Flashing Lights - A memorable day.

I had a hard fucking memorial day. My external HD crashed, leaving me in a lurch, contemplating what it would've meant to lose everything I've shot in 3 years and every song I downloaded. My IT guy made an emergency visit and we circumvented the problem by using the drive on a PC, leaving my new MacPro empty and shallow and ready to hit the shop for diagnostic repair. 5 grand for a headache. But once I took my Jamaican Aspirin, I was ready to visit Liberty City and get dirty with Manhattan's doppleganger. I'm speaking, of course, about Grand Theft Auto IV.

I had this moment. It was a forced gamer moment. GTA is known for its supreme musical choices. I thought San Andreas might have the upper hand on the tunes if it weren't for the Tuff Gong channel that rocks the Reggae all the time while I'm slaying Guineas and Micks. I'm at a point in the game where apparently half of Liberty City (aka NYC) is in awe of my prowess as a cleaner. There is no one I won't work for, nor is there anyone I won't kill for money. So when I go to Little Italy to take a job from a shifty mob capo, I would have never expected the payoff. I was to go to the Latino projects and check in on this cat named Teddy. After intimidating his lookout with my very nice knife, I took the elevator to the twentieth floor of the shithole tenement where my uphill battle would begin. It was a pretty standard climb and shoot, with goons in every nook and cranny trying to get a pop shot off on me. I took down three floors, all the while the hip hop station is droning in the background. Nothing really big came of it, until I reached the top floor and a song that I hadn't heard on the radio (in the game) slowly crept in as I made my way to Teddy's apartment.

The song was the fuckng awesome and haunting "Flashing Lights" by monsieur Kanye West.

I sat there mesmerized by the ghetto blaster sitting on the kitchen table, pounding out the best song on the soundtrack so far. I had been playing for 26 hours and hadn't heard it yet. I was convinced it was an in game ad for Kanye. Honest to the Gods, it was so fucking cool. I then went up to the roof and shot ol' Tedddy's head off during the muffled coda of the song.

Not bad.