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Emo is Dead, Long Live Emo: 30 Bands Making it Safe to Hurt Again

It's a confusing time to be an emo fan. My Chemical Romance recently called it quits, while Fall Out Boy, surprisingly, have the #1 album in the country. That album, however, is a far cry from the sound old heads remember from the Take This to Your Grave era. Bro, are you even emo anymore? See also ... More >>

The Making of Mykki Blanco

Michael Quattlebaum Jr. takes rap beyond pronouns

SNL Sound-Off: Phoenix

Here is a brief list of the things I found more engaging in this week's episode of Saturday Night Live than Phoenix's performance: - Dennis Rodman's 12-second cameo in the cold open, in which he stumbled over saying "Saturday Night Live" - Melissa McCarthy driving a golf cart - Melissa McCarthy wea ... More >>

Dirty Girls: How a Bizarre 1996 Film About Santa Monica Punk-Feminist Eighth Graders Became a YouTube Sensation

By Jennifer Swann In high school, Michael Lucid was an artsy, friendly kid who floated around from one campus clique to the next. "I was more approachable and kids felt comfortable talking to me," he says of his time at Santa Monica's Crossroads School, where he graduated in 1996. Because Lucid wa ... More >>

Xi'an Famous Foods Opens in Greenpoint; Three Letters in Clinton Hill

Xi'an Famous Foods has devoted fans all over the city due to their diverse locations in the East Village, Flushing, and Chinatown. The famously cheap spot known for its cold skin noodles and lamb burgers is ready to conquer Brooklyn. On Saturday, Xi'an Famous Foods' doors will open on Beadel Street ... More >>

Voice Readers Raise Thousands For Couple That Refused to Spy for Scientology

We've always been suckers for the final scene of It's a Wonderful Life. No matter how many times we see it, we tear up at the sight of George Bailey's friends coming to his aid in his time of need, proving to him that he really is the richest man in town. Over the last couple of days, we watched so ... More >>

Millennial Music: A Look at How DIY Technology is Changing the Game Forever

Open. Click. Send. In a matter of seconds, Max Schieble's pre-recorded vocal track from America appears in the e-mail inbox of his bandmate Danny Lentz, who is currently abroad in Paris. Lentz receives the file, pulls out a violin and plays his part from memory. The file is sent back over to Schiebl ... More >>

Dear Drake: Please Leave Aaliyah Alone

The R&B singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash 11 years ago this month; last week Drake announced that he'd be executive producing a posthumous album for her, and the first taste of that album, "Enough Said," arrived online yesterday. Lest you think that the song would be a chance for people to rememb ... More >>

Movie Night at Scientology's New York "Org": The Village Voice Gets Proselytized!

The image you see here means a lot to us at the underground bunker, where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. And on this lazy Sunday morning, we hope you'll indulge us as we attempt to explain what it represents. Andreas Heldal-Lund, meet Chill EB. Chill, meet the devil.

Watch Mimi Faust Talk about Losing Her Mother to Scientology

One of our tipsters put together for us this portion of Monday night's Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta that features Mimi Faust talking about her mother choosing Scientology over her own children. In this scene, you see her dealing with what is still deeply felt trauma over being abandoned at only 13 years ... More >>

SCIENTOLOGY CRUMBLING: An Entire Church Mission Defects as David Miscavige Faces Leadership Crisis

For several years, we've been reporting about a crisis in Scientology as key members of the church -- including some of its highest-ranking former executives -- have left the organization and spoken out about its abuses. One by one, longtime, loyal Scientologists have announced that they are fed up ... More >>

SCIENTOLOGY PRESIDENT'S SON DIES; DEATH OF ALEXANDER JENTZSCH KEPT FROM MOTHER, AN EX-MEMBER

I just received this anguished e-mail from Karen de la Carriere, formerly a member of the Church of Scientology who studied directly under L. Ron Hubbard and who was at one time married to the current (and disappeared) president of the Church of Scientology International, Heber Jentzsch... My son i ... More >>

Radar Gets It Wrong: How Scientology Is Likely To Be an Issue in the Divorce of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise

