Leisure

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

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

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

Leisure

‘Waves,’ Ride, The First Time

Besides the Beatles, Ride was the band that Oasis always wishes they could have been. Ride was the most dynamic live act of musicians characterized by their tendency to perform with their backs to the audience and staring down at their feet while playing effects-laden electric guitars and dreamy, psychedelic melodies.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

Mo’Rocca

Most of us subsist on snacking at Vittles, giving in to Leo’s and calling Domino’s. Without extra time or money, food is just a matter of convenience, not entertainment. With great ambiance, seven courses and a belly dancer, Marrakesh, the District’s premiere Moroccan restaurant, has been proving for decades that the key to great eating is making a meal an event.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

‘Dreamers’ bares souls, genitals

LEISURE BY MARY KATHERINE STUMP You expect sex and controversy from a movie by Bernardo Bertolucci, a man who once referred to Hollywood as “the big nipple” in an Oscar acceptance speech. Indeed, the majority of his latest film, The Dreamers, rated NC-17, is a tit bit nipply. French actors Luis Garrel and Eva Green and American Michael Pitt bare all in a tale of sexual seclusion and revolutionary ideals amidst the Parisian riots of 1968.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

Napoleonic lesson for ‘Triplets’

Tired of bloated, mediocre blockbusters? Maybe you would prefer to see a surreal cartoon for adults that veers between the pleasantly bizarre and the utterly nightmarish. Maybe you don’t think dialogue is necessary in a movie, or perhaps you prefer that your films be melancholy, animated and French.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

‘Douglas Gordon’ exhibit explores identity

A walk through Scottish artist Douglas Gordon’s exhibit at the Hirshhorn is an exploration of the complexities of the human psyche. Using photography, text, mirrors and video installations, Gordon invites you to be a voyeur of his intimate self-exploration and to examine the contradictions, double meanings and intricacies of all human experience.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

‘Boy in da Corner,’ Dizzee Rascal, Matador

Born Dylan Mills, Dizzee Rascal is a brilliant 19-year-old MC whose debut Boy In da Corner is an aurally harsh documentary of urban Brit life. Dizzee’s cockney raps are the center of attention, there are no rhythms to grab on to, and the rough-around-the-edges production only adds to the discomfort.

By the February 19, 2004

Leisure

‘Crimson Gold’ delivers

LEISURE BY PHIL MARCELLO There is controversy surrounding “Crimson Gold,” and that, more than anything, has generated critical acclaim and curiosity. Based on a true story, it was banned in Iran for its criticism of Iranian society. This criticism is not the focus of the film, nor is the crime that occurs.

By the February 12, 2004

Leisure

Diamond-encrusted, golden sardine, anyone?

For those of you who have wondered what would happen if King Midas played simultaneous games of Monopoly and dominoes while chatting on his cell-phone, fly-fishing and nibbling the occasional sardine, look no further than the Museum of Natural History. Featuring gold-plated and jewel-encrusted common objects, “Everyday Fantasies: The Jeweled Art of Sidney Mobell” places the ordinary in the world of the extraordinary.

By the February 12, 2004