DISQUS

Best Book Gift: Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klostermann

Best CD Gift: "Second Heat" by Racer X

CD: Any of the Mountain Goats albums or the new one from Dr. Dog.
Book: The most recent Chuck Klostermann or any Sci-Fi or Fantasy.

Thanks Andrew! I'm really looking forward to listening to all of the artists on this compilation.

I think that this is an important concept that most musicians should think about. Like a lot of guitar players, I went through a long period where I was continually experimenting with new pieces of gear. Besides the expense, I eventually grew to hate how much time I had to spend learning how to use a new piece of gear. Add to that the anxiety I would feel at a gig hoping that one of my pedals or rack mounted effects wouldn't malfunction and I eventually scaled back in a massive way. These days, I show up at a gig with my acoustic guitar, a simple direct box, and a cable. It may not work for everyone, but the lack of choices has had an extremely positive effect on my music.
Whenever a new piece of gear or software catches my eye, I ask myself a few questions:

1. Is this worth the money?
2. Is this worth the time?
3. Will this help me to make better music, or will it just be a distraction?

Most of the time, after answering these quesions, I decide against purchasing it.

Thanks for the post,
John

This is an intriguing concept. I'm a fan of Stephenson's work, particularly Quicksilver. I'd love to see more music incorporated into literature in this way. So many great fantasy works, like Lord of the Rings and Elizabeth Haydon's Rhapsody books, have great songs in them. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear the music to go along with the lyrics? I almost always listen to music while reading, so having an album's worth of music written as a score for the book would be welcome.