What's Next for Michael Alig

April 28, 2014, 2:00 pm

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Self portrait by Michael Alig. [via Twitter]

Imagine being at the center of the nightlife universe: you're Manhattan's biggest party promoter, the subject of conversation, cover stories and TV talk shows, the leader of a band of misfits carrying lunch boxes and looking like the love children of Minnie Pearl and Krusty the Clown. You're the very essence of what has become defined as "New York nightlife." OK. Now you've imagined the infamous Michael Alig.

And then imagine that you become addicted to a range of substances and your thin grasp of reality becomes even thinner and you cross the line and you kill a friend who's also a drug dealer, cut him up and throw him in the river but go on as if nothing happened, dropping hints here and there, wanting everyone to know about your latest bad boy extravagance but also being scared of actually getting caught. And then one day body parts come floating up on Staten Island -- the remains of your friend and dealer, Angel Melendez -- and your evil deed is discovered.

And then you go to jail, thinking that you're going to kill yourself rather than succumb to the confinement, all the crazy stories you've been told and movies you've seen about life in prison flashing through your head. But you don't kill yourself. You accommodate to circumstances, learning to survive -- even thrive -- in the harshest of environments, painting and writing, welcoming old friends who don't want to abandon you as well as a cadre of acolytes who find you fascinating. You have a boyfriend, keep doing drugs, your bad boy antics preventing you from getting parole. Until you wise up and get with the program, win parole and emerge a free man. Nightlife has moved to Brooklyn and in the 17 years you've been away the "kids" are gray and losing their hair and the energy and creativity with which you transformed New York nightlife is lost in the haze of "Party Monster" headlines.

Michael Musto helped make and break Michael Alig. A self-described "elder statesman" of the scene and columnist for the Village Voice when the murder occurred, Musto contextualized Alig's outlaw antics and nightlife excesses. When the club kids went on talk shows, Musto was often there with them, defending nightlife against the puritans who wanted nothing more than to see this scene disappear into obscurity.

Musto broke the Alig story when he began receiving calls from club kids about Alig's involvement in the disappearance of Angel Melendez.

"Alig effectively destroyed nightlife for many years," says Musto. "The killing happened during the Rudolph Giuliani era when nightlife was portrayed [by the Mayor] as evil. It became uncool for many years to go out in costume in any way."

There are many who continue to hate Alig, calling him the devil incarnate like Anett Cro who has turned to Facebook posting to rally in protest of his release: "Don't let Michael Alig climb up the system again, don't give him any possible power in any ways! No talk shows, no glorification!" She includes a link to the parole board for people to contact to declare their disfavor with his release.

But Musto and others who knew him back then are more forgiving. "He served his time. He has the right to live an honest life," Musto says, before adding a word of advice. "He should avoid the nightclub world. Given the opportunity, he will do very well as long as he stays off the sauce and doesn't have enablers like he did back then enabling his every move. People fetishize him and his grizzly allure that appeals to the dark side. He has a certain genius that could adapt very well to social media, but he should not be part of the nightlife scene."

"Well, I'm glad he's getting out," says Frank Owen, who knew Alig back in the day and wrote the book Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture. "He should have been out sooner and he would have been if he'd behaved himself inside. But that's always been Michael's true addiction. Not drugs but bad behavior."

Fenton Bailey won't be here to greet him when he arrives. He lives in LA where he and Randy Barbato run World of Wonder, a media production company responsible for the movies Party Monster and the Alig documentary Glory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Alig. Before going on to Hollywood success, Bailey and Barbato were part of the New York club scene, performing as the Pop Tarts.

I ask Bailey why he took the trouble of going all the way to Elmira, NY to visit Michael in jail. "He was a friend," Bailey explains. "I suppose people make their judgments about whether to abandon someone who has done horrible things. I decided not to abandon him."

There's been talk of Alig going to work for WOW and creating his own reality show, but that's not happening says Bailey. "Michael's ideas are too out there for TV, which is about 10 years behind the times. Not cutting edge at all."

Like others, Bailey was seduced by Alig's charms. "I found him to be a creative, clever and funny individual [despite] all his other issues like being an addict and was sort of surprised that he survived so well in prison with his creative spirit in tact. If we demonize Michael Alig, it's our way of washing our hands of responsibility. No, I don't condone what he did. It's appalling, he should pay for it the rest of his life -- and he will -- but not by being in prison."

Alig, he believes, was "addicted to fame," not very differently from today's youth enamored with their own life and the social media tools they use to celebrate themselves. "In Michael's days club kids were seen as unwelcome and pointless. When I went around trying to get a movie made about them, people couldn't understand why. But as a culture and a society -- with selfies, Facebook, Instagram et al. -- the 'self as product' that the club kids were so shameless about has become mainstream."

James St. James was Alig's running buddy back in the days before it all went to hell. He wrote Disco Bloodbath, the book that was turned into the movie Party Monster starring Macaulay Culkin as Alig, and now works at World of Wonder. "I know that Michael is worried about the whole technological leap the world has made since he's gone in, but I have a feeling he'll take to it like a duck to water," says James. "If ANYONE was made for the 'Selfie Generation,' it's Michael. He INVENTED TMI culture. And while I think he's going to be shocked by the amount of hate he gets on the Internet, I predict in real life the kids are going to treat him like a conquering hero. Instead of being a cautionary tale, Party Monster turned him into a twisted sort of folk hero, which is weird, but it is what it is. Of course, it will be interesting to see if he can rehabilitate his image -- if he builds homes for orphans or just goes back to his old ways. I have no idea. But we'll all be watching with bated breath." 

Tobell Von Cartier, a former club kid and now head designer and owner of the clothing company Von, agrees with St. James' assessment that lots of people will be watching Alig's next moves very intently. "Lots of Michael's fans are waiting with bated breath for him to pick up where he left off, but I'm not one of them. A lot of people hated Michael Alig before he went to prison. A lot of people hated cub kids, considered us nuisances and trouble. Alig took something fun and took it too far."

And even if Alig could go back into the club scene what would he find? "I don't think he'll be able to pick up where he left off. The city is too corporate. The city had an underground scene and we got away with a lot of things that we cannot do now with sex and drugs. There will be zero tolerance for any shenanigans by Michael Alig." But, Tobell concedes, "Everyone is fascinated by celebrity. It's a celebrity world we live in. Who knows, there might be a club kid revival."

Known as someone who craves attention, will Alig be able to adjust to a normal life without a flock of club kids at his beck and call? "That's a concern. I'm afraid adulation would overcome good counsel," says Steve Lewis, who worked with Alig at Limelight and other clubs and served time in prison when the Peter Gatien nightlife empire came tumbling down amid charges of drug dealing. Now a successful consultant and designer of bars and clubs, Lewis is also one of Alig's staunchest defenders, traveling frequently to visit him in prison and including stories about Alig in his Goodnight Mr. Lewis nightlife column for BlackBook. Looking back on when he first met Alig, Lewis recalls, "Before he became infamous we were friends. He had great talent and vision but as time went on, he began taking drugs and he changed from Luke Skywalker to Darth Vader. He went over to the dark side -- maniacal, self-centered.

