May will be hot, and it's not even summer!

Looking over the events of next month, I just had to throw out my two cents. Lots of stuff is going on and lots of good stuff is being released.

Of course, the top of everyone's list is the third chapter of the Star Wars saga, Revenge of the Sith. Toys are already filling the stores and video games are being released in anticipation of the final chapter of the world's biggest sci-fi license. I'm definitely looking forward to it, but not sure when I will get to see it... the last movie I saw in the theaters was Return of the King. At least I could see the astoundingly good fan production Revelations earlier this week. If nothing else, I'll watch Episode III on video by the holiday season.

Musically, lots of big stuff is coming out, starting out with Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth. This is Trent Reznor's first new studio album in years and seems to be generating quite a buzz online. One week later, we see the release of Stand Up from Dave Matthews Band, followed by Mesmerize from System of a Down the week afterward (my local Best Buy ads have been featuring this for two weeks now). Rounding out the month is the long-awaited album from Audioslave, Out of Exile. Trying a bold new campaign online, the band is promoting their single, Your Time Has Come, saying that the worldwide online premiere of the song (presumably in higher quality and without DRM) will occur after one million people have downloaded the preview. Lastly, I don't know if anyone else still cares, but Better Than Ezra is releasing a new album, Before the Robots.

Also on tap for mid-May is the giant party known as the E3. I'll never forget the one year I went when I worked as manager of a video game rental store... the sheer amount of games on the floor, the constant contests and giveaways, and the massive number of people packed into that LA Convention Center. Big announcements are planned including the unveiling (or at least partially) of the next generation of game consoles. This is the big show of the year where developers show off previews of their upcoming games. I wish I had the time and money to go back, but it's definitely not happening this year. I'll just keep my eye on Gamespot to find out what's going on.

Wow. Lots of good stuff. I guess I need to make sure that I get plenty of overtime in at work so I can afford all of that! Hopefully the rest of this summer will be as hot and exciting....