The City of Sin, Sonic Glory, and Lord Stanley

My recent job interview in Vegas went well - the other guys I'm going up against seemed like pretty stand-up guys, and I can't really root against fellow GT grads. Okay, that's a goddamned lie, but at least these would be acceptable guys to lose a job to. [Not that I want to lose the job, it sounds sweet as hell.] I played some Blackjack [single-deck!!] and Texas Hold'Em at the Stardust, which really had an old swanky feel to it - I was pretty successful, made enough to cover the trip's expenses, and then left while I was still ahead. Whoo for me.

2004 has been a slow year for music so far, but some of the gems have started to poke through. Of note are Air's Talkie Walkie, Bad Religion's The Empire Strikes First [due out June 8th], Twista's Kamikaze, Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Like Bad News, DJ DangerMouse's The Black Album [a remix of Jay-Z's The Black Album and The Beatles' The White Album], Cee-Lo's Cee-Lo Green is the Soul Machine, The Icarus Line's Penance Soiree, The Living End's Modern Artillery, and this year's current cream of the crop, Kanye West's The College Dropout which might honestly be the best rap/hip-hop CD I've heard in a really damned long time. West combines the "thinking man's rap" usually attributed to Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and the Roots with pop sensibilities and some of the most phenomenal hooks I've ever heard. The CD is amazing, and you should listen to it. Dropout, Empire, Gray, and Talkie Walkie are early favorites for my 2004 album of the year, with the edge given to West at the moment.

And congrats to the Bolts for making the Stanley Cup Finals. I really, really want to go catch a game, and just might if it gets to 5 games. Magee and I are already plotting it.

Beulah concert in Gainesville tonight, 1030p at Common Grounds. Cover's $8. It'll be hot. Even if everybody's crapping out on going. You know who you are, and you know you suck for it.

And the chase is on, officially. I'll let you know how it all turns out, hopefully for the best. It's been a while, I'm admittedly a bit rusty, but I've got a feeling this could be a good one.