Blog: The Village Voice: Sound of the City

The rapper Rick Ross, born William Leonard Roberts II, is currently being sued by the living, breathing drug boss--"Freeway" Ricky Ross--from whom he stole his stage name. On his new Teflon Don--a... Continue reading "Who Does Rick Ross Think He Is, Exactly?" >

A common complaint about music charts in the post-sales age is that, with their reliance on SoundScan data and airplay numbers, they miss other avenues for popular consumption, from YouTube stream... Continue reading "Will "The Ultimate Chart" Change The Way We Quantify The Ubiquity Of Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, And Justin Bieber?" >

Perfume Genius 92Y Tribeca Tuesday, July 20 The solid 15 seconds of painful, awkward silence between when Mike Hadreas (a/k/a Perfume Genius) sits down and when he actually starts playing piano ... Continue reading "Live: The Profoundly Discomforting Perfume Genius At 92Y Tribeca" >

The Arizona-based, telephone helmet-sporting, Tom Waits-endorsed one-man machine that is Bob Log III hit the Knitting Factory last night in a black leather jumpsuit, spraying the crowd with "boob... Continue reading "Photos: One-Man Band Bob Log III Introduces Himself at the Knitting Factory" >

Brooklyn's own Drums are the most (somewhat winsomely) flamboyant of bands to emerge from our young century's ongoing Let's Go to the Beach surf-synth-pop craze, their tunes eerily precise bursts ... Continue reading "Tonight's Drums Show At Webster Hall Will Be Streaming Live At MTV.com" >

Critics have been trying to make perpetually-on-the-verge Swedish pop star Robyn happen like they've tried to make few other artists happen in the past, oh, decade or so. "Dancing on My Own," the ... Continue reading "Robyn Roundup: Letterman Video, New Song, And A Show Next Week At P.C. Richard & Son Theater" >

Move over, "Eat a hot bowl of dicks"! Ice-T's Twitter reign of wowowowowow continues with his arrest today in New York for allegedly driving without a seat belt, up-to-date insurance, or a valid... Continue reading "Ice-T, Twitter Champion, Just Called a New York City Cop a "Punk Bitch"" >

Remember that Pitchfork office party last month we told you about so dutifully. No? The one with a girl nicknamed Meatball? The one Beach Fossils played a few weeks before John Pena tossed his ba... Continue reading "Beach Fossils Footage from that Fateful Pitchfork Office Party Has Surfaced" >

Though we can attest from bitter experience that your average music critic is not necessarily a person from whom you want to receive a three-minute monologue about anything, we nevertheless feel c... Continue reading "Perhaps You'd Like to See a Bunch of Music Critics Read Record Reviews in Public?" >

Yes, for hip-hop enthusiasts, primarily it's Rick Ross Day, his new Teflon Don unleashed upon the world and primed to polarize the masses. (For! Against!) But take a moment to peruse "I'm Gone," t... Continue reading "Download: Fat Joe's Guru Tribute, "I'm Gone" " >

Word has begun to spread about the mysterious Twitter account known only as Discographies, which summarizes a beloved artist's (or the Doors', even!) body of work in, you guessed it, 140 character... Continue reading "Here Is Bob Dylan's Entire Career, Distilled Into One Tweet" >

Only one member of the quartet that fashioned Big Star's 1972 debut, #1 Record -- very possibly the greatest power-pop record ever made -- is still with us. Andy Hummel, the Memphis band's foundi... Continue reading "Big Star Bassist Andy Hummel, RIP" >

It is pretty much our job to try to help here if at all possible. Anybody? (Related: this was literally the only Siren-themed Missed Connection over the weekend. Let us hereby congratulate all the... Continue reading "Siren Festival: The Missed Connection" >

Murder City Devils were a Seattle garage-punk menace who drank and fought while playing songs about drinking and fighting. As is the case with most bonds forged on booze and disorderly conduc... Continue reading "Photos: Pool Party With Murder City Devils, JEFF the Brotherhood, and Agyness Deyn" >

From Toronto, land of Drake and Snow, comes the sinfully perverse dinky goth-pop of Diamond Rings, both catchy and melodramatically despairing in the time-honored Cure style; one-man-band John O ... Continue reading "Download: Goth-Pop Upstart Diamond Rings' Set Last Night At Monster Island, Courtesy NYC Taper" >

So Saturday night's secret post-Siren, post-South Street Seaport party was drunken bikini bash out in Bed-Stuy, where Golden Triangle's O.J. San Felipe managed to electrocute himself via the dead... Continue reading "Photos: Golden Triangle Got Electrocuted at Saturday Night's Bed-Stuy Bikini Bash With Thee Oh-Sees and Frankie Rose and the Outs" >

And so the oft-bemused back and forth between unwitting Contra cover model Ann Kirsten Kennis and the band she's suing, Vampire Weekend, continues. VW singer Ezra Koenig commented on the controver... Continue reading "Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, on Getting Sued: "Given It's Our First Time We Just Want To Do It Properly"" >

New York's summer heat is enough to drive anyone indoors, especially on a Sunday afternoon. The decision to go out can often boil down to whether you can battle the hellish temperatures: a breezy... Continue reading "Live: Brave The Heat For Bushwick's Hazy Tiki Disco Spectacular" >

Thee Oh Sees, Golden Triangle, and So Cow South Street Seaport Friday, July 16 Well, it wasn't a Drake show: Friday's free South Street Seaport indie-garage line-up--Thee Oh Sees, Golden Triangl... Continue reading "Live: Thee Oh Sees, Golden Triangle, and So Cow Maintain Peace and Order at the South Street Seaport" >

He then dedicates a song to "the shorties," mercifully clarifying that he means actual short people, which makes me feel a whole lot better about the whole thing. Cuteness, thankfully, overpower... Continue reading "Here Is Matt, He Of Matt And Kim, Rapping R. Kelly's "Ignition" Onstage At Siren" >