Monthly Archives: September 2011

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Film Play Angry Birds — with ‘Real’ Birds; What Indiana Jones Originally Looked Like; And Clive Barker’s Aborted Hellraiser Designs

by Jeff Nau
September 9, 2011 - 10:30 am

China has made Angry Birds into a real-life attraction. Meaning goodbye petty video game, hello huge Communist theme park with 15 foot tall catapult and other set pieces the government spared no expense in building — so now you can catapult those little f*ckers just as far as you’d like, if you happen to be in China.

Though if anybody noticed, there’s a crucial element missing from the game. Those set pieces really are cheap– and the giant blocks are apparently welded into the stage so that you can’t really knock anything down.


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Bars/Clubs The Roxy Expands to Scottsdale AZ

by Shop Keeper
September 9, 2011 - 9:17 am

Expanding from a historical space to a present-day phenomenon, Los Angeles’ The Roxy Theatre has become the key communicator among a collective of bands, fans and neighbors along the famed Sunset Strip. With the intensity it’s taken to maintain this leading status, The Roxy is branching out with The Roxy Lounge in Scottsdale, Arizona (@theroxyLOT). Partners and brothers, Nic Adler and Cisco Adler will be opening The Roxy Lounge with Lucid Entertainment in mid-September of 2011.

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Film What Lies Beneath: “Circumstance” Film Review

by Ariel Maccarone
September 9, 2011 - 9:13 am

Islamic fundamentalism, embodied by current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s claims that “In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your [the U.S.] country,” takes a beating in writer/director Maryam Keshavarz’s new film, “Circumstance.” “Circumstance” tells the story of two young women escaping the Puritanism of their Iranian society by indulging in the underground youth culture of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. Although the women’s blossoming romantic relationship claims the forefront of the story, the film is not about homosexuality, but a raw probing of the repression of sexuality and cultural freedom as a whole in contemporary Iran.

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Music Coming Down The Mountain: Milagres

by Rich Thomas
September 9, 2011 - 8:17 am

The following is a list of small but memorable swag items I’ve received in press packages over the past 13 years: rolling papers, gum (not good), finger puppets, cassette tapes (recently), M.U.S.C.L.E. toys (awesome) and a very tiny harmonica. Thanks to New York’s Milagres, I can now add trading cards to that list. Specifically, Glamour Shot style trading cards with little band member bios on the back. Why hand out traditional business cards with the requisite phone number and email when you can provide people with more relevant information, like how Jodie Sweetin from Full House was your first crush. This is what people really care about, and given how Sweetin looks these days, actually shows an astute level of foresight and tastemaking.

So the lowdown on this band, according to the press release, is that Kill Rock Stars label boss Portia Sabin signed them on the strength of their music alone. This never happens, regardless of how small your label is, how good the songs are, or how desperate the industry has gotten. And Kill Rock Stars is no upstart. The music is just that good, and if you check out the live clip of the band performing “Glowing Mouth,” the title track to their new album, at the bottom of this post, you’ll see they lose nothing in translation. Singer Kyle Wilson rapped with ChinaShop about the interesting (if not mildly unfortunate) circumstances that led to the writing of the record. Then he kicked us down with a hefty list of some of his favorite albums of the decade. Take notes.

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Gallery Music Shredding the Gnar with Lil Wayne

by Mike Bucher and Joe Gall
September 8, 2011 - 10:55 am

Releasing albums from prison, changing genre gears and putting out rock albums, shredding the gnar at skate parts, Lil Wayne, it seems, is scared of nothing. You’ve got to respect a man who refuses to play it safe, a man who abhors following a formula, a man who will strap on a helmet and hit the coping.

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Art Gallery DC Relaunch Party at Meltdown: Cosplay, Comics, and Catwomen Galore

by Jeff Nau and Dustin Downing
September 8, 2011 - 8:53 am

There may be a big resurgence of all things nerd going on right now, but as the line between ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’ and ‘dork’ thins, as those damn hipsters start to infiltrate the scene wearing pairs of black framed glasses and pre-washed baseball comic shirts from Target, Meltdown Comics on Sunset may be the last bastion of all things nerd. Some might even call it Xanadu.

