Leisure

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

Leisure

WGTB Recommends …

Easter’s almost here, and the WGTB staff and Voice Leisure have joined forces to create a list of our favorite Jesus, sin, and death-related songs. Morbidly fascinating, we think.

By the April 1, 2004

Leisure

Danceable, really

There is an unfortunate style of music that trades on nothing other than being life-affirming. But synthesized women singing about the night and your inherent self-worth do not make for a good time. Fortunately, there are many people who think so too, and some are making music.

By the April 1, 2004

Leisure

‘Eternal Sunshine’ lights theaters

LEISURE BY MARY KATHERINE STUMP Have relationship woes and gripes? Does your girlfiend spend more time decorating potatoes than hanging out with you? Don’t be too quick to complain about idiosyncrasies. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, written with the eerie intelligence of the famed Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) and directed by Michel Gondry (various Bjork videos), the film clearly executes its message-that perfect relationships are elusive.

By the March 25, 2004

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

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

‘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

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