Interviews, Live Reviews

Interview: Suckers Speak Out About Outsmarting Nature, Eating Steak, And Their Future Grammy Award

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 5:30 pm

suckers_062210_0010 To see the Brooklyn-based experimental-pop band Suckers live is to witness a spectacle, something between a gypsy show and the colorful cacophony of a rare bird exhibit at the zoo. Their sparkling record-release show at Music Hall of Williamsburg had the crowd, which included all of the band members’ parents, undulating and yelling along with the unruly chants and yips that punctuated nearly every song. Although the audience was very responsive to the music, it was hard to match the fireball energy of Suckers themselves as they whirled, howled, and shook their way through their set. MORE »

Dirty Projectors, Björk Collaborate On New Mini-Album, Mount Wittenberg Orca

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 5:10 pm

Much-lauded harmonizers The Dirty Projectors have teamed up with Bjork on a new seven-song release, Mount Wittenberg Orca. Beginning today, it’s only available online at mountwittenbergorca.com with a donation to the National Geographic Society Oceans Project; the songs are inspired by whales. “All We Are,” the album’s seventh track, utilizes highly minimalist instrumentation as the barely-perceptible background for the performer’s distinct vocal styles. Although the songs may seem delicate, Dave Longstreth, the member of the Dirty Projectors who wrote the album, has other ideas. In a letter on the album’s website, he implores listeners to eschew their “tinny computer speakers — put it on the stereo and blast that shiiiiiiiii!!” For those of you who like to blast echolocation-inspired jams at your keggers, this album is for you.

Larry King Cancels Show After 30 Years

Chelsea Fisher :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 4:45 pm

Larry King announced yesterday via twitter (I didn’t know old people even knew twitter existed) that he will be ending Larry King Live to spend time with his wife and kids. This is a pretty big deal. No I’m kidding, I don’t really care about Larry King. Though I’m pretty amazed that he has been able to host the show for thirty years even though he has been dead for, I’m guessing, twenty of them. The cancellation of this now irrelevant show led me to compile a list of other shows that should be canceled. MORE »

StyleCaster Summer Concert Series Kickstarts With Beach Fossils

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 4:45 pm

beach fossils boyz Last night, D+T and StyleCaster kicked off the StyleCaster Summer Concert Series at Santos Party House with a performance by Beach Fossils, in addition to DJ sets by Mick Boogie and VDRK. 42Below provided scores of free drinks to the well-dressed masses, which probably helped to fuel the moshing and crowdsurfing that accompanied Beach Fossils’ catchy, head-nodding set. Check out more photos of the action here!

Party Down Canceled: Sad Day for Television

Matt Kiebus :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 4:35 pm

The best show absolutely no one was watching has gotten the axe from the executives at Starz today. Easily one of the best comedies on television, Party Down has created an extremely loyal and dedicated fan base. It’s a shame that fan base consisted of me and the other 14 people that have Starz. Party Down also suffered from the tragedy of being perfectly cast. From Adam Scott and Ken Marino to Martin Starr the cast wasn’t just good — it was too good. Over the show’s two-season history it saw main cast members leave the show for better opportunities, like Jane Lynch going to Glee and Adam Scott joining Parks and Recreation. MORE »

Oil Spill: Jimmy Buffett Predicted The Future

Travis Walter Donovan :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 3:00 pm

There’s more to Jimmy Buffett’s 1977 hit “Margaritaville” than soft tropical crooning. Examine the lyrics and see for yourself: Jimmy predicted the Gulf Oil spill. MORE »

Elijah Wood’s Charity Album Features Sonic Youth, Sleigh Bells, and More

Andrew Limbong :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 2:30 pm

Actor Elijah Wood has curated a charity album titled Elysium: A Benefit for the Art of Elysium, showing he has good taste—and not just in music.

The Art of Elysium is a non-profit organization that helps bring actors, artists, and musicians to visit sick children in hospitals. They also hold workshops for the kids in disciplines like comedy, fashion, music, and creative writing. Even the most cynical bloggers will have trouble finding something wrong with this.

