Arts, Entertainment, and Media

The Men Get Out of the Gutter

Brooklyn's post-hardcore noise addicts clean up but won't turn it down

On Lil Wayne and Future and Hip-hop Authenticity

Rap game ouroboros

Dov Hikind's Blackface Episode Gets the Daily Show Treatment

When pictures of Assembly member Dov Hikind dressed up in blackface as a "basketball player" for his annual Purim party hit Facebook this week, it prompted a predictable media firestorm. Predictable, apparently, to everyone except Hikind, who spent the last two days explaining to anyone who would l ... More >>

GIRLS POWER

Lena Dunham teams up with UCBT for a fundraiser

Best Speech of The Night

I'll give that honor to Best Actress Jennifer Lawrence. She was succinct, sweet, and sincere--everything a speech should be, including acknowledging the four losers, but not in a patronizing, humiliating way. And she did this even after falling on her face on the way up to the podium, and making a ... More >>

Why Hip-Hop Purists Should Learn To Stop Worrying and Love Waka Flocka

Tonight, Queens-born / Georgia-raised MC Waka Flocka takes the stage at B.B. Kings as part of the Waka Flocka and Friends concert. Unfortunately, a vocal sect of hip-hop purists here in the culture's birthplace have been anywhere from hesitant to downright dismissive of Flocka's brand of raucous rap ... More >>

Never Nominated For An Oscar...

There are actors (like Peter O'Toole and Glenn Close) who've gotten nominated a whole lot of times and never won. Yet. But how about the ones who've never even been nominated? In the case of the dead ones, I'm pretty sure they never will be! Now that's gotta hurt. Here are some of the top omission ... More >>

Celebrating the Discernment of the Late Andrew Sarris

Exceptional Americanism

Sorry, But Kanye Is the GOAT

Kanye West is the greatest hip-hop artist of all time. He's made the best albums and changed the game the most, and his music is the most likely to endure. One thing before we get going: This isn't one of those arguments meant to piss people off or "start a conversation." We really mean it. And, c ... More >>

Lil Wayne, Future, and the Ouroboros of Defensive Trendhumpery

If you pay attention to the Rap Internet, you are probably up to your elbows in people slinging the term "Appropriation" around, mostly in the context of the Harlem Shake meme. Even more loosely, people have been talking about what the idea of "ownership" in hip-hop actually, like, means these days. ... More >>

In Defense of New Girl (Hear Us Out...)

River Phoenix's Dark Blood: Not the Epitaph He Deserves

SCISSOR SISTER

Lucinda Rosenfeld discusses her new novel

The Completely Real, Totally Not Fake Deleted Destiny's Child Scenes From Beyoncé's HBO Doc

On Saturday, HBO premiered a Beyoncé biopic that starred Beyoncé and was directed by Beyoncé and produced by Beyoncé and created by Beyoncé and received the approval of the universe by Beyoncé. But this story isn't about Beyoncé. It is about something Beyoncé purposely omitted from her HBO s ... More >>

Advice For Aspiring Music Writers: Don't Quit, Just Don't Suck

The funny thing about Luke O'Neil's article earlier this week (titled "Advice For Aspiring Music Writers: Quit Now") is that "quit now" was the exact answer I gave when someone asked me last year what I would tell to a high school class of aspiring writers. My "quit now" was borne from a frustration ... More >>

Bronx Rapper Tim Dog, RIP

Yesterday, famously antagonistic Bronx-born rap artist Timothy "Tim Dog" Blair died of a diabetic seizure at the age of 46. One of the most boisterously brash voices ever heard on a rap record, Tim Dog was the epitome of the hulking hip-hop bully archetype. Debuting in 1987 as the featured guest op ... More >>

A Good Day to Die Hard, and to Die Alone

When John McClane lost his family, the movies lost much of John McClane

Maybe You Should Give British Rap A Chance?

