A Day That Will Live In Infamy

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Ahh fall. The morning air is a bit more crisp, the sun begins setting a bit earlier each day and new installment of Guitar Hero looms on the horizon. Oh yeah...and football. The first week of September ushers in the beginnings of the college football season, and the mighty University of Utah Runnin' Utes are off an running. The first game of the season has already come and gone and the streak continues 15-0. There is some talk of the Utes moving to the Pac 10 conference after leaving the Mountain West. One of the great things about being a BCS busting team is that we automatically garner more attention. The Mountain West is no where near a BCS conference and does not come with a bowl bid and yet we have been to two BCS bowls in 5 years with two wins. We have a great schedule this year and hopefully as we develop a new offensive weapon in Terrance Cain the Runnin' Utes can stay on top.

Im looking forward to a great season in College football, and now the NFL has started its season as well. A great opening game this thrusday between the Titans and the Steelers was a great begining to the NFL season even if it was headlined with a Tim Magraw concert. A great defensive battle was fought out on the gridiron as it should be, however the first game of the season went into overtime ending on a field goal. I love this game and am so happy that we have reached the best time of the year!

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 review

To be fair I don't like this rating system. Its not fair to say that 3 stars for Jay-Z is the same as 3 stars for other crappy albums. At the same time this album is not a classic and my rating reflects that. The reason I am rating this album so low is because my expectation is so high. Hova was recently on Real Time with Bill Maher where he explained how his perspective has changed not only through his own monetary success but also due to his age. His music has become more adult over time. Evolving from his younger years posting up on a corner to creating his own businesses and clothing labels. This is exactly what he set out to do, unfortunately he has lost his hunger for the rap game.

The Blueprint was supposed to be just that, a blueprint to the rap game. If the rap world collapsed and someone came across this series they would have the ability to understand where the heart and soul of rap came from and why it existed to begin with. Unfortunately this album is not cohesive, delivers no clear message and appears to be a best of the B-SIDES album. Man does it hurt to say that! There are a few examples of his previous greatness such as Empire State of Mind and So Ambitious, but for the most part this is a solidly disappointing album. I'm sure people will say I'm hating on Hova. Not true, I just expect so much. He does integrate the current state of the world into his rhymes and production style as well, discussing the state of the war in the Middle East and current pop infatuation with Auto-Tune. Death of Auto-Tune was a song with so much promise; starting off by proclaiming himself "chairman of the board" unfortunately he fails to deliver.

Would I recommend this album? Absolutely. Jay-Z is one of the best who's ever been in the game. He has had an incredibly long career and I think his body of work should speak for itself. You cannot understand the hip-hop game without understanding Jay-Z. More than music he realized the limitations of simply rapping and spent his time focusing elsewhere crating businesses and a long sustainable legacy. Unfortunately his lack of focus on his music shows through with this effort.