NIN: Somewhat Damaged live

I'm not usually one for live recordings, but this one completely destroys the studio version. This is without a doubt the best touring band Reznor has ever had. Shame they won't be doing any more shows for the forseeable future.

True Grit - As Bad Ass as You Think it Will Be

Damn, what a freaking great movie. Seriously this movie was badass. Bridges and Damon do fantastic jobs and the Coens are the Coens. The scenery is beautiful, the direction is great and they just do a phenomenal job. Hailee Steinfeld is the real gem of the movie, she steals the show. She is absolutely fantastic. It is hard to believe that she is 13 years old and that she holds her own with such veterans. In a limited roll, Barry Pepper does an awesome job with his limited screen time. Josh Brolin too. If you get a chance go see this movie.

Das Smiths Boot

The fine folks over at Slicing Up Eyeballs have alerted the internets to a newly released bootleg full of rare outtakes & demos. The coolest by far is this reggae inspired version of Girlfriend In A Coma which I have placed on infinte repeat this morning.

The Smiths, 'Girlfriend In A Coma' (Unreleased 1987 demo) by Slicing Up Eyeballs

Now, I'm not saying there's a link where you can download it but.....yeah. Probably there is. Get to gettin'.

Sanctum: Watery Dangery Murdery

This trailer for James Cameron's Sanctum gives you the Cliff's Notes version of the whole fucking movie. It seems to have all the ingredients of a throw-away action movie: sky diving, regular diving, spelunking, and murdering. Did I miss the parts with Vin Diesel & The Rock? Maybe that's the big reveal in the next trailer.  Somebody does get set on fire, so I guess it's got that going for it.

Zombie Death Everywhere

Good morning interwebs. Grab a cup of coffee, a donut and enjoy some awesome zombie carnage. What a great way to start your day.

Thanks to the guy who put this together. Now, whenever I am feeling down, all I gotta do is watch this and everything will be all better.

Yogi Bear

I know that Agent Cooper already has his tickets to the Midnight screening to the new Yogi Bear movie but I am going to spoil the ending for you.*

*If only it were true. It is true that Agent Cooper has tickets to the Midnight screening.

She & Him & Coco

Man have I neglected my cover song habit. I'm not a huge fan of holiday tunes but I have a severe weakness for the sound of Zooey Deschanel's voice.

Dimebag Darrell and John Lennon

From the outside you may not think that these two fine gentlemen would have anything to do with eachother, but if you look a little closer you will see that they were both taken away from this Earth too early, both by deranged lunatics, both shot to death, both murdered in public, both on December 8th. What a crazy day.

John Lennon is one of the most influential musicians that ever lived. His music, the music he made with the Beatles and afterwards as a solo artist and with his wife Yoko Ono, remains some of the greatest music that the world has ever heard. He expanded the way rock music was viewed and he pushed the envelope as far as it could go at the time. He believed strongly in his politics and was not afraid to voice his opinion on any subject. Some people viewed this as arrogance, I believe it was part of his genius. As a small kid I remember my parents playing the Beatles albums all the time. When I got my first record player, the first things I played were Abbey Road and Peter and the Wolf. Throughout my life, his music is music I always go back to and listen to. He was killed in 1980, I was only five but I remember my mom and dad being very saddened by his death. It was a heinous crime committed by a deranged fan. I will not mention his name, because he doesn't deserve it. Every year, on December 8th I listen to as much John Lennon as I can.

In middle school I entered the Metal stage of my life and was listening to lots of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeath, Anthrax etc. One of the bands that I liked most was Pantera. Pure, unadulterated RAGE! One of the main things I appreciated about Pantera was Dimebag Darrell, their unbelievably amazing guitar player. He played so fast and his solos were always mind blowing. And from all the interviews I ever read and saw on TV he seemed to be an earnest, fun loving guy. He did what he did well and was very well respected within the music scene. All he wanted to do was play guitar and have a good time doing so. Pantera eventually disbanded, and Dimebag went on to form Damage Plan, but by this time I'd kind of grown out of my metal phase and wasn't aware of them. But, none the less I was shocked and greatly saddened when he was killed. A "fan" of Pantera, who blamed Dimebag Darrell for the break up of the band, went to a Damage Plan show in Ohio, jumped on stage and shot Dimebag Darrell dead, at point blank range.

