On with it, then, and with a herald of banjos

So, here we are. I thought I'd start with a brief rehash of something I posted to my website in March 2004... It's a good starting point and I've updated it.

My friend Cameron, a fellow connoisseur of cool and mildly obscure popular music (interesting word grouping there--"obscure popular music"), and I made an important cultural observation: the banjo is the new guitar! I know the banjo is a standard in bluegrass and some country music, but it's cropping up in my kind of music, and I LIKE IT!

Recent banjo sightings (hearings?) in mildly obscure popular music include "Sing" by Travis; "Powerless (Say What You Want)" by Nelly Furtado; "Loosen Your Hold" by South; "Greetings from Michigan" by Sufjan Stevens; "Big Sur" by the Thrills; "Were the Heavens Standing Blindly?" by the Honeydogs; "Teeth in the Grass" by Iron & Wine; "Bukowski" by Modest Mouse; "Action" by Clem Snide; and quite possibly (but not 100% certain) "Pass It On" by the Coral; among more... Most recently Jem lent a remake of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" to the second edition of the O.C. soundtrack, and that song contains a niftly little BANJO SOLO! It's a trend and I hope it continues...