News

12 Things to Throw Down the Guatemala Sinkhole

Matt Kiebus :: Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 5:15 pm

Guatemala City is the world’s most recent victim of an unfortunate natural disaster. But if we’ve learned anything it’s that, from the comforts of our cubicle, we can find some good in the horrific.

So when life gives your underdeveloped city a tropical storm sometimes it luckily makes a super cool sinkhole! What might one do with a sinkhole you ask? Well, we have a couple suggestions for fun stuff to toss in it. MORE »

Should Your Music Be Top Ten?

Andrew Belonsky :: Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 10:00 am

A person’s music library speaks volumes. If someone asks you about your aural collection, you don’t go straight for the Justin Bieber or Miley’s infectious single, “Party in the U.S.A.” You highlight the exceptional, the rare, “Check out this live recording of Television from Max’s Kansas City” sounds way more cool than, “This is a mass produced Black Eyed Peas’ album.” What happens, then, when your favorite band blows up? Do you abandon them all together?
MORE »

Justin Bieber Eats It

Amy Laviero :: Friday, May 21st, 2010 1:00 pm

Goddamn it. I swore I would never post about Justin Bieber. The level of adoration tween girls have for this kid is nothing short of disturbing. When everyone else was “aw-ing” over that video of the three-year-old crying simply because she loves Justin Bieber, I kind of wanted to vomit. Do none of these girls realize he looks like a chick and speaks like a total douche? Anyway, today marks the day when I put my foot in my mouth, but it’s all for a good cause, because the video after the jump is just great. I’d go so far as to say it was the perfect accompaniment to my morning coffee. MORE »

Worst Week Ever (For CD Sales)

Johnny Sanford :: Thursday, May 20th, 2010 12:30 pm

In a world that has a shitload of free torrents, it’s only natural that this week was the worst week for cd sales since 1991 (New York Times). Justin Bieber came out with a strong 60,000 this week, barely beating out the Lowest Selling Soundscan Album in History, which was the Dreamgirls Soundtrack in 2007. But do such sour sales say anything more about pop culture than the fact that we like free music? Yes. It’s the fact that people don’t like the music that is considered “popular” anymore. More and more, people are moving away from shitty, shitty music. Yes, this is going to be a rant. MORE »

Have You Ever Noticed Andy Rooney Complains… A Lot?

Matt Kiebus :: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 5:00 pm

I can’t stand Andy Rooney. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say I’m not alone in that respect. Each Sunday night on 60 Minutes the old cranky man will, without fail, manage to make my want to throw my shoe through the television. He is bitter about everything in today’s culture. His segment of the show is about a minute and a half of airtime to discuss his grievances with the most minute and inconsequential aspects of his everyday life. He somehow believes that he is an “average American,” and therefore people care about his observations on life. The last time I checked the average Americans haven’t been giving their social commentary every Sunday on national television for the past 32 years. MORE »

Justin Bieber and Betty White, America’s Hottest New Couple

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Friday, May 7th, 2010 4:45 pm

Two figures from opposite ends of the age spectrum have emerged as the most beloved and ubiquitous celebrities in modern-day America. What do Betty White and Justin Bieber have in common? Well, they’re both adorable and have swarms of fanatical followers (Twitter followers, in Justin’s case). They’ve both recently done or will do much-hyped SNL appearances that go viral about an hour after they air. Their most important similarity, though, could melt America’s collective brain with a little careful planning. Betty White is a self-proclaimed “cougar,” and the Bieb often professes his crushes on older women. There’s only one logical way that either of them could get any more famous than they already are, and I think I’ve figured it out. MORE »

Mash Ups And T-Shirts Produce A Love Child

Nick Nicoludis :: Thursday, May 6th, 2010 2:40 pm

We now live in a world where listening to a song as it was originally was recorded is kind of lame, and the only way t listen to a sing is in small parts in another song. So naturally people have transfered this idea over to clothing. Let me introduce: the mash up t-shirt. I’m not really sure how this trend actually started, or who started it, but when I was trying to properly celebrate yesterday’s holiday (Cinco De Mayo) I noticed a mustached man wearing a Beach Boys t-shirt in the vein of the classic 4-bar Black Flag t-shirt. Because this wasn’t the first time I had seen this bizarre mash up shirt, I wondered to myself what the hell is going on. Click through for more and pictures. MORE »

