Burning questions on a rainy Hump Day: could this bit of trivial gossip somehow, actually, possibly, be true? And if it is, can we start taking bets on how long it will last? Page Six is reporting that funny lady Kristin Wiig and Fabrizio Moretti, aka that guy from The Strokes who dated Drew Barrymore, were "literally on top of each other," at a Black Keys (of course!) release party this week at the W Union Square club Lilium. Not figuratively! more ›

Last night The Strokes (remember them?) played their hometown of New York City for the first time in four years... but you weren't invited. Amongst the people who were invited were Christina Hendricks, Jennifer Lopez, and the cast of Gossip Girl. The A-list attendees got to hear eight songs by the band, who were playing at Tommy Hilfiger's 25th anniversary bash at the Metropolitan Opera house. An excited Neil Patrick Harris was also there, and tweeted, "After party at the frigging metropolitan opera! Watching the Strokes perform. In the lobby! Unreal.” more ›

In 2001 Manhattan band The Strokes burst onto the scene with their debut LP Is This It. The album cover featured a tightly cropped shot of a nude model wearing (presumably) only a black glove. And now, finally, after all these years, we get to meet that model. In the below video she speaks out about the impromptu cover shot. more ›

Time Out New York is telling secrets and talking about all the little things that make up this city (for instance, did you know a baby was baptized in the lobby fountain at the Guggenheim?). Some of our favorite items dished include: more ›

Six years ago, whether you are ready to believe it or not, The Strokes emerged from a lost and muddled New York music scene and gave a kick start to the current indie rock phenomenon that we are experiencing today. The backbone of their sound and style was the rapid fire rhythm guitar of Albert Hammond Jr. Fast forward to 2007 and all of the emerging talents from the beginning of the century are all growing up and branching out. Modest Mouse found a sound that got them the #1 album in the US this week. Jack White sold out clubs around the world with three guys not named Meg. And Al Hammond is now touring to support a pretty darn good solo album, finding a balance that maintains the Strokes edge while forging a sound completely his own. more ›

We interviewed co-owner of Luna Lounge Rob Sacher in 2004, and he told a little story about Elliott Smith (who wrote his album XO at the bar at Luna). The story starts out, "Before I knew who Elliott Smith was, I knew him as this very quiet guy that had discovered the bar (at Luna) and would stay there till closing or near closing most nights, writing constantly in a journal with some kind of dark whiskey drink on the rocks or straight-up in front of him; he always had some kind of bourbon or something like that in front of him. Week after week after week." more ›

Story of the Year: Beirut more ›

In the 2000 census, somewhere around 150,000 New Yorkers described themselves as working in the arts, design, entertainment, and sports occupations. These people, making up 4.3% of the total working population, are the nucleus of what urban theorist Richard Florida calls the "creative class". This map, showing the density of artists and designers in the five boroughs, confirms what we already intuitively know: the creative class is centered in neighborhoods with the most cultural activity.... more ›

Above is a sonically (and otherwise) confusing clip of Kanye showing up that night. Did anyone make it in? more ›

THEATER: Emergence-See! is a new one-man show in previews at the Public Theater. Conceived and performed by Daniel Beaty, the work imagines what would happen in present-day New York if, say, a slave ship were to rise out of the Hudson River in front of the Statue of Liberty. Beaty portrays 40 New York characters and uses slam poetry and song to examine the toll that centuries of slavery have taken on the human psyche. - John Del Signore more ›

Above is a clip of Kanye on the Good Morning America stage earlier this month. more ›

Andrew Rasiej, Candidate for Public Advocate more ›

If you plan on hitting the clubs next week and taking part in the annual CMJ music binge, why not use the coming days to rest up, get some sleep and save your pennies? A week of rest woudln't hurt, would it? more ›

Adam Shore, General Manager, VICE Records more ›

The Chappelle Show at Comedy Central has a new sound board where you can mix beats and sound clips: Example, Tron saying "banana" over a Latin mix or the Player Haters saying "reach for the sky" over hip-hop. And, of course, there are Rick James clips. Which brings us to Maddox's hilarious analysis of people who have co-opted "I'm Rick James, bitch!" more ›

The Post tallies up the city's most eligible bachelors (and, yes, the usual suspects are there, like Derek Jeter, Rocco DiSpirito and Adrien Brody as well as some not so usual, like Billy Crudup – who knew the dump the soon to be mother of my child type which is hot to Page Six and homophobe Jeremy Shockey; Gothamist, though, is thrilled with the inclusion of chef Marcus Samuelsson, sigh). The Post also adds what their pros and cons would be. A few examples: more ›

After the Guardian released its list of top 40 American bands (still playing), information leafblower took it upon himself to compile another top 40 list - this time coming from a panel of different bloggers. Here is the top ten: more ›

Scratchy voiced Alan Light and John Rollins (Gothamist doesn't know anything about Rollins' voice, only Light's because he'dcomment on ANYTHING on VH1) bring a new music magazine offering with Tracks, oriented to more adult readers. The Times' David Carr looks at this venture, which seems to follow the music industry's realization that older consumers will buy, versus download, music, but the older consumers are simply not being spoken to. One doubtful industry expert, wondering if there are adults obsessive enough to shell out some change for a magazine about the music they like, says, "My experience has been that the people who like to listen to Bonnie Raitt and Phil Collins do not have music as a primary interest." Well, duh. If any magazine had a editorial mission to simply cover Phil Collins, it would only be good as a money laundering scheme. But this sounds just like the original business plan for VH1, so expect a couple issues down the road for it to be all about the 80s. Or the Fabulous Life of Sharon Osbourne. more ›

- Panda news in Memphis
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The NY Post freaks out and practically begs for Carson Kresley's help. The fashion victims? The Strokes. Tom Sykes laments their new fashion choices, which some call "schizophrenic," versus their seemingly more aligned "Is This It" era style, which Sykes characterizes as "thin black leather jackets, scruffy suits with skinny ties, messy (but expensive!) hair, black Converse high-tops." He is especially upset with Albert Hammond Jr. ("With his all-white look [does anyone really wear all white except women in tampon ads?] guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. may be the worst offender...") and Sykes turns to a number of stylists and fashion gurus for their thoughts ("They're trying too hard and it shows") and theories ("Maybe they are trying to say, 'It's not about the clothes - it's about the music") about this upsetting development. more ›