Tighten Up.

Email response:

Thanks, Joe! I'll pre-order when I get the cash, then.

OK, how about Archie Bell and the Drells?

I love "Tighten Up"! R.E.M. covered it on a flexidisc. Also the Dolls covered Archie Bell's "There's Gonna Be A Showdown."

"Well I got ten notches / right on my shoes / when it comes to dancin' / I just can't lose..."

Speaking of the Dolls (and when do I not?), there's finally finally finally a decent Dolls performance DVD from their heydey. These are Bob Gruen's videotapes of performances by the Dolls in their prime. So they're b/w and not as crisp as film, but they capture the band's raucous stage presence perfectly. Check it out: All Dolled Up. Aside from 18 performance clips from such legendary long-gone NYC spots as Kenny's Castaways and Club 82 (a drag bar where much early punk occurred as well), it also has the "Lipstick Killers" video of the Dolls. Which seems very much inspired by The Who's "Happy Jack" gangster video.

Now if Musikladen will just release their Dolls material on DVD...

Most fun rock and roll band evah!

Excellent!

Hey, Misha, I liked your article. Any piece on software that can work in a Pynchon quote is a-ok by me.

Article about my nephew and his band:

[link]

t /proud auntie

Sweet! Which one's your nephew?

Ben, the tall one on the far left.

Strange question: My son, who is 10, wants to get an electric guitar. Does anyone have any experience with such things, electric guitars for children, and can direct me to one that's A) small enough for him, and B) not just a toy?

Can't help much, except to say that probably the biggest problem a child would have in playing a regular electric guitar would be lack of finger strength - i.e. he'd probably only be able play for a little while at a time. That being said, electric guitars are much easier on the fingers than acoustic guitars (with the exception of the classical guitar, which has nylon stings).

So, I don't know about buying the electric guitar itself, but you could get "softer" strings for it, which would help on the finger issue some. There are also little finger-exercising thingies that might help.

Go, Ben! He sounds like a great kid just from the quotes.

Corwood, thanks for the kind words! I have that whole passage from Slow Learner up over my desk at home, is how much I love it.

Gandalfe, lisah was just out here and showed me some pictures of her band including one of her bandmates (who is very small) playing a child's electric guitar which made it much, much easier for her to play.

She said the sound was great too. It was a Daisy Guitar which was specifically designed for girls, but as you can see, not all the guitars are particularly girly. They're much lighter in weight, and have much more manageable fretboards for little hands.