Yesterday, RadarOnline, one of several online tabs trying to churn out incremental stories about the celebrity story of the year, grabbed for attention by quoting two lawyers who said it was unlikely that Tom Cruise's Scientology would be allowed as an issue in his divorce with Katie Holmes. Aside ... More >>

How Hooters -- Yes, Hooters -- Could Mess Up Scientology's Refund Scam

We've been telling you for the past year about the large number of longtime Scientologists who are walking away from their church. It seems like nearly every week we hear about someone like Dave Fagen who gives up after years of dedication because of the continuing crisis over David Miscavige's lead ... More >>

Scientology Book Bonanza! Jeff Hawkins Delivers, and More Reasons for Librarians to Hide

Friday, we told you about a spate of new books on Scientology that are in various states of publication. We're happy to say that there's even more on the way, and we wanted to highlight one you can get into your e-book reader right now. If you read our stories about Scientology, you've seen how muc ... More >>

AUDIO: "Touch Me," Creepy Scientology Goon Repeatedly Tells Protester

"Touch me" the man says again and again. "Touch me." In what should go down as one of the most skin-crawling audio tapes in recent Scientology history, we hear a church operative repeatedly challenge protester David Love to provoke an incident so that Love can find himself in a world of legal hurt ... More >>

Is Luka Magnotta, Canadian Porn Actor and Murder-Dismembering Suspect, a Scientologist?

As the world tries to hunt down porn actor and murder suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta, Canada's National Post today pointed out something interesting -- Magnotta, 29, apparently converted to Scientology a few years ago. Activists over at WhyWeProtest.net, naturally, were on to this months ago, when Mag ... More >>

Amanda Palmer Dramatically Answers Questions About Her Connection to Scientology

A few weeks ago, we noted that Amanda Palmer -- the musician who performs as a solo act and as one half of the Dresden Dolls and Evelyn Evelyn -- made a rather dramatic appearance at Kate Bornstein's book party, held at Dixon Place. Right about that same time, Palmer was also making news for taking ... More >>

President Obama Coins New Twit-Term: "Twoosh"

Have you ever really nailed a tweet? After typing your message, you know you used those 140 characters to the best of your ability? Then you just wait for the RTs to start pouring in (if you don't use Twitter, we apologize in advance for this entire post).Well, the commander-in-chief has a new term ... More >>

Summer Art Guide: 'Ghosts in the Machine'

Lisa Marie Presley Says "So Long" to Scientology

Last month, we noted that Lisa Marie Presley's single "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet," which she released ahead of her new album, Storm and Grace, came with lyrics that read like a kiss-off to the Church of Scientology, even using some of Scientology's jargon -- like the very telling word suppressive. ... More >>

"Reserved for Mothers Today" Stickers Invade the M Line

It's that special time of the year again, when everyone steps back for a second and sends shout-outs to our most maternal partners in crime. Here at Runnin' Scared, we feel obligated (out of love, of course) to make sure the mothers who give birth to us bloggers are treated with the utmost respect. ... More >>

The Best Reasons Why You Should Doubt the Allegations in the John Travolta Sex-Assault Lawsuit

Monday evening, we wrote that the sex-abuse lawsuit filed against John Travolta read like something someone had imagined in a dream. The account by "John Doe" that was described in the lawsuit's complaint stretched credulity beyond the breaking point, and was one of the sloppiest jobs of lawyering t ... More >>

Amanda Palmer Loved Kate Bornstein's Memoir So Much, She Crashed the Book Party

Tuesday night, we were invited to play a small part in Kate Bornstein's book party at the experimental theater Dixon Place, to celebrate the release of her memoir, A Queer and Pleasant Danger. Earlier that day, our cover story about Kate had popped up on the website, and the print version of this ... More >>

How Debbie Cook Exposed Scientology and Got Away Scot-Free

Our legal expert, Manhattan attorney Scott Pilutik, has been busy fielding questions since news broke earlier this week that the Church of Scientology had settled its lawsuit with former executive Debbie Cook and her husband Wayne Baumgarten. After the jump, he takes a detailed look at the court's ... More >>

