-
Chuck Klosterman on the ‘Difference Between Hipsters and Retards’
We admit it: We harbor a secret crush on Chuck Klosterman. He has a nerdy hotness about him not unlike what Natalie Portman must have seen in Moby. We even almost joined the Facebook group "If Chuck Klosterman spit in my face, I'd stop taking showers," but then we promised our career counselor we wouldn't. Er, anyway, last night we went to the Highline Ballroom for a reading of his upcoming novel, Downtown Owl (even though we found it a little hard to follow). Over the course of the next half hour, we learned a few things about our little demigod: • Chuck used to have a few nicknames back in the day: Curtains (after a pair of unfortunate sweatpants his mom made him), Facehead (also interchangeable with Headface), and Joaquin Andujar. • Chuck does not think that rock and roll is dead. In fact, he thinks "it is pretty good right now." • No one ever has sex in Chuck's books because he identifies more with people being rejected. • Chuck is going to be teaching in Germany for fourteen weeks and what he will miss most is his girlfriend. We raised our hand to ask a question. So, how do nerdy guys get chicks? "Well," Chuck said, "it's like this. You used to be able to tell the difference between hipsters and homeless people. Now, it's between hipsters and retards. I mean, either that guy in the corner in orange safety pants holding a protest sign and wearing a top hat is mentally disabled or he is the coolest fucking guy you will ever know." And in that moment, nerdy Chuck Klosterman got just a little bit hotter. —Lauren Salazar
Posted 03/07/08 in Daily Intel : Party Lines
-
‘Gossip Girl’ Will Return Before the Summer!
If you're wondering what's going to happen now that the strike is over, head over to Vulture's Poststrike Encyclopedia. They have a complete roster of what shows are coming back and when and how. And as far as we're concerned, the best news is that Gossip Girl will be back to complete its season before the summer! They still have 9 of their 22 planned episodes to go. It will be back in April and might complete all the rest of the hour-long shows going into the summer. Guess what that means? Months more coverage of the Greatest Show of Our Time! And up to nine more exhaustive episode recaps! That's okay, take a minute to revel in your own joy. We'd write more, but we think we just blacked out. Vulture's Poststrike Encyclopedia: When Will My Show Be Back? [Vulture]
Posted 02/12/08 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
Jay-Z: From Marcy to Madison Avenue
Jay-Z has been shilling brand names in songs and commercials for his entire life. But now that he's retired from Def Jam, he's decided he might as well make a career of it. The Times this morning reports that the rapper-mogul formerly known as Shawn Carter is partnering in a new ad agency, Translation Advertising. An offshoot of Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging, overseen by Interpublic, the agency will help mainstream advertisers like Hewlett-Packard and McDonald's be cooler about dealing with the consumers the Times alternatingly calls "minority," "multicultural," and "urban." “There are people who don’t understand the culture,” Hova told the Times, referring to a cell phone commercial “that shows guys break dancing in the phone store … not something we do." The work, Hova told the Times, is “part of the natural growth” of his career. Now, if only Fergie and Gwen Stefani would transition already. A New Venture for Jay-Z, on Madison Avenue [NYT]
Posted 02/08/08 in Daily Intel : Cultural Capital
-
Giant Cardboard Tubes of Farm Crops Coming to Art Museum
At Grub Street, we generally only encounter natural, growing things when they arrive dead, on our plates, at restaurants. But P.S. 1, unlike us, has committed to growing crops along the locavore model. In giant cardboard tubes. As part of an installation. You'll understand when you read about it on Vulture. P.S. 1 Young Architect Winners Would Like You to Eat Cabbage This Summer [Vulture] Related: Video: My Empire of Dirt
Posted 02/07/08 in Grub Street : NewsFeed
-
RIP Hilly Kristal
Hilly Kristal, like his legendary East Village rock club, CBGB, is dead; he succumbed to lung cancer this morning at the age of 75. But, thanks to the magic of recordings and photos and video and especially YouTube, Kristal, like CBGB, will live on. Our colleagues at Vulture dug up a YouTube clip of the Ramones at CBGB in 1977, and they present it as a tribute to Kristal, his club, and the bands he nurtured in its heyday. Take a look. CBGB Founder Hilly Kristal Dies at 75 [Vulture] Hilly Kristal, Founder of CBGB, Is Dead [NYT]
Posted 08/29/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
R. Kelly Comes to Greenwich Village, Premieres Videos, Wows Vulture
R. Kelly! Live in New York! For the official premiere of Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 13–22! Omg omg omg! Okay, yeah, so he barely said anything. And wouldn't talk to press. And didn't have much of a boldface-name turnout. So what? Vulture was at the IFC Center for that momentous occasion, and its minions report back. R. Kelly Even More Awesome in Person [Vulture]
Posted 08/16/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
‘The Simpsons Movie’ Is Here! Woo-Hoo!
