Leisure

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

Leisure

Critical Voices: Kip Moore, Up All Night

While it was once said that nothing could quite describe feelings of love and heartbreak like a country song, the largely unimpressive country releases streaming out of Nashville this year would seem to suggest otherwise. But this blatant disregard for lyrical quality paired with poor attempts at instrumental virtuosity may finally have been overcome by the songwriter-turned-singer Kip Moore. Up All Night, Moore’s debut album, introduces a much-needed believability to his lyrics and vocals, which allows the LP to shine above today’s cookie-cutter country.

By April 26, 2012

Leisure

Plate of the union: The tea party manifesto

“But still, how can you call yourself a true tea lover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt.” Challenge accepted, Mr. Orwell.

By April 26, 2012

Leisure

You’ve got issues: Take it with a grain of salt

Dear Emlyn, I’m obsessed with movies, and there are a LOT that I want to watch with my girlfriend. But we only have three weeks left in the semester! She probably does not care to see all of them, but HOW DO I KNOW WHICH ONES SHE DOES CARE TO SEE?! I mean, I can’t ask her directly, that’s weird. On top of this, we have to wait until the fall to watch the next season of Breaking Bad, and that’s just a tragedy. Fix my problems. —Swaggy Swate

By April 26, 2012

Leisure

Julien Isaacs throws some glitter and makes it rain

In the basement of a Burleith apartment, the floor of Julien Isaacs’s (SFS ’12) art studio is covered in an inch of glitter. These are the remnants of his latest work of glitter-based iconic images, from a glitter sphinx statue outside his apartment to a glitter painting of Madonna. From this explosion of sparkles, Isaacs has taken Georgetown and the D.C. art community, by storm. Divine Chaos, his exhibit at the Adams Morgan coffeehouse Tryst, is running until May 31 after a sold-out opening night on April 5.

By April 18, 2012

Leisure

Pleasant Pops takes off its training wheels for new store

In Adams Morgan, the cost of fame is steep, but it comes with delicious perks. For $1,000, anyone can become a “Pop Star” at Pleasant Pops—an honor which involves naming your own flavor and getting a free popsicle every time you walk through the door of the store, which opens this July. The Pleasant Pops D.C. food truck started out as a single pushcart at farmers’ markets in 2010, but with two years of experience and the help of a Kickstarter campaign, Pleasant Pops co-owners Brian Sykora and Roger Horowitz are rolling their business into a full-fledged store.

By April 18, 2012

Leisure

Mock horror fans get Cabin fever

Let’s meet the cast of The Cabin in the Woods: there’s Dana (Kristen Connolly), a moderately attractive college student waiting to be deflowered by the right guy, and her best friend Jules (Anna Hutchinson), a more experienced blonde who is being courted by football stud Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth). Accompanied by conspiracy-theory pothead Marty (Franz Kranz) and not-so-stupid jock Holden (Jesse Williams), they go to Curt’s cousin’s cabin in a setting that looks straight out of a hick-infested History Channel. Sounds like a classic horror movie setup, right?

By April 18, 2012

Leisure

Trash Talk: This baggage is emotional

Have you ever wondered what happens to all that luggage that is never picked up from the baggage claim? I haven’t. I don’t even know anybody who checks luggage anymore, because of those ridiculous baggage fees. But apparently it’s a pressing matter, and Spike TV is hoping to capitalize on this obvious gap in the reality programming schedule with its newest series, Luggage Wars.

By April 18, 2012

Leisure

Box Office, Baby! Wes up with these films?

There’s nothing like a new Wes Anderson movie. For many fans, he has yet to release a poor film, and at his best, the acting, coolness, and sheer re-watchability of his films is unmatched among contemporary directors. Like his past achievements, Anderson’s upcoming feature Moonrise Kingdom will prove that Wes has maintained his status as a profoundly original director despite his allegedly homogenous filmography.

By April 18, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Maps & Atlases, Beware and Be Grateful

With the recent success of artists like Fun., Kimbra, and Neon Trees, the music market is starting to feel a little overloaded with quirky indie pop. Which makes Beware and Be Grateful, the latest release from Chicago experimental rockers Maps & Atlases, a small breath of fresh air—the band’s jangly guitars, lo-fi percussion, and bubbly vocals set them apart in a sea of homogenous synthesizers. Unfortunately, though, Beware’s splintering components do not meld into a cohesive album, and the resulting album is significantly less than the sum of its parts.

By April 18, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: DragonForce, The Power Within

Despite, or perhaps because of, its constantly shifting roster of members, British power-metal band DragonForce has always framed its music around guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, whose guitar solos never cease to blow the listener’s mind—and maybe the eardrums as well. And while relying so heavily on the duo has allowed the amorphous band to create a stable sound, such consistency is also largely due to the band’s maturity. As a stand-alone album, this year’s The Power Within is, for all intents and purposes, perfect.

