8 votes

The music theory of TikTok sea shanties

5 comments

  1. streblo
    Link
    I've been fortunate enough to live in Nova Scotia for a time and I still look back on it fondly. I was familiar with Stan Rogers but my west coast self wasn't prepared for the level of his...

    I've been fortunate enough to live in Nova Scotia for a time and I still look back on it fondly. I was familiar with Stan Rogers but my west coast self wasn't prepared for the level of his cultural icon status out east. To this day I can't hear "The year was 1778!" of Stan Rogers' Barrett's Privateers without grinning like an idiot and remembering entire bars drumming their hands in unison on polished wooden bars while we all drunkenly sung the lyrics.

    3 votes
  2. cfabbro
    Link
    Speaking of Wellerman, The Longest Johns recently released an official video for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_8tAyecj2g And TBH, I much prefer all the TikTok variations. :/

    Speaking of Wellerman, The Longest Johns recently released an official video for it:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_8tAyecj2g

    And TBH, I much prefer all the TikTok variations. :/

    3 votes
  3. [3]
    onyxleopard
    Link
    I appreciated the historical context and the explanation of the influence of work songs as well as Irish folk influence in traditional sea shanties. I’ve never actually particularly enjoyed...

    I appreciated the historical context and the explanation of the influence of work songs as well as Irish folk influence in traditional sea shanties.

    I’ve never actually particularly enjoyed shanties, but I am a sucker for Irish folk music. I think that’s why I found the ballad that Blizzard produced for their Warbringers short for their Jaina Proudmoore character so compelling. I love Laura Bailey’s performance as well as the choral accompaniment by Anúna. It isn’t really a shanty, but the style is very evocative of sailing ships, and the art direction of the animation drives that home. This came out years before the current infatuation, but I think is representative of the “shanty adjacent” features that this video essay explains.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      Adys
      Link Parent
      Thanks for linking that short. I've been out of the WoW universe for a while now... This was nice.

      Thanks for linking that short. I've been out of the WoW universe for a while now... This was nice.

      1 vote
      1. onyxleopard
        Link Parent
        Yeah, I haven't played the game in a decade or so, but some of the supplementary content that Blizzard has produced based on the WoW lore has come across my radar and piqued my interest. The...

        Yeah, I haven't played the game in a decade or so, but some of the supplementary content that Blizzard has produced based on the WoW lore has come across my radar and piqued my interest. The Warbringers and Harbingers shorts were pretty cool (though the musical aspect of the one I linked is what made that one stand out to me).