Postcard 2 and ND Ning…..is P2 still alive and healthy? Could this be a new P2?
Thinking about what this NING could be and I immediately thought back to the early days of this web thing (whatever that is) and one of the real strengths of the early alt-country scene and something that fed back into not only No Depression but the whole scene here and stateside (e.g. Twangfest) was the old Postcard 2 list (passenger side ). I just found out it still going strong through a web search and re-joined :-). For us Brits it was a mine of information, erudition and plain madness:-) In the early days when even a copy of No Depression could be hard to come by it pretty much all we had over here in Blighty:-)
There was another yahoo list (fluff?) which seems to have died on its feet so in theory this ‘social space’ could run alongside POSTCARD2. I remember people like Barry Mazor and Roy Kasten being on there and hey what d’ya know they seem to be here too…I no idea how healthy that list is I just checked latest threads and seemed lot quieter than used to be…
( addendum:-) when subscribed I received a explanatory note that states following…full text at bottom of post so now I know:-)
Most of the message above was written in P2’s boom times
At one time, more than 100 messages would be posted in a single day.
We’re quieter these days, but you may want to subscribe to the Digest,
rather receive individual messages.
I think I stopped being a subscriber when the daily digest was longer than I could manage at work so that would be in the 100 plus messages a day times…:-)
Maybe the two can run together and feed off each other constructively? Or maybe if it is not what it once was there now a chance to rekindle the spirit of the original P2 here??
NING is good at displaying photos/video..and maybe music… although at moment the owners not taken that step..yet…..maybe copyright worries? Although nothing to stop musicians adding players from reverbnation etc etc. in text box. None of that was or is possible on the P2 mailing list
For those who want to join here link..
http://www.postcard2.com/
I shall be mentioning this ND community there although it probably already flagged up:-)
Please can people fill me in as to what happened to P2 and where we are now…if a former member why did you guys and gals leave?
Trailer
The full welcome text from Postcard 2 list – full explanation 😉
This list began as an offshoot of Postcard, the Uncle Tupelo list, and
was created for people who wanted to discuss a wider range of music,
including (but not limited to) alt.country, country rock, hard
country, bluegrass, honky-tonk, insurgent country, roots rock, and
hillbilly music We also discuss a wider range of topics, including the
music’s forerunners and historical background, the sociology of the
music and its listeners, and contemporary business practices that make
the music possible.
Many of the 600+ subscribers to this list are ordinary folks who love
this music. The list also includes musicians, writers, radio and
record label folks, and others who work in the music business, who
bring an interesting perspective to the subjects. We have some
interesting and knowledgeable folks on the list.
Be prepared for eclectic, extended, thought-provoking discussion,
arcane trivia, and occasional frivolity. Be prepared for statements of
and challenges to musical taste, discussions of discography, arguments
over musical influence, and attempts to understand the meaning of it
all. Be prepared for rants, diatribes, and the occasional provocation.
Be prepared to be told to back opinion with fact. Be prepared to be
asked who you are, and who you think you are. Be prepared to endure
flames and personal attacks. Be prepared to be excited about the
music.
P2 folks discuss what alternative country is or isn’t, and who
performs it now, roots music (blues, r&b, soul, and roots-rock),
classic country music (bluegrass, honky tonk, western swing,
rockabilly, gospel, western, old-timey, and country-pop), alternative
rock, Nashville’s wickedness and virtues, and retail, radio and
record-label practices, along with anything else that relates to a
shared passion for honest innovative music that has some connection –
however farfetched – with twang.
Artists discussed on P2 include include Uncle Tupelo offshoots Son
Volt and Wilco, along with others who mix indie-rock aggression with
country twang. Also discussed are earlier practitioners of country
mixed with attitude, such as Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Gram Parsons,
the Flatlanders, and Steve Earle, as well as more recent renegade
country and roots-rock types, such as Alejandro Escovedo, Kelly
Willis, Dale Watson, Robert Earl Keen, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite
Boys, Iris DeMent, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley, Rhonda Vincent,
Robbie Fulks, Junior Brown, Lucinda Williams, Wayne Hancock, Neko
Case, Kelly Hogan, Ryan Adams, and others deemed too country and/or
too adventurous for mainstream country airplay, and even a few
contemporary mainstream country singers, such as Alan Jackson, Brad
Paisley and Vince Gill.
Years of argument and agreement have created a sense of community on
P2. List members meet up at musical or other venues in their home
towns or as they travel. To promote both the music and the friendship,
P2 members organized Twangfest, an alternative-country festival, in
1997, in St. Louis, MO. The first Twangfest was so successful that it
has been repeated and expanded every subsequent year, and is now run
separately as a non-profit organization.
In addition, the Fluff List began as a spin-off of P2, for less
serious and less musical interchanges.
Though P2 exists as a forum for music discussion, it is not a trading
list. Members who wish to trade music are asked to do so off-list.
We don’t mind promotion of radio shows, recordings or performances if
related to the music we discuss, and if posted by recognized list
folks. We do <strong>not</strong> tolerate spam. If you
don’t know the difference between promotion of your music-related
activities and spam, please contact a list administrator before
posting.
Most of the message above was written in P2’s boom times
At one time, more than 100 messages would be posted in a single day.
We’re quieter these days, but you may want to subscribe to the Digest,
rather receive individual messages.