Speaking of the new album, last week Gogol Bordello released a stream of the first single off the record, “Malandrino.” Now they’re giving the record away for free. You can find it here.

How did the guys come up with the album title? It’s derived from a Spanish slang phrase for “pure life.”

The lead singer, Eugene Hutz, commented on what music means to him.

“For me music is a way to explore human potential,” Hutz says. “And that’s my main interest in life – human potential. Everyone knows there’s something inside of us that we’re not using. How do we get it? How do we reach it? Every single person knows that there’s something and nobody knows what it is. So at one point I said to myself, I’m gonna get down and get it.”

Billboard has called them the “hottest global touring act to come out of New York.”

Pura Vida Conspiracy is the first record since the band’s 2010 Trans-Continental Hustle.

What do you think of the new single? Will you get the new album?

New York City officials and famous documentarians joined together last week in Lower Manhattan to break ground on a documentary-only theater.

In attendance were Kate Levin, Scott Stringer, Margaret Chin and Gale Brewer along with filmmakers, Michael Moore, Matthew O’Neil and Morgan Spurlock.

Together they broke ground at the Downtown Community Television Center’s (DCTV) new documentary-only theater.

The unique theater you won’t find anywhere else in the US, will seat 73, and run documentary films from filmmakers with Academy Award qualification.

DCTV co-founder, Jon Alpert, commented on the new theater.

“New York City is the worldwide capital for documentary filmmaking. We have more documentarians per square inch than any place on the globe. For people who love docs, this is their home.” “This theater is a place that celebrates their work.”

Mayor Bloomberg also commented on the theater.

“Innovative cultural institutions like DCTV are an enormous part of what makes New York City a great place to live, work and visit.” “This new space will be another gem on our landscape of places where creative people can thrive and contribute to New York City’s unique cultural landscape.”

The theater was designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture+ Design Partnership will be built on the ground level of the 1896 firehouse. It’ll have a 3D and 4K Digital Cinema projection system. According to the release, there will also be ability to share events throughout the world via the Internet.

The theater is estimated to open in 2015.

Margaret Mee e a Flor da Lua

I recently got some mail about a film festival that’s been running every year for the past 11. It’s the Brazilian Film Festival (BFF).

The Inffinito Festival Circuit will be presenting the 11th annual Brazilian Film Festival from June 12th to the 16th.

There will be feature films, shorts, animations and documentaries as well. The festival will close on the 16th with a grand finale award ceremony at the Central Park Summerstage. Preta Gil will be performing during the closing ceremony.

One of the interesting films on the slate for the festival is centered around Sean Penn. It’s about four friends with Down Syndrome that caught the attention of Brazilians throughout the country. The story of the protagonist looking to meet Sean Penn went viral.

New York isn’t the only place that holds a Brazilian Film Festival. The Inffinito Festival Circuit will also be in Miami, Canudos, London, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

We mentioned the finale of the festival will be at Central Park Summerstage, but the festival will be held at the Tribeca Cinema.

The sponsors for the event are Embratur, Riofilme and the City of Rio De Janeiro Tourism Secretariat.

For more information on the festival, visit their website.

The Flaming Lips will be on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, May 15th and perform “Try to Explain.”

Their new album, The TERROR, is out now!

Here is what some sites are saying about it:

Suffice to say The Terror is a bold and expressive journey that has evolved over THE LIPS’ nearly 30-year tended garden of sonic delights that ebbs and flows with extraordinary splashes of light and shade, pleasure and pain, sadness and hope, and the knowledge that to expect the unexpected is half the fun of THE LIPS experience. But don’t take our word for it:
“Before the confetti cannons and sci-fi Day-Glo-pop operettas, The Flaming Lips made great acid-nightmare rock records about the high cost of transcendence. The Terror is that darkness returned: a gripping middle-age-mystic crisis with rude, cosmic-German electronics crowding Wayne Coyne’s tremulous boy-explorer voice. The beauty is fleeting but piquant. A choral glow cuts past the clatter and seizures…Heaven, on Earth or anywhere else, doesn’t come easy.” Rolling Stone (4 out of 5 Stars)

“…Entrancing darkness makes for some seriously bleak, intensely involving new music.” – Spin.Com (9 out of 10)

“Sounding almost post-apocalyptic in its scabrous, searching bleakness… The Terror moans and scrapes ominously from its opening seconds onward. Scorched and frayed, with an almost industrial ugliness to it… the sound of a world (and, it would seem, a band) in distress, even decay.” — NPR

We may be a little late in regard to covering this album, Hypnotic Nights came out last year, but it’s so damn good you may as well call it a timeless record.

The band blends a mix of country twang, metal fury, a little punk and a rock and roll party feel.

