10 Things to Put on Your Radar Screen for 2009

The Best Comedy Group You've Never Heard of: LANDLINE TV

Three months ago, the writers from Newsgroper.com teamed up with the actors from New York’s sketch comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade to form Landline TV.  Since then, they’ve taken YouTube by storm with videos like Hockey Moms Against Sarah Palin and Plaxico Burress On Gun Safety (Video below).

These guys will be big in 2009.

Watch all their videos here before you catch them on Comedy Central.

What is Mondo Taitu?

Mondo Taitu is a tiny surf-hut, insane asylum of a backpacker’s hostel in Bocas del Toro, Panama owned by three party-loving, twenty-five-year-old guys from San Francisco.

Why you’ve never heard of it — Mtv proposed making a reality show about the hostel in 2007, but the owners, not keen on being celebretards, declined the offer.

Why you should go — Because most people that book for a week, end up staying for a month.  

Famous among surfers and backpackers for their twice weekly theme parties, Mondo Taitu is simply put, the best party/hostel/vibe in central America and probably the world.  

Consistently ranked one of the top party hostels in Central America by Lonely Planet those in the know, skip their trips to Costa Rica and go here instead.  

Word is that the owners are looking to sell Mondo in the next year or two to move back to the San Francisco (probably to come back to Bay to Breakers).  So if you’re looking for a killer new job, check out their site; and maybe you’ll become the next owner…

The Best Bar You've Never Heard Of: The Violet Hour, Chicago

What is the Violet Hour?

It’s a super-secret prohibition era speakeasy in Chicago that is bringing the art of the cocktail back to the American forefront

Why you’ve never heard of it: The bar doesn’t have a sign on the building and doesn’t advertise. Unless you know someone who’s been there, it’s nearly impossible to find.

Why you need to go:

Because it’s ultra-f*cking cool to hang out in a speakeasy and the sign in the bathroom says it all:

“No O-Bombs, Jager-Bombs, or Bombs of Any Kind,No Budweiser, No light beer, No Grey Goose, No cosmopolitans.

And finally, please do not bring anyone
to the Violet Hour that you wouldn’t take to your
mother’s house for Sunday dinner.”

Oh yeah, and I forgot, they also make the best cocktails in America according to those who know…

If you are a cocktail aficionado you have to make a pilgrimage to the Violet Hour to try their signature drink, the Romeo and Juliet: It’s Beefeater, mint, cucumber and rose water. It’s unreal, good.

To learn more and see the rest of their menu, check out their website

What is Hulu?

Hulu is kind of like a poorman’s DVR. Created in 2008 by NBC and Fox as a way to combat Youtube, Hulu offers ad supported streaming video of your favorite TV shows on your computer.  In other words — TV shows on your computer whenever you want to watch them.  Most your favorite shows are on there including: Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Arrested Development, 24, Always Sunny, The Office, SNL and Family Guy. 

If You’ve never heard of Hulu it may be because:

(A) It just launched in March of 2008.

(B) You swore off websites with nonsensical names after becoming addicted to Google, then Zillow, then Oodle and Twitter.

© You are afraid of the Internets.

Why you need to check it out: 

Because the economy sucks…Do you really need cable anymore?  Every show you wanna watch (except Sportscenter) is on Hulu, so why don’t you save the $100 a month you were spending on cable and use the money for something more worthwhile like getting yourself a gym membership, saving up for a cool trip or giving the money to charity.

The Best Band You've Never Heard Of: HOWL

What is Howl?

Howl is the four-man side project of Brady Miller (the uber-talented guitarist for Money Mark of the Beastie Boys). While you can’t peg Howl to any one genre, their music is closest to psychedelic synthpop and sounds a lot like the psychedelic electronica that MGMT experimented with on their 2005 debut album Climbing to New Lows.   
Why you’ve never heard of them until now: 

Howl just started off as a side project for fun, but quickly grew popular within the SoCal surf scene in late 2007, prompting the four member band to record their debut studio album, Party in Los Angeles this past summer.  Since they recorded Party the band has kept a low profile for the rest of 2008 while Miller was out of the country touring with Money Mark. But now that Miller is back from tour and ready to hunker down for a bit, look for Howl to take things to another level in 2009.
Why you need to know about this band for 2009: 
Because the band straight up, kills it!!! If you liked early (2005 era) MGMT, you’ll wanna check out HOWL.  Once you hear their single B Evil, you’ll never be able to get it out of your head again. EVER.  Plus, word has it that Ross Bregozzo is looking to direct the music video for B Evil this spring…

What to do:
Step 1:  purchase B Evil or Howl’s entire album, Party on iTunes
Step 2: Walk around knowing that you are just a tiny bit more awesome than everyone else.

The Best Microbrew You've Never Heard of: Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale

Think you can only get a good micro brew in Oregon or Washington state? Think again.

Sweetwater is the best Microbrewery in America, hands down.  

From their very popular West Coast style 420 Pale Ale to their super-hard-to-get-your-hands-on, knock-you-on-your-ass, 8.6% alcohol, Festive Ale (available Oct-Dec) every beer in their collection is awesome and worth trying!

Why you’ve never heard of them:  They’re based in Atlanta and distribute only in the Southeast.

Why you should check them out: They’re the only brewery east of the Mississippi to win small brewery of the year in the 25 year history of the Great American Beer Festival, AKA the “Super Bowl of Brewing”

What you should do: 

Step 1: Go to their facebook page and request that they begin distribution in your hood

Step 2: Have your taste buds send me a thank you note.

The Best Museum You've Never Heard of: The Museum of Jurassic Technology, Culver City, California

What is the Museum of Jurassic Technology?
A truly bizarre museum with a strange name, the MJT is like a real life Ripley’s Believe it or Not, housing all types of curios ranging from displays on medical anomalies and bats that can fly through solid materials to  a collection of miniature sculptures including one of Pope John Paul II carved out of a single strand of human hair.
Why You’ve Never Heard of it:   Well for one, it’s in Culver City, a neighborhood in Los Angeles not particularly known for its rich culture.  And two, the museum is located in a strip mall between a real estate office and a Persian rug store.  Chances are if you know about this place it’s because you made a wrong turn somewhere or because someone cooler than you told you about it.

Why You Should Check This Place Out:  Because it will get your mind cranking for days. The lines between reality and fiction at the MJT are intentionally blurred by museum founder and curator David Wilson in what is believed to be a commentary on the authoritarian value we place in public museums.   While it’s impossible to tell which exhibits are completely fictional and which ones are based in reality, one thing is certain, museum founder David Wilson is not just a complete nut job — he received a Genius Grant from the Macarthur Foundation in 2003.