From: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org (jangle-poets-digest) To: jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Subject: jangle-poets-digest V9 #156 Reply-To: jangle-poets@smoe.org Sender: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jangle-poets-digest Sunday, April 27 2008 Volume 09 : Number 156 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus [Nieldsforever@aol.com] Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus [Sheila Turner ] Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus [Sheila Turner ] Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus [Richard Hill ] Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus [Rozettj@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:30:12 EDT From: Nieldsforever@aol.com Subject: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus I've been really disheartened in not knowing what to do WRT the questions raised here recently re: artists whom I thought would be of interest to Jangle-Poets, because they are members of the Strangelings. I decided to do a pretty in-depth study of the J-P list archives, seeking guidance. I found many interesting things there. In no particular order -- Cone Head was an early and important contributor to the Jangle-Poets list. The free-wheeling, frequently off-topic, and quite frankly autobiographical style of his musings on his ramblings, helped set the tone for the Nields Nook I thought, and (I have discovered) helped set the tone for the Jangle-Poets list too, virtually from its inception. I must admit to having consciously set out to emulate him at quite an early stage of my exposure to his writings on these forums. I found them charming at best, somewhat disturbing when he was not at his best. He was one-of-a-kind. I wanted to be like him, and I set out to do just that. I owe a lot to Cone Head. In my recent foray into the J-P archives, I discovered any number of off-topic discussions, certainly not as many as there have ever been on the Nook. Some of them fall into the category of friendly list banter. Others were more political -- again, less of this sort of thing than the Nields list has seen. But there were fairly extensive postings about the Nields (including set-lists), cross-postings from the Nook, and a great deal of Cadence Carroll discussion, prior to my joining the J-P in July 2002. Well duh! The Nields and the Kennedys have been almost "joined at the hip" in some ways, over the years. I myself discovered TK because of their connection with TN. And am I ever glad I did! And duh! -- too, about Cadence Carroll. TK produced her album Evolve -- and how many "Cadence and the Kennedys" shows have there been over the years? In my recent foray into the list archives, I found nary a discouraging word about these strayings into the territories of TN and Cadence Carroll -- not from s*bscribers, and not from the list administrator, who was in fact the originator and disseminator of some of this Nields and Cadence-focussed material. I suppose the objection could be made -- "I didn't join the Kennedys list to read about Cadence Carroll" -- ! :-( So I must conclude -- barring something I've missed finding (like a rather rigid and prohibitive J-P FAQ spelling it out) -- that the problem lies not in the list at all -- but either with me (because of my man-overboard enthusiastic approach, which I've always had) or with the people who are finding my support for artists closely related to the Kennedys (due to their bonding with them via the Strangelings) difficult to stomach on the Kennedys list. I really don't see the fault in C&M Thompson, Hungrytown, or TN! TN have their own list, so que sera sera, what will be, will be. It's the others who I'm really most concerned about. ISTM "A Ticket to My House" has been forged by the Kennedys themselves to C&M and Hungrytown by the creation of the Strangelings -- and by forged I mean not counterfeited, but created in a Dave Carter-honoring spirit of collaboration that coelesces into something truer than gold and thicker than blood. What the Kennedys have joined together let not J-P detractors or purists put asunder. Detractors or purists who I can presently count on two fingers of my right hand -- two fingers, as in "Peace Out" -- ? A philosophical difference, no? Bruce Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:12:11 -0400 From: Sheila Turner Subject: Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus First off, I admit that I haven't read each and every word of the post referenced in the subject line. I have 2 nearly 11-month-olds, who vastly limit my ability to do things like read anything that has more than 7 words on a page. Plus, my IQ has seemed to dropped by at least 40 points. I hope it's only a temporary new-parent thing. However, in response to what is said about the detractors/purists that can be counted on 2 fingers, what is not being caught behind the scenes is that after every no-stone-left-unturned, in-depth analysis or concert review, 1 to 2 people un$ub$cribe. We're now down to fewer than 100 $ub$cribers, some of which may be overlap (for instance, I get the posts at more than one e-mail address, and I get a digest, so I count as 3 people); I believe we were around 130 or so at some point. I don't say anything because it's not my list, it's really all of yours, and I believe in the first amendment and the liberal use of mail filters, un$ubscription, and the delete button. Take what you like, leave the rest, yada yada yada. I think that I can safely say that we all love to hear about new artists. I'm on several of these discussion-type lists, and part of what's cool about it is to have someone write in and say "hey, I just heard this guy last night opening for [insert musician here] and he blew me away." However, people don't then post the entire set list (because, let's face it, if it's a new artist, we don't know their songs). If the person covers a well-known favorite, then that of course gets a mention. A website is usually included so that those interested can go check out samples, buy a CD, and, if they fall madly in love with this music, they can then go sign up on