Guns N' Roses announce NYC club dates.

You may be able to count the people who liked Chinese Democracy one hand, but it would still be a pretty cool thing to see Axl and whoever he brings along in a club setting. This press releases just hit the internet. thought i'd share.



LOS ANGELES, CA (January 30, 2012) – Seminal rock icons, Guns N’ Roses, are set to invade New York during fashion week with a series of intimate shows then continue with additional stops through the northeast, announced today. Six shows confirmed so far including the historic return to The Ritz (now Webster Hall), 24 years after the filming of their heralded “Live At The Ritz” – the MTV concert continues to be one of the most sought after trades in bootleg circles. For the Webster Hall date, GN’R will celebrate their return by reclaiming the venue as The Ritz with signage and the name appearing on the marquee. The New York takeover in February marks the first time the band will appear at Roseland and Terminal 5, beginning on February 10, 2012. Full list of dates below.

Ticket presale on Tuesday, January 31 at 10:00am ET for the NY run, public on-sale is Wednesday, February 1. Chicago, Silver Spring and Atlantic City presale is Wednesday, February 1 at 10:00am EST, with public on-sale Friday, February 3. Tickets and VIP packages for all six dates will be available at gunsnroses.com.

2012 oscar nominations

Best Picture

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse


Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actor

Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Original Screenplay

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Animated Film

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film

Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)

Best Cinematography

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Art Direction

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
War Horse

Costume Design

Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Documentary Feature

Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Documentary Short

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Film Editing

The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Makeup

Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng
The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)

The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, and Siedah Garrett

Short Film (Animated)

Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Short Film (Live Action)

Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Sound Editing

Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Sound Mixing

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Monyeball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

UPCOMING RELEASE: Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball (Columbia)

Out March 6th in the U.S., named after the song he wrote eulogizing the demolition of the original Giants Stadium during his multi-night farewell stand at the sorely missed East Rutherford mecca. Its produced by the guy who brought us Candlebox, but don't let that quash your excitement for the Boss's return upon the tragic loss of Clarence Clemons. It sounds like a pretty cool record, with members of the E Street Band, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and famed alt-rock journeyman drummer Matt Chamberlain guesting. -Ed.


01 We Take Care of Our Own
02 Easy Money
03 Shackled and Down
04 Jack of All Trades
05 Death to My Hometown
06 This Depression
07 Wrecking Ball
08 You’ve Got It
09 Rocky Ground
10 Land of Hope and Dreams
11 We Are Alive
12 Swallowed Up (Bonus Track)
13 American Land (Bonus Track)

First single "We Take Care Of Our Own"

brad's top 5 villains

let's face it, any action, superhero, sci fi, etc movie is only as good at its villains. If your protagonist isn't charismatic or threading enough the story will not click. The real trick to a good villain though, is getting your audience to like them.. just a little. these are 5 of the villains i love to hate.



5) Hans Gruber from Die Hard

Ruthless, charming funny and whip smart, alan rickman's Hnas Gruber in the first Die Hard movie is everything most james bond villains want to be but aren't. his punchy one liners and sense of aggravation are what i really dig. I still love it when he says "you asked for a miracle, i give you the F.B.I"




4) Boba Fett from Star Wars

Boba may have gone out like punk, but their was something mysterious and creepy about him that drew me and thousands of other fans to the character. his mercenary ways were the perfect foil to han solo's smuggler and he seemed more of a rebel than Darth Vader... Simply put he was cool and looked cool doing it.



3) Herr Starr from the Preacher comic

it's hard not to feel a little sorry for our german friend after seeing what he goes through over the course of the series, but all that he endures never distracts his resolve. You kind of root for him after a while. it's one of the reasons why i love Preacher so much. The bad guys are the underdogs.




2) The Governor from the Walking Dead comic

The governor is a character of such evil and viscousness you can't help to want to see what he will do next. When this character finally makes it to the tv show, it has the potential to change tv. it could be that iconic of a performance. Experiencing a character like this is fun in fiction, if you met one in real life you'd' be absolutely terrified.




