So here at Berkeley they have this thing called Caltopia. It's basically a giant infomercial, and companies from Starbucks (not exactly surprising, trying to get college kids hooked on caffeine) to Target to bike companies to the people who produce It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Anyway, they had a little stage inside, and of course, being a faithful music junkie, I had to go check it out. So after an opening act, out comes the 'headliner', if you will, a man named Matt Nathanson. Now, I had been looking forward to this by this point because of the girl sitting next to me, an admittedly obsessed fan, and when he started singing I immediately tried to find anything I could that would make me like him as much as she does.I couldn't. He is one of those guys that everyone has seen, where he pulls out his beat-up acoustic guitar and goes up to the mic with his eyes closed to create this picture of poignancy while singing in a soft, slightly scratchy voice about his heartbreak or the best sex of his life or some other such influential thing. Now, don't get me wrong--this can be great. Really, really great. Take the entire movie and soundtrack of Once, or, say, a Damien Rice or Brett Dennen or Alexi Murdoch. The fact is, this formula works, but I hate the fact that it's become a formula. There are people out there doing something different. Their voices may be unique, their lyrics ingenious, their guitar-playing innovative. Whatever it is, if it resonates with you (forgive the pun), celebrate the fact that they don't sound like everybody else.