Give you that cool Slash Les Paul? That Gibson Custom Shop Slash Signature Vintage Original Spec limited edition Les Paul?! Yeah, okay, we can do that. But here’s what you gotta do: Make a video—an original video—that lets Gibson and Slash himself know how much you love him, how bad you want that Les Paul, and why you deserve it more than anybody else. And be creative! We’re busy and we have short attention spans, and we’re going to have to watch a million of these. So you better make that video stand out. This is a killer Les Paul, so fire up the camera and get busy!

To be the hardest working man in show business you need to have the hardest working band in show business. And to have the hardest working band you gotta have the best musicians. In his prime—one that lasted close to 30 years—James Brown was the undisputed king of all showmen. Notorious for his out-of-control behavior cut with top-shelf talent (alumni include Jimi Hendrix, Bobby Byrd, and Bootsy Collins!) and a continual demand for perfection that often meant stiff fines for hitting a bad note—the Godfather of Soul built a powerhouse that has not since been matched.

Blind Lemon Jefferson is considered the pioneer of Texas Blues. He was also the most popular and influential male blues recording artist of the 1920s, though much of life and legacy remains shrouded in mystery. Nonetheless, Jefferson made quite a name for himself by recording more than 100 songs for the Paramount Records label from 1926 to 1929. He succumbed to death under mysterious circumstances in Chicago in December of 1929, but lived on in the hearts of the generation of bluesmen that followed in his footsteps.

Not a whole lot of people noticed when Neutral Milk Hotel’s cult classic album In an Aeroplane Over the Sea turned 10 last month. The ones who did have the date marked on their calendars made up for it with impassioned tributes to the now-defunct band, a mid-’90s project of Louisiana’s Jeff Magnum. Pitchfork called the album “oddly life-affirming, because it looks right into the face of the heaviest of heavy historical evils” and Stereogum gushed, “If you like it, it’s one of those albums that imprints itself on your psyche.”

I was a crappy guitar player and I had flunked out of college as an English major, so I figured I had what it took to make it as a music journalist. When the guitar magazines were coming of age, I was there. I was at the right place at the right time. I’ve been there ever since.

Funny thing about one-hit wonders: it often seems such songs are more “classic worthy” than even the best offerings by artists who regularly occupy the charts. There’s also something appealing, and a bit mysterious, about a band that emerges out of nowhere to score big, and then retreats (by choice or not) back into the shadows. The seven nuggets below exemplify that phenomenon. Tellingly, more than half the songs come from the “acid rock” era, giving rise to the notion that perhaps, in those days, it was something other than video that “killed” the radio star.

“A band is only as good as their hecklers,” notes journalist, ex-pornographer, and former GG Allin drummer Mike Edison. Allin may be rock’s most infamous provocateur, proclaiming his body a weapon, the audience his enemy, his fluids the ammunition. Allin is also the exception to the rule—turning himself on the crowd rather than the opposite. Heckling has been a favorite pastime of music fans for generations. From the 1913 Paris riot at Stravinski’s maiden performance of “The Rites of Spring” to Britney Spears’ detractors outside an L.A. nightclub imploring her to go home to her kids.

If you're going to learn Western swing guitar, you might as well learn it from one of the best, and Ray Benson—one of the founding members of legenderdary Western swingers Asleep at the Wheel—is certainly that, and more. Asleep at the Wheel made its way from humble beginnings in Paw Paw, West Virginia, all the way to its current home base in Austin, Texas, and released 20 albums and earned nine Grammy Awards along the way. Though the lineup has changed throughout the years, Benson has remained at the helm as the band's driving force.

Playing with other musicians is difficult enough, but imagine playing alongside six bandmates with instruments that range from fiddle and spoons to accordion and octave mandolin. That’s exactly what Dennis Casey deals with on a daily basis as the guitarist for the Celtic-punk act Flogging Molly, a band that bridges the gap between classic artists like the Pogues and more modern bands like Dropkick Murphys—and do it live on the road hundreds of nights per year.

It's been 50 years since the first Gibson Flying V left the factory. To honor the occasion, Gibson USA is unveiling its March Guitar of the Month, the 50-Year Commemorative Flying V. Only 1,000 will be made, and each limited edition model comes with an exclusive Brimstone Burst finish and a never-before-used headstock logo, designed by legendary Gibson president Ted McCarty and only recently discovered among his papers. For full specs, a photo gallery, and 360 degree imagery, click here. For full specs, a photo gallery, and 360 degree imagery, click here.