Stupid "best of" listicles: they're the bread and butter of the blog world, especially in NYC, where we have so much best of everything. And every blogger knows that just tossing the word "Best" into a headline is guaranteed to make it rain page views. (cf. 10 Best "Sasha Grey Reads To Kids" Twitter Jokes.) But the SEO gravy train could be grinding to a halt if the Village Voice prevails in a lawsuit against Time Out, over the magazine's "Best of NYC" issue. more ›

Yesterday we noted the Village Voice's efforts to locate those responsible for a fake email sent to Occupy Wall Street organizers claiming that Radiohead wanted to support the protests with an appearance on Friday. Now, "J. Erin Stubbie" has sent us (along with the Voice) an email hinting at why he/she allegedly started the rumor. more ›

After yesterday's Radiohead Occupy Wall Street no-show in Zuccotti Park, the protests' now-official spokesman Patrick Bruner sent out an email apologizing for what happened and described it as a "hoax" emanating from an email sent by someone purporting to be one of the band's managers. Everyone on the press email blast received the fake email in question under the words "OFF THE RECORD." However, Norman Mailer's newspaper has published it, so you can decide whether or not the prose is "Radiohead managery" enough. more ›

The unionized staff at the Village Voice won't be striking, after all. Earlier this week, we reported that staffers were poised to strike over a contract dispute, with employee health benefits being one of the largest issues. Today there's word from both sides that an agreement has almost been reached. more ›

Union staff members at The Village Voice are ready and prepared to strike as their contract nears its deadline on June 30th. Today, staffers announced an alternative site, The Real Voice, where they plan to continue writing without management from Village Voice Media. We spoke to a Voice staffer and strike organizer about the situation. more ›

We never even had a chance to be bummed out when the Village Voice's annual Siren Festival in Coney Island was cancelled because of the simultaneous announcement of a replacement. But now after seeing the lineup we're all like, "Siren What?" The 4Knots Festival (so named because "the East River runs at a speed of 4 knots") will feature The Black Angels (who are no stranger to Gothamist), Oberhofer, and Davila 666, and the organizers promise plenty more band and deejay announcements to come. more ›

In January, Village Voice reporter Wayne Barnett was let go after 37 years at the weekly tabloid, for what was said to be budgetary reasons. The Times has a feature catching up with the muckraking reporter, who is currently at work on an article for The Nation. There are many amusing anecdotes from the man ("Bloomberg’s first term was, I think, the best I’ve ever covered, but since then he’s treading water. I think the job bores him."), along with quotes from former colleagues and mentees (“Wayne manages to be endearing and obnoxious at the same time.”) The whole story is worth reading, but there's one bit in particular, from his wife Fran Barrett ("Wayne's liaison to planet Earth") which stood out to us: more ›

A Daily News education reporter was fired today after it was revealed that he fabricated a freelance story he wrote for the Village Voice. Rob Sgobbo, a 2010 graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, was caught in the Jayson Blair-like scandal, and has since had his stories removed from places such as the News, Voice and Huffington Post. more ›

Yesterday was a sad day for the once-illustrious Village Voice, which lost two of its legendary muckraking reporters, Wayne Barrett and Tom Robbins. Barrett, who has been with the paper since the Koch administration, says he was let go for budgetary reasons; he'll move on to become a fellow at The Nation Institute, a liberal nonprofit media group. And this morning Robbins, a dogged and indispensable political reporter who first started at the Voice in '80s, tells us why he resigned. more ›

It sometimes seems like no good deed goes unpunished when it comes to the NYPD: Officer Adrian Schoolcraft was hounded and discredited for coming forward about quotas in the force, and several off-duty cops have gotten away with drunk driving cover-ups. Today the Village Voice reports on another such cover-up, which took the reputation and dignity away from one diligent police officer. more ›

The Village Voice has dropped their annual Queer Issue, and they've put three (allegedly) straight dudes on the cover! What a tease to the issue's demographic. You know, if you're into that sort of look. Inside there's a piece titled "The Guido Ideal," which is about "gay Jersey guidos on the down-low." But according to the NY Post, cover boys Vinny Gaudagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino had no idea they were being photographed for the Queer cover. more ›

This week in Eat Cetera: Our top five favorites from last night's Village Voice Choice Eats tasting, Long Island bakery Pain D'Avignon opens up a retail place, and Paul Sevigny's latest hyped venture, Kenmare, finally opens. more ›

Not content to let David Byrne swallow up all the celebrity cyclist air, longtime Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto wants the world know he's a big bipedal pedaler. In this fun Streetfilms video, Musto proves his longtime passion for cycling by riding around town on his favorite girl's bike (sans helmet!), and urging others to join him. "Nobody used to ride a bike in New York," Musto declares. "It was just me. Then the economy went down and people aren't willing to spend a lot of money on transportation and they realize a bike is really a cheap way to get around. Also, the environment became an issue. I don't care about that, but I'm glad somebody does." more ›