Needless crimes robbed the world of two great souls. Take time to remember these guys today and listen to lots of music. Stupid people do stupid things.

Ohai Pig Puppy

Neil Blomkamp found something in the mud. And it's yucky. Maybe it's connected to his next movie, maybe not. I just hope he washed his hands.

More Thrones Goodness

Here's a good 10 minutes on Game of Thrones. Looks like everybody involved is working hard to get this thing right.

Inside Game of Thrones

Pretty Hate Machine Remaster

"Nothing quite like the feel of something new."

Two albums came out in 1989 that changed music in a big way : Ministry's A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine. Most electronic music at that time was dance music. You had New Order, Erasure, & Depeche Mode at the top of the heap and most other bands tended to sound like one of them.  Sure you had folks like Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb, and KMFDM starting to branch out in more abstract or aggressive directions but those two albums somehow combined everything I liked about electronic sounds with everything I liked about angry guitar music in a way that nobody really had before. They were kinda dancy and they also kinda rocked. Each album had a larger ratio of one or the other but they both worked and forced me to keep them close at hand for at least 6 moths or so after I bought them. A ton of other people felt  the same way as it turned out, and for a short while Industrial music was was the new hotness on college campuses, and later on mainstream radio as well.

I'm not sure how long it had been since I dusted off Pretty Hate Machine for a listen, thankfully Mr. Reznor decided to give me a good reason to do so. First off, it's sounds fucking amazing. There hasn't been much tinkering with the mix which is always a good thing. What you really get is a crisp, better defined sound with a little larger dynamic range that people just didn't have the ability to produce on CD with the mastering technology available back in the day.

The packaging has been updated as well. You get a nice new digipack format with slightly toned-down artwork that, for me, is a welcome change. The old-school pink and purple cover really never meshed well with all the other albums.

As far as bonus features go there's only one real extra: a cover of Queen's Get Down Make Love which was previously only available on the out-of-print Sin single. Jourgensen was involved in the recording to some extent and you can tell a big difference between that and the rest of the album. Not bad, but much closer to the way Ministry was doing things at the time. What would have been nice.....was to have a 2nd disk similar to the Downward Spiral remaster with b-sides and remixes but none of the remixes from this era are included. Too bad since that's one thing that Reznor is really good at. Most remixes at the time were almost always labeled "extended dance remix" and meant that somebody looped the intro drumbeats at the beginning and end of the song for an extra minute or two. Reznor's remixes tend to be more creative and quite different from the original, worth listening to outside of a club or a party for sure. Hopefully we'll get them on some sort of later release since TVT no longer holds the rights to the songs.

Nerdy nitpicking aside, Pretty Hate Machine holds up really well after 21 years. If you haven't taken it for an angsty spin in a while now's your chance.

Game of Thrones

Clip Preview

Ok, get ready to get your nerdy dork on! If HBO pulls this off, it will be fantastic. I've read the novels, by George R.R. Martin, that this series is going to be based on and they are fucking awesome. They have everything in them. Sword fights, fist fights, dragons, knights, midgets, zombie type creatures, sexy sex, not so sexy sex, drinking, death, lots and lots of death and more death. There is so much in the books that I have to reread, just to verify that what I just read actually happened. If HBO stays true to the books, this show will be awesome. And from the trailer it looks like they are staying pretty true to the story. All right, I'm going to go put on my cloak and roll some twelve sided die!

The Dude is Going to Kill Somebody.

This looks insanely awesome. I think the Coen Brothers have done it again. I cannot wait to see this. Yes the John Wayne version is great, but this looks amazing.

Harry Potter Part 7.....Part 1

Not bad. Really good in fact. I'm amazed that 7 films into this series the quality has stayed so high. Normally you'd have your Superman IV or Batman & Robin by now. While I'm not a huge fan of Yates' work on The Order of the Phoenix, his take on The Half Blood Prince made up for the previous film's dodgy editing by focusing on characters over fast pacing. (In an attempt to class up the joint I decided to start using $100.00 words like dodgy. It means "shitty" in European. Look it up.)

Deathly Hallows does an excellent job in the character department and also slows down fairly often to let the camera tell the story. Yay for long takes!

