Dollar General is actually a different business model. Originally meant to be a thrift chain in an era when a dollar could buy much more, their prices have grown well beyond the name. It can outcompete Walmart because of its smaller footprint and simpler supply logistics.

Plus brand loyalty is a thing. There are people who hate Walmart but love Dollar General, and the reverse. Dollar Tree/Family Dollar (itself more of a thrift store than its owner Dollar Tree) doesn’t offer the same appeal, to the same people. These aren’t actually direct competitors.

Still, in areas that can’t support a variety of business models, it’s depressing. It’s a guarantee there’s a shuttered downtown near these stores.

The great original bands have someone driving them. It’s probably the one writing, getting the gigs, showing the most skill, rousing the crowd, and expressing a vision for the band’s future.

Before you talk to your singer, you have to decide if you’re the driver. I can’t tell you how many musicians I’ve held back because I wasn’t the driver, or the talent, but nobody else took the wheel.

If you have the vision, and you can see that your frontman is great at something else, maybe lead guitar, and you should be the lead singer, map out a plan and say so. If it means he’s out, figure out how the band continues without him.

Do it soon. The number of musicians who never grabbed the wheel fills stadiums every summer weekend…as the audience.

Her bass playing is legendary not just because they’re pretty exacting and intricate, but they had full choreography at the same time.

I was made aware of Alter Bridge this morning. Their latest album is definitely working for me.

If you called it the Headdesk statue I’d believe you.

I’ll second this. They’ve emptied an espresso can.

You, um, left out Babs.

In case you don’t see the point, it’s that this thread could literally go on for years mentioning each artist you forgot, proving you’re not the taste maker you think you are.

A better analogy is they’re forced to watch the intro a dozen times before skipping to a totally different show.

Interesting timing. I saw a 15yo kid play parts of this with a looper at an open mic last night. All jaws on the floor. I had to cross out whatever the previous damndest thing I ever saw was.

Guaranteed, that kid is gonna be known.

(Edit: his dad was a regular and pals with the host)

I originally thought this was much ado about a handful of stupid troll comments. No big.

Then my son and wife showed me posts from their own socials. And I even saw a few morons on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn. Where their employers lurk.

I’m having a hard time believing it’s astroturfing.

Just black for me. Maybe I’ll zoom in tomorrow. Maybe never.

We had a contractor tell us over the phone to check the switch (in this case the burner safety switch by the cellar door), or he could come over to check it, for the minimum charge.

Contractors just know. It’s been Christmas, mothers-in-law have visited, and they tend to mess with everything. It turned out one of them was looking for the kitchen lights.

They also fucked up the fridge temp as usual (trying to get ice) and the universal remote. It took too long to program and I’m not going through that again.

No skid marks, and a deliberate turn and curb jump was required. Just sayin’

I play with drummers who hear, read, and match rhythm perfectly and can pick out imperfections in a professional record.

I also know some who literally can’t count off something with an anticipation in it, and are mystified by a base three beat.

Like pitch matching, which never comes for some people, it might be something that is inherently unreachable for you. No big, there’s a bonafide trick I’ve taught people:

Turn it into words.

“Boom boom crack shakalaka boom crack.”

“Whaddaya whaddaya whaddaya say.”

“Hey, here we go, here we go we’re gonna go now.”

Its probable you’ll hear those the same way every time. You can use lyrics you know too. It could be a stepping stone to reading a series of dotted eighths and triplets someday. See if it helps.

A couple of his tunes are staples for my campfire & divebar gigs, but as soon as I get my Supertramp medley nailed down I’ll get working on more Warren Zevon.

This is a market in desperate need of competition from high speed rail.

Imagine this graph but ‘babies dropped on head at hospitals’ or ‘salmonella poisoning at restaurants’. This is a criminal level of failure across the entire industry.

<Ian Malcolm quote goes here>