Space Odyssey 2006

I think I may have experienced something as close to a religious epiphany as epiphanies can get while also being conveniently appropriate as I end my year of 2006.

I went to the Gnarls Barkley/Flaming Lips Concert at San Francisco on the night of December 30th and yes, it is all you can imagine, plus space. Yes, SPACE. ALL OF IT. The one analogy I consistently use to describe my non-soberness that involves certain little green friends was the setting chosen for that night's musical concert greatness. I won't even try to describe it through mere WORDS. Fuck that. I'll just say, I was speechless the whole 2 hour bus ride across the Bay Bridge and at church the morning after and while rocking out on the ride back to Salinas, at Target tripping out playing Geometry Wars on the XBox 360, at In-n-Out scarfing down a delicious serving of Animal Fries, all the way home until I remembered that, hey, New Year's is actually tonight! Duuude...

Amidst the Feng Shui antics that revolves around Filipino New Years traditions, the reflection of the past 24 hours gave me a pretty good reason to talk about the nature of music as I have experienced it this past year. It's getting pretty damn interdisciplinary.

And of course, this is entirely my opinion manufactured in this head of mine, but is Alternative even alternative anymore? And how are you going to even try to classify Gnarls Barkley to any genre of music? Cuz it has Cee-Lo shredding the vocals with no less than a GOLDEN microphone with a viciously sexy quartet of violins by his side aptly named "The G-Strings" and Dangermouse cutting it up behind him? Please.

But I think there is one thing we all can agree on, and that is ROCK. Almost anyone can witness with their eyes, ears, and heart when a band is truly rockin'. It gives me the heebie jeebies. Thank you Flaming Lips, for giving me hope. There is still rock left in this world, people. So let me sign off with a list of Rockin' Things of 2006:

• Tenacious D, and The Pick of Destiny
  
• The Flaming Lips, At War with the Mystics
  
• Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere
  
• Metalocalypse, an Adult Swim Cartoon featuring DETHKLOK
  
• Venture Bros., another Adult Swim Cartoon

I'm sure there are more. I mean, the Earth's crust is like 60% METAL. Onward, to 2007!