Leisure

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

The best German film since Run Lola Run

The opening scene of The Lives of Others is austere and deadpan, an appropriate introduction to a film set in communist East Berlin. In a sterile classroom, secret police lieutenant Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) instructs students in the merciless process of interrogation, emphasizing that only the guilty shed tears.

By Madeline Reidy March 15, 2007

Gray Matters? More like gay matters

Gray Matters is like its star, Heather Graham—bubbly, nice to look at, but a bit lacking in depth and substance. It’s the story of a young single professional in Manhattan, named Gray, only in this hackneyed plot the twist is that Gray falls for her brother’s girl.

By Shira Hecht March 15, 2007

Jack Gilbert says no to Heaven

Jack Gilbert’s collection of poems, “Refusing Heaven”, deserves the second round of attention its paperback reissue has received for its beautiful reflection upon the American poet’s adult life.

By Patrick Yarborough March 1, 2007

Indie film: “Love in the Wrong Places”

Besides the frightening presence of Joan Rivers on every entertainment channel, there may be only one thing you can predict about Oscar season. Every actress on the red carpet is thinner than you. You can avoid this strange and recurring phenomenon by exploring the assortment of films offered by the DC Independent Film Fest.

By Madeline Reidy March 1, 2007

Critical Voices: Arcade Fire, Neon Bible, Merge

The music that tugs most at our heartstrings is often the most divisive. In one camp you have those who prefer their music served raw and doused with emotion; in the other you have vicious detractors shouting labels like “emo” and “over the top” with bitter disapproval. The Arcade Fire’s emotive debut, Funeral, won over both camps by shrouding many of its emo leanings in ambiguity and lyrical imagery.

By Traviss Cassidy March 1, 2007

Critical Voices: !!!, Myth Takes, Warp

With eight members and an emphasis on rhythm and danceability, !!! (conventionally pronounced “chk-chk-chk”) have sometimes lacked focus. While the band provides the perfect sound track to running really fast or freaking out, the human touch is often lost in the conglomeration of sounds. With Myth Takes !!! realize that those exclamation points can refer to emotion, not just excitement.

By Shira Hecht March 1, 2007

Mezze Madness

At some point you have got to ask yourself what’s more important, your stomach or your wallet. If your wallet is filled with your parents’ money, it’s time to check out one of Georgetown’s exotic dining options.

By Alysse Cohen March 1, 2007

Eating in: late night for the lazy

It’s 2 a.m. and I’m two pages into my 10-page econ paper. My mouth feels like sandpaper and my forehead’s dripping sweat. I can’t leave the room, but I can order from DC Snacks.

By Kathryn Brand March 1, 2007

Reviving the Georgetown music scene

Generally speaking, starting a band in college does not involve much of a hassle. Given spare time, money and energy, virtually anyone can pick up an instrument, gather a few friends together and have a jam session. However, for Danny Murphy (COL ’09), Sean Croft (SFS ’09) and a handful of other musicians on campus, the logistics of maintaining a band at Georgetown have proven to be more complicated.

By Daniel Cook February 22, 2007

Beards: like a scarf for your face

From every angle, Chris Svetlik’s (SFS ’10) beard is a sight to behold. The whiskers on his upper lip reach their full potential in two woolly peaks extending from the chin. Between these peaks, below a subtle soul patch, is a valley of shorter hair left over from an experiment in mutton chops. Svetlik and others show that campus is no stranger to the whiskery classmate and in many ways beard life and campus life intertwine as facial hair makes a fashion comeback to Georgetown.

By Michael Keller February 22, 2007

Of Montreal rocks

Of Montreal, the critically acclaimed psych-pop band out of Athens, Georgia, returns to the Washington D.C. area for spring break. Fronted by Kevin Barnes, the group released their well-received eighth album, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, on Feb. 23. Guitarist Bryan Poole detailed the band’s updated sound on the new record.

By Justin Hunter Scott February 22, 2007

The Chimes charm

At the 34th annual Cherry Tree Massacre, hosted by the Georgetown Chimes, you will be torn between raucous laughter and oppression, trying not to sing along to all the cheap love songs.

By Ryan Maye Handy February 22, 2007

Next round’s on me

A rotating bi-weekly column about drinking.

By Chris Stanton February 22, 2007

Warming up to art

The snow was pretty for about an hour and now your ass is bruised from sledding on a cafeteria tray. You could retreat to your 80-degree dorm room and binge on all that fruit you sacked from Leo’s, or you could fight the winter blues with some hot cocoa and visual stimulation at one of D.C.’s warm spots.

By Madeline Reidy February 15, 2007

Going down on the Hilltop

Winter finally paid off, and in a big way. Such wonderful whiteness can mean only one thing: sled day! Considering only one of the surveyed hills had fresh tracks, it seems that far too few Hoyas partake in this traditional leisure activity. Because they don’t call it the Hilltop for nothin’, here’s the skinny on the best campus sledding.

By Michael Keller February 15, 2007

Sexy food

As anyone who saw Varsity Blues and Ali Larter’s whipped cream bikini can attest, food can be very sexy. But, as anyone who’s ever had a boyfriend who talks with his mouth full or had a propensity for poppy seed bagels can argue, food and love are not always a good mix. There is a difference between your food being yummy and you being yummy.

By Kathryn Brand February 15, 2007

Vietnamese art exhibit is pho real

At first, the road sign seems rather ordinary. Bold, green and functional, it could have been plucked from any interstate highway. Yet contradicting its mundane appearance is its content: “Little Saigon: Next Right.”

By Frances Bajet February 15, 2007

Critical Voices: Field Music, Tones of Town

With their third release, UK-based art-rock trio Field Music have created an album that is complex and accessible enough to merit multiple listens. Indeed, Tones of Town’s tracks draw strength from the band’s ability to weave rhythmic layers of sweet vocals, staccato piano punctuations and sharp, post-punk guitar riffs almost effortlessly.

By Chelsea Paige February 15, 2007

Pole dancing: not just for strippers

My arms ache and I can already feel the bruises on my inner thighs as I try to crawl sexily on all fours. The music switches to “Fergalicious,” and that’s my cue to shimmy up the chrome pole. Holding on with my left hand, I move with the music, strut my stuff for a few beats and slowly turn a full body roll into the fireman spin.

By Anastasia Stepanova February 8, 2007

Punk Love sticks it to the man

In D.C., politics are inescapable—even in music. But when the founding luminaries of Washington’s famously close-knit, activist music scene came together in Georgetown last Friday, it was to praise, not preach.

By Alec Oyenhart February 8, 2007

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