"Now the person I talk to when I visit prison is sweet, funny and creative, turned back into the person I first met. He wants to do charity work, prove to the world that he's worth having around. He deserves a second chance. We should accept the fact that Michael the murderer is not the same person. No amount of crying is going to bring Angel back. If he fucks up, I'll be the first person out the door."

Like others interviewed, Lewis is taking a wait and see attitude about Alig's future. "I don't know the effect of what happens when that pill hits the water," he says, referring to the time when Alig is exposed to the real world and has to make good decisions. "He has to channel his talent into creativity. He has a place in the media universe. He has job offers from creative outlets that see his potential." But, Lewis cautions, "I've never seen a bigger hole that needed to be filled with applause. We're all going to rubberneck at him for awhile. The light is on him: Charlie Manson or Andy Warhol."

A common thread among Club Kid survivors is successfully quitting drugs. Larry Tee was one of the people who started the infamous Disco 2000 at Limelight with Alig. After continuing to work the music/club scene and helping launch the Electro-clash moment, he now lives in London, "rebranding" from the horrible years stuck at Party Monster (Disco 2000), rehabilitating from the drug taking years, and working on his clothing line TZUJI. "I just did a collection," he says, "loosely built around Party Monster eye-burning techno-colors."

"I'm of two minds," he says of Alig's return. "Being an addict myself and having done many things that I wouldn't have done if I hadn't been high, I have more sympathy. Michael was running multiple addictions at the same time. Heroin, downers, crystal meth and crack. I can give him a break now. If he were to come around I wouldn't be a big bitch about it. I'm not here to judge. I'm doing too many fun things. I have a different kind of life."

A sober, contrite, humble Alig could be a wonderful thing, he says. "Whether Alig can bring his creativity to the New York scene depends on how committed he'll be to being good. Never rule Michael Alig out. He has a life force. A force of nature. Champion of misfits and unwanted high school kids who put a feather in their hats and became famous. Cool people -- the fashion people -- thought he was the devil incarnate. Eventually, he ruled the city. This is really a different time. New York was still growing in the '90s, renovating, with room for nonsense. Don't know if New York has room for nonsense now."

According to several sources, this is the plan: Alig will move into an apartment in the Bronx with a friend. While in prison, he's taken up painting and is expected to have a show of his work at some point. He will finish his memoirs. There are rumors that he will work on a few nightlife projects behind the scenes on the creative side. He will do charity work, connect with troubled youth and abstain from clubbing, drinking or drugs.

An informal Michael Alig support committee has formed that includes Lewis; Esther Haynes, an editor at Lucky Magazine digital who runs Alig's Twitter feed and is editing a book he's been writing called Aligula; and Victor Corona, an FIT professor who is working on a book called New York Superstars: Inside Three Generations of Downtown Fame, which examines social and aesthetic lineages among Andy Warhol's Factory Superstars, Michael Alig's Club Kids, Lady Gaga's downtown collaborators, and New York culture today.

"He's coming back to a changed world," says long-time nightlife habitué, culture critic, and Paper editor Carlo McCormick. "Wonder if he'll know anyone. I hope he's sorry. I hope he doesn't get stuck being Michael Alig. I hope he can reinvent himself."

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MNEK's "Every Little Word" Spins Us Right Round, Baby

April 28, 2014, 2:31 pm

≫ Next: Director Gia Coppola Photographs the Young, Hot Cast of her Debut Film, Palo Alto

≪ Previous: What's Next for Michael Alig

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Viewers prone to vertigo may find the incessant rotating here a little disturbing, but the happy groove on MNEK's latest track, "Every Little Word," is infectious enough to pull you in.  Fans of the young singer will also recognize his acronym -- the dude's real name is Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike -- from his work with A*M*E and Rudimental and, like us, are anxiously awaiting the release of his debut album.  So, what's the problem?  Finish it already!

Director Gia Coppola Photographs the Young, Hot Cast of her Debut Film, Palo Alto

April 29, 2014, 7:18 am

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To hear the cast tell it, the set of Palo Alto, Gia Coppola's feature directorial debut, was one big youthquake. "It was a kids' club; all of us were under the age of 30," says Emma Roberts. "We all were really young and so passionate about the project, and we all really just came together." In theaters May 9, the film "is a solid voice in a generation of pit vipers," declares Keegan Allen. Nat Wolff agrees. "I don't think there's anything that's false [about Palo Alto]. It came from a really real place."

Coppola (niece of Sofia and granddaughter of one Francis Ford) adapted the screenplay from James Franco's book of short stories. Centering on a group of wayward suburban high schoolers, the highly stylized film has a dreamy, lo-fi quality balanced with refreshingly awkward dialogue delivered, in many cases, by actual teenagers. Its emotional honesty -- due in large part to the closeness between the young cast and their 27-year-old director -- strikes a similar nerve to Larry Clark's Kids and grandpa Coppola's The Outsiders. "Gia and I are both women so close in age and we really understood each other," says Roberts, who has known Coppola for years from growing up in L.A. "That's part of the reason she cast me in the movie. We just had an understanding of working together."

Coppola is at the helm of a crew of kids, all at varying points in their rising careers, who represent Hollywood's new generation. Roberts and Allen star in hit TV shows (American Horror Story and Pretty Little Liars, respectively) and Wolff is starring in this summer's romantic drama The Fault in our Stars. "She just found these great, great young actors," says Franco. "And not only great choices because they were good actors and right for the parts, but a lot of them were doing it for the first time." Such is the case of Jack Kilmer (Val Kilmer's 18-year-old son), who has known Coppola "pretty much my whole life, or since I can remember." As Teddy, a quiet, well-intentioned dreamboat with a penchant for bad decisions, Kilmer's gentle intensity and skater-boy style are sure to launch a thousand Tumblrs. "He just has something that is very captivating about him," says Coppola. "The way he goes through the world is interesting, and he's a real teenager."

"A lot of the stupid shit I did in my own teenage life in high school I also did in the movie," says Kilmer. "Filming helped me grow up a bit."

Emma wears a jumpsuit by Valentino and bracelets by Carbon & Hyde.

Jack wears his own clothes.

Nat wears a jacket by A.P.C. and sweater by Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Keegan wears a jacket and shirt by Dior Homme.

James wears a suit by Gucci.

A casual scroll through Coppola's Tumblr and Instagram unearths many photos of the cast; clearly, their intensive month-long shoot resulted in some serious bro-ing down. "[Jack and I] actually moved into Gia's mom's house together. We lived in the garage," says Wolff, who plays Teddy's hyperactive best friend Fred with a visceral energy teetering on the edge of disaster. "Jack had never acted before, and I'd never done any type of character like this before, so we were both nervous as hell, but we really did become best friends while making that movie."

As the plot goes, Teddy is in love with the disenchanted April (Roberts), who's in the midst of an affair with her high school soccer coach, Mr. B, played by Franco. The affair between 17-year-old April and the mid-30s Mr. B touches on a sore spot in our sexual consciousness (not unlike Franco's recent Instagram slip-up), but for her part Coppola feels Franco's character "doesn't look at himself as a pedophile or whatever. I think he just can't relate to women his own age, and so April is in his maturity level. In the 1800s men were married to women younger than that, so it's just sort of carnal I guess."

