Metal Up Your Ass

What are the last five albums you have procured, either through traditional currency exchange, on loan from a friend or perhaps on loan from a stranger. I'm on a huge music kick right now, along with the reading thing.

Down - NOLA
Down - Over the Under
NIN - Y34rZ3r0R3mix3d
Chevelle - Vena Sera
Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness

I know I've mentioned this before, but Metal is in a kind of renaissance these days. There's almost so much good stuff, I feel like a kid in a candy store. One of the guys in the office wants me to go with him to see Down next week in OKC. I'm thinking about it. Might be the last metal show I ever get to go to. Then again, I don' wanna be that old guy at the metal concert.

I'd sure like to see Shadows Fall live. And Disturbed. Ah well.

Broken Strings
So I bought Rock Band last night with some of my birthday cash. Just the game, not the "kit." I'd never use the mic, and probably not the drums, though I did always want to be a drummer. I would've been had the parents been able to afford to buy me a snare drum back in elementary school.

Anyway, lot more actual strumming in this game. Lots of repetitive notes. You have to be listening to the music to get them, damn what you're seeing on the screen. Those little bits of color'll just fuck you up.

I was doing fine until NiN's "The Hand That Feeds" came on. Holy shit. You have to strum your ass off to get through that song. Brutal. And in the course of getting through it, my fucking axe broke. It now only strums up, not down, and I am not an Up strummer. So it's FUBAR.

But wait. There's more. First, RedOctane/Activision only offers a 60-day warranty on the things. I'm pretty sure I'm past the 60 days. Second, you still can't buy the wireless controller separately from the game, so if I want another one, I'd have to buy the whole $100 thing again, which ain't going to happen. I'm going to try the social engineering gambit first, see how that works out.

Cust. Svc. Drone: "How can I help you?"
Me: "I got GH3 for Xmas and your piece of shit controller already doesn't work. No, I don't have a receipt. That's why they call them gifts. Send me a replacement."
Cust. Svc. Drone: "Yessir. May I have your address?"
Me: "Fucking A you can."

Cockbags. Course, I won't tell them I was playing Rock Band with my GH3 axe...