Inside job

Inside Job is a documentary that should outrage you. untethered greed combined with the deregulation of the baking industry has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs and billions of dollars. you can talk all you want about about free markets spreading freedom and wealth throughout the world, but you'd better account for the base human nature of greed. If you want to know why the economic crash happened this film is your road map. It will boil your blood and put into sharp focus that there is a place and a need for government in business and regulations are necessary. laissez-faire just will not cut it.

- brad filicky

a quick note on sucker punch

I know Sucker Punch hasn't been getting the best reviews, but i loved it. Zach Snyder does not get enough credit as a director. a lot has been written about the first wave of post-vcr film makers (think Quentin Tarrantino and PT Anderson), but i think Zach is the first post video game director. Sucker Punch is a visually mind blowing and something right out of an Xbox game. His whole aesthetic seems to be shaped by video games with good graphics. and he managed to create a world where ass kicking women, zombies, dragons, and machine guns all fit together. All that was missing was a vampire. I wanted to be entertained and boy was i ever. feminism filtered through the vision of geeks everywhere. bring it on.

- brad filicky

TV ON THE RADIO'S GERARD SMITH DIAGNOSED WITH LUNG CANCER

Please keep Gerard Smith, the amazing bassist for TV On The Radio, in your thoughts, as he has just been diagnosed with lung cancer, as recently announced by the famed Brooklyn band on their Web site on the eve of the release of the group's new album Nine Types of Light.

"Upon the completion of Nine Types of Light, Gerard was diagnosed with lung cancer," the band said. "As a result, he has been undergoing treatment and will be unable to participate in the upcoming tour.

However, a positive diagnosis for the otherwise deadly disease is expected for him.
"Gerard is fortunate enough to have health insurance and is receiving excellent medical care. Already we have seen dramatic results," the band statement continued. "Combine that with Gerard's legendarily willful disposition and it might just be cancer that has the problem. We appreciate your concern and support for Gerard and his family."


Nine Types of Light is gearing up to be quite possibly TVOTR's best work yet and it is due out April 12th on Interscope. Please go out and support this amazing, amazing band. And check out the video for one new song, "Will Do", and download another great new track, "Caffeinated Consciousness", below.

Rest easy, Mr. Smith. Hope to see you back on the road soon. -Ed.

what i thought of spider woman agent of s.w.o.r.d.

spider woman agent of s.w.o.r.d i easily one of the best endings of a big crossover event i have ever read (secret invasion). redemption, exotic locales, action. this graphic novel has everything a good action movie should have and is exactly why a lot of comics these days are more fun than going to the cinema. a return of the creative team that made daredevil a smash (brian bendis and alex maleev) - a perfect mesh of story and art.

- brad filicky

a quick write up of Razorjack.

What i like best about this graphic novel is how effortlessly it harkens back to the glory days of 2000 ad comics. It has that hyperactivity, over the top violence and fantasical storytelling that Judge Dredd was known for. Creator John Higgins has an obvious love for the medium which translates as vivid enthusiasm that takes the reader along for the ride whether they want to go or not. Just hold on and enjoy the ride. If this was a film it would be in eye popping 3d with metal soundtrack. if that's your thing then this is your book.

- brad filicky

Just watched the Nirvana Live at Reading DVD

Nirvana - Live at Reading

Nirvana's gig at 1992's Reading Festival is legendary. Seeing this full setlist DVD is seeing a band at their creative peak and the height of the first leg of their career. Watching Kurt Cobain's antics on stage as well as the ferocity of Dave and Krist's playing it is obvious the band was still having FUN. The success was there, but the pressure hadn't reached a fever pitch. Even though at the time of this concert Kurt and Courtney were under assault by the media, he manages to have a good time. It feels very much of an us (the band and their fans) vs the world than the world vs Kurt Cobain. And that makes all the difference. What makes this dvd so electrifying is that this is the man before he was dragged kicking and screaming to become the Voice Of A Generation. It exemplifies all the right reasons why the world fell in love with the band to begin with. Watch and feel nostalgic for what could have been.

- brad filicky

SUZE ROTOLO 1943-2011

Last week, the world lost one of the great icons in the Bob Dylan universe, as the stunning Suze Rotolo, Bob's former lover and the girl he is walking arm in arm down Jones Street in New York City on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, died at the age of 67 on February 24th after a valiant battle with an undisclosed illness, according to Rolling Stone. For a beautiful obituary on this West Village treasure, please check out J. Hoberman's piece in The Village Voice. Her muse helped inspire Dylan to write some of this greatest songs, including "Boots of Spanish Leather", "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", as well as "The Death of Emmett Till", as she was the one who first told Bob about the controversial 1955 murder case that inspired him to write one of his most renowned protest anthems.

"Right from the start I couldn't take my eyes off her," Dylan gushed in his 2004 memoir Chronicles. "She was the most erotic thing I'd ever seen. She was fair skinned and golden haired, full-blooded Italian. The air was suddenly filled with banana leaves. We started talking and my head started to spin. Cupid's arrow had whistled past my ears before, but this time it hit me in the heart and the weight of it dragged me overboard."

A lifelong New Yorker who based her whole being in the West Village in spite of its ever-changing facades, Suze will be greatly missed.