Spoilerbomb! Dobby dies at the end, if that doesn't get your ass in a seat I don't know what will. I'm very much looking forward to Part 7 Part 2 the sequel ...eh ....sequel, where Dumbledore wakes up and it was all a dream. Enjoy!!

The Green Hornet

I really want this to be good, but I am really afraid that it is going to be very Meh. I really do like Seth Rogen and I enjoy Michel Gondry's directing, but I am afraid that this will be just all right. Cameron Diaz kind of ruins it for me too, for some reason I just can't stand her. It has a pretty amazing cast, besides Diaz, and hopefully Gondry has done good things with it. We'll see.

Full On Green Lantern Trailer

I feel better about things. Still not sure I dig the CGI lantern suits, but they are looking much better than those early stills we saw a few months ago. I definitely dig Sinestro, Abin Sur, & the rest of the corps. If there's a shot in the movie where somebody punches Guy Gardner, then I'll be happy. Click on my friend with the mustache to check it out for yourself.

Your Highness

I love that David Green is making comedies now. Pineapple Express was really well put together, &  more Danny McBride in this new flick can only be a good thing. "You've got to suck out the venom!"

More Your Highness Videos
 

Green. Lantern. Footage.

Right now I could give two shits about Ryan Reynolds. I just saw Killowog, ya poozer.

The Walking Dead

Now THAT's how you start a zombie TV show!

I was worried about how they were going to hook you in a day and age where movies and TV are fairly well saturated with post-apocalyptic scenarios & tales of various types of undead humans rising from the grave. I was growing pretty tired of everybody jumping on the zombie bandwagon, especially with stuff like Zombie Roadkill in the works.

Good thing AMC had the good sense to send a sheriff riding into the middle of Zombie Atlanta with nothing but a badge and a few shotguns. That one shot sealed the deal for me. If that doesn't get you to root for the good guy I don't know what will. I guess I could read the comics to see what happens next, but I think I'll wait for the next episode to find out how that dumbass is gonna get himself out of that tank.

Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More

Put down what you are doing and go get this album. I'm a little slow on this, the album has been out since February and I've been told how good it is, but for some reason I just now got it. Four guys from England playing folk music sounds lame, I know, but these guys pull it off. Amazing energy and sound for a first album. Each member of the band plays an array of instruments and they revolve throughout the album. Lyrically intelligent and very well produced, this album is definitely one of my favorites of this year. I'm mad at myself for not checking it out earlier. Go, go now and get it. You won't regret it.

Antwoord Overload

As we discussed earlier Mr. Bacca, here's all the Die Antword goodies I can think of. There's all sorts of Awesomeness here, like Ninja rocking the Vanilla Ice shirt and discussing his love for Informer by Snow. However, you really should skip to the 4:00 mark and check out the bit where he raps over Enya. You're welcome!



Here's two other nuggets of craziness, Zef Side and Enter The Ninja.

It's That Gobstopper Time of Year Again

"Welcome to my chocolate factory. It's time to die!"

Once again we're faced with a pretty weak selection of horror movies in the theaters. Looks like Paranormal Activity 2 and Saw XVII or something is the best that Hollywood could scrape together this year. Fine with me, I can always dig out The Omen or some recent pictures of Courtney Love if I need something really scary on the 31st.

While digging around for Halloween-y type flicks to rent on the old internets I'm reminded of this wonderful gem of a trailer from last year. Christoper Lloyd as a psychopathic Willy Wonka, who could ask for more? And yes, I do believe that's Wee Man as one of the Oompa Loompas.

Gobstopper Trailer from Gobstopper Movie

Set your DVR!!! Zombies are coming!!

Yeah, I know that Sunday is Halloween and everyone is going to be busy doing haunting ghoully things but everyone should watch The Walking Dead. Every review I've read of the show says that it is fantastic. If you look hard enough on the interwebs you can find a pirated copy of the pilot, but I'm waiting until Sunday to watch this. I want to see it in all of it's HD glory on my tv and not some crappy pirated copy on my computer. Everyone I know that can't wait for Sunday and has given in to their weakness says that it is one of the best TV show's they've seen in a long time. Whether you like Zombies or not, you should watch this show. Seriously.

