MIDICraft's MIDINET CD-ROM/MIDICraft's MIDINET CD-ROM.iso/DOCS/ALT_FAQ.ZIP/ALT.FAQ

Text File | 1993-05-17 | 20.3 KB | 455 lines

The author/compiler of this FAQ is Joshua John Buergel
<[e-mail]>.  I am merely posting it for him while he lacks net
access for the summer.  Any additions, changes, comments (no flames
please) should be directed to Mr. Buergel.  Thanks.

"There are no stupid questions, just stupid people."
   -The Mr. T Experience, "Master of the Situation"

Presenting the ALT.MUSIC.ALTERNATIVE Frequently Asked Questions list!

Just LOOK at these reviews:

"I laughed, I cried, I pushed back all of my new releases."
   - Gerald Cosloy

"Alt.music what?  I thought this was comp.unix!"
   - Eggbert "Eggy" Giekius

"You going to just throw that Spam out?"
   - my roommate

Yes, it's the answer to all your questions.  It's even got a table of contents!

I.  Introduction to alt.music.alternative or "Just what the heck IS all
of this?"
II.  Frequently asked questions or "I just discovered these two tracks
on my Nine Inch Nails CD..."
III.  Basic Usenet ettiquette or "You too can waste hundreds, if not
thousands or dollars!"
IV.  Mailing lists or "Does anyone have the address of my clue?"
V.  FTP or "Dave Datta is your pal!"

--==|| Part I ||==--

INTRODUCTION

    Nearly a year ago, some enterprising soul decided that there was a
void in Usenet.  After braving the firestorm on rec.music.misc, that
brave soul decided to create a brand new group:  alt.music.alternative.

    This new newsgroup was to be dedicated to discussion of
"alternative" music.  The folks who read rec.music.misc correctly
predicted flamewars about the definition of alternative.  Every now and
again, somebody forgets to log out of their terminal or is overwhelmed
with their own cleverness and decides to post some sort of message
declaring "That's not alternative!"  Of course people invariably take
this bait and a flamewar ensues.  That's not what this newsgroup is
for...it would be called alt.music.flame if it were for that.

    So what is this group for?  What IS alternative music?  That's a
pretty good question, and it probably is the most frequently asked
question in this newsgroup.  Unfortunately, neither I nor anyone else
can really answer this question.  In a broad sense, alternative is music
that is an alternative to standard mainstream music.  Instead of
discussing Madonna we would be ideally discussing Masonna.  This
defination is very loose, however, since it excludes the many acts that
once had a very limited following and now have become very popular.  The
best example of this phenomenon in my mind is R.E.M.  Are they
alternative?

    Many would say, "No!  What are you, some sort of booger-head?"
Others might say, "Of course!  Just because they are popular doesn't
mean they've necessarily changed at all!"  Still yet others might say,
"Who cares?  Pass the salt."  My take on the matter is that such bands
as R.E.M., U2, the Cure and other groups who have become extraordinarily
popular these days should still be discussed.  Any flamewars trying to
get people to stop posting about these bands would invariably waste a
hundred times more bandwidth than the original discussion would have
taken.  Live and let live.  Just discuss the music, and this will become
a better newsgroup.

    Mark Cornick, co-moderater of the indie list (see section IV) has
the following to say:

    Louis Armstrong was once asked "what is jazz?" He replied "If you
have to ask the question, you will never know the answer." Alternative
is in your own mind. So if you think it's alternative, it probably is,
and if it isn't people will happily flame you. C'mon folks, you know
what's alternative and what's not, and if you don't, turn on your
local college radio station or (gasp) 120 Minutes and maybe you'll
find out.

    I can agree with this.  The upshot of this section is that this
newsgroup is for discussion of alternative MUSIC.  It is not for a
discussion of how cool you think you are.  It is not for a discussion
about how obnoxious the VJ of "Alternative Nation" is.  It is not for a
discussion of WHAT alternative music is.  Just discuss the music you
enjoy, and you might find others out there with similar tastes.  I know
I have.

