Daniel Cook

Leisure

Forte: An open letter to Apple

The bottom line is that between the iPod, iTunes and the Apple image, you’ve made being alone awfully convenient, even attractive. If the streak continues, maybe we can expect streaming concert footage on iTunes and albums made entirely with GarageBand.

By February 14, 2008

Leisure

Forte: Wedding Songs

I’ve been slowly whittling down the playlist for my wedding reception for the past five years or so. Just to clarify, I didn’t want to get married at fifteen; it’s just the age when I realized how much the atmosphere can make or break the reception.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Hot Chip

Hot Chip’s third album really should have been called The Warning Pt. II instead of Made in the Dark. The latest installment from the British quintet has all the trappings of a great album, but there’s no avoiding the similarities to their 2006 sophomore effort, The Warning.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

2007’s best?

For me, the best album of 2007 was Animal Collective’s Strawberry Jam. Despite the critical gravitation toward frontrunners such as Radiohead’s In Rainbows and LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver, Jam provided the most exciting batch of songs last year, effortlessly progressive in execution and more cohesive than the band’s earlier releases. I read the year-end, “best-of” lists like anyone else and compared my thoughts to other critics, but I’m a big boy—I can make my own opinions.

By January 17, 2008

Features

Find Your Place

By 2 a.m., the Blisspop Dance Party had finally fizzled out. Discarded bottles and decorations were strewn across the floor of the 9:30 Club. Weary-eyed concertgoers chatted softly, soaking in the wee hours of Sunday morning as they eyed their watches. Only a few tenacious partiers seemed ready for another round.

By November 15, 2007

Leisure

YouTopia: World’s greatest freaks and geeks

World records tend to fall within three categories: impressive physical feats, biological abnormalities and arbitrary spectacle. While the majority of these achievements seem legitimate, some of the more random records negate being “the best” versus being “the only.” Sure, more people can make records this way, but often times the results become laughable. Here’s a taste of some of the more bizarre records featured on YouTube.

By October 11, 2007

Leisure

DAM!

Miss out on Coachella this year? Were SXSW tickets too expensive? Does the word Lollapalooza make you gag? Well fear not, music aficionado, because the District’s Awake! Music Festival kicks... Read more

By October 4, 2007

Leisure

Critical Voices: Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog

Sam Beam is one of those rare artists who have yet to make a career misstep. From his 2002 debut The Creek Drank the Cradle to 2005’s Calexico collaboration In the Reins, the Floridian consistently delivers tender folk reveries straight from his pastoral heart. Better-known as Iron & Wine, Beam first entered the public eye with his cover of “Such Great Heights” for the 2004 film Garden State and has remained a college crowd staple henceforth.

By September 27, 2007

Leisure

Alumni delight

On September 14th and 15th, the Davis Center will open its doors for an unprecedented festivity. The nearly two-year-old venue will house its first rock concert, GEMA ROCKS, courtesy of the Georgetown Entertainment Media Alliance (GEMA).

By September 6, 2007

Leisure

YouTopia: everything you don’t need to know

Despite what Google might have you believe, YouTube stands firm as a terrifically disastrous idea: the general public + homemade videos + ADHD. Though the web site may provide a unique forum for free expression, there’s no escaping the deficient video production or the depression that comes with surveying the grim status of American culture.

By August 30, 2007