My advice to everyone

One of top harsh lessons of reality is... being nice doesn't always work.

Yes, it helps- a lot- but there are those who find being nice foolish and even offensive, responding with contempt, mockery, and even aggression. Lucky for me I didn't learn this the hard way.

But my point is this: you can be the friendliest, most polite and courteous person alive, and while this will get you far, you will hit a brick wall if the person you're being nice dislikes you for any number of reasons. It isn't always justified, but let's face it- people tend to care more about finding people who agree with them and don't offend them than whether or not you're a nice guy.

Here's an example... say you're opening a door for a lady, and you smile and say "Good morning!" Sounds fail-safe, right? Now, let's say you wear a sleeveless shirt, and expose your many colorful and vibrant tattoos for all to see. What if the lady who you treat kindly really, really hates tattoos? She'll probably sneer at you.

Hyperbole, yes, but a lot of people are stubborn, whether they have a right to be or not. One thing I realized is that it's real easy to preach to the choir, but nigh impossible to preach to people who aren't in the choir.
If you wanna spread your message more, you're best off preaching to people who are thinking of joining the choir.

The Twangshifters

I think Shaun Toman is officially one of my favorite guitarists now.

http://www.youtube.com/user/rockabillyshaun

He plays stuff that I've only been able to hear in my head for a couple years now...

Magnatone vibrato

After acquainting myself with the sound of the Magnatone amps' "true vibrato" (which is awesome, by the way), I couldn't help but feel like I had heard it before. Like, in power pop or alternative music. My suspicion is that the musicians had either bought one- because, you know, lesser known vintage tube amps = rock cred- or that it was sitting around in the studio and they decided to play with it. There are two bands I can name that I'm pretty certain use it in their recordings: Letters to Cleo and Puffy AmiYumi. It's that distinctly wobbly sound that I'm thinking of...

Absolut Oxymoron

Vodka, now with açai, blueberry and pomegranate! It's got all three of the trendy antioxidant fruits! Wowsers! It must be healthy!

Nyckelharpa

The viola d'amore's country cousin.

Greasy, fried flesh

I find it funny that Chik-fil-A has cows practically begging you to eat chicken instead of them, while Rally's has chickens who not only want you to eat them, but eat each other and make this a requirement to join their sick, cannibalistic society.

They're total opposites, wouldn't you say?

More random thoughts about music

I think Led Zeppelin is the pioneer of folk metal. Just listen to "The Battle of Evermore" and you'll see what I mean.

Also, is it just me, or does every reggae song by a English white guy sound more structurally interesting than the real deal? I mean, yes, Bob Marley is a pioneer, and I give him all the credit in the world and my appreciation, but stuff like Elton John's "Jamaica Jerk-Off", Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", Paul McCartney's "C Moon", and Neil Innes' "Take Away" keeps my interest longer.