Les Paul RIP

Les Paul was credited with all sorts of electronic innovations in music including over dubbing and the solid bodied guitar.
He was also a kick ass guitarist. His work has seriously been integral to the modern music scene. Born in 1915, he performed well into his 90s while suffering arthritis. Earlier in his life, an automobile accident fairly destroyed one of his arms. He had doctors set it so he could play his guitar. After playing with a host of musicians including Fred Waring (the guy who came up with the Waring Blender), he teamed up with singer mary Ford and created a pop sensation.
He is revered by, well, pretty much anybody who has picked up a guitar. He will be missed.
Here is the Wikipedia entry on the guy.
And if you are not inclined to read, here is a really short encapsulation of his life.

Cheetah Chrome Explains How to Play Sonic Reducer
altho, I think I would use an old SG instead.

A New City Hall

Vermillion, South Dakota, home of The University of South Dakota and The National Music Museum opened the doors to it's new city hall designed by Owen Mamura on Monday.
The new city hall is actually a city hall, too, as opposed the old retrofitted power plant the administration used to occupy. "With the old city hall, you walked in and you had a staircase right in the front of you, and a door way immediately to your right and to your left. It didn’t really say much other than you’d arrived at somebody’s back entry", the city manager explained, "There is a sense of arrival when you enter the building, and we wanted to make it easy to identify where it is they would be able to receive the services they are seeking."
A 1938 Gibson electric upright bass at the national Music Museum.

Vermillion Plain Talk article here.