--==|| Part II ||==--

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  I bought Nine Inch Nails' CD _Broken_ the other day, and I
discovered that there are two bonus tracks at the end of the CD?  Holy
cow!  Any idea what these are called?

A:  Well, you're not the first to discover this.  There are indeed two
bonus tracks on _Broken_.  The first is a cover of an Adam and the Ants
song entitled "Physical (You're So)" and the second is a cover of a
Pigface song, "Suck".  The latter was actually co-written by Trent
Reznor and he helped perform it with Pigface on _Gub_, but it is still
originally a Pigface song.  The version included on _Broken_ is actually
significantly different than the one on _Gub_.

Q:  Hey, man, I can't find NIN's _Fixed_ ANYWHERE!  What the heck?

A:  It's limited edition.  After an original run, Interscope
discontinued the single.  Some reports seem to indicate that Interscope
stopped printing _Fixed_ so that it would not cut into sales of
_Broken_.  These same reports state that _Fixed_ will be reissued after
sales of _Broken_ cool off.  At any rate, there are still a few copies
of _Fixed_ floating around.  In addition, the single is still in print
oversees and is available as an import.  All is not lost.

Q:  What are the official NIN releases, as long as I'm bugging you?  And
what is this "Halo" business?

A:  The "Halo" designation goes on every official NIN release.  Halo 1
is the "Down In It" 12" (later reissued on CD), Halo 2 is _Pretty Hate
Machine_, Halo 3 is the "Head Like A Hole" single, Halo 4 is the "Sin"
single, Halo 5 is _Broken_ and Halo 6 is _Fixed_.  There is a bootleg CD
containing "Supernaut" and "Suck" that is marked "Halo 00", but this is
NOT an official release.  The Halo designation was added in a totally
spurious attempt to make it look official.
    Incidentally, Ian Patterson ([e-mail]) maintains a
FAQ list just for Nine Inch Nails.  There is also a NIN discography
available on Dave Datta's musical archives (see part V for more info).

Q:  Woah.  After a bunch of silence there is another track on Nirvana's
_Nevermind_!  What is up with this?

A:  It's called "Endless Nameless" and was included on all CDs of
_Nevermind_ after the very first run.  If you have one of these first
50,000 CDs, you can still get the track by purchasing the single for
"Come As You Are" which was released in England.  As for other
countries, I'm not certain if the track was included or not.

Q:  Is Eddie Vedder dead?

A:  Nope.  For that matter, Anthony Keidis does not have AIDS nor does
Flea.  Dick Vaughn, however, is dead.

Q:  Who, exactly, is playing Lollapalooza 3 this summer?

A:  Rage Against the Machine, Front 242, Babes in Toyland, Arrested
Development, Fishbone, Dinosaur Jr., Alice in Chains and Primus.  Babes
in Toyland are only playing half of the dates, however.  Tool takes
their spot on the remaining dates.

Q:  Okay, WHERE are they playing?

A:  Here are the dates:

