Leisure

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

Leisure

Julia Child exhibit boasts utensils of greatness

For the high-cultured kind, living near Washington D.C. is a blessing. The Smithsonian Museum complex is filled with enough art and exhibits to satisfy almost everyone. For the those who enjoy kitschy Americana, there’s the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History.

By the March 25, 2004

Leisure

Tv on the Radio, in print

In the world of indie rock, where buzz bands tend to come hard and fast but often lack staying power, Brooklyn-based TV on the Radio burst into the scene faster than most with 2003’s flawless Young Liars EP. With the release of their debut LP, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, earlier this month, TVOTR have managed to expand their sound impressively and maintain the energy, power and beauty of their EP.

By the March 25, 2004

Leisure

‘Misery is a Butterfly,’ Blonde Redhead, 4AD/Beggars

By virtue of its avant-garde style, art-rock has long received both critical acclaim and accusations of being “inaccessible.” On their latest release, Misery is a Butterfly, New York art-rockers Blonde Redhead attempt to bridge this gap between artistic integrity and melody.

By the March 25, 2004

Leisure

‘Winning Days,’ The Vines, Capitol

No matter how many times I listen to the latest release from Australian faux-garage rockers The Vines, I simply can’t get over how bad Craig Nichols’ voice is. Ignoring the virtues of originality and artistic merit, a decent portion of this album might be at least somewhat pleasing to the ear if Nichols wasn’t howling away so loudly.

By the March 25, 2004

Leisure

Le cin?ma

Georgetown francophiles are humming like a well-oiled Renault this week with Wednesday night’s lecture from French Ambassador Jean David Levitte, along with the upcoming French Film Festival in Richmond, Va., this weekend. Held at Virginia Commonwealth University, the festival promises the best and the latest from France, sans Gerard Depardieu.

By the March 25, 2004

Leisure

‘The Balcony’ shows off assets

LEISURE BY ADAM FRISOLI Dressed only in black bras and mini-skirts, dancers gyrate provocatively in time to to Britney Spears’ “I’m a Slave 4 U.” No, it’s not your regularly-scheduled TV programming, it’s Nomadic Theatre’s production of Jean Genet’s The Balcony, where sex reigns supreme.

By the March 18, 2004

Leisure

‘Kitchens Stories’ Ikea’s Grandmother?

Remaining neutral in World War II, socialist Sweden emerges unscathed, an industrial power with plenty to offer mankind—they start by reinventing the kitchen. In the notoriously Scandinavian obsession with design and function that follows, the fictional Swedish Home Research Institute turns cooking into an exact science.

By the March 18, 2004

Leisure

‘Cellar Door,’ John Vanderslice, Barsuk

It has been widely speculated, most notably in the film Donnie Darko, that “cellar door” is the most beautiful phrase in the English language. Naturally, any musician with the confidence to use these two notable words as the title for his album would be labeling his work as pleasing.

By the March 18, 2004

Leisure

‘Two Way Monologue,’ Sondre Lerche, Astralwerks

There’s nothing inherently wrong with soft pop. If lyrically interesting and tastefully delivered, bland music can surpass the dull limitations placed on it by the genre. On his sophomore effort, Two Way Monologue,Norwegian songwriter/musician/producer/engineer/wonderboy Sondre Lerche certainly doesn’t press the boundaries of instrumentation and arrangement, but he also isn’t able to create any sense of intimacy.

By the March 18, 2004

Leisure

Virtually Lumpish

Despite the fact that I am notorious for moaning that “I’m tired,” not even I am torpid enough to really support the trend of museum putting their collections on-line. For District residents, if we care about what the museum holds, there’s no excuse not to see the real thing.

By the March 18, 2004

Leisure

Upcoming Shows (March)

Mar. 18-Black Heart Procession/Enon (Black Cat), $12 Mar. 23-Decemberists/Clearlake (Black Cat), $10 Mar. 23-Grandaddy/Saves the Day/The Fire Theft/Dios (9:30 Club), $25 Mar. 25-Broken Social Scene (Black Cat), $13 Mar. 27-Josh Groban (DAR Constitution Hall), $450 for nosebleeds Mar.

By the March 18, 2004

Leisure

Faring the ‘Weather Underground’

LEISURE BY CHRIS NORTON Seen in film today, Mark Rudd seems just like every other flower child gone to seed you ever might have met. The same is true of Bill Ayers and Bernadette Dohrn, still wearing their denim jackets and paisley sundresses, respectively. The names don’t ring a bell, but in these aged activists’ demeanor you can recognize the same resignation that marks their generation’s reflection on the past.

By March 4, 2004

Leisure

Meet Michael Franti & Spearhead

“I just want to take this time to announce that during the show, the use of cameras, videotapes, audiotapes, and other types of recording devices,” announces Michael Franti, in his two hour opening set for Ziggy Marley, as several people quickly hide their digitals in their pockets, “are all fine with me!” he shouts.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Milton Avery’s Evolution

A table with a fruit bowl defying gravity conjures Cezanne, an arbitrarily colored room with a foreshortened table and window suggests Matisse, and a Cubist figure shouts Picasso, but upon closer look, they all are Milton Avery. The exhibit “Discovering Milton Avery: Two Devoted Collectors, Louis Kaufman and Duncan Phillips” at the Phillips Collection chronicles Avery’s works and presents his evolution with the times.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Gotta appreciate–slow lori and hippopotami

Few members of the animal kingdom are nobler than the hippopotamus, that valiant champion of great African rivers. This oft-misunderstood creature is possibly the most powerful and ferocious species to be found in the bestiary of the great savannas, more dangerous than any croc or glorified housecat.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Road Trip

I was in Charleston, W. Va., a few weeks ago, and despite my friend’s propensity to inflect his voice with the mannerisms of a southern belle when driving anywhere vaguely away from the mid-Atlantic seaboard, there hadn’t yet been anything particularly regional or interesting about the trip.

By the March 4, 2004

Leisure

Cabaret out to prove student talent

LEISURE BY NEAL COLL Looking for a good excuse to blow off studying for that Econ midterm Thursday night? Giving up hard drinking for Lent? Tired of not rocking out? A solution is at hand, and it goes by the name of Cabaret. This year’s Cabaret promises to be an excellent show; make sure to catch it this Thursday and Saturday nights.

By the February 26, 2004

Leisure

‘Mars2K4′: astronomy nerds’ heaven?

Mars2K4, the new Mars exhibit at The National Geographic Museum’s Explorers Hall is your best chance of getting up close and personal with the infamous red planet. Loosely divided into three sections, the exhibit begins with a look at the place of Mars in classical astronomy.

By the February 26, 2004

Leisure

The Walkmen on the record

It seemed a couple of years back that a great number of fashionably dressed young New Yorkers had suddenly rediscovered the ‘70s. The Strokes with their trust funds and upscale girlfriends made sounding bored the new cool, while Interpol ogled bands like Television and Joy Division.

By the February 26, 2004

Leisure

He’s got the beat

James brown is a machine alright-a beating machine, that is. Recently, he was arrested for throwing his defenseless fourth wife on the ground and holding an iron chair over her head. This is no shock however, as it is his third domestic violence offense (which means one poor woman got out scot-free), not to mention his many drug abuse charges, one of which earned him two and a half years in prison.

By the February 26, 2004