One thing we do know is that Larry David is going to be the same Larry David he was in the previous eight seasons.

“You’re devoid of anything that’s remotely caring or empathetic,” Richard Lewis tells Larry in the season preview video.

Curb debuted 17 years ago. Since that first episode, the show has picked up fans and accolades for its principal actors, Larry David, Cheryl Hines (Cheryl David), Jeff Garlin (Jeff Greene) and Susie Essman (Susie Greene). The show also sent the career of J.B. Smoove (Leon Black) into overdrive. All of the main characters and yes, Smoove, return for the upcoming season. As always there will also be cameos from other stars such as Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks, Jimmy Kimmel and Lauren Graham.

Before the new season begins, take a look at the 10 best episodes from the first eight seasons.

10. “The Car Salesman” Season 2, Episode 1

“Please buy one. Please.”

This is an underrated episode that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it’s a nearly perfect episode that focuses almost solely on Larry, his confidence and the crushing reality that his self-belief is misguided at best.

Larry and Cheryl are between houses and living in a hotel. Cheryl is frustrated with Larry because he seems happy to just lie in bed with his hand buried in a bag of chips while he watches trashy daytime television. She wants Larry to get back to work. In a stroke of luck, Larry and Jeff run into the owner of a car dealership while they eat lunch.

Larry, confident he can sell anything, assures the man that given the opportunity he can sell cars. The owner of the dealership takes Larry up on his offer, and much to Jeff’s chagrin, the co-creator of Seinfeld becomes a car salesman.

Larry does his best to schmooze the browsers at the Toyota dealership, but unsurprisingly he’s ill-equipped to answer any questions. His confidence slowly crumbles. When Larry does get a customer on the hook, things take a turn for the worse when Richard Lewis shows up in the showroom.

9. “Opening Night” Season 4, Episode 10

“This guy’s a disaster.”

Season 4 is built around the idea that Mel Brooks thinks Larry is perfect for the role of Max Bialystock in the Broadway play, The Producers. The subplot of the season is that Cheryl’s 10th-anniversary gift to Larry is the opportunity to have sex outside the marriage on a one-time basis. The catch is that Larry must redeem that offer before their anniversary date. This hour-long episode wraps the season up very nicely.

With opening night of the play fast approaching as well as the expiration date of Cheryl’s gift, Larry is anxious to cash in his wife’s offer. Larry’s over-anxious attempt to couple with a fellatio teacher that Jeff met in the hotel bar ends with Larry by himself, a sweaty and snotty mess. A second try goes awry thanks to George W. Bush.

We also learn that Brooks had a very particular idea in mind when he cast Larry for the lead role. Larry almost makes Brooks a very happy man, but in the end, Brooks ends up crushed and disappointed.

8. “Shaq” Season 2, Episode 8

“Sad, what are you crazy?”

Larry is not known for being what you would call a lucky man. In fact, he’s often the exact opposite of lucky. So, when he sits courtside at the Laker’s game and accidentally trips Shaq as the big center makes his way onto the court during the season opener, it’s no surprise. It’s also no surprise that Larry quickly becomes the most hated man in Los Angeles after his faux pas runs on the nightly news.

Most people would consider becoming a pariah bad luck, but not Larry. He’s happy with his status. He sees it as freeing, a break, a stroke of good luck. Not long after he delivers a box of Seinfeld videotapes to Shaq in the hospital, the black cloud drifts back over Larry’s head.

7. “The End” Season 5, Episode 10

“This is what you get for doing good deeds.”

Over the course of its eight-season run, Curb Your Enthusiasm has gotten better and better at closing the season on a high note. Season 5 is no exception.

Larry’s quest to find out if he’s adopted comes to an end early in this episode. The discovery changes everything about Larry, and I mean everything.  He even decides he’s going to donate his kidney to his longtime friend Richard Lewis even when Lewis refuses to let Larry borrow his putter, something that would have sent the “old” Larry into a fit.

As with most positive things in Larry’s life, the good feelings come to an abrupt halt right before Larry gets wheeled into the operating room.

The operation leaves Larry on his deathbed, hence the title of this episode. It’s not a shock when Larry flatlines with his friends and family around him. What is a surprise is how and why Larry comes back to life.

