Leisure

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

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

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

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

Michael Jackson: over the hill?

Michael is back, and he’s weirder than ever. It has been 10 years since Jackson’s last full-length album, Dangerous, and unfortunately that time apparently wasn’t spent on perfecting songs for his latest release, Invincible. Granted, for most artists Invincible would be a decent album, about half the songs are good or even great.

By the November 15, 2001

Leisure

David Sedaris At GW

Have you ever sat near someone on the subway or on a park bench who was laughing out loud at something he or she was reading? Did you change subway cars or move to a different bench thinking they were crazy? If you have, you don’t know David Sedaris. Sedaris wields amazing power with his words.

By the November 15, 2001

Leisure

Regrettable live Radiohead

The diehard among you are probably interested in acquiring Radiohead’s latest release, this week’s I Might Be Wrong … The Live Recordings. This isn’t a horrible idea?the record’s last track, “True Love Waits,” is quite good. Written during the OK Computer sessions, this lost accoustic number beautifully uses the structure and chord changes so typical of Radiohead’s sound at the time.

By the November 15, 2001

Leisure

Mice and Men squeaks by

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s 1937 book, which he later adapted for the stage, paints the portrait of the dusty and disenfranchised migrant farm workers who roamed across California during the Depression. The Arena Stage’s production of Of Mice and Men, directed by Liz Diamond, captures that bleakness of atmosphere in the physical realities of the stage and set: when the actors make contact, little clouds of dust billow into the air.

By the November 15, 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

Leisure

Fun for the whole family

Despite recent offerings in the indie-rock arena, I have been finding myself somewhat dismayed by the selection of concert-outings during the past few weeks. My recollections of last year, my... Read more

By the November 8, 2001

Leisure

After the show, they just go home: an interview with Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie, a Seattle-based band that formed in 1997, has released three albums for Barsuk Records: Something About Airplanes (1999), We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes... Read more

By the November 8, 2001

Leisure

Funny things not happening at Poulton

In its second production of the season, Mask and Bauble offers its audience a campy and slapstick musical performance that will at least entertain the actors’ friends. A Funny Thing... Read more

By the November 8, 2001

Leisure

Riding in Cars a success

Upon discovering the undeniable fact of her pregnancy, a 15-year-old Beverly D’Onofrio repeatedly launches herself down the carpeted stairs of her Wallingford, Conn. home. The result? A hysterical feat of... Read more

By the November 8, 2001