"(Do It On My) Twin Bed" Is Your New Holiday Jam

December 23, 2013, 5:10 am

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SNL's "(Do It On My) Twin Bed" -- an ode to having awkward sex in your childhood bedroom while you're home for the holidays -- stole this weekend's show hosted by Jimmy Fallon.



Also a highlight from this weekend's SNL: This celebrity Family Feud sketch, in which Justin Timberlake plays Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Fallon does a crazy good impression of Jim Parsons. Also, surprise! He starts laughing.



Look what you did, you little jerk! Here's Home Alone performed by one guy. [TastefullyOffensive]

Aubrey Plaza, FTW. [Uproxx]

Please let Golden Girls Legos become a reality. [Jezebel]


Yule Goat! That's it, we're moving to Finland. [Digg] 
 

"All I Want For Christmas Is You," Chatroulette Version, is the best. Also, Chatroulette still exists? [TastefullyOffensive]

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Paper's Insta-Walgreens Gift Guide

December 23, 2013, 9:35 am

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You know who has lots of last-minute gifts? Walgreens! With only two days until Christmas, and a long line of names to check off our gift lists, we headed to our local Wags on 34th and 5th to pick out some treats. If you're still on the hunt - get going! Happy holidays!

Mickey's picks:

Robo | iHome rechargeable speaker ($19.99)

I'm not a technie, and am not really sure what this is for, but it's cute! [Ed note: It's a speaker.]

Mickey Mouse Chia Pet ($15.99)

Since this literally has my name on it, people will think of me every time they look at it. Plus, as a plant, it helps fight global warming.

Goo Gone ($7.99)

I don't have any goo that needs to be gone, but I have a feeling nobody I know owns this little item which is certainly a conversation piece.

Sparkly Santa figurine ($7.99)

It's Santa and it's disco. Double your pleasure. Double your fun.

Barbie hairstyling kit ($9.99)

If that little boy in your life loves Barbie, chances are he'll grow up to work in a hair salon. This kit will make sure he's trained and ready.

Elizabeth's picks:

Slippers ($9.99)
Everyone needs slippers for "me time." Any by "me time" I mean sitting in front of the TV drunk, crying at that Cat Power Apple commercial where a seemingly disinterested pissy surprises his family with a Christmas home movie.

Kiwi tie dye shoelaces (3.99)
Punch up them Chucks!

Dog toys. ($9.99)
That skunk!

Personal ice cream maker ($9.99)
Your own personal homemade ice cream on the reg. Think of the possibilities.

Gloves ($1.99) + Hothands hand warmers ($2.99)
Cheapy gloves are always the way to go.Throw in some Hothands hand warmers for extra toastiness.

Minimalist magnets ($2.99)
When it comes to fridge magnets, we generally subscribe to the rule of "the gaudier and fuglier, the better." But how cute are these little simple Sallies?

Maggie's picks:

Prorasco grooming products (After Shave Lotion, $14; Omega Shave Brush, $19; Shaving Foam, $9; Shaving Cream Tube, $10; After Shave Balm, $16)
The packaging and presentation of these products makes them look way more precious then the price suggests. They blend that old-school barbershop vibe with the modern manicured-man aesthetic perfectly.

Hello Kitty swag ($1.99)
Cute! Affordable! Hello! Kitty.

Le Couvent des Mihimes soaps ($6.99)
Once again wooed by pretty packaging. These look -- and smell -- like they came from a yuppie Brooklyn boutique. What can I say, I love a good cover!

Tooth Tunes toothbrush w/ One Direction's 'One Thing' ($9.99)
Adding a pop soundtrack to the monotony of brushing one's teeth will make every day feel like a holiday.  

Jumbo flask ($19.99)
Drink responsibly!

Abby's picks:

Portable Foot Massager ($12.49)
Even though you know this thing will break after approximately three uses, the red flannel/black-and-white polka dot combo is just so "trendy" you know your mom will love it.

3D Crest Whitestrips double pack ($64.99)

This is one of those gifts you have to be careful about because it could come off like a criticism. Personally, after all the coffee/sugar/booze you'll be consuming this holiday season, we recommend you just buy this gift for yourself.

Feathered catnip toy ($3.49)
Don't neglect that fun and funky feline in your life.

Sunglasses ($9.99)

Ray-Ban, shmay-bans. You always lose your $200 sunglasses anyway.

New Documentary Perfectly Captures NYC In the 90s

December 23, 2013, 10:40 am

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Take some time over the holidays and watch Last Call, a wonderful documentary about New York City in the 90s. It's not the most professional film ever made, but what it lacks in continuity and slickness, is made up for in sincerity, honesty and heart-warming nostalgia. Shot by Ruth Slinger, it looks back on the '90s with hundreds of images that the Brazilian director shot while living and working in NYC with her brother Carlos "Soul" Slinger -- one of the featured talking heads -- at their SoHo and Lafayette Street store, Liquid Sky. The film mostly avoids the usual "it was so much better then" cliches, and still manages to capture everything from Wigstock to Dee-Lite to Chloe Sevigny to Frankie Knuckles and Moby -- plus there's more obscure characters like the two owners of the cuckoo Lower East Side store Pluto Dog. At times it's like watching a rough cut of the film Kids with real people, and a soundtrack of music that defined a decade.

My Cultural High Points From 2013

December 23, 2013, 12:50 pm

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This time of the year Best-Of lists are as ubiquitous as flies on a horse's ass, but that won't stop me from jumping on and riding off into the sunset, satisfied that I have thrown my two cents into the ring. (Mixed metaphor alert!). By no means comprehensive, this list represents my cultural high points from 2013. So in no particular, order here they are.


Red Bull Music Academy
This world-traveling series landed in New York in 2013, adding an extra layer of excitement upon the city's highly charged music and nightlife scene. Self-proclaimed as a "platform for those who make a difference in today's musical landscape" it actually lives up to its own hype. Brian Eno, James Murphy and Giorgio Moroder were among the more than 230 artists participating in this month-long musical residency that also featured a daily newspaper, art exhibits, talks, workshops, a music studio. (Great to see Eno's morphing art installation and Giorgio Moroder work the decks.) The Red Bull team's attention to detail and passion is a constant, showing up most recently in the publication of For the Record: Conversations With People Who Have Shaped the Way We Listen to Music, any music lover's must-have book based on 15 years of the RBMA.

Banksy
His month-long residency set-off a media frenzy and lots of water cooler/social media conversations -- a good thing. But wait, how about all those people who think he's exploiting the situation and, like influential New York art critic Jerry Saltz, making bad art to boot? This is New York and everyone's got an opinion, but it was fun while it lasted.



Marina Abramovic
This is the year this singular artist jumped the shark from MoMA and into a Jay-Z video. Definitely a force to be reckoned with, now building the Marina Abramović Institute, a museum founded with a kickstarter campaign supported by Lady Gaga and Jay. So she's been able to bridge it all, high and low, hip and hop and get starchitect Rem Koolhaas to design it. I'm speechless in the face of this phenomena and I guess that's the way it's meant to be.



Kanye West and Drake
No one can top Kanye in over-the-topness -- and he can be extremely annoying -- but Yeezus beats the daylights out of Jay's pandering Magna Carta... Holy Grail. And "Tom Ford" goes on to get a Grammy nomination? Drake's growing up in front of the mic, delivering a more mature vision, singing as well as rapping in "Nothing Was the Same."



