Leisure

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

Leisure

Where the ladies are

In the past year, Ladyfest, a female-run music festival that originated in Olympia, Wash., has become kind of a hippie-mom version of the riot-grrrl aesthetic, fashioning that “you ain’t it, la la la” feeling into a self-reliant community, complete with radical-feminist workshops, spoken-word slams and good old-fashioned boy bashing.

By the January 17, 2002

Leisure

Arcadia a literate trip into the past

There has been a link between landscaping and scholarship dating back to the Greeks. In the Golden Age, Socrates had his classes among the trees, giving rise to the phrase “The Groves of Academe.” In the present age, Tom Stoppard sets his satire/treatise of the academic world in a Devonshire manor house famous for its beautiful and literarily significant garden.

By the January 17, 2002

Leisure

Voice picks 2001’s best

It may not have been as major a year for music as some in recent memory, but 2001 really did see the release of some great ways to pass the time. Among other things, heaven hath given us the Strokes to make fun of, American Analog Set to nap to and Atmosphere to decipher.

By the January 10, 2002

Leisure

Voice picks 2001’s best

After a succession of years which saw a dearth of quality independent films, but a plethora of the usual Hollywood dreck, 2001 saw a comeback of sorts for cinema. Propelled by foreign offerings and a number of great Hollywood flicks, this year saw some of the most ambitious films in recent memory.

By the January 10, 2002

Leisure

Deep blues take Arena Stage

Do you think the blues are dead? Think again. The blues are alive and well, not only in their original forms, but also in the music they have inspired for the past 80 years. With their wholly original rhythmic and lyrical styles, the blues have influenced the formation of jazz, gospel, hip-hop and, of course, rock and roll.

By the January 10, 2002

Leisure

Grammy nominations disappoint (again)

Last Friday, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences released its nominees for the 2002 Grammy Awards Ceremony to be held on Feb. 27 in Los Angeles. Doing so proved that, once again, record sales?not artistic innovation or quality?reign supreme in the annual selection process.

By the January 10, 2002

Leisure

Louder than Bombs

While I’m sure most of you enjoyed vegetating in the suburbs for the past two weeks as much I have, it sure is great to be back in the big city. Or is it? ... Like you, I went to class today. After a period of thought, I realized due to the shortened winter break this year, I haven’t forgotten enough from last semester to facilitate the absorption of new knowledge.

By the January 10, 2002

Leisure

B-boys (and girls) descend on AU

“Hey, that kid’s wearing a skateboard helmet!”

This would not have been an out of place comment had it been heard on a half-pipe, but instead it was half-mumbled by a stranger inside “The Tavern,” an American University version of Hoya Court. The reason for the helmet? To perform headspins, a staple breakdancing move.

By the December 6, 2001

Leisure

Fear of a Brown planet?

On Saturday night, while most Georgetown students were gearing up for yet another night of over-crowded, dimly-lit parties that could only end in beer stains and hangovers, they were missing a truly unique performance in the ICC Auditorium. ArthArts, a theater troupe dedicated to bringing South Asian and South Asian-American experiences to the stage, put on an enjoyable show called Shades of Brown.

By the December 6, 2001

Leisure

Sonic pur?e not for weak

When making music that sounds like a record collection in a blender, does it really matter who is pushing the pur?e button? The answer, of course, is an unequivocal, “No,” because records, especially records that fit that description, hardly ever “matter” in any consequence-laden kind of way.

By the December 6, 2001

Leisure

Experience the tyranny

Fans of power pop at its finest should not miss the Ted Leo and his fellow Pharmacists show next week. Leo is in town to promote his latest album The Tyranny of Distance, a remarkable collection of songs released by Berkeley’s Lookout! Records. His lengthy resume begins with memberships in the late-’80s New York hardcore bands Citizen’s Arrest and Animal Crackers.

By the December 6, 2001

Leisure

Billy Joel parties hard at Gaston

When one thinks of Billy Joel, one rarely conjures up images of a man kicking over microphone stands, pouring water on the stage and smashing an alarm clock. Nor does one think of a man doing impressions of Hitler, John F. Kennedy or a fictional country singer singing out the Sept.

By the November 29, 2001

Leisure

Midwestern and malcontented: The Corrections

In a 1996 Harper’s Magazine article, Johnathan Franzen quotes another author by asking, “What story is there to tell about the average American whose day consists of sleeping, working at a computer screen, watching TV and talking on the phone?” Battered by the inability of his first two novels to move off the shelves, Franzen questions in his essay whether or not the novel is still able to retain social significance when most Americans pass their days, months and years without ever picking up a book.

By the November 29, 2001

Leisure

Str?kkes? Yes, please.

Just in case you haven’t heard, rock’n’roll has been saved. The year was 2000. The city was New York City. The place was RCA Records. Two bands of musicians battled, dueling guitars and drums for the opportunity to become the now famous (or at least semi-famous) Strokes.

By the November 29, 2001

Leisure

Henry Moore at the National Gallery

Henry Moore is one of those significant artists of the 20th century whose name you probably don’t recognize. He was, perhaps, the greatest contributor to England’s artistic movements during his time. The current exhibit at the National Gallery of Art is an extensive collection of Moore’s work spanning his entire career.

By the November 29, 2001

Leisure

Not French

Sitting on my couch watching M2 these past few months, I have become increasingly disgruntled with the new vanguard of indie-rock starlets. It seems that every five minutes some new mop-topped, Prada-sporting cakeboys are poised to “save rock ‘n’ roll as we know it” and usher in the neo-Lou Reed, post-Seattle sound.

By the November 29, 2001

Leisure

Singer-Suckwriters

Of all the stupid labels that the music industry uses to describe its product, there are few more pigeonholing than “singer-songwriter.” As far as labels go, it’s descriptive enough. I mean, people called “singer-songwriters” generally both write songs and sing.

By the November 15, 2001

Leisure

Jewel’s back. Why? O God, Why?

It’s been five years since Jewel foisted herself upon the cultural consciousness of this great nation with her breakout album, Pieces of You. The mega-success of “Who Will Save Your Soul? and “You Were Meant for Me” soon led to a spoken-word album, a plethora of softly-lit black-and-white photo shoots and a strange nationwide awareness of the fact she slept in her car while working her way to the top.

By the November 15, 2001

Leisure

Paul McCartney drives home

Paul McCartney has one of the most easily-recognizable voices in rock ‘n’ roll. We’ve grown up hearing his voice crooning to us over the radio, and any new McCartney album’s vocals will have the familiarity of an old friend. In his new release, Driving Rain, McCarney’s natural compositions and his simple, beautiful lyrics feel like home.

By the November 15, 2001

Leisure

Philosophers? Sorcerers? It’s all Harry Potter

While directed by an American and produced by a Hollywood studio, the new Harry Potter movie is unmistakably British. To be more precise, it is a British movie with lots and lots of money and special effects, which makes it some strange L.A.-London amalgam.

By the November 15, 2001