6. “Mister Softee” Season 8, Episode 9

“It was a horseshit throw.”

There are a handful of episodes where the writers take an infamous incident from the past and turn it on its head. They do that with Michael Richards in “The Table Read.” In the “Mister Softee” episode they do the same thing with former Red Sox player Bill Buckner, who took the blame for losing the 1986 World Series with a flubbed catch on a ground ball hit by Mookie Wilson of the Mets.

Susie enlists Larry to obtain Wilson’s autograph Jeff’s birthday gift. While getting that autograph, Larry strikes up a conversation with Buckner about how he dealt with the vitriol he received after his error. Buckner’s acting isn’t great, but he plays his role well enough, especially when he flubs a catch when Larry tosses the autographed ball to him, and in the redemption scene later in the episode.

The subplot of this episode is Larry’s memory of losing a game of strip poker in the back of a Mister Softee truck when he was younger, and how whenever he hears the music from a Mister Softee truck he becomes disturbed. The Mister Softee music ties into the Buckner theme as well.

This episode gets bonus points for the over the top performance of Robert Smigel as the captain and sponsor of the softball team.

5. “Porno Gil” Season 1, Episode 3

“I don’t want to do a double goodbye!”

A misdialed call puts Larry in a tight spot. Hoping to call his friend John, Larry instead dials an acquaintance from his golf club named Gil. Even though Larry doesn’t mean to call Gil, he invites Larry and Cheryl to a party. When asked who Gil (Bob Odenkirk) is, Larry tells his wife, “He used to be a porno actor like 15 years ago.”

Meanwhile, Jeff is in the hospital for heart surgery. In the days leading up to the operation, fearing a mishap of the table, he asks Larry to remove his hidden porn collection from his home. The request is essentially the old school version of “clean my browser history.”

Larry defies the house rule at the party, which causes tension Gil’s wife. After Gil tells a story about Tobasco and how it assists porn actors, Cheryl tells Larry it’s time to go. Before they can leave, Larry sends Gil’s wife into a frenzy.

After the awkward good-bye, Larry has to go back for something he forgot. Larry is reluctant to return because he wants to avoid the dreaded “double goodbye.”

4. “The N Word” Season 6, Episode 8

“What did you just fix your mouth to say?”

Larry gets in trouble right away when a hug with Auntie Rae goes past his five-second rule when it comes to physical contact. Larry’s problems don’t end there with Auntie Rae and the Black family.

Larry meets a Dr. In the cafeteria of the hospital where Jeff is going to get an operation for his snoring. During a lunch date with Dr. Flomm, Larry tells her about a conversation he overheard in the bathroom where a man on his cell phone used a racial epithet. Larry utters the slur right when an African-American surgeon passes by their table. The doctor rants at Larry upon hearing that word, never giving Larry a chance to explain why he said it. Without being able to explain why he uttered the slur, Larry’s life gets more complicated with each scene.

3. “Palestinian Chicken” Season 8, Episode 3

“You know what you are? You’re a social assassin.”

Larry and Jeff check out a Palestinian Chicken joint that has the best chicken in town. The problem is, judging by the posters decorating the walls, the owners of the restaurant are not big fans of Jewish folks. Larry is a fan of both the food and a woman who works there. Torn between his Jewish heritage and the sex he’s having with the Palestinian woman, Larry finds it difficult to pick a side, causing a big to-do at the end of the episode.

The subplot of this episode is overshadowed by the political plot, but this is the episode where Larry is recruited to tell his friend’s wife that she needs to stop saying LOL and by Sammy to tell Susie to stop smacking her lips after she takes a drink. This “skill” leads Jeff to label Larry a “social assassin,” something that Larry seems to take as a compliment.

2. Beloved Aunt: Season 1, Episode 8

“This is a typo. That’s aunt, that should be aunt!”

Cheryl’s family is in town for the funeral of her aunt. Things go awry from the first scene when a pair of well-wishers offer their condolences to Larry to which he replies, “Oh, you know what, it was Cheryl’s aunt.” From there he advises the boyfriend of Cheryl’s sister Becky (Kaitlin Olson) on how soon he can break up with her after the funeral.

