As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 album deal for June 2012, Wild Flag’s self-titled debut Wild Flag is on sale for only $5.

If you’d like a physical copy of Wild Flag, the CD version is available for only $9.99.

This is last year’s rockin debut album from the newish four-piece super group consisting of Carrie Bownstein (Sleater-Kinney and now also starring in the hit IFC show Portlandia), Mary Timony (Helium), Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney/Quasi), and Rebecca Cole (The Minders) and that’s only a few of the former bands they have all been in since the 1990s. It features indie hits “Romance,” “Future Crimes,” “Boom,” and if I have anything to say about the future (and I do not) “Something Came Over Me.”

Browse the main sale page for 99 albums on sale for only $5 each in MP3 format through the end of June 2012 [...]

As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 album deal for June 2012, Lisa Lampanelli’s Equal Opportunity Offender is on sale for only $5.

If you would like a physical copy of Equal Opportunity Offender, the CD is available for only $10.09.

True to the title of this compilation CD, Lisa Lampanelli is the quintessential insult comic who aims her love-wrapped barbs in just about every social and ethnic direction she adores. All the tracks on Equal Opportunity Offender come from Lampanelli’s various CDs, DVDs, and cable TV specials, so there may be some loss of flow. What you do get is a fine smattering of all her funniest bits. You either love her foul mouth or piss your pants for fear of having nightmares about big, black dicks coming to get you. Personally, I think she’s hilarious. Then again, I don’t fear big, black dicks or brash-mouthed women.

Browse the main sale page to see the other 99 albums on sale for only $5 each in MP3 format through the end of June 2012 [...]

A great solo release by the late guitar conquistador Tommy Bolin, entitled Teaser, is in a knock out deluxe edition, available in MP3 format for only $5.00 right now on Amazon! Grab it before the end of the day to get it at the discounted price.

Bolin, who in his short life was a trailblazer and a pioneer of the instrument, even if he’s fallen so far off the radar in today’s musical eye, cuts, burns, and tears up the fretboard on Teaser. Originally released in 1975, a year before Bolin tragically died of the oft-tragic rock and death by way of heroin overdose, Teaser runs down the musical gamut like a cheetah in a labyrinth. Employing people like Phil Collins (on percussion), Jeff Porcaro (on drums), David Sanborn (on saxophone), Jan Hammer (on synthesizer), and Narada Michael Walden (also on drums) among plenty of others, Teaser is a welcome addition to any hard rock library. Songs like the hyper instrumental “Homeward Strut,” “Dreamer,” “Marching Powder,” and the title track showcase the blazing fury of this musical master. Fans of guitar virtuosos like Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, and others of that ilk, will not be disappointed.

Check out the main sale page to view the other 99 albums in this $5 sale, which will end at the end of the day today [...]

Moonrise Kingdom
Directed by Wes Anderson
Starring Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban and Harvey Keitel
Release Date: May 16, 2012

French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, a powerful influence in cinema and pop culture from the 1960s onward thanks to his radical films, depicted in some of his films the need for the adolescent or youth to maintain their autonomy in the process of society attempting to crush it and mold it for their own purposes. This is pure literary, but in cinema the right director can demonstrate explicitly the harsh tendencies of society.

In his newest film, Moonrise Kingdom, director Wes Anderson, with a script he co-wrote with Roman Coppola, is approaching that topic Godard had always wrestled with, and still is today. It is not easy to do, but with Anderson’s whimsy and vigorous style of direction, unerring in its constant infatuation with capturing perfection, we are able to witness two adolescents restlessly in love in a perfectly concocted world endure an environment that is stifling and stunting their growth [...]

Ragin’ Full On, the 1986 debut album by the alternative/punk/post punk trio Firehose, is on sale in MP3 format for only $5.00 on Amazon right now!

The band, which was born from the legendary punk ensemble The Minutemen due to the death of their guitarist/singer D. Boon, also carved their own niche in that genre of music. Quirky, intense, unique, the sounds of Firehose range from sublime to rapid fire intense. Lead singer/guitarist Ed From Ohio is able to maintain the heat put forth by the ex-Minutemen rhythm section comprised of drummer George Hurley and bass player extraordinaire Mike Watt, (a true bonafide legend of the post punk generation to many who followed him) and songs like “Brave Captain,” “Chemical Wire,” “The Candle and the Flame” and “Under the Influence of Meat Puppets” chug along at a breakneck pace. The band reunited recently and have sallied forth to keep their sounds alive to the loyal generation that remained with them back when and to a new generation as well. Ragin’ Full On remains highly recommended.

Browse the main sale page to see the other 99 albums on sale for only $5 each in MP3 format through the end of June 2012 [...]

Earlier this week, the international trailer for Rian Johnson’s Looper appeared online, and although it gave us a more in depth story, it did have very spoilerish moments.

Now comes the domestic trailer for the film, and while it also expands on the story, the trailer gives away too much too soon.

Check it out below and judge for yourself to see if the new Looper trailer is too spoilery. [...]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Netflix Streaming
DVD
Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
Deep Space Nine created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller
Starring Avery Brooks, Colm Meaney, Michael Dorn, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, René Auberjonois, Armin Shimerman, Nana Visitor, Cirroc Lofton, Alexander Siddig, Max Grodénchik, Terry Farrell, Nicole de Boer, Tony Todd, Iggy Pop
Paramount Television and CBS Television Distribution
Originally Broadcast: January 03, 1993

As a few of our regular readers have probably figured out by now, I have been going through a bit of a Star Trek kick as of late; and with all incarnations of the television shows available for instant streaming on Netflix, it’s a prime opportunity to become reacquainted with the final frontier. And so for this week’s review, I decided to dive into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

And yet, there are many fans who seem to consider DS9 to be the ginger stepchild left under the stairs.