About fifteen million years ago on the Internet (a/k/a at the beginning of January of this year), my friend Skinny Friedman issued an errant tweet claiming something to the effect of, "Grime is going to be big in 2013." Though he was joking (I think?), that got me thinking. I can see where he's comi ... More >>

Big Deaths, Bad Titles: Die Hard Lives On

John McClane sneering at the title of the newest Die Hard film You won't be able to tell, superficially, that Bruce Willis has aged--his level of baldness has remained unchanged since the mid-90s--but there are some signs of wear and tear on the newest, fifth iteration of the long-running Die Hard ... More >>

Matthew Dear

Five Lesser-Known Soul Men Worth Your Attention

You're right to believe Frank Ocean was robbed by Mumford & Sons for Album of the Year at the Grammys Sunday. But nevertheless, last year was a good one for r&b, one that saw different facets of the genre take center stage. By extension, Frank Ocean is now a household name. And though Kelly Clarkson ... More >>

Ten Rappers We'd Like To See on Reality TV

So many reality shows, and so many of them are terrible. But people watch this stuff, despite feigning revulsion. "Trash culture" is on the rise, and with everyone from Consequence to The Game are landing "roles" in a reality show, we wanted to get in on the action and list some potentially quality ... More >>

Critics Need to Lay Off Macklemore

The recently-crowned number one song in the country, as you probably know, is a Seattle-based white independent hip-hop artist's ode to shopping at thrift stores. I'm not sure exactly how the stars aligned and/or what Illuminati clerical error caused it to happen, but "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and ... More >>

No One Trusts the Tastes of Teenage Girls, But Should: Why Justin Bieber Is the Next Beatles

At what point did teen girls suddenly just become wrong? "Serious" music fans seem to have universally accepted a critique of quality that befalls any artist who willingly sells to the rabid teen girl market and stigmatized the fans who dare to sometimes be male or at least above the age of 18. It's ... More >>

The Best Tweets and Photos From Last Night's Grammy Awards

Last night, during the 55th Grammy Awards, we trudged through the bile and self-loating of angry would-be comedians and critics who took to Twitter to tell Jack White he looks like Edward Scissorhands and Johnny Depp he looks like the butt baby of Jack Sparrow and Steve Tyler and Adele she was dress ... More >>

The 25 Best OutKast Songs of All Time

Here's a hard truth that needs to be told and heard and understood: OutKast aren't getting back together. They just aren't. Stankonia, their last proper release as a bonafide duo, was 13 years ago. Andre is going to be Jimi Hendrix. Big Boi is making music with Phantogram and Wavves. They've moved o ... More >>

How Uptown Money Kills Downtown Art

Om'Mas Keith, The Chosen One

The Queens-born hip-hop producer walks in to the Grammys a double-nominee

In Defense of New Girl (Hear Us Out...)

Depending on your perspective, Zooey Deschanel is either the cutest, funniest, most adorable little retro-kookster on earth, or she's an irritating try-hard with zero comedy chops. The only thing the world seems able to universally agree on is that Deschanel has nice bangs. As such, her sitcom - ... More >>

Nashville Songwriter Luke Laird Talks Kacey Musgraves, Eric Church, and Kendrick Lamar

Since contributing to Carrie Underwood's 2007 "Last Name," 2012 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Luke Laird has netted almost a dozen chart-toppers, penning hits for everyone from Eric Church to Little Big Town and Miranda Lambert. This year, on top of work with Tim McGraw and Little Big Town, he' ... More >>

The Oscars Should Be More Like The Golden Globes

The recent Golden Globes telecast was so rivetingly entertaining that the Oscars need to do exactly what they did in order to approach watchability on February 24. IMHO, they should: *Tell Seth MacFarlane that he will now have two cohosts--Tina and Amy. They were brilliantly wry and need to be ad ... More >>

Will Long.Live.A$AP Be the Biggest Houston Rap Album of 2013?