The Village Voice released its yearly Best of NYC 2009 list, just in time for all of you looking for ridiculously specific things like the best tattoo parlor straight out of "Cry Baby," the best mini-golf in Bushwick, or the best erotic bloodletting. Here are a couple of notables: more ›

To accompany its Michael Jackson package of articles, the Village Voice put a 1976 photograph of the music legend on its cover. The Voice's Runnin' Scared blog explains that the picture of a dynamic Jackson against the city was "taken on a balcony on the Upper East Side by music photographer Michael Putland. Whatever brought him to town, Jackson was a tough subject, Putland says. He could hardly believe that someone who projected such a giant personality on stage could be so fragile and soft-spoken in person. 'I felt almost sorry for him while taking the photos. I wanted to say, "It's OK, Michael."' Putland also said that it was hard getting Jackson to show his personality, noting that he seemed "very child-like." Also: "It was Jackson's request to wear the deerstalker. Putland remembers thinking that it was a silly hat, but he didn't have the heart to say no." Also check out the Voice's archives of Jackson reviews and articles. In other MJ news, tickets for Jackson's memorial in LA next Tuesday will be randomly drawn (enter here), the powerful sedative Diprivan was found in his home, and he will be buried in a $25K casket. more ›

Michael Musto has been writing for The Village Voice for twenty-five years, best known for his weekly gossip, pop culture and nightlife column, La Dolce Musto. The column still runs weekly in the paper, now along with regular updates on his blog, La Daily Musto. He's been a recognizable face on TV for years, as one of the regulars on E!'s Gossip Show in the '90s and as a VH1 commentator earlier this decade. Nowadays he can be seen regularly on Headline News and bantering with Keith Olbermann on Countdown. more ›

Finally: Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto tells us how he really feels about brunch. In an interview with the NY Times, Musto discusses his Sunday rountine, which includes checking the gossip ("I check my e-mail and I check all the gossip. I have to constantly update my blog, and try to be a kind of ringmaster to the circus freaks who find me, and who I love"), visiting his mother and relatives in Brooklyn, and maybe movie night with friends. But when asked if he does brunch, he lets loose: "I hate brunch. I hate hearing the word “brunch.” It was this trendy construct that people decided to buy into. And are still buying into. I manage with a bagel and coffee and can wait until lunch, not bogus three-egg omelets." Best not to ask him about linner. more ›

The Village Voice OBIE awards are always a raucous affair; a sort of debauched downtown theater raspberry to counter the Tonys' mainstream proceedings. And because the OBIEs call attention to risk-taking, less-famous artists who succeed despite severely limited budgets, they're arguably much more vital to the theater world—at least, the part of that world that consistently pushes the envelope. Last night's bacchanal—the 54th—at Webster Hall was even more festive than years' past because after the awards (see below) were handed out, the club was taken over by a risque, gender-bending after-party hosted by Michael Musto. Pole dancing, body painting and short shorts were wall-to-wall. more ›

With Coney Island's future uncertain (not to mention the future of print), it's nice to see the Siren Festival back for another encore. The Village Voice just announced the lineup for their 9th annual music fest, which will take place on Saturday, July 18th. Sure, it will never trump the 2004 Siren, where Gothamist got to touch Ben Gibbard, but very few things can—so without futher ado, the lineup is (drumroll please): Built to Spill, The Raveonettes, Frightened Rabbit, Grand Duchy, Monotonix, and Micachu & the Shapes. They promise to announce more acts soon, and remind that the event is free, and open to all ages, as always. Be sure to check out the full poster for this year, another colorful one by Paul Antonson. more ›

The Village Voice's Sarah DiGregorio has made no secret of her fondness for foie gras, so we approached her exposé on America's largest foie gras farm with a bit of skepticism. But the expansive cover story about her visit to Hudson Valley Foie Gras, one of just four in the U.S., brings some clarity to the impassioned debate. According to her observations, the short lives of ducks at Hudson Valley are seemingly torture-free, all things considered. Of course, it's possible she was "witnessing an elaborate cover-up," as one New York Humane Society rep predicted, but DiGregorio insists the owners allowed her untrammeled access to the farm, where 4,000 to 6,000 ducks are "processed" a week, and—unlike in Europe—live their 15-week lives in a cage-free environment. While there, she witnessed the entire process, noting only one dead duck, zero duck vomit, and concluded, "The fact that some industrial farms elsewhere are making foie gras in inhumane ways doesn't mean that all foie gras production is inhumane. You can buy humanely raised chicken, or you can buy chicken that's had a nasty, brutal life. The same goes for foie gras." more ›

