I'm in "Day Late and Dollar Short" mode, I'm afraid. Steve Kirsch said:
Yup, and I'd suggest further that from the second album (MP2) onwards
they never really released a clunker until that horrible No Joke record.
They were a hell of a band. I'm skeptical about the new lineup without
Cris and
Will the new and improved NYC contingent be at the Damnations/Elena Skye
show next Sunday at Maxwell's? Hope so, 'cause I'm making the trek up
from Philly and it'd be nice to see some of you folks pre-TFest.
I'll be there, you betcha. (Oh, sorry, thought I was still in Minnesota for
a second
Neal:
Do you include the Bottle Rockets, who played right before the Pups at that
same venue, in your string of breathtaking shows? I'm curious because I
thought the were pretty awful, as well as arrogant as hell, refusing to play
*any* old material at all and practically taunting they they were
Rick Cornell, abandoning us, writes:
Stay in touch.
You do the same, Rick. I've enjoyed your all-too-rare contributions to the
list, and I'll miss those as well as the playlists. Try to make it back
when you can.
--Amy
What a banner day in my P2 mailbox. My favorite Norwegian is back, Erin
Snyder's posting again, and Roy's back. It's enough to make a gal get all
mushy.
--Amy
I was hoping someone in the know regarding the P2 meet 'n' greet in
conjunction with Kelly Willis this weekend could tell me what's the plan.
Where ye meeting? When? Which night? and anything else. I've been lurking
long enough, it's time to get out in the world.
I know this has all been
I know we're done with this thread, but I can't resist:
As others have said, I wonder about the definition of underappreciated,
especially since many of my favorite records turn out to be critical faves
too (though few are big sellers). Here are some that spring to mind:
Lori Carson: Everything
...then you can make fun of my hair...
Us follicly-challenged folks generally stay away from that.
Besides, John, I'm the one who makes fun of your hair. Do try to keep your
p2 nemeses straight. g
--Amy
Kelly's post reminded me to mention my favorite novel about country-type
music, specifically bluegrass. Written by Mary Ann Taylor-Hall, Come And
Go, Molly Snow is a story about a young woman fiddler struggling to
reconcile herself to the accidental death of her daughter; it's got some of
the
Lurker Nina writes:
I'm a like-minded New Yorker who lurks in Digest mode
(thus the late reply). I have sometimes had to descend
to treating my friends to twang-type shows just to have
someone to go hear live music with; usually I give up and
go alone. Since I live in the Bronx and have to
Jon says:
Dunno where the Clash fit in - not my cup of tea, you might say - but Weller
was pretty heavily involved with the Labor Party-related Red Wedge, at least
during his Style Council days. Or so my not-always-reliable memory tells
me, anyhow.
Jon is correct (and I'm amazed that Jon has
Steve says:
One other comment on it--I'm not sure Mike's vaguely Richard Butler-esque
snarl really works in a rootsier context. It gets tiring a little sooner
when he's out of the slam/bang Social D setting.
I've always been afraid to confess this amid the Social D lovers around
here, but I've
Marie says:
Once again Jerry is wrong! This is too easy. Like shooting MPBs on
the fluff list. Scritti Politti is another fine, fine band from Leeds.
They were formed in the British punk rock movement of the late
70s, but moved into a much more poppier, soulful sound in the 80s. And I
really
Bill just loves to disagree with me:
Hmm, for a small hypothetical, if you removed the vocal track from all
three Wilco records, and just listened to the instrumentals, you wouldn't
find each record different from the other? (What's the degree of difference
significant to your mini-analysis
PS: For the record, I don't hate ELO nearly as much as many others around
these parts seem to; I love early (i.e. Syd Barrett-era) Pink Floyd, and
though Sgt. Pepper is my least favorite Beatles record, I can't say I hate
it either. Nonetheless, I still don't like Summerteeth.
--Amy
Bob says:
Amy gets my vote for P2 party animal of the year. But don't award it at
Twangfest, since she'll have to be awakened to receive it...
They've already awakened me at Twangfest once, although in my defense, that
was at about 4:15 AM. And remember, I am the woman who says "Fun is
At last Junior and I can find common ground again:
I wasn't kidding about Elastica, Bill. As derivative as they were, I
thought they were terrific. Truly
But you did sort of imply that they were a prefab, manager-created band,
Junior, which they weren't really.
I had a great music week
Boudin Dan writes:
If you can find it, the "George Jones Sings Leon Payne" release on Hollywood
() is a pretty good substitute if you can't find the real deal.
But you can't find that one either, or at least I haven't been able to in
three or four years of trying. There's a record that's
The Welch is wonderful. It has a hint of Beth Orton-like electro-ambience
that is very cool.
I am confused. Please explain. Sounding like Beth Orton--a hugely overrated
critics' darling whose voice is almost completely without timbre and whose
songwriting reminds me of the sort of bad poetry
CK says:
Name Droppin Dave
I talked to Doe briefly on the phone the other night, and he didn't
think they'd be coming out east anytime soon.
