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.

brad's most anticipated movies of 2012

It seems like the movies i'm looking forward to most this year are all geek movies. what can i say? these nerd approved movies are the ones i'm most excited about. and yes.. i am very excited for the Hobbit, but it didn't map my top 5.. Sorry Peter Jackson.





5) Skyfall

I'm excited to see Skyfall because the franchise has had a much needed boost in the form of new 007 Daniel Criag. the fate of the franchise was in doubt due to legal wranglings, but holiday season 2012 will see the return of mr shaken not stirred.




4) The Amazing Spiderman

Despite my belief that Spiderman doesn't need a reboot, i have high hopes for this film. The lizard is a spider villain that deserves his moment in the spotlight and i enjoyed andrew garfield's performance in The Social network. Just don't mess it up!




3) The Avengers

This is almost assured to be good. All the lead up movies have been good and Joss Whedon is a genius in my book. As far as entertainment goes this seems like a safe bet.





2) Django Unchained

Quentin Tarrantino's take on the spaghetti western. This opens on Christmas day and i will be there with bells on.




1) Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan has made possibly the best superhero movie of all time with The Dark Knight. I can't wait to see what he does with the third film in the trilogy. i love trolling the web for any news, rumors, clips and viral marketing for this. July seems so far away.

brad's top 10 movies of 2011

2011 was a pretty solid year for mainstream movies. From x-men to bridesmaids to harry potter, audiences got more for their entertainment dollar at the local multiplex. these 10 movies were my personal faces..




10) Midnight in Paris

I like woody allen's recent films mainly for his ability to poke fun at intellectual upper class that have been his biggest supporters. it's nice to see that he doesn't take himself as seriously as others do. Plus it is always nice for artist to make a statement that these times aren't so bad for quality art. add to that solid performance from his cast and midnight in paris is a nice perspective on how we view nostalgia.




9) Bridesmaids

is there anyone out there who didn't like this movie? even my 80 year old mother loved it. funny, real, with characters that were likable.. proof that Hollywood can get it right. if you didn't think kristin wiig is a star, you do now.





8) Captain America

The secret for a great superhero movie is that the director and screenwriter must like the character and have a sublet mix of respect and irreverence to the characters origins and their must be a strong villain. Captain America had all of this. It was a crowd pleaser without being too cheesy and had a retro 1940s setting that looked fresh and not to cgi'd. just try to not have fun watching this film.




7) Super 8

i loved Super 8 because it reminded me of movies i loved as a kid. JJ abrams treated his subject and the set of filming itself with the wonder that i felt when i first started liking movies.. it always helps when a filmmaker exudes a true love of film.




6) attack the block

if super 8 reminded me of films i loved when i was a child, attack the block reminds me of movies i loved when i was in Jr high. hip, a little scary and full of attitude, attack the block stepped out of the mid 80s.. it's like the last 25 years never happened. it's a beautiful thing and one of the coolest films to come out of england in a long time.




5) bellflower

it is so hard to find original art these days. it's all been done. then see Bellflower. one of the most original indie films i've seen in a while. full of foreboding, personal apocalypses and a slow descent into madness, this is a film that will stay with you.




4) The Descendants

A charming indie drama with a lot of heart and a stand out performance from george clooney. it is movies like this that enforce my belief that films are the modern day literature. The Descendants examines human relations in an honest and humane way. A small window into a family that we can all relate to.




3) Drive

everything about the story in drive is cliche, but the execution was perfect film making.. expertly paced and beautifully shot, drive is a moody crime drama that stands with the best of michael mann. The violent can be graceful.




2) X-men First Class

Most people didn't like x-men last stand. i felt it was ok, but it didn't leave me too excited for x-men first class. Needless to say i was blown away. I think this is in the top 10 best superhero movies ever made. a great performance by michael fassbender, crowd pleasing cameos and a cold war plot that was believable this film delivered on more counts than i though possible.




1) Sucker Punch

i know i'm one of the few people who would put this on their list , let alone their number 1 movie. I have mad respect for zach snyder. he is the first post video game filmmaker and his aesthetic is visually stunning. his movies are more than empty popcorn flicks. they are state of the art geek cool. Sucker Punch was the most fun i had at the movies all year and met my expectations. i hope Zach explores more original ideas in his future films.