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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Breakdown and Rag | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27th, 2005 10:08 am |
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1st Post |
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1four5 Approved 
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I see these two terms used from time to time in song titles. It there any real defination of what a "breakdown" or a "rag" is? The origin of these terms might be interesting.
____________________ These are the good times! |
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28th, 2005 03:27 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Philj200 Approved 
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Breakdown is just a term defined by usage I believe: A fast dancible tune or instrumental showpiece. Rag is a specifc term for a rythmic piece played at a brisk tempo in the blue/early jazz genres. I've seen the opposite term 'Drag' applied to slower foxtroty tempo pieces. Perhaps the terms both come out of Prohibition and the speakeasy dance clubs?
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28th, 2005 11:46 pm |
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3rd Post |
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1four5 Approved
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Hey thanks Phil! You inspired me to do some more searching...found some good stuff on "Rags" http://psychcentral.com/psypsych/Ragtime http://www.holeintheweb.com/drp/bhd/Ragtime.htm This is all I could find on "breakdown" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakdown_(music) Last edited on Thu Jul 28th, 2005 11:52 pm by 1four5 ____________________ These are the good times! |
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29th, 2005 01:45 pm |
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4th Post |
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Philj200 Approved
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Okay, good stuff. Now let's extrapolate: Hoedown, is a dance associated with rural life. That could be a folk-process "Put the hoe down, enough farming for the while. Now let's celebrate." Breakdown...a hoedown done with such elan and zest as to course the the musicians to breakdown in exhaustion, like a worn-out engine, from playing it. Hmmmm.....could be.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29th, 2005 06:02 pm |
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5th Post |
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1four5 Approved
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And if by some chance the is dancin on a rug...would they be "cuttin a rug" maybe even at a place calleg the Jug? Extra credit...what song did that line come from?
____________________ These are the good times! |
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| Posted: Mon Aug 1st, 2005 01:02 pm |
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6th Post |
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Philj200 Approved
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"dancin on a rug...would they be "cuttin a rug" --Actually, I think that that is exactly where the term comes from. "Extra credit...what song did that line come from?" --I'll have to pass on that one. --But rhyming-wise, where did fug (as in The Fugs) come from. Extra credit if you can name the guy who played guitar with them in the summer of '64 at the Gate Theater on West 8th Street.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| Posted: Mon Aug 1st, 2005 11:23 pm |
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7th Post |
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1four5 Approved
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--But rhyming-wise, where did fug (as in The Fugs) come from. Extra credit if you can name the guy who played guitar with them in the summer of '64 at the Gate Theater on West 8th Street. Holy cow...like...I aint got no clue  ...never heard of the Fugs...but I'm sure I could make a guess...on second thought, maybe not here... "cuttin a rug at a place called the Jug" came from Lynnard Skinnyrds "Give Me Three Steps"...at least If my memory is correct...
____________________ These are the good times! |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 2nd, 2005 01:48 pm |
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8th Post |
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Philj200 Approved
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Holy cow...like...I aint got no clue...never heard of the Fugs...but I'm sure I could make a guess...on second thought, maybe not here... --The Fugs were and still are a very iconoclastic group of neolithic musicians. Look 'em up. They are challenging and a lot of fun. I play with them for a very short time. As did a lot of people who filtered through their net. Their name came from Norman Mailer's Naked and the Dead. In it, he could not say the Angle-Saxon expletive. So he said "fug" instead. The band, being very literate (the used Swinburne poems as lyrics)borrowed the psudo-expletive as their name. "cuttin a rug at a place called the Jug" came from Lynnard Skinnyrds "Give Me Three Steps"...at least If my memory is correct... --I think you are off by several generations. It is a term in general use by 30's and 40's jitterbuggers. Probably predates them as well. May date back to Prohibition and the speakeasies.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 2nd, 2005 11:39 pm |
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9th Post |
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1four5 Approved
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Interesting info on the Fugs! Heck, I would have had at least one word right! It wouldn't suprise me if Skynnard used lines from way back...I guess a lot of that goes on, and we don't even know it! I remembered more of the song I got it from: I was cuttin a rug at a place called the Jug With a girl named Linda Lou In walked a man with a gun in his hand And he was lookin for you know who...
____________________ These are the good times! |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 3rd, 2005 01:04 pm |
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10th Post |
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Philj200 Approved
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That reminds me of the Robert Johnson lyric (I think it was Johnson): Don't the moon look pretty, shining through the trees (2x) I can see my baby, but she can't see me. Late last night, running with a gun in my hand (2x) Shoot my baby, if I find her with another man. --- And he played it as ominous as it sounds.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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