Jay-Z is tired of the bullshit. He’s tired of the nit-picking nay sayers. He’s tired of the multiple cats still trying to leech off of his success, and he’s tired of all the T-Pains in the music industry contaminating the future progression of modern hip-hop. He’s getting too old for the idle conversations and inadequate copycats. “You can’t sit on my lap/I don’t have a beard/Now get off my sack,” he blares in “What We Talkin’ About.” In silencing the nonsensical chatter, he just hands out the definitive plan of musical sovereignty on his eleventh studio album, “The Blueprint 3.”

With the first released single, “D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune),” Jay-Z showcases his animosity toward overly synthesized, distorted songs that have infiltrated the genre of hip-hop, although it’s interesting that he doesn’t scold his rapper apprentice, Kanye West, for using the pitch corrector. Other tracks, such as “Off That” and “Already Home,” feature hip-hop newcomers — Drake, Kid Cudi — that beckon to Jay-Z’s mogul territory but halt at chorus status, never a verse. Established talents such as Alicia Keys and virtuosic producers Timbaland, Neptunes and Swizz Beatz flatter the album with futuristic, brazen beats and the nostalgic melodies of the old Jay-Z.

“Run this Town,” Jay-Z’s ruler manifesto and arguably the most popular track off the album, features Kanye’s ferocious raps and Rihanna’s haunting voice, singing, “I’m addicted to the thrill/It’s a dangerous love affair.” Some parts of the album drag, in spite of its firecracker appeal and Jay’s intricately clever rhymes. Songs like “A Star Is Born,” and Neptunes-produced, “So Ambitious,” falter and interfere with the lyrical chemistry the MC tries to build.

Let’s be clear, “The Blueprint 3” is not an album that will forever change the hip-hop game. Instead, it’s Jay-Z’s personal affirmation of longevity, and his braggadocio smugness of possessing real, raw talent that no one can deny — and no one ever has.

Making their American television debut at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night, the British band Muse proved that you do not need a trapeze or a blood-soaked death scene to have a memorable performance. Performing their first single “Uprising” from their new album “The Resistance,” they have once again created a genre-defying album that will become a permanent and well-played fixture on my iPod.

Three years after “Black Holes and Revelations,” which provided the soundtrack to my first summer in New York City, I eagerly anticipated their fifth studio release, “The Resistance.” “Uprising” represents what I like best about their music — a rock sensibility paired with an amazing backbeat.

Hidden amidst songs with themes of the apocalypse and protest are some unconventional love songs, like “Undisclosed Desires” and “I Belong to You,” the latter featuring Matthew Bellamy singing in French. These songs convey a more electro feel that might turn past fans off, but I admire their desire to experiment.

Prior to the release, I heard rumors of a 15-minute space rock solo. That rumor partly manifests itself in the three-part song “Exogenesis,” an ambitious and sweeping modern rock symphony with haunting yet beautiful vocals by Bellamy. Muse has a unique talent for combining high art with an accessibility that anyone can appreciate.

One of the most talked-about songs is “The United States of Eurasia” — a nearly six-minute rock opera which has inevitably drawn comparisons to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The song chronicles a war that cannot be won, building up to a lyrical climax that ends with a piano sonata. It’s an amazing song to be sure, but it is not one of my favorites. While all the songs are musically impressive, it does at times feel too similar to their past albums. That being said, with a band as talented and innovative as Muse, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

All right, I’ve got a hypothetical for you. Say you’re a world-renowned rap superstar. You’re cocky. You’re bigger than Jesus. You have a homoerotic attraction to fish — see “Fishsticks,” “South Park” Episode 5, from Season 13 — and you’re not quite sure how to feel about it, but that’s beside the point.

You’ve committed yourself to your art form, and you have become a sort of champion of its purity and proper practice. In recognition, you get invited to an award ceremony that celebrates your art, so you’re understandably pumped. And, yeah you had a couple swigs on the way over, but so what? Who are you, the Sober Police?

Now, your first mistake — one of many — is that you take the celebration seriously. You mistakenly believe that their purpose is to award excellence, not realizing that they are in fact just an elaborate excuse for increased ad prices. The awards are taken about as seriously as one of those “You’re Grrreat” tiger stickers they gave you in fourth grade.

In the first category comes the one artist that your over inflated ego will admit may have bested your creation for the title of “perfect pop video.” In an art form that seems especially based in echoes of prior references, she has found the lifeblood running through it all, and has crystallized it. She’s found the genre’s pure, unbridled essence and made it shake its ass for dear life. No other nominee can even compare.

So, imagine your reaction when the name they call is not Beyonce.

It seems like a huge blow, you being unaware of the illogical possibility of losing lesser awards, while winning in more substantial categories. Nominated as a work of unadulterated art, and instead they give the award to a life-sized Barbie doll. So you storm the stage, full of righteous indignation, as with fundamental misunderstanding force you into an action that is, by all accounts, profoundly stupid.

We’ve all been there, right? Maybe not on quite as epic a scale, but it has happened. It’s the story your friends retell every time you all have had a few drinks. The time you forgot to wear underwear under your kilt at a Scottish funeral because you thought that was traditional. Or when you quipped that, “at least I didn’t bring a shitty bottle of wine” at a party, while the guest behind you stood clutching a bottle of Three-Buck Chuck. You misunderstand the situation and do something horribly inappropriate — maybe even offend those around you. The degree to which it was intentional is always in question, but the result is, you make yourself look like a complete ass. Being prone to the asinine is inherent to the human condition. We don’t normally have the misfortune of doing it in front of an audience of millions, to a person that is, by all objective standards, the Bambi incarnate.

