Re-Cool

A couple of weeks ago, I helped out a friend and had a great time doing it.

An extremely talented pianist, he now wants to learn how to play the guitar. He knew enough to spend a reasonable amount of money for a quality instrument, but didn't know what attributes he wanted. So, he asked me to accompany him. Whatever instrument I liked best in his price range, he would buy it. Great for me, I get all the pleasure of shopping but without the cost!

I knew the best options off the bat, so when the salesgirl approached I noted requirements for a built-in preamp and dreadnaught-style body. I played quite a few guitars, and we narrowed the options down to two really nice Tanglewood guitars. I'd never heard of them before, but they're pretty awesome.  My next acoustic might just be the same one we bought for my friend.

Checking the resonance and intonation, I was playing chords that involved droning open strings along with frets up at the high end of the neck. For some reason, I started playing "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by Iggy & The Stooges. An old punk classic.

Suddenly our salesgirl, replete with pompadour and shitty rockabilly tats, got excited. This old fart with grey in his moustache and a Blackberry on his hip… was hip! She gave me "props" for "rocking some acoustic Iggy."

For the brief moment that I held some long-lost cred, I encouraged her to buy "Please Kill Me," by Legs McNeil - a compilation of fantastic interviews with 1970s punk legends.

That "cool" feeling kept me going for a few days.