Tonight, Friday, 1/28, Iron & Wine are playing a free show at the Apple Store in SoHo. On Monday (January 31 at 7pm), Carrie Brownstein & Fred Armisen will discuss their IFC TV show Portlandia, live, at the same location. Meanwhile you can catch Portlandia three times today on IFC, including at 10:30pm.

Carrie Brownstein's band Wild Flag is playing two now-sold-out shows in Brooklyn in March (and other dates). Catch Fred Armisen on SNL this Saturday, 1/29, with musical guest Nicki Minaj (who recently announced a tour with Lil Wayne who was on SNL not that long ago)

That picture above shows Portland band the Thermals (who play a show in Portland tonight) arriving at the Portlandia premiere party in NYC last week. The band performed at the event, though unlike some members of the Decemberists, I'm not sure if the Thermals actually get any screen time in one of the upcoming shows. Carrie Brownstein however, as you might remember, gets some screen time in the recent Thermals video for "I Don't Believe You" which is the same song the Thermals will be performing on February 1st on 'Lopez Tonight'. The song comes from the band's 5th LP Personal Life, as does the song "Never Listen to Me" which now also has a video, which you can watch with other stuff, below...

Continue reading "Portlandia is coming to the Apple Store, The Thermals have a new video (and are playing "Lopez Tonight")"

I'm not sure which one is Gatoroid

80s's pop stars turned... B-Movie Sexploitation Sci-Fi movie stars?... Debbie Gibson and Tiffany have added a second show at Canal Room on Saturday, January 22nd. I'm not sure what time doors originally were for the 'Rubix Kube' show that is now sold out, but the new show starts at 8pm. and the sold out show begins at 11:30. Get your tickets to the early show before they sell out too. UPDATE: The late show will also have some tickets available at the door.

The NYC show poster and the video the above screenshot came from (with more info on the movie), below...

Continue reading "Tiffany & Debbie Gibson wrestle in Mega Python vs Gatoroid (video), add 2nd NYC show (tickets on sale)"

"People on the subway are staring at my scabs"

Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, and Jim Carrey performed as "A Taste of New York" on Saturday Night Live this past weekend (on 1/8). A Taste of New York is an "authentic" band from "an area between Avenue B & Avenue C" in New York City. And though Holy Sons are from the West Coast, we have learned that the sketch/song was inspired by new Holy Sons song "A Chapter Must Be Closed" from the recent Survivalist Tales. Fred Armisen watched the video for the song and the rest is history. Compare/contrast the videos below.

Musical duo The Black Keys also played Saturday Night Live on 1/8, a few days before they appeared on the Colbert Report with Ezra. Video of both songs they played are below too.

Musical duo Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (ex Sleater-Kinney, current Wild Flag) go way back. Their Thunderant series of videos have been making the rounds online for years, and so it's pretty awesome that they've landed a "6-part IFC Original short-based comedy series" called Portlandia which premieres on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT on IFC. "Each episode's character-based shorts draw viewers into "Portlandia," the creators' dreamy and absurd rendering of Portland, Oregon."

An assortment of guest stars inhabit PORTLANDIA, including Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex & The City), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Selma Blair (Legally Blonde, Hellboy), Heather Graham (The Hangover), Edie McClurg (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Kumail Nanjiani (Michael & Michael Have Issues), Jason Sudeikis (SNL, The Cleveland Show), and Gus Van Sant (Milk). Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann also guest stars, alongside James Mercer (The Shins), and local Portland musicians Jenny Conlee and Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) and Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney).

Continue reading "Fred Armisen inpired by Holys Sons for SNL sketch, pairs w/ Carrie Brownstein for new IFC show 'Portlandia'"

"What do you get when you put The Dude and Slim Shady in the same room?

We'll find out Saturday night when Jeff Bridges and rapper Eminem serve as host and musical guest, respectively, on this week's Saturday Night Live.

Bridges is promoting his latest movie, 'Tron: Legacy' while Eminem will perform songs from his newest album, 'Recovery.'...Eminem is slated to perform 'No Love' along with rapper Lil Wayne." [Mass Live]

Tonight (at midnight aka Friday) is also the night that the Daft Punk-scored Tron: Legacy opens in theaters.