Keegan wears a jacket and shirt by Salvatore Ferragamo.

Emma wears bracelets by Carbon & Hyde.

Nat wears a sweater by Carven.

James wears a shirt by Topshop.

Nat wears a suit and boots by A.P.C.

Emma wears swimsuit bottoms by Zimmermann, hair clips and necklace by Gabriela Artigas and bracelets by Carbon & Hyde.

Oddly enough, we can partially thank Sylvester Stallone for the making of Palo Alto. As Franco, who is currently making his Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men, explains, "It was a little hard to get money because it was a pretty dark film and Gia was a first-time director -- so I told my rep to find a movie that would pay me enough that I could just give it to Gia and get the movie made. I ended up doing a movie that I kind of enjoyed called Homefront, which was directed by Stallone."

In addition to the blockbuster kick-start, Coppola was grateful to have Franco on hand for her first directing experience. "He was always available to me when I needed him and I really relied on that support," she says. "I would text him images every day, and when he was on set it was really helpful because he's a director too. It was really exciting to work with him in the capacity of directing him as an actor, and learning about that world, because I felt very comfortable with the photography and other elements of making a movie, but working with actors was really nerve-racking for me."

Despite any anxiety Coppola may have felt, her cast knew they were in good hands. Allen, another friend of Coppola's, with a memorable part as a drug dealer who's thrown off by Fred's erratic behavior, zeroes in on the director's gift: "She just knows how to grab the awkwardness of human contact and make it a beautiful thing." Franco echoes the sentiment. "What I love about Gia's touch is that she took some really dark material about young people and she didn't shy away from the darkness, but she made it hopeful. She gave some of the kids a way out."

The kids, as they say, are all right.

Emma wears a dress by Chanel.

Keegan wears his cat Minin.

Emma wears a top by Pam & Gela.

Nat wears a Sweater by A.P.C.

James Franco in his Of Mice and Men dressing room with Francis Ford Coppola.

Keegan wears a suit by Salvatore Ferragamo and shirt by Slate and Stone.

Emma wears a top by A.P.C.

James Franco styled by Courtney Raniszewski / Grooming by Talia Shobrook at Jed Root Inc
Keegan Allen styled by JAK at The Magnet Agency / Grooming by Aaron Coleman
Emma Roberts  Styled by JAK at The Magnet Agency / Makeup by Dawn Broussard at the Wall Group for Neutrogena / Hair by Cervando Maldonado for Neutrogena at The Wall Group
Nat Wolff styled by Courtney Raniszewski / Grooming by Berta Camal at Jed Root Inc


Tune in all this week and next on Papermag.com for more photos of Emma, James, Keegan, Nat and Jack.

Jimmy Fallon and Emma Stone Had an Epic Lip Sync Battle

April 29, 2014, 7:30 am

≫ Next: Restauranteur John Meadow on Barchetta, His New Art-Centric Chelsea Seafood Restaurant

≪ Previous: Director Gia Coppola Photographs the Young, Hot Cast of her Debut Film, Palo Alto

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Emma Stone was on the Tonight Show last night and had an amazing lip sync battle with Jimmy. Not to give too many spoilers away but one of them lip synced a DJ Khaled song. It was pretty awesome. [via Tonight Show]

Here's a clip of your new favorite airline pilot telling dad jokes to his passengers. [via Hyper Vocal]

John Travolta attended the 'Bollywood Oscars' (in Tampa, FL of all places?) and showed off his Bollywood dance moves with Priyanka Chopra. [via Dlisted]

Totally worked. [via Knusprig Titten Hitler]

OMG here's the sassiest little monkey in a diaper you'll ever see slapping a Houston news anchor live on air. [via Hyper Vocal]

Nice life hack, bruh! [via Coin Farts]

IMPORTANT: Here's a gallery of women and children who resemble Michael Cera. [via Buzzfeed]

Restauranteur John Meadow on Barchetta, His New Art-Centric Chelsea Seafood Restaurant

April 29, 2014, 10:00 am

≫ Next: Grouplove's Tour Diary Part II: Coachella and the Easter Bunny

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(Photo by Alice Gao)

John Meadow's LDV Hospitality portfolio includes 23 venues across the country, including Scarpetta, American Cut and No. 8, a collaboration with Chelsea nightlife maven Amy Sacco. Also in Chelsea is his brand new seafood restaurant, Barchetta, where fish whisperer Dave Pasternack is on board as chef (he will also remain as the chef at Midtown's Esca). Meadow, 33, chatted on the phone today after leaving a meeting where he cemented yet another deal.

Where are you?

Walking in Midtown so you may hear sirens. I just left a very interesting meeting working out the details on the lease for my second Corso Coffee in New York. It'll be an Italian-style coffee bar by day and a wine bar by night in the NoMad Hotel. It should be open by the end of the year.

How are things going so far at Barchetta?

We've only been open since Thursday and I'm very happy we're getting a great mix of people. We don't want to be pigeonholed as an art restaurant or a fashion restaurant or a sceney restaurant. We are a casual seafood trattoria, come one, come all.

How did you persuade Dave Pasternack to come work with you?

He's always been one of my favorite chefs. His whole approach to cuisine is humble, showcasing the ingredients rather than an egocentric, artistic approach. What he does is simple but not easy, finding the perfect local sources for fish and combining it with the right olive oil. He's a master. We had a casual, serendipitous conversation when I was at the bar at Esca. I nonchalantly asked him and he said yes.

At Barchetta you're focused on showcasing contemporary artists. How did you end up with Alexandra Posen's [Zac Posen's sister] beeswax pieces?

Our designer Chris Sheffield of SL Design, rather than taking a fee, came in as a partner. He's connected to the artistic community and has a relationship with her gallerist. We're so excited to support her work.

And you'll be showing other artists' work as well?

At American Cut we have art by Anna Higgie, who's British, and she was so enthusiastic about Barchetta she donated a piece. One of Dave Pasternack's best customers is Eddie Milstein, a real estate mogul who also does paintings. He donated a piece, too, a gargantuan abstract painting, and we hope to have a rotating gallery of his work.

Since you have several branches of Scarpetta and American Cut, will you duplicate Barchetta?

No, it's not a traveling concept. This is my passion project. Barchetta is more personal, more vulnerable for me.

How do you manage to oversee 23 places across the country?

My personal life and work life balance hasn't been perfected yet. Most weeks I travel for two or three days. From Friday night to Monday morning I'm home on the Upper West Side with my wife and daughter. I barely even get in a cab. My wife's pregnant and she's making demands about modifying my schedule.

Since you're on planes so much do you have any travel secrets?

One key to not being jetlagged is to eat light. Flying is the only opportunity I have to watch movies or TV shows. Since November I've seen all six seasons of Breaking Bad on airplanes.

You did a pop-up with Amy Sacco at the Cannes film festival last year. Will you be doing it again in May?

We're taking over a villa and programming it for three nights as Bungalow 8. Amy Sacco will be there and we're having a great DJ named Benji Boko. Grandmaster Flash will be there, too.

Will you be there?

I had a fight with my wife about all my travel so I'm going to pass. I won't be going to Cuba this weekend for a bachelor party either. She's giving birth to our second daughter in July so I need to be home more.

Are you a workaholic?

