Who says America's lost its edge? Raise a glass to the year's most notable rogues, renegades, and rule-breakers

In 1917, Marcel Duchamp took a urinal, flipped it over, signed it r. mutt, and submitted it to an exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists. His simple act set off a conflagration over the nature of creativity that would alter the course of art forever. It takes more than a desecrated commode to rattle the world's cage these days, but those who make an effort—thumbing their noses at the status quo, forging their own paths, and, from time to time, dealing the mainstream a much-needed knee to the groin—deserve our undying gratitude.

Hence, the New Radicals*, Radar's first annual salute to the fanatics, freaks, and fire-starters who, through a combination of raw talent, wit, bravery, and bravado, make wading through this country's pop cultural wasteland tolerable and even worthwhile. To each, we present the Raddy, a golden replica of Duchamp's iconic pissoir. That they were all willing to accept such a tribute is testament enough to their renegade spirits.

* Not to be confused with the late-'90s one-hit wonder, which, while never particularly new or radical, did manage to make "You Get What You Give" a pretty damn catchy tune.

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COMIC
Kathy Griffin, 47

WHO SHE IS: The blisteringly funny star of Bravo's Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List who subjects the culture of Hollywood to a comedic full-body cavity search.

WHY SHE'S RADICAL: After years of Griffin cracking wise at the industry's expense, her colleagues finally got the funny and awarded her an Emmy. ("Such a beautiful 'fuck you' to all the places that have fired me," she says.) Telling Jesus to "suck it" during her acceptance speech was particularly inspired. The resulting brouhaha has been "a joy and hilarious," if also, in Griffin's estimation, a sign of cultural malaise. "I don't think I would have gotten in this trouble 10 years ago," she says. Then again, there's plenty of blame to go around: "I'm contributing to the dumbing down of America. Congratulations to me, I am not part of the solution, I am part of the problem."

WHERE YOU'LL SEE HER NEXT: Dissing Beyoncé's extensions in stand-up shows across the country and, possibly, in a fourth season of My Life.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE D-LIST: "I'm not saying I don't have my toes in the water of the celebrity world. I'm just saying I'm not allowed in the deep end of the pool. I can give you a little insider scoop because I do occasionally get to go to these parties. But those aren't my peeps and I'm never going to be fully accepted by that crowd. It's just like high school."

Photo: Emily Shur; Hair and Makeup: Suzanne Givens; Stylist: Paul/Luxe Management; Dress: Christian Dior; Shoes: Gucci

MUSICIAN
Spankrock, 26
(a.k.a. Naeem Juwan)

WHO HE IS: A smut-mouthed geek turned master MC addicted to cutting-edge electronica and frank discussions of booty-related issues.

WHY HE'S RADICAL: Having staked his rep on quirky odes to Lindsay Lohan's lady parts and Rick Rubin, Juwan decided to challenge himself with a concept album "concentrated only on sex" and based exclusively on 2 Live Crew samples. The result, coming out next year on Downtown Records, is packed thick with enough obscene club-bangers to fuel an entire night of filthy fun.

WHERE YOU'LL SEE HIM NEXT: In a New York studio, recording another album with XXXChange, his collaborator on 2006's YoYoYoYoYo.

WHY HIS SEX TALK ISN'T CONTROVERSIAL: "I think I'm pretty reasonable with the way I say things. The only people I might offend are my aunts or my mom. Other than that ... it's not like Lindsay Lohan has even heard my music."

Photo: Matthew Salcuse

ACTOR
Jesse Eisenberg, 24

WHO HE IS: A preternaturally adept thespian with a knack for projecting the sort of teenage insecurity the rest of us worked diligently to outgrow.

WHY HE'S RADICAL: Having played hard-to-like adolescents in Roger Dodger and Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale, Eisenberg has decided it's more fun than playing cool kids. "It's frustrating to have to think about being appealing. A character that the audience is supposed to like can't really do anything weird or interesting."

WHERE YOU'LL SEE HIM NEXT: Either in class at the New School, where he's majoring in democracy and cultural pluralism ("it's like anthropology with a political aspect"), or on the red carpet next year for the premiere of Greg Mottola's Adventureland, in which he's starring.

WHY STARDOM SUCKS: "It hurts the process in some ways because it makes me so self-conscious. On set today, someone who I'd never met came up to me and asked if there were any specific foods I needed. I demanded a certain kind of caviar you can only get in Nova Scotia."

Photo: Naomi Harris; Grooming: Angel Dicarlo; Stylist: Karen Levitt/Kramer & Kramer

ACTOR
Kristen Schaal, 29

WHO SHE IS: The treble-voiced mainstay of New York's underground comedy scene and a character on HBO's Flight of the Conchords and AMC's Mad Men.

WHY SHE'S RADICAL: After years of shaking up open mikes with her peculiar sense of humor—"I wanted to create moments where my character seemed to be on the wrong stage," she says, "so I would read random poems as if I were under the impression that it was a different kind of open mike"—she finally got her big break auditioning for Conan O'Brien scouts. She bombed. "I played this character who can't articulate a single word but really loves to act out movies. People hated it so much that I didn't really get invited to do stand-up afterward."

WHERE YOU'LL SEE HER NEXT: On the viral video Penelope: Princess of Pets, which will be forwarded to you at some point in the coming months.

WHERE YOU WON'T SEE HER NEXT: Having recently burned bridges with Trey Parker and Matt Stone ("They decided my ideas were too weird for them") and having been rejected by Comedy Central ("They said they weren't interested in shows with a female lead"), Schaal has recently resolved to independently produce her best ideas and bury them in her backyard. "Then in 20 years I'll be an underground legend. 'Cause the mole people will be watching them."

