More explanation of the local Shape Note singing group (snipped from an email I just wrote to a friend): I like it a lot. Most of the songs are religious but the vibe of the group is purely secular. And some of the songs are great, with messages like "I don't care how crappy my life is, when I die I'm gonna live in a totally awesome mansion and hang out with Jesus" and "you assholes in the church are really fucking things up for the little people" and "I don't know, things haven't been going well for me, and my faith in God is wavering, so I guess I'll sing a song about it" and "my friend is dead, but that's cool, because now she's up in heaven where all the fun happens."

Just, next time, no big pile of greasy food right before trying to sing.