End to a long week

I just asked for, and was granted, my first extension on a paper in my history as a college student. Instead of Friday at 11:59pm, my major papers are due Sunday evening.

*****

I've listened to it for a week, and am ready to make it official: Kanye West's third album is a major disappointment. There are flashes, but not cohesion. I am heartened by the fact that several of my favorite artists - Tracy Chapman, Suzanne Vega, Weezer, Dan Bern - all can claim that their third album is their worst (it doesn't always happen, though: Counting Crows' third album was better than their second; Brenda Kahn's third album was better than her first). Let's hope he makes a comeback, like Chapman (she made one of her strongest for her fourth), Vega (she made her masterpiece for her fourth), and doesn't do like Weezer (who haven't made a good album since their second). You have 25 years to write your first album, then two years to write your next album. For some (Chapman, West, Vega), that second album is still insightful, because the issues of dealing with life after fame can make some compelling art. Then, you run out of things to say, and make songs called, "Drunk and Hot Girls." Not impressed, Kanye.

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9th grader at my school shot over the weekend. Unbelievable. He's okay and out of the hospital.