Hello everyone!
Allow me to introduce myself as the new intern at 33 1/3. I’ll be doing the occasional video vault post and maybe some other work around the blog.
Rather than aligning myself in this first post with one musical camp or another, I’m keeping my stance ambiguous by invoking as many genres as I can in one video. “Another New World” is a song by Americana guitarist Josh Ritter, performed here on mandolin by Chris Thile, that is loosely inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee.” I’m also detecting some “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” there in those lyrics, just in case the Poe allusions weren’t raising enough goosebumps. The word ekphrasis comes to mind from this kind of art-on-art layering, but I’m not sure if there’s actually a word to describe a cover of a song inspired by several works of poetry.
Chris Thile has been one of my all-time favorite musicians since I first heard him a few years back, but I couldn’t tell you today what genre he belongs to. Just listen to his pretty voice and bluegrass improvisation/rock solo/Bach sonata and decide for yourself.
– Katherine