Junot Diaz
I'm late to the game on Diaz, but I'm glad I made it just the same. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a brilliant novel full of life and passion, opening our eyes to a slice of the American experience in a voice as hip to cadence and nuance as any out there. [Photo by Nina Subin/Penguin Group via NPR]

Frieze
Going its own way, Frieze has earned its spot on the top of New York's art fair pyramid. Great execution, smart, personal, all the right decisions. The London-based magazine that spawned the fair has also taken a great step forward, earning its place on my nightstand for its ability to make art relevant and meaningful in the age of commoditization.

Orange Is the New Black
The Netflix original about a women's prison by Weeds creator Jenji Kohan does have fantastic, complex characters like Uzo Aduba, Natasha Lyonne, Annie Golden, Lea Delaria and Taryn Manning join the yuppie white girl Taylor Schilling and her former girlfriend Laura Prepon in an ensemble that's going to be hard to beat.

Frances Ha and Blue Jasmine
Former Paper cover star Greta Gerwig (Frances) can do no wrong in my book. Adding writer to her impressive acting credits, she teams up with real-life paramour Noah Baumbach in this black and white coming-of-age tale of a post-college girl making her way in the big city. This really should be seen by everyone between the ages of 16 and 30. Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine is about a girl of a different age (Cate Blanchett), who moves to San Francisco to live with her sister after her life and marriage blow up as a result of a financial scandal.  It's bittersweet, touching and most of all human. A relief to see Woody get it right after so many years of misfires.


J. Crew
I'm not a big shopper, but if I were I'd be scooping up lots of items from the men's shop. A bit on the pricey side, but the luxury generic jackets, sweaters and sweats makes me feel like a kid at Best Buy.

Paper Nightlife Awards
Each year we put together an awards night for the people who make New York like no other. From the Bowery to Bushwick from the West Side to Williamsburg, the party people work it and the NLA is the time they get recognized for their contributions. This year Ciara performed and Chelsea Handler hosted. Wish you were there. (Maybe you were!).

Dover's Granny's Daisy Is the Margarita Variation of Your Dreams

December 23, 2013, 12:51 pm

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The waiting game for sausage and mushroom-strewn ricotta cavatelli at tiny Battersby may seem like cruel punishment. Although the food makes the hunt for a table worthwhile,it was ecstacy when the Carroll Gardens restaurant recently unveiled its more spacious sibling, Dover, a short walk away. Here, chefs Walker Stern and Joseph Ogrodnek turn out equally thoughtful dishes, like black spaghetti bright with Peekytoe crab, Meyer lemon and chile.

Airy and calm, Dover's ambiance beckons diners to get comfortable with one of Matthew Walters' cocktails before digging. Among the compact menu's offerings is the Granny's Daisy, a margarita-inspired Tequila concoction that skews tart and savory through a well-balanced marriage of homemade Granny Smith apple shrub and celery bitters.

"A margarita is one of the cocktails I order regularly when I go out," says Walters. "A well-made one, where the lime melds perfectly into a distinctive agave flavor that is highlighted by a hint of orange sweetness is a wonderful experience. I was hoping to create a cocktail that finds that same balance of acidity and agave with a touch of sweetness using more seasonal ingredients."

And so he turned to crisp, green Granny Smith apples. "I love their flavor with celery," he says. "Making the shrub allowed me to maintain the acidity that quickly mellows after the apples are juiced."

Addictive apple salt rimming the glass will leave you licking your lips long after your food hits the table.

 
Recipe

 2 oz. Cazadores Blanco Tequila

*1 oz. green apple shrub

1/4 oz. lime juice

2 dashes celery bitters

Shake ingredients. Strain over ice.  Pour in glass rimmed with **apple salt.

*Green apple shrub:

2 1/2 cups freshly juiced Granny Smith apples

1 cup simple syrup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. ascorbic acid

**Apple salt:

Thinly slice one green apple. Dry for two hours in 125-degree oven. Cool until crisp. Grind to a powder. Mix with kosher salt.

Rebecca Smeyne's Year In Photos

December 23, 2013, 1:35 pm

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Paper's intrepid photographer Rebecca Smeyne can take on any situation -- from a dog fashion show to a hot-ticket New York Fashion Week party -- and capture something amazing. Here, she recaps her favorite shots from the year.


January: Actually Huizenga
This was a shoot in the California desert with L.A. artist Actually Huizenga. It was a long, adventurous day of guerrilla-style location shooting. I like this shot because the silhouette of the mountain and the color of the sky are so dramatic, and she looks a bit possessed. The desert at night is a spooky place and I think this captures that feeling.


February: Dog Fashion Show
My first job of February fashion week this year was a dog fashion show. Lassie was there. And this bejeweled chihuahua.


March: Trendy Gems Day Spa
This photo is from a perfectly odd, pleasant, and thought-provoking performance art event that was day-spa-as-art. In this photo, artist Angelina Dreem is practicing some #garbagewave healing. I like this photo because of the white-on-white, the unusual layering, and the #garbagewave hat.

April: Cocky Boys in Liberace's Looks
Mr. Mickey sent me on this shoot, where I shot a a gay porn star modeling Liberace's actual clothing. It was a very intimate shoot: just me, Jett, his friend and a pair of whippets playing around in a gorgeous art-filled estate out of town, in the middle of a thunderstorm. The pool shots were my favorite because of the rich colors, the graphic pattern of the raindrops, and his isolation in the frame - it feels like a fantasy.

May: Dizzyland
Dizzyland is Trey La Trash's party at Gage of the Boone's DIY queer arts space The Spectrum in Bushwick. It's full of inventive, avant-garde drag queens and other fun characters. I love all the looks in this crowd, they're freaky and colorful in a way that's not cliche.

June: Pride
I love shooting people on the streets near the piers during the Pride festivities; it gets rowdiest in that area -- this year, I saw a group of teenagers crush someone's car by dancing on it. I like this shot because the action is raw, the colors are saturated, and it has lots of shiny textures.


July: Queens of Summer
This is a photo of Macy Rodman in our summer swimsuit feature, which was shot featuring all Brooklyn drag queens. Macy is one of my fave personalities in the drag scene, so I was psyched we were able to cast her in this shoot.  Her countenance is often pouty like that of an adolescent (although not in this image), and she styles herself in a high-fashion meets hot-mess-on-purpose sort of way -- it's an interesting combo.

August: At Home with Prince Rama
This was probably my favorite shoot of the year. I love the energy and sense of spontaneity in the photos, plus both of the Prince Rama sisters are total babes. They're incredibly sweet people and tireless artists; time just stops when you're in their world.

September: Nicki Minaj at SHADE for Alexander Wang
This was one of the craziest parties of the year. An elaborate harajuku-style bash in the South Street Seaport Mall after-hours for Alexander Wang, this event would have been remarkable even if Nicki Minaj hadn't popped out for a surprise performance.


October: Night out with Susanne Bartsch
Susanne is a legend, and so is her apartment in the Chelsea Hotel. This photo was taken in her bedroom while she was getting ready to go out to co-host a party with Cher. Within the frame of the photo, her eyes are small, yet the authority of her gaze is evident.

