OLD WOOD: Here’s a cool collection of Vintage Guitar & Amp Ads. I’ve got guitars on the mind.

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FOREVER AND EVER, MAN: Forgash gets some ink. Two things he loves the most.

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SUCH A DIFFERENT TIME: Vintage Storefronts. (Thanks, Jess.)

I’d just completely loose my shit, standing in front of something like this.

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ALL KINDS OF KICK-ASS PEEPS ON THERE: Grain Edit’s offering of “2009 Holiday Wish Lists.”

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GOOD WOOD: Noah Armstrong writes up Creston guitars. Some beautiful stuff in there. Guitars for Jay Farrar and Anders Parker. Check out their band saw!

Thanks to everyone who sent in tips for my Telecaster search. I just want a basic one, of course. No frills. No limited edition shit or faux-worn whatevers. Just something I can beat up the next bunch of years around the shop and stuff. American-made of course, but, that has its complexities, too.

Guitar shopping is always weird, and it shouldn’t be! One guy says the brand spankin’ new ones are the way to go. The next guy says to go with a vintage one. Both just want to sell the guitars in their shops, you know? Sometimes the old wood just feels so, uh, “someone else’s” or something. But then, the new wood feels so “chintzy” a times. I don’t know. I always liked that shape, and man, D. Boon played a Telecaster. There you go. Reason enough.

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PHOTOS YOU NEED TO SEE: The Big Picture’s year-end pile. Must-see stuff. Make sure you pay all of them.

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ON THE PLAYER:

01. Deer Tick - War Elephant
02. Bill Fox - Transit Byzantium
03. Flatlanders - Now Again