Did You Say Metallica?
11:30PM
It’s Saturday night, my pregnant wife gets a jonesing for Taco Bell Supreme Crunchy Tacos. We’re in the middle of a movie that is suprisingly entertaining, so I drag my feet a little to catch a little more of the flick…
11:42PM
“Regulators…” I mount my trusty steed – our Dodge Caravan, the staple of the American family, and head towards Taco Bell. I turn on the radio and as I adjust the volume my ears quickly become giddy with the riffs that are developing in real time.
I was assaulted by three minutes of the most enjoyable riffs and transitions of recent memory. The segment that I heard was purely instrumental but I was thoroughly entertained by what I can only describe as ear rattling fun. As I was listening I was impressed with how clean and technical the music sounded but was primarily impressed with how much fun came through in the music.
11:47PM
I cut through a parking lot adjacent to Taco Bell as the announcer informed me that the song was “The Day That Never Comes” by Metallica from their soon to be released album. I know it has been popular of late to bag on Metallica for their “changes” and because they made a stink about illegal downloads but this song and possibly the whole album should be given its chance to stand alone.
I’ve since purchased the whole song on iTunes and it is well worth the 99 cents. The Day starts of with a pretty raw emotional sound that plays well, transitions into a deeper edge and then dumps its payload in your driveway without any notice or caution tape. You will enjoy the entire package but the last couple of minutes is a unique experience.
11:55PM
I am still in the car. I am still in line at the Taco Bell drive thru. Apparently the manager of Taco Bell and me were on the same dark side of the page, unaware that this Saturday night was a home game for the Oregon Ducks and so many Duck fans would be passing through Albany with the same jones that my pregnant wife was suffering from. I joined a party of 6 cars, a very slow moving line (2 workers on the clock and one content to take a break so that he could text quadratic equations to his study buddies – essential work at such a convenient time, he probably wouldn’t have helped the world turn any faster anyways…)
12:15AM
Exiting the Taco Bell drive thru with 2 Supreme Tacos in tow. There are now 16 cars in the drive thru. 2 Taco Bell ladies laboring to meet the demand of their loyal customers while Einstein continues to work through how he will cure HIV and I travel back home, to my lovely wife, our fairly interesting movie and my impression of Metallica’s latest.