​Yes, it's finally that time of year, the point at which we're all forced to stop dithering and decide once and for all if, say, "Party Rock Anthem," really was one of the 10 best singles released in the past 12 months. In other words, if you're among the 1800-plus critics included in our database, a 2011 Pazz and Jop ballot should have appeared in your inbox early this evening Eastern time. If you were expecting a ballot and have yet to receive one, or if you're writing regularly and would like to be included, email Maura at mjohnston@villagevoice.com, me at nmurray@villagevoice.com, or the trustworthy pazzandjop@villagevoice.com, and we'll see what we can do. Polls close on December 23 and the issue comes out on January 18, which should give you plenty of time to figure out whether it would be cool to vote for The Coup's "5 Million Ways to Kill a C.E.O." via the year of impact rule.

​Good day. It is with great regret that I inform you that this will be my last week at the Voice -- I am moving to San Francisco to take a job as managing editor of Rhapsody and raise a child in a slightly larger apartment with (hopefully) in-unit laundry facilities. It is with great pleasure, however, that I announce the indomitable Maura Johnston as the new Voice music editor.

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​It will come as no great surprise that Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy reigned supreme in this year's edition of Pazz & Jop, the Voice's 38-year-old critics' poll, this year welcoming 708 voters who emphatically agreed on both the year's best album and the best song (that'd be Cee Lo's "Fuck You"). But there's still plenty of analysis to be done, and with that, we proudly present Pazz & Jop 2010, featuring the tabulating genius of one Glenn McDonald, and trenchant essays from Eric Harvey, Simon Reynolds, Charles Aaron, Clover Hope, Tom Breihan, Rich Juzwiak, and SOTC's own Camille Dodero, Zach Baron, and Rob Harvilla. Plus voter comments and, of course, a couple giant lists. Settle in, take a look, and let us know what you think. And for those of you not here in NYC (or unable to pry open your frozen-shut Voice newspaper box), here's the cover of the print edition, featuring Kanye dressed in a totally reasonable-looking outfit while riding in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Enjoy, and thanks as always for your patronage.

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​Verily, it is Top 10 season, wherein frazzled rock critics nationwide distill a year's worth of frantic listening into handy list form, as exemplified by the Voice's annual Pazz & Jop poll, which compiles nearly 700 critics' favorite albums and singles. Last year Animal Collective and Jay-Z prevailed; this year's results will be published in mid-January. Ballots were emailed out early this week -- if you're a regular voter but haven't gotten yours yet, please let me know at rharvilla AT villagevoice.com. If you're an enterprising critic who'd like to give it a shot, drop me a line as well, along with a few recent clips, and we'll be happy to have you. And while we wait for a new Single of the Year to be crowned, let's pay homage to the still-reigning champ:

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​Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we've finally joined the 21st Century--please like us on Facebook, where we've just signed up, after seeing a little movie called The Social Network. And, as always, you can follow us on Twitter too, at @soundofthecity. If you don't, we'll shoot this adorable baby panther. That's how the internet works, right?

​In 2003, this paper sent the writer Elizabeth Mendez Berry to profile Jay-Z on the eve of the release of what was then supposed to be his retirement record, The Black Album. Toward the end of the piece, which was published almost exactly seven years ago, Berry transcribes an interaction she had with Jay:

When I met with him, I gave him a copy of a critical--and I do mean critical--essay on Reasonable Doubt, Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter, and The Blueprint that I contributed to the book Classic Material. The following day, he called to tell me that it provoked him to write a new second verse for "Public Service Announcement." He said that what he appreciated most about the piece was its honesty, and invited me to come to Baseline and hear the cut.

She hears it, eventually, but is left--along with the reader--guessing somewhat as to what role she played in the writing of the verse. Not anymore. On November 16, Spiegel & Grau will publish Decoded, the much anticipated "narrative journey through the lyrics and life" of Jay-Z, written by the rapper with the former Source editor (and occasional Voice contributor) Dream Hampton. In the book, Jay finally tells his side of the story as far as what happened between him and Berry, and how she influenced the writing of one of the great Jay-Z songs. We took the liberty of excerpting that part, below. Enjoy:

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​A quick programming note to complement our exhaustive CMJ panel coverage: "Curmudgeons of Rock," the greatest symposium of them all, is happening today at 2 p.m. at NYU's Kimmel Center, featuring the notably non-curmudgeonly opinions of Sean Fennessey, Maura Johnston, Charles Aaron, Nitsuh Abebe, and, sadly, myself. Christopher R. Weingarten will be mocked in absentia; I asked if I could borrow his iconic hat, but he lost it in Florida. Get yourself psyched up for this with the following:

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​Da Capo's annual Best Music Writing series is as close as rock scribes get to the Oscars; we are happy to report that this year's edition, out November 9, features two Voice pieces: Greg Tate's Michael Jackson eulogy "The Man in Our Mirror" and Raquel Cepeda's "Another Love TKO: Teens Grapple with Rihanna vs. Chris Brown." Congrats to both of 'em, and to the rest of this year's honorees, featuring quite a few friends and cohorts of ours, including Maura Johnston, Jessica Hopper, Phillip Mlynar, Barry Walters, Jon Caramanica, Randall Roberts, and the honorable, Linkin Park-loving (no, seriously) Christopher R. Weingarten, who's already got his 2011 entry worked out:

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​CMJ is next week, in the likely event that snuck up on you, so as you map out your schedule (factoring in Friday's Marnie Stern-starring Voice day party, of course), note also the finest panel of the week, going down Wednesday at 2 p.m. It is called "Curmudgeons of Rock." I am involved. I did not know it was called "Curmudgeons of Rock" when I agreed to get involved.

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Rhett Miller, whose name has the misfortune of rhyming with mine

​I knew this day would come. Today via mass email I learned that a piqued local musician -- aliases include CXB, Touching You, and many other charming handles deployed in emails I've been idly skimming for nearly five years -- has written a charming ditty titled "Kill Harvilla," providing both the lyrics and the instrumental MP3. Against my better judgment, I have provided both below, taking the liberty of marking with asterisks those lines I consider to be falsehoods.

Ahem:

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