1) The Joker from Dark Knight

I have always loved Jack Nicholson's Joker, but it was Heath Ledger that truly owns the character now. It is a shame we only had one movie with him as the joker. I would love to have seen where he went next. heath really tapped into something primal in the human psyche. There is part of us that wishes we could be just as brazen and chaotic. we can live vicariously here and none gets hurt. one of the saddest lines in film is when the joker says to batman "you and I are going to be doing this forever" because we will never get see what might have been.

The Widespread Panic "Wood" tour begins

The Widespread Panic “Wood” tour begins.

Let’s start with the good news. 2011 brought along with it the 25th anniversary of jamband pioneers Widespread Panic. Indeed, the jamband genre as we know it today is in no small part the result of Widespread Panic paving the way. It goes without saying that The Grateful Dead are perhaps the undisputed kings of this decades old laboratory experiment, but the first modern day jamband soldiers such as Widespread Panic, Phish, Aquarium Rescue Unit, and Blues Traveler (just to name a few) didn’t exactly start after the Grateful Dead lost Jerry Garcia and called it a day. These bands were already thriving as the Grateful Dead touring juggernaut was still in full swing and sharing the same audience in many cases. Now, one of the modern day pioneers has 25 years under their belt with no signs of slowing down even in the wake of the painful loss of founding member and guitar artisan Michael Houser. With Aquarium Rescue Unit veteran and jamband guitar god Jimmy Herring carrying the torch for Michael, Widespread Panic continues their unstoppable live creativity. Of course, the bad news is that 2012 is going to be the year of the hiatus for Widespread Panic. If you’re one that lives for the next Panic gathering, wherever it may be, this is certainly not what one would call happy news, that being said, they’re not quite done for the year just yet.

Before the 2012 hiatus begins, Widespread Panic will embark on the 11 date, 4 city “Wood” tour. If you don’t already have tickets, good luck. This is a tough ticket to acquire. After 25 years of activity, Widespread Panic will hit the road for their first acoustic performances. One can only imagine the now familiar electric material re-imagined in a stripped down intimate acoustic format. Many will be travelling from across the continent to the opening show at the new Fillmore Auditorium in Silver Spring, MD for the start of this mini tour. If you don’t have tickets for any of the sold out Wood tour shows and have a nice travel budget, you can always head to Mexico for the only scheduled electric shows in 2012. Sandwiched between the Atlanta and Denver shows is the 4 night Panic En La Playa on the Mayan Riviera in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Similar to the Wood tour as their acoustic debut, Panic En La Playa will be the Mexico debut for Widespread Panic. Whether you’re attending the Wood tour or the Panic En La Playa, 2012 is an exciting time to be a Widespread Panic fan even in the face of a long hiatus. The Wood tour begins on January 24th, 2012.

1/24-25/12 – The Fillmore – Silver Spring, MD
1/27-29/12 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
1/31/12-2/3/12 – Panic En La Playa – Puerto Morelos, Mexico
2/10-12/12 – The Fillmore – Denver, CO
2/17-19/12 – Belly Up – Aspen, CO

By Greg Maniha

what i'd like to see (it's hard not to be cynical)

as polarized as america has become politically, there is one thing those from both side of the isle can agree on. It's hard not to be cynical. Liberals are are disillusioned with obama, and conservatives are still trying to come to grips with bush's excessive spending and the crumbling of the economy under a system they have to defend. As we enter another election year you will hear time and time again from both sides how important this election is. every election for the past 20 years has been billed as "the most important EVER!!!!", and that is true to, a point, because every election has the potential to effect the future. But the time has come to not rely on politicians or the free market to save us. Instead we need to dig with in ourselves to return to common sense. This is what i'd like to see from both parties.

