Tony Rice’s “Manzanita,” which I downloaded last night, is another direct hit. I found myself looking forward to putting the album on for the Metro ride home.

I think the bluegrass bender I’m on right now might point toward a good new year’s resolution. It would go something like this. I resolve to learn to play some bluegrass in 2010. Early in the year, I’d invest in a decent acoustic guitar of some sort. Then, starting around March, I’d take some bluegrass lessons. Nice and slow. The goal would be to pick up some basics and learn about six songs, perhaps with some bass (and piano?) thrown in for good measure.

In the summer, maybe there might be a bluegrassapalooza event of some sort out in the country. It would look sort of like the photo above, only with acoustic instruments.

There’s some precedent for all this. In 2007, I resolved to learn some piano. I bought the Yamaha and took lessons for a couple of months. It wasn’t exactly a smashing success – my piano skills are still de minimis – but it was worth it.

At the very least, the bluegrass resolution would make for blog fodder.