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#SundaySong: “The Court of King Arthur”

This week’s #SundaySong selections are courtesy of our Archaeology Research Associate. Over the coming weeks they will also assist us in highlighting some of the many photos in the WPA archives and describing the archaeological processes that they illustrate.

 

My selection for #SundaySong is “The Court of King Arthur,” which was included in the 2007 album, Candylion. Candylion is the second solo album by Welsh alternative rock musician and Super Furry Animals front-person Gruff Rhys. I must say, it is difficult to find music about archaeological curation. So, I have settled for music about what happens before the artifacts get to me at the museum. And besides, while I personally don’t do any archaeological fieldwork (I am much more of a lab work kind of person myself), I still have to have a working knowledge of field techniques in order to do my job. “The Court of King Arthur” is also one of the only songs I’ve ever heard that mentions actual archaeological methods, even Rhys took some artistic liberties with how things are ordered.

Photograph of archaeological excavation crew working in Jefferson County, Tennessee, 1935. From the WPA Archives.

 

If you are interested in listening to what I am actually listening to in quarantine, it is London-based pop artist Dua Lipa’s new album, Future Nostalgia. “Physical” is my favorite song from that album by far. This album along with everything by my favorite band TWRP are helping me get through my self-quarantine.