The Simp-sons. Yup, today's the day, and The Simpsons Movie is out. Over at the Times, A.O. Scott rather liked it. Over at Vulture, Dan Kois didn't. (And over at NPR, where David Edelstein is opining because there's no new mag next week, he didn't much either.) There's plenty of Simpsons Movie coverage — text! Video! IM conversations! — waiting for you at Vulture. 'The Simpsons Movie' coverage [Vulture]
Posted 07/27/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
Sex and the Big Screen
You're as surprised as we are, no doubt. A Sex and the City movie, which we'd long thought was dead — Kim Cattrall wouldn't play nice with the other girls, we were told, and Sarah Jessica had moved on to bigger and better things, like TV commercials — is actually, really, finally happening. This news comes from today's Variety, which also reports that series creator Michael Patrick King will write and direct the film and that New Line Cinema — like HBO, a Time Warner unit — will produce it. We'd like to say we're happy about this development, but we live in the West Village and we're not looking forward to the additional influx of fanny-pack-wearing Midwesterners this movie will deliver. They're only cupcakes, people. Dust Off Your Manolos: ‘Sex and the City’ Heading to the Big Screen [Vulture]
Posted 07/05/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
Beverly Sills Has Sung
Beverly Sills, the Brooklyn gal born Belle Silverman, died of cancer yesterday at 78. She was a quintessentially American diva — a quin- tessentially New York diva, even — who bridged the high and low worlds of grand opera and American pop culture as a charismatic broad who could get things done. New York's Christopher Bonanos offers an appreciation at Vulture. Beverly Sills Dies at 78 [Vulture]
Posted 07/03/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
We Cannot Believe We Continue to Watch ‘Entourage’
So we were sitting there around 10:30 last night, more or less hating ourselves for just having spent a half-hour of our life watching Entourage. Had it always been this obnoxious? Did we just earlier not notice because we needed the comedown from The Sopranos, needed a half-hour of self-impressed vacuousness in which we could decompress? Or was it newly, differently bad lately, specifically last night? Good thing, then, we've got Vulture and its Entourage Guilt/Pleasure Index. Adam Sternbergh examines last night's installment — including, as he points out, the most unpleasant mental image ever conjured by a television show — and declares the episode almost entirely guilty. Good to know it's not just us. The ‘Entourage’ Guilt/Pleasure Index: Turtle Gets a What? [Vulture]
Posted 07/02/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
‘Simpsons’ Discriminates Against the Bespectacled (and We're Okay With That)
Okay, yeah, this is cool. Our friends at Vulture notified us that on the promotional site for the coming-soon Simpsons movie, you can create your own Simpsons character. We share Vulture's frustration that there's no option for eyeglasses, rendering it impossible to create our own Simpsons likeness. But, still, we just managed to kill twenty minutes with thing. Go. Have fun. Just be sure to put in your contacts. Build Your Own 'Simpsons' Character [Vulture] Simpsons Movie [Official site]
Posted 06/28/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
Lily Allen, at Loose in New York
New York's Jada Yuan profiled Lily Allen for the current issue, checking in on the British popster's "working holiday" in New York. It only got 600 words in the magazine, but the two gals spent all day hanging out — riding the subway, visiting Heatherette, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, scarfing down pizza. Allen sounds off on bikini waxes, L.A.'s friendly paparazzi (really!), Bloomberg, the Hamptons, and her first carbohydrates in three weeks. It's all at Vulture. Bikini Waxing, Lesbian Dreams, and Mayor Mike: Lily Allen, Uncut [Vulture]
Posted 06/27/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
How Did David Hyde Pierce Win Best Actor, and Other Unanswered Questions
HBO wasn't the only source of unanswered questions last night. There were plenty from CBS, too. A few: Did "Being Alive" make any sense to viewers who hadn't seen the rest of Company? Why was "Revolutionary Costume for Today" so good onstage but so lousy onscreen? How did David Hyde Pierce (whom we love, but still) beat Raúl Esparza? (Also: Esparza was sitting next to a woman, so is he straight again now? And should we be impressed that Hyde Pierce thanked his partner "of twenty-four years" or a little disgusted that he did so only at the Tonys, never at the Emmys?) Doesn't "Please welcome Chorus Line composer Marvin Hamlisch and CSI star Marg Helgenberger" sound like a Family Guy joke? And, perhaps of the gravest concern to us, what exploded on Marcia Gay Harden, and did that explosion also blind Judd Hirsch (or somehow turn him into Richard Belzer)? We expected at least some of these questions to be answered on Vulture today. No luck. Guess The Sopranos got in the way. Tomorrow? (We do, after all, love ya, tomorrow.) Tony Awards coverage [Vulture] What did Liev Schreiber, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Julie White, Brian Dennehy, and Felicity Huffman have to say backstage at the Tonys? Find out in our Interactive Party Lines.
