Congrats to The Shins...

Their new album "Wincing the Night Away" has debuted at NUMBER TWO on the Billboard 200 Charts. Sold more than One Hundred Thousand copies!

Aqua Teen Terror Force!...*VIDEO*

OOPS! "9 Suspicious Packages Planted in Boston"

" BOSTON (AP) -- Nine blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a marketing campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. At least one of the devices depicts a character giving the finger.

Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless. "

" "We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger," the company said"-Breitbart

UPDATE!: Two men charged with the crime and Check out the video of how it all went down:

SUNDANCE FEST...

First though, here is what IFC had to say at their blog: "We saw few bad films and no thrilling ones; given that we stuck mostly to films in the dramatic competition, the overall quality of what we saw was both very impressive and depressingly practical-minded. Most films had one or two bankable stars, and most kept to safe storytelling territory — it's indicative of the current state of indie film that most of the titles we came across seemed to have been created with specialty distribution divisions in mind — there a Fox Searchlight, here a Lionsgate."

The entire list of winners can be seen HERE in a pdf format.

RANDOM REVIEWS:

CHAPTER 27 where Jared Leto plays John Lennon's murderer: "The film creates more questions than it provides answers, Instead the film accurately portrays the events leading up to the murder, most of which are historically interesting but not in the least visually entertaining. The film crawls by at a snail’s pace, only picking up speed when Lennon arrives."-/film

BLACK SNAKE MOAN: "Why does Justin Timberlake want to be an actor? Does he know that screaming really loud doesn’t necessarily translate into a great performance?"--"If you were to look up “Sophomore effort” in a dictionary, I’m sure Black Snake Moan would be listed as an example. The poster and advertising promises something the movie never truly delivers. You will leave the theater unsatisfied, wanting and needing more."-/film

Crispin Glover's EVERYTHING IS FINE: "I don't know whether he be pleased to know that only 11 souls walked out in the course of things. The survivors seemed more enthused. Although the film is an assault on the sensibilities of the average filmgoer, more hardened cinephiles will find he has crafted a considerably more linear film. Although riddled with ludicrous situations and outrageous moments the movie is true to itself and has the redeeming feature of a gut-punch of an ending."-eyeforfilm

Now I'll be honest- I was not a huge fan of Willard, among others, but Glover strikes me as a really interesting person and I am certainly looking forward to seeing EIF. (How about him playing Warhol in The Doors!)

Check out a quick Festival Dailies video with Crispin Glover:


More SUNDANCE Coverage coming.

And for the WEIRD VIDEO OF THE DAY

DR. DOG "Fools Life". Weird, but definately an AMAZING VIDEO!

SILVERCHAIR is still alive and kicking!...

Be sure to visit their website on friday, february 2nd to see the new video "Straight Lines".

Pretty Girls Make Graves call it quits...

After May, they will be no more.

New Comeback Kid!

Yes!, I love this band. Head over to their myspace to hear the new track: "Broadcasting" off of the upcoming new release of the same name. Pick it up February 20th.

Ex Russian Spy's Murder by Poison Cracked...

The Russian ex-spy, Alexander Litvinenko, that was poisoned back in November, was apparently poisoned from a teapot.

"The official says investigators have concluded, based on forensic evidence and intelligence reports, that the murder was a "state-sponsored" assassination orchestrated by Russian security services."

Read more over at the Blotter.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Confirmed to play Coachella...

It has now been confirmed that Rage Against the Machine will be the headliners for Sunday April 29th of the three day California Fest. I would love to go to this, but unfortunately I'm too far away.

This Night I'll Possess Your Little Miss Sunshine

So this weekend I was able to catch two movies: The wild and weird "This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse" and the wonderful "Little Miss Sunshine". First we will start with TNIPYC. I caught this thanks to IFC's Grind House friday night flicks. This is the second installment of the "Coffin Joe" Series, the first being "AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL". Director José Mojica Marins directs and stars in this 1966 grind house horror film. Shot entirely in B&W except for a pretty disturbing hell sequence: "Marin reportedly used electric shocks to make the writhing pain of the actors appear all the more real." If you're a fan of these types of grind house/campy horror films, then there is plenty to like here: women,snakes,spiders,demons,sadism,immorality,and twisted philosophy!

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Now for something entirely different, we have "Little Miss Sunshine". This was a great movie with lots of laughs and heart. If watched just for the fact that Steve Carell is in the film, I don't think most will be that happy. He is hardly the star of the movie, but definately gives a good performance. The little actress Abigail Breslin, who made her first movie appearance in Signs,steals the show for sure. "What happens when you stuff a failed motivation speaker, his wife, the nation's number one Proust scholar, an elderly potty-mouthed heroin addict, a teen who’s mute by choice, and a bespectacled little pageant hopeful into a mini VW bus for a three day road trip? You get this hilarious but moving satire about a dysfunctional family obsessed with winning."

Here are some interesting facts thanks to wikipedia:
"Although the role of the suicidal uncle was originally written for Bill Murray and there was studio pressure for Robin Williams, the part eventually went to Steve Carell."

"Steve Carell, at the time he was cast for Little Miss Sunshine, was a relative unknown in Hollywood. According to an article in Entertainment Weekly,[15] the producers of the film worried that he wasn't a big enough star and didn't have much acting experience. However, between the time the film was shot in the summer of 2005 and its release in the summer of 2006, Carell became a huge success as the star of the high-grossing film The 40-Year-Old Virgin in August 2005 and the leading character of the popular NBC Emmy-winning television series The Office, which premiered in March 2005 and for which Carell won a Golden Globe in 2006 for best lead actor in a comedy television series. In the span of just one year, Carell had become such a star that the producers had gone from protesting his casting to tapping him to do prominent promotion for the film."

