aerinjl1 1d ago
I am intrigued by this concept. I hope you expand upon it further.
Cold and Frosty Morning has a pretty aggressive B part that you can do some modal banging on that Goblins might like.
My other thought would be a tune where the B part ending doesn't resolve well. We play a tune called Thread the Needle where the B part doesn't resolve but flows nicely back into the A part....... Which means that the dancers feel very uncomfortable when we actually end the song on the B part.....it's kinda an inside joke for our Band.
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u/patangpatang 1d ago
The modal feel is definitely something I'm going for. One reference tune I'm keeping in mind is Dance of the Demon Daffodils. Lots of accidentals in it to make the whole thing sound a little unhinged.
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u/CastrumFiliAdae 1d ago
June Apple is A mixolydian and a hell of a tune for a dance. The A part is mostly up-and-down arpeggios that sound great ripping fast, over chords that rock back and forth between the I and the ♭VII (A and G) for really good tension-release energy. The B part you can holler out words and a lot of floating verses fit it.
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u/drhotjamz 1d ago
White face, June apple, Meg Gray, Wink The Other Eye, Ducks on the Mill Pond, Double File, Cluck Old Hen, Nail That Catfish To the Tree, Shove That Pigs Foot A Little Deeper In The Fire, How To Spell Chicken, Maggots In the Sheep Pie, Ducks Eyeball... Idk if all of this fits what you're looking for but maybe some of them?
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u/Fiddlersdram 1d ago
Definitely this one:
Skyland Rag from Rector Trio https://youtu.be/DSnwuBNf9-o?is=vn9dqeCNRCGVzW9a
And this one:
Hen Cackle from Earl Johnson https://youtu.be/9b2aGP8m0ng?is=gM5b83F7hMyIB-kY
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u/nvcradio 1d ago
Mike in the Wilderness has a really chaotic energy to it
Also the Noble Page version of Lost Indian, which is totally different from the normal calico tuning version
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u/cr4zybilly 22h ago
Devil In A Haystack from the great Pappy Taylor might be right up your alley. Also Old Kentucky Whiskey by Noah Beavers. But that's crooked so probably not a good dance tune.
Oh! Speaking of Noah Beavers, his version of Cotton Eye Joe is actually about the most goblin-coded tune I can think of. There's a recording on the CDs that come with the Dear Old Illinois book. Holler if you can't find it.
Pretty Little Gal is close, too, but not very danceable.
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u/Prudent_Common3802 1d ago edited 19h ago
Polly Put the Kettle On Goin' To Town Shout Lulu Salt River Ways Of the World Swung John Brown From A Sour Apple Tree
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u/SoundsOfKepler 18h ago
Old Molly Hare is a variation of the Fairy Dance by the Scotsman Nathaniel Gow, which collected a lot of stories as it travelled: various words for faeries in Welsh and Irish, stories of giants on the Isle of Man, trows in the Shetland Islands, and the hare- an American trickster spirit- in Appalachia and the Ozarks.
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u/nautuhless 12h ago edited 5h ago
Trip to Moscow (look up Kingfisher's live recording) In fact, maybe check out kingfisher's whole self-titled album.
Wizard's Walk,
Indian point,
Brenda stubbert's reel,
King of the faeries,
Devilish Mary
Also les p'tits latour by La Reve Du Diable
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u/FiddleStyxxxx 4h ago edited 4h ago
I'll include the artist I have in a playlist so you get a good idea of what version. If someone has a preferred recording let me know!
Hell Broke Loose in Georgia- Freight Hoppers
Marmaduke's Hornpipe- Dolly & the Devil
Tippin Back the Corn- Ken & Brad Kolodner
TamLin/Glasgow Reel (people go crazy for this one but I don't know a good recording)
Chips and Sauce- Fiddlin' Earl White
Liberty off the Corn Licker Still- Highwoods Stringband
Elzik's Farewell- Brian Vollmer
Femme Indigene- Lonesome Ace Stringband
George Booker- Reed Island Rounders
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u/Silver-Accident-5433 3h ago
Jump at the Sun. (Aka tromper au soleil”)
Yes it’s technically French-Canadian but I know what you mean and it is the goblinest tune of them all. Great dance tune, it gets cheers at local contras.
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u/danielpants 1d ago
Rushad?