I suck at talking to people

Basically as the title says: I suck at pointless conversations.
I'm pretty good at talking to people if I have a reason for talking to them. If I'm just shooting the bull - you know, idle conversation - I lock up. I stat thinking about how I have nothing to say and then I get uncomfortable for not saying anything, and I then I get even more uncomfortable for the other person being uncomfortable and then I usually just say something stupid and go away.

I'd just love to be able to speak without anxiety to people. I'd love to start a random conversation with someone and you know, just enjoy talking for the heck of it. I'd love to meet new people like this. It'd just make everything easier if I didn't have this block in my head whenever I tried speaking with people.

So yeah. Share your experiences (if you have them -- can it be that I'm the only freak in the universe who does this ) and advice on how to become more sociable.

How ya doing, buddy?