Man With a Plan

As I munch on the last crumbs rolling around the can that once was full of Christmas cookies, I'm thinking it's about time to put together a few New Year's resolutions. I'm getting tired of the same old promises I make to myself (then break, myself). Trying to cure my fattytosis is a common one, though of late I've been getting to the gym more even if the holiday dessert intake is typically too good to be good for me. I'd like to curse less, particularly with a little ankle-biter running around. She's pretty perceptive, and I don't want to have her dropping F-bombs when her grandparents drop in for a visit. Giving up cussing completely seems pretty unlikely, since that would require me to quit working, too. Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen either; you can't eat CDs. If you could, there's a good chance I'd be a fat tub of goo. Anyway, I resolve to make resolutions that I can keep. In fact, these here will be a joy to work toward:

Play more guitar � This one seems to take a back seat almost as quickly as going to the gym. It's a shame, too; nothing gives me much more pleasure. Here's hoping that this is the year I finally put in enough hours to keep the callouses and start to see some results from those Tony Rice and Doc Watson instructional videos.

Spend less on music � This one doesn't seem like such a joy. I intended to spend less this year, and I think I did, but I still didn't cut back enough. This music collection isn't ever going to put the Baby Girl through college. She might sell it off, though, and invest the proceeds into throwing, as they say in the land of my people, "a wicked big keggah."

Spend more time enjoying what I have � My dad once told me, "The trick to getting everything you want is wanting what you have." At least I think that's what he told me. As the James Frey flap proved, memoir is all in how you remember it. So Dad will get credit for that one, and I will think of him fondly when I go to the stacks to pull out beloved albums such as Steve Earle's "El Corazon," The Jayhawks' "Hollywood Town Hall" and John Hiatt's "Walk On." I'll find his advice even more sage when I put them on the stereo and rediscover what made me love them in the first place. I'm also hoping to spend much more time with each new disc I buy, a throwback to the days when I couldn't afford many and played the hell out of what I had before purchasing the next one.

Be more positive � I touched on this one a couple of weeks ago. This year, I'd like more than ever for my writing to accurately reflect what I love about music. You still can expect honest reviews from me and from all my esteemed colleagues here at HickoryWind, but I'm aiming for more constructive criticism and more vivid descriptions of the performances that move me.

Learn something every day � If I'm paying attention at all, I usually achieve this one. But I'd like to be even more proactive in 2007. I resolve to read one artist bio a day on allmusic.com, which should lead to a fair amount of education by this time next year. I got an early jump on this one last week, when I read up on Vince Gill's stint as the lead singer of Pure Prairie League.

Embrace technology (to a degree) � I've started to dabble in digital music. I have an iTunes account on the home computer, which makes mix CDs a breeze. I've recently been trying out eMusic. The price is right, provided that they have what you want in stock (indie labels only). I might wade in a little further this year; dipping a toe hasn't been as chilly as I feared.

Celebrate time-honored traditions � Just because I've downloaded a few singles, don't go thinking I'll be writing about how much I love my iPod. Even if you can carry 10,000 tunes with you when you go to the crapper, you can only enjoy one performance at a time. Sometimes I still like that experience to be delivered via good old vinyl. Because while iTunes and the like certainly contributed to the demise of Tower Records, there are other retailers to be found. The Tower liquidation forced me to pick a new record store, and I've settled on Melody Records in Washington, D.C., where I look forward to getting acquainted with the staff and the stock. Because the best searches are done in the bins, not online. There's still a lot to be said for the joy of finding music in an old-fashioned brick-and-mortar store. I resolve to keep on shopping at them until I don't have a choice.