Rock is Dead

Deader than dead. And the travesty of the most recent work by Audioslave entitled Out of Exile is the headstone. Truthfully rock has been slowly dying since the mid-90's when the alternative rock movement gave way to the rap/rock fusion wave of such notables as Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock. Devotees proclaimed its resurgence early in the new millennium with the rise of the garage bands, but it was only a temporary reprieve from the inevitable.

And after hearing Out of Exile, I am sad to say the end is here. It's simple: the album is trash, pure and simple unoriginal garbage. Nothing sticks out, there are no distinguishing tracks at all. And the true tragedy lies in the musicians behind the band. First, you have Chris Cornell, arguably one of the five greatest frontmen of rock in the 90's, and then you have Tom Morello and the remnants of one of the greatest rock groups of all time: Rage Against the Machine.

Obviously this is going to create high expectations, and although their first self entitled album was pretty good, it too was not that distinguishable. The drum smacking, guitar pumping refrains on tracks like Show Me How to Live, Cochise and Shadow of the Sun are mesmerizing, phenomenal even... but the verses lacked anything to hold onto. It was easy to forget you were even listening to them... a problem you never had with Soundgarden or Rage.

So after a few years of touring you would think they could step it up a notch and put out an album that was truly inspirational... a testimony to the talent assembled in this group. Yet Out of Exile isn't even a step backwards... it's a flat out trite, boring and all around terrible album. None of the songs make use of the talents of the band- any high school garage band members could be substituted in with no problem on any of the songs, and even Cornell's voice seems to be under utilized.

Back in the 60's when the Beatle's were dropping albums left and right there was a marked shift even among musicians away from the more standard American popular music forms such as jazz, over to this new musical experience called rock n' roll. Nearly half a century later, this music listener is starting the migration back to jazz. Rock, you are dead to me.

I was born about 100 years too soon...

But we are getting there. Humanity is finally getting interested in space. I'm not all for space tourism (especially at 250K a pop) but intra-planetary colonization is about the only chance for humans in the long-run. But you have to start somewhere... and on someone's bankroll.

Which is why it's good to see the fat cat businessmen getting excited about it. Nothing like a race to provide extravagant luxury for the super rich to drive progress. Perhaps the days of personal space-flight vehicles are possible within my lifetime after all.

Viva Las Vegas!

A few months ago the nagging question was: where should I spend the final Spring Break of my college career? Cancun? Well.... Cancun is nice... but that's for undergrads. Let them have their debauchery... As a grad student I'm up for a much more adult form of gluttony, lust and greed. And where better to slake those desires than Sin City baby!

So back in the fall Ward, Paradis and I began planning a five day excursion to Las Vegas... and it has literally been a point of emphasis if not the topic of every conversation since. Now that I've been the only question remains is: when are we going back? If I had my druthers... this weekend.

And the great thing about this trip was it was a) cheap to begin with and b) entirely free to me because it was paid for by my poker bankroll. Thanks to a great Wendy's/AirTran promotion and ridiculously cheap room rates at the Sahara, the entire trip only ended up costing about $350, airfare, hotel, meals, transportation, and even gambling included. Actually I ended up $60 on the trip gambling and would have been up $150 if I had avoided blackjack like the plague.

We did pretty much everything you could do in Vegas in 5 days (except bury a hooker in the desert). So in honor of the City of Sin here is my official Sins Satisfied Tally:

Gluttony- Ate the $38 prime rib at the Palm, the buffet at Aladdin's, Chipotle twice, Carnegie Deli cheesecake, chocolate dipped frozen bananas, and last but not least... deep fried Oreos. BAM! And then of course the drinking... since it was all free while gambling, Crown and ginger at the tables, $1 beers on the streets, daiquiris at Caesar’s Palace, and Baileys... oh the Baileys. Gluttony: satisfied.

Greed- Gambling, gambling, gambling. From making the final table in a No Limit tourney at the Sahara to betting on the plastic horse race thingy at the MGM Grand, we pretty much gambled on everything. The highlight? Playing at the $4/8 limit tables in the Bellagio (which required about half of my meager bankroll for poker) only feet away from pros like Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese and Phil Ivey. I won some money, lost some money, but most importantly I kept betting. Greed: satisfied.

Lust- Well, if you are looking for a "good time" there is hardly a better place to go (except maybe Singapore) than Las Vegas. Want a 3 way? Only $77 bucks!! Can you believe those prices?!? Tragically I was too busy drinking, eating and gambling to hit the exotic scene but we did stop briefly (i.e. about 45 seconds) in a strip club on the strip in old downtown. I did, however, throw away quite a few chips to the cocktail waitresses at the Bellagio poker room. Lust: close enough.

Envy- I'm not that great at poker but I saw a few people in person who were. NBC was filming the "Heads Up Poker Championship" so I got to see Chris Ferguson and Ted Forrest play N/L heads up. They are amazing. I was also in Caesar’s when Jeff Gordon came in and played with Ferguson and Moneymaker in a high stakes cash game. Gordon is incredibly short but he has an equally incredibly attractive girlfriend. I also saw Billy Idol and said hello to Kenny Mayne. Envy: satisfied.

Sloth- Well, I only slept about 16-18 total hours for the 5 nights we were there, including a sleepless hotel-less first night, so in that regard I was up and moving. But if you consider my daily activities (about 12 hours a day sitting at a poker table, 2+ hours at meals, and various other gambling/show activities) I was a pretty big slacker. Most importantly, no working out for the entire trip. Vegas does not condone healthy active lifestyles. Sloth: satisfied.

Pride- I wore my UNC jacket the entire time to flaunt the victory over the Dukies at Cameron on their senior night. Even met a UNC alum and talked basketball with him for about 2 hrs at the poker table. But I will say this: there is no prouder moment than riding the Deuce hungover at 9am after sleeping 4 hours, with a liter of water in one hand and tylenol in the other on your way to start grinding it out at the limit tables and ultimately start drinking by noon. Pride: satisfied.

Anger- When I had to gulp down my last beer and step onto the bus for the airport. 5 days was not nearly long enough. Anger: only satisfied once I get back.

Man I love Vegas. A final note: Danny Gans is HUGE out there... and so is his marquee as you can see from the picture. And if you are planning a trip there here are some tips: Don’t book a hotel the first night, arrive around 5pm and drop off your bags- stay up all night the first night. Eat at a buffet. Set a limit for gambling and keep the cash on you. Never walk the streets without a drink in your hand. Try the deep fried oreos. Always tip your dealers and waitresses. Take the redeye back. And most importantly, make plans to return as soon as possible.