[peel] a modest proposal [long] : in memoriam: alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.peel

[Nigel U]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "sqdrldr" <sqdrldr@...>
To: <peel@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 10:54 PM
Subject: [peel] a modest proposal [long] : in memoriam: 
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.peel


>
>
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> Just to say I still am hugely saddened by John Peel's death.
>
> It's nothing less than a tragedy round here.
>
> In order that some good might come out of this sad time, is any body 
> interested in the
> concept of a  .peel newsgroup on Usenet to keep his work and spirit alive?
>
> I know people here are using EDonkey or other networks to spread the music
> that John brought us, but maybe we could do better.
>
> Newer P2P networrks are either slow, not cross-platform, or lately under 
> threat from the
> RIAA/BPI goblins.
>
> Usenet (hence my proposal) is fast, anonymous and enduring. Music is 
> available for many
> weeks on a good server. It's simply, in my humble opinion, a better way to 
> share music
> than any other. Unless you have a radio station that is.
>
> To that end I've posted some old sessions under another nom-de-net on
> alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.indie (many thanks and much respect to JonQ and 
> others there as
> well) but normally (here's the thing) mp3.indie is merely the net 
> equivalent of the NME, eg
> indie band du jour, and the antithesis of intelligent (Peel-style) 
> freeranging taste.
>
> As far as other natural Usenet homes of Peeliana go-  a.b.s.m.avantgarde 
> is just too often
> a home for hairshirted jazz bores, and the .reggae people as you might 
> expect exclusively
> post reggae, and so on.
>
> All very boring, all very limited, and again, very unlike the reasons for
> tuning into radio 1 at nights, year in year out.
>
> Lastly, we can count on the BBC not to do proper justice to John's legacy. 
> Only this
> morning on the Home Truths tribute programme they were talking about 
> having lost Peel-
> related stuff from the archives. *Sighs*
>
> So it's up to us.
>
> I've never started a newsgroup before, but I understand it's not a complex
> process.
>
> That's alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.peel I'm suggesting.
>
> Anybody interested ?
>
> Sqdrldr
>

The BBC may have lost some of their archives, but between this group and 
Sqdrldr's proposed one on Usenet I'm sure that we can plug a few gaps. I've 
got various cassette recordings from the 1980s but as yet haven't got round 
to uploading them onto my hard drive.

While I'm here, I picked up a copy of the Third Ear guide to Alternative 
Rock by Dave Thompson today, which although an American reference book 
published in 2000, has four pages on Peel plus an index of all Peel sessions 
between 1977-79 plus listings for Strange Fruit/Peel Sessions albums. �2.97 
from Music Zone, folks.

N

"Glory, Glory - Sharp As A Needle"