There are a lot of standout tracks on this record, one of which is a cover of the Ozzy Osbourne classic, “Changes.” This song continues to be a major player in the pop music scene, even after 20 years of existence. You heard it recently on Eminem’s Recovery album, But JEFF The Brotherhood do a complete cover verbatim. They made it their own though. It’s the longest track on the album and more of an atmospheric cover you won’t hear anywhere else. Add what sounds more like an accordion and some background vocals midway through and you’ve got quite an experience.

So that’s where their metal love comes out.

“Sixpack” brings that rock and roll party feel front and center. As you’ve probably guess, it’s titled after a six-pack of beer and getting wasted. It’s a fun song that can only be made better if you’re listening to it with Ray Bans on your face.

“Hypnotic Mind” is their punk song on the record. Quick hits on the drums, a rebellious tone and a whole lot of in-your-face fight.

The record is only 11 tracks long but I’m an advocate of a less-is-more product any day of the week. You get quality with JEFF The Brotherhood along with a shit load of rock and roll chemistry. I’m glad I can now call myself apart of the brotherhood that is JEFF The Brotherhood’s fan base.

FYI to all of their New York City fans, they’re playing Mercury Lounge on 5/18 and the following night. I may be at the 5/18 show, so let’s have a drink!

Photo Credit Jo McCaughey

Some of the things I expected from Gorilla Cheese was it being greasy, and relatively big in size. Am I wrong? With a name like Gorilla Cheese. No? Well I didn’t get any of these things from Gorilla Cheese and was incredibly disappointed.

As you’ve probably noticed by now, Gorilla Cheese placed fourth in IMM’s vol.2 food truck rankings.

I had their #6, a grilled cheese with imported Asiago, prosciutto di Parma w/aioli on French bread. It was tasty enough to keep them out of last place but wasn’t juicy enough to compare with the juicy Nuchas Artisan Empanadas’ short rib.

They seem to be serving up more of a gourmet grilled cheese but their marketing doesn’t fit that bill. My expectations may have been different and their ranking may have been different too.

Vol.2 Rankings:

1. Phil’s Steaks
2. Mexicue
3. Nuchas Artisan Empanadas
4. Gorilla Cheese
5. Kimchi Taco Truck

Please do keep in mind that these food trucks have the chance to climb up or down in rankings the more I taste every piece of their respective menus.

Do you have any food trucks in mind that I should try?

photo: rachelkramerbusseldotcom

John Gallagher Jr. and Brie Larson in SHORT TERM 12

The Rooftop Films Summer Series begins on May 10. The full schedule including locations and dates will be announced in the coming weeks. Below is the entire lineup:

12 O’Clock Boys (Dir. Lotfy Nathan) NY Premiere

Part of Rooftop’s SXSW weekend

Pug, a young boy growing up on a combative West Baltimore block, finds solace in a group of illegal dirt bike riders known as The 12 O’Clock Boys. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (Dir. David Lowery) Special Sneak Preview

“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” tells the tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Courtesy of IFC Films.

Awful Nice (Dir. Todd Sklar) NY Premiere

Part of Rooftop’s SXSW weekend

Estranged brothers Jim and Dave must travel to Branson together when their father dies and leaves them the family lake home. A series of hilarious mishaps and costly misadventures follow as they attempt to restore the house and rebuild their relationship.

Belleville Baby (Dir. Mia Engberg) NY Premiere

A long distance call from a long lost lover makes her reminisce about their common past. She remembers the spring when they met in Paris, the riots, the vespa and the cat named Baby. A film about love, time and things that got lost along the way.

Bending Steel (Dir. David Carroll, produced by Ryan Scafuro)

A remarkable and intimate documentary exploring the lost art of the old time strongman, and one man’s struggle to overcome limitations of body and mind.

Brasslands (Dir. Meerkat Media Collective) NY Premiere

Presented by Rooftop Films and Arts Brookfield

Devoted American musicians, Serbian brass heavyweights, and a Gypsy trumpet master collide at the world’s largest trumpet festival.

Brothers Hypnotic (Dir. Reuben Atlas) NY Premiere

Free screening presented with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Forest City Ratner

Brotherhood, whether biological or ideological, is never easy. “Brothers Hypnotic” is a coming-of-age story—for eight young men, and for an ideal.

The Central Park Five (Dir. Sarah Burns, Ken Burns, Dave McMahon)

Free screening presented with the Ford Foundation and Friends of Dag Hammarksold Plaza

Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension, “The Central Park Five” tells the story of how five lives were upended by the rush to judgment by police, a sensationalist media and a devastating miscarriage of justice. Courtesy of Florentine Films.

Crystal Fairy (Dir. Sebastián Silva) Special Sneak Preview

Presented by Rooftop Films and indieWIRE

A hilariously unpredictable comedy about a self-involved young American searching for a secret hallucinogenic cactus in the desert of Chile. Courtesy of IFC Films.