Jun 18 - Vancouver UBC Field
Jun 19 - Seattle Field
Jun 20 - Portland Portland Meadows
Jun 22 - San Francisco Field/Shoreline
Jun 23 - same
Jun 25 - Salt Lake City The Fairgrounds/Salt Lake Beach
Jun 26 - Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Arena/Fiddlers
Jun 28 - Des Moines/Kansas City Fairgounds/Raceway
Jun 29 - Minneapolis Harriet Island
Jul 1 - St. Louis Riverport/Field
Jul 2 - Cincinnati Riverbend
Jul 3 - Chicago World Ampitheater
Jul 5 - Milwaukee Summerfest Site
Jul 6 - Cleveland  Blossom Music Ampitheater
Jul 8 - Detroit Pine Knob
Jul 9 - Toronto Molson Park
Jul 10 - Montreal TBA
Jul 11 - Saratoga SPAC
Jul 13 - Montreal Field
Jul 14 - Portland, Maine Field
Jul 16 - New Haven Fairgounds
Jul 17 - Long Island Suffold County
Jul 18 - Philidelphia TBA
Jul 20 - Alexandria Rosecroft Raceway
Jul 21 - Pittsburg Starlake Amphitheater
Jul 23 - Raleigh Fairgounds
Jul 24 - Nashville Fairgrounds/Charlotte
Jul 25 - Atlanta Georgia Ren. Fair/Lakewood
Jul 27 - Miami Bicentennial Park
Jul 28 - Orlando Central Fairgrounds
Jul 30 - New Orleans UNO Soccer Field
Jul 31 - Houston Fort Bond County Fairgrounds
Aug 1 - Dallas Old Fort Dallas/Starplex
Aug 3 - Lubbock El Paso
Aug 6 - Los Angeles Santa Fe Dam
Aug 7 - same
Aug 8 - San Diego Aztec Bowl
Aug 10 - Phoenix Compton Terrace

Q:  Man, you're not alternative.  I've got one of only three copies of
Flaccid Penile Implant's 7" "Fartstorm" b/w "Burning Rectal Hell" and
the other two were eaten by my neighbor's Rottweiler.

A:  Are you always this obnoxious, or just when I put words in your
mouth?  Anyway, check your attitude at the door, friend.
Alt.music.alternative is not the sort of place for these sorts of
infantile comments.  Besides, there were four of those made...I ought to
know, I made them.

Q:  Is Eddie Vedder dead yet?

A:  Nope, not yet.

Q:  You sure?

A:  Quite.

Q:  I just heard that the Pixies have broken up!  Is that true?

A:  Yes, it is true.  Black Francis is now going under the name Frank
Black and has a solo album out on 4AD (Electra here in the US) entitled
_Frank Black_.  Kim Deal is devoting her time to the Breeders, and there
should be a new album out sometime soon.  Dave Lovering somehow landed
in Nitzer Ebb, go figure.  Finally, Joey Santiago contributed some
guitar on Frank Black's album.  What he is doing besides that is unknown
to me.
    Incidentally, since the demise of Rough Trade, _Come On Pilgrim_ and
_Surfer Rosa_ are now out on separate CDs, so if you find the
combination CD used, snap it up so the weasels at 4AD don't make any
money off of this bum deal.

Q:  Hey, anybody have the lyrics to "Spewmatic" by Spam Enema?

A:  If anybody on the net has the lyrics has the lyrics to any song,
odds are they've shown up on the FTP site at cs.uwp.edu.  In addition to
tons and tons of lyrics, there are discographies and other assorted
information on this site.  Read part V for more information.
    Besides, what are you talking about?  "Spewmatic" is an instrumental.

Q:  Where did Pearl Jam get their name?

    There are currently two versions of this story to my knowledge.

1)  The members of Pearl Jam are avid basketball fans, and early on the
band was named "Mookie Blaylock."  After Mookie and The NJ Nets
threatened to sue the band it was changed to Mookie's nicknamed
slamdunk, a "Pearl Jam".  "10", the title of Pearl Jam's first album, is
Mookie's jersey number.

2)  A Rolling Stone (Oct. 91?) article that "Pearl Jam" was named after
a jelly that Eddy Vedder's grandma (Pearl) used to make for her husband.
 According to the article, the jam contained hallucinagens.

Q:  What's the Mother Love Bone/Pearl Jam connection?

    Once upon a time, there was a pioneering Seattle grunge band called
Green River.  Steve Turner left the band early on, and was later joined
by Mark Arm to form Mudhoney.  The rest put together Mother Love Bone,
with Andrew Wood handling vocals, and "headed off on their way to Def
Lepperdom" as Barry Hennesler so aptly put it.  They band dissolved
after Andy's death from a heroin overdose.  The remaining members joined
Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron from Soundgarden in a tribute band called
"Project: Temple of the Dog," and these same Love Bone alumni have since
created the aforementioned Pearl Jam.

