In between Vegas planning right now . . . the trip is all set (Jan. 21st), plane tics purchased, hotel figured out (Encore) . . . it'll probably be a couple more weeks before the final details (dinner reservations) are hammered out.
So, being the ADD person I am, instead of working on something productive, I instead tried to hammer out a playlist that I could imagine listening to when I'm in Vegas in January. My only qualifier for a song was that it had to make me believe I was in Vegas . . . evoke some kind of imagery.
If you have any good suggestions (beyond the traditional songs), leave me a comment or e-mail me:
The List:
'Pursuit of Happiness' by Kid Cudi . . . this song wigs me out . . . . I close my eyes and the beginning of the song makes me think I've just sat down in some insane limo . . . then quickly it switches me to standing with my face plastered against my hotel room window, eyes staring off listessly at the glittering lights . . . then it makes me almost weep . . . as I stand emptyhanded at a video poker machine, having just lost my last $100 and realizing I don't even have enough cash to catch a cab to the airport . . . but then I hang in with the song and I'm moving in slow motion, running, screaming, crazed that I just pulled off the biggest win of my life . . . I like songs like this . . .
'Sometime Around Midnight' by The Airborne Toxic Event . . . this song starts me off in the middle of some sort of "Friday Night Lights" setting . . . riding through West Texas in my beater pickup truck . . . . my old dog Rufus snoozing at my side . . . having just been dumped by my old lady and on my way to Vegas to blow every last dollar that I have so she doesn't get it . . . and then the rest of the song has me at some real Vegas dives . . . drunk . . . really drunk . . . but somewhat satisfied that I'm not so angry anymore.
'The All Spark' by Steve Jablonsky from The Transformers soundrack . . . If you've read any of my trip reports, you might see where I'm coming from on this one. Cue this song . . . I'm sitting in the middle of the Mirage casino . . . . it's darker than usual . . . 2 a.m. . . . nobody really around except that tiny little Chinese lady who looks like she's cleaning up cigarettes . . . my head is bobbing up and down from exhaustion . . . .I'm down $4k . . . I only have $400 left . . . . so I stuff it all into a video poker machine . . . I take a deep breath . . . and bam, just as this music crescendos, the machine blinks at me. With real eyes. No shit.
"Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam . . . this song plays as I'm sitting in my room, counting up the money won from the day's events. Glass of red wine and plate of animal crackers sit on the couch . . . and as I finish counting the money I call down for a taxi and take the red-eye out of town so I can get home early.
"Straight Line" by Clear Conscience . . . strip club . . . that's all I can say.
"Crunch" by Yes King . . . a good song that I would like to play as I enter some dump casino like the Riv, Circus Circus or Tropicana. Let's inject some fun into this place kind of song.
"Thrash Unreal" by Against Me! . . . this song is one that should definitely play as I run through McCarren just after being unleashed from the plane . . . if, while running, I could light my hair on fire without lasting damage I think that would be cool too and fits with this song.
"Deeper Shade of Soul" by Urban Dance Squad . . . I'm moving like gooey syrup through the high limit room, off my rocker from accidentally doing shots of absinthe and red bull . . . I know that if I stop and sit down I will boot. So I keep moving.
"Anagram" by Dousk . . . outside at Country Club . . . sunset . . . plate of fries . . . half finished pale ale . . . the whisper of promise in the air . . .
Main Song from Last of the Mohicans . . . Whale Jo and Jaco enter the main pit at Wynn . . . Whale Jo nods to Jaco as he slides into an open seat at the $100 min. BJ table . . . Jaco acknowledges with a point of the finger and strides towards the cage where he dumps off three bumblebee chips and takes the cash right at an open Wizard of Oz machine . . .
"Sound of Madness" by Shinedown . . .this song is playing in my head as I ride the elevator down to the casino . . . I'm coming off a four hour nap and have been on an increidble gambling run for two days straight . . . I clench my fist and sucker punch the elevator floor buttons . . . ooops.
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