Antifolk and Underground Music

Caleb Busch
Apr 6, 2015
3 min read

A look at a completely undefined music genre

Typically, my first reaction to anything labeled "anti" is discomfort. Reason being, I'm a very non-confrontational person and don't like to think there is any real dissent in the world. A stance, let alone a clear stance, or a clear stance against a stance, makes me want to run away with my hands over my ears screaming at the top of my lounges "I'M VERY VERY SORRY BUT I HAVE SOMEWHERE ELSE TO BE AND JUST CAN'T BE HERE RIGHT NOW." And then play solitaire. And then hibernate.

But, this all changed when I started exploring underground music. More specifically, I became hooked on a particular anti-subgenre: antifolk.

(Side Walk, Jinx Lennon, Irish "acoustic punk poet." Note: sunglasses read "Free State, Now")

Which is not to say all non-mainstream trends are inherently anti-anything. Sometimes, marketing is just what is. But the "point" of antifolk interests me for the very reason of popularity and evading the mainstream. More than anything, antifolk just wants to be folk.

To be short, SideWalk Cafe is antifolk. The venue, formed in 1993, was made in order to protest the New York Folk Festival going on. The rebels, mainly artisits who weren't chosen to participate, formed the New York AntiFolk Festival in order to showcase their talent. There was very little distinction between their sound and their "predecessors," although a very clear social line was drawn in order to legitimize themselves. In essence, with all respects given (remember, I hate being polar), they were trying to be cool.

("Fat White Family" at SideWalk Cafe. Either playing a set or napping.)

But what makes antifolk really fascinating is not an appeal to the American, do-it-yourself spirit that launched it off the ground. What is cool about the movement is all the current fans and their varying opinions on it. To give you a scattershot of the views out there, here's a couple fans.

"...the real definition of Antifolk is simply the willingness to follow your muse wherever it leads"

-Jim Testa

“Antifolk is a re-discovery of folk ethics and a reaction against the rigid genre that folk became in the 60s. It's about using whatever you want to tell everyday stories, valuing humor over sorrow, storytelling over technique, and personality over polish.”

-Filthy Pedro

"Being somewhat innovative is at the heart of antifolk. There’s no bullshit in antifolk music… well, some of it is semi-bullshit, but underneath the bullshit, there’s always something that’s there to hit a raw nerve. Antifolk is raw, honest, and unrelenting in its rawness and honesty."

-Randi Russo

(Some SideWalk Graffiti.)

Mainly, it seems, antifolk has become an idea. Much like many self-proclaimed movements, there is a lot of philosophy and personality with very little physical distinction. In the end, Antifolk is a subgenre neglected because both its isolation and lack of originality, though, this is not to say it isn't any good. Many bigish-time artisits have emerged or been influenced by the New York scene, mostly coming from other genres and participating in the festival.

Regina Spektor, dubbed the "queen" of the movement, has this to say about the antifolk image:

"It wasn't considered antifolk when I was doing it, because my piano stuff was a bit too classical, and it wasn't cool. But I think antifolk is more about anybody who plays at The Sidewalk Café, stuff like that. I don't think it's necessarily a sound of music, or a type of music. It's more like an attitude."