<![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender" - Idolator Comments]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/idolator.com.png <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender" - Idolator Comments]]> http://idolator.com Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:54:44 EST Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:54:44 EST http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3686761 Joe Levy is one of the brightest editors I've ever worked with, and certainly the most even-handed. .

I think the answer to Luke's question is: Therapy.

It obviously didn't work for me! : )

DeborahFrost

]]> 33:342700:c3686761 Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:54:44 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3680118 Joe, my question is very personal: How do you do it? How do you keep upbeat and so wonderful?

Luke N Atmaguchi

]]> 33:342700:c3680118 Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:43:27 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3651177 Anonymity is the Dutch courage of bloggers, so it's relevant to point out here that SlimShadenfruede's real name is Gary French.

Here's a bio he posted online in 2004 when he was creative director of Drill magazine:

A veteran of the men's magazine scene, French's design background includes stints at a range of men's magazines including Blender, Stuff, Maxim, Maxim Fashion, and FHM. He has also worked at USA Network and Mirabella. In addition, French's pop-star illustrations appeared regularly in Blender.

He now works for AtticWitt.com, where his bio reads:

Gary French (The Art Guy) has over 10 years of experience overseeing creative design teams in editorial and advertising.

Gary's most recent position was at the New York City headquarters of the U.K. based custom publishing house, John Brown Publishing. At John Brown, Gary developed and was Art Director of their first original title, Drill, a competitor to Maxim.

Gary began his design career at Hachette Filipacchi, eventually becoming Art Director of Popular Photography. He then moved to Dennis Publishing. At Dennis, Gary oversaw layout and illustration for the marketing and advertising materials of Stuff, Maxim and Blender.

Gary's minor role at Blender would not have put him in close contact with Craig Marks, who was the editor of the magazine.

robtannenbaum

]]> 33:342700:c3651177 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:03:24 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3641905 Learn how to spell Schadenfreude, Slim!

sfbeary

]]> 33:342700:c3641905 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:37:08 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3640442 Slim is also pointing a gun at me :(

VanillaXtraDry

]]> 33:342700:c3640442 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:33:02 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3636541 Libeling someone the day they lose their job. Nice. This is why Gawker sites and their odious commenters are held in even lower esteem than dying print media.

C.R.E.A.M.

]]> 33:342700:c3636541 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:12:28 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3632759 @SlimShadenfruede: You are such bad person. leave us now!

Cheap Shot

]]> 33:342700:c3632759 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:25:37 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3632532 @jackbarber: Before you ask the Gawker gods to get rid of me, I hope they read your past comments:

"Why has Gawker gotten so collegiate all of a sudden? I could give a shit about Dartmouth, Bard, Wesleyean (which I'm too dumb to even spell) etc"

Dumb you are! I speak the truth, you speak lies. hahahahhahahahahahahahahahahaaha!

SlimShadenfruede

]]> 33:342700:c3632532 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:11:53 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3632204 @SlimShadenfruede: Thanks for thoroughly discrediting yourself, but time for you to move on.

Gawker, could you ban this person? Ban me too, if necessary, but get rid of this garbage and improve the level of discourse here.

jackbarber

]]> 33:342700:c3632204 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:51:01 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3632140 Is Kobe Bryant allowed to use the phrase "Rape Hot", or is there a blanket ban??

StuntKockSteeev

]]> 33:342700:c3632140 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:46:50 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3631475 I've worked with both, and both are seriously decent human beings. That said, Joe Levy is pretty fucking hilarious. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what he's going to bring to a magazine I already like. Anyway, RS is getting so boring. Bring on the witty captions, Levy. (Sorry, Marks.)

bridgeburner

]]> 33:342700:c3631475 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:16:00 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3630228 Ahhh, just as expected all the defensive commenters are people Craig actually hired so GO FUCK YOURSELVES. Go back to your asskissing fading jobs.

SlimShadenfruede

]]> 33:342700:c3630228 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:24:24 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3628767 Case in point: He probably could have helped make my previous comment a bit more zippy.

Brian Raftery

]]> 33:342700:c3628767 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:35:39 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3628755 I haven't written for Blender in a while, but I always liked Craig, both professionally and personally.

Brian Raftery

]]> 33:342700:c3628755 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:35:10 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3628424 Blender is the Stereogum of music magazines, down to the blog-awful writing, vapid trendiness and my masochistic desire to keep reading it.