Tickets are on sale for the Village Voice's Choice Eats extravaganza, and considering the recent round of firings at the weekly, it's nice to see they're at least keeping this alive. The event features a wide-ranging array of cuisines from chefs hailing from all five boroughs; curated by the ever-adventurous eater Robert Sietsema and his Voice colleague Sarah DiGregorio, this year's "global cheap-eats summit" looks to be even bigger than last year, which was held at the Puck Building. Now it's moving north to the 69th Armory on Lexington Avenue and 26th Street, and will raise money for Slow Food NYC, a non-profit dedicated to "counteracting the industrialization of our food supply." Last year's smorgasbord sold out in less than three weeks, so don't delay. Your $35 ticket gets you unlimited food and an open bar from 6:30 to 9:30 on March 31st—last year it got a bit cramped toward the end, so if you go, go early. more ›

After this week, there's even less reason to touch the grimy handle of those ubiquitous Village Voice corner boxes: today is Nat Hentoff's last appearance in the increasingly irrelevant weekly. After fifty years spent doggedly exploring everything from music to human rights for the paper, the 83-year-old columnist was terminated just before New Year's Eve. But instead of using his last column to carpet Phoenix-based Village Voice Media with F-bombs, Hentoff has bowed out with class, looking back on his illustrious history with the Voice, and forward to his work as an author and syndicated columnist. And he promises to keep sticking it to the man by "putting on skunk suit at other garden parties, now that I've been excessed from the Voice...See you somewhere else. Finally, I'm grateful for the comments on the phone and the Web. It's like hearing my obituaries while I'm still here." more ›

Screw loyalty; after spending about a half century writing for the Village Voice, 83-year-old columnist Nat Hentoff got fired yesterday, along with Lynn Yaeger, a fashion writer who spent about 30 years at the Voice. Also terminated was Chloe A. Hilliard, who has worked there for two years. Happy New Year! Hentoff is widely regarded for his writing on music (particularly jazz) and his weekly diatribes on human rights and civil liberties issues, with a blistering emphasis in recent years on "the chief rapists of the Constitution since 9/11." Since being acquired by alt-weekly conglomerate New Times Media in 2005, the Voice has laid off about half of its staff, and staffer Tom Robbins tells the Times the Voice is having "serious advertising revenue problems"—which are sure to be solved by shitcanning great writers! Hentoff will continue writing a synidcated column for United Media and contribute to the Wall Street Journal. "I’m 83 and a half. You’d think they’d have let me go silently," he told the Times. "Fortunately, I’ve never been more productive." more ›

This week the Times's Frank Bruni forgoes his weekly restaurant critique in favor of a look back at 2008, culminating in his top ten new restaurant list. David Chang's Momofuku Ko (pictured) is unsurprisingly #1 (Bruni's extreme reservation hassles all but forgotten), with Paul Liebrandt's Corton a close second, and Michael Psilakis's Mia Dona rounding out the list at number ten. Bruni declares '08 to be "the best year for new restaurants in this city since 2004, when New York welcomed two four-star restaurants, Per Se and Masa, in one month." But it's a shame nobody has the money to eat at them anymore: "I shudder to think about this time in 2009 — about the kind of reflection on the New York restaurant scene that might be in order then. The next 12 months promise to be a grueling survival test for all but the most intensely beloved or flat-out utilitarian restaurants." more ›

Yesterday the Village Voice blog Runnin' Scared noted that some construction netting was placed over the 36 Cooper Square facade (aka their HQ) over the weekend. A DOB permit on the building states there will be "selective repointing and replacing of damaged portions of the brick and stone with in-kind replacements." Today they found out that this includes the removal of the Village Voice sign. The building owners say the changes aren't a secret and they want the facade to look "like it did years ago," however, no one told the publication about the removal of their sign. Wonder if they'll get to keep the flag... more ›

Since beloved Washington State punk band Sleater-Kinney dissolved two years ago into an "indefinite hiatus," drummer Janet Weiss has carved out a new niche for herself in Stephen Malkmus's small family of musicians, the Jicks. Weiss played an active role in the creation of Malkmus's fourth full-length "solo" album, Real Emotional Trash, which came out in March. In its wake she's been tearing up the road in the U.S. and Europe with Malkmus and company; on Saturday they'll be headlining, for free, the annual Siren Music Festival in Coney Island. We caught the Portland-based Weiss for a few minutes earlier in the week as she was about to board her flight east. more ›

Every year we're drawn to the Coney Island shoreline by the sirens...or at least, The Village Voice Siren Festival. This year they seem a bit more on top of things, announcing their initial lineup today -- a full two months before the show! more ›