There are so many talented musical artists that you really go out on a limb stating that any of them are musical geniuses. Here are two:

Gillian Welch - It is incredible to me that this woman writes classic bluegrass/americana music–from scratch! My ability to express myself is too feeble to say just how good a songwriter and performer she is. Yes, I realize that David Rawlings is critical to the sound, but she is the genius in my opinion.

Mark Knopfler - Another great songwriter and an almost better performer. He has made some of the best music I…

It is humbling that there are so many excellent artists out there that I don't know about but should. Many thanks to Last.fm and Pandora and friends for helping me find them.

Cross Canadian Ragweed is very, very good. They combine everything I like into a single package: rock, country, blues, and lots of Texas. Similar to Reckless Kelly.

It amazes me that they are not well-known in general, but they do their own thing. Guess the big record companies don't go for that. Who knows. Just glad they are there.

Just finished refreshing it:

A Pretty Good Guy

Transcendental Blues

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Delirium Tremolos

Dangerous Spirits

Crusades Of The Restless Knights

Millican

The Day

Devil You Know

10,000 Days

Phobia

We Are Not Alone

One X

Them Vs You Vs Me

And some single songs.

Today I'm scrobbling my iPod Nano. I have a 2GB Nano that contains just what I'm currently most interested in hearing. It changes weekly, sometimes daily. In a way it reflects my mood.

Right now it contains Patty Griffin (it will probably always have that, and Tool), some "popular rock" that I think I'll call "soft metal" or perhaps "melodic metal:" Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and Finger Eleven–not the most artistic bands, but they entertain me. Kinda like eating potato chips–I know I shouldn't but I just can't stop. Seether is there too–a…

Probably that is a subject heading never seen before.

Chevelle has a new cd, Vena Sera. It isn't bad (which is my reaction based on a first listen–I'll likely end up loving it). Chevelle is an alternative metal band influenced by Tool (somewhat; less thoughtful, more popular). To me alternative metal is a cross between popular rock and heavy metal. "Radio friendly" metal, if you will. That's what I like–darker alternative metal. Also like Southern rock (Gov't Mule and other Allman Brothers derivatives), classic hard rock (Hendrix, Cream, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, etc.). Other alt metal favorites of mine…

That I didn't know about these frustrates me a little, but last.fm has helped me learn to love these great artists in the past few weeks:

Chris Knight
If country were all like this, that's what I'd listen to most. Alas, it is not.

Scott H. Biram
Combines everything I like, blues, roots/americana, rock, folk, country…and, irreverence…this guy is crazy. Love it.

The Gourds
I shoulda known. Now I do.

This is the best cd I have heard in a long, long time.

Allmusic - Children Running Through

What a disappointment.

Maybe I'm showing my age, but this new cd sucks. She has an incredible voice, unlimited potential. But this cd is just more pop nonsense. Catering to the audience who buys the most music I suppose. She IS young.

Oh well.

Katharine McPhee

Ok, I'm coming out of the closet: I love Tool–lots of other rock music too, but right now especially Tool. So, I'm gonna start scrobbling it.

Should be interesting eventually to see what Last.fm thinks my taste in music is. It is a crazy mix to be sure.

Right this minute listening to 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2) from their newest cd 10,000 Days.

It occurs to me in beginning to use this service again that it is fairly intimate to let others see the music you listen to. You can tell a lot about someone that way.

One of my good friends holds that the music you listen to at a given time reflects what is going on in your life. Some people have stable listening habits, others fluctuate. I fluctuate. There was a really angry period there for a while, and I listened to a lot of metal (and most people would likely say I'm too old for metal, but hey, I…