G3K

]]> 33:342700:c3628424 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:24:29 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3627650 I have worked with Craig at various magazines for years and he is a close personal friend. He would never advocate a sick phrase like "rape hot." In 1993, he coproduced the pro-choice benefit album "Born to Choose" -- the project was his idea and he fought against the fears of record execs to see it to fruition, finally, at Rykodisc. He's supported the careers of writers like Elizabeth Gilbert and editors like Kim France. His wife, Rene Steinke, is a National Book Award finalist and a strong feminist. Craig is a great editor and I know he will land on his feet. No disresepect to Joe, he is also a great editor (I worked with him at the Voice in the 1990s), but please stop bashing Craig. Those who know him, know his worth.

annkpowers

]]> 33:342700:c3627650 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:56:14 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3622713 oh, and by the way, andy p is a total tool. it was a mercy killing.

flathead

]]> 33:342700:c3622713 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:56:55 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3622664 Craig may be a tough nut and not the most warm and fuzzy mag ed in town, but he's done a great job putting out a decent magazine for a creepy publishing company. he's probably lucky to get out of Kent's clutches. Why Joe would go there is hard to fathom, since I doubt Kent is inclined to make him rich. So who's the next editor of RS gonna be? Jonathan Safran Foer?

flathead

]]> 33:342700:c3622664 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:55:19 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3622037 I worked with Craig Marks for three years at SPIN. I can't imagine him ever having used the phrase "rape hot." And I was with him in meetings where the dialogue about cover choices could sink as low as it could go. He stood out as a person of decency in that realm. Try again.

lilyaustin

]]> 33:342700:c3622037 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:31:59 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3621898 @robtannenbaum: Second that.

jackbarber

]]> 33:342700:c3621898 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:27:09 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3620213 I've worked with Craig Marks for six years at Blender, have known him for even longer, and have huge respect for him as a magazine editor and as a person. The accusation that he would use the phrase "rape hot" is vile and obviously untrue. Slimshadenfruede can say whatever he wants about the quality of Blender or how Craig "reportedly" behaved at Spin; but an anonymous accusation about rape humor is beyond the spectrum of decent behavior, even behavior motivated by spite and pettiness.

robtannenbaum

]]> 33:342700:c3620213 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:23:37 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3619687 When I worked at RollingStone, Joe seemed cool except for a slight 'God's gift to women' attitude about him. Craig Marks was a COMPLETE asshole (and was reportedly one at Spin) and made terms up like whether a certain star was 'rape hot' or not. I hope his next job sucks.

Previous co-editor Andy Pemberton still has Craig's knife in his back and is probably smiling at the news.

Blender is the perfect magazine for the retard generation.

SlimShadenfruede

]]> 33:342700:c3619687 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:02:11 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3619533 @Chris N.: Dean Wermer.

Lucas Jensen

]]> 33:342700:c3619533 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:55:52 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3618797 There is only one dean.

Chris N.

]]> 33:342700:c3618797 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:24:10 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3618647 Joe Levy's always been one of my guilty crushes. I've long wanted to contempt-shtup him.

Is that wrong?

Elektra

]]> 33:342700:c3618647 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:16:37 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3618338 Not unexpected but handled awfully poorly. Marks is a fine editor and will have no problem lining up a next gig. Kent Brownridge as usual shows no class. End of story.

jackbarber

]]> 33:342700:c3618338 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:56:15 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3618336 And we can now look forward to years and years of VH1 and Blender present the 100 Sexiest Scandaliest Metaliest Hip-Hoppiest Guiltiest Pleasures of the 80's and 90's...3D!!!

SomeSound-MostlyFury

]]> 33:342700:c3618336 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:56:10 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3617981 Maybe now Michael Ian Black will take over Rolling Stone.

Camp Tiger Claw

]]> 33:342700:c3617981 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:30:55 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3617954 Seems like Kent is looking for any way to take Jann down....

Social Light

]]> 33:342700:c3617954 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:28:49 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3617938 Craig Marks' entire career as Blender ed was predicated on his being a CLOSE PERSONAL FRIEND of Courtney Love and therefore having access to all the celebs Courtney, ah, palled around with (Winona, Jack Osbourne, Billy Corgan, JT Leroy, and other cutting-edge names). I suppose as soon as Alpha Media's honchos went to People's site and found out Courtney, in a few weeks, was just going to be another old lady drooling on Cornelia St at 3 am, his days were numbered.

Coldouglas

]]> 33:342700:c3617938 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:27:39 EST <![CDATA[Joe Levy Takes The Reins At "Blender"]]> http://idolator.com/342700/joe-levy-takes-the-reins-at-blender#c3617890 What the hell is with rock critics being the "Dean" of things, anyway? Was that ever a cool title/nickname?

Al Shipley

]]> 33:342700:c3617890 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:24:49 EST