Best Reason To Create A Time Machine: Die Antwoord

I would love to build a time machine. Some people would do the smart thing and play the stock market, kill Hitler, or something useful like that.

Me? I'd go back to the early 80's and play Die Antwoord to everybody I met. I'd tell them "No, seriously dude. THIS is the future of hip-hop." And then watch their brains explode.

If this album came out in the 90's I'd give it one of those long titles with no spaces like "voodoocleanpenispickpocketbonershorts". I can't even type that with a straight face. Enjoy?

Beck + Yanni + Thurston = JAM!!!!!!!

I'll admit, I've tuned out for most of Beck's recent Record club venture into Yanni covers. It's funny, but only for while. The last session, Reflections of Passion, has me hooked though.

Thurston Moore is one of my absolute favorite guitar players in the world, and you can hear a huge difference in the session here due in no small part to his presence.

Record Club: Yanni "Reflections Of Passion" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

OFF!

Sometimes the best new music is old music. OFF! and their old-school hardcore punk have been kicking my ass for the last month or so, 1 minute at a time. If it sounds familiar it should, the band is fronted by ex Black Flag & Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris and rounded out by members of Red Kross & Rocket from the Crypt.

They've just released their first four song EP, which should be followed up with 3 others before too long. Here's a few videos and a clip from the Carson Daly show with some choice quotes:

"You can go to the Warped Tour and you can see all of these really fun Emo Screamo boy bands....  If you're a 13 year old girl that's cute and swell and wonderful but if you're older guys like us that's not happening."

Between Two Ferns with Bruce Willis

I'm still giggling 5 minutes after I watched this, and I haven't had a lot of tequila this morning either."Which kid is your favorite? Ashton?"

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Bruce Willis from Bruce Willis

Fringe Premiere

I usually hate any sort of time travel/displacement/body swapping type plot devices in TV shows. Most of the time it's a sign that the writers are out of ideas & feel the need to "shake things up", and it usually ends up ruining the show. (ahem LOST ahem Heroes ahem) As good as the finale for Fringe's second season was, I had some doubts about where season 3 was headed since we were clearly going to be stuck in the Walternate universe for a while longer.

The premiere for season 3 has me feeling good about things though. It's obvious that the other universe is central to the underlying mystery behind all the strange events and has been planned out since the first season. I didn't see the whole memory implant thing coming, very interesting twist on the mistaken identity idea. Plus, Walternate is an evil badass. I'll watch that guy act in just about anything. You've got me hooked for another season of Fringe, thanks.

School of Seven Bells - Disconnect from Desire

I was a little underwhelmed by this album. I had heard good things about the band and I am familiar with Benjamin Curtis' other bands, so I was interested in hearing the album. Well, meh. It is all right, but it drones on and on and is really repetitive. It feels overproduced and almost like they tried to do too much, without it looking like they did much at all.

Wavves - King of the Beach

Do you like lo-fi pop punk music? Well then you will like the new Wavves album. Good stuff. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. The music reminds me a lot of a lo-fi version of the Dead Milkmen. Very silly lyrics, but also very singable and catchy tunes. Definitely a fun summer album.

An Important Message From Cee Lo

It seems his Gnarled Barkliness is slightly upset with his ex. Good thing for us all he has a sense of humor. Ain't that some shit?

Zombie Roadkill

In my best Jeff Foxworthy voice:

If you find yourself watching a show about zombie squirrels......THE MEDIA MIGHT BE OVERSATURATED WITH ZOMBIES!!!

3D Jackass: Ok NOW I'm Excited

I really wasn't all that impressed with the 3D tech used to make Avatar. However..... I'll fly back to Texas to watch Jackass 3D at the Alamo Drafthouse.

Adem: Girl/Boy Song (Aphex Twin Cover)

Holy Shit. I've never heard anybody cover Aphex Twin. Ever. So good. Apparently these guys also cover some of my favorite songs by Bedhead & Tortoise on this album. (Gamera is THE definitive Tortoise song as far as I'm concerned)

I'm sold on these guys, will try to grab anything they've recorded based on this one song. Enjoy!

