B - Banjo

Banjo: thing, instrument

My friend Jeremy got a banjo when we were in High School. That made him cooler than he already was. Once he got older and had some children, he let me borrow it for awhile. Then I got my own Banjo for my birthday. I don't really know how to play it like a Banjo. I fake it with some guitar finger-picking patterns that I know, and that sounds cool enough most of the time. I've tried to teach myself actual Banjo rolls, but it's frustrating and humbling. I'll never be Bela Fleck, either.

Banjos make pretty much any kind of music better if used well.

Charles Schulz once wrote in a "Peanuts" strip that every child should be issued a Dog and a Banjo at birth. It might make the world a better place.

"Frog and Banjo" is a great Mike Doughty song.

SEE ALSO: Fingers, Norway, Fat Boys, Peanuts