Companies will buy the widgets elsewhere.

The parched desert that was 2005 makes for an interesting 2006. Record companies are eager, if not desperate, to try something different.

GREDA and the city seem proactive in reaching out to attract new companies to the area. Galesburg has a strong, skilled labor pool.

There's always going to be that divide when it comes to pop music. Certain segments of the audience are always going to be distrustful of music that they feel is not authentic. If you get all caught up in notions of realness and authenticity, then Ashlee is going to strike you as being girlish ... and not serious.

Otherwise, you're sitting there on your computer saying 'gee, we're down, I guess we can't do anything'.

But it could have an enormous beneficial impact on energy security and the U.S. economy.