Weekend Cover: Hank III covers Misfits "We Bite"

You gotta love Hank Williams III for doing a great job of staying true to his grandfather's country roots but banging out a good punk set and the end of every show. I know it's an hour early but....you deserve it.

Sleigh Bells - Treats

This album is a complete and very welcome surprise. I wasn't expecting much from it when I bought it. I'd heard some good things about it on the internet and in a couple of magazines, but wasn't quite sure what I'd find when I finally got to listen to it. Treats is really really good. Good beats with guitar and My Bloody Valentine style vocals over them. Very catchy and listenable. It has been played a lot since purchase and will be in heavy rotation for a while. Plus my daughter dances like crazy when it is on, that's always a plus.

The Roots - How I Got Over

Once again the Roots do it. They consistently put out great records, 20 years in and they are still putting out quality work. You can really tell that the Jimmy Fallon gig has helped the Roots as a band. This album is tight and the band sounds fantastic. Questlove may be the best drummer in hip-hop, his timing is amazing. Excellent guest appearances from Monsters of Folk and John Legend. I hope they keep putting out great music and I hope that Jimmy Fallon keeps on employing them.

The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

This album is all right. Nothing special, nothing that really grabs you and makes you want to rock it. I have heard all the comparisons to The Replacements and to Bruce Springsteen, and I hear them in the music, but it isn't overwhelmingly so. There are moments when I hear something and think "that kinda sounded like Paul Westerburg" but that is about it. Overall I think that The Gaslight Anthem sounds like The Hold Steady's little brother. The do not rock hard enough and the lyrics are no where close to what Craig Finn can write. It isn't a bad album to pick up, but don't expect to much from it.

Roots + Ice Cube = Straight Outta Compton

If you have been living under a rock and have no idea why Jimmy Fallon's show is the best thing on late night TV, this should help.

Disintegration Remaster

"THIS MUSIC HAS BEEN MIXED TO BE PLAYED LOUD SO TURN IT UP."

This one album has influenced my taste in music & my guitar playing for over 20 years. This is my desert island album. The one piece of music I would save if my house was burning down. For me, it's the perfect example of what an album should be. Consistent, brilliantly executed, and meaningful beyond its years.

And it has never sounded better. The original album stays true to the original mix for the most part, what you get here is clarity & definition that nobody had the ability to produce in the 80s. The 2nd disk of rarities is interesting, mostly demos & live takes but no significant unreleased track that you can't live without. The real coolness is the 3rd disk, Entreat Plus. Originally, Entreat was a live sampler of Disintegration songs but only some of the tracks from the album were included. The new version includes every song from the album, recreating the experience of hearing the entire album played live in order.

It was definitely worth the wait. Now if we can get Wish sometime soon, along with the Lost Wishes Ep, I'll be a happy guy.

How To Destroy Angels

....is exactly what you'd expect. Nine Inch Nails with somebody else singing. Not angsty pissed off NIN, but the quiet and more abstract stuff you'd find on Ghosts or the 2nd disk of The Fragile. Maybe a little Curve thrown in here and there. The EP is only 6 songs worth, so it may be a little to early to judge what they will end up sounding like. Worth a listen for sure, grab a copy here and see what you think.

Record Club: Kick

Mmmmmm new record club fo tha weekend yo.

New Danzig: On A Wicked Night

I'm all sorts of stoked for the new album, which is supposed to sound a lot like Danzig 4. The vocals are more prominent in the mix this time around, and he's dropped a lot of the effects that muddied them up on the past few albums. A good sign for sure.







I'm a sucker for deluxe editions, I pre-ordered one of these the other day. One of only....wait for it.....666.

A Candy Colored Clown They Call The Sandman

I knew who Dennis Hopper was before I saw Blue Velvet, but Frank Booth was the role that made me give a shit about him as an actor. Honestly, like any good David Lynch villain, he scared the shit out of me. Later on I'd learn to love his offbeat characters in River's Edge, Apocalypse Now, and much later Land of the Dead. Was never a fan of Easy Rider, but I can see why other people love it. It didn't really matter what movie he was in, you knew at the very least that Dennis Hopper was going to kick ass in whatever role he played.  Here's to your fuck Frank!

Rest In Peace Arnold Drummond

I know you're in a much better place now........ punching somebody.