Q:  Where are some good places to find out more about music?

A:  Well, Usenet is not an ideal place for real information, but
occasionally some real information leaks through.  There are quite a
number of Usenet groups dedicated to music.  The easiest way to find out
about them is to subscribe to and read rec.music.info.  Besides stuff
like discographies, concert listings and whatnot, listings of musical
resources available on Usenet and by FTP get posted to rec.music.info.
It's very low volume and can be helpful at times.
    Besides Usenet, you can try mailing lists.  See part IV for more
information on that.  Aside from computer resources, you can try print
media.  There are magazines like Alternative Press, Option and others
that attempt to cover mainly alternative music.  In addition to these
mass media sources, there are "'zines" which are put out by regular
people just like you and me.  Although they are often spotty they also
tend to be alot more honest than their mass media counterparts which
have to appease their advertisers.  The main thing is to keep your eyes
(and your ears) open.

Q:  Thanks, you've been helpful.  Anything you want to add?

A:  That's mighty gracious of you, even though it was really me who
typed that.  Well, gosh, I guess there isn't too much to say.  If you
have anything you would like to see in this section, go ahead and email
me at [e-mail].  I'm going to be home for the summer,
though, so your suggestion is likely to just sit there until I get back
in late August, but that's okay.

--==|| Part III ||==--

Netiquette

    What is netiquette?  It's a cute term for some basic rules of
conduct on Usenet.  Computers are a very quick and convenient way to
exchange information.  Unfortunately, they also lend themselves toward
quick responses lacking thought behind them.  People tend to treat
computer communication as more like normal conversation rather than
written correspondance.  Netiquette is just a way of describing some
ways to try and increase the flow of information on Usenet.
    First, and most importantly, THINK before you send that.  It's a
cliche, but somebody is paying for everything that goes over the net.
Maybe you personally aren't paying, but somebody is.  Ask yourself, "If
this were a letter, would I bother sending it?"  Many times, you'll
answer, "No."  If you say it out loud, you'll also get funny looks from
everybody around you.  If the answer is no, don't send it.
    What sort of things shouldn't you do?  One thing you shouldn't do is
send one line responses.  If a question is simple enough to be answered
in one line, just email it to the person.  Another thing you shouldn't
do is quote the entirety of an article.  Just quote the relevant parts.
Don't worry, it's not going to kill you to use that delete key.
    What should you do if there is a question to which the answer is
commonly known?  Nothing.  Odds are, somebody has answered it.  If you
really feel you must answer it, do it in email.  Also, check ahead and
see if somebody else has already answered the question before you.
There have been countless instances of people asking something along the
lines of "Who sang xxx?"  Invariably, there were tons of people who felt
obligated to answer this question.  Often, people get it wrong.  People
won't think you're cool, people will think you're obnoxious.
    Don't post unfounded rumors.  I'm sure most readers are familiar
with the rumors which flew around concerning Lollapalooza 3.  I'm
equally sure people are familiar with all of the numerous, "Does xxx
have AIDS?" questions.  This kind of stuff doesn't raise the level of
information on the net at all, as they tend to be completely inaccurate
and offbase.  Wait until your rumor is confirmed, and then post the
information.  Most of the time you'll find that your rumor was just the
result of idle speculation.
    If you follow these simple guidelines, alt.music.alternative would
be much nicer to read.  Remember:  don't quote too much, don't post one
line articles, don't answer obvious questions, use email when it is
appropriate, don't post rumors, treat computer communication like
written communication and THINK before you send.