Jeff Bridges and Fred Armisen SNL promo below...

Continue reading "Lil Wayne playing SNL w/ Eminem & Jeff Bridges & in NYC somewhere today, Tron opens tonight"

According to Vice, The Vice Guide To Everything, is their "new MTV show about the absurdity of the modern condition: the most interesting people, news, sub-cultures and rituals on the planet. It's the stuff you don't get from the mainstream media but that you absolutely need to know - and won't stop talking about." It premieres Monday, December 6 11P/10C on MTV, but you can watch a full episode now, below...

Continue reading "new Vice show on MTV (full episode streaming)"

by BBG

Leslie William Nielsen, OC (February 11, 1926 - November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. Although his acting career crosses a variety of genres in both television and films, Nielsen achieved his greatest successes in the comedy films Airplane! and The Naked Gun. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian.

Nielsen's lead roles in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure came long before he considered a turn to comedy. His deadpan delivery as a doctor in 1980's Airplane! marked a turning point in Nielsen's career, one that would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs." Nielsen appeared in over 100 films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.-[Wikipedia]

Continue reading "Leslie Nielsen, RIP"

"arcade fire. scarlett johansson. snl. win." - Paul

"Sometimes SNL shows me great new bands that I cant believe I haven't heard of... Arcade fire is not one of them #bandsthatsuck" - dj tillery

"Arcade fire is super weird." - Sarah Evans

"Could arcade fire be the worst band to ever grace snl?
Im beginning to think so." - Lauren Burdick

this was someone's ticket to see Arcade Fire on SNL (trishavirga)

Arcade Fire made their second appearance on Saturday Night Live last night (11/13/10). Videos from the show, and more below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire played SNL again (video)"

by BBG

Kanye West recently responded on the Today show to George Bush's reaction to West's infamous "George Bush hates black people" tirade on national television in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. View his response below. And as Matt points out at the end of the video, Kanye is set to play a live show outside the Today Show, on the plaza, on November 26th (the day after Thanksgiving) (if he doesn't cancel).

UPDATE: he's cancelling

In happier news for Mr. West (whose recent stunts include rapping on a Delta flight), his new LP My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will hit store shelves on November 22nd (though yes, it has already leaked). Featuring appearances from Jay-Z, Raekwon, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi and even Bon Iver, the 13 track LP comes with five different album covers.

Kanye isn't afraid to return the favor either, as he appears on Kid Cudi's spankin' new LP, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (out now) (NME gave it a 9/10, Rolling Stone gave it 2.5/5 stars, Pitchfork hasn't reviewed it yet though they did give Cee Lo's new one a 7.3 today). Kanye joins a list of collaborators that includes Cee-Lo Green (who plays a NYC show Saturday), Mary J. Blige, GLC, Cage and St. Vincent, the latter two of which appeared on his latest single "Maniac". Both Cage and St. Vincent appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with Kid Cudi on 11/3, and you can check out video of that performance below too...

Continue reading "Kanye West, George Bush, Kid Cudi & St. Vincent"

Conan O'Brien (you know him from Twitter) returned to television (basic cable) last night (11/8) with his new, and simply titled show Conan (he joked they can't replace him now). Guests included Seth Rogen, Lea Michelle, and Conan's good friend Jack White, who not only was the last musical guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (as was Meg), but who has known Conan since 1999. Well, that's at least what Conan claimed on the show, but not surprisingly, he was at least partly joking. He told Rolling Stone the full story:

In Detroit, there's a place where you can get a bite to eat, and then go bowling, and there's a rock venue there too," Conan recalled. "When I was there -- I wanna say this is like 1999 -- I got a bite to eat with my crew, and then we decided to go bowling, and these kids started to come over and hang out with us. I don't even remember -- I just remember hanging out with all these really young, scruffy Detroit kids for a while, all of us talking and drinking beer.