Cutie and the Boxer (Dir. Zachary Heinzerling) Special Sneak Preview

This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of renowned “boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own. Courtesy of RADiUs-TWC.

The Dirties (Dir. Matt Johnson) NY Premiere

Matt and Owen are best friends, who are constantly bullied by a group they call The Dirties. When an assignment goes awry, the friends hatch a plan to enact revenge on their high school tormentors.

Domestic (Dir. Adrian Sitaru) NY Premiere

Presented with Socrates Sculpture Park.

Wonderfully surreal, painfully real, this is the story of children, adults and animals who live together trying to have a better life, but sometimes death comes unexpectedly. In the bittersweet comedy “Domestic” it is all about us, people who eat the animals that they love and the animals that love people unconditionally.

Drinking Buddies (Dir. Joe Swanberg) NY Premiere

Presented in partnership with BAMcinemaFest

Luke and Kate are co-workers at a Chicago brewery where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They’re perfect for each other, except that they’re both in relationships. But you know what makes the line between “friends” and “more than friends” really blurry? Beer.

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Elena (Dir. Petra Costa) NY Premiere

Part of Rooftp’s SXSW weekend

Intimate in style, “Elena” delves into the abyss of one family’s drama, revealing at once the inspiration that can be born from tragedy.

The Expedition to the End of the World (Dir. Daniel Dencik) NY Premiere

A real adventure film – for the 21st century. On a three-mast schooner packed with artists, scientists and ambitions worthy of Noah or Columbus, they set off for the end of the world: the rapidly melting massifs of North-East Greenland.

Frances Ha (Dir. Noah Baumbach) Special Sneak Preview

Frances wants so much more than she has, but lives her life with unaccountable joy and lightness. “Frances Ha” is a modern comic fable in which Noah Baumbach explores New York, friendship, class, ambition, failure, and redemption.  Courtesy of IFC Films.

F— for Forest (Dir. Michal Marczak) NY Premiere

Berlin’s “F—“ for Forest is one of the world’s most bizarre charities: based on the idea that sex can change the world, the NGO raises money for their environmental cause by selling home-made erotic films on the Internet.

The Genius of Marian (Dir. Banker White)

Free screening presented with the Ford Foundation and Friends of Dag Hammarksold Plaza

An intimate family portrait that explores the tragedy of Alzheimer’s disease, the power of art and the meaning of family. “The Genius of Marian” follows Pam White in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease as her son, the filmmaker, documents her struggle to hang on to a sense of self.

i hate myself (Dir. Joanna Arnow) NY Premiere

Nebbishy filmmaker Joanna Arnow documents her yearlong relationship with racially charged poet-provocateur James Kepple. What starts out as an uncomfortably intimate portrait of a dysfunctional relationship and protracted mid-twenties adolescence, quickly turns into a complex commentary on societal repression, sexuality and self-confrontation through art.

The Kings of Summer (Dir. Jordan Vogt-Roberts) NY Premiere

A unique coming-of-age comedy about three teenage friends who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. Courtesy of CBS.

Newlyweeds (Dir. Shaka King) Special Sneak Preview

Brooklyn residents Lyle and Nina blaze away the stress of living in New York City, but what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry. Courtesy of Phase 4 Films.

North of South, West of East (Dir. Meredith Danluck) NY Premiere

Free screening presented with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Forest City Ratner

North of South, West of East takes a scrupulous look at the American Dream through Hollywood tropes and conventional cinema. Working with a narrative structure this four-part 85 minute film takes the chronic existential crisis that is the American identity and turns it inside out, laying the typical components of comedy, thrill, violence, love and death (the ultimate reinvention) neatly side by side.

Our Nixon (Dir. Penny Lane and Brian L. Frye) FREE Sneak Preview

Presented with Socrates Sculpture Park.

Throughout Richard Nixon’s presidency, three of his top White House aides obsessively documented their experiences with Super 8 home movie cameras. Young, idealistic and dedicated, they had no idea that a few years later they’d all be in prison. “Our Nixon” is an all-archival documentary presenting those home movies for the first time, along with other rare footage, creating an intimate and complex portrait of the Nixon presidency as never seen before.

Short Term 12 (Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton) Special FREE Sneak Preview

Presented in partnership with the Academy’s Oscars Outdoors series

“Short Term 12” follows Grace (Brie Larson), a young supervisor at a foster-care facility, as she looks after the teens in her charge and reckons with her own troubled past.

