For about the last 2 years I've listened to my Pandora radio station, and here recently it's given me some pretty kickin' new choices for music that I have labeled "really good".

The first band will kinda make you raise an eyebrow, mainly because they have a very grassroots feel, just barely clinging to the edge of the "country" genre. The band is called Son Volt. The few people I've shared their style with say that it's very strong sounding like old-school R.E.M. I can pick that up a bit in their sound, but it's not something that permeates the entire series of their albums.

If I had to pick one album out of their collection (which I picked up from Amazon last week), I'd say it's "Okemah and the Melody of Riot".

The second band is of a different sound entirely, and is probably much less likely to be known. Their name is Intercept, and they hail from the Indie side of the house. Their music is made up of a number of power chords, and the vocals have a very strong Paul Simon influence. Their lyrics seem to be full of messages of relationship experience, unlike Son Volt's lyrics about life in general, with lines such as:

All my friends say "you're crazy, Chris, You shouldn't move straight for her, You've built up your castles, and she's building up her castles, too..." And I know that I shouldn't but I will 'til I win!

This is from their song, Berlin.

I strongly recommend checking these groups out. I know I'm going to try and catch the Son Volt show that's coming to town later this month. :)

This is a big fad on Facebook right now, and I've been tagged in many notes from friends who have also done this. I'm not tagging anyone, and I'm posting it on my blog. Without any further adieu, 25 random facts about me:

1. I like pie
2. I lived with my parents until I was 23
3. I didn't get my license until I was 18
4. My first car was given to me
5. I have paid for all the vehicles I have owned by myself
6. I worked in the automotive industry for 7 years
7. I have worked in the IT industry for 2 years
8. I have been fired from a job once
9. I have never quit a job on bad terms
10. I have literally broken my back before
11. I have arthritis in my hands and back
12. I still have my tonsils and appendix
13. I hate aspargus
14. Tea makes my stomach upset
15. I moved 1500 miles from home last summer
16. I have only been to Wal Mart once since August
17. I've not had KFC in about a year
18. When I don't feel like cooking, I'll normally order Chinese food
19. I don't have cable or satellite
20. My name is listed on the charter for at least 2 LLC's
21. I turned down a Google job recruiter
22. I don't smoke
23. I own an XBox 360 and a Playstation 2, but I rarely make use of either
24. I enjoy bike riding
25. I own 6 pairs of blue jeans, but normally cycle through just 3 of them