November: Lady Gaga's Art Rave
I think we've all heard about this monstrous affair. This photo was taken at a moment of peak insanity in the evening, i.e. the moment when people were trampling each other to get close to Gaga after she walked in the front door and started climbing around on all the Koons sculptures before ascending the stage. I like the photo because it communicates the excitement, all the way down to this drag queen's tonsils, and gives a sense of the fabulous looks in the crowd that night.


December: Bushwick Gone Basel
This photo is from the Bushwick Gone Basel party in Miami. It was a memorable party in many ways, but this bus depositing a fresh bunch of characters on the sidewalk outside around midnight was a high point.

The 10 Most Brilliant Eating Moments of 2013

December 27, 2013, 7:55 am

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Paper's food editor Julie Besonen on her 10 favorite meals of the year.

Photo via USHGNYC

1. Alder's luscious New England clam chowder with oyster crackers, and I mean crackers made of oysters. Genius.

Photo via ChinookOlive

2. Bone-in burger at M. Wells Steakhouse, a cuckoo presentation and insanely delicious.

3. Go ahead and camp outside Dominique Ansel for a cronut; I'd rather breeze in at lunch for the six-hour roasted pork shoulder club with pickled eggs and spicy mayo on sourdough.

Photo via SSPNY

4. Ignacio Mattos' kohlrabi salad with hazelnuts, mint and rich fossa cheese at Estela was a revelatory combination.

5. At Marco's, which replaced Franny's, the succulent, wood-grilled lamb chops were pure bliss.

6. At the new Franny's I tried to stop eating the wood-fired pizza with prosciutto cotto, peppers, garlic, chilies and caciocavallo. I couldn't.

Photo via VillageVoice. 

7. I was sad when Vandaag closed but when I tasted the burnt-end baked beans at Mighty Quinn's Barbeque, its replacement, the sadness went away.

8. The fiery, ungloppy cold sesame noodles at the East Village's Han Dynasty are the best version in town, anything but ho-hum.

Photo via Poplipps.

9. Wondrous pork meatballs with soppressata, shiitakes and bonito flakes at Pearl & Ash made me rethink the genre.

10. Three breads vie for being so great I could forget about the rest of the meal: monkey bread with whipped lardo and seaweed butter at Piora, bacon brioche at The Musket Room and the pain de campagne at Lafayette.

SEE ALL OF PAPER'S YEAR-END COVERAGE HERE

13 Fashion Moments That Defined 2013

December 31, 2013, 8:50 am

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The fashion industry is all about looking forward, but we couldn't help take a look back at the year past -- what a year it's been! From the '90s surge gaining more steam to sensible shoes to the farewells, we collected the top thirteen fashion moments that defined 2013. 

1. Anne Hathaway's Nipplegate 

All eyes were on Annie and her nipps at this year's Academy Awards. The Best Supporting Actress winner wore a Prada dress -- a last-second choice -- with some extremely unflattering seaming, which no doubt made Valentino's camp chuckle. Apparently Hathaway was suppose to wear Valentino, or at least the house, who sent out a press release announcing this minutes before Hathaway's arrival. Awkward... 

2. John Galliano took New York

Carefully plotting his return to the fashion scene, the Galliano spent three weeks in residence at Oscar de la Renta's atelier in January. Galliano's influence on Oscar de la Renta's fall 2013 collection was undeniable. But the jury is still out on the disgraced designer -- Parsons cancelled a three-day seminar taught by Galliano in May over public outcry, while the Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman says it's time to forgive and move on.

3. Punk became posh 

Watching a bunch of models and celebrities walk the red carpet in 'punk' fashion officially signaled that punk, as we knew it, is officially dead. The Met's fumbled punk-inspired Costume Institute show was roundly criticized for missing the spirit and point of punk and its influential subcultures.

4. Ann Demeulemeester left Ann Demeulemeester; Jil Sander left Jil Sander, again  

Both trailblazing designers left their eponymous label's this year. Demeulemeester's departure -- via open letter -- came as a shock to the industry and her fans. Same for Sander who left, for a third time, citing 'personal reasons.'

5. The great '90s return

Though the influence of the '90s has been swirling around since the late-aughts, it seemed to stake its place this year. From crop tops to high tops, the defining styles of the '90s made a triumphant return to fashion this year, and by the look of spring 2014, they aren't going anywhere. 

6. Rick Owens redefined the runway 

Spring 2014. Paris Fashion Week. Step Up. 

7. English investments 

It was a good year for the Brits' fresh faces. LVMH invested in bright, young things J.W. Anderson and Nicholas Kirkwood while PPR took a majority stake in Christopher Kane. 

8. Kim Kardashian in fashion

CR Book cover -- check. Met Ball invite -- check. Wardrobe upgrade -- check. Thanks to Kanye's konnects and budding bestie, Givenchy designer, Riccardo Tisci, KK was finally able to squeeze her way into fashion's inner circle.

9. Michelle Obama's bangs 

The first lady got a kicky haircut for her 49th birthday and everyone freaked out. Later she jokingly admitted the bangs were a 'mid-life' crisis moment.  We thought they were cute and looked amazing with her Thom Browne inauguration coat.

10. Flats were in focus 

Comfortable footwear -- like Birkenstocks and Adidas shower slides -- became cool this year thanks to Pheobe Philo's fur-lined double-strap slides for Céline. 

11. Marc Jacobs leaves Louis Vuitton, enter Nicolas Ghesquiere  

Marc Jacobss bittersweet departure from Louis Vuitton opened the door for fashion's fallen angel Nicholas Ghesquiere, who had been out of a job since being fired from Balenciaga in November 2012.

12. Designer parodies

Why so serious? From 'Céline Dion' of 'Homies' the fashion parody became a street style must have thanks to these cheeky designers.

13. Kate Moss in Playboy 

Thanks, undoubtedly, to the magazine's new Creative Director -- and fashion/art world influencer -- Neville Wakefield, the 39-year-old mega model posed for photographic duo Mert & Marcus for the magazine's 60th anniversary issue in classic bunny garb. 

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The Best Of What Was Said In PAPER and PAPERMAG All Year

December 31, 2013, 9:00 am

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"In 10,000 hours, they say you can master anything. 10,000 hours in Disneyland and you're the queen of Disney." -- Vanessa Hudgens on spending many days during childhood at Disney Land. From "Breaking Bad: Former Disney star Vanessa Hudgens gets wild in Harmony Korine's new film, Spring Breakers"

 "I was also a bit of a maniac at that stage in my life. The first year I worked there when I was about 21-years-old, we all got drunk after work and I got a full-body massage in olive oil on the big community table."
-- Meatball Shop Co-Owner Michael Chernow on his days working at East Village Italian standby Frank. From "Chefs Off Duty: The Meatball Shop Guys Talk Late Night Bites and Olive Oil Massages"

"I wish that when I was in my twenties I wasn't always so worried about how I looked, how I measured up compared to other women my age or whether my clothes were good enough. As soon as I got the courage to really go my own way -- and it did take a while -- the happier I became. Oh, and I wish I had started writing professionally a whole lot earlier than I did."
-- Lynn Yaeger on gaining confidence with age. From "It Gets Better: Our Favorite Ladies Share Their Twentysomething Mistakes."

