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MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Ben Williams

  1. vision 2020
    Is the Biden Appeal About to Fade?Amid allegations of inappropriate touching, he remains the Democratic poll leader. Intelligencer staffers discuss how solid his advantage really is.
  2. early and often
    Imagining President Trump: A ConversationNew York Magazine’s team of political writers game out the once-fantastical but now quite possible prospect of a Trump presidency.
  3. With The Jinx Finale, Spoiler-Alert Culture Reaches Peak AbsurditySorry, we’re spoiling.
  4. the jinx
    The Jinx Finale: Robert Durst Says He ‘Killed Them All’“What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”
  5. Michael Idov Takes Over As EIC of GQ RussiaNew gig for a New York contributing editor.
  6. scandal-stained wretches
    Ex–News International CEO Rebekah Brooks Arrested in Murdoch Hacking Scandal [Updated]But will the unusually timed arrest help her avoid questions from the House of Commons on Tuesday?
  7. last night’s gig
    Five Things We Learned at Last Night’s Awesome Roots ShowThe band assembled a stellar lineup of guest stars for a nineties hip-hop revue.
  8. bombs
    Someone Tried to Set Off a Car Bomb in Times Square (Updated)It failed to detonate, and nobody was hurt.
  9. last night’s gig
    Night at the Rock Museum: Second Concert of the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of FameRock’s museum waxworks come to life for a series of sometimes incongruous, sometimes inspired duets.
  10. Michelle Obama Probably Isn’t Coming to Fashion Week, But She Sent Her Social Secretary InsteadShe sat next to Anna at Donna Karan.
  11. Sympathy for the Devil
    Michael Alig Still in Prison, Still Hoping for Parole‘When I was walking out of the visiting room, I watched him clean the table where we sat, and I saw how little he has to cling to, to hope for.’
  12. In Conversation: Debbie Harry and SantogoldRock stars past and present on the invention, influence, and half-life of New York punk.
  13. The Beefcake in the BackcourtAnother way in which ripped, raffish Rafael Nadal and his cardigan-wearing Swiss rival aren’t anything alike.
  14. The New York Canon: Pop MusicThe birth of rap, the nurturing of punk—that would be plenty. But there’s more.
  15. The Dandy’s ProgressAndré Benjamin has already nailed a few careers (musician, actor), but what he’d really like to do is impress Beau Brummell with his new cloth […]
  16. The Year in PopRadiohead rediscovered their instincts, Rihanna’s great summer hit was all about rain, LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire made it cool to be a geek […]
  17. Emotionally RescuedAlicia Keys pours her personal ordeals into a strong, satisfying new batch of pop songs.
  18. Playing FavoritesWe asked six music obsessives to pick a recent album they can’t stop listening to.
  19. Influences: 50 Cent50 talked to Ben Williams about the difference between himself and Eminem, the art of beef, and Dubya.
  20. A Steady Diet of CokeLike the thugs in The Wire, the latest crop of rappers turns to hard drugs to fuel their gruesome, operatic narratives.
  21. The Men Who Would Be PrinceJustin Timberlake and OutKast both drape themselves in Prince’s purple robes—but only one finds a true fit.
  22. Beyoncé Takes OverLook past the movies and the new fashion line—she’s making the best music of her career.
  23. Influences: Gnarls BarkleySt. Elsewhere, Gnarls Barkley’s debut, is an unclassifiable mix of psychedelic rock, hip-hop, and electronic music, all topped by Cee-Lo’s class […]
  24. Elvis Dreams of 9/11And other brilliantly strange concoctions from the elusive pop genius Scott Walker.
  25. Remake, Remodel, RecycleCreate ecofriendly design out of scraps of wood or old water bottles. Turn foam into a chair, or plastic gumball-machine prizes into a light f […]
  26. Classic CraftNot every designer in Brooklyn is conceptual. The borough is also home to woodworkers, glassblowers, and potters, making objects that don’t ne […]
  27. Trash LuxeTake a lowly item. It could be cultural (hunting stuff) or just broken (old furniture). Add expensive materials—gold, leather—and a dash of […]
  28. Brooklyn Design Calendar Brooklyn Heights Apt: Brownstone Is the New Black Boerum Hill Apt: A Slow-motion […]
  29. When Is A Chair Not A Chair?And other notes from Brooklyn’s design boom.
  30. LondonFor this special edition of Strategist, we subjected six great metropolises—London, Paris, Los Angeles, Sydney, Rome, and Miami—to the same scru […]
  31. Influences: Donald FagenSteely Dan was the quintessential L.A. band, but Fagen himself has always been a New Yorker at heart.
  32. DonutsAbsent the meandering grooves that were usually his trademark, it sounds like the Kanye West discography thrown into a blender—hundreds of chewy […]
  33. All Yesterday’s PartiesBritish rock may be stuck in the past, but it can still sound great, provided the singer isn’t a complete coke fiend.
  34. PopKanye West called out George Bush, Mariah and Madonna came back from the dead, and every sixties band put out an album. But the micro-trends mad […]
  35. Girls Gone MildMadonna and Kate Bush return to action with decidedly different notions of growing old gracefully.
  36. A World-Class Drama QueenFiona Apple can’t seem to do anything without causing a fuss. But the songs are worth it.
  37. Since the Last Time You Were in TokyoShopping temples, Ducasse’s take on Japanese food, and a luxury-hotel boom.
  38. Where Can I Find a Trustworthy Contractor?I need to take care of some home repairs, but I don’t know a good handyman, and the Yellow Pages are too random. Is there a better way to find a […]