Leica has been world-renowned for decades as makers of some of the finest lenses and compact cameras around - quite literally the stuff of legends. As an Icon in the world of photography, the name alone lends itself to black and white fantasies of parissian cafes and roman holidays; from a photographer’s standpoint, the name beckons thoughts of superb quality, ease of use, and unparalledled performance in 35 mm formats.

In the age of digital cameras, Leica still remains a legend, though more for selling lenses to other camera companies, or as a thowback for those who like to keep it analog, Leica (as well as others, such as the infamous Holga) “keep it real”. 35 mm film, much like vinyl, being the last bastian of those who prefer a classic outlook on the world, with film and vinyl being preferred to the digital counterparts of jpegs and mp3s. (more…)

Anyone who reads this blog with any consistency knows it’s no secret we’re big fans of THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM. Their popularity seems to have swelled a lot in 2007. Mostly because of an amazing debut record, Sink Or Swim and some high profile tours.

2008 is shaping up to be an even better year for the band. They have a new EP due out in just days in addition to a tour with the Loved Ones. Well it looks like we can add new record label to that list. (more…)

 

Will Ferrell took the stage Sunday night to the overwhelming sound of people “booing” as he came out sporting a New England Patriots sweatshirt, which he immediately tore off to reveal the red and blue of the Giants. Ferrell’s tour promoting both his website funnyordie.com and his new film Semi-Pro featured skits from Ferrell along with stand up from Demetri Martin, Nick Swardson and Zach Galifianakis. The show started with Ferrell pitching his new self help program “Will Power” which included 2 books and 900 tapes, most of which were empty. Will was then informed that this was the comedy show and he was in fact being indicted for his self help pyramid scheme after the show.

Among Ferrell’s other skits included him being painted entirely in silver doing an impression of the “robot guy” who you may find in a tourist trap like Times Square. Anchorman director Adam McKay who served as the host for the night, told Ferrell to drop the robot and take questions from the fans. This resulted in some of the most awkward moments of the night as people asked some bizarre questions such as “Will, I love seeing you naked, how did you get that scar on your stomach?” (more…)

We’ve previously reported about Sarah Silverman’s relations with Matt Damon. Last night with the help of his friends, Jimmy Kimmel, let her know what he’s up to. See if you can count the cameos.

Did you catch the OSCARS last night? We did and overall it was a night with no clear frontrunner. Some awards went here, some there. Some people were snubbed all together. Here are some thoughts on the night.

- Jon Stewart was near perfect with his hosting duties. Great jokes and a perfect delivery. Even when he treaded into dicey territory (political jokes, etc) he was able to pull them off with ease. Also I have to commend him for giving people their “Oscar Moments”. Being a fan of the movie Once, I groaned when Marketa Irglova got the mic cut on her before she could give her thank yous for winning Best Original Song. Thanks, Jon for fixing this by bringing Marketa back out after the commercial break and giving her a well deserved moment.

- While on the subject of Original Song. 3 songs from one movie (Enchanted). C’mon there has to be more than 3 movies with good songs on them. No nods to Eddie Vedder for Into The Wild?

- The Animated Movie category was lacking, hard. The Simpsons, Shrek, B Movie were all released this year and none of them got any sort of recognition.

- Where was the mention of the passing of Brad Renfro in the “In Memoriam” section? Or an even bigger oversight, Roy Scheider!? Brody dies and no one notices?

Tell us what do you think?

The full list of winners after the jump. (more…)

The Adidas Superstar is widely considered to be one of the most iconic pieces of HipHop fashion, thanks in part to RUN DMC’s sporting thereof, back in the day. Adidas has never forgotten this, having released collabo’s with RUN DMC in the last few years, as well as many other artists spanning the musical globe, including Missy Elliot, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more.

But now they’ve stepped it up, having going back even further into the roots of musical influence… (more…)

BE YOUR OWN PET are living true to their new album title Get Awkward with their performance at Mercury Lounge Wednesday night.

Near the end of the set, Jemima went on a rant about her badassedness. Saying how she’s been kicked out of Nashville bars because of he mean steak. She asked the crowd if they wanted to fight. People shouted as this random guy (at at least twice her size) got on stage. There was witty banter that no one in the audience (except maybe the front row) could hear, but it was pretty obvious Jemima didn’t hear what the dude was saying to her.

The slap came after the guy leaned over to her to (at least on the opinion of myself and people I was with) say something in her ear. I guess she thought he was trying to kiss her or something. After the dude was slapped he took a few steps back and paused for a bit, probably in shock or wonder as to why he got slapped.

Then it got awkward…

The dude walked over to Jemima and tried to give her the “it’s cool” appology hug/dry hump/take the mic or something that was clearly going to be mis-interpreted. Jemima shoved him right as his hands got near her. In in an effort to protect their bandmate, the 3 men IN THE BAND instantly jumped toward the man to get him away from Jemima. Loverboy was pushed back and fell into the drumkit effectively pissing off the drummer. After about 10-20 seconds of awkwardness (which seemed like minutes). Loverboy got up and slumped off stage leaving the rest of the band to play their next song. It was more awkward than a “badass punk rock chick” moment going down and probably the fault of both parties.

Moral of the Story: Don’t be on stage unless you are in the band…and don’t be a crowd douche.

But last night Be Your Own Pet stopped by our local stomping ground at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, with our friends The King Left supporting. The King Left started the night off with their post-punk-dance jam “The Storm in a Teacup” which immediately electrified the room. Other highlights included the clap along jam “We All Fall Down” and the phaser in “Brant”. (People actually demanded more phaser!) (more…)

When MOBY is not letting Page 6 know that he’s been the victim of “Nerd Wrath” he’s out there promoting his new record. That album titled, Last Night is due out this spring on Mute Records.

Check out the first track, “Alice” now.
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This entire week, I’ve been seeing various blurbs popping up online about a “sex video” starring the one and only Gene Simmons getting down and dirty with a woman with what has now been revealed to be “questionable” history. This very day capped off with said realizations, as well as cease-and-desist letters being dropped off at various other blogs.

I’ve thought nothing much of it, with the week’s other celeb nudity stories (Lindsay – yeah, does anyone else find our young drug-addled starlet posing as Marilyn’s last shoot somewhat foreboding?), letting it simply pass by. Admittedly, for a man who claims such prowess in bed, I certainly found his claims of “garbage” (see: Gene’s personal site) a little odd – wouldn’t he be proud? (more…)

SUPERDELUXE.COM is going to play host to a slew of comics at SXSW. Human Giant, Eugene Mirman, Janeane Garofalo and Todd Barry will all be on hand to help spread some cheer.

This is just one of many stops Barry will be making in support of his latest record, From Heaven, which hits the streets on March 4th through Comedy Central Records.

Tour dates after the jump. (more…)