"We have very few bad customers. Some who haven't come in before have a chip on their shoulder, think they can take it out on the counterman. With Grandpa Russ, if a lady looked at him wrong he'd say, 'Lady, do me a favor. Lose my address.' The three Russ daughters were better at charming people."
-- Mark Russ Federman on "bad customers" versus "good customers" at Russ & Daughters. From "Mark Russ Federman on His New Russ & Daughters Memoir."

"I don't understand. Everyone seems to want to do the chicken dance in front of me or asks me to do it."
--Portia de Rossi on getting asked to recreate Lindsay Bluth's unforgettable dance moves from Arrested Development. From "Watch This: Portia de Rossi."

"I watch Judge Judy and Jeopardy and I watch Turner Classic Movies and QVC and HSN. That's it."
-- RuPaul on his TV-watching habits. From "RuPaul On the New Season of Drag Race"

"It was [Miuccia] Prada who got rid of the fashion model. It wasn't that she got rid of the black girl. The black girl just started disappearing. She did something that was very editorial. She flipped it. She didn't use models who had famous faces. She whitened it up because she wanted everybody to look alike. So you would not notice the girl, but instead notice the clothes. It caught on and ultimately the fashion model was no longer someone with personality like Linda Evangelista or Naomi. The model became somebody you didn't know who just walked down straight to the end of the runway and back. Once you don't want anyone to stand out, then you have to take out the people who stand out."
-- Bethann Hardison on the lack of diversity in fashion today. From "Invisible Beauty: The Legendary Fashion Industry Guru Bethann Hardison Explains Why Models All Look the Same These Days"

"I used to be all apologetic for being on stage...I'm still nervous but I've changed my act so  I just chat. The shit that comes out of my mouth is just awful...I have to get the drummer to start playing just to shut me up."
-- Jessie Ware on onstage banter. From "Listen Up: British Songstress Jessie Ware Is About to Take Over the American Airwaves With Her Sexy Soul Tunes."

"Harvey called me on the phone. He said, 'What are you doing'?' I said, 'Nuthin.'"
-- Cyndi Lauper on teaming up with Harvey Fierstein on Kinky Boots. From "Bootylicious"

"It's honestly gotten too violent for my taste. The straight-edge kids, who are literally throwing punches in the pit -- it's too much for me. It's like, 'My mom comes to these shows, dammit!'"
-- Barren Girls' Carla Wolff on playing shows in their hometown of Raleigh, NC. From "Barren Necessities."

"More is more, bad taste is the best taste, and there is no gender."
-- BCALLA designer Bradley Callahan on the essence of his clothing line. From "Meet Rising Bushwick Designer BCALLA." 

"I'm dying to have sex with Lena Dunham on camera."
-- Bobby Cannavale on his obsession with the TV show Girls. Form "Beautiful People: Bobby Cannavale"

"I can tell you my little talking points about this but I should also just tell you that it's all a lie. It's all just a massive lie."
--Director Shane Caruthers' response when asked about writing the script for Upstream Color.

"My emcee name is the Vodka Cran because it's my favorite drink...And after I've had a couple of vodka crans, my rapping gets even better."
-- Pitch Perfect star Anna Camp on freestyling at open mic nights. From "Beautiful People: Anna Camp"

"Coffee is a big love in the category of big love."
--David Lynch on his love for coffee and Chinese chicken salad. From "David Lynch on his Le Grand Fooding Soundtrack and Chinese Chicken Salad"

"We discovered YouTube the same way a lot of other people did -- by watching 'Lazy Sunday.'"
-- The Lonely Island's Jorma Taccone on YouTube. From "This Just In: The Lonely Island Guys Have It Their Way On Their Hilarious New Record, Proving Once Again Why They're the Internet's Biggest Stars."

"Around six in the morning we left Culture Box to go to a 'morning rave' at an empty warehouse in the meatpacking district where we met plenty of our friends by accident. The only bad thing I can say about that night is I fell asleep on the train and woke up in Sweden."
-- Copenhagen student Sebastian Gudmand-Høyer on nights out in his city From "No Sleep til...Copenhagen" 

"Be careful if you make a great slingshot for your hovercraft...My experience with that was what inspired me to get health insurance."
--3-D Printing Innovator Bre Pettis on the hidden dangers of 3-D printing. From: "Bre Pettis: The Innovator"

"Any time I post something that gets attention, I just assume that I've somehow tricked people into liking it."
-- Artist Lacey Micallef on her Tumblr's success. From "Lacey Micallef: The GIF Giver"

"That would be my advice to gay men: once in a while it would be nice to fuck your girlfriends. You know, it would just be a nice gesture."
-- Natasha Lyonne on gay best friends. From "Natasha Lyonne on GBFs, Obsessive Internet TV Watching and Bon Qui Qui" 

"We wanted to decontextualize what the word means. When you hear 'trill,' it doesn't mean 'Underground Kingz / trill/ South/ sipping lean.' 'Trill' means Internet music."
-- #Been #Trill's Matthew Williams on the meaning behind the art/DJ collective's name. From "#Been #Trill: The Meme Weavers."

"The only logical explanation is that someone in Prince's office has seen it and is looking the other way because it makes working in Prince's office a little easier. Can you imagine working in Prince's office?"
-- Comedian and creator of @PrinceTweets2U Jake Fogelnest on why the parody account hasn't gotten shut down. From "Just Kidding: We Get to Know the People Behind Our Favorite Parody Twitter Accounts."

"I think that celebrities who are savvy about their Internet presence come across as being way more intelligent and cool than they actually are. Being Twitter-savvy is surpassing more traditional skills in the celebrity world, like being beautiful or having talent."
 -- Julie Klausner on Twitter's importance. From "A Way With Words: Author, Podcast Host and Master Tweeter Julie Klausner Has So Much to Say."

"When she first walked into our session I was like, 'I had such a crush on you, bitch!'"
--Miguel on meeting Mariah Carey to work on their track "#Beautiful." From "Keeping It Cool: Miguel Is Making R&B Look -- and Sound -- Damn Good Again." 

"I need people who want to make love again, people who want to slow dance again instead of making those 'ratchet'-type records for the club. [The industry] needs to understand that R&B will never be as quick of a hit as hip-hop is. Rap is urgent. Love takes time."
-- The Dream on bringing back old-school R&B. From "Dream On."

"At first the network thought I was too cute, too sweet and that they needed somebody a little rougher around the edges. And I said, 'No, I'm coming back in. I'm from Florida and I know how to fucking do this.'"
--Actress Amy Seimetz on convincing directors to cast her in The Killing. From "Southern Charm"

 

"This is the Beyoncé age...We want to be successful and empower women to do the same. It's time for women to rule the world."
-- Mataano co-designer Ayaan Mohallim on female empowerment and success. From "Twin Peaks."

"I came from middle American suburbs, so one of the first things that completely charmed me were these houses floating on stilts. That was an unimaginable thing unto itself. When you put us, queer people, in that magical, physical space (it is one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world, and I spent my life going to beaches) something wonderful happens. It was unlike anything else I had ever experienced in the world."
-- Photographer Tom Bianchi on the Fire Island Pines in the '70s. From "Beyond the Pines: Photographer Tom Bianchi Captures the Sun-Kissed '70s Gay Bacchanalia of Fire Island Pines."

"My apartment is in the East Village and it hasn't really changed except in the way that I wanted it to. But it's weird to see all these young kids who give you the idea that they're actually disappointed and feel cheated that they weren't able to hang out at CBGB."
-- Richard Hell on the East Village's gentrification. From "No Regrets: Founding Father of Punk Richard Hell Pulls No Punches In His Autobiography."