At the funeral, Larry volunteers to write the obituary with the help of Jeff, who knows someone who can get the obituary in the newspaper. Meanwhile, Larry’s chore of getting a gift for Jeff’s mother turns into a fiasco.

When the obituary runs in the paper, a one letter typo sets off a series of unfortunate events that leaves Larry without a place to sleep for the night.

1. “The Table Read” Season 7, Episode 9

“If only there were a horrible name that I could call you that would make you as angry as I am.”

The seventh season of the show was all about a Seinfeld reunion. Something that Larry agrees to in the hope that he can get Cheryl back by casting her in the role of George’s ex-wife. On this episode, viewers get a behind the scenes look at the making of Seinfeld as the cast perform a table read as well as rehearse for the reunion show. While that part of the show is entertaining for fans of Curb and Seinfeld, the episode still manages to move the season towards its concluding episode.

The highlight of this episode is Leon impersonating a dead Jewish man I the hopes of tricking Michael Richards. When Richards finds out that Leon is a fraud he confronts Leon in full view of the people on the set. The scene, which is set up brilliantly, references Richards’ racist real-life tirade at a comedy club.

The post Curb Your Enthusiasm Returns for Season 9: The 10 Best Episodes So Far appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

What: Perhaps the most lucrative boxing match in history

When: Aug. 26

What Time: The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET.

Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The fight will be broadcast by Showtime PPV. The cost for the SD broadcast is $89.95. HD will set you back $99.95.

If you are planning on heading to Vegas for the event and don’t want to pay full ticket price, the below MGM properties are hosting closed circuit viewing parties for the fight.

Bellagio – Grand Ballroom

MGM Grand – Marquee Ballroom, Tap Sports Bar

Mandalay Bay – Mandalay Bay Theatre, Light Nightclub

The Mirage – Love Theatre, Mirage Grand Ballroom

Monte Carlo – Park Theater, Diablo’s Cantina, Double Barrel

New York-New York – Zumanity Theater, Nine Fine Irishmen

Luxor – Criss Angel Theater

Excalibur – Tournament of Kings Arena

Circus Circus – Garden Grill Ballroom

Big Bets: South Point Casino recently took a bet for $880,000 on Mayweather. With the -550 odds on Mayweather, if the bettor wins, they will turn a profit of $160,000. According to ESPN, three $50,000 bets were placed on McGregor. One of those best was at +475 and two were at +425. If McGregor wins, the bettor will clear $625,000.

Whoa! The money is starting to come in on @FloydMayweather at the @southpointlv. Biggest bet in Vegas yet? @VSiNLive pic.twitter.com/Kw4VGDOQPe

— Mitch Moss (@MitchMossRadio) August 11, 2017

Numbers to beat: If this fight is going to break records it has some lofty numbers to hit. The record for pay-per-view sales was hit by the 2015 Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. That fight sold 4.5 million pay-per-views. As for ticket sales, the record, also held by the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight, is $72 million.

Tale of the Tape:

Mayweather                      McGregor

McGregor’s path to victory: The thing with McGregor is that everything he will do in the boxing ring will be kind of a surprise since he has never fought in a professional boxing match. That unpredictability won’t be a factor for long. Mayweather has always had the ability to adjust to top boxers in the ring; he won’t struggle to do the same against a neophyte. McGregor doesn’t have great defense, nor does he have fantastic speed. He does have power in his left hand, and frankly, that’s the only way he wins, catching Mayweather with a big left. The problem with that is Mayweather has only been rocked a few times in his career and has only officially been knocked down once. As for McGregor’s gas tank, it’s questionable at best. He tends to throw everything full force, and that saps his cardio early.

Mayweather’s path to victory: Mayweather is the best defensive boxer of his generation, slipping and blocking punches seemingly at will. According to CompuBox his opponents connect on less than 20 percent of their attempted punches, one of the lowest percentages among active boxers. As far as his offense, Mayweather is not a power puncher, but his accuracy and ability to land in the same spot over and over again break fighters down over time. Speaking of time, Mayweather has gone the 12 round distance in each of his last seven fights dating back to May 2012. His cardio is never a question. As for speed, even at the age of 40, Mayweather will have a speed advantage over McGregor.