Charges Dropped Against Scientology Executive Jan Eastgate

Stunning news out of Australia -- the public prosecutor in New South Wales has suddenly dropped serious felony charges against Jan Eastgate and apparently has no plans to pursue further the allegation that she had coached an 11-year-old girl to lie about being sexually abused. "I have always mainta ... More >>

Writers of the Future, Today! Scientology Gets Its Party On

Oh my, do we have a treat for you today. For several weeks now, we've been reporting on the "L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future" contest. For several years, certain writers have questioned the connection between the contest and Scientology, which owns and operates it. And recently ... More >>

Is Lisa Marie Presley Telling Off Scientology in a Song?

For a couple of days now, our excellent tipsters have been alerting us to this new song from Lisa Marie Presley. It's not that they're big Lisa Marie fans -- although this song really isn't bad, I must say. No, the reason Scientology Watchers are fascinated by Lisa Marie's new single, "You Ain't S ... More >>

Marty Rathbun is Big in the U.K., Still Waiting for Major U.S. Treatment

This weekend's lengthy profile of Marty Rathbun by The Independent's Guy Adams really brought back a lot of memories for us. Last year, we brought you frequent coverage of the bizarre "Squirrel Busters" siege at Rathbun's house near Corpus Christi, Texas. For some five months, a strange spiritual s ... More >>

Sunday Funnies: LRH Gets an Answer from Tricky Dick!

We've shuffled up our schedule a bit here in the underground bunker -- it was either that, or the cats would be dining on our corpse with the klaxons going off for weeks before we were discovered. Now that things are a bit more relaxed, we can take in the past week with a Sunday morning warm beverag ... More >>

VIDEO: Proof that L. Ron Hubbard Was the Most Awesome Human Being Ever

Just a few weeks after the Scientologists at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida experienced it for themselves, here it is: video from this year's L. Ron Hubbard birthday event. On March 13, LRH would have turned 101 years old (if he hadn't so wisely dropped his meat body in 1986 to research hig ... More >>

Scientology's Concentration Camp: Where Can Miscavige Put "The Hole" Now?

As we wait for the next development in the Church of Scientology's lawsuit against its former employee, Debbie Cook, we continue to think about something the church told ABC for its recent Nightline story on the case... "In a letter to ABC News, a lawyer for the Church of Scientology flat out denie ... More >>

Scientology's 'Writers of the Future' Contest Loses a Participant After Our Expose

In 2000, a quantum physicist in Ithaca, New York named Carl Frederick decided to try his hand at writing science fiction. Two years later, he was named a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. The next year, 2003, he did even better, winning a quarterly first prize for his sho ... More >>

Scientology Intervention: Commenters of the Week!

It's not often that things are calm and soothing here inside the underground bunker. But after Judge Stryker gave the order yesterday for everyone just to chill out, we took it to heart. Even the cats are taking a break from tearing up the furniture. There was plenty of activity this week, though, ... More >>

Scientology: Told to Chill in Texas, and Another Embarrassing Admission in Israel

After a flurry of court filings in the Church of Scientology's lawsuit against former church executive Debbie Cook, there was a showdown of sorts this morning at the Bexar County, Texas courthouse. Leading up to the hearing, Scientology's attorneys had been pushing for a fast resolution to the case ... More >>

Scientology Counterattack: Commenters of the Week!

There's been so much enturbulation in the underground bunker lately, it's been hell on the cats, who just want to catch up on their sleep. So we installed one of those kitty hi-rises this week and it was an instant hit. The little carnivores are remaining more calm in their tiny carpeted condos whil ... More >>

Rise of the Facebook-Killers

At the pinnacle of the social network's success, its critics are busy building its replacements

Frank Ocean Calls In Sick To His New York Show

​Last night Frank Ocean was scheduled to play his first New York show at the Bowery Ballroom, but about an hour before the 9 p.m. scheduled showtime the word came down via his Tumblr: He was too sick to perform, having contracted some sort of illness in Los Angeles a few days ago that apparent ... More >>

Talking Points Memo Brought Down in Apparent Hacker Attack

​Talking Points Memo (or TPM, as the kids call it), was down for about 8 hours overnight. This major site interruption comes after they ran 14 mugshots of alleged members of the hacker group Anonymous after their arrests. TPM obtained the mugshots through the Freedom of Information Act and wer ... More >>

CANIS HIPSTERUS

Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yay!