"Fuck those bitches!"
-- Tegan from Tegan & Sara on the evolution of their band and not looking back. From "Tegan and Sara's Pop Awakening."

"I would definitely do a talk show...talk about cooking, talk about drug experiences."
-- Rapper Antwon on doing a talk show. From "Antwon: Rap By Way of Kid Rock."

"I think it's just a phase we're going through. It'll come to an end and people will come to their senses. It's like when you go to a crazy party and eat too much bad food and drink too much and then you wake up...and say, 'I've got to go to the gym.'"
-- Nancy Jo Sales on our obsession with celebrity culture and reality television. From "Nancy Jo Sales on the 'Bling Ring' and Our Unhealthy Obsession With Celebrity Culture" 

"My directive was, I wanted it to smell like "a touch of taint on the knoll at twilight." By that, I mean I wanted it to smell like two faeries dancing by a fire in the woods and then going off and having sex next to a bed of flowers. It's kind of sexy."
-- Justin Vivian Bond on V's new perfume fragrance. Form "Justin Vivian Bond on Being An Arrogant Feminist and the Problem With NYC Pride" 

"Last night I went to bed at 1:30 and got up this morning at 9:15, just enough time to get to Terry Gross at NPR. I love Terry Gross to death. One of my favorite journalism moments is her versus Gene Simmons. He's trying to do his usual shock shtick and she hung in there like a champ. It was Muhammad Ali against George Foreman, Rumble in the Jungle. He was arrogant and tried to bully her and she would stick him and lunge and move away. I don't mess with Terry Gross."
 -- Questlove on his love for NPR. From "Questlove Talks Fried Chicken, His Hobo Fantasy and Not Messing With Terry Gross"  

"Skrillex was on the phone, he wanted me to orchestrate for him. I had never heard of him. I Googled his gaggle, I got him on the giggle."
-- Van Dyke Parks on his first encounter with Skrillex. From "Van Dyke Parks on Aging, Arranging and Skrillex" 

 

"I'm what you call 'love rich.' We didn't have all the money in the world, but I had all the attention. I grew up spoiled with love."
--Ciara, on coming from a humble Texas household. From "Le Femme Ciara: The Hip-Hop Star Gets Down and Girly."

"The thing I remember most about it was that it was a nice, crisp morning in California. I remember being excited and (this is not a surprise to Jordan) I almost started crying. I picked him up that morning and we were about 500 feet from the front gate and he said something lovely like, "I can't imagine doing this with someone other than you."
--Key and Peele's Keegan Michel Peele on the duo's first day on set of their Comedy Central show. From "Mad(Funny) Men: Key & Peele On Being "Reality TV Whores" and Playing "Undateable" Characters."

"There's probably a ton of people who are going to be like, 'I don't give a shit about her now, she's 1,000 years old.' But that's what's great about music. If you're 16, you can listen to Bikini Kill or Le Tigre, and if that helps you get interested in feminism it's like, 'Awesome, my job's done.' When you worry about it, that's when you start doing things like trying to write the song you already wrote, or trying to pantomime your younger self on stage. If you dance like your mom, then you dance like your mom. That's who you are now."
--Kathleen Hanna on returning to music with her new band, The Julie Ruin. From "Gone From Music For Nearly a Decade, Kathleen Hanna Returns with a New Album."

"There was a line in the script describing her stare as being 'childlike, except children aren't scary,' and that informed the way Crazy Eyes allows her eyes to light up for certain people. She's also a bit of a nail-biter."
-- Orange Is the New Black's Uzo Aduba on developing her wild-eyed character's trademark stare. From: "Uzo Aduba On Playing TV's Craziest Character."

"This is complete nonsense... There's no rational basis for it whatsoever."
--David Wondrich on the great whiskey-with-or-without-an-e debate. From "David Wondrich on His New Brooklyn Gin and Why the Spelling of "Whiskey" Is Nonsense."

"Don't dress trendy. Classic things are the most chic. I hate seeing things that are démodé. Things are like that right now, and it is not good. It doesn't work. Jeans always work. Classics are chic. A classic Chanel jacket will never be démodé. It's still perfection. Perfection is not about money. It is the way you put it together, the way you edit."
-- Stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele on the clothes that will never go out of style. From "Jeremy Scott Talks to Legendary Stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele." 

"My whole thing is creating future music, and bringing the renaissance into the future."
--A$AP Ferg on his sound. From "A$AP Ferg's '90s Gangsta-Rap Style Takes Us Back to the Future."

"Walt teams up with Jesse to kill the Nazis. They do! Then they have a showdown. Jesse kills Walt, then himself. Baby Holly knows nothing. Flynn eats breakfast."
--Comedian Emily Heller on how she thought Breaking Bad would end. From "Retta, Julie Klausner + More Predict How Breaking Bad Will End"

"People just wanna see my butt."
--Iggy Azalea on the media's obsession with her twerking skills. From "Rising Rap Star Iggy Azalea Is the Real Thing."

"Tonight it's trashy, teased, tampon-wearing."
--Nightlife duo the Dairy Queens describing their club look. From "We Like the Looks of These 14 NYC Clubhoppers."

"Beautiful babes who can't count."
--Parks and Rec writer and comedian Megan Amram's response when asked to describe L.A. in three words. From "Beautiful People Los Angeles: Megan Amram."

"I think it's a good thing that the cool people moved to Brooklyn. It's like the West Bank of Paris."
--NYC nightlife legend Susanne Bartsch on Brooklyn's cultural rise. From "A Look Into the Life of Susanne Bartsch."

"Max Fish was the opposite of a gentrified bar. It had those aspects to it, but it wasn't about moving in and bringing the neighborhood up to a higher class. That was not the point of the bar. It was meant to stay on the same level of the neighborhood as they found it."
--Artist John Ahearn on the influence of now-shuttered artists' bar Max Fish on the Lower East Side. From "An Oral History of Max Fish."

"It's important to keep your life simple, otherwise you'll never get anything done."
--Artist Kaws on living a low-key life. From "From the Streets to TV to Fine Art Galleries, KAWS Is Everywhere."

"I just want girls to know they can do whatever they want."
--Artist Petra Collins on her controversial art depicting the female body. From "The Kids Are Alright: Petra Collins and Her Collective of Young Artists Aren't Afraid to Have a Little Fun."

"It's not just the artist as victim, it's the artist as perpetrator."
--Creative Time's Anne Pasternack on the negative effects of artist-gentrified neighborhoods. From "As Head of Creative Time, Anne Pasternak Has Changed How and Where We Experience Art."

"I have no idea how to contact him. If I said, 'Hey, I think your dead grandmother's here,' he'd think I was out of my mind."
--Chef John Keller on his sense that Geraldo Rivera's grandmother is haunting his new restaurant, Apt 13. From "Chef John Keller On His New Restaurant and the Ghost of Geraldo Rivera's Grandmother."

"We went to Six Flags in Santa Clarita, and rode the Colossus. One of the performers kept asking me, 'When do we take our shirts off?' I had to explain to him, 'This is not that kind of film.'"
--Artist Joe Sola on working with gay male porn stars for his film Riding with Adult Video Performers. From "Joe Sola Has an Ear For Art."

