Here's 2 old favorites:
Ol' 55                    by Tom Waits (made famous by The Eagles)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IyCrg0VDLj8

Vehicle                  by The Ides of March
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eJi3U24o3N8

If memory serves, one chordie user posted a songbook full of songs about cars.
Also, there are hundreds of country songs about 'truck', but that's another topic.

Hello krhoades - yes, this is a place to have fun and yes humor is part of any lively forum.  However, the initial posting in this thread was a sincere request for help from a person who was very new to the forum.  It takes a bit of gumption for anybody to ask for help - I believe a better response would have been some concrete recommendations, rather than a humorous remark.

To Americans familiar with the specialized lingo of American football, the remark 'PUNT!' has an obvious meaning.  To anybody else in the world it seems meaningless, and possibly insulting.  That is why Roger (a Brit) was critical - like many chordie users, he is not familiar with American football.  The original questioner logs in from Central European Time - so he is also probably totally unfamiliar with with the expression.

The language of music is universal - but common colloquial expressions in one country are more than likely going to be puzzling (and possibly seem hostile) to persons elsewhere on the planet.  Chordie users are all over the globe - so these types of minor misunderstandings are bound to occur on occassion.  James

Here is a link to something that may help:
http://carolinanavy.com/fleet2/f2/zclas … s/161.html

Hello moddish - great question!  Both the C7 and Cmaj7 chords are built upon the same basic triad (3 notes).  The difference between these chords is the 'top' note in the chord.

The C7 has the major triad (CEG) plus a Bb (which is sometimes referred to as a flatted seventh since it is 2 half-steps below the C one octave above the root).  The Cmaj7 chord has the same major triad (CEG) plus a B (which is sometimes referred to a a major seventh and it is only 1 half-steps below the C one octave above the root).

All of this is far easier to 'see' on a piano keyboard than on a fretboard since most guitar chords include doubling of various notes within the basic chord.  For instance your Cmaj7 chord (x32000) contains these notes (xCEGBE) so it doubles the 3rd.

One fingeringing for the C7 is (034310) and contains the notes (ECEBbCE).  This variation does indeed omit the G (the 5th) from the chord.  Other versions of the C7 fingering will include the G in the chord.

The many different ways of forming a chord on a guitar fretboard yield versions of the chord that double, triple, invert, or maybe even omit tones.  Different versions of the same chord will have slightly different 'flavors'.  The flavor of a C7 is decidedly different than the flavor of a Cmaj7 - the 1/2 step between the B and the C creates a lovely dissonance that begs for resolution or attention.

Here is a link to a nifty-keeno article in Wikipedia that focuses on the basic structure of chords using a really cool grid to indicate the tones contained in a chord. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_building_grid
These grid shapes are the same no matter what key you in . . . the grid shape for a C7 is a major triad (CEG) with a tail off the bottom right to the Bb.  The grid shape for a Cmaj7 is a major triad (CEG) with an inverted pyramid down to the B.

I know you said to keep it simple, but this is a great opportunity for you to understand some elements of the dreaded 'music theory'.  Just for giggles you can go the massive chord grid on chordies 'Resources' page and click on various chords to view alternate fingerings - by figuring out which notes are actually in each version, you can see how they voice the same chord differently.   James

Badeye, I agree that alcohol can also be harmful.  As an educatory at major university, I see the same pageant played out every semester - too much partying (be it drugs or alcohol or both) that lead to academic and personal problems.

In these parts, most of the students come from small communities deep in the 'Bible Belt' and the only experience they have with alcohol is 'getting drunk'.  They are unfamiliar with the idea that one can enjoy 'a' beer or 'a' glass of wine with a meal.  For them, having a drink only means binge drinking followed by massive hangovers.

Everybody has alot to learn in life.  Some learn by observing.  Some only learn by doing.  Some seem to never learn at all.  Michel's point that each person needs to make informed judgements is very true.

Personally, I realize now that I could have benefitted far more from my college experience had I not been so determined to be a party animal.  I eventually took a realistic perspective and decided that I would spend my time and energy being a productive human being rather than a self-deluded stoner.  James

Old Doll, I promise I haven't been snooping in your notebooks . . . great minds think in a congruant manner.

That line (like all the others in this song) just sort of gushed forth once I latched onto the idea.  It took not too much scribbling to get this one going and gone.  Although the musical part is entirely unoriginal, I think this lyric suits the energy and drama of the tune very well.

'Tangled Up In Blue' is one of my all-time favorite songs - consider this ditty a tribute to Dylan's 'great American novel'.

Yes - you strum along to the tick/flash/beep and it will help you improve your strumming action. 

Eventually, your strumming action will become more automatic - just like you don't really think about how your mouth will form individual sounds when you speak.  Likewise, your strumming action will become less of a conscious thing and more of an automatic impulse.

Use the metronome to concentrate on getting the pulse steady - it will force you to keep the movement going make it fluid.  Thrash away at it and don't think about it so much.

Here is a link to a harmonica (harp) forum - probably lot's of expert advice available there:
http://www.harptabs.com/phorum-3.4.8a/index.php
Hope this helps.

Very nicely said, Jeff.  My grandpa gave me a nifty little protable transistor radio for Christmas when I was 7 or 8.  I would listened to WLS AM out of Chicago for hours with the thing held up close to my ear.

The tinny-sounding music that emerged from that little box was marvelous.  I don't know what ever happened to that radio, but I can clearly recall the music that came out of it.  James

A metronome merely keeps a steady beat.  It is a good practice aid since it helps you to keep a steady rhythm - not speeding up, or slowing down.  Once it is set to the desired beats per minute (bpm) it will simply tick or flash or beep steadily at that chosen rate of speed.  Very useful tool.

Michel, I appreciate the prompt and articulate response to my stated concerns.  I am also a member of the generation who 'learned the hard way' that drugs are dangerous and deadly.

I have observed friends whose sharp young minds were dulled beyond repair by narcotics.  I know people who have done incredibly stupid things, and are now either dead or suffering dire consequences.  I have seen promising individuals fall by the wayside and become hopelessly lost in a labyrinth of dope and pills and booze.

I agree strongly with you that the best way to address the problem is through accurate information delivered in a timely manner (education).  People who are young and full of hormones feel invincible and immune from all harm.

Luckily, at one point in my life I realized that it was time to put away childish things and get serious about making the world a better place.  People who are dopers don't make the world a better place.

As Nick Lowe (or more famously Elvis Costello) put it, "What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?"  For me the answer is "Nothing - those are all wonderful goals."  People who are brain-addled by drug usage cannot do anything substantive to increase the 'peace, love, and understanding'.
James

Hello Craig - Interesting question.  Here is my underwstanding of this subject:

You can write a song or poem or story about whomever or whatever you want. 

Regarding writing about a living person, generally if that person is a 'public figure' there is not a problem unless you were to maliciously spread falsehoods as fact.  Satirical or allegorical references to a person (living or dead) are 'okay'.

A public figure is somebody who has deliberately sought out publicity (a politician or an artist, actor, or some other type of 'celebrity').  Public figures are 'fair game' for just about any sort of commentary (good or bad) unless the intention of the commentator can be proven to be deliberately malicious. 

A public figure might also be a private citizen who for whatever reason has come to the attention of the general public but did not necessarily seek the attention (for instance, the victim of a tragic accident).

Lots of love (or hate, or love/hate) songs down through the ages have been written about specific individuals.  I guess that somebody could try to sue a songwriter or poet for libel or slander, but let's face it - most songwriters or poets just aren't worth suing!