I think so. For me it's fun work. I can't imagine ever stopping or doing anything else.

Barchetta, 461 W. 23rd St., New York; 212-255-7400

Grouplove's Tour Diary Part II: Coachella and the Easter Bunny

April 29, 2014, 1:00 pm

≫ Next: Party Supplies'"Going Back to New York" Knocks Remix Gives us Goosebumps

≪ Previous: Restauranteur John Meadow on Barchetta, His New Art-Centric Chelsea Seafood Restaurant

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L.A.-based indie pop five-piece Grouplove (Christian Zucconi, Sean Gadd, Ryan Rabin, Hannah Hooper and Andrew Wessen) just embarked on a big North America headlining tour and they've been kind enough to share their dispatches from the road. Here, frontwoman Hannah Hooper tells us about hanging out backstage at Coachella, crowd-surfing in the pit and eating ice cream after a very, very long -- and very, very stoned -- wait in line. And be sure to check out their new track, "Let Me In," off of the upcoming flick, The Fault In Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley.

This shot is of Christian eating this massive ice cream cone. It was the night before we played Stubb's in Austin. We got really stoned and were in line for ice cream at this place, Amy's, for an hour and a half  in the sticky heat. It was so victorious when we finally got the ice cream.

With typical tour life, you end up parking your bus on a day off somewhere in a mall. In this photo we're outside of Nashville, which is fun because I watch the show, as do some of the other band members who will go unnamed. We tried to go to the Bluebird Cafe, which is a real music venue around the corner from the mall, but it was so popular that it was sold out for a week so we went and hung out with the Easter bunny instead. 

Here we are at Inner Ear Studios in DC hanging out with the guy who runs it, Don Zientara. He produces every Minor Threat record, Fugazi stuff. It was insane being in that space where you know all those albums were made. We recorded our track for The Fault In Our Stars in there while we were in DC to play three shows.

This is when we played Coachella during the first weekend. I think it was, like, 105 degrees. None of us felt the heat though because we were so overwhelmed...it was insane. I couldn't see the end of the crowd and I pretty much blacked out during the whole set. After our set, I found this amazing agave margarita stand that became my best friend that weekend. Everyone was like, "Where's Hannah?" "Oh, she's probably at the margarita stand." Christian and Andrew got to meet Beyoncé and Jay Z...I'm bummed I wasn't there for that! I was probably getting margaritas.

This is us doing press but I can't remember what we were doing it for...radio probably.

This is the band right before we went onstage at Coachella. Before every show we all huddle and do this weird chant and put our arms around each other and go, "Yes, Yes, Yes!" and it pumps us up. It started as a joke but it's become our thing.

Christian always goes out into the crowd for our song "Bitin' The Bullet" and the crowd took him really [far]. Everyone's so strong. He had a long mic line, thankfully.

We got these bouncy castle-type things in the shape of a "G" and an "L" and right before our set at Coachella, Christian and I took 50 cans of spray paint and sprayed them. They looked so dirty and awesome by the second weekend.

This is me hanging out with the lead singer of the Naked and the Famous (Alisa Xayalith) and one of the Dum Dum Girls (Malia James). We're "Naked Dumb Love."

We got sent this photo from a fan. I sang into the camera for one of the songs during our set and someone took a photo of it. I'm just glad they didn't get a photo of the weird pelvic thrust I did at one point.

PART 1 OF GROUPLOVE's TOUR DIARY

Party Supplies'"Going Back to New York" Knocks Remix Gives us Goosebumps

April 29, 2014, 1:20 pm

≫ Next: NBA Drops Hammer on Donald Sterling

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Of course we love New York. There's nothing like the feeling you get when your cab heads in from the airport and you catch that first glimpse of the skyline. That's how this clip shot by Rick Cordero kinda' made us feel, too: all nostalgic and goosebumpy. The Knocks remix of "Going Back To New York" by Brooklyn's Party Supplies now has its own grainy, super-8 video and it's about time. Can you spot some local landmarks? Have you ever been to Middle Village, Queens?

NBA Drops Hammer on Donald Sterling

April 29, 2014, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Tony Awards Nominations: Who Deserved Theirs and Who Got Snubbed

≪ Previous: Party Supplies'"Going Back to New York" Knocks Remix Gives us Goosebumps

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A screenshot of NBA Commissioner Adam Sterling at the press conference earlier today

The hammer has dropped on the Donald Sterling story. In a press conference earlier today, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined LA Clippers owner Sterling $2.5 million and condemned him to a lifetime ban from associating with the L.A. Clippers and the NBA as a result of the racist comments captured on a tape and made public by TMZ. Silver also pledged to do everything in his power to work with the NBA Board of Governors to force the sale of the team.

The Donald Sterling tapes have shaken the basketball world and spilled over into the front pages of newspapers everywhere. With good reason. The L.A. Clippers basketball owner was recorded making dumb racist remarks while in conversation with his mistress. Chances are that he was set up by her, but the racist attitude is out of the bag and you can't put it back. The story has created a media uproar trending for days on Twitter and eating up air time on TV and radio news and talk shows across the country.

Commentator Jay Smooth wonders why we respond more to words than deeds, raising the roof over racist comments, but turning our head to the problem on a daily basis. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar asks what all the fuss is about since Sterling's been getting away with this for decades.

This time it's different for several reasons. The tape recordings carry the double edged sword of not only catching a racist in full-throated bigotry, but also seeing an arrogant rich man brought down. Throw a hot mistress into the mix, the background of NBA ballers battling for the championship and the history of racism in America and you have one hell of an explosive story to pontificate about. Talk about a tsunami of coincidence and timing.

This is a Rodney King moment, a harmonic convergence of pomp and circumstance captured on tape in a plugged-in world where scandal strikes like a lightning bolt. No one was surprised that members of the LAPD beat up a black man, but they were horrified and moved to action by the video which caught the incident. Donald Sterling was similarly caught, though his actions were private. Caught and punished, hopefully he'll fade into the background where he belongs, perhaps wondering how his racist behavior has served the cause of advancing civil rights and declaring institutional racism a thing of the past.

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Tony Awards Nominations: Who Deserved Theirs and Who Got Snubbed

April 29, 2014, 3:00 pm

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Neil Patrick Harris gets cheeky in Hedwig and the Angry Inch

As I write my opinion of this year's Tony Award nominations--announced this morning by Lucy Liu and Paper Beautiful Person Jonathan Groff--I'm listening to my Stephen Sondheim Pandora station and thinking about the 12th Annual Tony Awards in 1958 when West Side Story was competing against The Music Man in the Best Musical category and then just two years later Gypsy was pitted against The Sound of Music and Fiorello! in 1960. I don't envy those early Tony voters (The Music Man and The Sound of Music ended up winning), but this year is shaping up to have some pretty hard decisions as well. Here is an abridged list of nominees (minus most of the design categories) with snubs and winner predictions from Paper's resident Broadway Baby.

Best Play    

Act One by James Lapine 

All The Way by Robert Schenkkan     

Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein      

Mothers and Sons by Terrence McNally 

Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley

Pick: I'm seeing Casa Valentina and Act One this week but having done my research, both seem deserving. In Casa, Fierstein highlights a group of "straight" men in the Catskills who dress as women. Act One is based off playwright Moss Hart's seminal theater autobiography and All the Way is a sweeping historical work that gave me a new appreciation for what Obama has had to go through with his healthcare bill. I'll have to come back to this next week.

