Ryan Shea

Does Size Really Matter?

No we aren’t talking about the size of the house you are buying nor how many ounces of steak you want for dinner tonight (although some people prefer to pitch a tent and like a good 8 ouncer. Giggity). A big thing (so many puns) that is talked about in the gay community to a certain degree is the size of either your own or someone else’s manhood. Men consistently worry about their sexual performance on a multitude of levels and one of the degrees of their worries is obviously cock size. The last thing we want is to get naked with the other person and for them to have what I simply call “The Look”. That look of “Oh crap, what am I going to do now?”. No one wants that. When we watch a good ol gay porn flick, the last thing we are expecting to see is either guy having a small (or flaccid) cock on screen. So how does that translate into real life?

This can be a variable into so many different things. Does it matter for sex just being sex? What about for a long term relationship, is this something that would be a big concern for your partner in the long run if they aren’t feeling sexually fulfilled because of it? I polled a bunch of different men I know who come from a variety of backgrounds in terms of color, shape and size and had quite an interesting amount of things to say when it comes to this issue.

“Well I think that’s a yes and no. Sex is sex and having a fulfilling sex life is important to any relationship . Love is love and they aren’t exactly the same thing. Dick size sure doesn’t matter for love. Would it matter to some people for sex? Probably to some extent”. Another friend of mine had something similar to say- “Well with a sex partner, cock size is important for some… not all. In terms of an LTR –I dont think so. Sexual attaction needs to be there but in an LTR, sex and lust is not the primary focus of the relationship. The dynamic changes….companionship, trust, comfort, safety along with dealing with challenges as a unit: mortgages, potentially children, marriage… it really shifts the priorities.”

What about when it comes to just a hot one night stand? Let’s say you are at the Eagle or a super busy gay bar that has a ton of available options for guys you can bring home. Even those can have variables. “Only if I’m looking for that. I usually top people and don’t care how big their dicks are”, one friend of mine says. If you are playing the top card, usually the focus isn’t on the front of the pants but more so the back of them. What happens about being in the other arena AKA the bottom? “To me, it can depend on a lot of different things. Sure if they are big it’s great. I happen to know a good amount of guys who are the bottom usually that are afraid to date or even have sex with a guy who has a larger than normal manhood because they mentally don’t know if they can take it. For me, it just depends on how good you are at topping. ”

At the end of the day, the consensus that my friends really gave to me (and I agree with completely) is that it is all psychological. Sometimes it can be a situation where it really is all in your head. “When it comes to size, I don’t think it matters. The most important factor is how good you are. Where your manhood matters is in what she/he may or may not “report” to his/her friends. But for the most part that’s not something you’re worried about”. A straight friend of mine said that last quote. I just added the his/he part. He has a true point on this though, in that it really is a slight social stigma that we have to deal with in order to have a good time with a partner or someone that you won’t remember their name the next day.

What do you think? Does it matter?

Big Brother 15- Breaking Down the Final 3

by Ryan Shea

If Big Brother was kind of like fantasy football or the lottery, I don’t think any fan of this show or someone watching would’ve predicted that this would’ve been the final 3. Like at all. The fact that Andy, GinaMarie and Spencer made it to where they are is truly odd and weird but we have seen other contestants in past seasons make it this far to the confusion of fans and players alike. I don’t particularly think anyone is happy with how this season went down, nor are they happy with the people who are left, but this is what we have to choose from so be it. As Howie Gordon said about the final 2 in Season 6, “I’m stuck with America’s Last Choices”. Ding Ding.

That being said, one of these three will win $500,000, one will win $50,000 and one will end up with nada. Boo hoo. I truly believe this will be the first season where one of two things will happen- a gay man will win or a woman will beat a man. It is that simple. Now, with about 12 or 13 hours to go, here is how I breakdown each contestant, how they got there, and inevitably who has the best show at winning Big Brother 15.

