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GTA IV Looks Great, But Is It Worth A Full 10?

Authored by Jay Baage on April 28, 2008 - 7:53am.


Tomorrow April 29, one of the most anticipated video games of the year, Take Two Interactive (NSDQ: TTWO) and Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto IV," will hit store shelves. Analysts predict that it will top last year's record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Bungee Studios' first-person shooter "Halo 3", according to the Associated Press.

tags: Games | Video | Marketing | IGN | Reviews | Rockstar | GTA IV |

Music Review: Unimpressed at New York City’s Knitting Factory

Authored by Chris Fulenwider on March 2, 2007 - 6:01pm.
Subtle The Knitting Factory is one of the best music venues in the city. I walked into the main venue on February 27th after grabbing a drink at the front bar, paying no attention to the music. I posted up with two friends and we took frothy sips of our cold beers before taking note of the catastrophe happening on stage. The shock to the system was so profound that I didn’t even know what instruments were being played. I can tell you that the band, which calls itself Lucibel Crater, was comprised of three members. The lead singer, to my astonishment, was looping poetry on top of poetry on top of poetry. It reminded me of a story about a friend in San Diego, Frank, who lived in an apartment complex across from another friend, Big Red, and the legendary haze that took place one hot afternoon.
tags: Music | Artists | Reviews | Bands | Knitting Factory | Lucibel Crater | Subtle |

How Yelp Beat Judy’s Book

Authored by Peter Krasilovsky on February 8, 2007 - 12:55pm.
There is no better guide to how to avoid the potholes in hyper-local than Judy’s Book Co-Founder Andy Sack, who has been writing a series of “don’t do this at home” posts about Judy’s Book’s failed efforts building an online review site. (The site is now refocused on local promotions). In the most recent installment, Sack talks about how Yelp came into the game with a better strategy.
tags: Internet | Advertising | Online Publishing | Reviews | Local | Online Communities | Yelp | Judy's Book |

What the Buck?! Why isn’t this Guy Signed?

Authored by Robert Spears on December 26, 2006 - 10:56am.
While searching for video of Jennifer Hudson on YouTube recently, my wife came across a refreshingly unique take on the new movie Dreamgirls, in which Hudson, a former American Idol contestant, outshines her most established co-stars – in particular Beyonce Knowles and Jamie Foxx – in her underdog role as Effie White. The reviewer, AKA Buck the Hustler, aptly conveys his fun and over-the-top style with the clip’s title: Beyonce Threatens to KILL Jennifer Hudson if she WINS OSCAR!
tags: Internet | Video | TV | Movies | Comedy | YouTube | Reviews | UGC | Dreamgirls | WTB | Michael Buckley |

Game Preview: MLB ’07 The Show for Playstation Offers a Nice Update to ’06 Version

Authored by Scott Goldberg on December 12, 2006 - 8:43am.
MLB 07 - 2 Here’s the thing about sports games: When a game makes a huge leap forward graphically, like MLB ’06 on PS2, it’s difficult to take it much further the following year.  So the focus instead turns to improvements on game play, and in that sense, MLB ’07: The Show doesn’t disappoint.  The new game, to be released February 27, features some interesting twists: For starters, the Online League Play mode, which is basically organized like Fantasy Baseball, allows players to draft a squad, maintain detailed stats, and compete with up to 30 other teams.   
tags: Games | Video | Sony | PS2 | PS3 | Reviews | Video Games | Scott Goldberg |

Music Review: Regina Spektor will Become a Household Name

Authored by Scott Goldberg on December 1, 2006 - 7:08am.
Regina Spektor 2The Russian native and one-woman band Regina Spektor is going mainstream following a steady gig as The Strokes’ favorite opening act.  Her first album with Sire Records, Begin to Hope, will have a wider appeal than 11:11, her debut, and Soviet Kitsch, but it’s still thoroughly Regina.  Comparisons from music critics include Norah Jones (because Spektor is fond of the piano), Fiona Apple (because at times she sings powerfully about being a powerful female), and Tristan Prettyman (because her lyrics are sweet and easy).  But it doesn’t take long to realize she has a style all her own, musically and lyrically.  She can sing the blues with the best, sounding like Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” on the song “Lady,” or bring out her darker side and sound like Bjork on “Apres Moi.”
tags: Music | Artists | Reviews | Scott Goldberg | Samples | Regina Spektor |

Music Review: Few Compare to Citizen Cope's Originality

Authored by Scott Goldberg on October 20, 2006 - 4:59am.
Citizen CopeThe words “unique” and “original” are too often tossed at art and music unworthy of such lofty claims, because to possess a truly unique and original style is, perhaps, the highest aim of any artist.  Listening to Citizen Cope’s music, the lack of comparisons will not be obvious right away.  At first you’re reminded of the blues, Cope’s smoky voice and melancholy mood hovering over every track.  But his style is as much blues as it is rap, as much rap as it is reggae; in jazz terminology you might call it a “cool” approach – Cope always sings just behind the already slowed-down beat, taking his time with every word, and in that sense he lacks (gratefully) the urgency underlining most hip hop and rap today.
tags: Music | Reviews | Scott Goldberg | Samples | Citizen Cope |

Online City Guides Builder CityVoter Raises $1.1 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 6, 2006 - 2:32pm.
Cambridge, Mass. - CityVoter, a technology and market research company that builds online city guides for media companies, has raised $1.1 million in its first round of venture capital, led by Tudor Ventures, according to a report in Private Equity Week. Cambridge, Mass.-based CityVoter's service helps drives consumers online to vote for their favorite local businesses and gives each local business owner a free area to upload photos and information about their business.
tags: Deals | Internet | VC | Advertising | Online Publishing | Travel | Reviews | CityVoter |

User-Generated Local Reviews Site Yelp Raises $10 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2006 - 3:26pm.
San Francisco - Yelp, a site that publishes reviews of local businesses, announced on Thursday that it has raised $10 million in new financing from Benchmark Capital. San Francisco-based Yelp said it receives thousands of new user-generated reviews of restaurants and other local businesses each day, and has large online communities in Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Seattle. The site attracted 1.5 million unique visitors in September. The company said it will use the funds to expand its offering in major metropolitan areas across the country.
tags: Deals | Internet | VC | Advertising | Online Publishing | Reviews | Benchmark Capital | UGC | Yelp |

N.Y. Times Tech Columnist Reviews Disney's MovieBeam Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 1, 2006 - 1:11pm.
New York - The New York Times on Thursday published a review of Disney's MovieBeam service, which uses a portion of the broadcast spectrum to download 100 movies to a $200 set-top box.
tags: Pricing | Internet | Video | Video Pricing | Marketing | Movies | Commerce | Disney | Reviews | MovieBeam |

N.Y. Times: "Why the World Doesn't Need Hi-Def DVD's"

Authored by dmw on May 11, 2006 - 12:22pm.
New York - The New York Times on Thursday posted a review of the first HD DVD player from Toshiba to hit the market, the $500 HD-A1, in a column entitled, "Why the World Doesn't Need Hi-Def DVD's". The review concludes that one shouldn't purchase an HD-A1 "unless you're an early-adopter masochist with money to burn," adding that "the public may well decide that regular DVD's are just fine as they are."
tags: Video | Tech | TV | CE | DVD | Toshiba | HD DVD | Reviews | NY Times |