Traviss Cassidy

Leisure

Critical Voices II: Bloc Party, A Weekend in the City, Wichita

HATES IT

The British music mag NME called Bloc Party “uncategorisable.” While that isn’t a real word, the point was clear when the magazine used it to describe the band’s debut, Silent Alarm. Though it didn’t necessarily deserve that label, the group distinguished itself from the pack of poppy post-punk peers with lead singer Kele Okereke’s heartfelt lyrics and sometimes overly emotive vocals.

By February 8, 2007

Leisure

Lez’hur Ledger: Shivering for Sufjan

Sure, the scene was familiar enough: nerdy white boys in fraying women’s jeans skulked around, talking music and secretly tallying the hipster points they earned each time they said “crescendo” (I think I’ll use that word on my Live Journal!). This wasn’t going to be my normal weekend –instead of being cramped inside the cloudy confines of the Black Cat, I found myself camped outside the Kennedy Center at 10p.m., waiting to receive free tickets to Sufjan Stevens’ Feb. 5 performance with the Center’s Opera House orchestra.

By February 1, 2007

Leisure

God gets bored with the Lost Boys

Either too much time has elapsed in the film industry since the last political rallying cry (An Inconvenient Truth) or Hollywood has more time on its hands than we thought.

By January 18, 2007

Leisure

Pan’s Labyrinth is a-maze-ing

For every child, the characters from fairy tales can creep from the pages of a book into the child’s bedroom and consciousness. No movie in recent memory conveys this message with as much skill and raw emotional power as Pan’s Labyrinth, opening in D.C. this Friday.

By January 11, 2007

Leisure

Critical Voices: Ghostface Killah and The Clipse

Ghostface Killah, More Fish, and Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury

By December 7, 2006

Leisure

Queen Newsom arrives

As a youngster I was a LEGO fanatic. Nary a moment went by when I wasn’t constructing a cowboy fort or an underwater sea lab out of those miniscule building blocks. As time went on, however, I learned that my passion for LEGOs—and many other childhood pastimes—had waned. I had simply outgrown them. The same phenomenon can and does happen with musical artists and their respective genres.

By November 16, 2006

Leisure

Ordering your ‘06 picks

When the gentle rustling of autumn leaves begins to sound like the white noise of radio static, it can only mean one thing—it’s time to start compiling your Best Of 2006 album lists.

By November 2, 2006

Leisure

The ashes of CBGB

On Monday morning fans of punk rock said goodbye to a landmark. Rock poet Patti Smith played the final concert at CBGB, the hallowed rock venue located in Manhattan’s East Village.

By October 19, 2006

Leisure

“Real” hip-hop: a group effort

Nearly everybody has that one annoying friend who clings to dusty copies of what he considers “real” hip-hop while shunning much anything else that enters the rap market.

By October 5, 2006

Leisure

Pipettes deliver girl-powered pop

The trio, while almost excessively retro, is not to be taken lightly as their debut album, We Are the Pipettes will most likely end up as this year’s finest straight-up pop record.

By September 21, 2006