Leisure

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

Leisure

Critical Voices: ZZ Ward, Til The Casket Drops

“I wear a fedora to pay homage to those artists that inspired me,” explains L.A.-based singer-songwriter Zsuzsanna Ward. Growing up in the tranquil town of Roseburg, Ore., Ward was influenced by influenced by an eclectic group of artists, ranging from blues legends Big Mama Thornton and Muddy Waters to Jay-Z. As a result, Til The Casket Drops is a funky amalgamation of hip-hop-laced blues and soul that borders on perfection.

By October 18, 2012

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Critical Voices: K’naan, Country, God, Or The Girl

Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar rap of the struggle in Compton, Nas and Jay-Z speak of their incredible journeys growing up with nothing in the streets of New York, and Rick Ross illustrates his rough life as a modern-day hustling gangster. But not one of these prolific artists can touch rapper K’naan’s intriguing past. The creator of Country, God, or the Girl hails from Mogadishu, Somalia, where he lived through a bloody civil war.

By October 18, 2012

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Idiot Box: Politics: Only okay if it’s on TV

For the past few months, I have been systematically hiding the posts of certain Facebook friends from my newsfeed for one reason—it’s an election year, and slews of college students from all sides of the political spectrum with access to HuffPo or Fox News think they’re top political analysts. I can’t stand it. So, when I was scrolling through my feed the other day and saw that a libertarian acquaintance of mine had posted a picture of a campaign poster, I almost hit the “hide” button immediately. But I chuckled audibly once I read the actual text on the blue-and-red picture: Ron Swanson 2012.

By October 18, 2012

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Haute Mess: “Haute Mess” knows best

Dear Neha and Julian, The other day I was walking down M Street wearing my salmon chinos, a white button-down, and green loafers. Everyone stared me down and I felt like Dorothy in the land of Oz. Even though it’s already fall, can I still wear my pastels and brights? Is this a faux pas? - Anonymous

By October 18, 2012

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Talking tough with Wire writer George Pelecanos

While working at his father’s D.C. diner as a teenager during the ‘70s, writer George Pelecanos had already identified a physical line of segregation between urban city dwellers. Referring to the diner’s counter as a tangible barrier between the working class—the immigrants and minorities—and the paying customers who were mostly white professionals, Pelecanos could see a microcosm of society within the confines of an unassuming small business.

By October 11, 2012

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Artists retell history at National Gallery’s Shock of the News

“Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray / South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio.”

By October 11, 2012

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Taste of DC: The battle for the culinary crown

On Columbus Day, I ventured to Pennsylvania Avenue and scouted out some of D.C.’s best culinary offerings at the 2012 “Taste of DC” festival. More than 50 of the District’s top restaurants opened small stands and sold specialty items from their menus. The plethora of options made it difficult to choose between all the enticing flavors. Not surprisingly, I was “that guy” who walked back and forth in search of the most appetizing entrees, surveying unique food that expanded both my palate and my cultural horizons.

By October 11, 2012

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Critical Voices: The Script, #3

As a judge on The Voice UK, The Script front man Danny O’Donoghue ought to fully understand the difference between passable music and efforts that don’t quite measure up. Unfortunately, this logical assumption does not hold; the London-based outfit swung for the fences and grounded into third on its arrogantly entitled LP #3.

By October 11, 2012

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Critical Voices: Ellie Goulding, Halcyon

If Ke$ha embodies the crass and gaudy character of American electropop, singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding brings a British sensibility and sensitivity to the genre, asserting that, in the words of Downton Abbey’s Lady Grantham, “vulgarity is no substitute for wit.” In her sophomore release, Halcyon, Ellie Goulding showcases her strength as a subdued vocalist, building upon her recognizable brand of synthetic, high-energy folktronica. Lyrically, however, the album lacks originality and fails to channel Goulding’s voice into anything more than sweet, medium-paced dance records—a style she’s already perfected.

By October 11, 2012

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You’ve got issues: Breakfast at Tombs

Dear Emlyn, I’m a sophomore and it’s housing selection time for me. I live in Southwest Quad with one of my friends from freshman year, but this semester we haven’t been that close and even disagree pretty frequently. I don’t want to live with him next year, but I don’t really know how to break the news. Advice? -Gloomy Roomie

By October 11, 2012

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Plate of the Union: Cookbooks are literature, too!