THAT guy's e-mail discussion list. Five sentences is more than enough. I'm a firm believer (this post aside) that you shouldn't need to scroll down too much. But, then again, I was a TV news producer at one time and needed to keep stories under 2-1/2 minutes. I learned a certain appreciation for brevity. I know I've certainly posted news re Cadence and others; sometimes it's by my own impetus, sometimes it's by personal request. I don't believe - -- and I could be wrong -- that the e-mails doing so were very long. Just a mention, a time/place/date. I know that people have lives and if I'm going to be most effective in championing an off-topic cause, I need to be brief (again, this post aside). Otherwise, I risk alienating the very people I hope to woo. I like to save some magic for THEM to discover for themselves. The problem isn't off-topic posts. The problem probably isn't even really the sheer number of off-topic posts, even though the off-topic posts in question are starting to vastly outnumber any "pure" TK/Strangelings posts. I don't keep track of how many times a post was entirely on topic, how many times it was mostly on topic, etc. Even before the aforementioned 11-month-olds, I had enough to do with my life that I couldn't have been bothered, even had I cared. But The Strangelings have had, and will probably in the future have, such a varying number of permutations, a combination of regulars and some-timers, that one can see how things could get out of hand trying to keep Jangle-Poets up to date on them all. Yes, it can be said to be all related to The Kennedys, absolutely, but it's starting to be in a six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon way. I think that a huge part of the problem is the sheer bandwidth of some of these posts. Do I mind hearing a plug for a Chris & Meredith show? No, not at all; I think that's reasonable, as long as I can read the entire post on one screen. Do I want to hear if they covered a Kennedys song? Yeah, maybe, especially if they did a bang-up job on it and plan on covering it on an album (and, on that note, I'd even appreciate a heads-up when the album is released, just in case I've forgotten that they're doing that). Do I want the entire annotated set list? Nope. Do I want an anniversary post every year of the entire annotated show? Definitely not. If I did, I'd be on the C&M list. And if there wasn't one, I'd ask to start it. Or I'd suggest that someone start a blog and use the web address as a signature line so that I could go check it out when I knew I had the time to truly devote to their labor of love. I am not about to come down with a set of "rules". This is not what this list is about, it's not what The Kennedys are about, it's not what folk music is about. We're all adults (Becca Derry is now 22, I believe, and even before coming "of age", exhibited a level of maturity that I don't think I've yet mastered at nearly 40). Even if I wanted to (and trust me, I don't), I couldn't keep an entirely-on-topic list. I don't have time to review posts and I CERTAINLY don't want to be deciding what someone else thinks is relevant or interesting. My future is the kids' tent at Falcon Ridge. You don't want me deciding what you think is relevant or interesting. I see plenty of potential for a peaceful resolution of this issue and I have faith that resolution can be reached before Bruce and I are the only ones remaining on the Jangle-Poets list and I make a unilateral decision to change it to the Skippyjon Jones discussion list. Because, man, am I all over Skippyjon Jones these days. I apologize for the bandwidth, the relative lack of Kennedys content, and the shameless plug in the above paragraph. :) ~ Sheila, your friendly list-hostess Nieldsforever@aol.com wrote: > Detractors or purists who I can presently count on two fingers of my right > hand -- two fingers, as in "Peace Out" -- ? > > A philosophical difference, no? > > Bruce Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:28:19 -0400 From: Sheila Turner Subject: Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus And I apologize for the formatting; I put in double spaces between the paragraphs, but I have no idea what AOL did with them (or maybe it was Majordomo). Out of respect for those on the digest, I won't resend it. If anyone wants an easier-to-read version, just let me know and I'll try to send it with better formatting. ~ Sheila Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:28:57 -0500 From: Richard Hill Subject: Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus Amen. Thanks Sheila. ~Richard Sheila Turner wrote: > > First off, I admit that I haven't read each and every word of the post > > referenced in the subject line... Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:31:21 EDT From: Rozettj@aol.com Subject: Re: [JP] Jangle-Poets list focus In a message dated 4/26/2008 9:22:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Fantine729@aol.com writes: I think that a huge part of the problem is the sheer bandwidth of some of these posts. Do I mind hearing a plug for a Chris & Meredith show? No, not at all; I think that's reasonable, as long as I can read the entire post on one screen. Do I want to hear if they covered a Kennedys song? Yeah, maybe, especially if they did a bang-up job on it and plan on covering it on an album (and, on that note, I'd even appreciate a heads-up when the album is released, just in case I've forgotten that they're doing that). Do I want the entire annotated set list? Nope. Do I want an anniversary post every year of the entire annotated show? Definitely not. If I did, I'd be on the C&M list. those sound like reasonable guidelines to me. but remember - no one HAS to read posts they do not want to read. if they have a proper subject matter, you cna always hit delete, or, as is often the case for me, i might start to read a post and stop reading if i feel it is getting to be TMI. <> yes....i rely on this list and the TN list to clue me into new people, but as you said....keep it brief. tj Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ End of jangle-poets-digest V9 #156 **********************************