Tonight: See Village Voice Music Editor Maura Johnston, Punk Hero Amy Andronicus, and More Read About Music at Housing Works

​OK, well, soon-to-be music editor anyway--our pal Maura Johnston, who starts here in just one more short week, will be at the Housing Works Bookstore tonight, reading words with SOTC buddies Amy Klein (a/k/a the formidable punk presence that is Titus Andronicus's Amy Andronicus), It's the Rea ... More >>

Five Better, More Brutally Honest Tips for Successfully Dating a Blogger

via​This is going to be hard to hear, for everyone. Yesterday, the website Social Times, which touts itself as "Your Social Media Source," published an article called "Five Tips for Successfully Dating a Blogger," with a dash of humor and a healthy dose of no please stop this is so misguided. ... More >>

Benjamin Franklin Had More Than 200 Ways to Say "Drunk." Here Are Our 10 Favorites.

Dude was nonstop party.​Ben Franklin was just like us. Except, more prolific. With a hairstyle that would really not work for us. And then there's that electricity thing. But regardless of our differences, he would have made an amazing blogger (Poor Richard's the Tumblr!), and it goes without ... More >>

CMJ Day Three: The Blow and the Screaming Females Conquer All

Teen Daze really looks like this.​Teen Daze Pianos Thursday, October 21 The Blow and the Screaming Females Music Hall of Williamsburg Thursday, October 21 Better than: Trying to find the next big thing. "Sometimes I feel like when I do the moves," the Blow's Khaela Maricich says toward the ... More >>

More On Paste Magazine's Print-Side Demise: "We'd Been Running On Fumes For A Really Long Time, And We Ran Out Of Fumes."

​Yesterday, the tasteful-culture bible Paste abruptly suspended its print edition, the latest music-related publication to shut down in the past few years. The Paste website, on which the display ads for subscriptions lead to an announcement of the print issue's suspension, will continue to l ... More >>

Grassroots Effort Gets Zynga to Remove Ugly-Ass Stickers in East Village

via East Village Feed​Have you seen random fake dollar bills glued to city sidewalks downtown? Apparently they're part of a new ad campaign from San Francisco-based online game developer Zynga to promote their new game "Mafia Wars." The stunt started in San Francisco, where a steam cleaner had ... More >>

The Saddest Sign for Lost Jewelry in New York City, Ever

​You know when you lose something you really, really like, that can't be replaced, that is only special to you, but that isn't alive (and thus only receives a marginal amount of empathy from others)? How far will you go to get it back? What's the appeal you need to make? One person made a sign ... More >>

Honda vs. Hipsters: Australian Ads Target 'Ironic' Young People in Skinny Pants

Honda Australia "asked the question: how much hipster can you pack into a Jazz?" A Jazz, apparently, is a new kind of car that is small, but spacious? I the commercial above, the hip youths try to put vinyl in the car's CD player, fill crevices with what must be the Australian equivalent of Pabst B ... More >>

Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, on Getting Sued: "Given It's Our First Time We Just Want To Do It Properly"

​And so the oft-bemused back and forth between unwitting Contra cover model Ann Kirsten Kennis and the band she's suing, Vampire Weekend, continues. VW singer Ezra Koenig commented on the controversy last week via emoticon; Kennis, meanwhile, spoke from behind the shield of a lawyer. Now thoug ... More >>

How Tech Nerds Will Date in the Not-So-Distant Future

Memo to nerds of all varieties: you no longer need World of Warcraft to meet that special someone. Soon you'll be able to scan that nice young lady on the street and read her Facebook page, or check out her WoW avatar, without actually having to speak to her. Thank a snazzy new piece of tech called ... More >>