I'm still a gangsta. No, really, I am...

I am a member of BMG music club and everytime they have a buy-one-get-three sale, I'm all over it for artists I never heard of. I generally pick one CD I want and three random CDs. The reason I do this is because I have found a lot of CDs I like of artists I would have otherwise never picked up at Bestbuy. The beauty of it is, if I don't like them, I can just take them to the local used CD store and get a couple bucks for them. I'm only out a couple bucks myself.

So, one of my most recent purchases was the album "Undone" by MercyMe. I had listened to a bit online (those 30 second samples) and I liked what I heard, so I made the purchase.

Currently, my truck only has two volume levels. Soft and loud. Due to a blown speaker in the back, I have to play it either soft so it doesn't vibrate too much, or loud so the other speakers drown it out. Because I can't hear shit when the volume is low, I was playing MercyMe fairly loud on the way home the other night.

I was really digging the CD, but I wasn't quite paying too much attention to the lyrics. About the sixth song in, one of the lyrics caught my ear.

I started paying more attention.

Oh. Dammit.

Now when I speak Your name
I sing it like a sweet refrain
I have found a peace I can't explain

When I speak Your name
Cause when You spoke my name
Oh I swear the angels sang
Peace came and stole my shame

When You spoke my name
I can hardly speak
Knowing You know me
Thank God I'm free

That's right kids. I was rocking with the Lord. Jesus was my co-pilot.

But I'm still a gangsta. Really, I am. Because when I realized what I was listening too, I immediately ejected it and threw in NWA's greatest hits. I'm still hardcore.

What really sucks is I really like that damn MercyMe CD. I just don't like being preached too while I'm yelling at the stupid fuck in front of me to move his dumb ass out of the fucking left lane. It makes me feel bad.

Kind of like when I turn the Buddy Christ around (that sits on my desk) when I masturbate so it doesn't feel like Jesus is watching me when I spank.

Yeah, kind of like that.

I'm still a gangsta...

When I was in Berlin, and not taking calls from my mother, I did a lot of walking around the first two days there.

On the second day, I was walking by a lot of those mini posters you often see at construction sites - advertising the next concert, the newest CD release, the latest movie, that sort of thing

One particular CD release poster caught my eye. It was a band I was quite fond of in the 80s and I hadn't heard from them in a number of years, so the CD notice took me by surprise.

Duran Duran.

I made a mental note to pick it up. See if they are still as good as they once were -- admittedly, I enjoyed Ordinary World (the song), so I wasn't too worried.

Anyway, this past Sunday I went to the local used CD store to see if the CD was out yet. Not only was it out, but a used copy was available. In addition, their "Decade" CD was also available used, too. My lucky day.

I snagged both and started heading to the counter, then I realized something. I can't be buying just Duran Duran. I'm hard. I'm a playa. So right before I hit the counter, and before the person noticed I was coming, I cut a hard left, went two aisles over, and picked out two more CDs.

NWA - The Greatest Hits and Eazy E's Greatest Hits.

That's right. I may be buying Duran Duran, but I'm still a gangsta.

Just keeping it real in Naptown...