Leisure

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

Leisure

Deadbeats: She didn’t ring the alarm

There are few things I enjoy more than counting down the days until one of my favorite bands releases their next full-length album. An album is a snapshot of an... Read more

By January 30, 2014

Leisure

Eating Out: Tapas: The Spanish incuisition

It’s 1993, and it’s the night of Bill Clinton’s inauguration. You and some pals are strolling, looking for any late night grub other than a horribly smoky, cholesterol and wrinkly... Read more

By January 30, 2014

Leisure

Critical Voices: Bibio, The Green EP

On his latest release, The Green EP, Bibio doesn’t let lyrics get in the way of his storytelling.  In fact, Bibio’s lyrics sit on the sidelines for much of this... Read more

By January 30, 2014

Leisure

Critical Voices: Warpaint, Warpaint

“All those moments trying to figure me out never seem to come around.” This lyric perfectly captures the tone of  the eponymous sophomore effort of Emily Kokal’s Los Angeles-based band,... Read more

By January 30, 2014

Leisure

Iranian festival gives Persian films exposure they deserve

The Iranian Moral Police scan the crowds for inappropriate glimpses of skin or too much hair showing under a woman’s corruptingly colorful scarf. To elude their gaze, people wait until... Read more

By January 23, 2014

Leisure

New restaurant Silo teases the taste buds

The Scotch Striptease cocktail makes a playful nod to the past tenants of the space Silo now inhabits. Before Reza Akhavan opened the restaurant in Mount Vernon, the industrial building... Read more

By January 23, 2014

Leisure

Sackler Gallery’s photo exhibition proves a Turkish delight

Shoved into a tiny gallery in the sublevel of the Freer & Sackler Galleries, 24 photographs by photojournalist Ara Güler are on display in an exhibit titled “In Focus: Ara... Read more

By January 23, 2014

Leisure

Under the Covers: Narcoland prosecutes drug war

Early in January, 20 men dressed in uniforms of the Mexican Federal Police force and armed with AK-47s blocked off Anabel Hernández’s street in a quiet neighborhood of Mexico City.... Read more

By January 23, 2014

Leisure

Day Tripper: Ah, she’s got a ticket to ride

Travel. Traveling. Traveler. The word and its variations conjure up images of exploration, adventure, boundless personal growth. Marco Polo—now he was a traveler! That lady who wrote Eat, Pray, Love—she... Read more

By January 23, 2014

Leisure

Critical Voices: Young the Giant, Mind over Matter

“It’s about time,” Sameer Gadhia screams in the lead single of Young the Giant’s new work, Mind Over Matter, reflecting my thoughts regarding the lack of new music from one... Read more

By January 23, 2014

Leisure

Critical Voices: Bruce Springsteen, High Hopes

In his new LP High Hopes, Bruce Springsteen continues his role in being a recorder of the bleak and the joyous moments of life in America. Springsteen’s albums since the... Read more

By January 23, 2014

Leisure

A Mouthful of Birds gives audiences something to chew on

Dionysus conjures the image of a smiling man with a flowing black beard, passing around grapes and dancing through the forest. As the Greek god of wine, festivities, and theater,... Read more

By January 16, 2014

Leisure

Bridging the Gibraltar, Catch 15 hits DC

A sensational mix of Spanish and Moroccan, the Mediterranean wares of Catch 15 will hook the most elegant of tastes. You can find it just a block from the Farragut... Read more

By January 16, 2014

Leisure

Ralph Fiennes’s The Invisible Woman, a tale of two biddies

Some imagine Charles Dickens sitting in front of a Victorian desk, armed with quill and parchment, creating his masterpieces. A few might even envision him reciting sections of his work... Read more

By January 16, 2014

Leisure

Eating Out: Slow and steady eating

“It’s ze power of ze chocolat, no?” the French stranger asked me. I had just dropped a heavy jar of chocolate spread on the table with a massive clatter, and... Read more

By January 16, 2014

Leisure

Deadbeats: Don’t sell yourself short

I really like Brand New. No, that’s an understatement. I worship Brand New. I started listening to them in the middle of high school, and they form the basis of... Read more

By January 16, 2014

Leisure

Critical Voices: Burial, Rival Dealer

“This is who I am,” the first vocal sample of the EP resonates.  Six years after his album, Untrue, was crowned the best album of 2007 (based on aggregate reviews),... Read more

By January 16, 2014

Leisure

Critical Voices: Switchfoot, Fading West

It’s understandable if you don’t remember Switchfoot. After all, it has been ten years since they released that song, “Dare you to moooove!” In their newest release, Fading West, Switchfoot... Read more

By January 16, 2014

Leisure

Is the Man Who is Tall Happy? Chomsky doesn’t know

Noam Chomsky, linguist at the Massachusetts Institue of Technology and notable political activist, is often considered one of the finest thinkers alive. Michel Gondry, director of Eternal Sunshine of the... Read more

By December 5, 2013

Leisure

In/Finite Earth exhibits artistic expression

When I think of artists with disabilities, I tend to imagine Chuck Close, photorealist artist paralyzed from the waist down, or any other artist with the kind of disability I... Read more

By December 5, 2013