Never Tear Us Apart

More INXS goodness from the record club. I'm gonna be sad when they finish this round of covers.

Stupid Island

Really?!!! That's it? Fuck you stupid island.

WOOKIE EDIT: What, I hope you are drunk. That was great. I am totally satisfied with the way that ended. I know you wanted all the answers and the hokey religions, but come on man. That was pretty sweet. Loved that ending.

Weekend Cover: Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard "Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)"

I've been listening to this Tom Waits track non-stop today. A random YouTube search dug up just about the coolest cover version I could imagine. I had no idea these guys were playing together, gotta find out more about that. Enjoy!

What's Goin' On He-Man?

This might just 1UP the GI Joe PSAs. I'm not sure yet.

Iron Man 2

Rocked. The story is more or less pulled from the comics. Don Cheadle works much better as Rhodey, he pulls off that dry humor really well. Stan the Man makes his usual cameo, Favreau gets to kick ass on screen for a bit. Scarlett Johansson isn’t bad either but you could edit her out of the film and it wouldn’t matter one bit. Unless there are plans to feature the Black Widow in other films down the line I can't foresee her character showing up again. The Avengers subplot is a much larger part of the movie which means you get a ton of Nick Fury/Jackson. Don’t forget to stay for a glimpse of ….”The Land of Enchantment”.

Cinco De Mayo Message From Machete

It seems that Danny Trejo has a timely message for the state of Arizona.



A friend who worked on this one filled me in on the scene where Machete swings out of one window down to another. If you think that's a rope or something you're in for a big surprise..........

Worst Movie Ever? Probably So.

What the hell was Jake thinking here? This looks absolutely fucking horrible.

Need You Tonight

Mmmmm, good stuff once again from the record club.

Devil Inside

Every single one of us.

Refused Re-Issuing Shape Of Punk To Come

Oh hell yeah. The Shape Of Punk To Come is for me one of the best albums of the late 90s. Refused self destructed too soon to make it big, the fact that bands are still imitating the sounds on this album is proof that they were on to something cool.

On June 8th Epitaph is putting out a 3 disk set with the album, a live set, and a DVD of the film Refused Are Fucking Dead. Awesome.

Record Club - INXS

The first two tracks from Beck's Record Club interpretations of Kick are up. New Sensation is one of my favorites so far.

New Sensation



Guns In The Sky

New Mooned

Coincidentally I ended up sitting through this thing the other night. Mrs. Cooper had renewed her attempts to get me to read one of these books so I offered to sit through it and hope that getting as drunk as humanly possible would make it less painful.

Now it could be the whiskey talking, but this one was ever so slightly less shitty than the first. Not in terms of the story, which is a little sillier than the last one, but in terms of overall film-making. I guess Twilight made enough scratch to afford them a better camera op, better editor, and even the CG effects were a notch up from the last one. And by "a notch up" I mean they looked about as good as something you'd see on Xbox. Don't believe me?


"Watch out! It's Monday and Garfield's gone ape-shit on some wild forest lasagna!"




The whole idea of nice sparkly vampires running around in the daytime is still ultra-retarded to me, so I couldn't get past that enough to take the movie seriously. The addition of werewolves doing the same didn't help, despite their efforts to woo me in their sly Abercrombie model way. But I'm a glass half full kinda guy and I can appreciate the two benefits I gained from watching New Moon:

1. I won't be asked to read anything vamp-mormony for a while and 2. I really did get pretty drunk by the time this thing was over.

Ok that's enough bashing for the near future. Sherlock Holmes is out on Blu-Ray which means I have a hot date with a ginger midget.....

Twilight - New Moon

Best Movie Ever. The acting is super, the directing is fantastic. Screw you Katherine Bigelow, you stole that Oscar. I am so impressed. I cannot wait for the next one. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. If I ever have a son, I will name him Jacob.

Let The Right One In

I wouldn't call this a horror movie at all. Let The right One In is your basic indie love story between two 12 year old kids. Except from time to time one of them kills people and drinks their blood. Other than that it's very, very sweet.

I love the fact that there's maybe two scenes with CGI, and almost no "jump scares". The story is simple & sparse when it comes to dialogue. It mainly lets the camera tell the story, something I wish Hollywood could catch onto someday. Visually it reminds me of a cross between Fargo & The Virgin Suicides, phenomenal camera work. Beautiful without being flashy.