"Dog biscuits are just like cookies but no sugar. I was always a little rebellious."
--Author Dana Goodyear on eating dog biscuits as a child. From "Dana Goodyear on Anything That Moves and Eating Like a Survivor in an Apocalypse."

"I always laugh at that because when we first started going to film festivals with Let's Get Lost, women especially would say, 'Why aren't I in the film?' and I would say 'Oh well, I'm sorry. I am just meeting you right now,' and they would say something like "Chet stayed at my house for six months," or, "He was our babysitter." Can you imagine hiring Chet to be your babysitter?"
--Bruce Weber on Chet Baker's popularity with women. From "The Legendary Bruce Weber Talks Chet Baker and Iowa Wrestlin'"


"Everyone under 26 seems gay to me. Both men and women. I often ask myself, 'Is everyone gay?' There's this gender fluidity that I think is generational, and that's new."
-- Amy Poehler on millennial sexuality. From "Amy Poehler Is One Busy Lady, But She'll Still Make Time For You."

"I think one of the funniest things about Christmas is a living crèche or a living nativity scene. They're frightening. I find them scarier than any Diane Arbus photo. I go to them like people go to haunted houses at Halloween, but I scrunch down in the crowd because I don't want people to see me. Then I'd feel as perverted as they are."
--John Waters on what's funny about Christmas. From "John Waters On His One-Man Christmas Show and The Horrors of Living Nativity Scenes"

"One of the most important things you can include in your 'About Me' section is that you're "actually" something. "I am actually pretty laid back," "I'm actually pretty open to new things," "I am actually not sure what to expect on here," "I am actually literally," "I am actually literally writing this from inside a hollowed-out tree," "I am actually literally a ghost."
--Carey O'Donnell and Eli Yudin on the over-use of the word "actually" in OKCupid Profiles. From "The Top 10 Things People Need to Stop Putting On Their OkCupid Profiles In 2014."

"I try not to read too much online because I always get my feelings hurt, even if someone's flattering you. Like somebody tweeting, 'Call me crazy, but I think Amy Poehler's attractive.' And you're like, 'OK? Thank you?' Or like someone writing, 'I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I'd have sex with Amy Poehler.'"
--Amy Poehler on staying away from Social Media. From ""Amy Poehler Is One Busy Lady, But She'll Still Make Time For You."

"One of the things that New York City doesn't have is cultural preservation. They may save a building, but they certainly don't preserve culture. Or else CBGB wouldn't be a clothing store."
--Everybody Street director Cheryl Dunn on New York City's evolution. From "In a New York Minute."

ICYMI: Here's How Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Celebrated New Year's Eve

January 2, 2014, 6:30 am

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ICYMI: Here's how ever-delightful BFFs Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart rang in the new year. [H/T Hyper Vocal]

Also ICYMI: these drunk girls telling a cheesy Fox News reporter that they're gonna "fuck shit up" on New Year's Eve in Miami is the best. A special moment occurs at the 0:38 mark. [via Gawker]

"Jorge wants to be hardcore and his mom won't let him." [via Knusprig Titten Hitler]

These sunnyside up eggs have a message for youuu. [via Tastefully Offensive]

This little boy lip syncing to Beyoncé's "Drunk In Love" while chewing gum, doing a body roll and rocking a frickin' pair of NUNCHUCKS around his neck is our spirit animal of 2014. [via Instagram]

Beavis isn't feeling it. [via Pizzza Time]

Go do dumb somewhere else 'ya big dummy! [via Afternoon Snooze Button]

This is awesome: a Canadian family turned their snowy front lawn into the Moai statues on Easter Island. [via Laughing Squid]

Back-to-Work Thursday is brought to you by Danny DeVito. [via Coin Farts]

Danny Brown, Heems and Despot Made a Great Remix of Vampire Weekend's "Step"

January 2, 2014, 9:15 am

≫ Next: Kings County Distillery's Colin Spoelman on Staying Relevant and Blind Tasting

≪ Previous: ICYMI: Here's How Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Celebrated New Year's Eve

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Whether you're stuck at work today or still chilling on vacation (lucky assholes), this new remix of Vampire Weekend's excellent Modern Vampires of the City track "Step," should be your new 2014 jam. The lushly-arranged song gets turnt up with verses by Danny Brown, Heems and Despot who rhyme about exes and, in Heems' case, college days at Wesleyan. Sounds about right.

Listen to the track, below.

Kings County Distillery's Colin Spoelman on Staying Relevant and Blind Tasting

January 2, 2014, 11:20 am

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Inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard's historic Paymaster Building, Colin Spoelman and David Haskell of Kings County Distillery -- the city's first distillers since prohibition -- craft impressive small batches of bourbon and un-aged moonshine. Now that the winter chill has us hankering for flasks full of the brown stuff, it's the ideal time to turn to The Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining: How to Make and Drink Whiskey, which made its debut on Abrams Books this fall. Here, Spoelman gives us a glimpse inside the riveting tome.

Your book is a great primer on the country's longtime affinity for whiskey. What do you think sets it apart?

There is pleasure in going to a bookstore and looking at all the whiskey selections. A lot are of the Michael Jackson let-me-tell-you-about-whiskey-philosophy; a lot are terrible. Ours is fresh. There is the perception that distilling is a rural thing, but distilling's urban history is an untold story.

I love the illustrations and how extensive but succinct the information is.

Initially, it was going to be more of a glossy pretty recipe book than what we ended up delivering. We wanted it to have a design sensibility, but also be something serious. The emphasis is on content rather than being beautiful for the sake of being beautiful. We didn't want to include a whole lot of recipes because that is somewhat contrary to what the distillery aims to do: make good whiskey.

You grew up in Kentucky, in the Appalachian dry county of Harlan. I imagine there were plenty of illicit sips of moonshine, but what about the state's star export: bourbon?

I didn't have much experience with bourbon until I moved away and came back specifically looking for it. In high school, when people were finding illegally sourced alcohol -- there were these ridiculous bootleggers -- and then binge drinking, there weren't too many who knew about bourbon or had much to say about it. When I went to college everyone said, 'You are from Kentucky. You must know about bourbon.' But it was more like, 'Actually, I'm from Appalachia.'

What was the impetus behind launching Kings County Distillery?

In Kentucky, I got a whole gallon of moonshine that I brought back to New York and had available for consumption in my apartment. It was there for a while since no one drank more than a few sips at a time. That particular jug got me into urban moonshine. After a couple of years, my partner, David, stepped in. We realized there was a business here.

Was there a steep learning curve in making it?

Doing it for two years in my apartment, the trial and error led to key conclusions. For example, small-scale pot distilling was more advantageous, and determined the still we order from Scotland as an alternative to getting something less efficient but cheaper from Kentucky. Because I didn't have outside experience, and because I became invested and learned all the variables myself, it was a lonely project; there weren't other people I could talk to on the same level. There are more hobby distillers now, and people can speak more credibly to what makes whiskey good. Old guard critics can line up a bunch of bottles and pontificate, but I also think you need to dive in a little bit deeper to find out what makes a bottle distinctive.

Are there places in NYC you enjoy sipping whiskey?

