The Movie:

In 1993 a five piece band out of Sweden called Refused issued a EP called This Is The New Deal. It caught on a bit, the band became pretty popular because of it, and all of a sudden vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarists Jon Brännström and Kristofer Steen, bassist Magnus Höggren and drummer David Sandström found themselves one of the most talked about bands in the hardcore scene of the time. Five years after their recording debut and seven years after they'd formed, the band called it quits because they were unable to merge their politics with that of the music industry. Their final record, The Shape Of Punk To Come, remains a highly influential recording and is pretty much the best thing that they ever did – making it all the more interesting (and, in a sense, disappointing) that the band split up when they did. The future looked very bright for Refused but rat...Read the entire review

The Movie

"I'm glad something like this is in America. America has a really hard time getting a bunch of people together for music without it being a giant, corporate kiss-ass affair or being completely out of control and violent and scary. So to have something that's really beautiful and everybody having a great time, they've obviously taken care to put really good artists that are pushing the boundaries of what contemporary youth culture and music is ..." - Flea, Coachella

Until The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne strolled across a sea of music fans at 2004's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in a "space bubble," I'd wager most Americans' idea of a music festival was the ugly conflagration that was Woodstock '99 – slowly and surely, the comeback of the American music festival has been ongoing since the quiet demise of Perry Farrell's Lollapalooza in the...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Bad Religion have been around a long time (they've been together for over twenty years at this point) and influenced a whole lot of bands and it's quite surprising that it's taken so long for them to really get their due on DVD. Sure, there have been releases of The Riot, Along The Way and the Flipside disc that shares space with a Circle Jerks show, but all of that was material that was previously available on VHS and as such it wasn't really tailor made for the DVD format. Well, all of that has changed with Bad Religion – Live At The Palladium. No more washed out VHS transfer footage, no more wonky sound mixes and no more mediocre quality – this is the one that fans have been waiting for.

Filmed over two nights in November of 2004 at the Palladium in Los Angeles, the band proves that while their style may have changed over the years, they'r...Read the entire review

The Movie:

This highlight reel of some of the finest moments during the Vans Triple Crown 04 Surfing event certainly starts out on the right foot, with various surf celebs and locals giving their thoughts about the famed North Shore, Oahu area of Hawaii, where the event is held. The opening piece gives a very nice idea of the history of the place, and what surfing means to local culture.

The scene set, the program then provides interviews with heroes of the sport, such as Kelly Slater, Andy Irons and others. Between the interviews and the highlight footage, the program gives insight into both the thought process and culture of surfing - the rush of being at one with the most incredibly powerful wash of waves, the respect surfers give their peers and the thrill of pulling off a perfectly executed move on huge waves that are moving forward rapidly - whether you're on them or not.
...Read the entire review

The Movie:

After Rancid hit it big in the late nineties, Tim Armstrong branched out on his own to start Hellcat Records. While Epitaph would still handle the distribution and much of the promotion and marketing for the upstart label, Hellcat would allow Armstrong to sign a more eclectic group of artists and as such their roster includes everything from straight up old school punk rock to psychobilly to ska and power pop.

As the label has grown over the last few years, Armstrong has been documenting some of the events that have helped shape his label and from 2001 through 2004 he and a few cohorts shot footage of pretty much everyone on the label as they toured through various countries on various bills. The end result? An eighty plus minute look at the artists that make up Hellcat Records, named after their ongoing line of compilation CDs, Give 'Em The Boot (itself a line from ...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
Izzard does it again...and looks good doing it

The Show
I think I've figured out the secret to Eddie Izzard's success, and I think he shares it with the art of Kabuki theater and clowns. His make-up, which draws focus to his eyes and mouth, amplifies their effect in his show, an important feature when he's playing to a big audience like the one filling the ridiculously-named Hammersmith Labatts Apollo on this DVD. His every move and sound seems calculated to draw laughs, and they do.

"Glorious" has all the hallmarks of a great Izzard performance, including his James Mason (as God) and Sean Connery (as Noah) imitations, his animal bits, jam and the informed history jokes. Among the hall-of-fa...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
The early days of Izzard

The Show
Eddie Izzard goes over many Americans' heads, as they aren't quite sure what to make of this rather intelligent, accented man in a dress. Even today, after several DVD releases, a successful run on HBO and several movie roles, he's still marginalized as "that transvestite comic." So one can only imagine how people felt about him back in 1994, when he filmed this special at Albery Theatre. He wasn't really even dressed up this time. In fact, he doesn't look to be wearing any more make-up than your average actor. So what's the problem?

After introducing the world to his unique comedy in 1993's "Live at the Ambassadors," the pressure was on to deliver with "...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
The best dress-wearing comic you don't know

The Show
Eddie Izzard is one of the funniest comedians in the world, but he's never been able to break through in America. Perhaps it has something to do with the whole transvestite thing. Us puritans just can't wrap our heads around a guy who wants to wear a dress. Meanwhile, there have been plenty of summer days that made me jealous of the girls wearing those airy sundresses. But perhaps I've revealed too much.

Izzard's comedy can be a bit to "Anglo" for some, but as a lifelong fan of Britcoms, there's little he says that makes me do the confused dog head-tilt. Sure, there are some more recent references that go over my head (I had to look up ...Read the entire review