Kirill Makarenko
Former Assistant Leisure Editor
Critical Voices: Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire
With the music industry plunging into and subsequently drowning in a sea of synthesizers and dubstep beats, established artists are able to venture into previously uncharted territory. Even Alicia Keys, who has for the most part been absent from the recording studio since 2009, has fallen victim to a timid yet mostly effective attempt at a stylistic transition on her gripping, self-reflective fifth studio album Girl On Fire.
By Kirill Makarenko November 29, 2012
Critical Voices: One Direction, Take Me Home
“We’ll keep doing what we do / Just pretending that we’re cool,” begins the chorus of lead single “Live While We’re Young,” the apparent motto of English-Irish boy band One Direction. The group’s sophomore effort fits this mold rather perfectly; Take Me Home continues in just one direction, and that is a path towards more one-syllable words and less substance than an episode of Maury.
By Kirill Makarenko November 15, 2012
Saxa Politica: Sandy brings out the best
Just after 6 p.m. on Oct. 28, Georgetown students rejoiced; University spokeswoman Stacy Kerr sent a broadcast email to the campus community cancelling Monday classes in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy’s onslaught.
By Kirill Makarenko November 8, 2012
Critical Voices: Aerosmith, Music From Another Dimension!
“You are about to enter a great adventure, and experience the awe and mystery from your ultimate fantasies to your deepest fears.” A Twilight Zone-esque voice issues this ominous warning to kick off Music From Another Dimension!, Aerosmith’s first release of original content in 11 years. The “deepest fears” to which this voice refers could be of the likelihood that, in the time that has elapsed, the band has lost its touch, and can no longer produce quality music. Fortunately, these concerns last only until the first drum beats bring in the powerful riffs, proving that Aerosmith is still alive and kicking—vigorously.
By Kirill Makarenko November 8, 2012
Critical Voices: Flyleaf, New Horizons
At hardly over 36 minutes, New Horizons, the third studio album from Christian alt-rockers Flyleaf, is by far the band’s shortest to date. And if its diminutive length wasn’t enough to make listeners uneasy, the announcement of lead singer Lacey Sturm’s departure from the band just days before the LP’s release definitely did the trick. Fortunately, Sturm does not go out with a whimper; from explosive metal riffs to expertly crafted pop hooks, Horizons boasts an astounding level of power and emotion jammed into such a seemingly innocuous package.
By Kirill Makarenko October 31, 2012
Saxa Politica: ‘Drunken’ misses the point
“They don’t get much ruder than this bunch who seems to feel the need to host a party anytime they can,” writes Burlieth resident and former American University photography professor Stephen R. Brown under a video depicting a 37th Street party. His website, “Drunken” Georgetown Students, launched in April 2010, is once again in full swing, cataloguing the drunken debauchery of Georgetown students and “young professionals” in their own back yards.
By Kirill Makarenko October 25, 2012
The Coupe is the perfect place to coop up with coffee
D.C.’s restaurant scene appears to have just about everything, ranging from free-range beef and specialty veggie burgers to cruelly prepared foie gras and cannibalistically raised chicken. Apart from the occasional IHOP or Denny’s, the city’s one overlooked attribute has been the dearth of 24-hour service in the area. Luckily, the creators of the Diner in Adams Morgan—one of the few non-chain restaurants of its kind—have provided a Columbia Heights-based sister restaurant that fills this terrible void.
By Kirill Makarenko October 25, 2012
Critical Voices: Taylor Swift, Red
Musicologists can at last sleep soundly knowing that the simmering debate over Taylor Swift’s genre has indisputably ended. Red, Swift’s fourth studio album, boasts powerful dubstep pulses, refreshingly mature themes, and a timid but not unwelcome push into instrumental experimentation, pointing to one unavoidable conclusion: the former teen country-pop star is growing up.
By Kirill Makarenko October 25, 2012
Critical Voices: ZZ Ward, Til The Casket Drops
“I wear a fedora to pay homage to those artists that inspired me,” explains L.A.-based singer-songwriter Zsuzsanna Ward. Growing up in the tranquil town of Roseburg, Ore., Ward was influenced by influenced by an eclectic group of artists, ranging from blues legends Big Mama Thornton and Muddy Waters to Jay-Z. As a result, Til The Casket Drops is a funky amalgamation of hip-hop-laced blues and soul that borders on perfection.
By Kirill Makarenko October 18, 2012
Saxa Politica: Clearly Unconvincing
On the evening of student government senate elections, student rights supporters scored a major victory in a referendum put forward by GUSA supporting a burden-of-proof alteration to the Student Code of Conduct. The recommendation for raising the evidentiary standard in all cases except instances of sexual assault was first proposed in April by the Disciplinary Review Committee. In the vote, the current “more likely than not” standard received a total of 93 votes, while the now well-advertised “clear and convincing” proposal received 2,507.
By Kirill Makarenko October 11, 2012