i'm not a guitar player. to quote bono, i want to play the guitar badly and i do play the guitar badly. after almost probably 5 years, i still can't really call myself a virtuoso among the likes of satriani, sambora and even the edge, if i could. justin, if you're reading this, you'll probably end up being better than me. power chords do not a great guitarist make. i don't know. to me, a guitar was more than a toy...but as most things get older, they stay with you, and some times, you feel that you can't really have them anymore. well, sorta. that's why you give them away to friends and have them swap items of equal worth with you. anyway, i play the guitar badly. i'm good with the basic notes, and i can play the odd U2 solo, but besides that, i'm just hopeless. i'm still trying to figure my way from the flat notes up to the majors, and though i can probably find a power chord, i still have trouble with the whole theory behind the fretboard. having a girlfriend who plays better guitar than you says loads. well, maybe it does. it might also mean that i should give up all hope of having something worthwhile to do during guitar solos during [sic] live gigs. note to the reader: if you ever get to go to a [sic] gig, look out for me during paolo's solos...i'll be the waterboy for the band.

since we're on the topic of music, i just want to touch upon a subject that's pretty close to my heart. that's right...the second song. on every album, there's an opener, which suitably sets the mood for the whole album...or so you'd like to think. i mean, sure...the opening track is usually the first single from the album, and it does play an important role, but have you ever considered what it is that the second song does? it carries on the rest of the album...and usually, second songs may be less hook-filled, but their a lot more punchier. for example, after oasis' seven minute opus which is "d'you know what i mean?" on be here now, "my big mouth" gives us a good kick in the shins...the same goes for "shiver" being a blast in the face after "don't panic" in parachutes. the second song makes a difference. why not the third song or any songs after? well, you can say that they smoothen the mix, but at the same time, they don't have the chance to do what the second song does for the album. oh, well.

ever wondered how bands can sound fresh and not repetitious? ever heard everclear? they're great, i love them, but they just sound the same. it gets heady after a bit. i know that each song is different, but...maybe it's just his voice. like someone told me, it's probably the definitive everclear sound. just like the almost-patented aerosmith sound, and let's not forget bon jovi finding their big hair again. instead of looking to the music of the future, we should be uncovering the gems of the past. it'd work so much better, and musicians would have to think less and innovate on what could have been innovated on before. we all get a crack at it, i suppose.

closing coda
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you don't have to be scared
just be scared of me