And the killer part is you legitimately thought that everyone was with you on this. They were all, every single person, as flabbergasted as you by the obvious snub of a modern-day genius. They were each preparing to rush the stage, a veritable storming of the Bastille just moments away. You just happened to be closest to the microphone. And, I mean, it’s not as if this Taylor Swift character has a rabid following of intensely devoted minions that will painstakingly exact revenge for any perceived slight, right? So, you’re good. You were just telling the truth, preserving the art form, etc.

But instead it comes off looking as if a five-year-old was giving a mangy, homeless kitten sitting in the corner a homemade hand turkey that says “Best Kitty Ever” and you roll up and say “Bitch, please. My cat jumps through hoops and can sautee a chicken. Suck it.” And the helpless little kitten just sits there like it was smacked across the face because, you know what, it just did.

And that’s not what you’re about, you know? You’re about preserving art, that’s all; not smacking down kittens.

Now, does that mean you acted correctly? Of course not. Does it make you an arrogant ass with an air of self-entitlement? Oh, hell yes. Still, all I’m saying is, I feel you, Yeezy. I feel you.

__Kevin Mooney is The Flat Hat Confusion Corner columnist. His cat runs a circus and has a cooking show. Bitch please.__

Williamsburg’s public transportation is notorious for being unpredictable and unreliable. Often, students at the College of William and Mary are forced to wait too long for a bus that doesn’t show.

“I lived in Ludwell and used to rush to get to the bus stop early in the morning. I waited half an hour and it never came,” said Hannah Debelius ’10.

Now, the city of Williamsburg is offering an additional mode of transportation. The Williamsburg Trolley, a bus painted to look like a trolley, aims to please tourists, Williamsburg residents and students alike. With the new trolley, not only will students have another option for free transportation, but they will also arrive in style.

Jimmy Garris, a driver for the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority, usually drives the late-night shift for the Green Line bus. He now navigates the new trolley during the day.

“We are now crossing Duke of Gloucester Street, nicknamed DoG Street. It runs a mile from South Boundary to the Capitol Building,” Garris said over a loudspeaker, tooting the old-fashined horn. Pedestrians watch as the red and green trolley passes, and Garris waves.

Since its opening Aug. 20 the trolley is now the city’s least-expensive public transportation method. A ride costs fifty cents for adults, compared to $1.25 for regular WATA buses, and is free of charge for students of the College and James City County middle and high schools. The trolley loops around town traveling from Merchant’s Square to High Street to New Town, stopping near Blow Memorial Hall, the Williamsburg Shopping Center, the Movie Tavern and Discovery Park. It blends cost-effective transportation with historical trivia about the area for tourists.

According to Garris, the trolley offers convenient services for those in Williamsburg including a way to get to shopping areas. “[And locals] don’t have to fight for a parking space,” he said.

Mark D. Rickards, executive director of WATA, believes that the trolley will be a good investment for the community.

The trolley aims to offer a more enjoyable ride experience than the WATA buses. On hot days the windows of the trolley can be opened and passengers can feel the breeze as they make their way through town, though like the WATA buses, the trolley also provides air conditioning. Garris said that it is the sentimental value that separates the trolley from typical Williamsburg transportation — the trolley is a tribute to more glamorous public transportation. Its outer appearance evokes the image of turn-of-the-century San Francisco trolleys, and its interior of wooden benches, golden bells and glowing spheres of light make riders forget they are on a glorified bus.

According to Garris, it is also handicap-accessible and has a bike rack on the front.

Sometimes during the ride, drivers point out interesting facts about Colonial Williamsburg and describe popular Williamsburg locations. As Garris drives through High Street, he anounces that the shopping and residential district “is one of the newest developments in town.”

Michelle Arbid ’09, is one of many students who have utilized the free trolley service.

“I had a great experience riding the trolley,” she said. “The driver was a super sweet lady who waited when she saw me and my friends running to catch up to her. I could’ve taken the bus, but the bus comes every hour while the trolley comes every fifteen minutes, which is way more convenient.”

“I liked the old-fashioned feel,” Blair Lunceford ’13 said. “When I was a kid, my family and I would go to the Houston Zoo and ride trains that also had wooden seats. Riding the trolley made me reminisce of my childhood.”

Despite its sentimental touches, the trolley is not always be the best alternative to the WATA buses when taking into account one’s schedule.

“One thing I hate is that it only runs after three,” Arbid said.

The trolley only operates after 3 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays, while the WATA buses begin operating at 6 a.m. However, the trolley runs fairly late for a transportation geared toward tourists, operating until 10 p.m. from Monday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on weekends. It also operates from noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays — a service that the regular WATA bus lines do not provide.

Moreover, the trolley’s stops are placed at strategic points to ease transfers to the WATA bus lines and the Colonial Williamsburg buses. Garris said that there is even talk of adding a trolley route that extends to by Trader Joe’s on Settlers Market Boulevard.

“The trolley has been talked about for almost a decade and to see that idea become a reality and to be so successful with students and others makes me very happy,” Clyde Haulman, vice mayor of Williamsburg and chair of the economics department at the College, said. “It gets people out of their cars, provides easy access to shopping and entertainment for students, and is the type of service environmentally aware cities should be providing.”