3) Out of a fit of I don't know what - insanity, boredom, stupidity? - I made a playlist on my free trial of Rhapsody that mimics, as closely as possible, the Guitar Hero II (X360) song list... leaving out songs I really couldn't stand, of course (I'm lookin' at you, "Yes We Can"; no, you can't...). They didn't have The Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" (currently one of the songs in Week 1 of the third season of Zaps' Guitar Hero II League), nor did they have maybe one or two other tracks (including Jordan - but you can get that off of Buckethead's mySpace page) - but otherwise a satisfying list. Moreover, this is the first time I'm actively venturing outside of my hip hop / c1assical music / videogame music / orchestral movie soundtrack bubble. See? Guitar Hero is edumacational!

2) I was lamenting earlier to my friend Dave about how Pharoahe Monch, who put out the awesome rap record "Internal Affairs" (1999), hadn't released an album in who knows how long. He then said, "You really HAVE been out of touch - he released something last month." Thanks Rhapsody! I'm sampling it right now and already know that I'm going to buy the full record as soon as I get my feet in a Best Buy.

1) Another win for sampling music online (legally): I managed to find some records by Jean Grae, one of the most talented unheard-of female ra- nay, one of the most talented unheard-of rappers period. Time to find out if she's got any decent retail distribution...

0) Episode 61 of the Trigames.NET podcast will be uploaded Tuesday morning. You knowz you wantz itz. Z. Zz.