So, V is a southern girl, and the whole "being Southern" thing is very much a part of my identity. Not in that whole redneck "the south will rise again" kind of way. No. More like in that whole Steel Magnolias way, even though Steel Magnolias was a really shitty film. There's a certain kind of Southern girl with a certain kind of values that it can be hard to explain if you don't already get it. Think about Scarlett O'Hara, digging in the dirt with her hands, after she's grown from the silly debutante into a fighter. We know what's important, and we'll stand up for it. We don't mince words, either.

But I digress. One of these days I'll have to write a big diatribe about what it really means to be Southern. The polite kind of Southern, not the sort with a gun rack in their tractor. Seriously. I've seen that.

I was going to talk about music. People tend to associate the south with country music, and that's just a shame. I mean, yes, we do tend to generate most of the country music you might encounter. We have Nashville and Dollywood and all that stuff. But the majority of this music is shit. Complete shit. And since there's such a vast amount of it, I think a lot of people tend to think Southern music is all songs about pickup trucks and trailers and coldhearted women.

This misconception is a wrong which needs righting. We gave y'all the blues, people. THE BLUES. And jazz. Hello? Two of the most important contributions to America's musical culture were born in the south. And people tend to forget that.

So without any further rambling on my part, enjoy some truly awesome real Southern music.