Posted 06/11/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
This Week Is All About Tony
No, no, silly. Not Tony Soprano. (We'll always have TiVo.) Antoinette Perry! In the sort of brilliant marketing move that could only come from the industry that thought a Bob Dylan dance play was a good idea, Broadway's biggest honors will be presented Sunday night, opposite Tony Soprano's final stroll through the tomato patch. While everyone else is desperately building excitement for the HBO juggernaut, the good folks are Vulture are looking ahead toward CBS's annual ratings flop. They've got Tony-award news, Tony-award drawings, and, perhaps best of all, Tony-award picks from real-life Tony voters. It's all at Vulture. Tony-awards coverage [Vulture]
Posted 06/07/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
Termination
So. That was some Sopranos last night, eh? The critic-y kids over at Vulture count a full five hits in this penultimate episode: the rat garroted by Silvio, the Ukrainian father and daughter, Bobby, Sil, and Tony's therapy. The worst damage of all, however, is undoubtedly yet to come: There'll be some in next week's finale, sure, but also lots to those poor Baccalieri kids, doomed to be raised by Janice. What else caught Emily Nussbaum's eye? Find out at Vulture. UPDATE: Plus an obituary for Bobby Bacala, "the biggest sad-sack, nice-guy murdering mobster we've ever met." 'The Sopranos': Melfi Whacks Tony
Posted 06/04/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
Book Expo: Read All About It! (Ha!)
Book Expo America — the annual, enormous books-biz tradeshow that invaded the Javits Center last Thursday — reached its final chapter yesterday. Heartbroken you missed all the excitement? Buck up, little reader: Vulture's correspondents were there, and they brought back all sorts of goodies for you (if by "goodies," you mean "brief dispatches"). Julianne Moore! Tina Brown! An animatronic-ish Margaret Atwood! Foreskins! Everything you ever wanted to know about Book Expo awaits at Vulture. Book Expo [Vulture]
Posted 06/04/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
We Once Were Lost, But Now We're Found
Last night's Idol finale may have been a snooze, but Lost's season-ender was — how to put? — freakin' amazing. Indeed, says Phoebe Reilly on Vulture, it may have been the series' best episode ever. So many great plot points! So many great questions! What were they? Vulture breaks it down. ‘Lost’: So Who Was That Dead Man? [Vulture]
Posted 05/24/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
Worshipping Idols, Blandly
A new Idol has been crowned! Long live the Idol! Yes, folks, as we all know by now, Jordin Sparks won American Idol's sixth season. Are you thrilled and excited? Yeah, us neither. As Caryn Ganz catalogues on Vulture, nearly everyone found last night's finale a snooze. So what was there to talk about? Find out at Vulture. ‘American Idol’ Builds Up to a Rousing, Earth-Shattering Yawn! [Vulture]
Posted 05/24/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
American Failure
Last night was the last performance show of the American Idol season, and naturally the country is on the edge of its collective seat to find out tonight whether Blake Lewis or Jordan Sparks is the winner. Last night's theme, according the show's producers, was the final countdown. But Vulture's Caryn Ganz disagrees. She says the show was all about failure. How so? Find out at Vulture. 'American Idol' Celebrates the Losers [Vulture]
Posted 05/23/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
-
Oh, the Absurdity!
Last night's double-length 24 meant twice the time to finally wind up this season's plotlines — or twice the chance for ridiculousness. Would they take the responsible route and finally let us know whether Palmer is alive or dead? Whether Logan is alive or dead? Whether Audrey will ever say anything other than "Help me, Jack, please don't let them do this to me"? How the Russian president turned in like three hours from best buds with crazy Mrs. Logan to the guy ready to start World War III? Alas, the answers there are nope, nope, nope, and nyet. Instead, dirty old Veep Daniels absurdly led the country further down his reckless path of destruction. Over at Vulture, Ben Wasserstein runs the finale through the Absurd-o-Meter. The ‘24’ Absurd-o-Meter: So Long, Jack Bauer. Until We Meet Again. [Vulture]
Posted 05/22/07 in Daily Intel : Vulture
Advertising
Popular Topics
politics, movies, barack obama, spring 2009, john mccain, music, sarah palin, early and often, economy, paris fashion week, shopping, tv, video, models, the greatest depression, business, elections, slideshow, alexander mcqueen, debates, neighborhood watch, the greatest depression, openings, saturday night live, sports, tina fey, designers, ink-stained wretches, marc jacobs, party lines, sales, advertising, art, behind the scenes, chat room, gossipmonger, hair, john galliano, louis vuitton, media, mediavore, nightlife, overnights, parties, reality tv, right-click, two for eight, vivienne westwood, chanel, corton, diesel, early and awesome, federal reserve, ferran adria, hawaiian tropic zone, instant politics, jeremy kost, kanye west, karl lagerfeld, kudos, last night's gig, maison martin margiela, makeup, nbc, nina ricci, openings, real estate, sonia rykiel, stock market, television
Can Paterson Navigate the Troubled Economy?
Will Sulzberger's Heirs Sell the 'Times'?
How McCain Lost His Public Image
What Wall Street Will Look Like in Fall 2009