I'm often trying other distillers' spirits at places like Char No. 4, the Flatiron Room, Noorman's Kil, Maysville and the Brandy Library. I think the only way to evaluate a whiskey is to drink it blind, sit down with friends and say, 'I like number 1 and number 6.' When I first had Maker's 46 I said disparaging things, but then I tried it in a lineup and I liked it without those preconceived notions.
 
What's Kings County Distillery's next goal?

At every point, it's how do we stay relevant? There are so many voices in craft distilling now that we don't make enough to service a sizeable constituency. A lot of people make gin while their whiskey is being aged. We just make whiskey. Our philosophy is that we do it in-house; we don't make it for anyone else. The only way to get our product is to buy it under our label. I think the challenge for us is to grow so people pay attention to the products we make while maintaining our values. I don't consider myself a business person--which may be what distinguishes us. 
 

Cute Band Alert! Drowners Is Our New Obsession

January 2, 2014, 11:30 am

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(l-r) Lakis Pavlou, Matthew Hitt, Erik Snyder, Jack Ridley

At 2:30 p.m. on the day after Halloween, Matthew Hitt, the Welsh guitarist and front man of the pop-punk band Drowners, has only been up for an hour. "Me and my friends were Reservoir Drags, which basically entailed a suit and makeup," he said of his costume. "And I did that thing where I drunkenly do too much Instagramming."

A prolific 'grammer, 25-year-old Hitt's account is essentially an ongoing archive of stills from the Drowners' video for "Long Hair," a garage-pop track from their 2013 debut EP Between Us Girls. "I am a massive creature of habit," says Hitt, who, after leaving the UK to teach guitar at a summer camp in Vermont, modeled on and off before settling in New York in 2011. Bringing back the romance of bygone downtown New York, the video, filmed in VHS, tracks the band, which also includes guitarist Jack Ridley, bassist Erik Snyder and drummer Lakis Pavlou, as they hang out around their favorite East Village and Williamsburg haunts with an in-crowd of friends like Alexa Chung and Kenzo model Marcel Castenmiller.

The band met as regulars at Lower East Side dive staple Welcome to the Johnsons, bonding over moody music and cheap beer. "Sad pop is the common ground of all of our interests," says Hitt, who cites Jarvis Cocker's dry, perceptive lyrics as a major influence. "I like messing up the 'happy' in pop music by throwing misery in it -- masking sadness with jovial music."

The band's self-titled debut LP, out January 28th, blends Hitt's heart-on-his-sleeve lyricism with the other members' fondness for American rock 'n' roll, punk and electro. "I wrote the songs, but when the boys played them, they twisted them a bit," says Hitt. "Lakis is into all this weird electro stuff and his drum patterns reflect that. The other dudes make it way more interesting than just my straight-up British shit."

Drowners is out January 28th via Frenchkiss Records.

All Hail A$AP Ferg's New 'Hood Pope' Video

January 2, 2014, 11:49 am

≫ Next: Pixies Release New EP, Bewitching Video for 'Blue Eye Hexe'

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All hail A$AP Ferg. Since the release of his debut album Trap Lord last summer, the A$AP Mob member has broken out from behind ringleader A$AP Rocky with his own distinct position as a voice for the streets of Harlem. In his new video for 'Hood Pope', directed by himself and Shomi Patwary, Ferg -- who told PAPER, "I'm a natural leader" in August -- takes his position of influence to recreate modern day mass. Preaching from the sunroof of a cruising Jeep Wrangler to a neighborhood playground, Ferg rounds up a flock of hard-luck kids and ascends to heaven. Prepare to follow the flow - 'Oooooooohh.'

Pixies Release New EP, Bewitching Video for 'Blue Eye Hexe'

January 2, 2014, 10:35 pm

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Well, surprise, surprise, surprise...the latest in unexpected music releases comes from the Pixies. Following up the September release of EP-1, amidst a revolving door year of bass players, the band announced a second line up of tunes, entitled EP-2 (CLEVER), on their website today, including a video for the lead song 'Blue Eye Hexe.' Although not as unexpecting as Bey's release -- the band mentioned to the NY Times there would be a series of mini-releases over the next 15 months -- it still makes us feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Directed and animated by Mount Emult, the video for 'Blue Eye Hexe' is a bewitching combination of collage animation, screaming vocals and clanging Pixie sound.

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We Are All This Corgi Flopping In Snow Today

January 3, 2014, 6:20 am

≫ Next: #FlashbackFriday: Here's Beyoncé Throwing a Little Side-Eye at Kelly Rowland

≪ Previous: Pixies Release New EP, Bewitching Video for 'Blue Eye Hexe'

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This video of a  corgi flopping in snow is all we need to get us through this crappy, crappy snowy day in NYC. [TastefullyOffensive]



Here's a video of a dude named Andrew coincidentally meeting his identical voice twin at a bar in Charlotte. Hope this is the start of many family reunions to come. [Gawker]
 Can "My will is in the cheese club; nothing is better than cheese" please be inscribed on my tombstone? [TastefullyOffensive]

Actually, scratch that. This will be my epitaph. [TallWhitney]

Calendar of our dreams by Sean Tejarachi. [Liartownusa]

Oh goodness, this photo by White House photographer Pete Souza of Barack Obama posing with a tiny boy who passed out after an ice cream social at the White House is too much. [DailyMail]

Speechless. [JuliaSegalTime]

Here's a strangely alluring video of a red hot ball of nickle being dropped on a brick of Velveeta. This is also what my hangover from NYE felt like. I even burst a blood vessel in my eye from barfing. 2014 is going to be a year of class and elegance, I can feel it! [LaughingSquid]

Happy Friday, everyone! [TallWhitney]

#FlashbackFriday: Here's Beyoncé Throwing a Little Side-Eye at Kelly Rowland

January 3, 2014, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Stevie Nicks'"Edge of Seventeen" Is Just What We Need Today

≪ Previous: We Are All This Corgi Flopping In Snow Today

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Call it shade, call it side eye, call it stank face, call it whatever you want but Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is a grade-A pro in the delicate art of expressing your displeasure. Here she is doing a horrible job of hiding her disdain when Kelly Rowland describes herself as the "second lead vocalist" of Destiny's Child in an interview from sometime in the mid-to-late '90s. Watch it all go down on this Vine, above.

[via Jezebel]

Stevie Nicks'"Edge of Seventeen" Is Just What We Need Today

January 3, 2014, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Get to Know The Range, One of Electronic Music's Most Exciting New Acts

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Getting to work today in New York City following last night's big snow storm was harrowing, to say the least. It's like 10 degrees outside and I skidded around on the icy subway steps and also almost fell in a pile of snowy garbage. Crappy snow day commutes call for power anthems -- and Stevie Nicks' sledgehammer of a voice is just the thing to keep you going when everything outside is telling you to go back inside, dummy! This video for "Edge of Seventeen," Nicks' monster 1981 hit off her debut solo album Bella Donna, was filmed at her condo on the beach in Marina Del Rey, post Fleetwood Mac's Tusk hiatus and pre Betty Ford. Her hair game gives us chills. Or maybe that's just the hypothermia setting in.