Snubs: Will Eno's cerebral The Realistic Joneses starring big names like Toni Colette, Marisa Tomei and Michael C. Hall is missing. Mothers and Sons felt so preachy and stuck in 2004 -- at least Joneses seemed like it was moving the theater forward. 

Best Musical    

After Midnight 

Aladdin   

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical  

A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Pick: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and After Midnight were both highlights of this theater season for me but GGTLM is a true new musical whereas After Midnight is more of a revue. Each show was thrilling and I'll be happy with either!

Snubs: If/Then, Bridges of Madison County, Rocky and Bullets Over Broadway were left off this list. I would maybe replace Aladdin with Bridges or Rocky but I don't feel super strongly about it. Aladdin was the best Disney musical I've seen in a while, but having grown up with the 1992 film version I love the songs from the movie. The songs that were added to the musical, however, were not at all memorable.      

Best Revival of a Play    

The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh  

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams    

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry   

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Picks: Ugh two categories in and I already feel like I have to make Sophie's Choice, I have never enjoyed or appreciated A Raisin in the Sun more then I did this season. Denzel (more on him later) and the rest of the cast made the perfect ensemble, but Cripple is also so, so good, managing to be funny and heartbreaking, sometimes within the same breath.  

Snubs: A whole new generation of theatergoers was attracted to this year's productions of Waiting for Godot and No Man's Land thanks to the Reddit-ready bromance between Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, so I'm surprised to see those shows missing here, especially Godot. I also really liked the star-studded Of Mice and Men despite lukewarm reviews and I would have voted for Machinal, starring an amazing Rebecca Hall, as well.  

Best Revival of a Musical    

Hedwig and the Angry Inch      

Les Misérables      

Violet 

Pick: Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Not to get all "mean girl" on you guys but this musical is so much cooler than Violet or Les Mis and that's refreshing to see on Broadway every now and then. Plus the old guy next to me thought it was just as funny and entertaining as I did, so everybody wins.

Snubs: Cabaret was the only musical revival to open this year that didn't get nominated and there's supposed to be four slots. The only thing worse then being the last kid picked for dodge ball is not being picked at all! But maybe this is because the production was created by the same team who produced the well-received 1998 revival. They've already had their turn on the swingset.  

Best Book of a Musical 

Aladdin by Chad Beguelin 

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical  by Douglas McGrath 

Bullets Over Broadway by Woody Allen 

A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder by Robert L. Freedman

Pick: I don't want Woody Allen to win anything these days, so let's go with the clever Robert L. Freedman. I also have respect for Douglas McGrath who smoothly--and without too much cheese--adapted King's story for the stage.

Snubs: I liked the Bridges of Madison County book by Marsha Norman, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. 

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics)  

Aladdin-- Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin 

The Bridges of Madison County-- Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown 

A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder- --Music: Steven Lutvak Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak 

If/Then-- Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Brian Yorkey

Picks: If/Then represents the kind of new musical that I am not into -- one that's trying to be modern but really just sounds tuneless, canned and shout-y. Idina Menzel gives it her all with her big 11th hour ballad but I found myself wondering how long the song was, because it felt like I was about to miss Memorial Day. On the other hand GGTLM's score was witty and memorable. Bridges' score also had some nice folk-y surprises. 

Snubs: It's a shame that Hedwig's score by Stephen Trask wasn't eligible. It was decided that Hedwig is not a new musical since it debuted off-Broadway in 1998.  Everyone now! "I put on my makeup..."    

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play 

Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night

Bryan Cranston, All The Way

Chris O'Dowd, Of Mice and Men

Mark Rylance, Richard III

Tony Shalhoub, Act One

Picks: God, I'm so over Mark Rylance, but apparently I'm the only one because here he is yet again and he'll probably win for his stuffy performance as King Richard III. It would be nice if Chris O'Dowd won to give OMM a little love, but my vote is for Bryan Cranston. Now there's an actor who hasn't had enough praise this year. Just kidding! But seriously he was really good as LBJ. 

Snubs: Daniel Radcliffe and Denzel Washington really got screwed here. They are both giving revelatory performances in The Cripple of Inishmaan and Raisin in the Sun respectively. In other, revelatory-related news, isn't there a "hottest leading actor" award we can dig up for James Franco? I just have a whole new appreciation of the multi-hyphenate after seeing what he can do with those eyebrows in OMM.   

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play 

Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons

LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun

Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie

Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill

Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn

Picks: LaTanya! Samuel L. Jackson's wife killed it in A Raisin in the Sun and it's even more amazing when you realize that she was brought in last minute after Diahann Carroll dropped out just a few weeks before previews started. Audra was also really moving as Billie Holliday... but I really feel like she should be nominated in the best musical category. It's hard to compare these two performances.

Snubs: I was never really that sold on Rebecca Hall before her Broadway debut in Machinal, but her performance as the first woman to die in the electric chair really won me over.   

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical 

Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Ramin Karimloo, Les Misérables

Andy Karl, Rocky

Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Picks: The men in this category really have to sing for their supper this year. In Hedwig, NPH jumps on top of cars in high-heeled gold ankle boots and sings and dances his way through more costume changes than a Lady Gaga concert. Andy Karl endures actual punches each night in the fight of his life as Rocky and Jefferson Mays dies eight times as eight different characters in GGTLM. I can't pick. I'm too tired just thinking about these energetic performances. 

Snubs: Alan Cumming is also working his ass off eight times a week as the sexually ambiguous Emcee in Cabaret, but he already won a Tony for the role in 1999. Steven Pasquale was also pretty good as a rugged visiting photographer in Bridges, but compared to what these nominees do as their characters he might as well be taking a Sunday stroll each night.  

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical 

Mary Bridget Davies, A Night with Janis Joplin

Sutton Foster, Violet

Idina Menzel, If/Then

Jessie Mueller, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges of Madison County

Picks: Jessie Mueller is amazing as Carole King and I've heard that Mary Bridget Davies was a dead-ringer for Janis Joplin, but that show closed. I would choose Mueller or Sutton Foster who, like Mueller, really became her character. 

Snubs: GGTLM's Lisa O'Hare was amazing. I'm not sure if she eligible in the leading actress category, but her performance as the sassy Sibella really stuck with me and she should be nominated somewhere.   

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play 

Reed Birney, Casa Valentina

Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night

Stephen Fry, Twelfth Night

Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night

Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie

Picks: I haven't seen Casa yet so I'm going to wait on this category as well, though Brian J. Smith made a very impressive Broadway debut.

Snubs: Michael C. Hall was pretty great in The Realistic Joneses. He along with Toni Colette really made that play human for me. Dexter deserved a nod. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play 

Sarah Greene, The Cripple of Inishmaan

Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie

Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun

Anika Noni Rose, A Raisin in the Sun

Mare Winningham, Casa Valentina

Picks: I'm so happy to see both Sophie and Anika nominated here. They were both incredible. If I had to choose it would be Anika's performance as the ambitious Younger sister Beneatha.