Even as Amazon packages filled with copies of International Economics and the Oresteia arrived on campus, almost every Georgetown student was still missing a crucial text. If you already own a college cookbook, you can stop reading now. Go make yourself some mushroom risotto and study for midterms.

By October 10, 2012

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Junk food and movies: The American dream at Angelika

The glass walls and marble floors of the Angelika Film Center and Café give the impression that this art-house complex would be more at home in New York City than in Fairfax, Va., and rightly so—the original Angelika debuted with Soho in 1989. But this upscale movie theater is out to take the D.C. area by storm, starting in Fairfax’s trendy Mosaic district. With its eclectic selection of films you’ve never heard of (think indie knockouts, vintage classics, and foreign films) and a gourmet menu designed by Chef Lee Anne Wong of Top Chef fame, Angelika attempts to make going to the movies a high-end escape from the drudgeries of daily life.

By October 4, 2012

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Zero Cost House:Japan, Walden, and animals, oh my!

This past weekend I was lulled into a peaceful reverie by two people dressed in rabbit suits and playing ukuleles. This moment was brought to me by the Pig Iron Theater Company’s production of Toshiki Okada’s Zero Cost House at the Davis Performing Art Center.

By October 4, 2012

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Liam Neeson Commands the Screen in Taken 2

Taken 2 is the kind of movie that most people will immediately deride as another cheap money-grab by a cash-hungry film studio. Well, those people are partially right. Inevitably, as with all sequels, part two is not nearly as original as the first blockbuster action flick, which starred Liam Neeson as a coverts-op dad on the hunt for his abducted daughter. Nevertheless, those who claim that Taken 2 is nothing more than a rehash are wrong—it’s easy enough to deride any formulaic action film sequel, but it’s undeniable that Taken 2 is pure entertainment.

By October 4, 2012

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Critical Voices: Muse, The 2nd Law

Before Muse’s latest album dropped, front man Matthew Bellamy announced it as a “Christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey, with some ambient rebellious dubstep and face melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia.” That may sound like a bunch of attention-starved gobbledegook, but the album The 2nd Law lives up to this bizarre description. Managing to sound both like an iconic Muse album and an amalgamation of only the most diverse musical styles, 2nd Law descends into chaos while miraculously preventing the absurd mixture of influences from becoming repulsive.

By October 4, 2012

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Critical Voices: How to Dress Well, Total Loss

Nick Krell, under the moniker How to Dress Well, is at his best when his music feels personal and heartfelt. And on his sophomore release, Total Loss, Krell is undoubtedly at his best.

By October 4, 2012

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Idiot Box: I’ve seen those English dramas

This summer, I found myself taking a class at Fordham University that converted me from a skeptic to a believer. No, it wasn’t the standard philosophy or theology class that usually leads its students to classroom epiphanies. This was a class on early 20th century British literature, with a professor who was merciful enough to show movies or television shows during one of our inhumanly long classes per week. And I didn’t find God or purpose, but I found Downton Abbey.

By October 4, 2012

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Haute Mess: The runway in the White House

Fashion and politics lie on opposite ends of the spectrum, right? It is difficult to imagine that these two could possibly go hand in hand, since a ‘strong political figure’ is one who wears solely black and gray suits with an occasional touch of color in the form of a tie.

By October 4, 2012

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Pig Iron Theater Company partners with Georgetown

It’s not often that an experimental play touting a mix of Thoreau and reflection on Japanese natural disasters comes to Georgetown’s campus, but one has arrived--an autobiographical piece by avant-garde Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada, Zero Cost House is the product of a collaboration between Georgetown and acclaimed Pig Iron Theater Company. With the company coming to campus straight from the play’s premiere at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, the Davis Performing Arts Center will be host to a weekend of actors doing everything from wearing rabbit costumes to playing the ukulele as they ponder Okada’s evolving attitude toward Walden in the context of Japan’s recent environmental disasters.

By September 27, 2012

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Lez’hur ledger: Women, diplomacy, and all that jazz at Kennedy

If you just glanced at the ads for the 2012 Thelonious Monk International Drums Competition you might have thought it was going to be just another jazz show at the Kennedy Center—buttoned up and impersonal, but still a straightforward show and contest.

By September 27, 2012