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June 23, 2010

Saying Farewell to the Riverbank


The best of the blues blogs is gone. Like the oil filling every pore of the caribbean shore, the Muddy Sava Riverbank has perished.

You know, I fancy myself something of a connoisseur/collector/scholar when it comes to acoustic blues music, but every single time I went to the Riverbank, I came back a more educated man.

I Been to the River. I Been Baptized.

I'm quite sure it wasn't a planned disappearance. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I assume the DMCA had something to do with it.

muddy's old site is still around, though it hasn't been updated in a while.
and Muddy's friends also have a blog for electric blues.

but nothing will replace the old Muddy Riverbank.

muddy, ballas, sussez, zivoin, azzul, bluesbird, dreumis - know this: you have made a tremendous project. we will miss you deeply.

and though nothing can replace it, at least this can remember it.

9 comments:

chief karlsson said...

I can nothing but agree!
First Merlin In Rags disappeared and now Muddy Sava Riverbank....
Of course I also suspect that it has something to do with juridical
aspects and the risque of being taken to prosecution...that has happened in Sweden where people were confined to horrendous fines
for sharing files...
Let us just say that there are certain groups with financial and other interests that simply will not understand that the internet
in itself has meant a revolution
as big as when Gutenberg invented the printing of books five hundred years ago....
Muddy Sava Riverbank was a joy to read and allowed us to hear some great music...the same goes for Merlin....it´s a pity!
put your past ahead of you....
says chief karlsson

Anonymous said...

Same here; Muddy had a good thing going...Grateful for what we got!
Stiggy
Sweden

Anonymous said...

R.I.P.
with many thanks & fond memories

To paraphrase the French,
Muddy est mort, vive Muddy,

in the meantime , where next?

Jeremy said...

In the meantime, we have here.

Muddy Sava Riverbank was indeed a quality blog, always opening new windows, I'll miss it too and it's so sad that the creativity and insight and sheer love of such great bloggers is spiked by the loveless hand of the copyright lawyers and the corporate barons of the music "industry". Or perhaps that should read, the "music" industry.

God forbid that you'd ever give this treasure up, I.P. I'm sure it sometimes feels thankless but I sense you do it for the love of it; for the thrill of writing and piecing together your epic posts; for the joy of exploring once again an avenue of music you might yourself have neglected for a while; and, like the Magister Ludi, for the profound pleasure found in showing people a new way of seeing this thing we call music.

So, farewell Muddy River Bank, but long live the Grape Wrath for keeping the spirit alive. And I hope you can keep the legal hawks at bay with your policy of unearthing the neglected and unavailable. Fingers crossed.

astarte said...

They're gone forever? I've been missing them for a while, it looked like they'd gone underground...

They were good for an estimated two-thirds of my old blues downloads. Knowledgeable guys, for sure

Delta-Slider said...

Sad, but hardly surprising considering the quantity of releases they were posting.
Blogger give you a warning or two and then BAM your blog is deleted.
All that work down the drain.

Phil said...

What a loss. This was the best (and as far as I knew the only) place for the real old-time blues, the original , non-electric authentic sound of the blues. Like IP, I learnt something every time I went there.
I have tried emailing muddy and azzul, but have not received a reply, so I can only assume that they are gone for good. although the blog entry point still exists.
If anyone knows how to contact them, or knows of a similar blog, please spread the word. I'm getting withdrawal symptoms.
My heartfelt thanks go to muddy for his fine work, and I hope that he is enjoying himself, whatever he id doing now.

J. Scott Moore said...

Well, Mississippi Moan is posting some stuff...
http://mississippimoan.blogspot.com/

Ruki444 said...

It seems to be members only now. You have to have an invitation.