Get to Know The Range, One of Electronic Music's Most Exciting New Acts

January 3, 2014, 12:00 pm

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In the two and a half months since releasing his sophomore album, Nonfiction, The Range (a.k.a. James Hinton) has seen no shortage of positive feedback, whether in glowing reviews from XLR8R and Pitchfork (who also gave the record a spot on its Top 50 Albums of 2013 list) to packed headlining sets in venues coast-to-coast. One of the most telling examples, though, may have been the cooing praise from nearly every cool chick who worked at Rough Trade -- the new Williamsburg outpost of London's legendary record store and label -- when I stopped by to find out if they carried the album. (For the record, they don't have it yet. You can buy it online instead.)

That the 25-year-old, Providence-based producer has found favor makes sense -- the songs  on Nonfiction are artfully complex constructions heavy on breakbeats, plaintive piano chords, and distorted vocal samples mined from the outer reaches of YouTube. There's also a sense of precision to his tracks, reflective of Hinton's background studying physics, cosmology and math while a student at Brown University. After a recent show at Williamsburg's Glasslands Gallery, we caught up with Hinton to discuss the evolution of The Range, the benefits of making music in Providence and "Hold Tight" by Justin Bieber.  

Tell me about the origins of The Range.

I played guitar and drums in college but one day my sophomore year I heard my friend, who was into electronic music, messing around with [DJ software] Traktor in his room and that's what first got me interested. I popped out and was like, "What are you doing?" From that point on, I got really interested in the idea of cutting up vocals. I grabbed an R&B/hip-hop acapella [vocal sample] pack that had Ashanti, Aaliyah, probably 5-6 Notorious B.I.G. samples, Puff Daddy's "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" on there and I started playing with it. I started calling the project Stegosaurus and back then, I [was influenced] by what Justice were doing and Baltimore club music and Rye Rye and all that stuff that was happening on Mad Decent. Then I progressed and got more into a lot of jungle and footwork around 2010. Around that time, I opened for a Big Boi concert at Brown and that show was the first time when I thought of The Range project. Three months later, I put out my first track under that name in January of 2011.

What made you realize that The Range was going to be distinct from your previous work?

The tempo is a lot different in The Range stuff compared to Stegosaurus. But more than anything, what makes The Range different is the full commitment to sampling. There's a lineage between the two but it's hard to pin it down exactly.

What were you listening to or getting inspired by during the recording of Nonfiction?

I was really getting into grime like [British production group] Ruff Sqwad. There was also this one mixtape that this legendary drum 'n' bass guy, dBridge, did that I was listening to pretty much for the entire duration of recording. I would go back to that mix over and over again when I was traveling a lot in the car [to play shows] so it became a touchstone for me. 

Stream Nonfiction

What have been some of the biggest benefits and challenges of being a producer in Providence, living and working outside of major music hubs like Brooklyn or L.A.?

I always view it as a positive. There's such a strong creative community in Providence and you can find something going on every night of the week. It's also only four hours from New York, which gives you the ability to get a sense of what's going on without being overwhelmed by the difficulty of living there.

You studied math and majored in physics at Brown. Does your background in science and math affect the way you compose music at all?

I want to answer "yes" and "no" because I do think the way I was trained in physics does have an impact on the way I approach music but when people think of music and math, they conjure up some John Nash-type dude scribbling notes and equations and that's definitely not the way I think of music. I don't map things out or use math equations for music...but I like precision and use problem-solving parts of my brain for things like harmony. When I've got a certain layout in a song and have a [sense] of what the finished song will sound like, I'll use certain voice leading rules, which are definitely mathematical in nature. 

And, speaking of Brown, lately there seems to be a handful of young alums -- you, Darkside, and Wardell, to name a few -- coming up in the music scene right now. Do you think the community or environment at Brown contributed to this at all?

It's an interesting thing because when we were in school, you had all these Wesleyan bands like MGMT, Das Racist and Le1f coming up and I never considered that concept [in relation to Brown]. There was a rare combination at Brown of having a really strong electronic music program and also tons of house parties where people were down to let others play music. [Darkside's] Nico [Jaar] was playing a lot of parties. I got to play tons of my own music and, when I think back, to have been able to try out dance music in a really safe setting and not just have people request hip-hop all night is kind of nuts. People were really supportive. It seemed really natural at the time but then I realized that's not the case [everywhere]. It's pretty special that that kind of environment existed.

Looking back on 2013, what song are you most embarrassed to admit you loved?

The new Justin Bieber song "Hold Tight" is killer. To me, that song is so good, which is super embarrassing but I'm pretty obsessed with it.

Nonfiction is out now via Donky Pitch and you can catch The Range live in Brooklyn on February 8 at Baby's All Right. For a complete list of tour dates, go HERE.

Photo by Evan William Smith

The Best, Worst and Weirdest of the Week

January 3, 2014, 12:45 pm

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Best Documented New Year's Eve: Rihanna and her BFF Cara Delevigne's NYE. It seems RiRi regretted her heels in the end, but isn't that what bluntz are for? -- Maggie Dolan

Most Gay Porn Name For a Storm: Hercules. -- Mickey Boardman

Best Hat of the Week: The witch hat that Chiara De Blasio wore to her father's innaguration. She is also super in to metal. I bow to you, Chiara. -- Elizabeth Thompson

Best NYE Craigslist Missed Connection: This one:

You -- 5'8 scruffy, glasses, wearing a blue hoodie outside the Vid and I asked you for a lighter. You lit my cigarette and we talked about our wishes for the new year. We heard the countdown starting and decided to stay outside. I started to cry and you kissed me, and then we started to make out. After a minute I felt something warm and realised that you pissed yourself. I pushed you away and that's when you ran but I wish you had stayed. You peed on me but it's OK! I just want to know who you are! Please reply and when you do tell me why I started crying so I know it's you -- if you remember.

-- Abby Schreiber

Most Palm-Sweating Story of the Week: This New York Times magazine story about a young Montauk fisherman's rescue after being thrown overboard, unbeknownst to his partners, in the middle of the night. He was drifting alone in the water for 12 hours before he was rescued -- the Coast Guard was looking for him in the wrong place. Oh, and there were sharks. -- E.T.

Most Bad-Ass Lip Sync We Watched All Week: This Instagram Video of a little boy lip syncing Beyoncé's "Drunk In Love" while chewing gum and sporting a pair of nunchucks around his neck. If only we were that cool. -- A.S.

Most Anticlimactic Holiday on Instagram: New Year's Eve 2014 didn't give me ANY FOMO except maybe Beyoncé, Riccardo Tisci & Ladyfag at the Versace mansion in Miami. -- M.B.

Most Exciting '80s Flashback: Flowers in the Attic debuting on Lifetime in a few weeks. Every gay and every girl was OBSESSED with that book series when I was in junior high school. -- M.B.

Best New Year's Eve Drunk Girls: These drunk girls who dropped the F bomb on Fox News and made fun of their creepy interviewer. -- E.T.

Most Exciting Fashion Appointment of the Week: Hussein Chalayan at Vionnet. Early this morning the French brand announced they had tapped the avant-garde designer to design the brand's semi-couture collection. Can't wait to see what he'll bring to a platform beyond his eponymous label -- M.D.

Best Double Dick: Double Dick guy. -- M.D.

Best White House Photo of the Year: This photo of Barack Obama posing with a sleeping boy. He passed out during a Father's Day ice cream social at the White House. -- E.T.

Most Confusing -- Yet Not At All Surprising -- Story About Kanye West of the Week: This one about how 'Ye's getting his own Bitcoin-type thing. We still don't know what Bitcoin is. -- A.S.