Tiger Tail in Blue (Dir. Frank V. Ross) NY Premiere

“Tiger Tail in Blue” is about a young married couple, Christopher & Melody, that work opposite schedules to remain financially afloat as Chris bangs out his first novel while working nights as a waiter. Never seeing each other is taking its toll, as the two rarely get a chance to engage one another. Chris finds the attention he craves in the past and Brandy, a saucy co-worker.

Towheads (Dir. Shannon Plumb) Special Sneak Preview

A harried New York mother struggling as an artist searches for a happy (if slightly unhinged) hybrid of the two. In her debut feature, Shannon Plumb’s charming Chaplin-like characters light up the screen with visual playfulness.

Twenty Feet From Stardom (Dir. Morgan Neville) Special FREE Sneak Preview

Presented in partnership with the Academy’s  Oscars Outdoors series

Meet the unsung heroes behind the greatest music of our time. Courtesy of RADiUs-TWC.

William and the Windmill (Dir. Ben Nabors)

Free screening presented with the Ford Foundation and Friends of Dag Hammarksold Plaza

William Kamkwamba, a young Malawian, builds a power-generating windmill from junk parts to rescue his family from famine, transforming his life and catapulting him on to the world stage. His fame and success lead him to new opportunities and complex choices about his future, distancing him from the life he once knew.

Britain’s Smoke Fairies made a stop in Nashville, Tennessee during the middle of October in 2011 to record an EP at the legendary United Record Pressing plant.

This near 22-minute film was put together with some help of Blitzen Trapper members and Luke Norby.

Members of Blitzen Trapper backed the ladies while they worked on five songs that were each made on a single take on ¼ inch tape that was then cut at 45 RPM. Luke Norby was the man behind the camera. He documented the whole thing.

The end result was an EP that became available on Record Store day last April 20th.

The vocals on these ladies are what caught my attention, they are mind blowing. Their passion and knowledge of music is evident on this film. You could see their eyes light up when they mentioned Nashville.

And in other Smoke Fairies’ news, their Blood Speaks album, which was previously only available in the UK, was released here in the states.

It may seem like it’s a little long for a short film, but it’s really not. It’s entertaining and you also get the chance to know the ladies a little bit better, like one of them has a picky taste when it comes to stickers.

Here’s what Alvaro Orozco Padilla had to say on the video’s YouTube page.

“Excellent documentary! One can get closer to the wonderful music of the Smoke Fairies, I love them and I think they restored my faith in music! Greetings from Mexico!”

Take those words how you’d like, but these girls are definitely good.

I’ll just dive right in to how far I think my beloved Knickerbockers can make it this year.

If they can get past the Boston Celtics, a huge sentimental favorite now given the recent tragedy that took place in Boston, the Knicks have a good shot to pick up a huge pile of momentum and make a run for the NBA championship.

The Celtics have been a huge monkey on the back of the blue and orange. Kevin Garnett knows how to get in the head of Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce seems step his game up every time he steps foot into Madison Square Garden.

A championship season couldn’t be more fitting for the New York Knicks.

Assuming they can get past the Celtics, you’ve also got the NBA’s scoring champion on your team in Anthony, your first division title in a very a long time. Oh, and the Knicks have three wins, that could have easily been four, against the defending NBA champs, the Miami Heat. They’ve also got the savvy veteran in Jason Kidd. Where the iconic point guard goes, success does follow! Here’s to hoping that success is more than just a division title.

It’s going to be a long hard road if it does happen but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Knicks shocked the world!

An attack in Russia isn’t nearly enough from keeping Scott Lucas down.

He’s recovered from his attack and is back on tour.

He’s just wrapped the Local H tour and about to embark on a tour with his other band, The Married Men.

Lucas and the boys will be promoting their new EP, The Cruel Summer, out on June 25th off of The End Records.

The EP is the final product from an experience that took place during last summer’s A.V. Club’s Undercover Summer break.

They were asked to perform a classic summer song and decided to do Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer.”

“When they asked us to choose a summer song – I was like, Bananarama. Absolutely. No question,” Lucas recounts. “Maybe it’s because I love Elisabeth Shue. I don’t know.”

Full EP Listing:

1. “Cruel Summer”
2. “Never Better”
3. “Heavy Lidded (Acoustic) Love”
4. “Coward of the County”
5. “There You Are (Again)”

Scott Lucas & the Married Men tour dates:

4/24 Washington, DC DC9 *
4/25 Philadelphia, PA The Barbary *
4/26 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory *
4/27 New York, NY Mercury Lounge *
4/28 Allston, MA Great Scott *
4/29 Buffalo, NY Tralf Studio Stage
5/1 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle *
5/2 Grand Rapids, MI Founders Brewery, Co
5/3 Detroit, MI Garden Bowl *
5/4 Nashville, TN The End *
5/11 Forest Park, IL Chalk**
5/24 Waterloo, IA Spiccoli’s Grill