Andy- Andy is someone who never really got much camera time in the beginning of this game as he really didn’t do anything besides be a leech to Helen and her alliance. He really was in the background for quite sometime until the numbers started to narrow and that is when he jumped ship and joined the 4AM Alliance (I hated it just like everyone else did) with Aaryn, McCrae and Amanda. Andy did what past winners such as Jun in Season 4 and Drew in Season 5 did in that he jumped alliances at the right time each time. Ending up with The Exterminators was a brilliant move on this part and no matter what the other people in that alliance thought he clearly was the leader in that group. Spencer protected him as well as GM to a certain extent, I don’t think Judd would’ve though and that is why they got rid of him. Also, in a time of need he convinced McCrae to get rid of Elissa instead of him when it was he himself who voted out Amanda. Smart guy. I never thought he would be the first gay man to win this game as there has been other viable candidates in the past (Will Season 5, Marcellas, Kevin) but Andy does have a strong chance at winning in the end as a lot of the women on the jury could vote for him.

Spencer- Spencer has been on the block more times than anyone in the history of this game, yet for the life of me I feel like that is all he is known for as the inevitable pawn in the game. He has never been viewed as as a threat with the exception of the Howard days, and yet each time he is on the block the person sitting next to him is always viewed as the bigger person to go home. He has never really rubbed anyone the wrong way and had a decent social game throughout. Unfortunately, that won’t add up to him really garnering any votes especially if he is up against Andy. GM on the other hand might throw him a vote or two, but don’t expect him to win this game versus either of them.

GinaMarie- I really go back and forth with how I view her in this game. She really was quite awful in the beginning with the whole “Nick” thing on top of being just as much of a racist as Aaryn was (Welfare is a certain kind of insurance. Yup, she said that). Needless to say, she is going to need to be in the final 2 somehow as she got fired from her real job doing pageant shit or whatever it was that she did and her reality will set in quickly after today as to how she is pretty vilified by a good majority of this country. Her biggest game move as far as I see it is getting rid of Amanda, that was smart. She was a good competitor as well, in particular the endurance competitions. That really is as far as it goes in terms of how I view her. She is the silver medal in terms of who I think should win this game, but I do believe if she makes it to the end with Spencer she will win.

This is how I think the votes will break down depending on who takes who-

Andy vs. Spencer-

Andy- Jessie, Helen, Elissa, Amanda, McCrae, Judd, GM, Aaryn

Spencer- Candice

Spencer vs. GM-

Spencer- Jessie, Candice, Amanda, McCrae, Andy

GM- Elissa, Helen, Aaryn, Judd

Andy vs. GM-

Andy- Spencer, Judd, McCrae, Amanda, Elissa, Helen, Jessie, Candice

GM- Aaryn

Big Brother 15- The Season That Could’ve Been

by Ryan Shea

Every season lately I go into Big Brother thinking it will be somewhat reminiscent of the older seasons, when real fans of the show were picked and not aspiring actors/models/douchebags and people voted on who THEY wanted out and not vote in a group consensus which equals to being a complete coward. This season was quite possibly the worst season of BB with the exception of the oft forgotten Season 9 (You know how the guy that won ran into a zillion drug problems with the law and another guy went to jail for beating up his pregnant girlfriend. Keep it classy). Even with the cast being as bad as it was, this season had so many problems from the get go that even an avid BB fan that i am didn’t really watch it in the beginning. I started truly watching when Aryan, oh wait I’m sorry Aaryn, received a ton of media attention for her lovely racist ways and it brought me back to see what had really developed on the show. Since that time, I have been watching it non stop and have come to several conclusions on what went wrong with this season, and ultimately how each houseguest performed in their stay. Here is how I viewed things-

MVP Epic Fail- When Julie Chen announced the first twist on her show “The Talk”, I really thought it was an innovative way to keep this show fresh and new. That was, until I saw that Elissa was a part of this cast and had the feeling that because of the whole “Brenchel” army thing that she was going to get the MVP every week. It was very frustrating because there were so many ways that they could’ve made this MVP thing more fun. For instance- take the top 3 America voted that week and then have the houseguests themselves vote on who the MVP would be. America/the producers tend to rig things so if the houseguests voted that would make the paranoia, alliances and everything else that much more on a heightened level and therefore enjoyable. But all we saw was Elissa be in control and then Amanda be on the block every week because America despised her/Aaryn wasn’t eligible.