[Ed. Note: The following post ran on the music blog of the Voice's sister publication Houston Press on Jan. 23. We rerun it here re: relevant to our interests.] By Nathan Smith There are a few things you should know about A$AP Rocky. He's a pretty motherfucker. His new album, Long.Live.A$AP, is a ... More >>

Beauty and the Vernacular Beast: Street-Art Meets Ballet at Lincoln Center Art Series Opening

Hunter S. Thompson, in his landmark book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, said that "every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time -- and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened." Re ... More >>

The Ten Best Jazz Shows in NYC This Month

See also: Ten Jazz Albums to Hear Before You Die

The Best Metal Concerts in NYC This Month

These are the best metal shows in NYC this month. See also: The Ten Best Metal Albums of 2012

Defend Your Ballot: Dan Weiss, Pazz and Jop 2012 Contributor

You can't really know where you're headed unless you know where you've been. For that reason, we're taking a look back at Pazz & Jop 2012 to drill down into the ballots of contributors and voters who participated. Maybe amongst the rubble we'll find clues about what lies ahead for music lovers in 20 ... More >>

Those "Influential" Albums Being Discussed on Facebook? They're Garbage

Influentialalbums.com is a "quiz" one of your Facebook friends might've posted, boasting "Very few people own 70 or more. How many have you got?" and listing 100 albums ranging from the duh (Blonde on Blonde, Pet Sounds) to the hmmm (Gerry Rafferty? Felt??) to the genuinely bizarre (well, see below) ... More >>

Frankie Knuckles

THE SOCIAL ARTIST

Jesse Eisenberg is 
ready to chat

Dianne Reeves

How Much Innuendo Can You Read Into This One Celebrity Item?

It's a HollyScoop story titled: HUGH JACKMAN STARSTRUCK BY JOHN TRAVOLTA. And it goes something like this: "Hugh Jackman is a big-time Hollywood star who we're assuming NEVER gets starstruck, because he's the one doing the star-striking (Is that a word? Nevermind) but there is one A-lister who ha ... More >>

Is The Oscar Curse In Store For Jennifer Lawrence?

Think about it. Hear much about Sandra Bullock lately? Gwyneth's movie career? Natalie Portman? (Yes, I know she has another Thor and a Terrence Malick film coming, but still.)

The A$AP Rocky Drinking Game

This month buzzier-than-thou rapper A$AP Rocky released his major label debut, Long.Live.A$AP. You may have heard. We've thought long and hard about the album, and want you to have the optimal Rocky listening experience. Among its tracks you'll find several tropes and repetitive aspects. A$AP Rocky ... More >>

What Does Sammy Hagar's Dick Look Like? A Chat With Home Blitz About Van Halen

"I've always thought of myself as a fairly sane person, but chronicling this experience is kind of making me wonder why." Those are the last words Theresa Smith, guitar player in one of New Jersey's best bands, Home Blitz, has to say on her bizarre, year-long decent into obsessively analyzing one of ... More >>

Brad Paisley Tells Country Audiences There's Nothing Wrong With White Folks Becoming the Minority

Every couple weeks, starting now, the Voice takes a hard listen to the music in which millions of Americans soak. Brad Paisley, "Southern Comfort Zone" Current Billboard Country Singles Chart Position: 10 The Verdict: Holy shit, songs on the radio can still be important! So, here, in a shimmering ... More >>

Jenny Lewis Transitions From Everyone's Fave Indie Sweetheart To Very Good Girl

About a year and a half ago, singer-songwriter and former Rilo Kiley principal Jenny Lewis was in a difficult spot. Crippling writer's block had stopped her in her tracks right in the middle of work on her third solo album, the follow-up to 2008's Acid Tongue. Her father had just passed away. Her lo ... More >>

A$AP Rocky Lights Up The City

Harlem's crack-slinging bad boy cleans up, puts New York rap back on the map

Former Metallica Bassist Jason Newsted Is Back to Kicking Asses Again

Pulling no punches

Ranking All The American Idol Winners In Terms Of Quality

A regular on the gay gossip board datalounge.com took a stab at ranking the show's bevy of belting prize winners, from 11 to 1. If you don't see some of the best talents on the list, it's because they didn't win on the show! Here what they wrote: "11. Lee DeWyze (above). He's cute and can more or ... More >>

Osvaldo Golijov