By April 18, 2012

Leisure

“Titanic” exhibit: My art will go on

If you’re not willing to shell out $18 for a Titanic 3D ticket, National Geographic has you covered. The museum’s new exhibit, “Titanic: 100 Year Obsession,” takes viewers on an interactive journey from the ship’s historical beginnings to the latest discoveries about the fateful night of April 15, 1912.

By April 12, 2012

Leisure

Mask & Bauble bewitches the Davis Center with Macbeth

“Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!’” As sinister as this line is, it captures the effectiveness of Mask & Bauble’s production of Macbeth—this fresh version of the play presents no danger of inducing naps. Rather than dryly rehashing the Shakespearean classic of fond high school English memories, the innovative production breathes life into an ageless tale of dark ambition.

By April 12, 2012

Leisure

Daniel Nettheim Hunts for awards; shoots self in foot

The Tasmanian “Tiger” took its name from a big cat and resembled a dog, but it was, in fact, neither. Thylacine, as it is properly called, belonged to the marsupial group, that quirky family of (mainly) Aussie creatures that defies classification—the hipsters of the mammalian world. On YouTube, you can still watch the last thylacine pace around its tiny enclosure, then stand on its hind legs—almost kangaroo-like—pawing at its cage. Since the animal went extinct in 1936, repeated “sightings” in the Tasmanian wilderness have created a persistent mythology around the peculiar creature.

By April 12, 2012

Leisure

God Mode: Gaming the system

I have a quest I need to complete. It’s a bit of a grind, but if I finish it I’ll get enough experience points to level up. All I have to do is run two miles, do 40 push-ups, and then complete 100 crunches. In real life.

By April 12, 2012

Leisure

Blast That Box: Plato flunks Ghetto University

In my theology class about death, we watched esoteric films like The Fountain and read the hallowed works of Plato. Although I can see what the professor was trying to accomplish, this characteristically Georgetown class was merely another attempt to dilute the real education that I should have been receiving from the true role models of modern society. Hip-hop idols are among us, and they are the ones who now teach the facts of life and impart logical wisdom upon the masses. It’s baffling that we aren’t studying rap and its sociological implications in a large amount of our classes instead of the inane commentary of the long-gone philosophical minds like Plato. As I look through the preregistration course schedule for next year, I find only frivolity.

By April 12, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls

In the 1960s and 70s, the musicological spontaneity of artists like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix popularized a fusion of soul, blues, and rock that has been virtually unrepeatable in the decades since. But this year, that streak of trial-and-error has finally ended—on its debut album Boys & Girls, Alabama Shakes replicates this unique sound while still managing to create an identity all its own.

By April 12, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Since her breakout in 2007, Nicki Minaj has integrated contradictory elements in both her personality and musical style—the 5-foot-2 girly-girl of “Super Bass” also raps frequently about having a dick. Minaj takes this creative clash to the extreme in Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, relying on her alter-egos to sing out her brash lyrics. Although Minaj has released songs in which she sings through her alter-egos in the past, Roman Reloaded features much more of Roman Zolanski, her gay “brother” borne out of Minaj’s rage; Martha, his austere mother; and Barbie, the all-around girly-girl.

By April 12, 2012

Leisure

Gordon Ramsay bites off a bit more than he can chew

“You disappoint me, Ramsay,” remarked journalist and Top Gear host James May as the chef vomited into an orange bucket. As very few will recall, Gordon Ramsay challenged May in the third season of The F Word to a contest that would determine which of the two had the largest man-parts. Following a rather uneventful partaking of snake whiskey and bull penis, the waiter brought forth the main course—shark meat. Ramsay could not stomach the Icelandic delicacy, and was reduced to cowering under May’s judgment.

By March 30, 2012

Leisure

D.C. sharks reflect on aquarium conditions, life aquatic

Last week, the National Aquarium gave the Voice the unique opportunity to interview three of the sharks housed in the basement of its building on 14th and Constitution Ave. Despite having to go through extensive security to visit the sharks—they do, of course, live in a federal government building—they gracefully downplayed their celebrity status and responded to my questions with the utmost candor. Even though I had to read their expressions through the glass, it was clear that they do not let the customized enclosure and legions of ogling visitors go to their cartilage-protected heads.

By March 30, 2012

Leisure

Critically acclaimed Street Sharks resonates through time

This week, everyone needs to take a break from Mad Men and remember back to the real Golden Age of television—the 1990s. Full House, Boy Meets World, and Street Sharks were at our slimy seven-year-old fingertips, and we didn’t even know how good we had it. You may not recognize those first two shows, as they are often cited as irrelevant, but you are certain to recognize the third. Ah yes, Street Sharks, the one and only show about the crime-fighting mutant shark-men.

By March 30, 2012