The New York Observer says the NY Times is looking for a replacement for the critic, who is leaving for the New Yorker. The candidates:

According to several sources with knowledge of the situation, the paper has already been in contact with at least two people: Jon Caramanica, a Brooklyn native and Harvard graduate who is the music editor at Vibe (a position that he’s leaving later this week, a source said); and Jody Rosen, Slate’s music critic, who wrote the cover story on country singer Taylor Swift for the current issue of Blender.