I prefer to consider it SPECIAL.

…as in EXTRA SPECIAL COOL, yo.

Conceivably one of the most divisive series among fans, Deep Space Nine has been considered to be the best of the Star Treks by many fans, and yet the worse by many others. This is because DS9 takes a completely different perspective, perhaps even a bold one, by Star Trek standards: it stays fairly much in the one location [...]

Morning Glories, Volume 3
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Joe Eisma
Colors by Rodin Esquejo
Covers by Alex Sollazzo
Letters by Johnny Lowe
Image Comics
Release Date: June 27, 2012
Cover Price: $14.99

Morning Glories bears more than a passing resemblance to Lost. It’s not a straight rip-off, but the plot structure is undeniably derivative. So what? True originality in fiction is incredibly rare. Originality is also completely unrelated to entertainment value, which is how I judge my comics. And that’s where Morning Glories shines: this series is a true page-turner. At the end of each issue you can sense a collective “d’oh!” from the thousands of fans devouring the issue on release day. Morning Glories is a sure bet to end on a shocking cliffhanger will hang, unelaborated, for several issues. The ever-deepening mystery cannot sustain itself indefinitely, however. Fans demand answers. How much longer can writer Nick Spencer slab layers on to his mystery cake before fans start tuning out? [...]

As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 album deal for June 2012, Queensryche‘s Operation: Mindcrime is on sale for only $5.

If you would like a physical copy of Operation: Mindcrime, the CD is available for only $8.97.

Operation: Mindcrime was the definitive rock concept album of the 1980s and Queensryche’s third full-length studio release. Each song tells the story of Nikki, a junkie turned assassin, and Sister Mary, a prostitute turned nun, and the conflicted lives they lead under the heavy influence of the nasty Dr. X and a shady priest named Father William. The band has played the entire album live as a rock opera, incorporating actors to play the parts of Nikki and Sister Mary and even recording Ronnie James Dio‘s one-time live performance as Dr. X which was played on a screen during all other live performances. There have been talks for years about staging Operation: Mindcrime on Broadway, but nothing has been set as of this writing.

Browse the main sale page to see the other 99 albums on sale for only $5 each in MP3 format through the end of June 2012 [...]

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World
Directed by Lorene Scafaria
Written by Lorene Scafaria
Starring Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Adam Brody, Patton Oswalt, Connie Britton, Rob Corddry, Melinda Dillon, Rob Huebel, Gillian Jacobs
Focus Features
Rated R | 93 Minutes
Release Date: June 22, 2012

“It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.” – R.E.M

Written and directed by Lorene Scafaria (writer, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist), Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World is a warm, charming, and well-acted film that explores what people will do when humanity’s last days are at hand.

As the massive asteroid Matilda hurtles toward Earth, Dodge (Steve Carell) finds himself alone after his not-so-faithful wife (Nancy Carell) abandons him in an apocalyptic panic. This isn’t Armageddon though, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck aren’t going to save the day this time. Dodge and the rest of the human race have 21 days until Matilda smashes into the planet, an extinction-level event no amount of “Leaving On A Jet Plane” and animal crackers can prevent [...]

Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA has been working on The Man with the Iron Fists, a kung-fu classic inspired film produced by Quentin Tarantino, for quite some time, and now we finally have a first trailer.

The film is RZA’s debut as a director. He also co-wrote it with Eli Roth, director of Cabin Fever and Hostel. Now this isn’t to be confused with Marvel’s hero Iron Fist; this is something completely different.

You can check out the trailer below. [...]

If you’ve played a lot of multiplayer games on Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, no doubt you’ve jumped at the opportunity to play your matches within the smallest map, Nuketown.

The map consisted of only two model homes, their back yards, and the street between them. The map allowed players to wage all-out war in a constricted area, leading to some of the more memorable battles you could take part in.

Now it looks like Nuketown will return in Treyarch’s upcoming sequel to the game, Black Ops II. [...]

Though it seems unlikely that Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man is the Marvel Mystery Movie that is to be released in May 2014, that hasn’t stopped the director from testing out the technology. Back in May, we saw a very cool tease from the director that hinted at status of the film. But this new development will be the best thing that Ant-Man fans are going read.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wright has been working on test footage for a week earlier this month. [...]

On this week’s show, Google wants to put Google Play in every living room and on your mobile devices (and they’ve built a tablet to do just that), Apple wins some, loses some, and puts podcasts in their place.

But first, the headlines…Amazon creates content to compete with Netflix, Microsoft buys Yammer for $1.2 B, Zynga launches “Zynga With Friends,” and Facebook changes your email [...]

The Drill Down 239 [ 1:21:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Back in May it was reported that Ryan Reynolds had entered into chats to take on the lead role of Connor MacLeod in the planned remake of Highlander being directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.

Not much has been heard since, but a couple of days ago word scattered around the ‘net seemed to indicate that Reynolds had officially signed on for the role. Some outlets reported it while many others did not, giving the news that unstable vibe. [...]