2008 has been a great year for music! Taylor Swift rocked us with a great album. Taylor Guitars launched their awesome electric guitar line. Kanye West amazed us with his non-rap album.. maybe not.. but it was awesome to read blogs dissing him which made my 2008 quite fun. American Idol gave us two great Davids. Quirky Katie Perry entertained us with her novelty songs (which she will perform tonight in Hollywood for the New Year’s eve bash). Jason Mraz finished a very successful tour. Chinese Democracy finally came out after a long wait. Guitar Hero World Tour (including Heidi Klum’s guitar shredding performance-definitely a highlight). The Jonas Brothers and their promise rings. And a lot more…

Hopefully your 2008 has been a great ride. I will leave you with both acoustic and electric versions of Auld Lang Syne to help you greet 2009!

Acoustic Version:

Electric Version:

If you didn’t know, tapping is the new strumming. Check out this impressive demonstration of guitar skills by Eric Mongrain.

A smashed guitar from the late rock legend Curt Cobain has been sold for $100k to an unidentified collector. This is the second highest price  for any of Cobain’s memorabilia.

The sale was confirmed Tuesday by Jacob McMurray, senior curator at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, where the taped-up Fender Mustang guitar in sunburst finish was displayed for a time.

The guitar is apparently held together with a duct tape.

Looks like Taylor Swift has done it again. Her album “Fearless” has captured the number one spot again for this Christmas week bringing in a total of 330,000 in sales. Swift’s album easily beats the new entries from Keyshia Cole, Fallout Boy, and Jami Foxx as well as former champ Britney Spears’ “Circus”.

Here is the complete top 10 list:

1. Fearless, Taylor Swift

2. A Different Me, Keyshia Cole

3. Intuition, Jamie Foxx

4. Circus, Britney Spears

5. I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé

6. Dark Horse, Nickelback

7. Twilight soundtrack, various

8. Folie à Deux, Fall Out Boy

9. Black Ice, AC/DC

10. Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 29, various

The music industry has finally given up on suing people who are illegally sharing music on the internet. This ends the controversial lawsuits filed by the RIAA against P2P users who share copyrighted materials on the web. The lawsuits average around $3,500 and has been filed against minors, housewives, and even deceased people in the past.

The RIAA has pursued a different route to control the illegal sharing of mp3s. They have stopped sending out lawsuits last Friday and has talks with numerous internet providers to give out warnings to illegal swappers and cut off their internet service when they fail to stop.

I think this is a more sensible approach to this never ending battle of piracy. If you can’t stop them with a lawsuit, then stop them from the source. No internet means no sharing. And no one has to pay a gazillion dollars in attorney’s fees.

This talented dog picked up a few tricks from her master. Hopefully she has earned enough credits to pursue a master’s degree in doggy music.

Headbangers out there beware.

According to Dr. Andrew McIntosh, biomedical and injury expert at the University Of New South Wales, head banging might be the culprit behind neck and head related inijuries.

The doctors are suggesting fans to wear neck braces when head banging in order to protect their necks from injuries.

That would be quite a task doing head bangs while wearing braces. I think we should all stick to raising the roof.

The reigning number 1 album last week, Britney Spear’s Circus, dropped to number 2 this week with a  60 percent decline in sales. Looks like the circus has left town.

Taylor Swift’s Fearless is now back to being number 1 this week with 249,000 sales totalling to 1.5 million to overall.

Beyonce’s I am Sasha Fierce checked in at No. 3 this week with 159,000 sales.

Here are the top 10 albums:

1. Fearless, Taylor Swift

2. Circus, Britney Spears

3. I Am… Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé

4. Dark Horse, Nickelback

5. Twilight soundtrack, various

6. 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West

7. Now That’s What I Call Music! 29, various

8. Black Ice, AC/DC

9. High School Musical 3 soundtrack, various

10. David Cook, David Cook

Fallout Boy took over a stage in Washington Square Park on Monday to play a free show for the release of their new album Folie A Deux. They were quickly stopped by the cops for not having a permit to do a public performance.

“We were told if we picked up guitars, we’d be arrested,” Fall Out Boy bassist, and new dad to baby Bronx Mowgli, Pete Wentz.

So what did they do? Instead of leaving the fans high and dry, they decided to perform “unplugged” complete with air guitar and knee drums and led the audience in a sing-along.

The title says it all. It’s a video of 2 guys sharing a guitar. This is the total opposite of a double neck guitar.

Who needs two guitars?