--==|| Part IV ||==--

Mailing Lists

    One of the best ways to acquire information about specific areas of
music or artists is to subscribe to an appropriate mailing list.  There
are tons of them out there and odds are you'll find one or more that
interest you.  The best way to find mailing lists that interest you is
to send a message to the following address:

                     >>>  [e-mail]  <<<

and ask for a copy of the musical list of lists.  You'll get a wonderful
document in turn that has subscription addresses for bunches of mailing
lists.  Before you go hog wild, there are a couple of things to keep in
mind.
    First of all, everything I said about netiquette applies equally to
mailing lists.  This is going into people's mailboxes, and they'll get
annoyed if you're cluttering up their mailboxes with garbage.  Second,
keep in mind that often (read:  always as far as I know) the
administrative address is different from the address for the mailing
list.  This means that your subscription requests, unsubscription
requests and other administrative stuff should get sent to the
administrative address, while stuff indended to be sent to the entire
list should go to the list address.  Pretty simple to remember, that.
For many mailing lists, the mail address will be of the form
[e-mail] and the administrative address will be
[e-mail].  Other lists are run by "listserv"s, which
means a computer administrates them.  For these lists, the mail address
will be [e-mail] and the administrative address will be
[e-mail].  Whatever the situation is, KEEP any information
that you get sent when you subscribe to a list.  It will help you
remember how to unsubscribe.  Trust me, few things annoy people on
mailing lists more than unsubscription requests sent to the main list.
It's really not that hard to remember two email addresses, is it?
    Incidentally, I will recommend one list in particular that has
remained amazingly flame free as well as chock full of content.  The
indie mailing list is a weekly digest packed with reviews of concerts
and albums as well as other helpful information.  To find out more, just
type "finger [e-mail]".  If that doesn't work, try
emailing Mark Cornick himself at [e-mail].

--==|| Part V ||==--

FTP

    FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and is a means of
transferring files across internet.  Not all systems have FTP, you'll
have to figure out if you have it on your own.  There are several sites
that are useful to readers of alt.music.alternative and you can get a
complete list from rec.music.info.  The most important of these sites is
the server at cs.uwp.edu maintained by Dave Datta.  This site has
discographies, lyrics and tons of other information just waiting to be
read.  Do some poking around and you might be surprised.  Anyway, the
remainder of this section was swiped from the FAQ list for
rec.games.hack written by Yu Cao and underwent some modification.

                         Basic FTP instructions

If your machine is directly connected to internet, you can obtain the
source code and official binary releases for some popular computers.

Type in the command:

     ftp cs.uwp.edu

You will be connected to the server, and it will prompt for a username.
Type in the username:

     anonymous

Use your e-mail address for a password, such as:

     [e-mail]

Paying attention to upper and lower case, change directories to the
NetHack base directory, by typing:

     cd pub/music

This directory contains a veritable plethora of musical information.
First, find out what directories are available by typing:

     dir

Of particular interest are two directories, lyrics and artists.  To
change to these directories, simply type one of:

     cd lyrics
     cd artists

Once in these directories, you're going to need to keep typing "dir" to
find out what is available in that directory as well as typing "cd" to
change to directories.  Once you've finally found a file that interests
you, simple type:

     get <filename>

where <filename> is the name of the file you want.

To leave your FTP session, type:

     quit

That's it!  Isn't that easy.  For more information on FTP, don't bug me.
 Bug somebody like that geeky looking guy using the terminal next to
yours.

--==|| That's it! ||==--

This is the end of the FAQ.  I hope it's been helpful in some way.  If
not, don't both telling me, I really don't care that much.  This file
will hopefully be posted to a.m.a. fairly often in an attempt to improve
the signal to nosie ratio.  It will also be sent to anybody who
flagrantly violates any netiquette rules in hopes they will not make the
same mistake again.  Thanks for reading,

Joshua Buergel - [e-mail] - [e-mail]
"Anybody who thinks we overstepped the playground perimeter of lyrical
decency (or that the public has any right to demand 'social
responsibility' from a goddamn punk rock band) is a pure natural dolt,
and should step forward and put his tongue up my ass." - Steve Albini