Prediction: Mayweather by late knockout.

The post What You Need to Know about the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor Fight appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

If you’re like me, you kind of understand what net neutrality is about, but you kind of also don’t really care too much about the subject because, let’s face it, net neutrality is a ponderous phrase – it frankly just doesn’t sound like something worth caring about.

With the topic getting a lot of media play over the last few weeks, the time is right to work through that apathy and learn a little about the subject.

Come along and learn with me.

What is Net Neutrality?

In the most basic of terms, net neutrality means that all data on the internet should be treated equally. That means no matter what site you’re visiting, no matter what internet service provider (ISP) you’re using, that data will all be treated the same way.

A little more detailed explanation is that no ISP has the right to block your access to any website or slow the delivery speed of a website in favor of another site.

Net neutrality also means that your ISP cannot create “fast lanes” that force content providers — say a business such as Netflix — to fork over extra fees to deliver that content at an increased speed to the end user.

If you’re interested in reading about the origin of the phrase “net neutrality,” feel free to check out the 2003 paper from Columbia Law professor Tim Wu.

Why Should You Care?

Okay, so the concept of net neutrality is simple, and yes, that system is currently in place, but that could change and change soon.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has announced that he wants to roll back those rules.

If that does happen it could hurt consumers. For one, ISPs could institute a “fast lane” and a “slow lane” for content and charge a premium for access to the “fast lane.”

Another way end users could be affected is through throttling. For instance, if an ISP has its own streaming video service it could slow the delivery of a competitors streaming service, therefore forcing the end user to either wait for a slow feed to load or opt to use the ISP’s service.

ISPs would also be free to block content. That means if the folks in charge of your ISP lean a certain way politically, they could decide to block content from the opposition. This would be especially harmful to grassroots organizations looking to get their message out to supporters and the general public.

Perhaps most importantly, if these rules are rolled back, innovation could be affected. Small businesses often work under very tight budgets, and they shouldn’t have to worry about adding a line to that budget so an ISP does not bury its website. To the same point, large established companies could easily pay ISPs to push their content ahead of their less established competition.

The Bottom Line

No one is saying these things will happen if net neutrality is rolled back, but they could happen, and that should be enough to make all internet users that support the free and equal dissemination of information nervous.

The FCC will take a vote on May 18 regarding net neutrality. This vote, which is expected to pass, will move Pai’s plan on to the public comment period.

***

Education is just the first step. Now it’s time to get involved in the Net Neutrality fight. Here are a few links to help you get started:

John Oliver’s Direct Website: Go FCC Yourself

Contact your House and Congressional Representatives with this easy-to-use form.

Donate and get involved with one of these great groups:

The Electronic Frontier Federation

The American Civil Liberties Union

Freepress

Fight for the Future

Public Knowledge

The post Why You Should Care About A Dull-Sounding Topic appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

For example, look at Jason Isbell, over the course of his solo career folks have tried to classify what he does as Americana, country, alt-country, roots, folk, twang, etc. And yes, you could squeeze Isbell into any of those boxes if you wanted to, but when you have an artist with the breadth of talent that Isbell possesses why would you want – or need – to pigeonhole him? He deserves better than that.

So, let’s call Isbell what he is, one of the best singer-songwriters working in music today – in any genre. If you don’t believe that, just pick up a copy of the record he and his band The 400 Unit are releasing on June 16, The Nashville Sound.

With this collection, his first with a full band since 2011’s “Here We Rest,” the 38-year-old Isbell tackles a changing world. On a personal level, this is the first record Isbell has released since he and his wife (and bandmate) Amanda Shires welcomed a daughter, Mercy Rose, into their family. Isbell also takes on larger societal issues on several songs on The Nashville Sound.

As a songwriter, Isbell is a talented storyteller. He takes what could be short stories and boils them down for maximum impact. He’s that rare writer that can make you feel like he’s talking both to you and for you in his lyrics.

In the hard-rocking “Cumberland Gap” which features the full 400 Unit band, Isbell captures the despondency of a coal miner’s son who is just looking to find a way out of a town that threatens to destroy him in more ways than one on a daily basis.

