Alan Lomax on Fresh Air

I am as far behind in my podcast listening as I am to updating this blogarooni. A few months ago Fresh Air re-broadcast Terry Gross's interview with Alan Lomax.

It was a pretty good interview - I am a fan of Ms. Gross's interview style. While not the infamous Gene Simmons interview, they did touch upon some controversy.

Terry Gross calls Lomax out on attaching his name to Ledbelly's (and others') songs. In my opinion, his answer reeks of disingenuity. It makes me wonder if anyone has seriously reproached Pete Seeger for his copyright shenanigans. I've had some professors really express a dislike for Seeger (and other popularizers of so-called folk music). It might be more reflective of the split between academia and the artist - artists make money by performing and actually creating and academics make their money by commenting and babbling on about someone else's work.

Check out the full NPR interview here.