Mary Borowiec
Critical Voices: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Belong
When listening to an album for the first time, people often find it helpful to ignore the lyrics to better get a feel for the album’s musical merit. However, in the case of Belong, the sophomore release from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, this proves an impossible task—the trite, clichéd lyrics mar the album from its very start. The album’s opener, “Belong,” sets the tone for the rest of the tracks, complete with uninspired lyrics that sound like they come straight from the pages of a dramatic high-schooler’s diary. Although it begins hopefully with a pop-friendly guitar introduction, it takes a turn for the worse soon thereafter, with scratchily mixed overtones and the murmurs of lead singer Kip Berman’s repetitive and dull chorus of “we don’t belong, we don’t belong.”
By Mary Borowiec March 31, 2011
The Sweetlife of a new D.C. music fest
Perhaps as a side-effect of the beautiful weather, spring in the District boasts an impressive collection of outdoor music festivals. And this year welcomes a brand new, highly anticipated addition to the annual repertoire—the Sweetgreen-sponsored Sweetlife Festival on May 1, 2011, aptly described as “a festival with a conscience.” With its humble beginnings in a parking lot behind the DuPont Sweetgreen, Sweetlife’s organizers are thrilled to be holding this year’s event in a much more accommodating venue, Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Located smack in the middle of the 40-acre Symphony Woods, this venue creates an appropriately green atmosphere for the environmentally-focused festival.
By Mary Borowiec March 24, 2011
Film festival provides good, green fun
In our generation, going green has gone from a hippie-centric fad to a full-blown industry. From celebrity-designed reusable totes to trendy organic food stores, it seems that “saving the planet” is, to some degree, on everyone’s mind. But beyond our Sigg water bottles, what do we really know about the problems facing the environment today? For those yearning to learn more, look no further than D.C.’s 19th annual Environmental Film Festival, which runs Mar. 15-27. With 150 events taking place in museums, libraries, theaters, and universities all over the District, the film festival invites viewers to step back and join in a “celebration of the natural world” that is both varied and thoroughly 2011-pertinent.
By Mary Borowiec March 17, 2011
Critical Voices: Peter Bjorn and John, Gimme Some
In the age of iTunes, cover art is an oft-overlooked piece of an album’s appeal. This is an unfortunate casualty, because frequently cover art can offer insight about what kind of music to expect from the album’s tracks. Take, for instance, the cover of Peter Bjorn and John’s latest release, Gimme Some. It carries the image of a “funk mitten,” or a three-thumbed foam finger. This rather bizarre, colorful picture reflects the sometimes confusing pop-rock sound on the Swedish trio’s energetic but disjointed sixth album. Gimme Some, on the whole, is intriguing—it contains an almost equal number of praiseworthy and skip-worthy tracks.
By Mary Borowiec March 3, 2011
Heather Raffo brings Iraq to the Davis Center
On Monday evening in the Davis Center, Heather Raffo looked like the quintessential American woman. Dressed in a fashionable, artsy getup with black jeans, riding boots, and a creamy tunic, the striking blonde was the epitome of Western style. So one might be surprised to learn the subject matter that the acclaimed actress-playwright was presenting about the lives of her fellow Iraqis. Raffo, who claims that her distinctly non-Middle Eastern appearance helps her “get under the radar” to promote her art, performed this week in a program entitled “Performance as Cultural Diplomacy.”
By Mary Borowiec February 17, 2011
Herbivores take over D.C.
Last week, Washington was overwhelmed by what many claim to be the greatest culinary innovation ever to come out of American kitchens: barbeque. This celebration of the grill—and all other things carnivorous—was part of the annual D.C. Meat Week. But after a week’s worth of fatty protein, D.C.’s vegetarian and vegan community is striking back, combatting some of that high cholesterol with the second annual D.C. Meat-Free Week.
By Mary Borowiec February 10, 2011
Critical Voices: The Boxer Rebellion, The Cold Still
In today’s alternative music scene, too many indie groups have abandoned their original sound in favor of mass appeal. So when a band can deliver emotion that is both honest and unpretentious, and stays true to the successes of its past albums, it’s grounds for major commendation. London quartet The Boxer Rebellion achieves just that on The Cold Still, with unassuming but powerful lyrics and melodies, the band rises above the rest of the indie pack.
By Mary Borowiec February 3, 2011
Jones, Affleck in good Company
September 18, 2008, starts out as normal as any other day for The Company Men’s three main characters. The hunky, 30-something breadwinner (Ben Affleck) arrives at the office in his silver Porsche, followed by his 60-year-old coworker (Chris Cooper), who has worked there for decades, and the company’s curmudgeonly old executive (Tommy Lee Jones) looks weary from the pressures of the markets falling around him.
By Mary Borowiec January 27, 2011
Watch art get unstuck in time at the Smithsonian
Time-based art is on the rise. The formerly little-known movement, consisting of art that changes as you view it, is rapidly gaining popularity among contemporary artists. A clear reflection of the ways in which technology has influenced society, the time-based genre presents a marriage of art and technology that makes for a dynamic visual experience.
By Mary Borowiec January 20, 2011
Comic nerds are Party Crashers?
D.C. is home to many of our nation’s greatest museums: the Air and Space Museum, the Portrait Gallery, the American History Museum … But if you’re seeking something beyond the National Mall that features an art form less traditional than your Smithsonian staples, then Party Crashers: Comic Book Culture Invades the Art World, a new exhibit at the Arlington Arts Center and Artisphere’s Terrace Gallery, fits the bill.
By Mary Borowiec December 2, 2010