DEMOCRATS

1) Unite - stop bickering over little things and see the big picture. In the war over public opinion numbers count and you can accomplish more as a united front then you can as segmented groups.

2) Lay off Obama (just a little) - He's not perfect by any means, but you have to respect the mess he inherited. how anyone would want to com into such a mess is beyond me and i respect him for taking up the job. the anger you direct at obama would be better served aimed at the power structure that keeps his hands tied.

3) Grow some balls already! - when will the democrats realize they could win the battle for the hearts and minds of America if they fought harder and took more risks? America doesn't like weak politicians, so throw down and kick up some dust.


REPUBLICANS

1) Stop appealing to the lesser angels of your base - it's time to take a hard look in the mirror and accept that trying to win over racists, bigots and religious zealots does a disservice to the well meaning, more moderate joe six packs out there who actually do have their hearts in the right place. Guys, get rid of the wackos. You know it's time.

2) Stop coddling the rich - it's not punishing the achievers to ask the rich (both individuals and corporations) to pay their fair share. when the top 1% of the country has so much wealth it is not class warfare to ask them to pay a little more. it is a moral imperative. Middle class republicans please put your horatio alger books back on the shelf. the sad truth is most of you will never be rich

3) Stop acting like ignorance is a virtue - Do you honestly think that denying science does any of us any good? religion and science can go hand to hand. To argue that little tidbit shows a pathetic lack of foresight that is deeply frightening. And demonizing intellectuals moves us backward not forward. to compete in the modern, ever-changing world you better make nice with scientific advancement and technology, or we really will be a third world country and the free market of ideas you all praise will be a thing of the past.

- Brad Filicky

Brad's top 10 albums of 2011

music that touches me emotionally is always my favorite. You can argue that there were better records out this year than awolnation or the sucker punch soundtrack, but they both reached me in a way that girls or tuneyards.



10) Fleet Foxes - helplessness blues

my number 10 album was also one of my bigger disappointments. helplessness blues is a damn fin album, but i expected it to be my number 1. as beautiful as these songs are they didn't have the power of their debut. Still better than 90% of the stuff out there.




9) Foster The People - torches

Pumped Up Kicks was almost as unavoidable this year as rolling in the deep, and i didn't mind at all. Perhaps the most cheery and catchy songs about a school shooting ever. the rest of the album didn't disappoint and their appearance on SNL was a highlight.



8) Yuck - Yuck

Yuck sound like a 90's band. i love the 90s. it's not rocket science to predict that this would make my top 10. Now i just need to see them live.



7) Sucker Punch - soundtrack

Granted i wouldn't have liked this soundtrack as much had i not seen the movie, but i spent a lot of time with this record this year and it hasn't gotten old.




6) Radiohead - king of limbs

although i'm not as big a fan of radiohead's electronic experimentation as i am of their earlier guitar rock, i am always amazed how creative they can be. King of limbs id no exception.




5) Black Keys - el camino

I love this band. hometown heroes that have done good. on el camino the black keys took a more classic rock turn to surprisingly refreshing results. they can do no wrong.



4) TV On The Radio - nine types of light

it's been a rough year for tv on the radio having lost their bass player to cancer soon after this album was released. in my mind this album is their masterpiece.




3) Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

it's been a while since a foo fighters album made an impression on me, but wasting light was the sound of a band recharged. it's good to see a band this deep in their career can make an album this good.




2) AWOLNATION - megalithic symphony

i first heard the song Sail in the middle of the night in a car heading back to New Jersey from Ohio the day of my father's funeral. it mad an impression by hitting me at the rich time. i found the rest of the album just as good. a mix of anger, catchiness and wannabe hipster swagger.




1) Tori Amos - night of hunters

i got engaged this year at a tori amos concert.This album has been the soundtrack to my new life with my fiancé and i will always cherish the hours we've spent listening to this album. a truly epic statement from tori and an obvious choice for my number 1 album.