16 PEOPLE!!- I’m all for a bigger cast each year, but 16 became kind of a bit much. Plus this was an extended season so the usual 70-75 days they spend in the BB house became 90 days. It just felt like it went on for a while and because there weren’t that many likable people in the game it just felt like it dragged on (and still feels like that). When the four jury members came back into the game that one night, I was like- JESUS were are 70 days into this game and there are still like 11 people in the house. WTF. It just became exasperating and that is that.

Now onto how each player in eviction order-

David- You were the a typical “asshat” lifeguard who only came on the show to have a showmance with the racist. As Andy lovely put it, “You Won A Hamburger”. That’s all you put into this game. BAI.

Nick- Nick was really one of the only likable contestants I saw in the beginning, but Elissa made a very smart move in nominating him as MVP and then Helen doing all the work to get him out. As I’ve said recently regarding GM- run for the mother fucking hills dude.

Jeremy- Winegate. Rubbing your ass on other people’s clothes. Homophobia. Sexism. Putting people down. That’s all you, brah. What a great guy you are.

Kaitlin- Kaitlin at that point was viewed as the strongest of the “Mean Girls” alliance and the house was smart for getting her out. Looking back it should’ve been Aaryn that week due to that in the weeks after she became a beast of a competitor, but Kaitlin was the smart choice and she could’ve gone the distance I believe had she stayed.

Howard- I loved Howard for so many reasons besides the fact that he is beyond sexy. He was a true gentleman in the game and never raised his voice when he had ample opportunities to do so in regards to the insane racism that so many other things that happened. He protected Candice and was just an all around good guy. The problem he had was his physical stature and his lie to Helen regarding that ridiculous alliance he had in the beginning of the game. I hope he gets to play again in future seasons because I really think he wasn’t given a fair shot.

Candice- My boo. Although she got a little bat shit cray cray in the house, I really loved Candice because she was an expressive individual that unfortunately played with her emotions too much in this game and that is why she left. She was really smart as to be the first one in the house to try to get Amanda out but unfortunately it was to no avail. I think she is one of the only wildcard votes in the jury house also.

Jessie- Put it this way- sweet girl but had no power whatsoever in the game to do anything as she was always in the bottom end of the totem pole in both alliances she was in.

Helen- From week 2 I had Helen truly making the distance in this game. She reminded me of a lot of people that won this game in past years from Maggie to Dan in that she had a firm grip on her alliance and was a great leader that people listened to. She had one big problem- Andy, who I believe was the reason for her demise, not Amanda. Him swaying to the 4AM Alliance really helped him out for a while and that side was able to get out a truly great competitor. If they do All Stars again, I hope she is someone considered.

Aaryn- BOY OH BOY I CAN’T WAIT FOR WEDNESDAY! Why? For so many reasons. This is where I truly hope CBS gets really smart and shows EVERYTHING SHE SAID so that she can get a better idea of how much of a disgusting, vile piece of shit that she truly is. No, your mother can’t even help you out in this one girl. You did this yourself. As awesome as that eviction interview that Ms. Chen did it didn’t even scratch the mark in terms of all the nasty and putrid things you said in the game. Good luck in the future Aaryn with anything, you are royally screwed for life and if you would’ve just kept your damn mouth shut and faked it in this game we would’ve rooted for you because you were a badass competitor. Stupid.

Amanda- You are a scary girl. They gave you an amazing edit almost to the end but for everyone who watched the live feeds and saw who you really were really is why you were the one on the block every week thanks to MVP. Amanda really was a smart cookie in the game as she controlled a good amount of the evictions until Elissa won HOH and that’s when everything crumbled and her power was no more. I give GM a ton of credit for putting her McRanda on the block and sending her out of the game as she would’ve been a tough one to beat in the end. She is a mixture of Dr. Will in terms of gameplay and Evil Dick in terms of mouthiness. Yikes.