Things slow down in “Tupelo.” At first listen this one might sound like a paean to the city, but on further listening it’s anything but, as Isbell declares, “You get about a week of spring, and the summer is blistering/There ain’t no one from here that’ll follow me there.”

“White Man’s World” is getting a lot of attention ahead of the release of this record and rightly so. In four minutes Isbell tackles the weighty topic of white male privilege, addressing both race and gender issues in a powerful tune. The subject matter is touchy, but Isbell is not without hope that things can change, as he says in the closing lines, “I still have faith, but I don’t know why / Maybe it’s the fire in my little girl’s eyes.”

The centerpiece of The Nashville Sound is, without a doubt, “If We Were Vampires.” In this song, Isbell pares things down to just acoustic guitar, his voice and backup vocals from Shires. With that setup, Isbell delivers a devastatingly beautiful love song. This is not some sappy take on unrequited affections. No, this is a song written from the point of view of a man that has found the love of his life and who is coming to terms that their time together is limited and that they need to treasure each moment. As Isbell sings, “It’s knowing that this can’t go on forever / Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone / Maybe we’ll get forty years together / But one day I’ll be gone or one day you’ll be gone.”

“Anxiety” is the longest song on the record, coming in at over seven minutes and like “Cumberland Gap” it features the full band, which is firing on all cylinders as Isbell ponders a life that could be taken away from him at any moment. “Lying here in silence / Wife and child still sleeping deep enough to dream / I know I’m a lucky man today / But so afraid that time will take it all from me.”

“Hope the High Road” is the rock anthem, well as close to a rock anthem Isbell is going to get. It’s another politically charged song, but there’s no unfocused anger in the lyrics. As the title suggests, Isbell is trying to take a positive outlook on what he sees going on around him, “I’ve heard enough of the white man’s blues / I’ve sang enough about myself / So if you’re looking for some bad news / You can find it somewhere else.”

For those that long for the type of songs that made Isbell’s last two albums, Southeastern and Something More Than Free, so good, the closing track, “Something to Love,” will bring a smile to your face.

Isbell has flirted with a mainstream breakthrough for the past several years with each of his last two records climbing high on the charts in multiple categories. It feels like the ten-song The Nashville Sound will be the collection that puts him over the top, allowing him to shed the constraining labels he’s been burdened with throughout his career.

The post With The Nashville Sound, Jason Isbell Stakes His Claim as America’s Best Songwriter appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Season two of the Netflix animated series, F is for Family, picks up three weeks after Frank’s firing, and things are not going well for the Murphys. Frank (Bill Burr) is still without a job, and to make matters worse (at least in Frank’s 1970’s macho mind), his wife Sue (Laura Dern) has become the primary breadwinner for the family via her job with plastic food storage company Plast-a-Ware.

For those that were raised during the 1970s the themes of Season 2 ring true. The days of the one income family were quickly coming to an end, but at the same time, the sexism that women faced in the workplace was still all too present and easily accepted. Inflation was on the rise, gas was being rationed and good paying jobs were becoming hard to come by.

It was a difficult period for adults, but children faced issues of their own, mainly that they were increasingly left to their own devices in the two-income family. In F is for Family, the Murphy children, Kevin (Justin Long), Bill (Haley Reinhart), and Maureen (Debi Derryberry) are doing their best to adjust to the changing world just the same as their parents are. And just like Frank and Sue, they’re having a tough go of it.

Frank struggles the most, mainly because he finds himself feeling like a failure and less than man. Throughout the season the darkness he feels in his soul is expressed in blinding negativity. He’s the man who had grand plans for his future only to find them derailed before they could ever be put in motion, and every day he’s been focused on crushing the hopes and dreams of others – mainly his family.

No one is safe from Frank’s wrath. His ego is so bruised by Sue’s small success in the workplace that he eventually admits that he has been hoping for her to fail. As for the children, Frank is hardest on teenage Kevin who just wants to be in a band and youngest Maureen, who might just be the brightest member of the family. As for Bill, well, as the middle child, he has middle child problems, mainly a lack of attention.

Even when Frank is able to get a job, it’s about as bottom rung as it can get and due to the low pay he’s forced to take every shift available to him, straining the family dynamic to it’s breaking point.

