Leisure

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

Leisure

Critical Voices: The Decemberists

Long known for their bookish indie ballads stuffed with folk tales and time-worn legends, the Decemberists have taken their critically acclaimed formula to a new level with their latest release,... Read more

By March 26, 2009

Leisure

Critical Voices: Swan Lake

Swan Lake’s debut, Beast Moans, was my joint, man. I was on that shit like white on rice, yelpy vocals, amorphous melodies, and all. It probably didn’t hurt that I wasn’t... Read more

By March 26, 2009

Leisure

Critical Voices: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

If you last heard Karen O and Co. in 2003, after the fist-pumping Fever to Tell, I wouldn’t blame you if you thought It’s Blitz was the work of another... Read more

By March 26, 2009

Leisure

Hyde your kids; Jekyll is comin’

Jekyll & Hyde, Mask & Bauble’s spring production, is not a show for literary purists. If you’re looking for Robert Louis Stevenson’s critique of rigid Victorian society and its seedy... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Watchmen: stunningly mediocre, graphically bold

I felt lost and confused while first reading the graphic novel Watchmen some three or four years ago. It was dark and gritty and proved difficult to grasp initially. I... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Bros. R bring the bore

Deciphering a government’s motive for going to war can be a daunting task; understanding an individual’s desire to participate in a war as a soldier can be similarly challenging. The... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

The natives are “kicking butt”

“Comic Art Indigène,” a new exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian, eschews the artifacts and relics typically featured in studies of Native American history in favor of... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Bohemian blues

For over a century, cafés have been the preferred gathering spot for influential writers, artists, and those who wanted to imbibe the creative atmosphere along with their cup of coffee.... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Consumin’ culture

I did not drink on Saint Patrick’s Day. I do not intend to snub mid-week drinking—I’ve had better times over a few drinks on a Tuesday than I have on... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Critical Voices: DOOM

Mystery man Daniel Dumile (a.k.a. MF DOOM a.k.a. Viktor Vaughn a.k.a. Zevlove X a.k.a. King Geedorah) is finally back. “Can it be I stayed away too long?” he asks on... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Critical Voices: Dan Deacon

Say what you want about Dan Deacon, but he’s nothing if not sincere. He doesn’t wear his often ragtag, Technicolor clothes because they’re ironic; he just likes how they look.... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Critical Voices: Wavves

On his second studio album, San Diegan skater punk Nathan Williams creates a cacophony reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1985 noise-pop classic Pyschocandy. Yet even the weirder moments... Read more

By March 19, 2009

Leisure

Bros. J bring the vomit

Tickets to The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience: $15. A six-pack of Busch Light and a bottle of Jim Beam: $25. The vomit induced by mixing the two: priceless.... Read more

By March 5, 2009

Leisure

Presidential cuckoldry

Some films make an obvious attempt to fit a certain niche. For example, Dead Poets Society fits the coming-of-age, young intellectual mold. An American Affair, on the other hand, tries... Read more

By March 5, 2009

Leisure

Trippin’: Delawhere?

If watching your roommates pack snorkels and bikinis has left you wishing you’d booked something other than a last-ditch trip to New York on the Chinatown bus, take heart. You... Read more

By March 5, 2009

Leisure

Re-watchability

Over winter break, I was watching the second season of 30 Rock when my father came into the living room. He was flabbergasted that I was watching a show that... Read more

By March 5, 2009

Leisure

The rock vixen

According to conventional wisdom, every girl says she wants a sensitive, smart, funny, sexy guy to call her own, but deep down what every girl really wants is a string... Read more

By March 5, 2009

Leisure

Critical Voices: Cursive

Cursive have come a long way from the raw sound of its earlier years. After the disappointment of 2006’s Sleepy Hollow, though, they’ve found their way back on track with... Read more

By March 5, 2009

Leisure

Critical Voices: Handsome Furs

Handsome Furs, the Canadian indie-rock duo of Dan Boekner (Wolf Parade) and his wifey, Alexei Perry, has been nudging its way toward notoriety of late, though their fan base remains... Read more

By March 5, 2009

Leisure

Cherry Blossoms show life’s fleeting nature

Upon first reading the synopsis for Cherry Blossoms, I was less than enthused: “When Trudi learns that her husband Rudi is dangerously ill, she suggests visiting their children in Berlin... Read more

By February 26, 2009