Please Visit Our Indiewall Amazon Store to purchase these movies!

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Ghost In The Shell Live Action...

According to Animenewsnetwork there is a live action version of the popular Ghost in the Shell anime in the works from Production I.G.
"Negotiations with American entertainment companies have not been a strong point for Japanese Anime and Film studios in the past. However, hopes are high that a project involving Ghost in the Shell would be more successful due to the significant number of people in the American film business who are fans of the series. The size of the North American fanbase for Ghost in the Shell is also a factor.

As the producers of the original Ghost in the Shell manga by Shirow Masamune, Kodansha still retains rights to the series. Production I.G. produced the feature length anime films Ghost in the Shell and Innocence: Ghost in the Shell, as well as the Stand Alone Complex TV Series. According to the new contract with Kodansha, Production I.G. will represent the creators of the original work and other involved parties in negotiations for distribution of the Live-Action Ghost in the Shell and all other activities involved with production of the film."

huge SXSW Confirmed Band List...

Head over to Austinist.com for a HUGE listing of bands that have confirmed to playing this years SXSW Fest.
Just a sample:
Badly Drawn Boy
Bloc Party
Blond Redhead
Circa Survive
Cold War Kids
Darkness
Morrissey
Scissor Sisters
The Stooges
RJD2
Ozomatli
Interpol
65daysofstatic

It Dies Today Vocalist Leaves

Nick Brooks has issued his statement: The last six years have been incredible and I’ve seen and done more things than I ever thought were possible with this band. I also met so many amazing people along the way and I want to thank all of the fans for being so supportive, you guys made this all worthwhile. I’ve decided to leave the band because that is what is best for everyone at the moment. I will miss everyone, but be sure that you will be hearing from me again. I have a new band called Queen City Station and we should be recording some time this spring.”

Thrice talks new ALBUMS

Yes, that is plural. They will be releasing 4 discs in all, probably by the end of the year. Each disc will be titled as the 4 elements: Earth,Air,Fire,and Water.

"People who liked Vheissu — and people who didn't — seem to like these songs, but I'm not sure that will play out for the entire project," he said. "This record's different than what would have been just the next Thrice record, being it has these themes that we're trying to hit. It allows for things that wouldn't have happened on an old Thrice record. We have this one song that's sort of a bluesy jazz standard, and there wouldn't have been space for something like that on any of our other records. But we have the freedom to do it here, and it fits."

"The band is toying with the idea of releasing the four albums in pairs, with just a few months in between. And for the first time in Thrice's history, they're recording and writing simultaneously, recording cuts in environments Kensrue feels are more conducive to the creative process than another bleak studio with no windows."-VH1

SUNSHINE Movie Trailer -Danny Boyle

Wow, this looks like it is going to be good. It is creating some buzz around the net, for sure. I'm anxious to see Boyle's take on a science fiction movie. Check out the brand new trailer below.

Embed This Video | Visit Fox Searchlight

Pick up the Boyle-"must haves" from Critics Choice:

Canada Spying on Us?!

"In a U.S. government warning high on the creepiness scale, the Defense Department cautioned its American contractors over what it described as a new espionage threat: Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside." "The government said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada." "Top suspects, according to outside experts: China, Russia or even France — all said to actively run espionage operations inside Canada with enough sophistication to produce such technology."-YAHOO

New Horror Film "Starlit" Available Free Via Download...

Head over to the Starlit site for the link to download it for free. They are just asking for a donation after you have watched it. The film follows a serial killer who poses as a filmmaker to find the actresses who become his prey, the entire film presented as a filmed record of the killings by the killer himself.

Israel to Attack Iran...

Wow,this isn't going to be pretty. I'm kind of confused on the part where this is supposed to be a "SECRET" attack? "ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.

Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.

The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.

Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout." "The Israeli government has warned repeatedly that it will never allow nuclear weapons to be made in Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map”." "Some sources in Washington said they doubted if Israel would have the nerve to attack Iran. However, Dr Ephraim Sneh, the deputy Israeli defence minister, said last month: “The time is approaching when Israel and the international community will have to decide whether to take military action against Iran.” -Timesline

Album Sales Drop Again...

"Album sales dropped for a seventh consecutive year, but a dramatic increase in the sale of digital tracks helped keep the music industry afloat in 2006.

588.2 million album units sold last year, a 4.9% drop, while 581.9 million digital tracks were purchased by consumers -- a 65% increase from 2005's 352.7 million sold. Nielsen SoundScan, which released the figures Thursday, counts a block of 10 tracks sold as an album.

But the music industry continues to live with a double-edged sword. While hits were created -- Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" -- no top-selling artists generated follow-ups that did significant business. Disney's "High School Musical" soundtrack was the year's top seller at 3.7 million units, but in the 15 years SoundScan has been keeping sales figures, it is the lowest total for the year's chart-topper. Good news: Sales were spread around many different artists. Bad news: The bar for a "hit" is reduced and in many cases the return on investment for a label is smaller"-Variety

New MODEST MOUSE!

You can go over to their MYSPACE PAGE to hear the song Dashboard from the upcoming album!("We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank") The Shins' James Mercer appears on three tracks: "We've Got Everything", "Florida", and "Missed the Boat". Looking forward to January 16th for sure!

More great MM Music! Sony Connect:



Modest Mouse - Paper Thin Walls


Modest Mouse - Interstate 8

Modest Mouse - I Came As A Rat (Long Walk Off A Short Dock)

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