That’s really the tale of the show, how a lower-middle class family tries to work through the changes in society that folks the age of Frank and Sue never anticipated. They came from a generation where the man was the breadwinner and the woman stayed at home and raised the family.

There are a few drawbacks to Season two of this show. For one, the 10-episode season is much longer than the six-episode first season and at times this season drags, especially when ancillary characters are played for cheap laughs. Sure, coked up Vic is a funny/tragic figure, but the arc of his story seems to be written with not a whole lot of thought at some points.

What F is for Family does well is what the best comedy shows do well, it takes a bleak premise and stretches it to the point of ridiculousness to make you laugh, but it doesn’t let you forget that there’s real ugliness behind that laughter. In that way, the show is maybe a slightly lighter version of BoJack Horseman, another Netflix animated series.

That’s not to say that the show is all dark and dour. It does have its moments of light and hope, and as with many series, most of that is saved for the final episode, which will allow for an as-yet-unannounced third season of the show, something Netflix should get in the works sooner rather than later.

The post F is for Family — Season Two is a Dark, Funny Look at the 1970s Family appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

There was a fair amount of promotional material floating around the store for “The Good Son,” and I asked one of my co-workers/roommates about it. He described Cave as a sort of “goth Sinatra.” While I was not (and am not) a fan of Sinatra, I was intrigued and picked up a copy of the CD. I was immediately captivated by what I heard and quickly dug into the back catalog of the band, as well as Cave’s previous work with The Birthday Party and The Boys Next Door.

Actually, that makes it sounds like I casually waded into the musical history of Cave and his bands. That wasn’t the case; I immersed myself in the work to the point where it bordered on addiction.

My enthusiasm for the band had its ups and downs since that day more than 27 years ago, but like every obsessive relationship, we would always get back together. Our most recent reunion took place over the countless hours it took to absorb every last detail of “Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (1984-2014).

This collection comes in a handful of different formats. The double CD and triple LP formats feature 21 songs. The 3CD/DVD/Book set ups the song total to 45 tracks and adds more than two hours of video footage to go along with a 36-page book. The “Limited Edition Super Deluxe with Hardcover Book” option delivers 45 songs, two plus hours of video and a heavy-duty 256-page hardcover book. That last one is the version I’m going to review, and it is the best bet for Nick Cave and the Bad Seed newbies and completists alike.

The songs on the box set editions of “Lovely Creatures” are organized chronologically, opening with the sneering and swaggering bass heavy “From Her to Eternity” from 1984. That song and several of the other earlier titles, sound very much like The Birthday Party, a grimy mix of The Stooges, blues and some post-punk art school flourishes.

As the collection progresses, Cave and his band find their groove, latching hard onto blues themes, but running them through a modern lens. By the time “The Mercy Seat” from 1988’s “Tender Prey” came along, they were a well-oiled machine, delivering more than seven minutes of unresolved crazy-eyed tension from the point of view of a death row inmate waiting to meet his fate in the electric chair.

It was shortly after “Tender Prey” when the band turned a corner of sorts. With “The Good Son” the band seemed to come into its own as a cohesive unit. The discordant blues of the early albums were replaced by a more, well, romantic sound, based around more tuneful orchestration, heavy on piano and understated, but still forceful, guitar work

That’s not to say The Bad Seeds went soft around this time; they didn’t. For every heartachingly beautiful song, such as “Straight to You,” or “Into My Arms,” both of which should be a staple of every wedding, the band delivers a revved up psychopathic stomper like “Red Right Hand,” “Papa Won’t Leave You Henry” or their take of the American folk classic “Stagger Lee.”

The best times of the Bad Seeds, from 1992’s “Henry’s Dream” through 2001’s “No More Shall We Part” get a lot of attention, with 17 of the 45 tracks coming from those six records.

The Bad Seeds saw some turnover after those records, shedding long-term and influential band members, most notably guitar players Blixa Bargeld and Mick Harvey who had been with the band since 1984. The music suffered a bit with the loss of those two. However, at the same time, Warren Ellis was coming into his own as a member of the band. By the time 2013’s fantastic “Push the Sky Away” was released, Ellis’ influence on The Bad Seeds, through his violin and sound manipulation, was fully realized. The band was once again firing on all cylinders, delivering beautiful, understated songs such as “Higgs Boson Blues” that stand with anything the early version of group ever released.

