We have to imagine this is a pretty bizarre week to work at the Village Voice. For one thing, the alt weekly’s staff union is on the verge of a strike and has set up a Tumblr where they’ll publish content during the protest. As if that weren’t enough stress, now Ashton Kutcher is totally flipping out at them. Here’s the short version of a long story (that merits reading up on in more depth): Kutcher and Demi Moore are behind the Real Men Don’t Buy Girls campaign, which works to end child sex slavery, in part by shaming guys who would pay to sleep with underage girls. Yesterday, the Voice – which has often been criticized for its reliance on escort ads — published a cover story debunking Kutcher’s (and much of the mainstream media’s) claim that there are 100,000-300,000 child sex slaves in the US.
Now, the actor has taken to Twitter, where he boasts over seven million followers, to tell the Voice that “REAL MEN DON’T BUY GIRLS and REAL NEWS PUBLICATIONS DON’T SELL THEM” and warn them, “I’m just getting started!!!!!!!! BTW I only PLAYED stupid on TV.” As we type, the paper is firing back to question Kutcher about why he deleted a (fairly innocuous-sounding) tweet that said, “i’m up now. been up.” To be continued…
1. For your consideration: This year’s 2011 Coachella lineup, which features headliners Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, and The Strokes.
2. The critics have spoken and Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has topped this year’s Village VoicePazz and Jop list, followed by LCD Soundsystem’s This Is Happening and Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” was voted the best single of the year. [via Prefix Mag]
3. The series premiere of Skins on MTV topped 3 million viewers, but what remains to be seen is how many people were brought in by the special Monday night airing of Jersey Shore. [via EW]
4. Even though it doesn’t hit stands until next week, there’s already a rumor circulating that Mark Salter, John McCain’s closest aide and speechwriter on the 2008 campaign, is the ghostwriter of O, an anonymously written fictional account of President Obama’s campaign for reelection in 2012. [via NYP]
5. Following in the footsteps of the Kardashians, Justin Bieber is planning to open his own store in The Grove in LA where he’ll hawk everything from sneakers to toys. Says a source: “They want to have everything Justin Bieber. They are also trying to find other Island Def Jam artists to be the face of some candy as well.” [via CocoPerez]
After some serious deliberation here in the office — followed by, naturally, some serious drooling, we’ve picked a winner for our Choice Eats contest… Congratulations and a big fat buen provecho to Lisa, who will be heading to the Village Voice’s second-annual Choice Eats restaurant round-up with a guest, on us. She hipped us to Cafe Glechik in Brighton Beach:
“If you love Ukrainian-Russian babushky with attitudes AND dumplings — run. Serving up vareniki & pelmeni : both are dumplings, differing in that vareniki traditionally have a sweet filling <my fav: sweet cheese> – pelmeni w/savory center <i.e. chicken/potato/mushroom>
All hand made by a robust lady who knows what’s tasty in back. Make sure to add vinegar and sour cream and OMGDelicious.
just sayin.”
She very narrowly won over Ana, who gushed about the awesome Mexican food at Chavella’s in Prospect/Crown Heights. But no one in the office had been to Glenchik, so the prize goes to Lisa! Congrats to this Coney Island baby. We’ll email you ticket details early Monday! (Right now, we’re starving after all this Choice Eats talk, and need to go get some dinner.)
Yo, NYC foodies! No doubt that you’ve heard by now: the Village Voice‘s second-annual Choice Eats resto-expo is sold out. But fear not, we’ve got your back. Flavorwire has two tickets to this Robert Sietsema smorgasbord, and we want you to have ‘em. No, really, that’s OK. You go. Sigh. Just jump through one little flambéed hoop first, alright?
We’ve got several intrepid eaters on staff here at HQ, and they’re always looking for a solid restaurant recommendation — oftentimes, the odder (or more exotic or deeper into outer boroughs), the better. So, tell us about your undiscovered gem in the comments. If we have heard of it before, that’s OK — we’re more looking for an enthusiastic, honest recommendation. But if it’s a spot we’re not familiar with, all the better! Our top nomination will win a pair of tix to Choice Eats (Tuesday, March 31); we’ll announce the winner Friday. Bon appétit!
“The sin of self pollution, which is generally considered to be that of Onan, is one of the most destructive evils to be practiced by fallen man. In many respects it is several degrees worse than common whoredom . . . and produces violent secretions . . . the muscles become flacid and feeble, the tone and natural action of the nerves relaxed and impeded, the understanding confused, the memory oblivious, the judgment perverted, the will indeterminate and wholly without energy to resist; the eyes appear languishing and without expression, the countenance vacant; the appetite ceases, for the stomach is incapable of performing its proper office; nutrition fails, tremors, fears, and terrors are generated; and thus the wretched victim drags out a most miserable existence. . .”
– A choice snippet from Power Living, a truly frightening Christian extremist book from 1987 that the Village Voice “Studies in Crap” blogger Alan Scherstuhl discovered at a thrift store. The tract also rails against the dangers of college educations, abstract art, and vino. Shockingly, we couldn’t find a copy on Amazon.com.
The Village Voice’s annual Pazz + Jop poll is the end-all-be-all of year-end record lists. The ultimate in nerdy music romps, the alt-weekly’s annual cover story elicits the input of hundreds upon hundreds of professional music writers (including your beloved Beard) in an attempt to definitively capture the year’s critical darlings. Each participant is given a certain number of points to doll out to their “favorite” albums, and the resulting tabulations represent a closer consensus than pretty much anything else out there.
Of course, in any competition (especially when fueled by legions of cred-adorned music maniacs), there’s more at work than meets the eye. After the jump, our resident whiskerly warrior, goes at it with Voice Music Editor Rob Harvilla — who we’re told was indispensably aided by Zach Baron, Rob Trucks, and Jesus Diaz — on the decision to crown TV on the Radio king, whether style trumps substance, and how some critics try to rig the results.