Yeesh, you're getting bad as your sis, Amy Hockeystick. g
Rather than pointing out that I haven't name-dropped in ages (or at least
since the last time
Jenni says:
I PROPOSE IT SHOULD BE A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE TO COMPILE A TEN BEST LIST IN
APRIL!
Go outside! Get some sun! Kiss a girl
I agree. The punishment should be not being allowed to post another best-of
list until after December 15. (And maybe 50 lashes with a wet noodle
Adding to the fluff -- even if it is twang related fluff -- Earle's still
married to wife #6. Y'all wouldn't want Earle to participate in bigamy, now
would ya?
It should also be noted that I'm still married to husband #1, and intend
to stay that way. That's why Steve Earle is my *former*
Brent Best wrote:
They had three records all on Medium Cool. "Kitty", "Spinnin' On Down", and
"love, sorrow, hate, madness", and they were all very good. Todd McBride
(lead guy) was/is an excellent songwriter, very adept at pullin' off a
rocker then turning around and hittin' you with
Junior says:
And that Patti Smith quote was hilarious, thanks for that one! g.
It's even better if you imagine it being said in Patti's weird South
Jersey hippie accent.
So maybe Verlaine needs to do a tour with the Ex-Husbands now...
Shudder
Bill writes:
I'm with you, which is why I baited the hook that way. (Though "Prove It"
does end up as a song I get stuck in my head from time to time) Wondered
if any NYC types who maybe saw them back in the day had different ideas.
Yep. And evidently Robin Hall did too (in fact, we were
At 4:39 PM -0400 4/4/99, Amy Haugesag wrote:
Well, referencing Peggy Lee's "Fever" isn't going to win any points with
me, as I don't love either the song or her toneless version of it. If this
loses me major kitsch-cred points, that's fine with me.
Well thanks, I guess, for pointing
Dr. Ross writes:
I love the whole record, even the not-as-good-as-the-first-version "Fading
Fast," and I'm especially impressed with the Nick Drake and Replacements
covers, which are reinterpretations rather than rehashes, just like all
good covers should be.
Tsk tsk. So Peggy Lee's "Fever",
Bob Wray writes:
I am somewhere in between of these two on my evalution of the entire
album but I wanted to bop out of lurker land and say that Willis'
cover of "Time Has Told Me" is just incredible to my ears. As a minor
Drake fan(atic), I almost always prefer his originals to others but
Neal:
Which reminds me, any minor or major Drake fan want to offer up a good
starting point into that artist's catalog? I need to go buy yet another CD
that I've never gonna have enough time to appreciate to its fullest. Sigh...
Neal, Neal, Neal. How can you call yourself a rock critic if you
Newly returned Greg Harness asks:
2. What's the official P2 take on the Freight Hoppers?
I don't think there is one--they don't get discussed around here much,
though I know there are quite a few P2ers who are fans. Including me.
3. I have a recipe for a meatless 'lasagne' made with polenta
I would like Freakwater okay (not a lot; to me, their stuff seems watered
down rather than enhanced by its rock influences, unlike some alt-country)
if it weren't for Catherine Irwin's indescribably lousy voice. The only
time I saw them live--at a Mercury Lounge show that Barry Mazor and I
My younger bro writes:
At a time when alt.country bands increasingly lean toward tepid
vocals, languid playing, and gentle singer-songwriterish
sentiments
Oh, for fuck's sake, they do not.
The reviewer's line above (though not Dave's) should probably be added to
the list of rules for rock
This is the final SXSW update that I'll be giving, since I'm leaving for
Austin bright and early tomorrow AM. Apologies to anyone I've left off this
or previous lists. These are the lucky P2 attendees:
Marie Arsenault
Austin Motel
Junior Barnard
I'm sure Junior mentioned where he's staying, but
I frankly think that what's happening is that the novelty factor is wearing
off for a lot of the newer country listeners, and they're off to look for
the Next Big Thing without much concern for whether it's labeled rock or pop
or something else again. I haven't seen even a whisper of a desire
Don't I qualify as an Austinite? I realize I've only lived here for twelve
years Or maybe I don't qualify as a P2er... Well, either way, I'll
be around and looking forward to seeing everyone everywhere I go.
Erm, the omission was purely unintentional, John. I left off a few other
The other Junior writes:
Sorry - just practicing for my trip to New York later in the year.
Junior "Can you tell me the way to Staten Island or should I just go fuck
myself now?" Walker
A common misconception is that if you stop a New Yorker on the street and
ask a question, the response will
Of course, I find it hard to imagine why people wouldn't like bluegrass g,
but I'm not sure that the, um, stringency with which some people offer
pretty narrow "definitions" of bluegrass actually drives many people off.
I'll be interested to see what folks who are more peripherally involved
Anyone know of any special rental car deals? We're gonna be rentin' one
down in Austin this year (and we may even let some of you in itg). Feel
free to email me privately, or to the list if you think it's of somewhat
general interest.--don
To the list, please. We're renting too--partly so that
Excerpts from internet.listserv.postcard2: 23-Feb-99 Re: 50/90 by David
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Well, I agree you gotta pick a Tupelo--and Anodyne's awfully damn good; I
won't argue against it--but I'd go with Still Feel Gone myself.
