Not only would bluegrass not exist without the blues, but the banjo’s origin as an instrument is African. I crack up every time I hear The Kid Mero say that “anything that involves a banjo is automatically racist.”

Somehow “American Idol” managed to turn Katy Perry into something other than Arguably the Most Gorgeous Woman on the Face of Earth.

I really want to like this, but it’s hard to shake the notion that it’s literally just “Black Dynamite” with cowboy hats.

I feel strongly that the most depressing “you’re getting old” sign is when you realize that every pro sports player is younger than you. Although it did hit me pretty hard when I realized a few weeks ago that it’s been A QUARTER F*CKING CENTURY since “Enter the 36 Chambers,” “Hip-Hop Hooray” and “Insane in the Brain”…

Even during the late-Howland/early-Dixon years, when they were pretty decent, Pitt still had this maddening tendency to play down to lesser teams. They’d hang around and ALMOST beat a top-ranked team... and then four days later they’d ALMOST let Coppin State run them out of the gym.

The kidnappers better not call Bob Nutting for the ransom. He’d probably just offer them Josh Harrison.

I can only think of one exception to the “Acoustic version of banging rock songs = universally bad” maxim — I once saw Springsteen doing a solo acoustic show, and he did “Born in the USA” on slide guitar. I don’t consider it better than the original, but it emphasized a lot of the melancholy anti-war sentiment that…

I generally agree with the MTV ‘Unplugged’ take, but if there’s one that merits an exception to the rule, it’s the Nirvana ‘Unplugged’ set. I thought the acoustic versions of their own tunes gave them some depth they didn’t always have electric, and I think the acoustic Meat Puppet covers are almost all superior to…

You say in your Facebook response that you’re “familiar” with this group. But then in the above post you ask several questions that make it seem like you really aren’t very familiar with this group. Sooo which is it? If you know ‘em, then asking those questions — specifically #6-9 — is disingenuous and a legitimate…

“Boomin’ System” is GREAT. I’d also put “Mr. Goodbar,” “Cheesy Rat Blues” and “Farmers Blvd Anthem” on that list.

Honestly, who are these fucking people? I mean, I’m pretty proud of my junk, it’s put in work over the years, but I’ve never been in a situation where I ever, even for a second, thought, “Hey, y’know what I bet this lovely woman would like to see right now? My DICK.”

For the life of me I can’t figure out why the utterly fantastic Esquivel Christmas album, “Merry X-Mas from the Space-Age Bachelor Pad,” doesn’t get more play. It’s cheesy holiday jazz in the best possible way, full of goofy effects and sounds. Can’t recommend it enough.

True dat. Maybe the best Christmas album of them all. “Christmastime is Here” will forever be the greatest holiday song.

I have a jump drive in the car full of hip-hop that is labeled “TUNES FOR A COLD-ASS WINTER.” Certain entries from the Golden Age of ‘90s Hip-Hop are perfect for driving in frigid winter weather, it seems. Chief among them:

For some reason, the one exchange in this episode that cracks me up is basically a toss-off:

ATLVille is correct. But they were only in Atlanta for roughly the first season-and-a-half. They were making their way to D.C., I think, when they ended up in Alexandria, which I assume was referencing the D.C. suburb in Virginia. It DEFINITELY snows there.

My son defied and defied us on both going to the bathroom on the toilet and, subsequently, wiping. Then one day, after all our various strategies, tricks and attempts (which included me recording a video of him, moist-eyed, promising that NEXT TIME, he WILL try to wipe by himself... not super-proud of that, but he…

The worst part of sports talk radio is indeed the callers. That’s why I’m such a big fan of Mark Madden, drive-time sports-talk host in Pittsburgh. His knowledge of sports outside hockey is sometimes questionable, but his main talent is belittling callers and hanging up on them while calling them stupid, and it never…

That makes it even more ridiculous that we’ve never seen a full winter on the show. I think the main reason is that it would completely neutralize the zombies as a threat. They’d all freeze up, get more sluggish and be even more of a relative non-factor.

Even utilizing the most wishful suspension of disbelief, I don’t think a 350-pound tiger would be poisoned in the 30 seconds it took for her to get taken down.