There isn’t much of any trace left of the Old New York. You know, the 1980s brand that millennials are always romanticizing after watching “The Pope of Greenwich Village” and “Desperately Seeking Susan” and begin to somehow delude themselves into thinking they wouldn’t have been murdered on the spot upon crossing from Avenue C to Avenue D. Michael Musto, however, is just such a remaining trace. If you don’t know him from his famed column, “La Dolce Musto,” in the sadly much less relevant The Village Voice (now surrendering to ending their print incarnation,) then maybe you recognize him from one of the many pop culture shows on E!, VH1, et. al, that he has regularly appeared on as a commentator. And lord knows he certainly loves to bill himself as a “Madonna expert” and talk about her (“In the early 1980s, I found myself on a double bill with a rising singer I’d never heard of; her name was Madonna. My Motown cover band had equal billing, but that clearly eluded Madonna’s team, who saw the downtown club gig as a showcase for her and her alone.”) on whatever show he can, detailing how he shared a bill with her back when he was in a band called The Must and she in one called Emmy and the Emmys.
Apart from his brief stint in a band, it was Musto-as-fixture in the downtown scene in its prime that made him illustrious for being the eyes and ears – the original Carrie Bradshaw, if you will – of all things below 14th Street. Musto’s renown and credibility as a journalist further skyrocketed in the late 90s when he was the first to break the story about the murder of drug dealer Andre “Angel” Melendez by Michael Alig, club kid extraordinaire. His trenchant assessment of the NYC club scene gave him the cachet of having a voice and perspective that no one else at the time (and even now) does. Thus, the natural trailblazing correlation between Musto and cable network LOGO was bound to cross paths at some point (especially with print journalism being what it is today: that is to say, defunct.)
Musto will be bringing his usual brand of snark to the network’s website, NewNowNext, with a weekly column called “Musto Unfiltered.” Of the transition to his new role, Musto commented in a press release, “I am thrilled to be joining the excitement at NewNowNext, where I will serve an up-to-the-minute array of hot topics, interviews, and opinions. I will celebrate the underdog—but I will also take no prisoners. As Cher says, ‘Keep your eyes open, bitch.’”
Wise words to implement from the woman that inspired the likes of just one of many LOGO staples, Chad Michaels.