Elissa- So boring and forgetful I forgot to even include you in the original posting of this article. Wow. You played this game as such a polar opposite of Rachel in terms of how quiet and non-confrontational you were. That is all in fine, as Rachel got quite annoying in the game sometimes, but it took you almost 60 days to win a damn competition and do things. I do have to admit that you were pretty smart when it came to putting up the right people when you were MVP (David, Nick) but besides that you were just a wallflower that really wasn’t going to garner any votes in the end. Sorry/Not Sorry.

Judd- The Stud? Judd played a really great game originally and if Helen were to look back on things she would’ve convinced Aaryn to either A- keep the nominations of Spencer/Jessie the same, or B- get Amanda out that night. She went after the wrong person. As happy as I was for Judd to come back into the game, he really didn’t do much game play upon his arrival except for the whole “Exterminators” deal. The fellow 3 exterminators were smart to get rid of him yet I do wonder if he would’ve garnered any votes in the end of the game based off the idea that he got a 2nd chance to play.

McCrae- I had such high hopes for this guy originally in this game. He had the chance to be that Dan, Ian or Dr. Will and he blew it by hiding in Amanda’s panties the entire summer. Seriously. He won the first HOH and then after that had Amanda do all the dirty work while he slept all summer and didn’t socialize. The only vote he would’ve gotten in the end was Amanda’s, that’s it. He only has himself to blame for this one.

As for the remaining three, I will save that for a later article detailing who has the best chance to win in this game and ultimately how I think they made it to the end of the game. Needless to say, this wasn’t a good season of Big Brother at all and I hope in future seasons that the producers learn from their mistakes and just cast FANS of this game and not you know, racists. Check out the finale this Wednesday night at 9:30 pm Eastern on CBS.

Racism In The Bear Community- Choice or Discrimination?

by Ryan Shea

A couple of months back I wrote an article about how the bear community has become quite known for its racism within it and how it is a big part of its culture today. In the time since then, I have heard several different angles on this matter that ultimately brings up some really good points to think of. People seemed to have a general idea that because I am white that this article really only pertained to white people being racists in this community. That is completely untrue, that sort of a thing can happen with any race in terms of how they view a different color. The point that I was getting at in that article in particular was the discrimination that not only particular races felt but other factors such as size, shape and even attitude.

But is that really discrimination or is it just a choice in how you view your partner? Men as well all know are very sex driven, so it is almost a split second decision most of the time when we see someone else and are either attracted to them or not. If you view someone of a certain size or color and aren’t attracted to them, what does that make you? Same thing goes for that as a whole, if you aren’t into white guys or chasers or Asians or what not, how would you characterize yourself then? For me personally, as stated previously, if you denounce an entire race or body size or whatever based on your own preconceived notions or anything like that, it might not be racist or whatever terminology you want to call it but it is discriminatory. You don’t get to know the person beyond the aesthetic, something that is a growing problem in this “need it now”, “want it now” world that we live in. We don’t slow down enough to get to know someone, and in that regards you might change your minds on things.

I do stand up though for what I wrote in the last article about how bears are viewed in the media- white. Every single Bear movie and series that is out there right now has an all white cast. I mean, in one particular movie they filmed scenes at Rockbar in New York City. Rockbar is one of the most, if not the most, diverse bear bars in the country and the entire scene filmed had white guys. It just really gives a bad impression.

So this can be a really tricky subject no matter how you look at it. How do you view how you choose your partners in this hectic gay world that we live in?

RPDR: Battle Of The Seasons @ Paramount Tomorrow Night!

by Ryan Shea

LOGO’s very own “Rupaul’s Drag Race” is one of the hottest reality shows out there today, and has truly put not only LOGO on the map but several of its stars over the past five seasons. The show has also birthed many spin offs, including “Drag U” where women get made over by past drag contestants, and an “All-Star” edition where some of the best contestants compete for the title at hand. Now the show is going on tour across America and is stopping in Huntington at the Paramount Theater tomorrow night for it’s “Battle Of The Seasons”.