Thanks Sweden, you've restored my faith in people's ability to film an original vampire story. Maybe the lady who wrote Twilight will see this someday and apologize.......

Black Dynamite

"Mama, you can bet yo sweet ass and half a titty whoever ordered the hit on you has already got the pigs in they back pocket."



This movie was so badass I can't stop telling people about it. If you were ever into stuff like Dolemite, Blackbelt Jones, or The Avenging Disco Godfather then this is right up your alley, you dig? It has everything you could want in a movie: kung fu, hookers, afros, machine guns, and donuts with alligator shoes. Arsenio Hall is the king of the pimps. You can thank me later.

Hellbilly Deluxe 2

It's been way too long since I bitched about something. Before we're forced to change the page title to "Unicorns Kick Ass" I thought I'd pass on a gripe or two.

I knew this album was going to suck right after I read the title. Rob Zombie spent the last several years re-making a crappy horror film (sorry kids, was never a Halloween fan) & cranking out a sequel to said film. His last two albums had a few standout tracks but were mostly dancy pop/70s stadium rock. Don't get me wrong, I'm a White Zombie fan and I loved the first Hellbilly, but it's been a long time since Rob Zombie's main focus was playing music.

I have no idea why you would make a sequel to a 12 year old album aside from an attempt to cash in quick or fulfill a record contract. Maybe he really thought songs with titles like "Sick Bubblegum" were just evil enough to fit right in with the first album. Shit, he even took the time to write a song about the fake trailer he did for Grindhouse. Despite the plethora of horror movie samples and sci-fi references Hellbilly Deluxe 2 was boring and lazy and I sold it in less than two weeks.

Hurt Locker

WOW! I am most impressed with Hurt Locker. I really thought it couldn't be as good as all the reviews and word of mouth. It is better. Suspenseful, great cinematography and humor in some parts. Wonderful acting from Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie. Kathryn Bigelow does an unbelievable job as a director. And the smaller roles are all acted very well. It isn't an easy movie to watch, but if you do I think you will be impressed..

Shutter Island Rocked

Yep, it was as good as I'd hoped it would be. Genuinely creepy atmosphere, thanks to the soundtrack and cinematography. Every single person in this flick delivers a memorable performance, down to the smallest roles like the inmates & prison guards. Probably the best performance DiCaprio has turned in to date.

I won't talk about the plot but it's one of those films where you immediately want to go back and watch it again to be sure you caught everything. The last 10 minutes still have me asking a ton of questions. I encourage all 3 of our readers to go see it. Wait, do we have 3? That seems like too many.

Bruce Campbell bitch slaps Horation Cain!

I love Burn Notice. I love Bruce Campbell. I cannot stand CSI:MIAMI. Therefore this is the best thing ever.

Oldies but Goodies : Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die

Where has this Tortoise gone? Such a good album, such a good band. Everything on this album in mind blowing. I used to just sit around and listen to this album over and over and over again. So many nights falling asleep to it playing on repeat. Showed me the greatness that is John McEntire. Seeing them perform songs from this album was fucking epic. Good times. I've had this album for forever, yet just now noticed that the cover is a painting of whales. My observational skills are outstanding. This song kicks ass, Glass Museum.

Spoon - Transference

Transference is a return to the old Spoon. The guys ditched the fancy producers and the fancy production and did it all themselves. If you like Telephono or Series of Sneaks, then you'll definitely dig Transference. I'll be honest with you, upon first listen I was not that impressed. I, for some reason, couldn't get into the album, but I gave it some time and now really really like it. "Trouble Comes Running" has become my jam, many many listens. The album has gotten a lot of play in both my truck and the Wife's CR-V. I'm glad they've returned to the ROCK and gotten away from the experiments. I cannot wait for the next album. I hope it is just as good, if not better.

Flaming Lips: Dark Side Of The Moon

Thanks to the Notorious DLB I picked up the two most recent Flaming Lips albums: Embyonic (deluxe) and their recording of Dark Side of the Moon. Many thanks.