"Flash forward to: the White Stripes are the big deal and they're on Saturday Night Live, and I really love them, so I went to watch them at rehearsal," he continued. "After they're done rehearsing, Jack and Meg walk down -- and they're coming right at me. And they said, 'Hey, it's good to see you again.'

"And I said, 'Again?' They said, 'Yeah, in Detroit you hung out with us for like three hours and had beers in a bowling alley and we just shot the shit and you were real nice.'"

Conan erupted into laughter. "And I'm like, 'I didn't know that was you guys!' "

Video from last night's show below...

Continue reading "'Conan' debuted on tbs w/ old friend Jack White (videos) "

by Klaus Kinski

Did you know that The Benson Interruption was picked-up by Comedy Central for 6 half-hour episodes? It premiered on Thursday, October 28 at Midnight (or it hasn't premiered yet if you believe Comedy Central's website), and although I didn't see it, I have seen the live show and cannot begin to accurately describe how funny it is. Essentially, Doug sits on stage (or in the front row) and interrupts awesome comedians as they try to get through their bits. It isn't heckling. It's more like DVD audio commentary that the actors can actually hear and react to. If you're in LA, then you might like to know that The Benson Interruption is taping in your town on November 4th (8:00pm) and November 15th (7:30pm, 9:30pm). Sign up for your chance to be in the audience! I know I would if I was in LA.

On a related note: Personally, I don't smoke weed. I have, and it's ok, but it's just not my bag. I'm a drinker. I am not against weed, however. I've done it, most of my friends do it, and I'd bet dollars to donuts I have family that have done it. For two years I lived with one of the most habitual pot smokers I've ever known. If anything, I think legalizing it could close some weeping gaps in America's hilarious federal deficit; a deficit that's getting so big that we may actually see a new number invented in our lifetime. That'd be awesome. Also, weed is at the source of so many preposterous incarcerations, fines, and expensive legal battles that I think decriminalizing it would benefit Americans of every financial strata and allow the pigs in charge to pursue real criminals.

The worst thing about weed? Weed Culture. Bongs are ugly. Pipes are ugly. The more ornate the glass, the more it looks like Henry Hill's mistress' apartment in Goodfellas. The 420 motif is beyond arbitrary. The clothes the culture generates could ONLY be worn by people who a baked out of their gourds. And the posters. Good grief. The posters. When I hear the word "pot head" my mind simultaneously conjures up two different images of a pot smoker. The first is that of a burrito selling hippy with a lot of baggy corduroy and bright colored shirts and accouterments bouncing around devil sticks and noodle dancing. "Wanna get a hack?" The other pot head archetype my mind conjures up (editor's note: The opinions expressed by Klaus Kinski's mind are not necessarily the opinions of other BrooklynVegan.com minds) the brooding, small town dude who loves Korn, wears oversized black hoodies, baggy dark shorts, and clunky shoes 365 days a year. Pride bothers me. Pride in something as stupid as smoking pot is laughable. Pot smokers are the only people who should follow a don't ask don't tell policy.

"Jesus Klaus. Do you have a point here or are you just using BV as a pulpit for your kind of irrational and basically irrelevant thoughts on weed?" I know, right? But I do have a point. And that is to tell you that the ONLY good thing to come out of weed culture, The Marijuana-Logues, will be hitting The Gramercy Theater at 4:20pm on Saturday December 18th (3:30pm doors). I haven't seen the Marijuana-logues in many years, but the last time I saw the show I laughed like a man under the influence of some serious Big Buddah Cheese brah. What are the Marijuana-Logues? Simply put, it is three men, one stage, many many many stories about marijuana. The line up for the 12/18 show will feature comedians Doug Benson (of the Benson Interruption), Rob Cantrell, and Tony Camin, all of whom a absolutely hilarious. Tickets went on sale on October 15th and are still available, so GET YOURS. Pot heads, straight edges, and squares alike will enjoy the living crud out of this show.

Video of Zach Galifianakis smoking a joint on a recent episode of of Bill Maher's Show, below...

Continue reading "Doug Benson is on TV, Marijuana-Logues coming to a theater"