The show will be hosted by head judge and Rupaul’s bestie Michelle Visage who came into the show on Season 3 with a roar and a much larger (and better in my opinion) presence than her predecessors. We even did an interview with her a couple of months ago shortly after Season 5 finished. You can check it out here.

Some of the other contestants who will be lighting up the stage and dazzling you on Saturday night include past winners of the show including Season 5’s Jinkx Monsoon and the “Spooktacular” Sharon Needles. Also on hand is Sharon’s boyfriend and Season 5 runner up Alaska Thunderfuck, who came out of the woodwork in her season to prove that she can stand alone in her season and not just be a Sharon knock off. Fellow Season 5 competitor and runner up Detox will also be there, who became quite famous for “Boy Is A Bottom” a parody version of Alicia Keys “Girl On Fire” which she did with Season 4 contestant Willam and fellow drag queen Vicky Vox.

New York Natives Ivvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvy Winters and Phi Phi O’ Hara will also be on hand as well as Jersey girl Carmen Carrera and Mimi Imfurst, who is good and lifting fellow queens. Hehe. All in all, it should be a great time if you are a die hard Drag Race fan like me. Check out Paramount’s website for more information. This should be one that is not to miss!

My Road To The VMA’s… Why Persistence Pays Off

by Ryan Shea

I can honestly say that the past three years for me have truly been quite the amazing trip when it comes to so many different facets of my life, yet one thing remains clear in all of them- I didn’t allow anyone else to make my destiny that is my life today. Three years ago, I was out of work with no money to my name, student loans were piling up and I started to think things like “Why did I even bother going to college” and “Fuck this economy” and so on and so forth. While I was out of work, I had a great conversation with a lifelong friend of mine who suggested that I started writing seeing as they know how much I love the music industry and they felt that would be a good platform for me to start with. And so my road to the Video Music Awards started…

I got hired by the multi-purpose website Examiner literally two hours after I applied. My original title was “Long Island Hip-Hop Examiner” which I was more than happy about having seeing as hip-hop tends to be my favorite type of music and ultimately my forte when it comes to writing. I started writing about my own personal feelings about the industry in itself and started getting a following shortly after that and was able to interview a bunch of acts in Long Island that weren’t always necessarily the hip-hop vibe. Regardless, it was a great starting off point for me but I never really saw it as a career because the pay was pathetically low and it didn’t pertain to what I majored in in college.

I continued to make leeway for Examiner for the next year or so but nothing really seemed to come out of it the way that I wanted it to. Finally I was granted passes to The Vans Warped Tour in July of 2012. It was there that I met a pivotal role model for myself, Glenn Gamboa at Newsday. He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met and is uber professional in so many different ways. Newsday is a paper that I have been reading since I was a kid on Long Island, and the thought of writing an article for such an esteemed paper really made me want to push myself harder than I ever have before. I came up with a great idea for the paper which he loved and I continued to work on it over the next month or so.

Around that time, I got an email from a PR agency out in Los Angeles asking me if I wanted to interview T-Pain. That’s right, chart topping, Grammy award winning hip-hopper T-Pain. I instantly replied back with an emphatic YES (or as I like to say lately YAAAAAAAAAAASSS) and interviewed him the next day over the phone. That was when it really set in that I was doing something right for agencies to feel comfortable enough for me to interview someone on that level and my drive, which I already thought was at an all time high, increased exponentially over what had happened.

I got to write for hip-hop site HipHopDX and do an in depth story about the never ending saga of beef and problems at hip-hop award shows, something that got me recognized by many up and coming rappers and people alike for just that one article. I also had a good stint at AOL’s “The Boombox” in which I interviewed legends in the game from LL Cool J to Fat Joe just to name a few. About a month later some sort of ubiquity happened. The article that I pitched for Newsday was finally becoming a reality. On February 19th, 2013, I woke up extra early to see where I would land in the paper. I am glad that I went into this with no expectations because I actually was the cover story in the supplemental section of Newsday called “Explore LI”. I was in total disbelief and shock and couldn’t have been more on cloud 9 than I ever was before. Just baffled that such an esteemed paper would take a new kid on the block and write something that they deemed worthy of a cover story. Truly blessed.

