Switchblade Comb

From last years The Japan Covers album, a Japanese only release featuring Andrew WK’s take on selected J-Pop classics.

I have no idea what the original sounds like but WK’s version is pretty badass.

Andrew WK – "Bohemian" (originally by Yuki Katsuragi)

From the upcoming LP No Sacrifice, No Victory out February 20.

Premieres February 11 on Comedy Central.

From the upcoming Somebody Loves You full length due out March 9 on Suburban Home Records.

Austin Lucas – "Somebody Loves You"

Shot in High Definition and with superb 5.1 surround sound, mixed by the bands producer Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley, FLIGHT 666 brings to the screen all the drama, excitement and hysteria that followed the band around the world every time ‘Ed Force One’ touched down in a new country. The film documents the intensity of the punishing show schedules, the struggle with the time zones, the pressures of ensuring that every performance matched the energy of the many thousands of ecstatic and expectant fans from many cultural backgrounds, unusual angles from the spectacular shows… and of course the fun had on the way!

In select theatres April 21.

From the Uptown Bar:

Building Better Bombs cancelled tonight due to family emergency. Total Fucking Blood is opening for Mel Gibson and the Pants instead of them.

Wednesday, January 21
Uptown Bar
9 PM | FREE | 21+

2009 will rule. First, check out Playlist’s 60 Most Anticipated Films and Twitchfilm’s Arthouse Cinema 2009, then consider these Asian directors with new films hitting America (or bootleg) by year’s end -

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse), Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away), Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Syndromes & a Century), Shinji Aoyama (Eureka), Tsai Ming-Liang (What Time is it There?), Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows), Sion Sono (Suicide Club), Katsuhito Ishii (Taste of Tea), Kim Ki Duk (3-Iron), Lee Chang-Dong (Oasis), Bong Joon-Ho (The Host), Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy), Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe), Lu Chuan (Kekexili), and of course, Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer).

Last but not least, there’s Jia Zhang-ke, director of last year’s stunning Still Life. Every film he makes is a masterpiece, and his newest effort 24 City is playing in Minneapolis next weekend.

Blending fiction and documentary, Jia Zhang-ke puts a human face on the consequences of rapid industrial and economic growth in China. Shot in Chengdu, in the Sichuan province, the film documents the development of state-owned Factory 420 from the 1950s to the present. Once booming, it was demolished in 2007 to make room for an upscale apartment complex.

24 City
Fri. Jan. 30 – Sat. Jan. 31
Walker Art Center
Minneapolis, MN
7:30 PM l $8

24 City – Trailer