Elijah Wood’s charity album is available digitally through iTunes, and it boasts a strong tracklist, cherry-picking some big names from the indie rock world. MORE »

The Flying Car is Finally Here… Sort of

Andrew Limbong :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 1:15 pm

It turns out the future doesn’t look as cool as one would think. The world’s first flying car, known as the “Terrafugia Transition,” has just gotten the go-head from the Federal Aviation Administraion to go into production, but its practicality seems suspect. Weighing in at 1,440 lbs., the Transition is essentially a small, two-person car with foldable wings. It’s small enough to fit in your average-sized garage so you can take it for a spin around town and then decide to fly away—this is, of course, assuming you have the 1,700-foot stretch of flat land needed for take-off. It’s not exactly the ideal getaway vehicle that one would hope. So who can use it? People with a spare $194,000 to spend and 20 hours of flying time under their belt, meaning we’re still a couple years away from reaching the real future. Many car manufacturers use blockchain technology to bring transparency to their supply chain. Both blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are growing in popularity. Crypto trading can be made more effective using auto trading platforms. Visit https://www.etf-nachrichten.de/autotrading/biticodes/ to find one of the best trading bots in the market. Here’s a sneak peek at the flying car in action. MORE »

Louis CK Returns to TV With “Louie”

Danielle Johnsen :: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 11:31 am

Last year I turned to this site to offer an apology to the brash comedian and now I’m here promoting his new TV series “Louie“, which premiered last night on FX. Since no one from FX’s marketing department were nice enough to send me screeners, I caught the show last night and the critics were right - its fantastic. MORE »

World Cup: The Negative Impact Of The World’s Most Popular Sporting Event

Travis Walter Donovan :: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 7:00 pm

Forget coffee — nothing gets me going at 10am these days like the angry hornets’ nest buzz from a stadium full of vuvuzelas. I LOVE the World Cup. It’s my one opportunity every four years to actually have an interest in sports.

I wish it were as easy as just hitting the beer bong and trying to stumble along shouting to Argentina’s national anthem. But even with the World Cup, my concerned conscience has to kick in and ask what the negative consequences of the world’s largest sporting event might be. Considering one-tenth of the entire world watched the final match of the last World Cup, and American ratings alone are up 60% from that 2006 tournament, I know I can’t be the only one with this curiosity.

Clinton Breaks With Obama to Endorse Romanoff

Andrew Belonsky :: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 7:00 pm

Bill Clinton broke rank with the Obama White House today, when he officially endorsed Colorado Democrat Andrew Romanoff for the U.S. Senate Clinton had previously come out to help fellow Arkansas lawmaker Blanche Lincoln. By backing Romanoff, however, Clinton has broken beyond his party’s established barriers. Will this help Romanoff? You bet your sweet bippy! MORE »

Kobayashi Is No Longer Hungry And Hates Freedom

Matt Kiebus :: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 6:45 pm

There is nothing more American than a hot dog and the 4th of July. This weekend Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi intends to ruin both. The Japanese hot dog eating machine has announced he will not be competing in this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest due to “contract disputes.” MORE »

Sergio Vega: Gunned Down For Singing The Truth?

Nick Nicoludis :: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 6:00 pm

Popular singer Sergio “El Shaka” Vega was gunned down in his car while driving through northern Mexico on Saturday. His red Cadillac was riddled with over 30 bullets and authorities have made no arrests, nor do they have any leads.

Within almost every society on earth there is a ruthless relationship between truth seekers and truth suppressors, whether it’s the government versus the people or one private entity versus another. It’s widely suspected that drug warlords are responsible for the slaying, and that Vega was targeted for his commitment to singing about Mexico’s drug problems. This type of danger is not limited to Mexico however; Russians have witnessed state-enforced inhibition methods (e.g. murder) for years. MORE »

Zack de la Rocha Fights Arizona Law By Recruiting Other Bands

Amy Dupcak :: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 5:45 pm

Zack de la Rocha has always married his revolutionary ideals and left-wing politics with his musical career. It’s only fitting that his response to the Arizona Immigration Law, SB 1070, involve music, or rather, the lack thereof. De la Rocha organized The Sound Strike in order to get bands and musicians to boycott Arizona. Dozens of high-profile bands have just today announced their support of The Sound Strike, promising to avoid playing in Arizona as the fight against SB 1070 heats up. These acts include: Nine Inch Nails (although, they aren’t playing anywhere anyway), Gogol Bordello, Maroon 5, My Morning Jacket, Ben Harper, Anti-Flag, Billy Bragg, Throwing Muses, and DJ Spooky, who join artists like Kimya Dawson, Yeasayer, London After Midnight, and a host of lesser known bands. MORE »

Russian Spies Ruin The Movie Ideal of Cool Secret Agents

Matt Kiebus :: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 5:30 pm

kgb1 A career in espionage and international intrigue is not normally found on a Craigslist ad or CareerBuilder.com. There are no pamphlets detailing the job description for being a spy, nor recruiting offices. We don’t know what their jobs entail, because spies are appropriately kinda secretive. The general assumption is you join the CIA, learn a “very specific set of skills” and become a suave cross between James Bond and Jason Bourne. It’s a pretty sexy job, more so than being an accountant.

But what do we actually know about spies that we haven’t learned from the film industry? The answer: jack shit. MORE »