Snubs: Dearbhla Molloy from Outside Mullinger and Ingrid Craigie and Gillian Hanna who played Cripple Billy's aunts in The Cripple of Inishmaan made their native Ireland proud this year, but apparently they didn't make enough of an impression on Tony voters.   

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical    

Danny Burstein, Cabaret

Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway

Joshua Henry, Violet

James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin

Jarrod Spector, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

Picks: James Monroe Iglehart is my wish. He plays the Genie, get it? He is the best part of the musical. I hope they perform "Friend Like Me" on the Tony Awards just so I can see it again!

Snubs: I really liked Hunter Foster as the clueless husband in Bridges and I liked him in the ill-fated Hands on a Hardbody last year too. I also like to watch this after closing an issue of Paper. Maybe I should consider joining his fan club. Does he have one? I'll have to look into it. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical 

Linda Emond, Cabaret

Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Anika Larsen, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

Adriane Lenox, After Midnight

Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder  
  
Picks: I'm too sad about Lisa O'Hare not being nominated to vote for her co-star Lauren Worsham. Lena Hall, however, is becoming a bonafide Broadway star in Hedwig. A rendition of Whitney Houston's ballad "I Will Always Love You" flows from her lips just as easily as "It came true" flows from Anne Hathaway's.

Snubs: LaChanze was actually really great in If/Then, but she already has a Tony on her mantle for The Color Purple so don't feel too bad for her. 

Best Costume Design of a Musical 

Linda Cho, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway

Arianne Phillips, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Isabel Toledo, After Midnight

Picks: Isabel Toledo, William Ivey Long and Arianne Phillips are all personal Paper favorites but Toledo's Broadway debut redefines what theater costumes--often ill-fitting and out of style--can be. Her Harlem renaissance-era attire accentuates the musical's mind-blowing choreography.

Snubs: This will be a hard enough decision without throwing anyone else into the mix!  

This Tinder-Inspired Dating Comedy Is Hilarious and Perfect

April 30, 2014, 7:30 am

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This might hit too close to home for some, but if you've got 19 minutes and something nearby to scream into, check out new web series comedy "Local Attraction." The series will be entirely devoted to following two characters on Tinder dates, or, for legality reasons in their case, "Timber." Episode 1 features the series creator, Connor Hines, as the worst, worstest, most-worst dude ever.  "Assassinate your dreams." [Jezebel]
 

Billy Eichner and Patton Oswalt play "Does Shakira Know What This Is." [Hypervocal]
 

Tiny hamsters eating tiny burritos is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us.



Oh, Rachel. [Uproxx]  
  College Stephen Colbert. #Would. [LaughterKey]


High school summed up in six seconds. [Uproxx]

 

Get money. [JuliaSegal]

Gabe Saporta Does Cool Chic Like No Other

April 30, 2014, 10:00 am

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"I was a punk rock kid, " says Cobra Starship front man Gabe Saporta of his part sartorial choices. "I cared about clothes, but more in a 'F- you' way." With his pompadour, and love for leather jackets and fingerless gloves it's clear that Saporta has kept some of that edge as an adult.

See how Gabe styled the rest of his Gap looks here.

Saporta, who is currently working on new music -- that is, when the dogs he shares with his fashion designer wife Erin Fetherston aren't coming in and interrupting: "One comes in an howls while I'm trying to record demovocals," he says --  paired his Gap 1969 Skinny jeans with a black tank top for Paper and Gap's Styld.by shoot.  

"I still like things that are a little bit more rock 'n' roll," says Saporta. "A little more sinful."

Once a punk, always a punk.

Head to Gap Styld.by for more.

Buraka Som Sistema's "Stoopid" Video Is One Big Slo-Mo Paint Explosion

April 30, 2014, 11:00 am

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A mind-blowing barrage of slo-mo explosions, furniture bashing, paint throwing, gleeful random smashing and...almost forgot the burning car. But don't get too enthralled by the non-stop action that you ignore the music: the first single, "Stoopid," from Buraka Som Sistema's new, as-yet-untitled album, out on June 9th. The award-winning Portugese group is out to clear your brain of lingering world-music stereotypes. The clip was directed by the street/graffiti artist Vhils and Joao Pedro Moreira and, if you're heading over to Barcelona for SONAR, they're playing on June 13th.

La Newyorkina's Fany Gerson On the Wonders of Blue Tortillas and Tamarind Popsicles

April 30, 2014, 11:30 am

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In our ongoing series, "Ladies Who Lunch," 2014 Beautiful Person, cook, co-founder of catering company bigLITTLE Get Together and Marc Jacobs' personal chef, Lauren Gerrie, will be whipping up lunch -- and conversation -- with some of our favorite New York City gals.

Bad. Ass. Fany Gerson is one bad ass culinary mama taking over the world of not only frozen delights, but also deep fried ecstasy. Hailing originally from Mexico City, Gerson is here to share her love and passion for the sweets of her homeland through her two companies La Newyorkina and Dough Donuts. Gerson attended the CIA, where she chose not to specialize in pastry, instead focusing on the savory end of the culinary arts, which prepared her for stints working in some of Manhattan's finest restaurants like the renowned Eleven Madison Park. And, though she calls herself the "anti-pastry chef," she went on to write My Sweet Mexico, a cookbook about the different varieties of Mexican pastries. Not only can Gerson cook and run two thriving Brooklyn-based companies, but she's also a gem of a lady and I found myself wanting to squeeze and hug her at every moment during our lunch.

MENU

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Spring Sausage with Gnocchi
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Garlic Herb Sausage with Caramelized Onions
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Celery & Black Sesame Salad
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Potato Gnocci with Pistachio & Arugula Pesto

What made you decide to go into the world of popsicles?

My dream had always been to write a cookbook. In 2010, I was given the opportunity and I spent one year traveling and researching. Most of the sweet traditions of Mexico are oral recipes -- they are all about tasting the flavors and making adjustments. People are very protective of their recipes and some would rather go to the grave than share their secrets. I wanted to open a Mexican bakery or candy store but my dad kept urging me to start something that would be a profitable business. Then I had a vision about a Mexican ice cream shop. When I worked at Eleven Madison Park one of my jobs was to spin the ice creams and I adored it. Then I realized no one was making paletas, not like the ones I had had back home, so I started La Newyorkina. I love icy and crunch popsicles so I set out to create a delicious product with perfect taste and texture. It was quite an ordeal.

Where did you start? Any start up horror stories?

Hester Street Market. We would rent a kitchen during the off hours and work all night. The first week we were to launch, we had difficulties with our freezer and our recipe and ratios weren't setting because there was too much sugar. I was working two other jobs as well -- a morning shift at Quinto Pino in Chelsea, a delicious tapas bar, then an evening shift at The Essex. The night before the first Hester Street Market, I was filling the paleta cart, which folds to fill and release, it was slippery and cold and the cart slid right into my face and fractured my nose. I was so concerned about saving the popsicles and getting to the market that I just avoided the problem. Basically I was running on adrenaline and as the day at the market progressed my nose kept getting more and more swollen. Luckily we had an amazing response and we sold out. Then I went to the Emergency Room.

As if running one business isn't hard enough, you also co-own and run DOUGH Donuts. When did that start?