The hardcover book that comes with the box set is something to behold. Its pages are full of essays and photographs from the entire history of the band, from the making of “From Her to Eternity” through the recording of “Push the Sky Away.”

As for the DVD, that too is worth your time, compiling numerous interviews and live versions of the band’s songs throughout its long history, including a haunting 2013 version of “Push the Sky Away” from The Fonda Theatre.

The breadth of this box set might seem daunting to a newcomer. Conversely, a longtime fan could look at it as a collection of songs they have heard before. There may be some truth in both of those takes, but the reality is that there’s something for everyone in “Lovely Creatures.” New fans will be exposed to one of the best bands ever to grace a stage; completists will linger over the essays, photos and DVD material, learning small details they might have missed over the 30 years the collection covers.

“Lovely Creatures” is a work of art; you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you avoid it.

The post Nick Cave’s Lovely Creatures is a Can’t Miss Collection appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Why deadlift?

1. It’s functional. You pick stuff up and put stuff down every day. Sometimes that stuff is heavy. Not only will deadlifting help you in those endeavors, but it will also help make sure you are doing those tasks in the safest way possible.

2. It builds overall strength and mass. The deadlift works the following muscles: back, glutes, legs, forearms, calves, shoulders and traps. Another important, and often overlooked, element of the deadlift is the effect it has on grip strength. With all those muscles engaged, the deadlift adds mass like no other lift. If you want a powerful overall build, you should deadlift.

3. It works your cardiovascular system. While the deadlift isn’t a substitute for hill sprints or time on an Airdyne, it does help your cardio. Don’t think it’s true? Do a set of heavy deadlifts and see if you aren’t gasping for air by the time you reach failure.

4. It’s good for core and stability. If you are using proper technique, the deadlift will help your posture and increase your core strength.

5. It’s a great gauge of overall strength.

6. Jon Pall Sigmarsson

How?

Okay, now you know why you should deadlift, but before you just walk up to a loaded bar and start pumping out reps, it’s important to know how to perform the lift correctly.

1. The first thing you want to do when you approach the loaded bar is set your stance. Your feet should be shoulder width apart and the bar should be across the middle of your feet.

2. Now that your stance is set and the bar is in the proper position, do not move the bar. Do not roll the bar forward or backward, keep the bar right where it is, across the middle of your feet.

3. Lean over and grab the bar with an overhand (both palms facing you) grip, but keep your legs straight while doing this. You can use a split grip if you want (one overhand/one underhand), but ideally, both hands should be in the same position. Your forearms should be outside your legs, just short of touching.

4. Now you’ll set your back in the proper position, which is the most important part of the lift. You’ll do this by bending your knees until your shins meet the bar. At this point, raise your chest. Doing this will put your spine in a neutral position; that is not rounded or hyperextended.

5. If the bar moves during this process or your back does not feel like it is in the correct position, start over from the first step until you feel comfortable with your stance.

6. Breath in and lift, driving your heels down at the same time. The bar should remain in contact with your legs, your core and back should stay tight, your arms should be straight, and your should squeeze your glutes once the bar hits thigh level. Do not lean back once you reach the top of the lift. Do not look up during the lift.

7. Reset by reversing the above step. Do not round your back while lowering the bar and do not loosen your grip until the bar is resting on the ground.

8. Do not drop the bar or bounce the weights between reps.

Dangers and Mistakes

1. If you round or flex your back, you will set yourself up for injury. If you’re unsure you have achieved a proper lifting technique, make a video of your stance. Remember, keep a neutral spine during the entire lift.

2. The reason you don’t bounce the bar is that you don’t want to use the momentum of the bar to power your reps.

3. If you look up during the lift, you can also strain your back. Keep your head in line with your back.

4. Do not use your arms during the lift other than to hold the bar. If you have bent elbows at any time of the lift, you risk injury.

5. Don’t start heavy. Make sure you are comfortable with your stance and technique before you begin moving heavy weights.

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“Ear Hustle is different in that it approaches the prisoners of San Quentin State Prison not as commodities to be observed from afar and examined, but as people. It’s less social experiment and more social interaction.”