Around this time is when me and my partner in crime Lane developed this site, Manhattan Digest. Since its inception we have garnered close to 200K in views which is huge for a new site. I have been able to interview some really big people in the celebrity world for my site such as Kristin Cavallari to Andy Grammer and the writers for this site have gone above and beyond what was necessary of them to make this site a success. It is most likely the reason why I was granted a press pass to the Video Music Awards last week. I was one of 126 press outlets that were invited out of thousands and for that I am truly grateful and happy. The moral you should get out of this story is this- Be persistent, be patient, but above all realize that you make your own destiny in life. No one else does.

Hanson rocks the house at Paramount

by Ryan Shea

Ah, nostalgia. You never know when it is going to happen or where it is coming from. And last night, it hit me like a sack of bricks. Taylor, Zach and Isaac Hanson, better known as, you know, Hanson, came to the Paramount Theater last night in Huntington as part of their “Hanson Anthem World Tour” in which Long Island (Huntington specifically) was one of the lucky spots. Honestly, I originally went because a good friend of mine is a gigantic fan of theirs so I figured I would make her night and get us some seats and go. The turnaround was that I left in just as good spirits as she did, and was pleasantly surprised at how phenomenal they were in person.

Hanson really exemplifies what isn’t around in the music industry anymore, which ultimately is home-bred talent. They made an announcement during the concert last night that this marks their 20th year working together (which also made me feel elderly as two of them are around the same age as me) but it also made me realize how much of an accomplishment that is for a band to do itself. There is a good population of people out there who for one don’t know who they are because they were popular in the late 90’s and two only see them as that band that did “MMMBop”. Last night proved they were so much more than those near-sighted people and really gave quite a spectacular performance.

The opening performer of the night was Paul McDonald, who some might know for a couple of reasons. One, he was a top 8 finalist on season 10 of American Idol and he is also married to “Twilight” hottie Nikki Reed. Normally I don’t stick around for the opening act but he fit the bill completely and did great number after great number and I hope he breaks the American Idol curse per se of contestants who become a has been even though they are immensely talented.

Now, onto the main thrill of the night. Hanson did really a great mix of old and new stuff. The true fans knew all of the songs that they did whereas the former fairweathered fans (this guy here, now I am legit) knew the popular ones. Each song was incredible in its own way. They performed their new singles “Get The Girl Back” and “Been There Before” and also had some fantastic solo pieces from Zac (“Go”) and Isaac (“Love Song”) both of whom I have to say have cleaned up quite nicely since their long haired days in the late 90’s. Of course, to my delight and happiness, they did some of their classics such as “Where’s The Love”, “This Time Around” and the pivotal track that earned them Grammy nominations and adoration from millions of fans, “MMMBop”. The only song that was noticeably missing was my personal favorite song of theirs, “I Will Come To You”. Sad face indeed.

Overall the concert was great and if invited I would definitely go and see them again. Such a talented trio that I really hope sees the mainstream world again one day and ushers in a new generation of Hanson fans.

Lucky Strike- Fantasy Football Leagues, Superbowl Tickets and More!

by Ryan Shea

Lucky Strike, the nationally-acclaimed entertainment venue known for its premium bowling, is offering leagues the opportunity to host their fantasy football draft parties at their various locations across the country, including Manhattan and West Nyack. They’re making the drafting process convenient and fun, which is key when bringing leagues together during this important time of the fantasy football season!

Additionally, if your league wants to engage in even more competition, Lucky Strike is hosting “Lucky Football Parlay” at all of their locations. If fans pick 4 or even 10 pro football game winners, they have the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the 2015 Super Bowl, $10,000 in cash, 2 tickets to your favorite pro football game, $200 Lucky Party gift certificates, free bowling and shoes, and game day food and drink specials.