Photo: Emily Shur; Dress: Couture Couture; Necklace: Roundtree and Richardson

AUTHOR Shalom Auslander, 37
WHO HE IS: God-fearing, angry scribe of Foreskin's Lament, a memoir in which he calls Yahweh all kinds of nasty names.
WHY HE'S RADICAL: Raised in an Orthodox community by devout, if abusive, parents, Auslander concluded early on that "God hates me and he's an asshole." His first collection of stories, Beware of God, was published in 2005. He was inspired to write Foreskin's Lament after his first reaction to his wife's pregnancy was to worry about how the Lord was going to mutilate the kid, which got him wondering, "How did I become this?"
WHERE YOU'LL SEE HIM NEXT: Reading from his novel currently in progress.
HIS GUIDING PHILOSOPHY: "If you took the Old Testament, the New Testament, or the Koran and turned it into a Word document, substituted the name Bill for the word God, and then did a character analysis of Bill, you'd be like, "This Bill is fucked up. Bill is crazy. Not only is he not the hero, he's the villain of the story."

Photo: Naomi Harris

DIRECTOR
Craig Brewer, 36

WHO HE IS: Hirsute helmer of passionate, sweaty, soulful, booty-shakin' Southern dramas like Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan.

WHY HE'S RADICAL: After every studio in town declined to produce Hustle, the tale of a rapping pimp suffering through a midlife crisis, the film seduced Sundance. Even more provocative was Brewer's follow-up, the heartwarming story of a wild-eyed nymphomaniac who gets chained to a radiator for her own damn good. Brewer describes himself as the cinematic equivalent of a bat—"neither bird nor beast. I've got people back home going, 'You're such a sellout making all these big Hollywood movies.' God, if they really knew ... it's a struggle just to get these films going."

WHERE YOU'LL SEE HIM NEXT: Back in Park City, premiering Maggie Lynn, a picture about "what all good country music is about: cheatin'."

ON HIS HOMETOWN INFLUENCE: "I still live in Memphis, a place where men get in fights over girls in parking lots. It is a very passionate place that quickly can turn violent and sexual. Add a little bit of rock and roll and alcohol and streetlamps above you, and that's the world that permeates my films."

Photo: Emily Shur

PUNDITS
The Bloggerati
Jam Donaldson, 34 (hotghettomess.com)
Rod McCullom, 36 (rod20.com)
Eskay, 26 (nahright.com/news)
Angel Laws, 23 (concreteloop.com)

WHO THEY ARE: The bomb-lobbing vanguard of the new black blogosphere.

WHY THEY'RE RADICAL: After a blitzkrieg of posts stoked national outrage over the Jena Six case, writers like Angel, Jam, Eskay, and Rod can no longer be ignored. With fresh perspectives on diverse aspects of black culture (Angel and Eskay focus on entertainment, Rod chimes in on gay issues, and Jam has crafted what can only be described as a ghetto-fabulous version of Vice's "Don'ts" page, recently adapted by BET into the popular show We Got to Do Better), the four are the most welcome correction to American opinionating since Don Imus got canned.

WHERE TO SEE THEM NEXT: Weighing in with Wolf Blitzer on the next travesty of American justice—or fashion.

FIVE-YEAR PLAN: Says Angel, "Right now I'm just taking it day by day, taking more classes and getting more information so I don't get, you know, ho'd."

Photo: Matthew Salacuse; Groomer: Megan McClain/Art Mix

PRODUCERS
World of Wonder
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, both 47 (with a few members of their posse)

WHO THEY ARE: Camp provocateurs fetishizing the fringe on screens both big and small.

WHY THEY'RE RADICAL: Along with their cohorts at their Warholian factory, World of Wonder, the twosome (bottom row, far left and far right) bear responsibility for a slew of stupid-smart projects—from documentaries (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Inside Deep Throat) and features (Party Monster) to reality shows (What Perez Sez) and an inventive website—that manage to be at once provocative, populist, and very gay. The pair, who were once a couple, have been stirring things up since the '80s, when they performed as musical act the Pop Tarts. "We are doing the exact same thing we always did," says Barbato. "We were totally obsessed with public access and drag queens back then. We're still obsessed with both things."

WHERE YOU'LL SEE THEM NEXT: On the red carpet at the premiere of their HBO documentary on Heidi Fleiss. On the haters: "Eight out of 10 things we do, there is somebody bitching about it. It's like a constant buzz, like the sound of the 101 in the distance."

Photo: Emily Shur

INGENUE
Candis Cayne, early 30s

WHO SHE IS: The leggy, lustrous transsexual glued to William Baldwin's arm in ABC's glitzy drama Dirty Sexy Money.

WHY SHE'S RADICAL: With half a dozen acting credits for playing a drag queen, Cayne nearly gave up on her dreams of stardom after undergoing a sex change. "When I started my transition [in 1996], it was really not cool to be transsexual," she says. That's clearly changing: This fall, the trailblazing performer became the first such actress to appear on prime-time television.

WHERE WE'LL SEE HER NEXT: She's currently pitching a Curb Your Enthusiasm–style sitcom vérité revolving around the day-to-day lives of Cayne, her husband Marco, and his six-year-old daughter.

ON PLAYING THE GENETIC WOMAN: "It's a great goal to have. It's going to be hard. There have been actresses who transitioned and nobody knew, and they got good parts playing next to big people. But for me, with everybody knowing my history, it will be harder. I'm sure there are some great scripts calling for an ultraglamorous woman. And I'm prepared to be ultraglamorous."

Photo: Naomi Harris