Others opt to just go with a straight retelling of a crime. The best, like Crimetown, have a huge team behind them and deliver something akin to a traditional documentary. Sometimes these podcasts succeed, but most times listeners are left feeling a little duped — like they invested hours of time for no tangible payoff. One new true crime podcast that refuses to follow that formula is Ear Hustle.

What makes Ear Hustle so different is that it approaches its subjects, the prisoners of San Quentin State Prison, not as commodities to be looked at from afar and examined, but as people. It’s less social experiment and more social interaction. The hosts are not outsiders peering into a fishbowl. Instead, they are the ultimate insiders. Two of the three-person team working on the podcasts are San Quentin prisoners, while the third is a volunteer at the notorious prison.

“Ear hustle,” according to co-host Earlonne Woods, is prison lingo for “being nosy and eavesdropping.” That’s an apt description of the podcast, as the hosts give the listener a look at what life is like for the folks doing time inside San Quentin.

Woods is serving a 31 years-to-life sentence for attempted second-degree robbery, while sound designer Antwan Williams is in the final third of a 15-year bid for armed robbery with a gun enhancement. Nigel Poor, who became involved with the San Quentin “Prison University Project” in 2011, joins Woods and Williams as co-host.

Ear Hustle is halfway through its 10-episode first season. The podcast is part of the Radiotopia network, joining that group when it won Radiotopia’s first podcast competition in 2016, beating out more than 1,500 other submissions.

If you listen to just a single episode, it’s easy to see why the judges decided to get behind Ear Hustle.

While other true crime podcasts do the heavy lifting of investigative journalism or attempt to sway your stance on crime one way or another, Ear Hustle takes a much more personal tack. It allows those inside San Quentin to express themselves plainly and openly and without judgment on a variety of day-to-day real-life issues, issues that those both inside and outside the prison environment can relate to.

“The way Woods and Poor handle their interview subjects allows the honesty and yes, even some humor, to come through in the prisoner’s storytelling. At the same time that style provides a look into the horror and heartbreak of the lives of the storytellers.”

Some of those issues are finding and living with a roommate (cellmate), how misplaced loyalty can up affect someone’s entire life and even keeping pets. While these subjects may seem mundane, they often have serious ramifications, a fact detailed in the “Cellies” episode where tensions can run high in a 4 x 9-foot enclosure.

The way Woods and Poor handle their interview subjects allows the honesty and yes, even some humor, to come through in the prisoner’s storytelling. At the same time that style provides a look into the horror and heartbreak of the lives of the storytellers. That is especially apparent during the “Looking Out” episode where Rauch (pronounced “roach”) speaks about the long list of “critters” he has kept and cared for while being locked up, while also detailing what led to his nickname and his 15 years-to-life sentence.

That’s not to say Ear Hustle doesn’t delve into weighty subjects, it does. During the “Misguided Loyalty” episode Tommy Shakur Ross speaks about the pull of gang life. Ross details how the “glamour” of that world drew him to the Crips and how his time in the gang changed not only his life, but the lives of his family, and also, the entire trajectory of the Los Angeles gang wars of the 1980s. In “The Shu” episode, the hosts speak to four men who spent a combined 60 years in the Security Housing Unit, or solitary confinement, at Pelican Bay State Prison.

Wood and Poor make an effective team. While Wood is the gregarious “inside man,” Poor does an excellent job of asking Wood the right questions when she needs to. She draws him out when needed to help listeners better understand the everyday goings-on in prison that Wood might take for granted.

The interviews of the prisoners don’t feature much interaction from the hosts, and that’s a good thing. Just hearing these men speak uninterrupted on a particular subject lends more power to their words. There are no distractions, no tricky edits, just a pure focus on the individual.

As impressive as Ear Hustle is, the podcast becomes more remarkable when you consider it’s not all that easy to make.

The three co-founders can’t just plop down in front of a microphone or their editing equipment whenever they want. They can’t call or email each other to collaborate outside of their face-to-face time. They are limited to working during the time they spend together at San Quentin’s media lab.

Ear Hustle is released every two weeks unless something out of the host’s control, such as a prison lockdown, delays the release of an episode. So if you discover there’s been a long time between episodes, cut the hosts some slack.

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