Oh and here is just a preview of the food and drink that will be provided if you do this whole “league” thing. My mouth is watering already-

The Game Day Menu with made-to-share group patters that consist of: $7 Chipotle Beef Quesadillas, $8 BBQ Pull Chicken Sandwiches, $9 Buffalo Chicken Nachos, $9 BBQ Mini Chicken Burgers, $10 Flatbread Cheeseburger Pizza, as well as $3 Draft & Well Drinks.

The Hail Mary Package includes 3 Hours of Draft Beer & Wine and 2 items from the Spare Snacks Menu, which consists of: Mac & Cheese Bites, Soft Pretzel Dippers, Grilled Apple & Brie Quesadilla, Fresh Made Guacamole, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Belgian Fries, Classic Cheese Flatbread Pizza, Margherita Flatbread Pizza, Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza, Chopped Tossed Caesar and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. Packages vary by city.

I recently made my first visit to the Lucky Strike location in the heart of Times Square on 42^nd Street between 11^th and 12^th. I was invited with two of my friends to enjoy an afternoon of food, drinks and of course what makes Lucky Strike so great- bowling. The wait staff and managers were incredibly friendly and the food and drinks were tasty and delicious. And of course the BOWLING! I forget how much fun bowling really is and it brings back such great memories from when I was growing up. The energy in there was phenomenal as we played next to some big families and friends alike and it’s a really great place to go to for any type of celebration or if you are just having a great afternoon with your friends.

Time is running out to reserve your spot for the football league! So call 424-2-SCORE-2 or email [email protected] for more information. And of course, stay up to date with everything Lucky Strike by checking out their official site!

Fall Music 2013- It will be epic!!!

by Ryan Shea

Maybe it’s just me, but the music scene so far in 2013 has been pretty legit for the first time in a long time. The summer alone has brought us some inescapable and funk’dafied jams from “Blurred Lines” to “Get Lucky” to “Summertime Sadness” to name a few. It also brought us Miley Cyrus f***ing herself with a foam finger and wearing a Gaga latex rip off Sunday night. I think I am going to vomit. Regardless, with the fall season rapidly approaching it also is a reminder that some of the biggest names in music will be dropping their records in the upcoming months, thus making this guy here very excited for what is to come for 2013 and beyond. Seeing as the VMA’s was a preview for some of the incredible music we are about the unveil in the upcoming months, one can only hope that it will segue into an amazing 2014. Let’s start off with the news that got me insanely giddy.

Eminem- The Marshall Mathers 2.

Eminem as far as I am concerned was MY GENERATION. He was everything to so many of us growing up in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and has continued to be a dominating force not only in the hip-hop industry but in the music industry period. At the Video Music Awards it was announced that his highly anticipated new album, the follow up to 2000’s “Marshall Mathers LP” will be dropped on November 5th and the first single off the album called “Berzerk” has already shot to number one in less than a day of it debuting on iTunes. “Berzerk” is such an insane throw back for so many different reasons yet has a modern edge to it. It also proves why he is the fucking man still practically fourteen years after his debut in 99. Expect this album to do some severe damage on the charts and for him to educate a whole new generation of people on the school that is Eminem.

Katy Perry- Prism

Katy Perry has come quite a way since her days of kissing a girl (I never liked it personally. Not her, kissing girls.) Her last album “Teenage Dream” did the unthinkable in that she tied (and almost topped) Michael Jackson’s record of the most number one singles off of a single album (California Girls, title track, E.T., Last Friday Night, Firework) and received numerous awards and a pivotal nomination for “Album of the Year” at the Grammy’s. Well after a semi-quiet year from her after the long haul of her sophomore album success, she has come back full throttle with the first single off of Prism called “Roar” which quickly debuted at number one on the iTunes charts and raced up to number two on the Billboard Charts (expect it to dethrone “Blurred Lines” this week). The album “Prism” is set to hit shelves on October 22nd and the second single called “Dark Horse” is set to hit airwaves in a couple of weeks. “Blur” is a slower paced version of a lead off single than she normally does but somehow it works as she is very good at belting out a pop hit or two and this album will no doubt compete with Eminem and a couple others for the top spot in the fall.