Wow. David, you're the first person I know of who agrees with me
Tar Hut Jeff writes:
priceline is horrible. those people are evil and they rob.
I don't know about that, but I've had no luck with them in three attempts.
Either they've been unable to get me a ticket or their fares have been
higher than the airlines' published ones.
Travelocity.com is pretty
William Cocke writes:
Off the top of my head, Kansas was called "Bloody Kansas"
in the decade or so leading up to the Civil War because it
was a hotbed of unrest and violence due to the fact that it
wasn't certain which way it would enter the Union -- slave
or free. Thus it became sort of a
Randi Fratkin asks:
So when and where (here or on the fluff list?) do we get to start talking
about who's going to SXSW, and where they're staying? Who's in charge of
compiling the P2 directory?
Because I am insatiably nosy, I will volunteer to do this (even though I
barely have time to read
Bob Soron--an editor, I might add--wrote:
I liked the
lead singer better than Tracy
Really? Does Tracy know about this, Bob?
--Amy
Kiplet says,
On Tue, 16 Feb 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Despite what y'all say about SXSW or any event like it, I think that when
playing a showcase, or any CSRF like it, it is up to the artist to make the
most of what's available. You *do* have the opportunity to get important
people out
OK, I realize I should be publicly flogged for being completely ignorant of
ND's "Man o' the Decade," but I saw an AE disc sitting patiently in the used
section of a local record store and wondered about it. It was called "13
Songs" or something like that--the one with the "Theme Song." Anyway, I
Marie says:
My favorite song on the cd is dedicated to the memory of a beloved amp.
Heck, my favorite song on the CD is about a dog ("Spit and Tears"). Go figure.
--Amy
Why Dan, you make P2 sound like the U.S. Congress g. I protest! I'm
sure we'll have naysayers on the Damnations and that is indeed the P2 way.
It sure is a good record, though. My prediction is that some of our more
lyrics-oriented folk will find it less that stellar on that end. I'm
digging
See, I don't think it is a contradiction. It is completely
unreasonable to think (hope?) that impassioned, creative geniuses might
also beconsiderate, thoughtful human beings? Besides, Adam is 24 now,
he ain't all *that* young anymore. And really, why do people pin
Westerberg's
Kip sez:
On Fri, 29 Jan 1999, Jim Cox wrote:
Ok, the article is a little ridiculous. And Ryan is ridiculous, or maybe he
was fucking with the guy, or both. Anyway, who cares. Sometimes I think
the same people are at once upset at Westerberg for growing up and at Ryan
for not growing up.
Our Listmeister writes:
Whoo hoo! Now we don't have to worry about those weaselly Weiss brothers
sneakin' off again this year.g If you haven't been to it before, Cherry
Lou's SXSW P2 BBQ is not to be missed: Beer, Maker's Mark, Bands, Brisket,
and your favorite P2ers makin' drunken fools of
We just saw an Arthur episode on PBS the other day where Arthur and his
pals wanted to go see their favorite group, Binky (who look suspiciously
like ABBA), perform. Turns out they are holograms. (OH NO!)
Then yesterday Arthur and his pal Buster auditioned musicians to be in
their band
Jerald writes:
Also worth mentioning that the new ABC show "Cupid" recently featured a
Lucinda Williams song. I don't know enough about her songs to tell one from
the other, but it had the lines "I thought I'd lost, but I'm glad I found
it" or something like that.
One of the creators of that
As for Kimmie, we finally finished her new CD masters, which is why I'm
back here in this esteemed forum. It's a helluva record, which her son
Gabe produced. For a tiny taste (which is not necessarily representative
of the whole record, only part of it) check out our website and get you
an MP3
Geff King writes:
You know, working on the fringes of the environmental industry as I do,
the term 'sustainable development' comes up a lot. Makes me think
of 'Americana' as perhaps a sustainable form of music - just enough
popularity and acclaim to let artists make a living without having to
Cool story from John on the Derailers recordings.
While we're on the subject of the Derailers, I noticed that Columbia
House's Web site has a special promotion on "The Best Records You've Never
Heard," culled from the '50s through the '90s. _Reverb Deluxe_ is listed
as one of these. It's
"Guitar Town" has a verse about Hank, though it would be a stretch to say
that the song is about him. In truth, it's only part of a verse:
But I heard someone calling my name one day
And I followed that voice down the lost highway
--Amy
"If I said I don't want what I don't have/And all the
Herr Listmeister writes:
I haven't explored the site enough to give you a definitive answer. Does
anyone know if it's possible to easily access the P2 archives through that
website? Does anyone even know who built and maintains the dang
thing?--don
I don't have a clue who built it, but it's
Quotable Matt Cook says:
Both of these guys left bands that have WAY more financial potential
than The Gourds. Keith left The Damnations who signed a major label
deal and have been getting unending positive press in anticipation of
their debut.
(snip)
I hope it stays the same in March when
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