And tonight was to mark an historic event: for the first time since the 1980s, DC Comics were going to be rebooting every single one of their comic franchises. The first, Justice League #1, was to officially drop at midnight.

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Film Lock Up Your Daughters! The Media is Coming: Film Review of “Miss Representation”

by Ariel Maccarone
September 8, 2011 - 7:46 am

We go to movies to be entertained, and as icing on the cake, maybe gain some insight into our crazy, confusing day-to-day lives. A documentary has to really stretch itself to catch our eye. Fortunately, one such documentary, “Miss Representation,” caught the eye of DJ Tina T, and motivated her to hold a private screening at Red Bull’s headquarters in Santa Monica this past Wednesday, August 30. “Representation” cleverly grabs hold of our attention, and redirects it toward the toxic media culture in which we’ve raised our daughters, and how much a role we play in creating that world.

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Music Electric Zoo: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

by Alexander Rose and Sam Allen
September 8, 2011 - 7:44 am

It has been ten years since Daft Punk released Discovery, an album that many highlight as being a key player in pushing electronic music into the mainstream. Now, the demand for electronic music is greater than ever. Electric Zoo, the premier electronic music festival now in its third year, invaded New York this past weekend looking to meet that demand. By addressing several issues from the record turnout last year and upping the length of the festival from two to three days, Electric Zoo seemed to be living up to the symbolic phrasing introduced by the iconic Daft Punk ten years prior, to be: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. At the end of the weekend, approximately 85,000 people passed through the concert gates to take part in one of the largest electronic music festivals to ever take place on the east coast.

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Fashion The Top 5 Fall Fashion Trends: 2011 Edition

by Barbie Brady
September 8, 2011 - 3:29 am

With fashion becoming more diverse and complex than ever, there are still ways to stay current and update your look without a major impact to your wallet. Thankfully, certain modern staples are enjoying a long life span. Leggings and jeggings continue to be a great look as well as an investment. Women, it seems, are not too eager to give up a fashion element that is this versatile and comfortable.

However, the top 5 must-haves for this fall can joyfully add to your current wardrobe making you feel flirty and in style.

No.#1 Snake Skin

Whether you are a lover of prints or not you can’t deny the appeal of a great snake skin print. Jeans, shoes, dresses and even underwear are snake patterned this season. Designer Chloe‘s fall collection was fully inspired by the slippery slitherers.

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Music Cloud Control: A Bliss Release From Down Under

by Rich Thomas
September 7, 2011 - 9:53 am

Whether they know it or not, every full-blooded child of the ’80s has a soft spot for Australian bands: Men At Work, INXS, Midnight Oil, AC/DC, the Divinyls. Pop and rock were seemingly effortless constructs, and if you listened close enough, you got little geography, history and vernacular lessons along the way. All these groups were favorites of mine, but as a child of the ’80s with deep family roots in the hollers of Kentucky, I gravitated to bands that showed a penchant for rural storytelling; naked harmonies, big hollow drums, songs about booze and mining. Cloud Control strike all those chords, and throw in a little backwoods psychedelia to boot.

Europeans have been feasting on Bliss Release, Cloud Control’s debut album, for over a year now, but the exceptional LP will finally get a US release thanks to Infectious Music. The album art—for this and all of Cloud Control’s various EPs and singles—comes courtesy of design group Greedy Hen, and jibes perfectly with the band’s future/pastoral aesthetic. Check the video for “Gold Canary” after the jump, or search for “Meditation Song #2” online. You might as well go buy a fifth of bourbon and invest in a rocking chair now, because both are required accoutrements with which to amplify your listening experience. Then pour a glass and check out our interview with the band after the jump.

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