A film premiered at Sundance last night about an artist that couldn’t be filmed, or wouldn’t. “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is about a French shopkeeper and an amateur director that wanted to make a documentary about the prolific, and famously secretive artist named Banksy.

Soundtrack for a Revolution is the story of how music played a significant, powerful role in the Civil Rights movement. From Mahalia Jackson’s “How I Got Over” to her mentoring of the inimitable Aretha Franklin who carried the torch to the numerous artists that held steadfast during their careers so that these young instruments like The Roots, TV on the Radio and John Legend could perform all over the world.

Terry Richardson, being one of the dopest photographers ever, does things in his own time. We told you about Terry’s crazy Pirelli calendar a minute ago (link appropriately), and now he’s gone all 2000s on us and started his own blog!

Aaron Rose has long been a force in bringing marginalized artists and creators into mainstream culture, like skate, music and film. From his work with RVCA and Nike to his Alleged gallery (RIP) and Beautiful Losers art show and documentary, Rose has been at the flashpoint of many amazing artists careers such as Phil Frost, Barry McGee, Ed Templeton and many more.

A ton of random stuff happened in the last year, from deaths of superstars and some pretty close friends. We got a new president, and a bunch more reality TV which started to mirror the scandalous lives of sports figures. 2009 may have been the most historical year for changes in many ages, but there’s still really not much else to say about these dramatic shifts — other than LET’S PARTY!

If only it was this simple to be able to spend your next decade on Pandora ! Thanks to Peter Ammenthorp Lund’s inspired video and photo shop skills we can at least dream of it while like me heading off for a 3rd or 4th round at the IMax.

HBO has been bringing quality shows to premium cable subscribers for years. Each year, they sweep the Emmys with their highly original programming and gain legions of loyal followers in the process. The good folks at the cable giant do this by continually introducing a cast of memorable characters across their plain of weekly shows. Ladies and germs, we present to you the a recap of the 5ive most interesting and entertaining HBO characters of 2009.

So far, everything new we’ve heard/seen from Massive Attack, the Led Zeppelin of dark downtempo grooves, has been brilliant – from the amazing “Pray For Rain” featuring TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe to the waaaaaay NSFW video for the song “Paradise Circus”, which also has a great vocal from Mazzy Star chanteuse Hope Sandoval. So it’s no surprise that the limited vinyl edition of Massive Attack’s “Splitting The Atom” e.p. – its only physical would be so artistic and collectable.

Animation wunderkind Mark Langan… Something about tennis balls and God.

Photographer Ryan McGinley originally shot these photos for The New York Times, documenting the 2004 US Olympic Swim Team. His images of Michael Phelps, Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, Diana Munz and Jenny Thompson were stunning examples of McGinley’s prowess behind the lens, capturing the team underwater in a variety of states of play.

How did I know the Raiders were cool? When all the breakdancers in my school – which was in suburban Chicago, far from the Raiders’ then-L.A. home – started wearing the team’s distinctive silver and black, pirate-themed gear. Ice Cube apparently seems to agree – he’s made a documentary about his Raider love for ESPN called “Straight Outta L.A”

Flash-mobs are random, awesome, fun, and awe-inspiring! Wikepedia defines a flash mob as a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. These spontaneous group performances reveal that there are people out there are working to make something fun and awesome, and giving it to others without expecting anything in return.

It makes perfect sense for Terry Richardson to shoot the 2010 Pirelli Calendar. I mean who else but the lecherous but oh-so talented model photographer would be the first to be tapped to shoot a bunch of really hot women in the jungles of Malaysia (?).

Damien Hirst and Supreme have a long-standing relationship, and the wild-child artist has taken an opportunity to work with them again via a series of skate decks. While the design is clean, striking and modern, it is a previous Hirst work that’s also being revisited.

Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer are two of the most legendary sports photographers. Their work has become part of the cultural lexicon, as well as inspiration for new generations of photographers as well as athletes aspiring to be captured so artistically. Iooss is best known for his portraits of famous athletes like Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Brett Favre, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky. In his career, he has covered virtually every major sports event, including all 43 Super Bowls.

Hipsters, thugs, and assorted hangers on all crammed into L.A.’s Silent Movie Theater last night for a private screening of The Carter, the Lil’ Wayne documentary that’s had the Internet goin’ nuts for months – first because Wayne yanked his support from it, and next because there’s a dope trailer floating around that suggests the movie might, in fact, be amazing. Well, for once, trailers don’t lie – The Carter is a masterpiece, an incredibly vivid and detailed look into the life and process of a great artist.

Finally, a movie that looks like it just might satisfy sports fans and Oscar voters. Invictus, the new movie directed by Clint Eastwood, belongs to probably the saddest sub-section of sports movies there is: the rugby film. Furthermore, it’s a sweeping historical drama, not a rah-rah tearjerker (Hoosiers) or comedy (Slap Shot) that make up the more successful films about athletes.

Palladium Boots has a cool series called “Uneven Terrain” that explores some of the man-made odd-modern landscapes, that are simultaneously strange yet interesting from an anthropological standpoint. The scars of the industrial revolution to be navigated by today’s explorers. Recently, they went in search of oil underneath Los Angeles, which is already pretty “meta” if you live here.

People come to California, expecting a perpetual sunbathed beach front that glide right up to the Golden Gate bridge — a beautiful, exotic locale. However, there’s a big expanse between LA and SF, which is filled with some of the best agricultural and natural land in the world. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some incredible sights along the coast. However, there’s also one city, the equivalent of the flyover states for California, a town called Fresno. Nicknamed by many “the armpit of California”…

Ryan McGinness is creating language with his art. Using symbols, iconography and corporate logos, he brings new context through repetition and juxtaposition, his pieces construct “worlds within worlds,” according to him. McGinness is one of the few artists today that blurs the lines between design and pop culture, sometimes taking the route of performance art.