I used to work as the Pastry Chef at Choice Market and when the summer was over, the owner there asked me what I was going to do during the off-season of La Newyorkina. He wanted to open a donut shop and wanted me to work with him. He's French and I'm Mexican and so we didn't grow up with donuts but we knew what the perfect donut would be for us. He wanted a big donut -- a celebration. But we also wanted a simple and luxurious texture with all natural ingredients and flavors. The only time we use food coloring is St. Patrick's day because it's hard to get that green.

When you think of Mexico and growing up what is the first thing you think of?

The markets are unbelievable. I love fruit -- you will always see me snacking on fruit -- and it's difficult to choose a favorite... maybe guanabana/soursop? I love mangoes and tamarind, so I guess my favorites are tropical fruit. But in the States, stone fruit and berries are unreal. I also love the expression in Mexico "of the lingering after lunch" called sobremesa. I adore the cultural aspect of just enjoying lunch and relaxing with friends and family.



What's your favorite food to indulge in when you go back?

There is this soup with purslane, tomatillos, chicken or pork and it is served with blue corn tortillas. I call ahead to make sure that my dad will have it ready for my arrival. When I come back to the States I always bring tortillas. There is nothing like them. Nothing. The pink tortillas are so cool, but the blue are my favorite. After soup, I always have more fruit or a tamarind paleta.

What is your favorite meal of the day?

Lunch in Mexico. But in New York, dinner. I love making soup -- pozole or ramen, anything hearty.

If you could eat anywhere, where would you go?

I would love to go to Southeast Asia but if I was just going to a restaurant I would go to Noma -- I want to see what all the hype is about. I crave those types of restaurants less and less, but I do understand the importance and the draw. The fanfare is entertaining. Or maybe I would go to Spain again. I love it there and the food is so good.

What is your favorite condiment?

LIMES. Yeah, I use everything with limes. There is a big price issue right now because the drug cartels are taking over the land and charging people extra to get them out. Last year a box was $24 and last week a box was $98. I have to figure something out because most of my paletas have lime juice. Mexican limes are the best and so important for my business.

What is your perspective on being a female entrepreneur in the male-dominated culinary industry?

I think we kick ass. I think we have to prove ourselves more. It is all about respect. Women have been the cooks in most cultures for thousands of years. Why is it rare that women would want to do it professionally? Woman come together and support one another. Collaborations within the female culinary world are happening a lot now and I think that's great.

Last -- and very important -- question: are you sick of donuts and popsicles?

I crave savory food. But sometimes a fresh donut comes out and it just calls my name. I am very specific about the sweets that I want now, especially when I go out to nice restaurants. I want to make sweets, but not look like one.

10 Must-See Art Shows Opening This Week

April 30, 2014, 1:45 pm

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Jean-Michel Basquiat, "Untitled (Estrella)", 1985, Oil paintstick, graphite, and colored pencil on paper, 29 1/2 x 41 5/8 inches (74.9 x 105.7 cm), The Schorr Family Collection, Art Ⓒ The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat / ADAGP, Paris / ARS, New York 2014 (via Acquavella Galleries)

Acquavella Galleries (18 East 79th Street) opens a show of works of art on paper (+2 paintings) by Jean-Michel Basquiat on Thursday, May 1st. Twenty-two of his drawings from the collection of the Schoor family will be on view until June 13, and this will be their first public exhibition.

Also opening on Thursday, May 1st, 6 to 8 p.m., is an installation and film called "Breakdown Lane" by Greg Smith at Susan Inglett Gallery (522 West 24th Street). The film features the artist as "protagonist on a dystopian road trip" and objects from the film will be incorporated into the installation. It's on view until June 7th.
 

Arthur Elgort, Kristin McMenamy, Paris, German Vogue, 1994 (via Paddle 8)

From May 1st until May 16th, you can bid on a selection of nudes by various artists and photographers curated by Vogue's creative director Grace Coddington. The online auction entitled "No Clothes," is via Paddle 8. Go HERE to preview the works and make a bid.

ArtNowNY (548 West 28th Street) has the first solo exhibit of works by the New York-based photographer Charles Quiles opening on May 1, 6 to 9 p.m. Photos from his work in the fashion industry as well as his personal collection will be on view in this show called "Fais-Mois L'Amour" that stays up until May 24th.

Brooklyn-based artist Fred Tomaselli has a show of new works called "Current Events" opening on May 1st, 6 to 8 p.m., at James Cohan Gallery (533 West 26th Street). The show coincides with the release of a new publication from Prestel called "The Times." It's up until June 14th.

On May 2nd, from 6 to 9 p.m. there's an opening for a new show by 18 Mexican street artists at Dorian Grey Gallery (437 East 9th Street). The muralists include: Bebo, Dhear, Meiz, Saner, UNDO and Seher One. The works will be on view until June 15th.

An exhibition called "Black Eye" looks at "black identity experience" in the 21st century and it opens on Friday, May 2, 6 to 9 p.m., at 57 Walker Street. The group show was curated by Nicola Vassell and includes works by over 26 artists including Kehinde Wiley, Gary Simmons, Rashaad Newsome and Nick Cave. It will be up until May 24th.

Paul Kasmin Gallery (293 Tenth Avenue) opens a show of new "monumental" paintings by New York-based artist Walton Ford on Thursday, May 1st, 6 to 8 p.m.  The exhibition, "Watercolors," expands on traditional natural-history painting and "chronicles encounters between human culture and the natural world." It's up until June 21st.

David Zwirner (525 & 533 West 19th Street, 537 West 20th Street) opens a big group show called "No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984 - 1989" on May 2nd, featuring works by twenty-one artists including Jenny Holzer, Mike Kelley, George Condo, Raymond Pettibon and Richard Prince. The exhibition "examines the 1980s through the lens of the Cologne and New York art scenes of the period." It's up until mid-June.

Also on the 2nd, 6 to 9 p.m., Gavin Brown's Enterprise (620 Greenwich St.) opens an exhibition of works by Kerstin Bratsch, Mark Handforth and Mark Leckey.

And finally, don't forget that Pioneer Works (159 Pioneer Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn) is having their first big fundraiser on Sunday, May 4th, 5 p.m. with open studios, a dinner by Fat Radish, an art auction and Ariel Pink performing live; plus DJs including East Village Radio's Chances With Wolves, MGMT and Beastie Boy Mike D. Tickets are HERE.

More Emma Roberts Photos from Our Gia Coppola Palo Alto Shoot

April 30, 2014, 1:50 pm

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In celebration of our May issue's big photo spread with the super cute cast of Palo Alto, shot by director Gia Coppola, we're releasing outtakes all this week and next week. There were just too many good shots to choose from, ya' know? First up, Emma Roberts! That Valentino romper gives us such fever. Stay tuned tomorrow for more from our Keegan Allen shoot.

Emma wears a dress by Chanel.

Emma wears Romper by Valentino.

Emma wears a top by Pam & Gela.

Emma wears a top by A.P.C.