Lady Gaga- Artpop

As much as I love Lady Gaga, and I really do, she needs this album to be freaking phenomenal compared to what I and many people think was a lackluster third effort with “Born This Way”. That album just felt very rushed and ill planned and conceived as well as it didn’t really hold a candle to what “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster” really did. “Artpop” is set to be released right before Thanksgiving on November 22nd and the leadoff single “Applause” really isn’t taking off like a lot of people thought it would. The song debuted at number 6 on the Billboard Charts where as its biggest competitor “Roar” by Katy Perry debuted at number two instead. She has an insane fan base so it is a given that this album will do well but I don’t think “Applause” was the right start off single. Hopefully her follow up songs will prove why she is one of the best out there right now and a force to be reckoned with in the world of pop.

Justin Timberlake- The 20/20 Experience Part Two

What a comeback year this has been for the prince of pop ey? Part one of “The 20/20 Experience” debuted at number one back in early 2013 with an impressive near million first week sales and nothing has stopped him since. Things really took it to another level with his EPIC VMA performance on Sunday night which included a very abbreviated reunion of the band that made him famous in the first place, NSYNC. He also was the recipient of two major awards that night, The Michael Jackson “Video Vanguard Award” and the ultimate- Video of the Year for his second single off “20/20” called “Mirrors”. Well now expect to hear much more from Justin as part two of “20/20” is scheduled to be released on September 30th with the leadoff single “Take Back The Night” already released last month. Hard to believe you can do two albums in one year, but then again this is a man we haven’t heard any new material from in 7 years, so bring it.

MTV’s Video Music Awards- Live From The Red Carpet

by Ryan Shea

After doing this whole blogging thing for the past three or so years, I can honestly say that all my hard work and dedication has somewhat led up to what occurred on Sunday night. I represented Manhattan Digest at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on The Red Carpet and stood beside some of the biggest press outlets in the world, from Entertainment Tonight to Reuters to Access Hollywood to name a few. Truly, I felt honored and quite humbled to just be there and the exhilarating feeling of walking across the red carpet was something I will never really forget.

The day started with my trek to Brooklyn from Long Island. Once I got to Brooklyn, I waited in line with a ton of other press outlets who were eagerly waiting to see what was going to happen next. The amazing thing is that even six or seven hours early, there was a massive crowd outside of fans and people alike. I’m so happy that MTV decided to do this in Brooklyn as so many real music fans and performers alike were born and bred here. We were then redirected inside The Barclay Center, where we were treated to some great audio in the sense of all the VMA performers doing their rehearsals. Shortly after, we lined up and made our way to the red carpet where the night really took off.

The red carpet itself was magical in its own way, with stars from across the board showing up for quite possibly the most buzzed about and trendiest award show of the night. Early arrivals from Snooki and Kendrick Lamar got things going and the energy and excitement from the fans on the red carpet and even the ones who were hanging in the buildings adjacent from the Barclay Center was incredible as the sunlight went down and it progressed into nighttime.

We were treated to pre-VMA performances on the red carpet from Artist To Watch winner Austin Mahone and fresh-faced newbie Arianna Grande, who recently scored a top ten hit with rapper Mac Miller in her song “The Way”. Some of the biggest starts towards the end of the red carpet from the Twerking and foam finger loving Miley Cyrus to multiple winners Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Hollywood Legend Will Smith who memorably made the face above when seeing that Miley performance. Tee hee. The only stars that managed to not show up to the red carpet was Britney Spears (who was rumored to be in Brooklyn- DAMMIT!) and Justin Timberlake and NSYNC as they were the surprise performance of the night (that I wish would’ve lasted a little longer. Sad face indeed).

Although I didn’t go to the award show itself, it didn’t really matter to me. I was able to meet and greet people that most people only get a chance to see on the big screen. The whole experience itself was just amazing. I have said this before and will say it again and again- persistence and perseverance pays off in the long run. It always does. If you truly believe something it will happen, without a doubt. Oh and Will Smith said hey to me. The pic is above. Yeayuhhhh. For all things VMA’s and MTV, check out MTV.com

Ryan Shea

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