1) Steel Guitar - One of the oddest things about country music today is its use of the steel guitar: modern country songs DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THE STEEL GUITAR!!! Which is quite a shame, because the steel guitar is one of the signature instruments of country music. I was listening to some Rascal Flatts song that Kathryn had the other day and the steel guitar was playing some crazy thing in the background that sounded like it should be a synthesizer. It's like country musicians today need to just throw steel guitar in songs to convince people "Oh yeah, this is definitely a country song, see - there was the steel guitar." 
The thing is, however, that most modern country music isn't country music. It's either pop or southern rock or something else. The Carter Family, Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash: that's all country music. And it's not like it's just because all those artists are older. A lot of artists that are still around are making country music, but they're on the periphery. Bob Dylan is making country music (along with pop, jazz, rock, folk and whatever else he wants to - the important thing is that he knows how to use the steel guitar). Often the extent of the presence of steel guitar in a song today is just a little riff at the beginning of the song and then the steel guitar virtually disappears in the rest of the song. If you listen to what Bob Dylan does live these days, he has a steel guitar player who plays in almost every song who uses the instrument as a secondary source of melody during fills and a way to create a sweet country ambiance by playing softly under the vocals. The point is, though it may be hard to describe, steel guitar serves a function when it is legitimately used in country music. It doesn't just serve as a signifier that the music is country music. Modern acts like Ollabelle or even Say Anything have used a steel guitar for good not evil lately. Anyway, to summarize this largely incomprehensible rant - steel guitar shouldn't be the only thing separating Carrie Underwood from Kelly Clarkson, it should have its own legitimate usage in music like it used to. Real country music, however, has almost always existed on the periphery of popular music except briefly when stars like Hank Williams make it big. You make think country music is popular today, but that stuff they call country music isn't really country music.
The thing is, however, that most modern country music isn't country music. It's either pop or southern rock or something else. The Carter Family, Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash: that's all country music. And it's not like it's just because all those artists are older. A lot of artists that are still around are making country music, but they're on the periphery. Bob Dylan is making country music (along with pop, jazz, rock, folk and whatever else he wants to - the important thing is that he knows how to use the steel guitar). Often the extent of the presence of steel guitar in a song today is just a little riff at the beginning of the song and then the steel guitar virtually disappears in the rest of the song. If you listen to what Bob Dylan does live these days, he has a steel guitar player who plays in almost every song who uses the instrument as a secondary source of melody during fills and a way to create a sweet country ambiance by playing softly under the vocals. The point is, though it may be hard to describe, steel guitar serves a function when it is legitimately used in country music. It doesn't just serve as a signifier that the music is country music. Modern acts like Ollabelle or even Say Anything have used a steel guitar for good not evil lately. Anyway, to summarize this largely incomprehensible rant - steel guitar shouldn't be the only thing separating Carrie Underwood from Kelly Clarkson, it should have its own legitimate usage in music like it used to. Real country music, however, has almost always existed on the periphery of popular music except briefly when stars like Hank Williams make it big. You make think country music is popular today, but that stuff they call country music isn't really country music.2) Autotune is basically computer software that corrects pitch in recorded music. You can 
clearly hear the effect on Cher's song "Believe" and some Kid Rock 
song, I think its "Only God Knows Why." Anyway, Autotune is controversial because many people say that those who use it are only masking the fact that they can't really sing, but recently I have heard a few indie pop acts who use it to a good effect: Hellogoodbye and The Secret Handshake. These two acts use autotune like any other band would use distortion or phaser on guitar. It is simply something that enhances the experience without masking any singing deficiencies. They make the voice sound like an electronic instrument within their already electronic-heavy songs. You can already tell how well these guys sing. They use autotune as a creative tool rather than a crutch. So anyway, sometimes if you're not very good (like Cher or Kid Rock) you can use autotune to try to make you sound better, but you don't fool anybody. You can alternatively use autotune for good to make youre music more interesting. Go Hellogoodbye and The Secret Handshake!
clearly hear the effect on Cher's song "Believe" and some Kid Rock song, I think its "Only God Knows Why." Anyway, Autotune is controversial because many people say that those who use it are only masking the fact that they can't really sing, but recently I have heard a few indie pop acts who use it to a good effect: Hellogoodbye and The Secret Handshake. These two acts use autotune like any other band would use distortion or phaser on guitar. It is simply something that enhances the experience without masking any singing deficiencies. They make the voice sound like an electronic instrument within their already electronic-heavy songs. You can already tell how well these guys sing. They use autotune as a creative tool rather than a crutch. So anyway, sometimes if you're not very good (like Cher or Kid Rock) you can use autotune to try to make you sound better, but you don't fool anybody. You can alternatively use autotune for good to make youre music more interesting. Go Hellogoodbye and The Secret Handshake!3) The Killers are awesome, please buy their new B-Sides Compilation Sawdust
This album is full of B-Sides which show many things. First of all - The Killers still have a sense of humor. After the seriousness of their last album, one might have thought they were taking themselves too seriously, but listen to the hidden track "Questions With The Captain." Another highlight is their cover of the Dire Straits "Romeo and Juliet" - mostly because that song is awesome anyway, but also because they do it justice. A third thing this record shows is that The Killers can continue to be creative: they reinterpret some of their older B-Sides, and while not changing all that much about them, I've always admired acts who think they can breathe new life into old songs and change them around while still making them meaningful. The new version of Sam's Town really shows this process the best. I like it when artists think of songs as ideas, not simply concrete recordings that cannot be changed or rearranged. The new song with Lou Reed also shows them pushing their creative barriers (It's not my favorite song on the record, but I still appreciate growth musically).
Think about music and love it.
Also, buy records.
Hugz 'n' kissiz,
Sean
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