Nothing Says Earth Day Like Biz Markie

Amy Laviero :: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 5:45 pm

If you’ve been dreaming of a big YouTube-break a la Soulja Boy or Justin Bieber, now may be your chance. In celebration of Earth Day’s 40th anniversary on April 22, Repower America is holding a rap contest using a new version of a Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.” Rather than rapping about a sneaky girl with “9/10 pants and a very big bra,” the re-worked lyrics speak about climate change and the need for clean energy. MORE »

Review: Washed Out at Music Hall of Williamsburg 4/10

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 2:20 pm

When my friend and I arrived at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday night, we groaned at the sign we saw posted on the will-call window: Washed Out, the one-man musical project fronted by Ernest Greene, wasn’t due to play until midnight. I don’t normally come off as quite so elderly, we were really just impatient to see how the only “chillwave” artist actually worth getting excited about would translate live. We predicted ambient jams, shivery loops and bass, and, with any luck, lots of dancing. Fortunately for us and the rest of the audience, we were correct. MORE »

Justin Bieber Brings His “Baby” to SNL

Shannon Hassett :: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 3:50 pm

Justin Bieber has a long career ahead of him, and this fact was made evident by his performance on SNL this past Saturday, though it had little to do with his abilities. Bieber has learned the key to celeb longevity, which is as simple as this: know your strengths and exploit them accordingly.

The singer’s rendition of hit single “Baby” for this weekend’s show was everything you’ve come to expect from the tiny teeny bopper: miming, moonwalking, leather and a pair of sneakers easily twice his actual size. He is a boy band in and of himself, and it’s no wonder Justin Timberlake fought Usher for father figure status (Usher won, if you were unaware). MORE »

Nothing Says Easter like Justin Bieber

Shannon Hassett :: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 12:30 pm

Apparently, the White House’s biggest celebration of the year is the Easter Egg Roll, which features the First Family, 30,000 additional guests and an enormous Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn. Monday’s festivities also included Justin Bieber, the 16-year-old Canadian sensation who joined the ranks of other influential artists to have performed during Obama’s administration, including the cast of Glee and the Jonas Brothers.

The Obamas have been widely praised for their cultural overhaul of the White House, borrowing pieces from private collections, galleries and museums of more modern and abstract work by African-American, Asian, Hispanic and female artists — a departure from the typically 19th-century still lifes and portraits already in place. They have clearly included music in this revamping, not only bringing the country’s tastes into the modern era but extending the olive branch to Canada. If only Afghanistan could produce an adorable, impeccably coifed export of its own.

Justin Bieber Sluts it Up for Stuffed Bear

Shannon Hassett :: Monday, March 1st, 2010 11:40 am

The good folks at Buzzfeed took one for the team and braved the minefields of J-14, tween dream magazine of our collected youths and creator of this fabulous giveaway: Justin Bieber Kiss Contest! Don’t get too excited; you won’t actually be locking lips with the soon-to-be-16 cutie crooner, just a stuffed bear he signed and smooched during his J-14 photo shoot. How can I enter this contest, you ask? Through verse, clearly. Yes, the same magazine that offers exclusive tearaway posters of young Hollywood hotties asks that participants send in a card with a song or poem dedicated to Bieber (to [email protected]). You must be under 21 to enter, but really, who’s checking? You know this thing is going to get overtaken by sexually depraved Momsters the world over. Feel free to post entries here as well!

Can This Pickle Get More Fans Than Nickleback?

Shannon Hassett :: Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 8:00 pm

Yes, Nickleback is spelled wrong, and unlike the creator of the Facebook fan page of the same name, I get to choose how I want to spell Nickleback. According to the page’s info, Facebook would not permit the creator to correctly spell Nickelback in the title, meaning the social networking site is honoring some sort of stipulation under the band’s copyright guidelines. This is creepy not only in what it says about Facebook’s unspoken corporate and advertising ties, but is the Canadian alt rock outfit really so aware of its own tool status that it will forgo first amendment rights to protect its image (and yet continue to produce new music)? MORE »

Today In Music

Brenna Ehrlich :: Monday, November 23rd, 2009 3:50 pm

For some reason I thought he’s be into dancier stuff: The Presidential iPod

Out of the woods and onto the runway?: Let The Joanna Newsom 2010 Rumor Mill Begins

You hearing this, Edward Droste?: The Justin Bieber Example: Use Twitter or Incite a Riot and Get Arrested (via The Daily What)

Guys like crazy chicks. We get it: 15 (Female) Literary Characters We’d Totally Sleep With

Seriously? There’s no nap couch?: The Pop-Up Cardboard Office