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Broad City's Ilana Glazer Wants to Know How You Lost Your V-Card

April 30, 2014, 2:00 pm

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≪ Previous: More Emma Roberts Photos from Our Gia Coppola Palo Alto Shoot

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Broad City's star/our dream BFF Ilana Glazer went to Union Square and asked strangers about the first time they had sex for her newest Chronic Gamer Girl video. Instead of being uncomfortable, the stories were actually pretty amusing and heartfelt. They ranged from mortifying -- one girl who bled all over her friend's jeans after having sex in the woods -- to adorable (spoiler alert: the video features a super sweet story of a man who immigrated to America and found his dream girl). For the hopeless romantics in the crowd, the ending will definitely make you squeal.

We have a message to each one of the brave participants:

Watch David Hasselhoff and Alan Thicke Talk About Boners

May 1, 2014, 7:30 am

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On last night's episode of Alan Thicke's new reality show, he and David Hasselhoff got into a protracted discussion about old dude boners. [via Uproxx]

Meet your new favorite Public Access show, Pat Babbitt 720, a charming and slightly absurdist talk show parody. Love sassy cat lady cameo. [via YouTube]
 
Awww yea-uh. [via Knusprig Titten Hitler]

FYI. [via Twitter]

That time six years ago when Bruno Mars freaked out over seeing Pete Wentz on the street. [via F You No F Me]

The selfie handshake is a thing. [via 100 Years of Lolitude]

[via Laughter Key]

"Will.je.suis." [via F You No F Me]

Damn Barry, you're funny. [via Pop Culture Brain]

Here's a delightful clip of Jimmy Fallon and Cameron Diaz photo-bombing unsuspecting tourists taking pics at Top of the Rock. Previously, Jimmy enlisted Jon Hamm to ruin/enhance peoples' photos up there. Both clips are worth a watch. [via The Tonight Show]  

9 Can't Miss Events at This Year's Red Bull Music Academy

May 1, 2014, 10:00 am

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(Illustration via Red Bull Music Academy)

The Red Bull Music Academy has been traveling the world putting on music workshops and festivals since the late '90s. Last year, the event took over New York, with a Giorgio Moroder DJ set, Brian Eno art exhibition and lectures by Erykah Badu and James Murphy. While the big show has moved onto Tokyo for 2014, the RBMA is using the opportunity to create a smaller, annual event for the Big Apple. This year's festivities will be spread out over the month of May, featuring appearances by David Byrne, D'Angelo and a slew of others. Previously we tipped you off to the Academy's kick-off event tonight, Bounce Ballroom, and here, we pick nine other events you shouldn't miss.

Atomic Bomb! The Music Of William Onyeabor
Last year's Luaka Bop compilation asked Who is William Onyeabor?, and while details of the Nigerian synth-pioneer's life remain shrouded in mystery, rumor and incomplete Wikipedia entries, his celebratory anti-war anthems are the subject of two days of performance by David Byrne, Money Mark, Sinkane, the newly reunited Nigerian duo the Lijadu Sisters and members of Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture.
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House 30 Lafayette Ave, May 2nd, 3rd 8PM, $35 - $65

Four Corners Of The Clash
Four crews will enter the soundclash and while presumably all will leave at some point, it won't be before a little head-to-head-to-head-to-head music battling ensues. Just Blaze, Trouble & Bass, Que Bajo and Federation Sound's Max Glazer & Kenny Meez will be packed in tight at Williamsburg's Baby's All Right restaurant and music venue.
Baby's All Right, 146 Broadway, Brooklyn, May 9th 10PM $10

Brooklyn Flea Record Fair
Expect cratedigging and food trucking with a view of the Manhattan skyline and performances by Sandra Electronics, Optimo, Autre Ne Veut, Charlift's Caroline Polachek and a DJ set from Tanlines.
East River State Park, 90 Kent Ave., May 10th 11AM to 6PM, Free

Larry Levan Street Party
Sunday afternoon, the festival's organizers will close off a block of King St. formerly home to the Paradise Garage in honor of the '80s-era club's legendary DJ Larry Levan. Part of a larger push to have the stretch of street named for the late DJ, the street party will feature sets from other Paradise Garage greats like David Depino, François Kevorkian and Joey Llanos, among others.
King Street between Varick and Hudson, May 11th 12PM, Free

A Night Of Improvised Round Robin Duets
Head to Town Hall for a two-hour long musical jam featuring a rotating cast of musicians appearing two at a time. The list of performers -- now 16 people long and with more to come -- includes the likes of Allen Toussaint, Petra Haden, Jamie Lidell, Kaki King and more.
Town Hall, 123 W 43rd st., May 14th 7:40PM, $30

Hardcore Activity In Progress
The theme of the night is "extreme," sampling some more traditional hardcore offerings like Napalm Death, along with ambient droner Tim Hecker, Florida rapper Gunplay, jazz trio The Thing and noise rockers Wolf Eyes. Hearos ear plugs really missed out on a solid gold sponsorship opportunity.
Knockdown Center, 52-19 Flushing Ave, May 16th 8PM, $10

Panda Bear, DâM-Funk, Torn Hawk
Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox makes a rare New York appearance sans his fellow Animal Collective cohort and will perform alongside visual psychedelics from video artist Danny Perez. Presented by the Worldless Music service, the show features opening sets from DâM-Funk and Torn Hawk.
Warsaw, 261 Driggs Ave, May 18th 8PM, $25

A Conversation With D'Angelo
Writer Nelson George sits down with the famously eccentric 90s R&B legend and longtime Soulquarian for an intimate public interview at the the Brooklyn Museum.
Brooklyn Museum, Cantor Auditorium, 200 Eastern Parkway, May 21st 6PM, $15

Red Bull Music Academy Festival New York Closing Night
The month-long festival closes things out with a musically -- and geographically -- diverse evening featuring 15 artists (Nguzunguzu and Nick Hook, among others) performing on three stages.
Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand St., May 31st 8PM, $10

Black Keys Preach the Gospel In New "Fever" Clip

May 1, 2014, 12:20 pm

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A bit of a change in direction for The Back Keys on this track from their upcoming album, Turn Blue, coming May 13th.  The video was directed by Jann Wenner's son, Theo (who photographed our Paz De La Huerta cover), and who's that starring as the crazy preacher?  It's Keys' frontman Dan Auerbach, with drummer Patrick Carney looking a little bored over on the sidelines. In case you've got the "Fever," just call 646-397-6172 and contribute some of your hard-earned money. Or just send it to me.

More Keegan Allen Photos from Our Gia Coppola Palo Alto Shoot

May 1, 2014, 1:15 pm

≫ Next: 10 Stand-Ups Leading a New Comedy Movement

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In celebration of our May issue's big photo spread with the super cute cast of Palo Alto, shot by director Gia Coppola, we're releasing outtakes from the shoot all this week and next week. Today, it's all about Keegan Allen, Keegan Allen shirtless, Keegan Allen shirtless with a cat, Keegan Alleen with his shirt open, and, well, you get where we're going with this. Check out all our extra Keegan photos below, and peep Emma Roberts' extra-hot bonus pics  as well.

Keegan wears a suit by Salvatore Ferragamo and shirt by Slate and Stone.

Keegan wears a suit and shirt by Dior Homme.

Keegan wears pants by Salvatore Ferragamo.

Keegan wears a suit by Salvatore Ferragamo, shirt by Slate and Stone and boots by H by Hudson.