Damn these are talented dudes. Like the original, it's a fairly seamless recording but that's about the only thing you'll recognize. Here's their take on Breathe:

The Ginger Midget

I'm probably one of the last people on Earth to see Sherlock Holmes. Great movie. Thanks to Guy Ritchie I now have a name for that Irish Pub I've always wanted to open up downtown. I could not stop laughing out loud every time somebody mentioned "The Ginger Midget".

Weekend Cover: Reptile w/ Peter Murphy

Slicing Up Eyeballs posted a few videos a while back featuring members of Nine Inch Nails covering various songs with Peter Murphy. This fuzzed out take on NIN's Reptile was nice. (although the video nerd that I am really wants to white balance the goddamn camera for them ..... )

Vampire Weekend - Contra

Good stuff. Is it new and crazy and different? No. Is it catchy, fun and awesome? Absolutely. If you like anything that Vampire Weekend have done before, then you will like this. Don't get me wrong, they've added some new sounds and rhythms, but it is Vampire Weekend, you can spot one of their songs a mile a way. I really enjoy it and it has been getting significant play time in the truck. Too short, though. I would like it to be a little longer. (that's what she said)

Molly J Hayes

I thought Agent Cooper might like to see this, seeing as how he used to room with said artist.

Mass Effect 2

I'm about as stoked for this game as I would be for a movie. The original was absolutely one of the best games I've ever played, and definitely the best looking game I've seen. Plus it had Seth Green. This one looks just as cool and it's getting great reviews so far. Check out the voice cast:

* Martin Sheen
* Seth Green
* Adam Baldwin ( .. the hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne )
* Keith David
* Tricia Helfer
* Michael Hogan ( the frakkin XO )
* Carrie-Anne Moss

Real talent. Jan 26th. I can't wait.

LOST

I cannot wait for this to come back. It is my show. I love it and all the craziness that surrounds it. I'm not psycho for it like some people, but I love it. I like to read all the crazy things that people figure out about the show. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. Anyways, this is a creepy cool trailer that David La Chapelle, not Dave Chapelle bitches, directed before the first season aired in England. Really cool how it kind of foreshadows a lot of stuff that happens. Come on February 2nd!!!

Jay-Z "On to the Next One"

If you don't like this song then you are un-American! I think this is his best song since "99 problems" and the video is pretty kick ass too.

Jimmy Fallon as Neil Young: Pants on the Ground

I have to admit a weakness for enjoying the American Idol audition process. There is no better freakshow in all of America. Jimmy Fallon's take on the this particular audition is pure genius.

Doomriders

Doomriders
Darkness Come Alive

I know what you're thinking. "That album cover is pretty bad-ass. There's no way in hell the album is as bad-ass as that cover." That's what I thought too, but I bought it anyway.

I'm a sucker for good album covers & sometimes I just buy stuff because it looks cool. I know I'm going to regret it most of the time but every once in a while things work out.

If you mix The Bronx, Queeens of the Stone Age, Motörhead, Danzig, Slayer, all the good bits from Mastodon, and a little Fugazi in spots...you might get close to what this album sounds like. It's heavy on riffs and light on solos, just the way I like it. If your tastes lie somewhere between metal/thrash/loud ass rock then you should probably do yourself a favor and pick this up.




Oh P.S. - Fuck Jay Leno and his big fat fucking chin.

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Tell 'em What Your Name Is

Another album from 2009 that everyone should own. Holy Shit! If you want something to shake your ass too and get you in a good mood, go pick this up. Extremely awesome.

Holy Paperbacks, Batman!

If anybody wants to get me a present anytime please get me any of the books in this collection. I want to read them all. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/series/1942?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Roger O'Donnell Remembers Recording Disintegration

Roger O'Donnell joined and left The Cure twice over the last 20 years or so, he's definitely missed these days. Even with Porl back in the band I'm not sure I dig their new sound w/o keyboards much at all. He recently wrote quite a bit about the process of recording Disintegration. He posts an early demo of Fear Of Ghosts, has quite a few positive things to say about Robert, and talks a little about Laurence Tolhurst and how/why they fired him. It's lengthy but if you're a dork about The Cure like me you'll get a kick out of it.

Live. Action. Starblazers.

AICN posted this the other day. I've never been a huge anime fan, but as a kid I loved me some Star Blazers. Those jackets are so badass.