Leisure

Reviews and think pieces on music, movies, art, and theater.

Leisure

Seth Rogen won’t save you

While scheming up his vigilante alter ego, Britt Reid, the man behind the mask in The Green Hornet, muses to his sidekick that the crime-ridden streets of Los Angeles need more than a mere superhero. “The city needs our help,” he declares. “We could be heroes! We will pose as villains to get closer to the bad guys. That way, no one will suspect we’re really the good guys!”

By January 20, 2011

Leisure

Critical Voices: James Blake, James Blake

Well before he even announced his debut LP, James Blake’s narrative was written. The 22-year old London producer put out three of the most buzz-worthy EPs of 2010, and his prolific release of these experimental but highly melodic dance tracks earned his debut a preemptive label of “groundbreaking” before anyone had heard a single note—James Blake would own 2011 no matter what James Blake sounded like.

By January 20, 2011

Leisure

Critical Voices: Tennis, Cape Dory

Escapism is a prevalent theme in today’s music scene (I’m looking at you, Katy Perry enthusiasts). But how many artists actually live out the messages of their songs about the teenage dream? Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, the married couple who make up Tennis, are some of the few who do.

By January 20, 2011

Leisure

Banger Management: Lil Wayne’s swag with Bieber’s youth

Once on the cutting edge of social and political commentary, lately rap music has become boring and stagnant. Rappers like Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame make millions by pairing pedestrian lyrics with grandiloquent beats. Lucky for disillusioned listeners, there is now Odd Future, an unconventional rap crew out of Los Angeles made up of 11 teenagers.

By January 20, 2011

Leisure

Internet IRL: But still no wireless?

This week, speculation has been mounting about the possible release of the iPad 2 this April—just one year after that of its groundbreaking predecessor. In a world where innovation and change in consumer technology are moving faster than ever, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to realistically keep up with every new product that promises to change their lives.

By January 20, 2011

Leisure

Tiny Furniture brings little to the table

Indie films tend to isolate their fans. While some audience members will cry “genius!” most will call bullshit. With her new production, Tiny Furniture, Lena Dunham has created a shallow micro-budget flick that, despite a few bright spots, fails to break away from the pretentious culture it came out of. Tiny Furniture follows Aura, played by writer-director Dunham, as she moves back into her family’s expansive TriBeCa apartment after her final year of college.

By December 9, 2010

Leisure

Theatrical theses thrive

When most people get frustrated with their big writing assignments, they’ll highlight a paragraph or two (three if their paper is really going nowhere) and defiantly smack the “delete” key. Miranda Hall (COL ’11) recently had that experience when she chopped her senior thesis down to a quarter of its length. Except she gave up on 75 pages. “It had been about a hundred pages, but I went a little crazy with it, and now it’s 25 pages,” she said.

By December 9, 2010

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Color School returns to D.C.

Washington, D.C. is not a town renowned for its art scene. Hardcore kids might proudly recount the days of Minor Threat, and Wale might slip a line about D.C. into some of his Chicago-indebted raps, but the city’s a haven for politicos and diplomats—artists usually go a bit farther up the coast. That being the case, many might be surprised to learn that our city gave birth to one of the most exciting styles of American studio art of the modern era: the Color School.

By December 9, 2010

Leisure

Black Box ballet

Last night in the Walsh Black Box Theater, which was unadorned except for a string of what looked like colorful prayer flags, Ballet Folklorico, in conjunction with Latin dance group Ritmo y Sabor, put on their final show of the semester in honor of Posada, a Hispanic celebration in anticipation of Christmas. The show featured Ballet Folklorico’s traditional dancing with elaborate and colorful skirts.

By December 9, 2010

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Critical Voices: Daft Punk, Tron: Legacy

We’ve been waiting on a new Daft Punk album for a while now, and in late 2009, when the duo announced that they would be creating the soundtrack for the upcoming Tron: Legacy, it sounded like a match made in heaven. We would we have the first Daft Punk album in five years (!)

By December 9, 2010

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Critical Voices: Keep Shelly in Athens, In Love With Dusk EP

Keep Shelly in Athens is a band with an outlandish name and an intentionally mysterious persona. But although you might expect a band with such a ridiculous moniker to be irritatingly elitist, if you close your eyes and play their new EP, In Love With Dusk, you will quickly change your mind.

By December 9, 2010

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Amuse-bouche: Don’t try this at home

Earlier this year, my access to Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything convinced me that I could, in fact, cook everything. And when it comes to pasta, potatoes, fish, chicken, and a few fancy things like risotto, I’m not half bad. In July, inspired by this confidence, I undertook a more ambitious project—French fries.

By December 9, 2010

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Fade to Black: Gazillion dollar baby

Next Friday, Disney’s latest mega-budget production, Tron: Legacy, opens in theaters across the country. Though it will no doubt please the Comic-Con regulars who have been fantasizing about this movie for years, with a budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Tron will need to appeal to a slightly wider market.

By December 9, 2010

Leisure

The CIFF: No, we don’t show The Boondock Saints

If you only associate Irish culture with green beer and leprechauns, this year’s Capitol Irish Film Festival will surprise you. The largest Irish film festival in America, CIFF opens tonight at E Street Cinema and the Goethe Institut.

By December 2, 2010

Leisure

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 December 2, 2010

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Critical Voices: Curren$y, Pilot Talk II

Besides his unspeakably massive cannabis consumption, Curren$y is best known for his incredible prolificacy. Since leaving Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money label in 2008, he has released nine album-length mixtapes and four full albums, whose subject matter rarely deviated from typical independent rap trope: weed, fly kicks, and fucking.

By December 2, 2010

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Critical Voices: Tigers Jaw,Two Worlds

Born in the basements of Scranton, Pa., Tigers Jaw has bucked indie rock trends and blogosphere pressure to create a sound that is patently their own. Their blend of indie rock and pop-punk is musically complex while still being flat-out fun and relatable.

By December 2, 2010

Leisure

Rub Some Dirt On It: You may not go blind, but…

College kids tend to do a lot of dumb things—some of them pretty unsafe. But when we’re not partying hard or gorging ourselves on Leo’s food, most of us spend a good chunk of our time studying. Doesn’t that count for something?

By December 2, 2010

Leisure

Warming Glow: Giving them the hook

Every pilot season, we media-consuming Americans find ourselves assailed by an endless blast of magazine ads, billboards, and outright shameless publicity stunts that beg us to watch “the next Mad Men/Friday Night Lights/Modern Family!”

By December 1, 2010

Leisure

Post-dramatic stress disorder in the Gonda

Educational video games suck. Even if the kid with the controller doesn’t realize that the “game” he’s playing is actually edutainment and demands higher mental functioning, it’s a pretty safe bet that he’d still rather be blowing up heads in Gears of War than hopping to the next lily pad with a prime number on it. But what happens when the violent, war-driven video games are the educational ones?

By November 18, 2010