Obama isn’t playing around with AIG.

Of course, since President Obama has a much more refined grasp of the English language than yours truly, he didn’t actually tell AIG to suck it. Not in so many words anyway. During a press conference earlier today, President Barack Obama said that he would pursue every legal avenue to block the $165 million dollars in bonuses AIG paid out to some of their counterparties and employees. Here’s how the bonus payout shakes out so far:

• $450 million for about 400 employees of the Financial Products unit, with $165 million paid yesterday

• In December, AIG paid out $55 million to other counterparties or employees.

• The largest 2008 bonus was approximately $6.5 million. Six other AIG employees received more than $3 million.
• The bonuses were part a $1 billion dollar incentive plan conceived by AIG to reward certain employees for their loyalty to the company during AIG’s recent internal and financial chaos.
  

To date, AIG has received approximately $173 billion dollars of bail out cash from you the Feds.

Suck it AIG!

Source: Bloomberg.com.

Clem Snide, Me No, from Hungry Bird, 2009.

Clem Snide vocalist, Eef Barzelay could mumble into a wet paper bag and still get me. Even Clem Snide’s cover of a Christina Augilera song, Beautiful, is actually beautiful when Barzelay sings it. After a few solo releases from Barzelay, the Brooklyn band reunited, recorded and released Hungry Bird, their sixth studio record, late last month. Clem Snide’s east coast tour is in full swing with a stop in Philly tonight at the World Cafe Live. West coast dates will be announced shortly via the band’s website.

David MacDowell, The Critial Mass. Acrylic on canvas.

And David MacDowell’s art is pretty Metal as well. MacDowell’s new show, The Sins of Atticus Finch opened at The Thinkspace Gallery in Santa Monica on Friday. The show includes works based on Gregory Peck’s portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. MacDowell mused to Think Space about his admiration for the fictional Finch:

As a kid, I always loved “To Kill A Mockingbird”, and wished Atticus Finch was my dad. To be guided by such ethical wisdom would have made me a better person, I imagine.

Dave MacDowell, The Jaws of Metal. Acrylic on canvas.

MacDowell’s paintings are often centered around iconic cinematic events, as well as images of the residents of Hollyweirds elite class, like Jack Nicholson and Al Pachino.

Dave MacDowell, Welcome to the Terrordome. Acrylic on canvas.

Like many of his fellow artists, MacDowell’s early fascination with Walt Disney occasionally manifests itself in his paintings. MacDowell’s Welcome to the Terrordome (also featured in the Thinkspace show) features an image of Disney himself enjoying a tasty brown beverage. A little Jack always helps get the party rolling. Especially in hell…

David MacDowell is a native of Virgina. He never received any formal training in art. Some of MacDowell’s paintings are also currently featured in group shows at La Luz De Jesus Gallery and at The Alternative Cafe in Seaside, California. Check out more from MacDowell here.

New York Dolls, Cause I Sez So.

The New York Dolls 4th record, Cause I Sez So, is due out on May 5th. Cause was produced by Todd Rundgren, who also produced the Dolls first record, 1973’s, New York Dolls. Here’s the track listing:

01. ‘Cause I Sez So
02. Muddy Bones
03. Better Than
04. Lonely So Long
05. My World
06. Ridiculous
07. Temptation To Exist
08. Making Rain
09. Drowning
10. Nobody Got No Bizness
11. Trash
12. Exorcism Of Despair

Original NY Doll, Slyvain Sylvain will be a part of The Sound and the Fury panel at SXSW on March 20th.